One Big Lesson Still Learning

Gosh I'm excited! 

The junior high and high school women's conference that my small group and I have been coordinating since September is happening this Friday! Whew!

It is crazy to think that it is finally here. Truly unbelievable.

It is also crazy to think about my life in these last few months and the lives of my friends. Reflecting on how much time has passed since September, I see that so much has happened in each of our lives! There has been significant change in many of us and we have grown in astounding ways. We have grown through many wonderful experiences and also through some really tough ones. I suppose that's always how it goes though...God uses both the good and the bad to shape us into the people we were created to be. Sometimes the difficult path is the one we must tread in order to learn some of the most important lessons of all.

I think one of the biggest lessons I've learned, and am still learning is this:

1. We are passionately loved by the God of the universe

2. We are passionately hated by his enemy

It sounds so simple doesn't it? But these two truths impact EVERYTHING! Understanding these two truths not only impact my thought process and how I view myself and my life, but they also impact how I act. This is the big picture of life. God loves me and pursues me with a passionate longing...and satan hates me and pursues the goal of wreaking havoc in my life to separate me from God with my sin. 

The more I come to understand how simple these truths are, the more I will be able to see the simplicity of making sound choices that may seem difficult at first sight. The truth is that every decision I make either leads me toward my God who loves me unconditionally and who I love as well (although my love sometimes seems inconsistent and unworthy) OR my decisions lead me away from God with acts of sin and disobedience.

These are the decisions that each of us are faced with everyday. To love God or to choose ourselves. I know that I don't always choose the right choice. I know that often times my priorities become focused on what I want to do and who I want to be - instead of looking always to what God wants me to do and who God wants me to be.

And that is why I will try to remember that God passionately loves me and satan passionately hates me so that maybe more times than not, I will make the right decisions and choose the path that God has set out for me. 

Again, a lot easier said than done... 

Impulse

Disclaimer: acting impulsively does not always instigate sin or negative consequences. There are many times when an impulsive act of kindness or love delivers great care and support to the one involved.

Now onto my questions…

Why are we sometimes moved to act impulsively? And why is that when we want to act impulsively, it is usually toward some sort of destructive nature? It is interesting to think about how in times of impulse, all thoughtful rationality seems to fly out of our heads as we act in the moment of our hearts and our flesh. The consequences, whether good or bad, are rarely thought out. We simply move in the moment we are caught up in.

Could it be due to selfishness that we don’t pause to consider others, or even consider our own hearts and the need to protect ourselves from sin?

Or, could it be that we simply don’t think that the consequences will ever be that severe - or at least severe enough - to cause us to pause before jumping into irrationality and sometimes destructive behavior?

Maybe we act impulsively because something causes us to doubt what we know to be true…a subtle thought sweeps through our minds…a mere comment by someone we trust instigates ideas…our eyes linger on an image…any of these seemingly minor occurrences have the power to persuade…

Therefore, we MUST keep our eyes on Jesus so as not to stumble in acts of impulse! Only by maintaining a close and right relationship with our Lord can we take steps toward truth and create space between sin and the desires of our flesh.

Definitely easier said then done…

Grace vs. Flesh

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry 'Abba' Father. The spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory." Romans 8:15-17

Is the promise of eternity with God enough to cause you to desire Him only? Or are you still pulled in other directions away from God? Many things pull us away from God: material things, selfishness, instant gratification, the desire to do what you want, being tired of always having to be good...the list goes on.

But all that stuff is meaningless! It is not eternal! It is fleeting and often leaves one feeling empty and lifeless. Why then do we we long for these things that pull us away? Why is it so hard to resist instant gratification when we know that it is not everlasting...that is is momentary? Why do our reason and intellect often get outweighed by emotional irrationality? Why can't we just do what we know is right? Why do we always want more...or just something different?

THE CURSE OF OUR FLESH!

It is because we do not live only in the spirit that we must fight against the desires of our flesh. But we must keep fighting! Our inheritance with Jesus is worth the fight! Don't give in to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that Christ may be exalted forever! We need to keep fighting against what we know is meaningless and hold on to GRACE. Grace is accepting that we can never do anything to earn the sacrifice Jesus made out of perfect love. It is accepting our weakness and relying on God's power and freedom to live a life worthy of Him. Without his strength and love, I am nothing.

