Standard Reduction

As Christians, on a regular basis we are telling those around us how impossible it is to live up to the standard that Jesus laid out for us in the Bible. In some ways it is true, and it is not possible for us to literally be Jesus. It is absolutely wrong however to justify our own weakness, failure, and sin by claiming impossibility. God makes all things possible, and regardless of how corny or canned this may sound, it is true.
Jesus asked us to do so many things that are not possible on our own. He asked us to pray for the sick and we would see them recover, tell mountains to move in faith and watch them move, prophesy, cast out demons, battle against principalities and forces of darkness, and so many other miraculous things. The amazing thing is we often have the faith to see these things happen and we don't tell people that healing is impossible, we pray. Even when we don’t see results from our prayers or when they lack real faith we don’t think call those things we prayed for impossible. If we are praying for something it means that somewhere deep down within us we believe that God can make it happen. However, when it comes to character issues and issues of the heart we quickly jump to the abounding grace of God and remind each other that character less than Jesus is acceptable because we believe His character to be unattainable. “What shall we say then? ‘Shall we continue in sin that grace my abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?’” (Romans 6:1-2 NKJV). The remarkable thing is we actually have the most instruction, examples, and practical wisdom on the subject of becoming more like Jesus; yet this is what we have the least faith for. Jesus was a human being just like we are; he suffered all the same temptations and struggles, yet overcame. Yes, he was also fully God but we also have the opportunity to allow the God of the universe to reside within each of us. I am not trying to say this is an easy or painless process, or even that we will ever achieve perfection this side of heaven. Just because it cannot be achieved on this earth, in this lifetime, doesn’t mean that we are afforded grace to quit being transformed. The intention of grace is not to allow sinful people to sin without consequence; grace is an allowance for the things we have not yet overcome either for lack of recognition or for a battle in progress. God’s grace covers more of our lives than we will ever be able to comprehend on this earth, we have no idea how much he gives us by simply allowing us to take the next breath. Who are we then to claim a greater measure of his undeserved grace in an attempt to cover our sin and rebellion? It is only by God’s grace that we are even given an awareness and authority to overcome sin. God is constantly showing us new areas we need to improve, sin to weed out, attitudes of our heart that are wrong. He isn’t showing us those things to tell us he is disappointed or angry with us but rather that he loves us and wants to see his children grow, live, and thrive, all for his glory.
We must quit making allowances not only for our own sin but for the sin of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Often the sin that we allow and extend the grace to in our brother or sister is the same sin that we struggle with. Watching someone else struggle with the same sin makes us empathetic towards that struggle, this is not a bad thing; that empathy should move us to battle not complacency. Every time that we assure a brother or sister that their sin is not in their control and that it’s not possible to overcome, we are consenting to sin and agreeing with death, darkness, and the plan of the enemy for their life. I personally don’t want anyone to be consenting with my sin. I want my brothers and sisters to be pushing me forward toward Christ-likeness, no matter what the cost.
I want to be clear that I am not condoning legalism, which is also sin. I am simply convicted to call myself and my brothers and sisters higher, to be more like Christ and less like this world. God’s grace is more than enough and I am not limiting God in any way; in fact the closer to Christ we become the more dependent on grace we realize we truly are. God’s grace and mercy covered our every sin from the beginning of time until the end, every single one is hanging on the cross covered in the blood of Jesus. I thank God for his overabounding grace, that grace is what allows me to sit here and commune with him and gain a deeper understanding of his heart.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

