Do you have a man-sized or a God-sized perspective of life? Photo Credit: Grace Community Church on Instagram-- here! The world is always displaying the biggest flashiest neon distractions in our face. Focus on this high!! Focus on this low!! Look over here at this!! Envy this person!! You must denounce this idea!! This is more important!!
- The world is really, really loud. No matter what it is, good or bad, happy or sad, it’s loud. But at the beginning and end of the day and every moment in between, the Spirit is there, whispering to you. - Hey. Look here. Check this out. I have peace for you. I have comfort for you. I have a sense of contentment for you. I have rest for you. - I know this past week has been a nightmare for a lot of people. I’m not saying forget it, but I am saying, let’s adjust our perspective. Away from the world’s woes and towards God’s goodness. - The world might be loud and flashy, but God is constant. And that’s what we are all really looking for in the end.
0 Comments
I learned so much about myself, my God, and my faith. My True Images Bible I got the idea in my head to read the entire Bible before I went to college I got the idea in my head to read the entire Bible before I went to college. I had never succeeded in finishing the Bible-- I had tried at least two other times to read the whole thing. I had, like most people, gotten bogged down in the Old Testament and just never pushed through. Of course, I had been reading my Bible, but I wanted to read it through its entirety. I wanted to read it before college because I knew that college, and the people I would meet, and the different lifestyles and ideologies I would encounter there would all challenge my faith. It was important to me to read the Bible then to have a refreshed understanding of my faith, and to understand it more before it was challenged.
I was getting ready to go to college, so, as I mentioned, I wanted to strengthen and take charge of my faith. And it was summertime, so I had ample time to dedicate to reading the Bible. I did the math and found that I had to read 16 chapters a day to finish the entire Bible in a summer. Ambitious, I know. If I had stuck to 16 chapters a day, I would have finished the Bible that summer. But, some days I was lax, some days I didn't have the brain power to digest what I was reading, and other days I just didn't take the time. However, I did finish the Old Testament before I left for college. It took me my freshman year of college and the following summer to finally finish the New Testament. I let reading my Bible fall down in my priorities throughout the school year as I adjusted to college, and, when I did sit down to read, I never read 16 chapters at a time. So, while it took me a year and a summer to finish the Bible, I know that at no other time in my life would I have stuck with it and finished (as evidenced by the past attempts).
I also switched churches during high school which hugely enriched and challenged my faith. I've learned about biblical authority (how the Bible is the authority of our faith) so I wanted to actually know what that authority says. I've learned that the entire Bible is about Jesus-- the New and Old Testaments. Life is about a relationship with Jesus. When pursuing a relationship, you learn all you can about the person. This became another reason that I was motivated to read the Bible. What I LearnedThe Bible is an amazing cornerstone to develop our faith lives on I learned a lot from my year-plus of reading the Bible. Overall, I learned that the Bible is an amazing cornerstone to develop our faith lives on. I mean, come on, it's the inspired word of God-- what better to build off of? Some of the biggest concepts in the Bible have to be meditated on and considered and prayed over, and you still might not understand them fully-- and that's okay. Every time I sat down to read my Bible, I would pray to God to send His Holy Spirit to me to help me to read what I needed to read, to hear what I needed to hear, and to see what He needed me to see. I also asked Him for focus and comprehension. I fully believe that praying these prayers before Bible-reading sessions is crucial and changes the experience entirely. The Bible says to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). So why shouldn't we pray for God to help us understand our Christian guidebook?
I will strengthen you and uphold you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:14). He is before all things and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17). Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 100:3). Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).
There is a two-fold reason that we need to know the word of God. It allows us to wield the sword of the Spirit, which then prevents us from entering the spiritual battle weaponless (Ephesians 6:12-18). Big Takeaways & ApplicationAccept my human flaws and work towards bettering them in the grace of God I have two big takeaways from this journey. I always felt bad for skimping on reading the Bible. I realize that I have to accept my human flaws and work towards bettering them in the grace of God. With this, I made myself a "Stop, Drop, and Word" alarm that goes off every afternoon playing "Control" by Tenth Avenue North to remind me to stop, drop what I'm doing, and spend time studying God's Word. (I am so proud of the punny alarm label!)
a) God's love will never fail you b) He has a plan for your life
This was a personal goal that turned into a backdrop for a spiritual season in my life. As I move to the next one, whatever it might be, I can't forget this; rather, I need to apply what I've learned and grow from it. The idea that hindsight is 20/20 applies almost obnoxiously to spiritual seasons. During them, we tend to be blind to the bigger picture. But, once we trust God, and whenever He decides to show us, we get a glimpse of the eternal perspective and see that everything works together for the glory of God-- and we get to be a part of His amazing plan. Wow.
