These last couple of weeks have truely been as all consuming fire, I honestly don't know how I would have made it through them if the Lord was not right by my side the whole way! It's wierd though, because at the same time I feel like I sort of lost track of God in my life throughout the past two weeks, it's like he was right by my side and miles away. Now that last week is past and the school work has somewhat subsided for the time being, I have been able to reflect on what God did in my life the past few weeks.
I have really noticed taht God uses our lowest of lows and the toughest times to benefit us and make us stronger. While you are weathering the storm, it sometimes feels like God is no where to be found. But is it really God not being close to us, or are we not drawing near to Him in the storm like we should be? I like to look at the situation almost like a slingshot. While we are in the middle of the storm we keep getting pulled back and God is testing us to see if we will fight forward or if we will rely on His strength to guide us where we need to go. Then when we realize that we cannot get through it without God, He lets the slingshot go and we realized that we have shot forward in our walk with Him. We realize that we have grown so much in such a short amount of time. Personally it has been awesome to see how God used a packed and stressful week of school to strengthen my faith and my walk with Him! I am grateful that the Lord used the last week to test me faith, my strength, and my relationship with Him!
I now feel so re-energized and ready to do what God has planned for me in the future. I'm excited for what the Lord is doing not only in my life, but in the lives of my closest friends, and the campus and ministries at UNM. Just seeing some of my closest friends being so on fire for the Lord and seeing that they want to make a difference brings pure joy to my heart! It makes me so thankful for what the Lord has done in my life, and what he will do in the lives of my fellow believers!
We as followers of Christ are looked up to in so many different ways. God uses us as vessels of his love when we don't even know it, so whether you are in the middle of the storm of you just got out of the storm, we are called to share the Love and the Joy that Jesus has blessed us with!
"It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded." 2 John 1:4
This song is such an amazing reminder that no matter what storm or struggle we have gone through or are going through, Jesus will heal and restore us so that we can walk in His will once again!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvIEJ_PmqJ8
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Break time...
This break has been absolutely fantastic in every area of life except for one, and unfortunately it's the one that matters most. I always seem to put my relationship with Jesus on the back burner when I come home. Why? I have no idea, it could be one of many things.
It is so weird how Satan knows your weakest points and whenever you give him a chance to attack that spot he will, and he will do it in the best way possible. I feel like coming home might be one of my weak points just because when I'm home it feels like its not only a break from school but its a break where I don't have to be in communication with the Lord. Seeing this weakness over the last week has been really hard to deal with now that I look at it, and it is not going to be easy to fix. I know with Christ however, all things are possible! I find it amazing how we as humans are always focused on non-heavenly things and we turn our backs on Christ daily, yet he still accepts us right where we left and wants to grow with us. It really blows my mind how convicted you can get when you pray for conviction and ask the Lord to show you the weakest points in your life. It honestly sucks to be convicted because that feeling in your heart of betrayal and turning on Jesus is awful. On the other hand, the feeling of repentance and knowing that we are washed clean is hands down one of the most comforting things anyone can feel!
I have really learned lately that as followers of Christ it's important to think of Jesus not only as our healer and our redeemer, but also as the person that allows everything to happen. He puts us through all these tough situations in our lives for the sole purpose of making us stronger. If we are able to focus on Christ during our weakest points, we can break those bad habits and become stronger in our relationships with Jesus!
We have to know that we will fail but we are restored by the grace and the love of Christ alone.
"7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." James 4:7-10
It is so weird how Satan knows your weakest points and whenever you give him a chance to attack that spot he will, and he will do it in the best way possible. I feel like coming home might be one of my weak points just because when I'm home it feels like its not only a break from school but its a break where I don't have to be in communication with the Lord. Seeing this weakness over the last week has been really hard to deal with now that I look at it, and it is not going to be easy to fix. I know with Christ however, all things are possible! I find it amazing how we as humans are always focused on non-heavenly things and we turn our backs on Christ daily, yet he still accepts us right where we left and wants to grow with us. It really blows my mind how convicted you can get when you pray for conviction and ask the Lord to show you the weakest points in your life. It honestly sucks to be convicted because that feeling in your heart of betrayal and turning on Jesus is awful. On the other hand, the feeling of repentance and knowing that we are washed clean is hands down one of the most comforting things anyone can feel!
