Your Story isn't about you 2.0.

After I wrote yesterday's post I realized i had so much more to say on the subject so here goes round two.

Me: God, can I ask You a question?

God: Sure

Me: Promise You won't get mad

God: I promise

Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?

God: What do you mean?

Me: Well, I woke up late

God: Yes

Me: My car took forever to start

God: Okay

Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait

God: Huummm

Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call

God: All right

Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?

God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one
of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that

Me (humbled): OH

GOD: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.

Me: (ashamed)

God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn't want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn't afford to miss work.

Me (embarrassed):Okay

God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.

Me (softly): I see God

God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a short that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.

Me: I'm Sorry God

God: Don't be sorry, just learn to Trust Me.... in All things , the Good & the bad.

Me: I will trust You.

God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.

Me: I won't God. And let me just tell you God, 8Thank You for Everything today.

God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children...




Doesn't this story just explain it all? Naturally we gravitate towards selfishness, but God wants what's best for us. Even when we want to throw ourselves a pity party and say thanks a lot God you weren't any help today. How often do you think he really has your back?

When your day doesn't go as planned. When someone doesn't act the way you want them to. When your plans don't work out. You have two options you can sit and pout and be selfish and be angry with God or you can humble yourself and say God what am I supposed to learn from this show me what you need me to do. Make your will known to me. The story isn't about us!

When my grandmother passed away and I met my mother in the hospital and she told me the news I was angry. I screamed and yelled and I was furious with God I told my mom that my grandmother would never leave me without saying goodbye to me. She never let me go anywhere without saying goodbye and telling me she loved me. In all my fury my mother looked at me and said I was the last person my grandmother talked to that day and her last words on this Earth were when she told me  goodbye and I love you that morning. In that exact moment my selfishness fell to the floor and my heart broke wishing that her last words had been shared with my mom. I knew in that moment that her death wasn't about me or the beautiful woman I had lost but God all the wonderful things God had done through her. God blessed me with her last words before she went to her heavenly home. See the story wasn't about me. God had done a beautiful work in my grandmother during her years on this Earth she was an Earthly extension of Christ-like love for so many people it is astounding, but even she knew who her maker was and she knew she was nothing without him.

So often today we forget that God knows every hair on your head every thought in your mind and He is there for you during every mountain top and every valley during your life. Without Him we are nothing. He gave us this life to be extensions of Christ-like love. This life is but a blip of our eternity why waste it being selfish? Who will you live for? When your time is up here on this Earth will you be able to say "I used every talent you gave me Lord to spread your love"? Will you be able to stand before the King and not say you wasted a single moment on this Earth? Don't waste it our days are few in the grand scheme of things. Tell the ones you love them and let them know who you are living for. Will the ones you love have any doubts about where you will be after you've left this Earth?

Your story isn't about you

I heard someone who is early in his career and I have no doubt will be a well known actor in a short time say in regards to his career "It stopped being about me a long time ago". His words pierced my heart, because I know I struggle with remembering that my story isn't about me. The truth is I am a creation of God and I shouldn't be worried about me I should be worried about how I'm using my numbered days to honor God.

The truth is more often than not we intend of being Christ-like but our follow through is just not there. So we take bits and pieces of scripture and what we think being Christ-like is and twist to work for us. We take the parts of being a Christian that we like or that are easy once more making the story about ourselves, but its not about us.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5: 22-26

Do you possess all of the fruits of the Spirit? Or just the convenient ones? Do you put on a mask and pretend that everything is okay that you are perfectly aligned with Christ when  you really are just lost and confused? Do you where the mask of these fruits of the Spirit so no one will know you are a sinner? Well guess what we ALL sin and fall short of God's glory. We all struggle and get lost or confused. We have to take the mask off, because the mask is for us it does not glorify God.

Choose one of the fruits that you are struggling with and take steps towards possessing that fruit in order to glorify God. You can't compare your story to anyone else's because God didn't write the same story twice. We have to find a way to live each day each hour each minute to glorify God. Only then has our story stopped being about us and become about our Creator.

