Living Life for Christ Alone

The g rave.   The place of the dead.   The place of no going back.   Many times, this last year, I’ve voiced this very thought to God.   “I have died,” I thought. “I am not the same.”   I would look at the terrain of my soul and not recognize myself.   Trauma, the fires of difficulty, the deep pain of seeing your children struggle, the sorrow of letting go of people you love , the daily in-your-face weakness , a numbing grief ... these were enough to cause pieces of me to die.   Being “hard-pressed on every side,” as Paul put it, “yet not crushed.” And now I find myself “perplexed, yet not in despair.”   I wanted to go back for the longest time, to put pieces of me back together, to make it like it used to be, but the more I dig around in the rubble of my broken self, the more impossible it seems.   I knew it before all of this happened, that going up close to the broken –becoming a part of brokenness- means you are broken too.   But kn...

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” –John 15:18 These words forge upstream in a world where our natural inclination is to be the most well-liked, popular person we could be. But Jesus spoke these words without hesitation or shame. He spoke them right before He was to be crucified on a cross. He spoke them knowing most of the men hearing His words that day would one day be martyred for their faith in Him. He spoke them knowing that they would be written down for people like you and I to read and marvel at how difficult those words are to embrace. He spoke them so that we would not be disillusioned when people reject us for following Him with our whole heart. He spoke them so that we would not be surprised when people don’t like us talking about Him. He spoke them so we would count the cost before we make a stand for Jesus in a world where people don’t want God. He spoke them so that we would know they aren’t rejecting us, but Him. ...

It's been just over 7 months since I last wrote on here, and I'm sure that those of you who have followed my blog closely must have started to wonder if I simply dropped off the face of the earth, while others of you know there has been a lot of change in my life within these past six months. I'll just name a few of the most dramatic highlights of these past six months so as to quickly update you on my life... In September, God brought me and a wonderful young man named Kevin into a relationship! He is such a blessing and God has used him much to change my life and grow my relationship with Christ! Then in October, my sister Julie got married and in January, my sister Laurie got married. Not only have things outwardly been changing, but God has been teaching me much: and now I am going to endeavor to tell you in the shortest way possible a truth that has absolutely challenged and changed me in more ways than I can say. It is found in a simple verse that many times I ...

I think it's time I gave you a bigger peak into the many things God did while on my mission trip last month... I'll just write a little bit at a time as time permits. Fear I got ready for this mission trip wrestling fear unlike ever before. Little did I know that this was preparation for the very kind of enemy we would be facing in El Salvador. "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." -1 John 4:4 If you ever have a huge battle with an enemy you rarely face right before ministry, realize God is preparing you to help others stand against the very same kind of enemy in your ministry! By the time I got to El Salvador, it seemed as though God had strengthened me in His battle against the spirit of fear, and now I was ready to reach out to those lost in fear with a hope I was hanging onto tighter than ever before.

This year I started using a Bible in the year plan. It's been interesting to me which books they give you to read first. Part of the first several days was the book of Philippians... As I was reading in chapter 1, several phrases challenged me. I'd like to pass this challenge on to you. "For me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don't know which is better. I'm torn between two desires; I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live." -Philippians 1:21-24 I pulled out my notebook and started to spill the thoughts that were coming to mind, which I will write below. (In italics.) Do I have such a heavenly mindset? 

Today, I want to talk about death...  Many of you read that, and whoever was sitting nearest you heard a sharp intake of breath.  No, I am not talking about physical death.  I'm talking about a different kind of death. I alluded to it in my last post, but I must talk more specifically about it, since I myself have been meditating on it more in depth, and praying about it, and seeking to apply it to my own life over the past week. 

It's the new year... It's the time when everyone thinks through what they want to change about their lives, and then set goals for the upcoming year that should spur that change on. It's called a New Years Resolution. It seems many set them, and then forget them. Is that what you do too? Yesterday, which was the very first day of 2014, I sat on the front porch pondering last year, talking with God about what kind of year I wanted this one to be. 

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." -Proverbs 4:23 NLT Your heart is where everything begins. The thoughts of your heart eventually become the actions you take. "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." (Proverbs 23:7 KJV) Guarding your heart means this: Keeping the door shut to the enemy, the flesh, and the devil. When their little agents knock on the door, don't answer it! Keep it bolted shut! If we let them in, they can -however small- eventually take over and ruin your life. It also means giving the reins of your heart to One who can control it from running in all directions. So easily can our hearts run to the things that appeal in the moment. But God is greater and can control that! He can, when we're tempted, remind us of truth by means of His Spirit, keeping the lies of the enemy from having effect on us.