The Light By Which We See

Just some thoughts I had while walking Asher the other day: 

You know how when the sun is shining everything just seems more beautiful, and it just puts a little more "pep in your step"? It's not that anything has changed-you just see it in a different way.

Well, I was thinking, it's the same way when God's light shines on our lives-He opens our eyes, and we see things differently than we did before. It gives us a little more pep in our step as we walk through life. Because our mindset has changed-we now walk in light of eternity, we now walk in the light of God's grace and love, we now walk in hope and joy!

Just like with those sunny days, it's not that things have changed-but the way that we see them has, in the light of God's mercy and love. 

It's a beautiful thing!

"For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see."

(Psalm 36:9)

Temporary Residents

Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul...

1 Peter 2:11

 

In the Bible we are called foreigners, strangers, and aliens in this world. Being a foreigner means not belonging, or being an outsider. An alien is someone who is not a citizen, or someone belonging to another place. Peter says we are "pilgrims" and "sojourners". A pilgrim is defined as a travelor on a journey, and a sojourner is defined as a temporary resident.

 

 It's so easy to get caught up in this world that we forget that this is not our home! We are just passing through; we don't belong here! This life we are living is just temporary and is over in the blink of an eye, compared to eternity. Having that mindset should change the way that we live. It should change our priorities, our actions, and the things that we worry and stress about.

 

We so often forget that we aren't here to just live for pleasure, or to just enjoy this life. Yes, we should enjoy the life that we've been given, but our true purpose here on earth is to prepare for eternity and to reach others for Christ. We have to be careful not to fall in love with the things of this world or to become so attached to material things that we lose sight of our true purpose.

 

Lets keep our thoughts and minds focused on our home in Heaven!

 

Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul.

(The Message)

Pleasing Christ

Being a Christian is not about following a bunch of rules, or trying to be "good", or having a long list of things you "can't" do. It's a relationship with Christ.

When you know Him and love Him-when you know the love He has for YOU-you come to a place where you WANT your life to honor and please Him.You KNOW He wants the best for you and that HIS ways are best, so you surrender your will to His and let Him work in you to change you from the inside out.

The more you read and study God's word, the more you learn about Him, the more you surrender your life to Him, the more your words and behavior will just naturally become that which pleases Him.

"Our action is not to earn God’s love. Our action is because of God’s love for us. We don’t act to earn God’s love. We act to express our love for God. Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Love comes first. Obedience follows. Do you love God? Don’t obey to earn His love. Obey God because you enjoy His love and want to love Him back."(Unknown) 

No One is Good.

Rom. 3:10-12: “As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one."

I often hear people say something like, 'why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people?'. Well, what makes a person "good" or "bad"?

The Bible says that NO ONE is good. No matter how much of a "good person" you think you are, none of us are good compared to God's standard of perfection and holiness! All of us have fallen short, we are all sinners who need God's grace.

That is why Jesus had to come to die on a cross-not for all of us "good" people, but because we are ALL sinners and evil people by nature who need to be saved.

Just something to think about. Be thankful today that God has mercy on us and does not deal with us as we deserve, but that He sent his Son; his perfect, sinless, GOOD Son to die for us, so that wewouldn't have to keep trying to live up to God's standard of perfection but simply put our faith in Christ!

Things We Should Pursue

Our culture tells us to pursue things such as pleasure, success, fame, money, and power. We are led to believe that these are the things that will bring us happiness and fulfillment. The Bible, however, has a quite different view than our culture.

Ultimately, the things that the world tells us to pursue will always let us down. Apart from Christ, there is no true peace or contentment.

Rather than striving for things the world values that may only give us temporary satisfaction, we should strive for things that have lasting value; things that really matter in light of eternity.

These are a few things the Bible tells us to strive for: 

*To become like Christ (2 Cor 3: 18, Phil 2:5)

*To please God (Romans 14:8, Eph 5:10)

*Holiness (Eph 4:2, Phil 2:3-4)

*To love others (Heb 13:1, 1 Cor 14:1)

*God’s glory (1 Cor 10:31, Romans 11:36)

*To obey God (Col 2:6)

*Reaching others for Christ

*To be an example to others (Titus 2:7)

*Peace (1 Peter 3:11, Romans 14:1)

 

1 Timothy 6:11

…follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perservereance, and gentleness.

 

 

Pray More, Worry Less

"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere." -Ephesians 6:18

God wants you to know true peace, and that peace is found only in drawing near to Him and having a close relationship with Him. The more time you spend reading God's Word, the more you know of Him, the more you will want to talk to Him.

You can't develop a relationship without communication, right? Well, that's one of the ways that we develop our relationship with God. You don't have to worry about praying the "right" way, or saying the right things, or spending 2 hours a day praying. No, prayer is just sharing your heart with God and talking with Him all throughout the day.

Try it!

