i declare that i will love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, and mind and love my neighbor (including my enemy) as myself (Matthew.22:37-39).
I will practice the things that stir my affections for Christ and turn away from the things that rob me of those affections.
i will be intentional to pursue godliness, striving toward Christ. i will walk with the LORD daily in His Word and in prayer. i will hide God's Word in my heart that i might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11).
when i sin, i will confess my sins to Christ and ask His forgiveness, trusting His Word: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) i will not only turn from my old, sinful ways, but turn toward Christ, seeking His kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
i will give forgiveness always and i will seek forgiveness when i have wronged another.
i will look for God in all that i do, giving Him the glory, for i know that He is Creator and all things that are good, are good because He is good.
i will, by the grace of God, live as an ambassador for Christ, no longer conforming to the ways of this world (Romans 12:2), but setting my mind on the worth of knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8).
i will choose to praise God and give thanks to His holy Name in all circumstances.
i will trust the Lord for tomorrow: college, a career, a family...for he knows the plans He has for me (Jeremiah 29:11).
i will honor and obey my parents.
i will "not despise the LORD’s discipline...for the LORD reproves him whom He loves." (Proverbs 3:11,12)
Thursday, July 23
Tuesday, July 14
Mystery and Victory
"I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery.) We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and) the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
"O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
what a promise! i read that this morning and thought it should be shared. i really don't have a lot to say about this except HALLELUJAH!
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
"O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
what a promise! i read that this morning and thought it should be shared. i really don't have a lot to say about this except HALLELUJAH!
Tuesday, July 7
G.m.C.G.R.
first of all...G.m.C.G.R.=GOD.man.CHRIST.Grace.Response. it's an incredible women's Bible study.
second, the m is small because we are nothing compared to GOD and CHRIST.
tonight we talked about man. no, not the gender, but mankind. who we are as humans...without Christ. here's a few of the things the Scripture says about us:
we are:
sinful (Romans 3:23)
perishing (Psalm 144:4)
greedy, wicked, selfish & uncaring (Job 35:2-8)
unclean (Numbers 19:20, Isaiah 6:5)
nothing (Psalm 8:4)
weak (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
grasshoppers, locusts (Isaiah 40:22)
dead (Romans 5:12, Ephesians 2:5)
worm, maggot (Job 25:6)
insignificant (Job 40:4)
stupid (Proverbs 14:12)
a passing breeze (Psalm 78:39)
idol factories (Isaiah 2:8-10)
cursed, fallen, kicked out of fellowship w/ God (Genesis 3)
and we are so much worse than this list can even begin to describe.
but praise be to the God of Israel (Psalm 148), the One and Only true God, for His great love for us (1 John 3:1), and His Son which He sent to save us (John 3:16)!
A wondurful and wise women shared with us tonight one of the coolest illustrations i've even seen. it's called the Bridge Diagram. Here it is:
and this is what it looks like when you're out of paper:
:)
Christ is our Bridge to get to God. He is the Restorer of fellowship with God that was lost at the fall.
i don't know about you, but seeing it represented like that makes me realize just how wicked and depraved i am (Matthew 12:39). and how thankful i am for my Savior, Jesus! (Psalm 118)
second, the m is small because we are nothing compared to GOD and CHRIST.
tonight we talked about man. no, not the gender, but mankind. who we are as humans...without Christ. here's a few of the things the Scripture says about us:
we are:
sinful (Romans 3:23)
perishing (Psalm 144:4)
greedy, wicked, selfish & uncaring (Job 35:2-8)
unclean (Numbers 19:20, Isaiah 6:5)
nothing (Psalm 8:4)
weak (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
grasshoppers, locusts (Isaiah 40:22)
dead (Romans 5:12, Ephesians 2:5)
worm, maggot (Job 25:6)
insignificant (Job 40:4)
stupid (Proverbs 14:12)
a passing breeze (Psalm 78:39)
idol factories (Isaiah 2:8-10)
cursed, fallen, kicked out of fellowship w/ God (Genesis 3)
and we are so much worse than this list can even begin to describe.
but praise be to the God of Israel (Psalm 148), the One and Only true God, for His great love for us (1 John 3:1), and His Son which He sent to save us (John 3:16)!
A wondurful and wise women shared with us tonight one of the coolest illustrations i've even seen. it's called the Bridge Diagram. Here it is:
and this is what it looks like when you're out of paper:
:)
Christ is our Bridge to get to God. He is the Restorer of fellowship with God that was lost at the fall.
i don't know about you, but seeing it represented like that makes me realize just how wicked and depraved i am (Matthew 12:39). and how thankful i am for my Savior, Jesus! (Psalm 118)
Saturday, June 20
so this is life
So after Mrs. Becky picked me up, we went to enter some photos in a contest. Then we went to Chick-fil-a to try the new peach milkshakes in the new smaller size. Several Hot Pocket jokes later, we went down to the Bluffs on Scenic Highway. i was not proud of the example Mrs. Becky set for Taylor, Wesley, and me.