Love

I've been struggling for a while now about what the church preaches on and what they are lacking to preach on. Most of the time it comes down to two different options. The first option is the church who preaches almost exclusively from the perspective of God loving us and being for us. The second option is the church who preaches nearly exclusively on God's judgement and wrath. These options are both true and also incomplete and wrong. Any truth that is not presented in fullness is no longer true or biblical. The bible specifically says Jesus Christ will offend and be a stumbling block, yet our concerns in preaching are often based in the fear of offending (Isaiah 8:14; 1Peter 2:8 KJV).
There are many problems and issues with the American church today; I am only focusing on one issue that I believe is the root of the rest. The main problem is that we are not preaching the love of God. We preach love that is simply romantic, fantastical, prosperous, and inoffensive. The other side of that coin is the church that preaches from a place of condemnation that tells God's people that He is a distant and angry God. Neither one of these viewpoints presents the love of God. God's love is perfect beyond what we can imagine or comprehend as human beings. I don't pretend to have it totally figured out, but I do know one thing, I know that the love of God would never omit any portion of the truth.
I realized that we as Christians judge and condemn different preaching for different reasons but ultimately when it comes down to it none of us have it right. It does us absolutely no good to preach about how much God wants to be in relationship with us and be affectionate toward us if we do not receive the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We must know what we are lacking in order to know what we are in need of. We don't know we need heaven if we don't know the reality of hell. The converse of this is true as well. It does us no good to know the sin we are in and the hell we deserve to be condemned to if we don't also couple it with the redeeming revelation of the cross and Jesus' love for us. If we believe that God is distant and angry and lacking desire for relationship with us then we likewise are distant and do not desire relationship with Him. We are not able to love God on our own; we need His help; we can only love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
Our problem is rooted in our incomplete and inaccurate definition of love. We must begin to define love as God defines love. God's love is perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Love means telling the truth even when it is difficult, even when it is painful, even when it might mean losing something. Love means you are most concerned about giving God the most glory and putting Him above everything else. If we really loved people we wouldn't be so concerned about being their friends as about saving them from eternity in hell. The concern shouldn't be how many people are in the seats Sunday morning. Salvation is much more than raising your hand and repeating a prayer. The reason the majority of Americans claim to be Christian and still live the same life they did prior to their decision to receive Jesus is simple, they never really received Jesus in the first place, there was no heart transformation. At best we hand people a set of rules and regulations, another incomplete religion to waste our lives on.
We must refuse to present anything less than the whole truth. We assume that people won't come, people won't get saved if we say anything too offensive, if we preach the real complete Gospel. In some aspects that is true, some people would leave; the people who would leave don't have transformed Christ serving lives in the first place and we are doing them no favors by allowing them to sit in a state of false security. The overall numbers in our churches will dramatically increase as the Gospel goes forth in its entirety, this is why Christianity is so stagnant in America. America is too comfortable already, we don't even know what we are lacking, we have so much materialistically we don't know what else to seek after anymore. American's are looking for something more, they are looking for God, they are looking for Jesus, they just can't seem to find Him because He is being misrepresented or unrepresented. Without the entire gospel Jesus just becomes a good man and teacher at best; without the full gospel He cannot be God; without the full gospel He loses all of His power to people. We must give God back His gospel, we must cease the corruption of it, we must love people in truth. Let God be God and let man be man. Let God make the decision what people can and can't handle to hear, trust him to open their ears and soften their hearts, trust God to love people better than we could even imagine, just like He has done for each one of us. When we do this we will see growth in the church again, we will see transformation of hearts and minds, cities and states, and entire nations.

So let's do it! Let's really preach the Gospel again!
LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE LOVE TRUTH!

Single

It really is an alternative lifestyle to be totally and completely satisfied with being single and not have that singleness rooted in bitterness, anger, or hurt of any kind. In this world it is all about never being alone or pretending that when you are alone it's because you chose it. It's all about how to get the attention of the man you work with or see in the grocery store or find on the internet. We all desire to be loved and cared for that's how we were created so it makes sense that we would always be seeking after it and longing for that connection with someone. I'm not single because I want some high-power career or don't want to be "tied down"; I am single because I have found that as crazy as it sounds Jesus really is enough. To be honest I can't imagine ever being married without having this revelation of the joy and blessing of singleness. I used to think people who said things like this were just crazy and didn't understand me. The truth is they just had a huge amazing revelation of the love and sufficiency of Jesus Christ that I had yet to grasp. I am still not fully there, I am working on it, and I am pursuing Him as my love and passion.