"So when anxiety knocks at the door of your heart, let prayer answer. Not just a general prayer or only a venting prayer, but one with adoration, petition, with thanksgiving and specific requests. God wants to comfort you and give you His peace, and He wants to help you with the problems that you can’t solve on your own."

-Chip Ingram

LOVE!

As I've been reading through the New Testament the main thing that has stood out to me is one theme: LOVE.

It's not all about  us. It's about how we treat others, serving others, putting others above ourselves. For most of us(well, for me at least!) that does not come naturally. But we are to follow the example that Jesus set for us.

Think about this-Jesus, God himself, the creator of the universe, put aside His crown, came down to Earth and washed the disciples dirty feet! Just picture that. And that is the example we are to follow: to humble ourselves and to serve and help others.

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."

-John 13:14-15

God is love. He sent Jesus here to die for us to show us how much He loves us. And because we are loved that much, we are to love others. I know that I need to do a much better job of this!

 

 

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

 -John 13:34

 

Action

I read in a Billy Graham book recently that what attracted people to Jesus was not what he DIDN'T do but what He DID do, and that's so true...

So often, people think that being a Christian is all about the things you don't do, when really it should be what we DO that sets us apart from the world. Following Jesus' example should be what we strive for, and that means living out our faith; it means taking action; it means loving, serving, and giving to others.

If you read through the New Testament, you'll find that one of the main themes is loving others. Love is a verb. Without action, it means nothing. Just like it says in James, faith without works is dead.  Without action, our faith is useless. 

We weren't put here on earth just to live for our own pleasure and happiness...but to live for God, to glorify Him, and following in the footsteps of Jesus is how we do that. He set the ultimate example by setting aside His crown and coming down to earth from Heaven to become a servant, to give  up His life for US. Now that is LOVE.

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." -John 13:14-15

ALL Circumstances

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18


Choosing to be joyful and thankful is often not something that comes naturally-it’s something you have to work at it.

Most of us often tend to think that if only our circumstances changed, THEN we could be happy, or if we had more, THEN we would be thankful.... But as my preacher taught about once, what usually really ends up happening is that the more we get, the more we want, and the more DIScontent we actually become!

Instead, we must LOOK for things to be grateful for, and CHOOSE to be joyful regardless of  our circumstances! And really, if we have Christ in us, and a true, real, growing relationship with Him, what more could we desire?

When God becomes our heart's desire, we can't help but be overflowing with joy and thankfulness, no matter what we may be going through.

Worshipper, Not a Worrier

"Mary sat at Jesus' feet listening to what he taught. But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing..." Luke 10:38

While Martha was stressing over all the details of the dinner and being upset that Mary wasn't helping, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to him. What Martha was doing was good, but Mary had found what was truly most important.

We could all learn something from Mary in this story. Instead of stressing and worrying so much about every little thing in our lives as we so often do, sometimes we need to STOP and just sit at the feet of Jesus.

Sometimes we just need to hit the pause button on life. We need to take a break from the "busyness" of our lives to listen to his voice, to hear what he is teaching us, to worship at his feet, and to just BE in his presence.

If you find yourself constantly worrying and stressing about things, come to Jesus.  Sit at his feet. Listen to his voice. Spend time in the presence of your Savior. In His presence, there is peace, joy, and rest.

Be a worshipper, not a worrier!

Give It Up For Him

"If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambitions, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it, but if you give up your life for me, you will find true life." Luke 9:23-24

TRUE life is found in Jesus, not in trying to keep our lives and live them just for ourselves.

Being a true follower of Jesus requires sacrifice; it requires us to give up ourselves and our selfish desires. Life is NOT all about us, and when we realize that we will find true satisfaction.

Life is all about Him, and only in giving ourselves to completely to Christ, doing everything for HIS glory and living for HIS pleasure, will we find true life. It's not an easy thing to do to, but we have the power of God's Holy Spirit in us to help us.

Ask him to help you to live for Him wholeheartedly!

What Are You Pursuing?

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossions 3:2

We spend so much time on Earth pursuing things that have no lasting significance.

How much time to we spend watching TV, or Facebooking, or chasing after pleasure and more money and more "stuff"?

I love fitness, and I love lifting weights and being strong. I love being lean and muscular. Those things are all good things, but pursuing those things takes up so much of my time, when really, they have no eternal significance. When I get to Heaven, it's not going to matter how lean and muscular I was on Earth, or how much I could squat or deadlift.

What we should be pursuing above anything is Christ. Drawing closer to Him, spending more time with Him, reading and applying His word to our life, serving Him, following Him. Those are the things that matter.

I know there some things I need to change in my life in order to draw closer to Him:
*Devotional first thing in the morning, before Facebook or blogging.
*Go to be earlier to read some scriptures before bed every night.
*Devote a few minutes of my day to read His word and spend time in prayer, without distractions.
*Less time on Facebook/blogger during the day.