My church recently wrapped up a series on spiritual warfare. The last message focused on knowing the Word of God in order to wield the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:13-17). Our pastor challenged us to take the song "You Say" by Lauren Daigle and back it up with truths from the Bible. The Bible is our authority and the foundation of knowing who God is and what He says is true, especially about us. Knowing the Bible prevents us from entering the spiritual battle weaponless. Keep reading for God's promises and truths! photo credit to Billboard "You say I am loved when I can't feel a thing"Nothing can separate us from the love of God Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 8:38 "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Chris Jesus our Lord." "You say I am strong when I think I am weak"We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength Ephesians 6:10 "Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." Philippians 4:13 "I can do all this through Him who gives me strength." 2 Corinthians 12:10 "... For when I am weak, then I am strong." Isaiah 40:29 "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 41:10 "... I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." "You say I am held when I am falling short"He reached down and took hold of me Psalm 73:23 "Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand." Psalm 139:10 "Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Colossians 1:17 "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." 2 Samuel 22:17 "He reached down from on high and took hold of me, He drew me out of deep waters." "When I don't belong, You say I am Yours"I have called you by name, YOU ARE MINE Romans 1:6 "And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ." Psalm 100:3 "Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture." Romans 14:8 "... So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." Isaiah 43:1 "But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." "In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity"Heir, child of God, new creation, spirit of power, His workmanship, righteous Galatians 3:29 "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
John 8:35 "Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever." 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come." 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." Ephesians 2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." John 1:12 "But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." chathamumc.net In Matthew 26:33, Jesus tells Peter that he will betray Him. At this point, Peter has grown through his relationship with Jesus, but still is not the apostle and leader that we think of him as today. Peters says that he would never deny Jesus, but that very night he does so (Matthew 26:69-75) as he gives in to fear. He is so dejected that, as Matthew recounts, he "wept bitterly" (Matthew 26:75). Peter immediately realized what he had done. But that is not the end of his story. He grows and becomes one of the church's most passionate leaders. Fear will affect everyone. But it is what you do afterwards that determines what that effect is. Judas also betrayed Jesus (Matthew 26:47-49). He betrayed his friends. Yes, he did it for money, but I think he was also afraid, like Peter. Judas knew that the chief priests wanted to be rid of Jesus and everything-- and everyone-- associated with Him. So Judas succumbed to fear and chased after what he thought was the winning side, rather than seeking out the Truth. Judas, too, was ridden with guilt after he committed this betrayal. Rather than returning like Peter, coming back from the fear, Judas hung himself (Matthew 27:5). Judas did not live to witness the Resurrection. Can you imagine how different his life would have been if he could have accepted forgiveness and used his past to grow, rather than letting his past kill any hope for a future? But, this is what Jesus's love, ultimate sacrifice, and forgiveness mean for you and me. It means that even in our weakness, we can still experience God's grace in salvation through Jesus Christ, and thrive in our future. Over 2000 years ago, Jesus died for humanity. He was beaten and humiliated and brutally murdered for telling us about His kingdom, His love, grace, salvation, and, yes, forgiveness. I believe that Jesus forgave Judas. Not because that was God's plan and Jesus knew all along that Judas would betray Him. Not out of some reluctant feeling of obligation. I believe that Jesus forgave Judas because He loved him. And Judas died without that reassurance. I believe that Judas died thinking that he had betrayed one of his closest friends and that there was no redeeming himself. Judas was right... partially. He had no way to redeem himself. We do not have any way to redeem ourselves from our past, our failures, or our mistakes. But Jesus can. I believe with all my heart that Jesus can redeem us all from our pasts. We no longer have to live in fear and guilt. Jesus died on the cross as a sacrifice for all of our sins. Romans 6:23 says that the penalty for sin is death. The only way to get rid of the stain of sin is through death. But God loves us so much that He was willing to send Jesus to die for all of humanity-- past, present, and future. Jesus, who is God and free of sin, came to Earth and died for you and me, in order to clear our debt. Jesus's death on the cross forgave the sin of the world. What other king do you know of who came to His people, died for them, and saved them for all eternity, without asking for anything in return? I'd say that puts the "good" in Good Friday, wouldn't you?
Big question, I know...And I have always struggled to find a good answer. Surprise, surprise, that the answer I have found to be sufficient comes straight from the Man Upstairs, in the Good Book itself. Psalm 55:22He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. [NASB] When bad things happen to good people, some bystanders will scoff, like Job's friends, saying, 'Well, you must not be righteous so God is punishing you.' Are you not righteous? OR Is this not a stumble? God's hand is in everything that happens on this earth, and everything is made to bring glory to Him. God has a plan and a will for all of our lives. As I recently heard a preacher put it, God has a Perfect Will and a Permissive Will. God doesn't want us to suffer, we are His children who He has a Perfect Will for. However, He allows it through his Permissive Will because all will bring glory to God. When something bad happens to you, do not consider it to be God letting you stumble and fall. Consider it to be God giving you a unique opportunity to show the world your faith, and the hope and trust that you have put in Jesus to be your savior and to fulfill the promises He has made to you. I know this is easy to write. I also know that it is hard to do because I have had to do it myself. My family is going through some really big and really hard stuff. And we will be going through it for a long time to come. But I have come to realize that my faith has only been strengthened through this whole experience so far. God has proven again and again and again that my faith is surely good and that God will come through for me. "Even though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I fear none for God is with me." It will take time to recognize the stumbling blocks in your life as not blocks, but opportunities to share the truth of a relationship with Jesus, but it is so worth it. The negativity that you have been pouring into these "blocks" will transform into humility and gratitude when you start treating them as the planned opportunities that God has given you.
Prayers for peace, M |
Categories
All
Archives
August 2022
|