I have really learned lately that as followers of Christ it's important to think of Jesus not only as our healer and our redeemer, but also as the person that allows everything to happen. He puts us through all these tough situations in our lives for the sole purpose of making us stronger. If we are able to focus on Christ during our weakest points, we can break those bad habits and become stronger in our relationships with Jesus!
We have to know that we will fail but we are restored by the grace and the love of Christ alone.
"7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." James 4:7-10
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Honesty...
This last week has been interesting to say the least...The Lord definitely put some HUGE obstacles in front of me and challenged me to stick up for His kingdom. Through prayer and time meditating on His word this past week, I really just asked the Lord to challenge me, change me, and mold me into the person He meant for me to be.
Lets just say that He definitely made all of those things happen...in very difficult ways!
The obstacles that I went through this past week really challenged my faith and honesty. The Lord put so much on my radar this week it was kinda hard to take it all in to be honest.
I guess it all starts with the honesty part. All I can say is it's such a looked down upon thing in today's society its hard to be completely honest with someone now a days. Especially with someone you love like a brother/sister. Having said this, things in life sometimes require blunt honesty and usually when it comes to that point its not something enjoyable to talk about. We as followers of Christ are called to hold our brothers/sister in Christ accountable for their actions. Telling someone you care about that they are doing something that is contradicting what the Lord has called us to do, is one of the hardest things I think I have ever done in my life. It is so hard to do because we don't want to hurt our friendship with that person we love, but when I thought about this later I realized that having the mindset of "hurting feelings or hurting relationships" is not the mindset we should have.
That mind set is something that I think gets a lot of people into trouble. Not having the courage to tell your friends because you don't wanna hurt their feelings is ridiculous. As I was thinking about this whole honesty thing I started thinking about the future and what could happen if we as Christians aren't honest with those we love. It came down to a "tell your friends now, or loose them later" type of deal. Are we courageous and caring enough to call them out on their ways now so that they can again see the light, or are we gonna wait and watch them lead a life that is not what Christ would do? After thinking about this, I realized that only after much prayer and meditation on the word should we confront someone about their lifestyle choices.
The day after I had prayed, the Lord gave me the boldness and courage I needed to talk to this person. It is pretty sweet to look back on the conversation and see that the Lord gave me the perfect words to say to confront the situation. Its crazy how when you are honest with someone the result of the talk can be much better than you may have anticipated. Although I know my words cannot change this person, I have faith that through continuous prayer the Lord will change the heart of his child! Its also amazing to see how the Lord has increased my ability to love on this person through this experience.
I guess the whole point of this post was to just show that if you have faith and you ask the Lord to give you the words, you can make that difference in somebody's life! Honesty may hurt up front but in the end it will pay off!
"Let your words be the genuine picture of your heart!"
Romans 8:8
"Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
Lets just say that He definitely made all of those things happen...in very difficult ways!
The obstacles that I went through this past week really challenged my faith and honesty. The Lord put so much on my radar this week it was kinda hard to take it all in to be honest.
I guess it all starts with the honesty part. All I can say is it's such a looked down upon thing in today's society its hard to be completely honest with someone now a days. Especially with someone you love like a brother/sister. Having said this, things in life sometimes require blunt honesty and usually when it comes to that point its not something enjoyable to talk about. We as followers of Christ are called to hold our brothers/sister in Christ accountable for their actions. Telling someone you care about that they are doing something that is contradicting what the Lord has called us to do, is one of the hardest things I think I have ever done in my life. It is so hard to do because we don't want to hurt our friendship with that person we love, but when I thought about this later I realized that having the mindset of "hurting feelings or hurting relationships" is not the mindset we should have.
