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Showing posts from December, 2019

Journal Entry ~ 12/31/19

Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. - 1 Peter 4:19 If God wanted our lives to be easy, they would be. But the reality is, He intends for our lives to be tools of refinement, growing us closer to Him every day. When we enter seasons of suffering, many of us begin to question God’s goodness - wondering why He would allow such difficult circumstances if He loved us. I have heard countless stories of God allowing the very thing that we fear the most to happen to us. How could a loving God allow trials and tragedy to enter our lives if He wants the best for us? These questions cause us to question God’s faithfulness and His promises. My friends, God has not been unfaithful in any way, and He does not leave His promises unfulfilled. The problem is not with God, it is with us. We are often not on the same page as God - our agendas are different, so we grow frustrated with His decision to allow something d

Journal Entry ~ 12/30/19

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. - James 1:2-3 I remember the first time I heard the promise in this passage. I thought “count it all joy” meant “keep your chin up”. Keep smiling and you’ll be okay. But that’s not what God is telling us here at all. It took me a long time to learn this, but here is the truth in this scripture - the joy comes in the refining work He does in me through the trial, and not in the trial resolving in the way I want it to end. No matter how difficult the situation in front of me, no matter how impossible or how devastating it may seem to me, God has always shown me such beauty on the other side of every single one of my trials. I feel Him changing me through each struggle, and transforming my heart, little by little, closer and closer to His image. There has always been a purpose for every trial He’s walked me through, and through the measure of the

Journal Entry ~ 12/29/19

Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. - 1 Peter 4:19 God tells us over and over in Scripture that we will suffer - learning how to suffer well for Christ is critical if we are going to find peace in the struggle. There is such comfort for me in these words.  Because we are God's children, we can know our lives are never, ever out of control. It may seem chaotic at times, and there may be things happening that we can’t stop, but we can be sure we have a God who is sovereign over it all. Our stories have already been included in the greater redemption story of this world.  God has a plan that is bigger than just us.  He has promised to fix everything that sin has broken in this world, to reign over death, to establish a new heaven and earth, and to live there with us for all of eternity.  We are part of *that* story. We can trust that His sovereign hand is over our lives, and that He is working all

Journal Entry ~ 12/28/19

Peace I leave with you;  my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither  let them be afraid. (John 14:27 ESV) When we are feeling weak, we don't need to waste energy worrying about whether or not we can cope with the challenges we face. He knows better than we do what is on the path before us, and He stands ready to help, every step of the way. He wants to give us His peace...the peace that rises above both our circumstances and our understanding, All we have to do is seek Him. The problem is that far too often, we seek ourselves. We look for ways to fix our problems that are easiest and benefit us. The trials we endure are often so heavy that we just want them to end in a way that restores our comfort and security, so our prayers fervently request that he takes our troubles away in a way that benefits us. Our focus is ourselves. We esteem comfort greater than we esteem redemption. When we are pressed, we struggle to s

Journal Entry ~ 12/27/19

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27 NIV) I know His peace. I know what it means to feel peace despite the chaos in front of me. I know what it means to few peace when I am wrongly accused and when the diagnosis comes. I know what it means to feel peace when a marriage fails, when relationships break apart, and when a child is swept away by the evil in this world. I know what it means to feel peace as I watch a loved one leave this world, or to have a baby taken too soon from my womb. I know what it means to feel peace as my financial security crumbles and my home is taken away from me. There are have been so many days I literally stand in awe at how I am blessed with the calm assurance that He is at work as I have looked into the chaos of my life. I learned many years ago that content people have peace. Contentment became something I meditated on frequently. If I w

Journal Entry ~ 12/26/19

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27 NIV) Jesus came to bring us peace. Yet, so often in life, that peace is fleeting. It’s difficult to grab ahold of for any length of time. We may find it in situations, but then something comes along to disrupt our peace and we find ourselves struggling again. The problem is we’re looking for peace in the wrong places. We’re allowing our earthly situation dictate our peace - this is why our peace is fleeting. We want things to go a certain way, and when they don’t, our peace is interrupted. We all have an image in our mind of how we define peace - how relationships should work, what our comfort looks like, and how secure we feel. When these things are all in place according to some predefined script in our minds, we feel at peace. But when those things are out of place, or not going according to plan, our peace is destroyed and we

