Dec 30, 2013
God has definitely been faithful to me! He’s been working in my life and trying to teach me to rely on Him for everything and in every area of my life. I have had a lot of trouble just completely trusting in the Lord for all circumstances. I went through a bit of a struggle recently that showed me that I had to rely on the Lord because I don’t know if I would have made it otherwise.
I seemed to notice though when I kept on yielding more and more things to the Lord, He was bringing peace to my heart. I learned that I had to start taking my eyes off of my situations and problems and concentrate on how I could be a blessing to others. I needed to concentrate on the Lord and dwell on Him and not the past. I had to let the past be the past and leave it there.
Somebody told me that I need to bring things to the foot of the cross and then leave it there and stop going back and picking it up again. It’s hard but I know that it’s worth it to do that. May the Lord get all the glory, honour, and praise for what HE has done! Here is a verse that I like. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Luke 16:10
Even while I was in South Asia, I had to learn to yield myself completely over to Christ because I did find it hard at different times. The cultural differences were something that I struggled with the most. There were quite a few things that I was told before I went out there that I had to remember to constantly keep in mind. I was feeling a little bit overwhelmed with all that but I made it through so praise the Lord! Even just the part of men and women having to be so segregated was something that I wasn’t used to. It was really good for me to be there and be out of my home environment and just experience what God had for me.
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Dec 30, 2013
So I was thinking recently about what I would say if the question was asked me “How would you describe yourself in a few sentences?”
I wasn’t sure at first, but after a little while I came up with this:
I am a child of the One True God. My mission in life is to love others as God loves me, and make His name known throughout the nations. This is accomplished through my pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ that grows deeper daily.
And that is who I am in a nutshell. How would you describe yourself?
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Dec 23, 2013
Recently the Lord has been showing me that He is allowing me to do some things in my own strength, and do it well (ex. time management, punctuality); but the things which I can never do in my own strength, because they deal with my heart or my inner life (ex. changing my attitude, getting rid of pride), I don’t have much success at all. Praise God for showing this to me! I desire to grow in this area, relying completely on Him and doing everything in His strength alone!
The other day we had a time of solitude and the Lord brought to my mind the thought “If I did not receive anything for serving the Lord, would I still serve Him?” That really struck me when He brought this to my mind! Lord, forgive me my pride and selfishness! I strongly desire to come to a place of 100% complete dependence upon my Lord and Saviour.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I am learning these things! But once again, the head knowledge helps me absolutely zilch if I do nothing to incorporate these truths into my life! Praise God for His grace in loving me and making me complete in Christ, even though I have nothing to bring Him!
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Dec 23, 2013
Tonight was the last night that my three roommates and I went out for a time of fellowship together as roommates. However, I think this (and the first time) was my favorite of all. We travelled to a coffee shop that a friend had visited a while back. We were all kind of dragging ourselves out the door because it has been a rather long week and our tiredness was catching up to us. Once we arrived, we all got ourselves some yummy snacks, coffee beverages and a small dinner, sat in the back of the cafe, and proceeded to talk, play games, and have a grand old time.
Soon, two men started to perform some live music, which was kind of loud, but rather enjoyable at the same time – though we had to talk louder so we could hear each other. We didn’t mind. My friend beat me at Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe, we played a few rounds of Kings in the Corner, sang along with some of the songs the guys were playing, shared some goofy times of nonsense laughter, and then discussed what verses the Lord had been pointing out to us lately. Soon enough, we decided to put away the game of cards and read through a book of the Bible. Ephesians was chosen, and so we proceeded to read through it chapter by chapter (passing it to the next person at the start of a new chapter).
As we read through the Word of God, we stopped to comment on certain parts as they came up in our hearts. A lot of “AMEN!”s were said before we even finished the first chapter. It was so refreshing to open up this book after hearing two messages by Gayle Erwin who came to share some words of encouragement with the Gospel for Asia staff yesterday and this morning.
When the musicians took a break, one of the guys came back to our table (we had been applauding their music the whole time and so they decided to come say “hi”) and asked what we were doing. We told him that we were reading through Ephesians and he was glad to find out we were Christians as well.
As our time drew to a close (it was getting kind of late, and we were remembering how tired we were before discussing the Lord and His goodness) we closed the Word and drove home discussing how refreshing it is to meditate on His promises and remind ourselves of His truth.
Now it’s time for me to go to bed, but I wanted to reflect a little longer on this great time of fellowship that we had as roommates, but further than that, sisters in Christ. One Body. A Unity that can only be accomplished through the Spirit of the Lord that dwells in our hearts. I’d say this was a good way to “end” this chapter of my living situations, and I very much am looking forward to my next.
Thanks for listening!
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Dec 23, 2013
“Jesus wept.”
– John 11:35
That’s the shortest verse in the Bible. And the only place in the Bible that it’s recorded that Jesus cried. Why? What was up? The verse is only a couple syllables long, but I believe these two words are there for us to learn from!
What’s the context of John 11:35? If you go ahead and read the other verses in John chapter 11, you’ll realize that Jesus was crying because His friend Lazarus had died. Lazarus had been sick; Jesus didn’t go to him right away; and Lazarus died.
You know what John 11:35 tells me? Jesus was human. Gayle Erwin’s book The Jesus Style explains this so clearly. Jesus was human – and understanding that can be revolutionary! (If you haven’t read The Jesus Style yet, go do it.) Jesus was 100% man, and 100% God. If you can’t fully comprehend that, that’s okay. Neither can I. It’s like trying to wrap your mind around the concept of infinity. But just because I don’t fully understand something, it doesn’t mean I can’t believe in it with all my heart!
“Jesus wept.” Jesus felt sorrow, he felt pain. He understands my emotions!!! And it’s okay to cry. (In class in School of Discipleship one morning, we were discussing if it was okay for guys to cry. That’s a controversial topic so I won’t get into it, but we came to the conclusion that is IS okay for guys to cry. John 11:35 tells us that Jesus did!) But one point that was brought up about this verse – Jesus didn’t remain in His sorrow. He wept, and then He moved on. He was sorrowful, and then He did something about it! Jesus was sad that Lazarus had died – and then He raised him from the dead.
So, emotions are okay. Just don’t let them rule you. Feelings come and go, but facts are what you can depend on. That sounds awfully pragmatic…but it’s true. Relying on the truth – on what God says – is so much better than relying on what I feel.
And when we feel sorrowful, that’s okay.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)
“There is a time for everything… a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,4)
But don’t dwell in that sorrow, move on, learn from it, and do something about it. Cause that’s what Jesus did.
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