Journey of Faith

I've been doing some thinking lately. And here's a little bit of what's been running through my brain: It's the little things that matter. Not just in the good ways, but also in the bad. Sure, it's the little things like a sweet note on the mirror or a box of chocolate that make you happy and help sustain a relationship. But it's also the little things that can make you mad and ultimately ruin a relationship if you let them fester for too long. The trail of muddy shoe-prints across the kitchen, the toilet seat always being left up, etc. If you don't deal with those little things as they come along, then they sit around and simmer until they boil over into huge travesties. So that's it. Make the little things matter. Take care of them now.

I realize it's been quite a while since I've posted anything on here. But I had a thought that I felt needed to be shared somehow. I was thinking some about evangelism and the reasons/excuses we use for not sharing our faith with others. One is that we just don't think that they're ready to hear it or that they're not open to it. Here is my thought: You can't wait until someone's done struggling and it's safe for you before you reach out. They need to be saved where they're at.

[1 Samuel 1] Hannah made a vow to the Lord and she kept it. How many times to we make small promises to God in a moment of need, then fail to follow through? Yet Hannah's promise was far from small. See, she was barren and she yearned for a son. So she promised God that if He gave her a son, she would give him back to God. She promised the Lord her son. It could've been so easy for her just to say, "Okay, I'm doing a baby dedication and that's good enough." But she didn't. Hannah wholeheartedly kept her promise. She knew that half-way doesn't cut it with God. What can we learn from Hannah?

This is a song called Forever Reign  by Hillsong that has really spoken into my life. I posted the lyrics and I hope that it encourages you, as well. You are good You are good When there’s nothing good in me You are love You are love On display for all to see You are light You are light When the darkness closes in You are hope You are hope You have covered all my sin You are peace You are peace When my fear is crippling You are true You are true Even in my wandering You are joy You are joy You’re the reason that I sing You are life You are life In You death has lost it’s sting [Chorus] Oh I’m running to Your arms I’m running to Your arms The riches of Your love Will always be enough Nothing compares to Your embrace Light of the world forever reign You are more You are more Than my words will ever say You are Lord You are Lord All creation will proclaim You are here You are here In Your presence I’m made whole You are God You are God Of all else I’m letting go [Repeat Chorus] My...

Have you ever had one of those moments when you're spending time alone with God and He totally just wows you with one of His truths/promises and it completely blows your mind? Because it just happened to me. I am enough. Not exactly a work of genius maybe, but it completely hit me today. See, I made this list. On one side, it had who I am in my eyes, with all of my failures and short-comings. Then on the other side, I had a list of who I am in God's eyes. And I had come down to where I had space for one more word. As I was thinking about this, I realized it. I AM ENOUGH. I am not my short-comings, I am not my mistakes, and I am not all my faults. I'm not too much to handle, to hard to love, or too stressed out. I am enough in the eyes of my creator. I am enough. This may be simple, but it's just what I needed tonight.

Lately, I've been struggling with finding hope in my day-to-day life. Instead of going on a long rampage as to why I'm feeling despair and all the details of my life while attempting to talk out a solution, I am going to go straight to the ultimate source of all hope: Scripture. So I hope that if you, like myself, are struggling with hope, this helps you out some. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18   So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 1 Peter 1:3    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the ...

So lately I've been reading this book called Butterfly in Brazil  by Glenn Packiam (Great book). The caption on this book is, "How your life can make a world of difference." That's something we all want, isn't it? I mean everyone wants to change the world, leave their mark in some way, shape, or form. The question is how? Chapter seven in this book is titled "yourspace." This chapter was so personally compelling to me because it spoke on how many of us yearn so strongly to do great and mighty things for the Lord, yet are unwilling to do the simple, seemingly mundane things that actually spark the biggest change. For instance, Packiam told the story of Martin Luther. Luther is known as a great spiritual leader and the founder of Protestantism. However, this great motion all started when Luther nailed his "95 Theses" (contesting abuses of the Catholic church) to his local  church door. Luther could've chosen to send that letter anywhere, ...

"If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow-to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him-then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you. Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the western sea. No man will be able to stand against you. The LORD your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go."                                 -Deuteronomy 11:22-25 If we are living in obedience, we have no need to fear. Period. End of story. If we are living in obedience to God, then he will protect us. Granted, in today's terms, we probably won't be given nations, but look at this promise! If the Israelites would just obey God, he would make the...

"Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other."     -Deuteronomy 4:39 There. Is. No. Other. No person, no thing, no fad. Nothing but God. He is all that matters for life. He is eternity. Whatever HIS plan is, I must pursue whole-heartedly. I must run after Him.

Peace. Something we long for. Strive for. Yearn for. It should come easily. Naturally. Freely. Yet so much time is spent finding it. In fact, we often make ourselves uneasy. Over what? Peace? No. Peace in our hearts, but war in our lives? How can this be? How is it possible? One Sunday School answer:                                            Jesus. Peace.

In theory, we love the idea of walking on water or being thrown in the furnace. However, when it comes to living that out, that's a completely different story. Having that blind faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is terrifying. not only being thrown in the furnace, but being bound beforehand? Instead of testing God or making Him prove Himself, these young men took the free fall of faith and watched God catch them. What about you? What furnace are you unwilling to walk into? In Daniel 3, the Lord met Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego IN the fire. IN their trial. In Matthew 14, Jesus met Peter IN the stormy seas IN his moment of doubt. And He did so IMMEDIATELY (v. 31). So what storms are you unable to walk into? Jeremiah 29:11 speaks f God's plan. However, the Lord says this while the Israelites are in the midst of captivity. Then in Jeremiah 42:10, God says He will rescue the Israelites if they stay in the land they're in (captivity). So how far do you trust the Lor...

What does that even mean? The dictionary definition of complacency is: " pleased,   especially   with   oneself   or   one's   merits, advantages,   situation,   etc.,   often   without   awareness  of   some   potential   danger   or   defect;   self-satisfied." You may be asking yourself, "What's so wrong about that?" Well, let's think about that for a second. As Christians, are we called to a life of being pleased with ourselves? Absolutely not. Because if we are, the dictionary definition predicts what can happen. There's potential danger. That danger is becoming stagnant. We should be growing in the Lord and changing from our sinful nature on a regular basis. And since there is always a sin in our life, we have absolutely no reason to be complacent.  So, my friends, let's challenge ourselves. Don't be complacent. In fact, find another word that you want to be. And strive towards that ...