Journal Entry ~ 12/25/19

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).  - Matthew 1:23 Sometimes I think the familiarity of a verse causes us to to lose its significance. Many of us - believers or unbelievers know this verse well. It’s on Christmas cards, in Christmas songs, movies, and it’s spoken during most Christmas services. Pause a minute on its truth. God - the omnipotent and omnipresent, infinite and eternal, Creator of the amazing universe, the One who set time in motion, put the stars in the sky and filled the oceans - stepped down from His place of glory to become a vulnerable and helpless baby. He chose to live a life of rejection and pain, of humiliation and suffering, ultimately ending in the most painful death imaginable, so that He could be with us. Even though we are broken and sinful, He wanted to make a way for us to have a relationship with Him. His desire is to be with us forever, so He willingly gave u

Journal Entry ~ 12/24/19

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).  - Matthew 1:23 God with us. Those three little words are so important to who we are and how we manage in this world. God with US. That includes you. If it includes me, it definitely includes you. If you’re wondering if you are included in the us, study the story of the people that were included in the list of 42 names at the beginning of Matthew. It’s a list of broken people, just like you and me, trying to make it in a broken world full of broken people. There were people who struggled with fear and anxiety, death and loss, broken relationships, and trials upon trials. There were adulterers and prostitute, murderers and thieves, and a host of other sinners just like you and me. This isn’t a list of elites, people who did it better than us. Its a list of the unlikely and the unworthy. It’s a list of people just like us. And the angel said to them, "

Journal Entry ~ 12/23/19

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).  - Matthew 1:23 As we end a year, we should reflect on all that has happened...the events that have taken place, how we have changed and grown. We should be able to look back on where we were this time last year and see a change.  We’re not who we should be, we’re not who we could be, but by the grace of God we’re not who we were this time last year. We should be growing more and more aware of ‘God with us’ with every year that passes. God is with us. In these words we find the comfort and the strength of knowing Jesus’ continued presence. But what’s the purpose of His continued presence within you? The Holy Spirit dwells with you to make you more like Jesus. We don’t have the power to do that on our own, we need the Spirit. No amount of will power behind a New Year’s resolution to be or do something better than we did last year is enough to make it happ

Journal Entry ~ 12/22/19

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).  - Matthew 1:23 Immanuel is one of the most comforting names for God because it reminds us He is with us. When our sins made it impossible for us to be with God, He came to us. That truth is incredible to me. God chose to experience the sorrow and the temptation of the world, just so that He could be with us. Absolutely amazing. It was actually during a song that this realization came to me, when I truly began to understand that God is with us. Jeremy Camp sings about this amazing truth in “Same Power.” I can see Waters raging at my feet I can feel The breath of those surrounding me I can hear The sound of nations rising up We will not be overtaken We will not be overcome I can walk Down this dark and painful road I can face Every fear of the unknown I can hear All God's children singing out We will not be overtaken We will not be over

Journal Entry ~ 12/21/19

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).  - Matthew 1:23 The bigger the trial you face in life, the more you begin to understand you can’t do it alone. Our pride makes us think we can handle whatever life throws at us, especially those of us who like to believe we are strong and capable. I’m one of those people. I’ve always been an independent person who believes I can tackle just about any problem on my own. Saying “I can’t” or “I need help” has always made me feel weak, so I’m the person who says “I got this.” But God didn’t design us that way. He wants us to understand we were never meant to do this alone - we need Him to manage. And since He is ever refining us and purifying us, when we struggle with the pride issues of thinking we can handle it all on our own, He will allow trials into our lives that show us our dependence on Him. We need Him to manage in this world. There will come a point