That mind set is something that I think gets a lot of people into trouble. Not having the courage to tell your friends because you don't wanna hurt their feelings is ridiculous. As I was thinking about this whole honesty thing I started thinking about the future and what could happen if we as Christians aren't honest with those we love. It came down to a "tell your friends now, or loose them later" type of deal. Are we courageous and caring enough to call them out on their ways now so that they can again see the light, or are we gonna wait and watch them lead a life that is not what Christ would do? After thinking about this, I realized that only after much prayer and meditation on the word should we confront someone about their lifestyle choices.
The day after I had prayed, the Lord gave me the boldness and courage I needed to talk to this person. It is pretty sweet to look back on the conversation and see that the Lord gave me the perfect words to say to confront the situation. Its crazy how when you are honest with someone the result of the talk can be much better than you may have anticipated. Although I know my words cannot change this person, I have faith that through continuous prayer the Lord will change the heart of his child! Its also amazing to see how the Lord has increased my ability to love on this person through this experience.
I guess the whole point of this post was to just show that if you have faith and you ask the Lord to give you the words, you can make that difference in somebody's life! Honesty may hurt up front but in the end it will pay off!
"Let your words be the genuine picture of your heart!"
Romans 8:8
"Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Carrying His Name...
Often I am presented with opportunities to share gospel and I wimp out. Often I have the opportunity to share where my happiness comes from, and I wimp out. I have been blessed with the opportunity to tell everyone I come in contact with about Jesus, and I bail a majority of the time.
I have realized that if I do not carry the name of Jesus with me everywhere I go, what am I carrying? Well I look at myself and realize I am carrying the name or brand of numerous different companies....nike, adidas, hurley, polo, vestal, apple, vans, new era, microsoft, hp, puma, gatorade, acura, the list could go on for hours. All these brands, companies, and names will fade away yet I all to often choose to carry their name over the name of Jesus. I support this companies over supporting my Lord and Savior. Every single one of these companies rely's on us to carry their name. Jesus is the exact same way!!! If we as followers of Christ are more worried about what nikes we will wear today instead of who we will share the gospel with, there is a problem. Jesus fully rely's on us, his children, to carry HIS name out into the world. Without these carriers His name will start to fade. If we choose to carry these other names over His name are we really being obedient to what the Lord has called us to do?!
I'm not trying to say don't buy these brands or you are a bad person. What I'm trying to get across is, are you more worried about a swoosh and three lines, or are you worried about the cross and what happened at Calvary? Choose to carry the name of JESUS CHRIST with you everywhere you go! It needs to be carried anywhere and everywhere, whether you are at McDonald's or you are at Church!
Everyone can always use a little more Jesus in their lives!
Ephesians 6:19-20
I have realized that if I do not carry the name of Jesus with me everywhere I go, what am I carrying? Well I look at myself and realize I am carrying the name or brand of numerous different companies....nike, adidas, hurley, polo, vestal, apple, vans, new era, microsoft, hp, puma, gatorade, acura, the list could go on for hours. All these brands, companies, and names will fade away yet I all to often choose to carry their name over the name of Jesus. I support this companies over supporting my Lord and Savior. Every single one of these companies rely's on us to carry their name. Jesus is the exact same way!!! If we as followers of Christ are more worried about what nikes we will wear today instead of who we will share the gospel with, there is a problem. Jesus fully rely's on us, his children, to carry HIS name out into the world. Without these carriers His name will start to fade. If we choose to carry these other names over His name are we really being obedient to what the Lord has called us to do?!
I'm not trying to say don't buy these brands or you are a bad person. What I'm trying to get across is, are you more worried about a swoosh and three lines, or are you worried about the cross and what happened at Calvary? Choose to carry the name of JESUS CHRIST with you everywhere you go! It needs to be carried anywhere and everywhere, whether you are at McDonald's or you are at Church!
Everyone can always use a little more Jesus in their lives!
Ephesians 6:19-20
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