Once we got to the waterfront, i took some really cool pictures of the railroad tracks.
I saw this painted on the boardwalk behind me. What's up with Christians vandalizing?
So i decided to leave my mark where it was legal to do so (unless the ACLU was standing over my shoulder).
On the way home, we started telling redneck jokes...then we pulled up behind this guy.
And this is why i'm sitting at home with AC on, drinking a tall glass of water and not at the beach like Facebook says i am.
Once we got to the waterfront, i took some really cool pictures of the railroad tracks.
I saw this painted on the boardwalk behind me. What's up with Christians vandalizing?
So i decided to leave my mark where it was legal to do so (unless the ACLU was standing over my shoulder).
On the way home, we started telling redneck jokes...then we pulled up behind this guy.
And this is why i'm sitting at home with AC on, drinking a tall glass of water and not at the beach like Facebook says i am.
Thursday, June 18
let us reason together
i'm so thankful for shepherds (a.k.a. pastors) who are willing to take time out of their busy schedules to help me with spiritual matters.
In a Bible study recently, the group began discussing a controversial topic and everyone was agreeing...except for me. Did i pipe up and say, "That's not what i believe?" No. Especially when i realized that i was the only one in the room who believed differently. And i realized that while i held my beliefs to be true, i couldn't back them up with Scripture (which is dangerous and not a place i recommend being for any length of time). So i sat quietly, listening, waiting for another subject to arise. i talked to my dad that night, but wanted every piece of advice i could get.
So i called up Pastor Rob and had a nice chat with him today. He told me that i would never be able to defend what i believe if i didn't understand it in the first place. He said a discussion strategy or a huge list of Scripture references wouldn't help if i didn't understand it myself. So...he gave me a book (duh!). He helped me see that it's not my job to win in an argument/discussion. My job is know what i believe and why i believe it.
i'm also thankful that when Pastor Rob doesn't know something, he's not afraid to admit it. When i had a question he couldn't answer, he differed me to Pastor Dan...who differed me to Pastor Jonny, who helped me figure it out. So now instead of just me getting the answer to my question, four people learned something new.
So today has been a win-win kind of day. And now i feel better equipped to handle myself when my beliefs are called into question. And i learned that Nineveh was a part of Assyria (even though that probably doesn't help you in any way).
Thank You, God. Thank You for giving me understanding and for strengthening my faith today.
In a Bible study recently, the group began discussing a controversial topic and everyone was agreeing...except for me. Did i pipe up and say, "That's not what i believe?" No. Especially when i realized that i was the only one in the room who believed differently. And i realized that while i held my beliefs to be true, i couldn't back them up with Scripture (which is dangerous and not a place i recommend being for any length of time). So i sat quietly, listening, waiting for another subject to arise. i talked to my dad that night, but wanted every piece of advice i could get.
So i called up Pastor Rob and had a nice chat with him today. He told me that i would never be able to defend what i believe if i didn't understand it in the first place. He said a discussion strategy or a huge list of Scripture references wouldn't help if i didn't understand it myself. So...he gave me a book (duh!). He helped me see that it's not my job to win in an argument/discussion. My job is know what i believe and why i believe it.
i'm also thankful that when Pastor Rob doesn't know something, he's not afraid to admit it. When i had a question he couldn't answer, he differed me to Pastor Dan...who differed me to Pastor Jonny, who helped me figure it out. So now instead of just me getting the answer to my question, four people learned something new.
So today has been a win-win kind of day. And now i feel better equipped to handle myself when my beliefs are called into question. And i learned that Nineveh was a part of Assyria (even though that probably doesn't help you in any way).
Thank You, God. Thank You for giving me understanding and for strengthening my faith today.
Saturday, June 6
blessing in disguise?
Shake up my life
Lets go...
Back to the days when we were young and not restless
We still believed and hadn't built up defenses
I'll tell you one thing for sure
Till we make the decision
We'll never take this world
Unless we make a head on collision
-Hawk Nelson HEAD ON COLLISION
Thank God for lawsuits! If it hadn't been given to us, we would still be sleeping. We wouldn't be encouraging one another like we are now. We wouldn't have a weekly bible study filled with students hungry to know the Word of God. We wouldn't have the hope of revival that we have now. We wouldn't have had an OK TO PRAY rally over spring break or prayer walks throughout the county. We wouldn't have had the coolest baccalaureate ever and the Lord's Prayer probably wouldn't have be recited at graduation. We wouldn't have made the friendships that we have or fallen to our knees in pray like we have.
Look what we would have missed!
"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."
-Genesis 50:20
Lets go...
Back to the days when we were young and not restless
We still believed and hadn't built up defenses
I'll tell you one thing for sure
Till we make the decision
We'll never take this world
Unless we make a head on collision
-Hawk Nelson HEAD ON COLLISION
Thank God for lawsuits! If it hadn't been given to us, we would still be sleeping. We wouldn't be encouraging one another like we are now. We wouldn't have a weekly bible study filled with students hungry to know the Word of God. We wouldn't have the hope of revival that we have now. We wouldn't have had an OK TO PRAY rally over spring break or prayer walks throughout the county. We wouldn't have had the coolest baccalaureate ever and the Lord's Prayer probably wouldn't have be recited at graduation. We wouldn't have made the friendships that we have or fallen to our knees in pray like we have.