Journal Entry ~ 12/20/19

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).  - Matthew 1:23 God knew we would need Him with us because He understood the nature of this broken world we live in. He knew the evil that exists in the world isn’t just on the outside, it exists within us as well. While it’s easy to point at the fallen world as the source of all of our trials, the truth is the wickedness that exists in the world around us is made greater by the wickedness that lives within us. We are tempted by sin because we are sinners by nature. There is an evil that exists outside us and there is an evil that exists inside of us - it is the intersection of the two that causes us to sin. We like to tell ourselves that we are inherently good, especially after we serve or do something kind - we have such a tendency to compare ourselves to others and come out on top. We are not good...but Good does exist within us. God’s ultimate plan is

Journal Entry ~ 12/19/19

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).  - Matthew 1:23 If we truly believe that Jesus is Immanuel, then we should live as if God is with us.  Our lives should glorify God in all that we do - we should be God’s representative to everyone we encounter.  Throughout scripture, there are multiple examples of glorifying God. We know the Heavens declare the glory of God, and all of creation sings His name. God named the Israelites as His people, then led and protected them so they would glorify Him. Then the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being came down to earth as His son, Jesus, so that we could see God’s glory up close and personal. Jesus showed us how to live a life that glorifies God in all that He does.  We have been given the privilege glorifying God with our lives.  What does that look like?  How do we emulate His life through ours?  We can live to show o

Journal Entry ~ 12/18/19

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us).  - Matthew 1:23 The message of Christmas is right here - God is with us. He came to us to be with us.  We don’t need to “do” anything to be a Christian, we simply need to receive Him.  Being a Christian is allowing Christ to live within us, strengthening us to be all that He’s called us to be. When things get difficult, we can know that the very God of the universe, the God who created the mountains and the oceans, He lives in us. The same power who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us. He is with us. No matter where we go or what we face, God is with us.  I heard a powerful message preached about the “us” in this verse. “Us” is a powerful, evocative word. When you hear the word “us”, it makes you want to be part of it, whatever it is, it makes you want to belong. The word can insinuate an exclusion when referencing the “right” kind of people - it c

Journal Entry ~ 12/17/19

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16 Many of us struggle through our days because we do not feel the presence of the Spirit, but He is there - He is with us at all times. We don't always feel the Spirit because we forfeit His presence with our choices. We cannot expect to be filled with the peace that the Spirit brings when we choose to act in accordance with the world or the way our flesh desires, We’ve learned we grieve the Spirit when we do things the Spirit doesn't want us to do. To grieve is to feel deep pain or sorrow. When I ponder that I bring deep pain or sorrow to the spirit of God, I am filled with sadness. But the reality is that I grieve the Spirit all the time. When I place myself over others, or my agenda over His, when my idols take precedence over Him, like my children or my job, when I covet or do not honor Him with my words, when I do anything I know that is disobedient to Him, I grieve th

Journal Entry ~ 12/16/19

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16 We don't have a lot that God has promised yet, but we do have His Spirit. So the question begs, if the very same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives inside of me, why do I continue to struggle?   At the moment of our conversion, we get all of the Spirit. The Spirit who gives me strength to walk through my trials, and it gives me the supernatural fruits of love, joy, and peace. So why don’t we see more of the fruit in our lives?  The problem is that the Spirit doesn't get all of us. That's why we still struggle with anxiety, anger, fear, despair, loneliness, and all those other heavy emotions even though we are filled with the Spirit.  When we find we struggle, it should be a huge red flag to look deeper into our heart. Our flesh and our Spirit are in constant battle, and when our flesh wins, we feel those defeated feelings. It's as simple as that. But

Journal Entry ~ 12/15/19

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16 Fruit is the evidence that you are filled with the Spirit. When you are walking by the Spirit, your life is filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. You cannot resolve to make these things happen in your heart in your own power - they come as a result of being filled with the Spirit. You cannot resolve to be more patient, or more loving, and then expect it to last for any length of time. We can try, but eventually we’ll find ourselves fighting the urges of the flesh in our minds, eventually we’ll give in and sin all over again. You see, in our own power, we will fail at these things because they are the fruit of being filled with the Spirit. In other words, they happen because Spirit is strong in us, so if you want more of these in your life, you need to spend time filling the Spirit.  The first fruit of the spirit is love. There

