{He is close}

"the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" -psalm 34:18

this past month has been a doozy. growing up, we are so careless, and we always assume that relationships and life will stay the same, right? and then life happens. and kids become individuals, adults. and sometimes, life takes you different directions. even if we are family, we are different people.

this month, i feel like i'm learning another lesson that God wants to teach me. and i always find myself weary and exhausted in saying, "again!?? i JUST learned another lesson!"...sometimes i've heard God go, "i know...deal with it"

of course, i'm not positive He says this, but i feel it. it may be me telling myself to shut up and just do what i feel i need to do. i realize i keep learning lessons because i'm a crappy human being. i dont deserve any of the love and grace that has been given to me. but God loves me. God gives me NEW mercies every day. it amazes me! i'm loved! i'm forgiven! yet i'm such a horrible person! :)

im not iffy on sharing how i feel about this. because i think a lot of us feel this way when we re-encounter the undeserving, overwhelming love that our God has for each and every one of us.

"no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him- but God has revealed it to us by His spirit"
1 Corinthians 2:9-10

{God will NOT fail me}

   saying that "God will NOT fail me" is not a selfish thing. its not me saying i'm better than anyone, or that i have it all together. whats it saying? its saying that i believe and have faith that God fulfills HIS promises to even the least of these...me.
   in the Bible, God has SO MANY promises about love, forgiveness, salvation, the Holy spirit, everlasting love, encouragement, provision, hope, blessings, answered prayers, Christ returning, peace, joy, freedom! are you sick, depressed, disappointed, tempted, weak, afraid, doubtful, fearful, grieving, suffering, having trouble obeying authority?
   SO MANY ANSWERS...if only we took the time to read the scripture and be re-assured of Gods promises!
   "no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who LOVE HIM" 1 Corinthians 2:9
   my hope is that every day i continue to love my Savior, who has promised me every good thing that He has. sometimes i feel so stupid for being doubtful and unfaithful to Him. yet He is faithful to me.
   how unworthy! HOW LOVED! God works for the GOOD of those who LOVE HIM... such hope that we can cling too!
  

{God meets us where we are}

   something that has really been on my heart lately is the fact that God does, can and wants to meet us where we are. everyone has had a time in their life where it just seems like you need to stop. so many times i feel like giving up, i'm frustrated because i feel like my spiritual life isnt going anywhere, im persecuted,  misunderstood, ignored, feeling not useful...
  as i was driving in my car one day, i just cried out to God because i wanted my spiritual life to be out of the "dead zone". i was ready to meet God again and go on with my life.
   i guess my point is this. yes, there are times when we just want to give up and want God to meet us. but does that mean we completely ingore what God HAS done in our life and decide to start making destructive choices? or does that mean we continue to make healthy decisions to the best of our ability and ask God to help us fall in love with Him all over again. calling out to God is seeking His face with all your heart.
  
what do you think?

"Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you and you will honour me"
Psalm 50:15 
    

{making God famous}

   last week, i had the awesome and incredibly amazing opportunity to take the youth on a trip (Summer of Service at the Vineyard in Cincinnati, Ohio). as it is with every year, it is truly amazing and life changing. so much happens that week, that it takes months to debrief! that week only proves that the goodness of God can be so overwhelmingly peaceful and life changing.the great part was, was that there was no drama! in 8 years of being a youth leader, that was a FIRST! so thats why i may bring this up a few more times :)
   the theme for last week was "making God famous". how brilliant, right? the song that came to my mind all week was I Will Boast! (Jeremiah 9:23-24, 1 Cor. 1:31)
   the phrase in there that says, "i will boast in the Lord my God, i will boast in the one WHO IS WORTHY". it really hit me last week, i am not worthy. not worthy at all. but somehow God wants  us to be worthy!
   what makes me worthy? the cross! purely the blood of Christ has made me worthy.

  

 the cross makes you worthy. the cross makes you justified.

we are worthy because we are LOVED. an act of love beyond understanding.

the action of the cross is the greatest act of fame.

i just need to stop and let Christ love me. i need to recognize that what HE did made me valuable.

{expectations}

   the past year, i have been weighed down by the expectations others have set upon me. after a conversation this morning, i just wanted to yell, "maybe if you didnt expect so much of me, you wouldnt always be disappointed!" does this happen to anyone else?
   i'm expected to do a lot, but i also put expectations on others as well. are you constantly disappointed in someone? angry or hurt by how they treat you? maybe we should start thinking about how we see that person. how do we treat that person, love that person. do we respect them? if someone constantly upsets you, its OK to take a healthy step back.
   we all need the opportunity to step back and grow. grow emotionally and more in love with Jesus. if you think about it...thats ALL we need to do....
BECOME MORE IN LOVE WITH JESUS

{God is serious. so maybe we should be too}.

"this is a cause worth living for. it is a cause worth dying for. it is a cause worthy of moving urgently on. we have the gospel of Christ in us, and we do not have time to waste. some wonder if it is unfair for God to allow so many to have no knowledge of the gospel. but there is no injustice in God. the injustice lies in Christians who possess the gospel and refuse to give their lives to making it known among those who havent heard. that is unfair." (Radical by David Platt)

   lately i have been becoming more and more frustrated with Christians who claim to be doing the work of Christ, and yet not! in fact, sometimes its the complete opposite!Jeremiah 2:19 states that "your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. consider then, and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me', declares the Lord, the Lord Almightly"(this verse was used because i read it in my devotions. there are, of course many different verses and different context)
   i think, many times, we forget the wrath side of God. we justify our actions based on the fact that our God is merciful, forgiving, loving..etc. yes, He is all things and more, but we still will be held accountable.
   its time to start being more respectful of our Savior, Creator, Father and Daddy.no more justifying, no more listening to false prophets, no more beating around the bush with your friends/family.
   take God seriously. He is, and has, already been very serious.

{who we are now should not reflect who we were}

"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

   in our meeting this morning, we read 1 Corinthians 5 & 6. afterwards, in my head, i yelled, "you go Paul! tell it how it is!" how often do we hear people justify themselves? or constantly beat around the bush about their actions?
   when i confront people about a sin that i see, they automatically get angry and start to justify. sometimes i catch myself wanting to justify my own sins! SIN is SIN, christians didnt make this decision or draw this line, God did. and yes, it is our job, as christians to confront our brothers and sisters who claim to be in the faith yet do the opposite (1 Cor. 5:9-11) I love when Paul, in 6:5 says, "i say this to shame you..." wooooow!
   i grow tired and sad of seeing those who claim to be believers, yet their actions show completely opposite. you should be ashamed.
   BUT as always, there is hope with God. there is grace and forgiveness. and i love the last part of these verses. i am just now beginning to understand "freedom in Christ".

as a Christian...

...you WERE washed

...you WERE sanctified

...you WERE justified

we were bought at a price!