He's Worth Following

I'm still in the process of working through Beth Moore's study "Breaking Free" with two girls I went to Australia with. It has been quite an eye-opening experience for me. It's requiring me to dig up some past memories and work through them appropiately instead of merely just trying to forget that they ever happened. I have found so much freedom from this and I have literally been "breaking free" from the bondage that my past sin has kept me in.

This morning I studied "God's Daily Rule" and one of the questions posed was: 

"Why is walking with God so much wiser and personally fulfilling than asking God to walk with us?"

I responded with something like this:

The Lord knows what is best for us, Jeremiah 29:11 couldn't make that any more clear. Why would someone who could see clearly go to the blind for guidance? The blind should jump at the opportunity to be lead by someone who can see!

Beth never ceases to amaze me with her scenarios and wisdom in putting the point into such great perspectives...this is a dialogue she wrote to follow that question.

You: "Father, are those my footprints every day, and is the second set of prints when You joined me?"

God: "No, My precious child. The consistent footprints are Mine. The second set of prints are when you joined Me."

You: "Where were you going, Father?"

God: "To the destiny I planned for you, hoping you'd follow."

You: "But, Father, where are my footprints all those times?"

God: "Sometimes you went back to look at old resentments and habits. Other times, your footprints can even be seen on another person's path because you like their plan better. At other times, you simply stopped because you would not let go of something you could not take with you."

You: "But even if I didn't walk with You every day, we ended up OK, didn't we?"

God: "Yes, child, we ended up OK. But, you see, OK was never what I had in mind for you."

You: "Father, what are those golden treasure boxes on certain days?"

God: "Blessings, My child, I had for you along the way. Those that are open are those you received. Those still closed were days you did not walk with Me."

Learning to trust and obey is an ongoing process in my life. You can't do one without the other, they're interdependent of each other. Saying you trust Him, but then neglect to do what He says is showing that trust was never present.

My discipler challenged me yesterday with this: make sure your faith is the same in your mind, your thoughts and your actions. They all should produce the same result, if not...there is work to be done, motives to be evaluated and a heart to be checked.

"For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." -Jeremiah 29:11-13

It's a classic, but these are the lyrics that came to mind this morning while spending time with the Lord...

Trust and Obey

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.
But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

[Can you say that you trust and obey this truth from God?]

Tried and True

"Our true happiness is to be realized precisely through his refusals, which are always mercies." -Elisabeth Elliot

Refusal hurts. I know from experience. It crushes pride and any sort of self-satisfaction mindset.
But it is necessary; necessary for us to experience true happiness.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of God's refusal is Jesus in the garden.

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." -Luke 22:42

Jesus didn't want to die. He asked His Father to spare His life that night in Gethsemane. But as we know, God did take His life. But what did it bring? Eternal safety, ultimate joy, true happiness...to those who believe.

I know this is a pretty intense example of God's refusal, but it proves the same point. God refuses things so that we may see Him better. If we are given everything we want, our lives would be filled with so many "substitutions" for God. We would find our happiness in tangible, temporary things. God teaches us that He is all we need. Refusing us something doesn't mean that God doesn't care; it means that He has something better in store for us, something that will bring us far more happiness that what He refused us.


This poem was used in a sermon I read titled "When God Says No"
It's a good one, if you want to check it out, click here.

Tell Me Why
I sat beside a tiny crib and watched a baby die, and the parents slowly turned to me and said, "Preacher, tell us why?"
And I walked away from the nursery where still born babies lie, and a mother stretches out her empty arms and says, "Preacher, oh preacher, tell me why?"
I saw a young girl's burning tears and heard her lonely cry, as she held an unused wedding gown and said, "Preacher, oh preacher, tell me why?"
I heard the cancer patient say, "Tis gain for me to die." Then I looked at her husband crying and whispered to myself, "I wonder why?"
I've seen a father take his life and the widow stands near by, and the little children say, "Mom, we'll ask the preacher and he'll tell us why?"
I've seen a mother stand beside a little grave and cry, and though she never let me know I knew she wondered why.
I've heard an orphan family faintly say as they gazed up in the sky, "Though mom and dad have gone away, I think the preacher will tell us why."
So I tip-toed to my Father's throne, so timid and so shy, to say, "Dear God, some of your own, they're wanting to know why?"
Then I heard him say so tenderly, "Their eyes I will gladly dry, but they must look through faith today, tomorrow they will know why.
If now they find the reasons why their hopes have gone awry, in heaven they'll miss the joy of hearing me tells them why."
And so I find it pleases Him, whenever I can testify, I'll trust my God to do my best and wait and then He'll tell me why.

 

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4

 

We can hold true to this verse. Refusal isn't complete rejection, it usually is God just trying to tell us that our timing for this desire isn't quite what He had in mind. Therefore, He denies it so that we may wait for Him and trust His timing.

