Sep 4, 2013
Grace is so amazing! It completely boggles my mind! I don’t understand how the God of the universe could bestow grace upon us humans. To think, that because of His grace, I get to spend eternity with Him forever! If he would have given justice, hell would have been our destination after death. If it was mercy, God might have let us just live in an earth state for eternity. But no, He gave us…me grace! I can look forward to being in His presence till the end of time and beyond!
Looking forward to being with Him forever is staggering as it is, but I also have the chance to live in freedom until I wait for that day. His grace frees me to be no longer have to obey the enemy with his temptations, or my own fallen flesh. Through grace, I can live free from the bondage of these things, as well as my own pride and legalistic thinking.
Knowing all this, my mind (like I said before) is completely blown! I am reminded that the Lord loves me (I will never be able to understand how much He does) This makes me want to spend all my time with Him, alone. Just the two of us. To have no distractions keeping me away from knowing Him more.
This amazing grace is, well…amazing to know about, but it is so much better to live! Jesus has helped me to, more or less, chill out. I tend to be very legalistic, and when I make a mistake, I feel like a failure (which is not true). As I apply this grace, I am reminded that I will make mistakes, but God does not view me as a failure. He views me as what I will be when He is done perfecting me. I can’t tell you how encouraging and relieving that is!
When I am reminded of this grace that God has shown towards me, I find it easier to have grace for others as well. I need to continue to have grace for others, because the Lord is working in their lives as He is working in mine. He might be working on different characteristics or sins hidden deep down inside. I should let God be God and not judge my brother or sister because they might not have the same opinion on the issue being discussed. Grace gives me room to respect, and even more importantly, to accept their opinion. To have an open mind that is ready to hear different views on a topic. I know, and am reminded how much I didn’t deserve God’s grace, and this allows me to give grace to others.
I can’t say that I have attained the grace yet in all areas of my life, but I sincerely hope that one day, I will be able to say I am completely free. Free in Christ, free indeed. Free at last.
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Aug 19, 2013
I was almost shocked when I read “Touching Godliness” by K.P. Yohannan. It gave me a completely different view of submission and authority. A big thing that hit me was how people that have authority over us are placed over us by God and when we disobey them we are actually disobeying God. I really love Jesus and to think of disobeying Him really hurts me. Now I have a hard time obeying when I don’t feel like I have to and knowing that when I don’t submit or obey my delegated authority I hurt my Lord and Savior made me give it more thought. Another thing that is a challenge to me, is the truth about submission; that it’s a matter of the heart. I should always have a good attitude at heart when obeying, that’s when I give the glory to God. This book was bold, challenging and frustrating but it made a lot of sense! I couldn’t disagree with much because by the time I was done reading the chapter it all clicked and I realized that it was the truth.
One of my favorite chapters was chapter 3, “The Benefits of Submission.” First of all, it’s comforting but it also encourages me and gives more reasons to submit besides just the fact of being obedient to the Lord. Even though that’s the biggest reason and should probably be the only reason, but I also know now that God uses delegated authority for our own protection. Through submitting to our authorities we get protection from the powers of darkness and we are protected from making bad choices. We are restored from past mistakes/rebellion and blessed by God and to add to all that, it pleases God when we submit! It makes sense doesn’t it? God uses our authorities like a shepherd watching his sheep and when we step out from under the covering of our authorities we become like wandering sheep.
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Aug 19, 2013
I find it amazing how God works! I’m finding that He works in different people’s lives in many different ways and He’s working in my life in a different way than He is in my brother’s and sister’s lives!
The book that we as students are going through right now is called “Grace Awakening” by Charles Swindoll. Boy!! I sure didn’t realize that I needed to have so much grace for others! The one thing that I am learning in reading this book is that if I expect others to give me grace, I also need to be willing to extend grace to them. God has given me grace so many times. I’m realizing that if it wasn’t for His grace, I wouldn’t be here. Thank You Lord for Your grace!
Another thing that I am trying to learn is to let other people be who God intended them to be. I don’t have to try to change anyone or make them believe exactly the way I believe because that’s not showing them grace. I have to let them be them and hopefully they’ll let me be me. I want to be able to work together with them in unity even if we don’t necessarily agree with each other in everything but we can still grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ together!