Your Body is a Temple

1 Corinthians 6:15-20
"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."

Our bodies are a temple, so why don't we treat them like they are? I believe that our bodies are spiritual and physical temples. We should be taking care of our bodies on a spiritual level and a physical one. Here's the thing God tells us "Honor God with your bodies" it doesn't say that you must honor God by having zero body fat, or by working out everyday. I think that scripture was intentionally vague in this area, because God loves us despite how much we weight or how often we go to the gym. That does not mean we should neglect our bodies and do whatever we want.

It is my belief that God intended for us to take care ourselves spiritually and physically in different ways from one another. For example, I listen to worship music in the car on my way to work I pray throughout the day and I read a devotional at night, I like to run on occasion and I frequently do yoga. Now who of you has the exact same spiritual and physical routine as me? Probably none of you reading this. God gave us free will and choice He allows us to choose how we take care of ourselves

Take care of yourself in whatever that looks for you. Forget about what the world says. Set your own goals and take steps to achieve them. See a doctor regularly. Family history of disease doesn't just decided to go away on its own you have to decide. You decide that you look beautiful or handsome. You decide that your love for yourself and Gods love is enough and that you won't be changed by the world. You have to love you and you have to stand up for you spiritual and physical health.


"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6


"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2: 8-10

Keep fighting the good fight

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Where there is light there too is darkness. The brighter your light shines the more the enemy wants to destroy it. I absolutely love this verse with every ounce of my being. So let's break it down, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace" in Christ alone we will have peace! Not money, not fame, fortune, not status, not a good job, not on the opinion of others, not in ANYTHING else only Christ can give us that peace. Those who know the Lord know the peace that I'm talking about the peace that looks chaos right in the face and says nope God's got this. That kind of overwhelming peace. "In this world you will have trouble." Scripture doesn't say for those who follow the Lord you get a free pass to the trouble free life. It doesn't say you'll have trouble when you live outside of my will. It doesn't say you'll have trouble sometimes. It doesn't say you might have trouble or maybe not. It says you WILL have trouble! But then comes a beautiful promise from God. "But, take heart! I have overcome the world." Isn't that amazing? God says whatever trouble you are facing let my peace overwhelm your heart, because I've already overcome the world so I can take care of your troubles no problem! To me that is one of the most beautiful promises God makes us. If we just get out of our own head and let him overwhelm our heads and hearts he is more than capable of overcoming our troubles.

Mark 15:33-39 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

As horrific as it must have been to witness the slow death of Jesus if you take His last few moments can't we sometimes identify with his loneliness. Don't we all find ourselves crying out to God, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" We've all felt at some point or another like we've fallen away from God like he's abandoned us, but little do we know he's about to tear the veil and reveal to us his plan if we can just hold on. There is NOTHING I repeat NOTHING you can do to make God stop pursuing you. He never gives up on us it is us who give up on God.

 2 Timothy 1:7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.   God didn't create us to be timid he creates us to love with a mighty power and funny enough he gives us self-discipline. I know it feels like that stuff flies out of the window the second times get tough, but that is exactly what we should lean on. God made you capable he gave you all the tools to keep fighting. So often in society I hear people say God doesn't ever give you anything you can't handle and I'm sure I was guilty of saying those very words, but I've come to realize that I don't really think that's true. If we always do what we've always done then we'll always be what we've always been. If we never push a little harder and bare a little more weight then we thought we could we never grow stronger. Think of it in terms of working out if you always bench 100 pounds and never add weight then you will always bench 100 pounds. If you add weight then you get a little stronger!

God made you strong and courageous. He made you fearless and He walks with you through every storm. Do not give in to the world. Do not listen when the world says your not good enough. Do not listen when the world says you aren't strong enough. Do not listen when the world says you can't handle it. Do not listen to any words that can't be used to build you up. If God is for us who can be against us? The enemy wants to break down all that God has built up in you- DON'T let him.