Live in Harmony, Love Unconditionally

Photo Shoot of my beautiful house :)
-you can see all of the pictures on Facebook, but here are a few.

New Blog

I'm keeping this blog, don't you worry.

But I felt like I wanted another blog where I could write/post about my other passions: 

Recipes, Running and Reading.

You should check it out :)

"Recently Played" Count is High.

I can't stop listening to my new downloads, a Jesus Culture album and The City Harmonic album. Check them out:
#1 on my list
#2 coming in close second

I strongly suggest buying these songs. You won't regret it, I promise.

Bello. Hermoso. Beautiful

I have been reading through the Psalms. It has been so incredible. My purpose for picking psalms...I want to learn and experience prayer as David did. Prayer stole my heart about a year ago and the Lord has been transforming my heart since. 

I read this one the other day and wanted to share.

"Arise, Lord! Life up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, 'He won't call me into account'? But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out. The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." -Psalm 10

How often I find myself trapped in Satan's net. He makes me believe that I don't need God; I can reach my workout/running goals myself, I can find a boyfriend, I can lead prayer, I can be an effective disciple. I believe these things. I get caught up in the schemes thinking I can control them. I fail every time. I fall under Satan's strength.

That is what makes the gospel so beautiful. The Lord, in a sense, is the best "professor" anyone could want. i am constantly failing the pop quizes, on occassion I'll pass a few. But despite my failure, He still passes me. He never gives up in "tutoring" me, even when He know I'm not always listening. His grace is what always captivates me; it's what always draws me back to Him. he does see trouble and grief. He does encourage me and forgive my sinfulness.

Before I knew Him, I was afraid. I didn't know how to make things right. But now, He has made it so "the man who is of the earth, may terrify no more." I know where I'm going to spend eternity. I am confident that the Spirit guides me.

But as a sinner, the focus sometimes strays. That is the beauty of the gospel.

"I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands." -Psalm 119:176

"For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." -1 Peter 2:25

"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way." -Isaiah 53:6

Reading this psalm a few days ago and then hearing how perfectly this morning's sermon at Aletheia related shows me that the Lord does not want me to forget this truth. He wants it on the forefront of my mind. The beauty of the gospel.

"By falsely living out the Bible, we are trying to rewrite it." -Paul Fiske

We cannot create true rest as hard as we may try. Our Creator is the only one who knows how to grant us this gift.

Worth It.

Diligence. Effort. Passion.

That's what it takes to see results. 

Diligence: constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of mind and body.

Effort: exertion of mental or physical power; an earnest or strenuous attempt

Passion: intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm or desire for something.

I've learned the meaning and importance of these three words in the process of training for a half-marathon and saw the results on Sunday. A half-marathon is a pretty big deal (for some people at least). 13.1 miles is quite the distance. 

I was never a runner. All through high school I played volleyball, basketball and softball...sports that required sprints, not long-distance endurance. Coming to college I wasn't playing sports year round anymore...so therefore I needed to find something else to replace that. I chose running. I hated it at first. The first time I talked myself into running, I think I may have gotten 3/4 of a mile before giving up. I was pitiful. But for some reason, I couldn't stop doing it. 

By the end of my freshman year, I could run maybe 2 miles. I've been running ever since maxing out at about 5 miles. This past summer, I decided to take a leap of faith. I registered for a half-marathon in May, giving myself 4 months to prepare and train. Here's where diligence, effort and passion come into play.

I had a passion for running. I loved how I felt after finishing, I loved the time I got to spend with God while I was running, and I loved the idea of getting a great cardio workout.

It was an effort. Strenuous and time-consuming. And most of all, it took diligence..a lot of it. 

This summer wasn't necessarily the most ideal time to train, mainly because I was out of the country for the crucial 6 weeks of training, but nonetheless...I ran whenever I had the chance. Waking up at 5am this past Sunday really made it all become real to me. All of the training, all of the time, and all of the money spent on upbeat music on iTunes was finally being tested. The run was long, painful, dehydrating and lonely. But it was the most rejuvenating, rewarding and joyful experience ever.

It took so much work, time, patience and dedication...but in the end the result was completely worth it. Driving 4 hours back to school on Sunday after the race, I had time to reminse on the entire process and this is what i concluded: running a half-marathon = relationship with God

Knowing God takes work. 

Diligence. Effort. Passion.

Diligence in reading His Word and coming to Him daily in prayer.

Effort in applying what you read to your life and loving others as Christ would.

Passion for reaching the lost, passion for making it the purpose of your life, and passion for His intimacy.

Hard work does not go without reward. God's love and grace is such a joyous result, and "running that race" will be seen as completely worth it.

Diligence. Effort. Passion.

Are you up for it?