My Faith is a Journey

A childhood friend of mine tried to commit suicide twice over the past two days. His best friend recently committed suicide and it was unexpected for everyone. I’m calling him tomorrow so pray that God would open up his heart to see the hope that is in Jesus. Please pray that I would speak by the Spirit and not be misleading in anyway (guy/girl thing… you know). 

I don’t understand why over the years God has placed multiple people in my life who have been suicidal or seriously depressed, but for some reason God has decided to use me for His service in this area. Pray that I would be easy to use. Thank you.

A ministry to equip those who desire to reach those who have never heard the gospel! This is so cool. I’m definitely looking into this and praying about this!!

They’ve gotten better and better since I’ve started walking with Christ. God has opened up many doors to me being able to minister to her in truth and love. I’ve messed up and stumbled my words and have tried to impress her with my intelligence (ha) to win her over to Christ, but last night when I was talking to her I just prayed to God to know what to say and He helped me to speak clearly and truthfully. Did you know that’s the meaning of the word “bold” in the New Testament? “To tell it all”, my Hebrew’s teacher would say. It means to speak clearly and without reservation. That’s what I did last night. The conversation ended with me explaining what a disciple of Christ is and if she wants to be one. She realized it is quite a commitment, and has to think about it. I’m soo glad for that! Then she asked me, “Well God isn’t going to shun me, right?” I answered that all people who aren’t followers of Christ do not inherit eternal salvation. She was quiet. Then she said it wasn’t fair and that she doesn’t like that. Well….. I think I know what we’re going to do our bible study on (we’ve been planning one for a while). 

I am just so excited. I’m so thankful that God has opened my eyes to the glorious riches of His truth so that I’m able to share it with others. Please pray for my grandma. She was so open and raw with me last night, like I’ve never seen her before. She usually claims to have a very strong relationship with God, but that lately she just doesn’t feel close to Him. Praise God that He is showing her truth, and using me to guide her through the Scriptures! 

Please pray for me too that I would put no confidence in myself or eloquent words. May God be completely given the glory for all of this. I’m so humbled by this. Thank you, Lord.

Okay, and funny note….. I asked her what kind of guy she see’s me marrying and it was along the lines of this: Ben Affleck, clean-cut, tall, slender, intelligent, and “the kind of guy that says, ‘hey hunny I just bought a boat, let’s sail around that world’”

hahahahahaaha. I laugh. Especially at the Ben Affleck/clean-cut part.

I need help understanding the concept of unreached people groups going to hell (the one’s that have never heard of Jesus). I’m reading “Radical” by David Platt right now, and it’s something he heavily focuses on. I just don’t understand (nor do I feel like I can accept) God condemning people to eternal hellfire because they’ve never been given a chance to respond to the gospel. (I mean, wouldn’t that mean aborted babies are subject to hell too?) I know this question is an emotional one, but I really just want to know the truth, emotions aside. Over these past couple years of seeking Christ, I feel he’s been progressively revealing to me the things I don’t understand and need more endurance and patience in studying. If you don’t know the answer to this question, or if Christ has not convicted you to study this topic at this point in your walk with him, please just pray for me that I would have patience and not get discouraged as I study more into this. And if you do have a biblical answer, please pray and share too. Thank you. 

“There is an ancient story out of the Middle East which tells of three merchants crossing the desert. They were traveling at night in the darkness to avoid the heat of the day. As they were crossing over a dry creek bed, a loud attention-demanding voice out of the darkness commanded them to stop. They were then ordered to get down off there camels, stoop down and pick up pebbles from the creek bed, and put them into their pockets. Immediately after doing what they had been commanded, they were then told to leave that place and continue until dawn before they stopped to set up camp. This mysterious voice told them that in the morning they would be both sad and happy. Understandably shaken, they obeyed the voice and traveled on through the rest of the night without stopping. When morning dawned, these three merchants anxiously looked into their pockets. Instead of finding the pebbles as expected, they were precious jewels! And they were both happy and sad. Happy that they had picked up some of the pebbles, but sad because they hadn’t gathered more when they had the opportunity.”

Robert Strand (Nine Fruits of the Spirit: Love)

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“Indeed, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save,
and His ear is not too deaf to hear. But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen.”

Isaiah 59:1-2

Lord God, You are mighty and strong. Your reach is boundless and You hear our heart’s cry. 

“God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Romans 3:25-26

Jesus, You are the final sin offering. You have taken the sins that once separated us from the Father and have put them upon Your shoulders. Thank you! Thank you, Father, for declaring us righteous through Your Son’s righteousness and by our faith. The barriers are broken, and Your face is unveiled. Thank you, Father.

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Hey, I’m one of them. I have a few things to say about your poor disposition that can be wrapped up in two words:

Be thankful.

Seriously, you should be. It’s taken me a while to realize what a blessing singleness is, but here, I will give you a few reasons about why you should be thankful that you are single:

1) Be thankful you do not have to tend to a family and/or husband/wife

You can wake up in the morning and have the freedom to study God’s Word for hours without having to make breakfast for your spouse or get your kids up for school. Maybe you have other morning responsibilities, but if one of them is not having to be a father/mother or husband/wife, awesome! More time with just you and the Lord. You can follow Him unreservedly, because there are no earthly responsibilities He’s given you at this point, other than simply loving Him and loving others. You can be completely open to His calling, without having to consult a family who’s dependent on you- whether that means packing your bags and moving out of the country, devoting yourself to a church ministry, going on a solitary hike in the morning, or keeping the light on late at night because you’re not tired and want to read.

