A Damaging Purpose

When we use something for a purpose other than what it was created for, we run the risk of damaging it.

I am not very good at sports, but I like them. It can get intense, so I try to stay away from that competitive streak by just playing to have fun: no rules! Just enjoy! My friend and his dad play tennis and some years ago, I decided I wanted to learn. They took me out to the tennis court and I started to swing at the ball with my “racket”…my guitar.

Now, anyone that knows me knows that there is NO WAY ON THIS EARTH I would ever use my guitar as a tennis racket! It used to be my Grandpa’s. I am not very good at guitar, but I enjoy playing. It relaxes me! I like my guitar but it cannot be used for everything. It is possible to use it as a paddle, an umbrella and even a tennis racket but the wood and strings would be damaged and it would break. It was not created for those purposes. It was created to be played, to make music.

The world seeks purpose and reason to life. It is what keeps us going and pushing forward. We have a designated purpose. Are we ignoring it?

Colossians 1.16

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

We are created by and for God. Our purpose is “for him.” When we use our lives for something that we were not created for, we bring damage to ourselves. We think we can put ourselves in the place of God and assign ourselves a purpose. But that purpose is ultimately damaging to our lives. God created us. How dare we tell our Creator that we know what is best? Our purpose is for God and He alone knows what is best for His creation. His perfect plan will not hurt us, only make us more like Him.

Dare we ignore our assigned purpose? Dare we take control and decided our own damaging purpose?

Lord of All Seasons

It is the fall season! I enjoy every season, but I forget how much I love fall until it gets here! Taking a walk through the fall weather is amazing: the unexplainable smell, bundling up in sweaters and scarves, the crunchy reddish brown leaves under your boots, avoiding the soggy green orangey yellow ones, mini puddles reflecting the cloudy grey sky…you know what I’m talking about!

Entering this month of November, we are reminded of Thanksgiving. Today I came across a quote by Elisabeth Elliot in her book “Keep a Quiet Heart” that took my mind to the book of Colossians (quote is at the bottom of the page for those of you who are too curious to wait). As I read the second chapter, these verses grabbed a hold of my thoughts:

Colossians 2:6-7

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.”

Because we have received Christ, we have the responsibility to live in Him. We are to be rooted and built up in Christ and established in the faith. But I want us to draw our attention to the last phrase “abounding therein with thanksgiving.” This phrase is at the end, not to imply less importance, but to bring to light that this should be a recurring and constant action. As we are being rooted and built up in Christ we are to abound in thanksgiving. While we are being established in the faith, our thanks should never cease.

Jesus is Lord in every season of our lives, and that is cause enough for a grateful and trusting heart. Do I really believe that He is Lord of all seasons?

“If I can’t give thanks, trust, and worship the Lord in every ‘season,’ in the face of any set of facts which may touch my life, I am not really a believer.”

–Elisabeth Elliot

Step Out of Your Self-Pleasing Bubble

So many times we get caught up in our own lives: get up, go where we need to go, get done what we need to do, see the people we need to see, eat the food we need to eat, sleep and do the same thing the next day. It is a constant cycle and it is so easy to get wrapped up in ourselves. As a Bible college student, it is easy to get into a routine of classes, chapel, work, homework, hardly any sleep, classes, chapel, work, homework, hardly any sleep, classes…you get the idea.

The routine things of life are not bad, in fact, it is important to have a routine and organization in your life. But what and who is the focus?

This past Saturday was an eventful day: there was a funeral, a wedding, and several birthdays. Think about all that is involved in each.

• Funeral: a daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, church member, friend passed away. Those who knew her were reminded of her life and service to Christ. Those who did not know her were encouraged by her testimony. Several people were saved during this home going service.
• Wedding: the union of two growing Christians and faithful church members who are a testimony to those around them. Two people with great potential and desire to serve the Lord were made one and will go on to glorify Christ with their lives.
• Birthday: celebration of birth, of a life entering into the world. These people have impacted many people’s lives around them and continue to be faithful which encourages those who watch and follow.

A funeral, a wedding, and birthdays. None of these events had anything to do with me; I barely knew the people involved. As I woke up on Saturday morning, well aware of all that was going to happen that day, I was excited to be busy, stressed and pressured. But my motive began somewhat selfishly: I enjoy being busy; I find fulfillment and satisfaction in it. As the day went on and I attended and served in each event, my perspective changed.

At the funeral, I remembered how it felt to lose a grandparent and I remembered that others have the same feelings I had. As an elderly lady sat in a wheelchair and sobbed, I realized that she has pains and feelings I do not understand. This funeral was not about me being busy and helping make sure the food for the reception was ready, it was about being compassionate and understanding to the needs of others.