Look what we would have missed!
"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."
-Genesis 50:20
Friday, June 5
in the shadow of the Almighty
i'm reading a book called Shadow of The Almighty by Elisabeth Elliot about the life of her husband Jim, a missionary and a martyr.
As i was reading today, a prayer of his jumped out at me. it is as follows:
'He makes His ministers flames of fire.' Am i ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of 'other things.' Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that i may be aflame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this,my soul-short life? In me dwells the Spirit of the Great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God's house consumed Him. And He has promised baptism with the Spirit and with Fire. 'Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.'
Am i ignitable? What a great question! One i think we should all ask ourselves. We say that we are willing. We say to God, "Here i am. Send me." But then what? We just go to church every Sunday and Wednesday. We may even go to a small group or First Priority and FCA. But where else do we go? To Walmart. To the movies. To our friends house every Friday night.
i find that even when the Spirit pricks my heart to speak, when He shows me an opportunity, i just push it out of my mind, out of my reach, until the opportunity is gone. And sometimes, i just go about the rest of my day like it never happened. i'm not even upset that i skipped out on that opportunity, like it's no big deal.
i long to be bold at a moments notice. As i read through this book about a man with an attitude so like Christ's, i'm convicted. About myself and my last of fervor and passion for the hearts of those lost.
Lord, ignite me. Place a fire so bright within me that it cannot be quenched. Make me bold to speak without giving it a second thought. May i count my reputation or acceptance by others rubbish in comparison with Your great love for me. May my heart be always on You and Your glory and not on the things of this world, for they will perish. But You, O LORD, remain always. Amen.
Another of his prayers also struck me.
Father, let me be weak that i might lose my clutch on everything temporal. My life, my reputation, my possessions, Lord, let me loose tension of the grasping hand. Even, Father, would i lose the love of fondling. How often i have released a grasp only ti retain what i prized by 'harmless' longing, the fondling touch. Rather, open my hand to the nail of Calvary, as Christ's was opened-that i, releasing all, might be released, unleashed from all that binds me now. He thought Heaven, yea, equality with God, not a things to be clutched at. So let me release my grasp.
WOW!
Father God, make that the cry of my heart. What You have been busy doing in my heart as of late, i see with some clarity now. Making me weak. Making me lean on You, because that's where i belong. Thank You for making me weak that i may give up, truly release, what i've been so selfishly holding on to. 'Take from me my life when i don't have the strength to give it away to You, Jesus.' Amen.
As i was reading today, a prayer of his jumped out at me. it is as follows:
'He makes His ministers flames of fire.' Am i ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of 'other things.' Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that i may be aflame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this,my soul-short life? In me dwells the Spirit of the Great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God's house consumed Him. And He has promised baptism with the Spirit and with Fire. 'Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.'
Am i ignitable? What a great question! One i think we should all ask ourselves. We say that we are willing. We say to God, "Here i am. Send me." But then what? We just go to church every Sunday and Wednesday. We may even go to a small group or First Priority and FCA. But where else do we go? To Walmart. To the movies. To our friends house every Friday night.
i find that even when the Spirit pricks my heart to speak, when He shows me an opportunity, i just push it out of my mind, out of my reach, until the opportunity is gone. And sometimes, i just go about the rest of my day like it never happened. i'm not even upset that i skipped out on that opportunity, like it's no big deal.
i long to be bold at a moments notice. As i read through this book about a man with an attitude so like Christ's, i'm convicted. About myself and my last of fervor and passion for the hearts of those lost.
Lord, ignite me. Place a fire so bright within me that it cannot be quenched. Make me bold to speak without giving it a second thought. May i count my reputation or acceptance by others rubbish in comparison with Your great love for me. May my heart be always on You and Your glory and not on the things of this world, for they will perish. But You, O LORD, remain always. Amen.
Another of his prayers also struck me.
Father, let me be weak that i might lose my clutch on everything temporal. My life, my reputation, my possessions, Lord, let me loose tension of the grasping hand. Even, Father, would i lose the love of fondling. How often i have released a grasp only ti retain what i prized by 'harmless' longing, the fondling touch. Rather, open my hand to the nail of Calvary, as Christ's was opened-that i, releasing all, might be released, unleashed from all that binds me now. He thought Heaven, yea, equality with God, not a things to be clutched at. So let me release my grasp.
WOW!
Father God, make that the cry of my heart. What You have been busy doing in my heart as of late, i see with some clarity now. Making me weak. Making me lean on You, because that's where i belong. Thank You for making me weak that i may give up, truly release, what i've been so selfishly holding on to. 'Take from me my life when i don't have the strength to give it away to You, Jesus.' Amen.
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