I pray for you.

Philippians 4:6
^"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Isaiah 43:2
"When you pass through the waters,  I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

Psalm 61:2-3
"From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe."

Psalm 126:1-2
"I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live."

Matthew 28:11
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Prayer. The verses above all have prayer as the common theme. If we can do nothing we can pray. Enemies pray for them. Best friend pray for them. Family pray for them. Friends pray for them. Spouse pray for them. Children pray for them. Parents pray for them. Sick pray for them. Brokenhearted pray for them. Educators pray for them. Armed forces pray for them. Pastors pray for them. Small group leaders pray for them. Strangers pray for them.

I can not begin to explain how important prayer is. God called us to this Earth to reach others in His name. The best ways I have found to do that is lead a Christ centered life. Others will take notice and be intrigued and you will have an opportunity to share your faith. Second is to pray for people we can not force anyone in to believing the way we do, so we must pray for God to soften their hearts and allow themselves to be open to God's word.

I was recently told two important things about sharing God's word. First being that the easiest way of sharing God's love is by sharing your testimony. If your like me that probably freaks you out or maybe you think your story isn't worth sharing. Newsflash God is the Author and Perfector of your story so YES it is worthy of being shared, and second you can turn ANY and EVERY conversation about God! Yes it is possible trust me.

So start simple pray for the people in your life the good, bad, and the messy, because here's the thing God hates the sin and loves the sinner. Then pray for God to give you an opportunity each day to share His love and His word with someone new. Watch what happens I promise God can do far greater things with our prayers and petitions than we ever could dream of. Every night give every person you know over to God yourself included, because God is writing the story and SPOILER it ends GOOD!

If your reading this I'm praying for you constantly. I pray God wraps you up in his arms and finds was to let His light shine through on even the darkest days. I pray you never give up fighting the good fight. I pray you strength, wisdom, and peace no matter what life hands you. I pray you lean on God when you have no where else to turn. I pray you know your never alone in this world. I pray you know that you are loved. I pray you never forget that you are a child of the one true King. I pray you don't let anyone steal your joy. I pray you find a way to shine your light on this seemingly dark world. I pray you know that this is just your temporary home. I pray you know that actions here can have eternal endings. I pray you walk with God each day of your life. I pray for you.

Missionaries

"He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16: 15-16
 
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14: 18

In these verses God encourages us to go spread his name among all creation and that he will not abandon us. I love this quote I read recently "It's not where you are it's the mission that makes you a missionary!" Have you every thought about it like that? Or did you think that you had to be on a mission trip to be a missionary maybe you thought you needed to leave the country or leave your state to do mission work. The bible says that isn't true anywhere we go we have the ability to share God's name and that makes us missionaries. 

• At your favorite coffee shop.
• At the grocery store.
• At school.
• At work.
• At the gym.
• At your favorite restaurant.
• In your neighborhood.
• In line at the movie theater.
• In the mall.
• In the state you live.
• In other states.
• In other countries.

Wherever you are there is always an opportunity to share the word of God. Don't let your own idea of where mission work must take place get in the way of sharing your faith.

We must seek opportunities daily to worship the God who created you! By doing this we need to become Kingdom focused and stop being self focused. By spreading the word of God we will have to make sacrifices in our lives. "He must become greater; I must become less." John 3:30. We will need to sacrifice time, money, material things, status, our sin, our self, our stuff and so much more to be effective in allowing God to be greater and to spread His love and name.

I pray God gives you an opportunity to spread His name each day. I know He will equip you with the right words and the confidence to step out boldly in your faith.  
 

Flawless

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day." Genesis 1: 1-5

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day."
Genesis 1:27 & 31

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
Psalm 139: 13-14

From these verses we learn that God created the Heavens and the Earth and He created you and me. The phrase it was good is frequently used in Genesis referencing God's perspective of what He was creating. Do you ever just know you did a good job? That's how God felt when He was busy creating the Heavens and the Earth and everything in between! We know that God makes NO mistakes and that He is a perfect God therefore we can conclude that nothing God created has a single flaw or imperfection from His vantage point. That includes you and me. We were made flawless in our Heavenly Father's eyes and nothing we can do or say will change that.