Journal Entry ~ 12/14/19

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16 We all struggle to hear the Spirit when we quench it. Quenching the Spirit is different than grieving the Spirit - grieving is when we commit a sin.  It's when we intentionally do something against God's Word. There's really no arguing with it - scripture tells us it's wrong, but we do it anyway. This causes the Spirit to grieve, and the only way to right that wrong is to confess and repent our transgressions.  In contrast, we quench the spirit when we don't do something we're prompted or convicted to do. Quenching is a bit more slippery slope, and a lot more tempting. It isn't necessarily sin to ignore the promptings, but we choose to anyway because it's easier. This is what makes the quenching of the spirit more tempting for many of us - because we know it's not sin, we can rationalize it away as being okay.  For example, we all know we&#

Journal Entry ~ 12/13/19

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16 When we first come to Christ, banners are hailed. Our hearts surrender to Him, the Spirit comes to dwell in us, and our lives are on fire for Him. We know at the end of this life, if we lived for Him, our reward will be in heaven with Him. We look forward to the promise of a reward for a race well run.  But it’s in between the banners and the medals that disciples are made. It’s in these days that can be long and dark, and in-between the beautiful surrender and the great promise. It’s in the heartbreaking days we’re told to wait, take courage in Christ, keep our eyes fixed on Him, let the Spirit strengthen us...but the reality is, it can feel like we’re drowning some days. We know we’re supposed to walk in the Spirit, but some days the question is how?  How are we supposed to walk in the Spirit when we feel like our world is crashing around us? It’s in the pain that God will

Journal Entry ~ 12/12/19

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16  Many of us struggle through our days because we do not feel the presence of the Spirit, but He is there - He is with us at all times. We don't always recognize the Spirit because sometimes we forfeit His presence with our actions. We choose to quiet the Spirit when we act in accordance with the world or the way our flesh desires.  What are those things that forfeit the Spirit? Scripture tells us we will not be filled with the Holy Spirit if we grieve it. We grieve the Spirit when we do things the spirit doesn't want us to do. In other words we grieve the Spirit when we commit a sin. When we consciously choose to sin, we quiet the Spirit because it is grieving our choice. Think about grief for a moment - it is deep pain or sorrow. When I ponder that I bring deep pain or sorrow to the Spirit of God, I am filled with sadness. But the reality is that I do it every time I sin

Journal Entry ~ 12/11/19

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16 We can forget that we were born into a dramatically broken world that does not function the way God intended it to operate. We can minimize the amount of sin that exists in each of us.  When we do that, we drop our guard. We can forget to protect ourselves from the temptations in our world, but our loving Father in Heaven promises to protect us from evil. He has placed a warrior spirit inside each of us who will battle for us even when we don't have the sense to battle for ourselves. But how do we strengthen this Warrior? How do we grow the Spirit so that we can walk by it?  The fruit of the Spirit is the supernatural outcome of being filled with the Spirit and is the living proof that the Spirit of God dwells in us. We know He is alive in us when we see this fruit in our lives happen in such a way that surprises even us - when we have joy in a difficult trial, when we ha

Journal Entry ~ 12/10/19

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 If we want to glorify God with our lives, if we want the supernatural peace that surpasses all understanding, if we want wisdom and discernment, strength in our trials, if we want answer our prayers, then we must abide in Him. Otherwise, the hard truth is we shouldn’t be looking for Him.  John gives a startling visual of what not abiding looks like in the very next verses. "If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).  Just like a plant that dies, it doesn't shrivel up overnight - it comes from neglect over time. If we neglect our relationship with God over time, if we don't spend time with Him, in His church, in His Word, or with a community of believers, then our faith will begin to shrivel up as well. W