What are some things you could do to pursue a relationship with God above all else?

Why Waste Your Time?

Don't weary yourself trying to get rich. Why waste your time? For riches can disappear as though they had the wings of a bird!

-Proverbs 23:4-5

 

Our goal in life should not just be chasing after money or material things. At any moment, as I have experienced myself, those things can be taken from us. And then what will we be left with? Nothing. Nothing but our faith. We cannot take our "riches" with us to Heaven, so striving after them for our own pleasure and satisfaction is a waste of time. Instead, we are to seek after those things that have eternal significance: obeying, loving and serving God! 

Complete.

"When you have Christ, you are complete."

-Colossions 2:10

Fulfillment comes from Christ alone.

 

Only in Him will we find true joy and satisfaction. It doesn't come through money, fame, success, looks, clothes, or food. If you are searching for fulfillment in those things, you will be disappointed. You will be left empty and longing for more.

 

How do we find true fulfillment? By giving our lives to Christ, by surrendering to Him, by pursuing a relationship with Him. He wants to bless us and give us peace and joy more than we could ever know, and He will give us that- if we would only give ourselves completely to Him, if  we would only love Him with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul.

Your Heart's Desires

Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires.
-Psalm 37:4

I was on my way home from work the other day, and I was praying for my husband and for his desires to be fulfilled and for him to be truly happy in all that he does. I started thinking about how much I want his happiness more than anything and how happy it makes ME to see HIM happy!

Then it dawned on me that this is the way God feels about US! If God loves us so much more than even I could ever love my husband, then how much more does he want us, His children, to be happy? He WANTS our desires to come to pass. He WANTS us to be happy and fulfilled!

Sometimes we get caught up in the things we have to DO for God, like the more we do the better Christians we are, when really that is not the case. Living for Him isn't about a list of "to-dos", it's about having a relationship with Him, and then out of that everything will flow! As our relationship with Him deepens, our words, our actions, our behaviors will reflect the love of God. All He wants us to do is to know Him and to DELIGHT(take pleasure/find satisfaction) in Him!

The more we know Him, follow His ways, and understand and live out His will, the more joyful and satisfied we will be, and that is how God intended it! When we DELIGHT in Him, we will want to obey and live for Him. And that is when true blessing comes. That is when our heart's desires will come to pass because they will line up with what God wants for our lives.

God wants our dreams and desires to come to pass, but only those things that line up with His will. If we are only seeking our own selfish pleasure and satisfaction at the neglect of others or our relationship with Christ, we will find ourselves unhappy. Only in living for God and pursuing HIS will, will we find true joy and contentment!

Why Not?

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 1 peter 4:12

When something bad happens to us, the first thing many of us have the tendency to say is, "Why me?" 

I lost my Dad to cancer 7 years ago, my husband went through brain cancer, and I just recently came close to losing my mom in a bad car accident. I will admit that there have been many times when I have asked God the question, "Why?"

When, really, if you think about it, why not? Bad things happen, it's just a part of life. As Christians, we are not exempt. No one is.

As I grow stronger in my faith and closer in my relationship to God, I now know that there is a reason for everything that happens to us, both the good and the bad. Trials will come our way, but what matters is how we deal with them, what we will learn from them, and how we will use them to bring glory and honor to God.

We can be sad and depressed and feel sorry for ourselves and get mad at God....or we can choose to use our trials and tribulations as opportunuties for growth. There is always something to learn from each and every experience that we go through. Our struggles make us stronger, they teach us, they build our character, and they teach us patience.

And I think most importantly, they force us to draw closer to God, to trust in Him, and to truly know what it means to depend fully and completely on Him.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. -
Romans 5: 3-4

No Worries

"A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses.”-Jesus

I was thinking the other day: why do we always want MORE when we already have SO much?

God has blessed me beyond measure, with more than I need, and yet I still find myself worrying sometimes about things like money and clothes and food. Then I think about the people out there who don’t have even HALF of what I have; that actually, MOST of the world doesn’t have near what I have. And I feel self-conscious about not having the trendiest clothes, the cutest shoes, or the best haircut???  

Sometimes the things that consume our minds are SO not even what really matters. I want to set my sights on Heaven, not the silly things that distract us down here on Earth!

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

-Matthew 6:25-27

It Changes Everything

Believing in Christ and knowing Christ are not the same; saying you're a Christian and having a relationship with Jesus are two completely different things.

Having a relationship with Him changes everything.

It changes the way you think.

It changes the way you talk.
It changes the things you pursue.

It changes your mindset.

It changes your perspective.

It changes the way you act.

It changes your priorities.

It changes what you value.

It changes your attitude.
It changes your life.

If you don't see a change in your life, if you are no different than those around you who don't know Christ, I sincerely doubt that you have relationship with Him. If you KNOW Christ and are growing closer to Him each day, then your behavior and attitude will be a reflection of that.
 

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. -Romans 12:2