2.) Be thankful you are not in a relationship with someone you know you shouldn’t be with (and that you’re not in a relationship in general)

You don’t have to deal with the heartache of “should I end it or should I not”, (even though you know you should, yet you just continue to make excuses on why you shouldn’t). You don’t have to break someone’s heart or have yours brother either! Be thankful you’re not in a relationship which is emotionally binding and distracts you from the Lord. Yay! More time to spend with you and Jesus. You don’t have to think about a boyfriend/girlfriend and how you can please him/her; you can just focus on pleasing the Lord. Plus, you don’t have to worry about being romantic or cute, or a pimple on your forehead, because Jesus takes you exactly how you are.

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Biblical perspective on it, anyone?

There’s a couple points you may want to look into more, but the straightforwardness of these answers is great.

1) Do some Christian Traditions have pagan origins?

2) Is it wrong to say “Xmas” instead of “Christmas”?

3) Should we have a Christmas tree?

“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and join this chariot.’ So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.”

Acts 8:26-31

This is beautiful. Phillip ran at the Spirit’s call. He was a chosen teacher to give this one person understanding. Then he sat with him, with humility and patience. He shared Jesus with him, baptized him, so that the eunuch ”went on his way rejoicing” (vs. 8:39).

Asleep in the Light- Kieth Green.

This song is old-school and has a cheezy video, but just watch it. I bet you a dollar you’ll be convicted.

Success: (n)
The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

Success is pretty general. As defined by a quick search on Google, it is “The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” If that is the definition of success, shouldn’t the idea of success differ from the unbeliever and believer? Yet how often does that seem to not be the case?

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“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

-Romans 8:37

So what does it mean to be a “more than conqueror”?

First, to be a conqueror in general, one must overcome the affliction at hand. Romans 8:35 lists a few things that we may allow to separate us from Christ: “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword.” Affliction is used by the Enemy to separate us from Christ. So the goal while enduring affliction, is to remain in Christ’s love- to not turn around and curse Him, to not lose faith and abandon Him. Afterall, the great promise Christ gives us in verse 39 is that nothing is able to separate us from the love of God through Jesus Christ. He will always love us, but we are definitely capable of turning away away from Him. So to be a mere conqueror we must rest in the assurance of God’s love and remain faithful to Him.

So, again, how are we to be “more than conquerors”? The answer lies in the fact that affliction is a tool of God, just as it is for Satan. Reflect back to the last few chapters of Genesis: Joseph was sold into slavery by Satan’s influence on his brothers; yet God, out of His grace and righteousness, uses their means of evil to produce good. In verse 50:20, Joseph says, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” Joseph is a prime example of someone who was “more than a conqueror”. He not only overcame affliction, but made affliction serve him, all by God’s glorious plan. This is how we become “more than conquerors”- we turn what Satan means to destroy us by separating us from Christ, to serve us by taking it captive and subjugating it.

2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”. There’s the key phrase: “working for us”. Affliction must work for us. And the only way to make affliction our slave, instead of the other way around, is to be thankful in all of our sufferings. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” It says ALL circumstances, people! I like to think of thankfulness as a weapon. It is our spiritual worship. Think back to Job: after receiving news that everything he loved was gone, what did he do? Verse 1:20 says, “..Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.” This is after all of Job’s children, servants, and livestock had died, and he still worships! Satan’s desire was to use affliction to make Job curse God, but God used it to edify Job. In the end, affliction was used to humble Job, to take him off his high-horse, to not count himself as righteousness, to not question God: “Then Job answered the Lord and said: ‘I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know’” (42:1-3). And God restores him.

I believe that if we are able to view affliction as a means of strengthening us in Christ, we will better be able to thwart the aims of Satan. John Piper puts it wonderfully, “Affliciton is made the servant of godliness and humility and love. Satan meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”

I don’t know if anyone feels the same way as me when they watch fireworks, but I don’t want them to stop. The way they light up a dark sky and slowly shimmer away and are bursting with all different colors… They’re so beautiful to me. They got me thinking tonight about how beautiful God is. It’s a petty comparison, but at least it’s tangible. If I find fireworks extremely beautiful and find so much joy in watching them, I can’t imagine how infinitely beautiful God is. He is the one who spans the universe across His hand (Isaiah 40:12), and is the Source of all light (James 1:17). Pondering God’s greatness and beauty humbles me entirely. It provokes wonder and awe in my soul. Seeing Him I imagine to be like seeing a thousand firework displays, vast and beautiful beyond measure. Only, seeing Him wont be like seeing someone who’s merely aesthetically beautiful. Beauty is rooted directly in His being. When we see Him we will be seeing the Almighty “I AM”, the very definition of beauty, love, and all goodness. The thought of being in the presence of His glory overwhelms me. It’s no wonder that the Angels are constantly singing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty”. The only appropriate response to His unfathomable beauty is worship.

I’m watching it right now and have mixed feelings.