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Jul 22, 2013
I remember when I landed in Texas on August 17th, 2012, after a long flight from my hometown Boise, ID. I got off the plane, my eyes red from crying most of the flight over (after an emotional goodbye with my family and best friend), and made my way to the baggage claim. I got a text from my house mentor, someone I had never met and only talked to on the phone briefly, and told her I was short and wearing an orange shirt. She found me and I remember walking out of the airport and being smacked in the face with the heat and humidity that makes mid-August infamous in Texas for. The drive to my apartment was so much to take in. The sky felt so huge…and I realized that’s because there were no mountains. Everything was flat. And brown. I remember thinking, ok, Lord, here I am sacrificing this year to You like You asked. Let’s get it over with so I can get on with the life I’ve dreamed of having – being a pilot in the Air Force, maybe studying Journalism, and eventually becoming a missionary pilot (long down the road, that is).
Here I am, nearly a year later, still disliking Texas and the heat as much as when I first came, but so thankful for the year I’ve had here and so completely changed by the Lord that I’ll be coming back to live here and serve as a full-time staff member of Gospel For Asia for as long as the Lord wills me to. Isn’t that crazy? Tell me this is where I would be a year ago and I would have smacked you! Just kidding. But seriously, when you buckle down and seek the Lord’s will – actually desire to know what HE wants for you, not what YOU would like Him to want for you – surprising things are going to happen. You might just have to give up dreams you’ve cherished since you were tiny. You might have to give up comforts, like living in an area of the country that is absolutely beautiful and perfect to go to one that nearly kills you with its humidity and heat and insanely large insects. You might have to accept the fact that you won’t be around for as many family holidays as you would like…you might miss important family milestones and even feel a bit lonely, seperated from the people you’ve lived with and loved all your life.
It’s different for each person, but giving things up comes with picking up your cross and following our Savior. Does that sound depressing? It’s difficult, yes. But when I understand that the desires of my heart are now irreversably entwined with the desires the Lord has for me, and when I dwell on His incredible love, and how like in Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete only in Him, and chapter 3:3, my life is hidden with Christ, and He is now my life, then my perspective changes and there is nothing I would rather be doing than following where He leads.
Home is with Him. That’s one thing I’ve learned this year. If He calls me to Antarctica it would be all right, because He is with me in Antarctica and I am fulfilling the purpose He created me for by obeying Him.
Spending a year here at Gospel For Asia’s School of Discipleship has taught me a marvelous paradox…to obtain freedom, I must become a slave. To experiance life to the fullest, I must die – only in sacrifice will I gain my heart’s desire. Prayer is the most powerful weapon given to mankind – the ability to enter the presence of the Lord God Almighty and to intercede before His throne. Fellowship and transparency with the body of believers is vital to spiritual growth. Brokenness and submission are worthy goals I will be striving all my life to attain. And the greatest of all is LOVE.
As my year here ends, so does this chapter of my life. But the full story, the great adventure, is just beginning.
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Jul 22, 2013
Today I got to visit a Bridge of Hope center in a slum. I walked into a room full of kids nicely studying. That ended pretty quickly when I got my camera out. I was swarmed and surrounded. Laughing off language barriers, we became friends quickly.
Despite their background of poverty and slum life, the children are now receiving education, medical attention, nutritious food and school supplies through Bridge of Hope. They learn a new English word every day at the Bridge of Hope center. And soon they started practicing the language on me.
One of their phrases was “What is your favorite…?” We discussed favorite colors, countries, cricketers and more. When they found out I was from America, they started telling me excitedly, “My sponsor’s in America. His name is so and so,” or “My sponsor’s from Canada and her name is such and such.”
I was reminded of just how meaningful it is to sponsor a child like this. These kids are experiencing the love of Christ because of people halfway across the world. The children have never met their sponsors, but they know their names. They correspond. They connect.
What a beautiful relationship.
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Jul 17, 2013
Desiring godliness is one thing, living it is a whole different story! In his book “Touching Godliness” Bro. K.P. does a marvelous job at breaking this subject down in a way that is easy to understand. He captures your attention with both Biblical examples and stories as well as with true to life occurrences from his own life. The message this book gives has been so long forgotten that anyone who truly grasps the message that is portrayed within its pages will, with God’s help, be able to enjoy a life that is lived in the very center of God’s will.
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