It is not about becoming satisfied with our identity as Christ followers...its about finding JOY and a true passion and desire to live the life God has set out at the beginning of time. We can't just be satisfied...we need to be propelled by the love and grace God gives us everyday. It is about living out faith in real and tangible ways...about being true examples of our Father in heaven so that He may be exalted and others may come to know His powerfully redemptive love. Is the promise of eternity with God enough? Will we choose to live today with joy, with passion...to bring the creator glory, honor and praise? This is the choice that faces us everyday.

Strength Building

"The strain of life is what builds strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength." - Oswald Chambers

God does not expect us to live without trial...without temptation...without conviction. In fact, it is in these times that He grows us the most. God uses these times to reveal those imperfections in our hearts that need repair and draws forth the need and the will within us to change. It is this constant molding and refining that God purposefully uses to make us into the people he has originally created us to be.
The strain in the world is what calls us to draw closer to him as He works on our character, building strength from within.
And we NEED it! We need the strength to choose right over wrong and the strength to stand up for what we believe in - even when we don't want to. We need the strength to choose the correct choice when we so badly desire the wrong one. For if we give into our flesh, we have taken one more step further away from our Lord. Therefore, we must be thankful for the strain in each of our lives and acknowledge it as a time of refinement as we continue to walk - one step at a time.

Music Unrivaled

I love music. The mere force and power within it to evoke emotion and action is unrivaled by any other. It is truly a gift.Two songs by Mercy Me have impacted me greatly. The lyrics are below. Check out the actual songs at: http://www.mercyme.org/main/pages/audio

I don't think you will be disappointed.

SONG 1: SANCTIFIED

Let there be no condemnation
For all who are fully known in Christ.
Unspeakable grace for all the nations
By way of holy sacrifice.
We worship with the sound
Of broken shackles
Falling to the ground.

Sanctified.
I have been set free.
Grace divine.
Has swept me off my feet.

No greater love has ever been known
Than He who came to find the last.
No greater sacrifice has been shown.
Than He who laid upon the cross.
Let all creation sing.
For He has come.
And He’s changed everything.

Sanctified.
I have been set free.
Grace divine.
He swept me off my feet.
And I know that I will never be the same.

Sanctified.
I have been set free.
Grace divine.
He swept me off my feet.

- Mercy Me “Sanctified”

Thoughts: Why me? Why grace for me? Only with Christ can we be set free from the burdens and binding nature of this world. Only with Christ can we be redeemed and set free. To "be Holy as I am Holy" - that is our mantra...to be set apart from the world...to live as free people in Christ. To show the abounding love and grace our Savior and Lord have given us so that we may be with Him for eternity. He has changed everything for me. He has changed everything for the world. Let me be sancified by His grace. Let me be set free. I am His.

SONG 2: MY HEART WILL FLY

Why this happened I cannot explain.
Why write the script with such heartache and pain.
Could there not have been an easier way?
Watching life through this glass so faded
I cannot see the bigger picture taking place.
Oh to understand one day.

And my heart will fly
When I finally see you face to face
And my tears will fly.
Away, away.

It won’t be long until we all go home.
With all things revealed and on that day, we’ll finally know.
Oh, as we are fully known.

And my heart will fly
When I finally see you face to face
And my tears will fly.Away, away.
And what appears as incomplete

Is still completely Yours.
And one day we’ll see as we’ve been seen
And we’ll soar.

And my heart will fly
When I finally see you face to face
And my tears will fly.
Away, away.

- Mercy Me “My heart will fly”

Thoughts: The ups and downs of this world will never disappear. We will all in one form or another experience doubt...trials...heartache...and maybe despair. But we need to rejoice because it is the difficult things in life that draw us near to our creator. It is in these times that we learn the most and are brought up out of immaturity and into a fuller understanding of Christ. Without the difficulties of life, we would simply cruze on by. We need the hard things in life to make us grow. So rejoice! We will see our creator face to face one day and in that time I guarantee you that every hurt, every sorrow will fade. I will stand before my Lord one day and what will I say? Will I ask why this, or why that? No. I will stand in awe of His encredible glory and grace and that will be enough. My Lord is enough for me now and is enough for me in the future. And with that my heart will always rejoice.