Stand next to a large body of water or a forest or mountain take a deep breath and look around you God made it ALL and he made it flawless. Not a single flower, tree, river, lake, mountain, forest was made imperfectly they were each created with extreme detail and the utmost perfection.  Take for a moment and reflect on Psalm 139 knitting is a very detailed task each stitch must be made intentionally and with perfect execution. Now think about yourself think of all the details that make you- YOU. God knit all these details together in order to make a perfect creation. He made YOU FLAWLESS.
 
The world wants you to believe that you are full of flaws, but that's just not true. The world says you aren't smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough, tall enough, skinny enough, and on and on the lies go. God says the cross made you ENOUGH!

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12: 9-10


Dear God, when I feel like I'm an imperfect mess remind me that I am your creation. When the world beats me down and tells me I'm not enough pour your grace over me. Lord we are all just broken people, but through you we are made whole. Thank you for the cross and making us in your likeness, Amen.

Finding the one whom your soul loves

So if the topic of love, dating, or marriage is something you've been thinking about often first I'd like to point you to read the book of Ruth and the Song of Solomon (Songs). These two books of the Bible offer great perspectives on how Christ-like dating and marriage should happen. If you'd like a little more on the subject The Mingling of Souls by Matt Chandler is awesome he breaks down the Song into modern terms and how it would look in Today's society!

I am not married, but I look to the Bible for how Christian dating should look. First and foremost your heart must belong to God. Perfect for humans is near impossible, but you should strive for a great relationship with you maker. Be in constant communication with Him and when the time is right let Him know that you feel you are ready to date if it is His will. The key is God's will and His timing.

At the point in time when God's will and ours align and you meet someone I feel honesty is of the utmost importance. Put all your expectations, concerns, and baggage out on the table if the other person does not have similar expectations this may not be the right relationship or you may have some things work out. If they are not understanding of your concerns and willing to work through them I repeat this may not be the right relationship, and if they are not accepting of your bagging it REALLY is not the right relationship for you. Your heart is not something to compromise over you should have qualities that you are looking for in a mate that are nonnegotiable. Some need to make this list a physical thing that they write down and keep with them for others it can just be a mental checklist either way know what your are looking for and what you want no part of. The reality is we all have expectations and just as others are not meeting our expectations we are not meeting theirs be mindful of that. Also remember you are entering a relationship with a real live human sinner they are going to make mistakes and so are you its how you handle the mistakes that define your relationship.


Prayer has to be a vital part of the relationship. You should both be offering one another to God, for protection, guidance, patience, peace, anything your significant other needs. Society says that physical touch and intimacy should be vital parts of your dating relationship. God says NO! He designed us with these desires yes, but they were intended for marriage. Many believe that the Song of Songs is a sexually explicit book of the Bible, but if you walk through it slowly and analyze its a beautiful love story of a couple that.... you guessed it GETS MARRIED! I don't promise it will be easy. I don't promise that if you choose this path it will come without ridicule and judgment. I don't promise that this path always works out with a happy ending. But I do promise that this is how God wants us to pursue relationships.


Relationships are not easy they take commitment and work. Once marriage happens you can't stop dating King Solomon didn't stop dating his wife. Constantly seek to improve your marriage ask hard questions, How am I meeting your expectations? How am I not meeting your expectations? Matt Chandler says " Maybe you'll find it oddly comforting to know that conflict is a natural part of being married. It doesn't mean conflict is always great. It doesn't mean that a conflict-filled marriage is a good thing that doesn't need a lot of work. Just because two Christians love Jesus and love each other doesn't mean all of life is going to be smooth sailing." He is right it takes work and love to keep your marriage alive. Never go to bed angry. Fight for your spouse. Iron sharpens iron you two are on the same team. Reflect Christ-like patience. Do not let your pride get in the way of your marriage. Encourage each other. Pray for each other. "An integral part of marriage's design is the sanctifying work that takes place between two sinners in close proximity, learning to love each other." Matt Chandler is really a genius!