At the wedding, I got sentimental (as most girls do at weddings) and thought how wonderful it was that a glowing bride walked down the aisle toward her waiting groom to join in marriage. This wedding was not about me making sure the nursery workers were in their place, or about me making sure the cake was on its way or that everyone had their corsages. This wedding was about the union that was glorifying to God and two lives brought together as one to help each other be better servants of Christ.

The birthdays were not about me wishing them a happy birthday or thanking the people for the influence they have been in my life. These birthdays were about lives that were given by God to use for His glory and to continue faithfully.

So many things go on in the world around us, and they really have nothing to do with us. But why can we not see past these things and see the people involved and what it means to them? What is the eternal value? How much will it kill you to stop thinking of yourself and put others before you? Step out of your self-pleasing bubble and look to someone in need.

Matthew 16:14 – Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

To be a disciple of Jesus, we need to stop thinking of ourselves, deny our pleasures and get our focus on following Christ.

12 years, and more to come

August 10th, 2001 - This day is the day I made the most important decision of my life; the day I received hope, forgiveness and eternal life. 12 years ago today I realized my wickedness kept me from God and my weakness hindered me from ever being able to reach Him. But most importantly, I also realized the unconditional love that God extends towards me and the forgiveness He offers. Not only did I realize what He was holding out to me, but I also chose to receive it. I repented and asked for forgiveness for my sins and became a child of God.

I have not been as loving, faithful or forgiving as I should be, but I thank the Lord I am not what I used to be.

Because of Jesus:

I am a child of the King.

I am a new creature.

I am a sinner saved by grace.

I am forgiven.

I am accepted.

I am seen as spotless.

I am more than a conqueror.

I am loved.

I am still in awe at the love Christ shows to me when I am so undeserving. His unending mercy and forgiveness overwhelm me. I am thankful for my mom whom God used to bring me to the foot of the cross where I left my sins and follow Christ.

"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future. Life is worth the living just because He lives."

Thank you Lord for loving me and saving me. Help me to continue to grow in You and reflect your light for your glory. May I love You more and more and may my life be a living testimony of You.

I want the same prayer that was Betty Scott Stam's to be mine:

"Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes,

All my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life.

I give myself, my time, my all,

Utterly to Thee to be Thine forever.

Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit,

Use me as Thou wilt,

Work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost,

Now and forever."

Looking back on the last 12 years in Christ, what can I do to make the next 12 count for eternity?

"That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else."
-I Kings 8.60

I Don't Know What I Am Waiting On!!!!!

Waiting...ugg!!! They (whoever "they" is) say patience is a virtue, I say it is a virtue I do not have. Very few people are experts in waiting. Just go to any place with a line, whether it be a restaurant or a store, and you will hear people complain, mumble and grumble about the wait. The majority of these people know what they are in line for, therefore, they will stay until they get their product. But what if the people did not know what they were waiting for? Most of them would undoubtedly leave. The few remaining would stay out of curiosity.

What are we waiting for? When we do not know what we are waiting for, we do not see the value in waiting. How many times have we found ourselves saying, "I'm waiting on God?" But in reality, we do not know what we are waiting for. Perhaps we wait on getting the answer we want, or for things to go our way, or we wait on our own selves, our desires...not on the Lord.

Use Your Heart, Not Your Head

As children we have all heard it before, and as adults, Mom's saying continues to ring in our minds: "Honey, use your head!" She was and continues to be right. We could have avoided so many things if we would have just used our common sense.

But sometimes God calls us to do otherwise.

Proverbs 3.5
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."

We spend so much time and effort into studying God's Word and developing our knowledge of Christ. This is not wrong, but many times we neglect our hearts. God wants us to trust Him with our hearts, not our heads.

How many times have we told ourselves, "I shouldn't eat this" or "I shouldn't do this?"
Our reason can be correct, but it does nothing for us if we do not apply it.

Our knowledge of Christ is so very important and we should never cease to further develop it. But all our knowledge and reason do nothing for us if it stays in our heads. The Lord warns against leaning on our own understanding. When the Lord asks us to do something that seems unreasonable, do we refuse because of the lack of reason in it? How does our reason reason with the Lord?

He tells us, "I know it does not make sense, but that is why you must TRUST me!"
Trust God with your HEART!
Though knowledge and reason are important, let us not neglect our hearts' fellowship with the Father!

Weakness vs. Power

“Once someone gets used to something bad, he no longer hopes for something better.”

This statement was made about the poverty in India. People were refusing to have better things because they were comfortable with what they had. Even if these things would have made their life easier, healthier and better, they did not want it. They were used to their poverty and never hoped for anything better.

We have gotten so used to our poverty. By “poverty” I refer to our lack of strength, our weakness. We forget we can be strong. We forget we can have Christ’s power and live an abundant life.