Journal Entry ~ 12/09/19

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 Genuine saving faith is demonstrated by abiding in Jesus’ words, bearing fruit, and becoming one of His disciples.  When we abide in Him, and He in us, we live out our faith for others to witness, and He is glorified. To be an authentic disciple of Jesus, you must abide in His Word.  He wants you to know His truth as He dwells in you and you in Him.  The reality is that if you are NOT abiding in His Word regularly, on your own, in quiet devotion, it’s not possible to be an authentic disciple of Jesus.  There are Christians who go through the motions and act as if they are disciples, but the road is narrow, my friends. And to get on that narrow road, you need to abide in His Word – regularly, on your own, in quiet devotion.  It is only then that we can truly become a disciple of Christ and glorify Him by representing Him well

Journal Entry ~ 12/08/19

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 In these verses, we read if we abide in Him, and His words abide in us, we can grab a hold of one of the greatest promises in scripture because our wills will be aligned with His Will ~ ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. As we read on, we see there is more for us in the promises of these verses. We will also glorify Him by bearing much fruit and proving to be His disciples.  Bearing fruit refers to the outward actions that come from the inward condition of the heart. In other words, it’s how we behave because of what we’re carrying around in our hearts. We can find a list of the fruits of the Spirits in Galatians 5:22-23 ~ love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Whew. Typing that list out makes me abundantly aware of how I need to grow in each and everyone of

Journal Entry ~ 12/07/19

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 I just love this verse. I have spent so much time in this passage over the past few years - God has met me in these words. This passage has changed my understanding of what it means to be in relationship with Christ - we are to abide in Him and He is to abide in us.  We all have deep prayer requests - desires in our heart that something would change about our current situation. When we’ve been praying the same prayer for a long time, we can grow weary of praying - we stop praying consistently for those requests because we don't see Him responding. Sometimes our hearts don’t truly believe that He will answer our prayer, so we just give up. Sometimes we've been praying them for so long that we feel like it's just not worth it anymore. I've been praying the same prayer for my sons for 10 years - it gets tiring. M

Journal Entry ~ 12/06/19

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 Letting His words abide in us isn't just reading scripture or listening to a sermon on the weekends, it’s more than that. It is intentionally seeking the Word of God as living and responding to it.  It means we do everything we can to allow His living Word to impact our lives, our relationships, our emotions.  The reality is this can be more than challenging in this fast-paced and chaotic world that challenges the truths we learn in Scripture. When we're alone with Him, or we're in community with other believers, we feel His very presence and His Truth permeates our souls; but as soon as we step out into the world, it seems we are slammed with the demands and expectations of this broken world, and the negativity and lies can be overwhelming.  How do we stop that?  We need protection, and one of the ways we shi

Journal Entry ~ 12/05/19

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 The word abide means to live within or dwell. We are called in this passage abide in Him, and to allow His words abide in us. That’s an active and a passive directive. In other words, we need to dwell within Him and we need to allow Him to dwell within us. Both of these relationships - the active and the passive - are essential to glorifying God. We must be engaged in both if we are to prove to be His disciples.  When we talk about abiding in Him, we’re referring to our wills and our decisions. We must choose to do those things that keep us in Him - getting into His Word, attending weekly service, spending time in prayer, actively pursuing fellowship with other believers. We also actively abide in Him we we do those things He calls us to do - confess our sins, carry one another’s burdens, serve the poor.  Allowing Him to

Journal Entry ~ 12/04/19

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 We’ve all struggled at one time or another with who we are ~ identity issues plague us in adolescence and young adulthood, but many of us still struggle even in mid and late adulthood. What defines you? What is your purpose in life?  What are you supposed to be doing with your life?  Who are you supposed to be? How do you want to be remembered?   A few years ago, I had to write a personal mission statement for my graduate studies. It was an challenging, but quite an eye opening assignment that revealed so much to me through deep reflection about how I define myself. I strongly recommend it to anyone, but especially for those who struggle with who they are. Praise God that I am attending a Christian university and am encouraged to freely express my identity in Christ because that’s where I landed.  When considering our ide