Don't worry you don't have to be at this point in your life at this exact moment, but it doesn't hurt to ask God to start preparing your heart. Dear God, I ask that you prepare the hearts of those reading this. I ask that you prepare the hearts of those whom they will one day marry. Allow them to pursue relationships the way you have asked us to. Give us patience to wait for your timing and not to rush relationships. Thank for giving us the opportunity to love someone, Amen.

 

Children of the King

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. 1 John 3: 1-10


Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.  Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:11- 16

We are children of the King. I was fortunate enough to be raised by loving parents who know who their creator is and made sure I knew too. I sincerely apologize if this was not your experience, but know this- your heavenly Father never left your side. Like I said I have amazing supportive parents that never missed a game, recital, or competition, and it took me a long time to realize that not everyone had this kind of parents. God has called us to go forth make disciples. This for me means children. What I can't quite wrap my head around is those who have made disciples, but aren't nurturing their young disciples. It absolutely blows me away that our youth is not being pour into from the home front. I repeat we ARE children of the King in 1 John we are called to be like Christ. Christ made disciples not when it was convenient or when he felt like it, but constantly. God doesn't give up on us because we had a bad day or because we fell short, so why do we do it?  

I fear we've taken God's word and apply it when it is convenient. Someone I look up to and is deeply rooted in his faith said in regards to his children, "They can be trashmen if that's what they want, but Jesus loving trashmen. They can be college scholars, but Jesus loving college scholars. Whatever they choose to be I will support, but they know who comes first, God." I absolutely love it! This is how God feels about us! We don't have to be CEO or MVP on the team for God to love us more. He loves us no matter our occupation or social status. Now don't get me wrong I'm not encouraging our youth to be drop outs, but I'm saying we can encourage them in all their endeavors as well as lead them to live for Christ. We can pray for our children as well as pray for our parents. The truth is God knew what he was doing when he gave you to your parents. He had a plan. Maybe that plan was for you to be a 1 Timothy child and lead your family to Christ. Whatever God's plan for you it absolutely involved making disciples.

Here's my prayer for you, Lord I pray that you help us to make disciples and that we start at home and then I ask that you give us all an opportunity to disciple someone in our lives each day. Open our eyes to the people you want us to reach. Take over our hearts allow us to reflect your love with encouragement to those around us. Help us to make you known. We ask these things in your name, Amen.

Quiet time with God

 

 

 

 

 

 

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

1 John 4:4-6

 

 

The world has been overrun by technology. It is everywhere you look all the time everyday. It's constantly evolving. Not too long ago in the past teenagers had no cell phones or tablets or smart watches fast forward to present time and you'd be hard pressed to find a teen without one or all of these products. I myself own technology as well this post is not to bash technology, because I think in many ways it has been a blessing. we have changed medicine with the help of technology we have changed the way students learn with technology we have improved the way we reach the masses with vital information with technology, and the list goes on and on.

 

The question I really want to ask you is are you taking time each day to escape the worldly noise and technology and fellowship with God? Are you unplugging for a set time and devoting that to growing in your relationship with God? Are you talking to Him during that time telling him Thank you for your blessings as well as trials?

 

I love love love that the Krush takes all devices away from its students during camp. I know someone out there thinks a week without devices mint be the way they die, but I tell you it unplug the world from your heart. See your a Child of the King not a child of the world! One of my students had the best answer when I gave them their phones back just before we left Florida and the girls starred checking Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and all the other social media sites vital for teenage survival in 2015. Several girls groaned "No one text me all week except my mom". Oh and this sweet girl stole the words right out of my mouth she responded, "Doesn't that say a lot to you? Doesn't that show you who your real friends are?"  She has no clue she is wise WAY beyond her years, but man did I love her answer! Isn't it true? Even as adults when we are technology free for some amount of time and we didn't miss any calls, emails, text messages, snap chats, or whatever don't we get are feelings hurt? That's because we are placing too much value in our technology and not enough in God. 

 

For camp we had prescheduled Jesus and Me time and I loved it! We escaped to the beach or the pool or just lounged in bed and took timeout of the day to talk to God and be in His word. I love the app She Reads Truth they have devotional series that you can and scripture you can read. I also love the page Quite Women Co. on Instagram that also does devotionals for women. Apps like Biblegateway have the options of devotional and reading through the bible in a year. I love these as options to be in the word of God. (If you have any cool guy versions of this let me know and I will add them I am unaware of any). The point is we should be making time for God in our daily lives. Maybe for you that looks like reading your devotional before bed. Or maybe reading the bible with your morning coffee. Or worship music in the car and open dialogue with God during your commute. What ever time with God looks like for you be sure to make it a priority, because God makes you a priority everyday.

 

 

 

 

J.O.Y.

Jesus. Others. Yourself.

Is this how your list of priorities looks?
If we are honest it's probably not. If we are being honest it usually looks like Yourself. Others. Jesus., but that's not what God wants for our lives. He wants to be our top priority and we should honor His wishes, because through Him we have eternal life through Him our sins are forgiven and He is always going to put us first and He is always going to fight for us.

We are selfishly wired human beings. Don't getting me wrong some people are completely selfless, but those people have to find a balance of being selfless and still caring about themselves. I have my selfish moments and selfless ones too I'm still trying to find the balance of loving others first and saving some love and application for myself. We were put on this Earth to do life together to care for out fellow man, so why are we so quick to judge and bring down others around us? Why can't we spread love like wildfire?

When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!
John 13: 31-38

If you know the story of Peter you understand our priorities can get messed up easily even if we love Christ with all our hearts. I mean look at this Jesus straight up told Peter that when it mattered most he would deny Jesus. He knew and yet he still loved Peter! Isn't that amazing? He knows we aren't going to get it right all the tome but he wants us to try and put Him first, others second and ourselves last. 

Yourself. Are you telling yourself everyday that you are a Child or the King? Do you say I am loved by the most high? I am perfect in the eyes of my Creator. You are forgiven. You are important. You are beautiful/ handsome. You are worthy of love. You are incredible. I am truly sorry if you do not get to hear these things from the ones around you and I pray that will change for you.

Worship Fearlessly

Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King.  Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. Psalm 149: 1-5

Let me tell you a few stories. In 2014 I was a driver for a weekend event for the Krush known as REVIVE. One night I was waiting in the café with the rest of the drivers as the students concluded their lesson and worship service. That night I heard a sound I will never forget- the students were having worship and you could hear the worship leader singing to the kids and the kids singing along to previous songs, but the last song was different a beautiful sound of teenagers praising our Lord louder than the band. All you could hear was students loud and proud singing praises to their King. It was an incredible moment for me. A year later I was a leader for this same event and was right their along side these fearless teens. They taught me how to worship they never stop moving they are 100% in the moment singing to God without fear of what is going on either side of them. In that moment all that matters is the beautiful exchange unfolding with their Savior. Tears stream down their face, hands lifted high, praises pour out of their mouth truly fearless worship. This week I spent time with the Krush at camp and once again those kids worshipped their face off. At every breakfast, lunch, and dinner you could hear the students singing worship songs. Walk anywhere in that camp and you would hear students singing "Victory" or "Taste of Eternity" or a song written by one of their Pastors "Fearless" it would instantly put a smile on your face. Proud that these kids were choose Christ.

How about you? Do you worship fearlessly? Are you in the moment rocking the air drums or clapping along or hands raised giving the glory to God? Or are you worried about what the person beside you would think. Or maybe your running through your grocery list in your head. Maybe you think its dumb or silly, but God calls us to praise His name! Stop worrying about what the person next to you will think! If they don't want you to be devoted in your worship to the King is that really someone you want around you?