The only way I am able to sit here and talk about anything even close to this is because of His love and grace. God has taken me through a year of intense healing and restoration from my past filled with sexual immorality and divorce. I needed to learn that God loved me and did not disqualify me from being loved and cherished just because of my past. We all have a past, and truth be told a present, life of sin and disobedience. It's a process and you learn and grow everyday, sometimes you stumble and fall, sometimes you leap and run. Life is about one thing, loving and following Jesus Christ with everything you have. We make it so complicated, He isn't hard to follow, our flesh is just hard to kill. It is painful to wake up everyday and pick up your cross again, put on the mind of Christ again, and not take it off when it gets tough. Our very nature desires sin over God, so there is always going to be a battle this side of heaven. Obedience isn't difficult because of the things God asks us to do, nothing is impossible with Him and His strength. We simply don't have the faith to believe He is capable. We don't take the time to tune our ears and hearts to His voice, and then we claim confusion over what is His leading and what is not. Most often the thing you want to do least is the thing He is asking you to do and you are just trying to avoid doing the difficult thing. Not always, but most of the time.

So, I couldn't do any of this on my own, at least not successfully, and I wouldn't want to. I am weak and human and sinful. It is not fun but totally and completely worth it, every time another part of my old sinful flesh dies and more of Him becomes alive in me. I have more joy and freedom than I ever imagined possible. Being single isn't always a life-long decision and I'm not sure that it is for me but it is a season of blessing and joy that you will never get back once you are married. I could never ever imagine having this taken away from me, I am so selfish with the time He has given me, I will never get another chance to spend all my time with Jesus if I am married. This is a sacred and blessed time of preparation and immense joy. I definitely never thought I would be saying any of these things but I never thought this much joy and love and happiness was possible either. With God the impossible is possible and I am so grateful for that.

When Your Whole Life Changes...

What do you do when you realize that you have given up everything for one thing?
What do you do when the friends you once had are no longer?
What do you do when you find that your family just doesn't understand?
What do you do when you notice all your hopes and dreams have been exchanged?
What do you do when you finally figure out it's all about ONE?

You fall on your knees in extravagant worship of the ONE who made it all worth it. You commit your everything to Him forevermore because He is the only thing worth your everything. I am so incredibly blessed to know the God-Man Jesus Christ who loves me and calls me His bride! I am so in love with Him, I am lovesick for more of Him. The truth always has been and always will be that it's all about Jesus! It's all about His love. He is the friend that will always be there at 3am to cry with and hold me. He is the one who never leaves me, no matter how I mess up. I have been abandoned over and over again in this world but now I am in love with the one who will never abandon me or forsake me. He is my new family, He's always been my Daddy, my love, my best friend, my counselor, and I just had to invite Him to be those things for me. My hopes and dreams have all been exchanged for the things of heaven. I didn't give up my dreams for misery, I gave them up for bigger dreams, dreams I never would have thought possible before, dreams that will have eternal impact not just earthy momentary effects.
When I really figured out in my own heart that it's all about Jesus and I was willing to give up my biggest dreams and desires to Him, I felt more free, more alive, more hopeful, than I ever have before. I am finally truly in love, I am blessed beyond belief. My Husband will really never die, I don't ever have to worry about being left alone without a provider, protector, and love, He will always be there, always!

Thank you Jesus, I love you more and more everyday!

Opportunities Missed & Time Well Wasted

This saying was originally a sarcastic sentiment aimed at the disappointment and frustration felt during a deployment to Afghanistan when my expectations weren't met, and my advise was not followed. Today I see in in a new light, I realize how often I am guilty of this in my own life. I have so many opportunities everyday to meet with the Lord, to encounter Him, to be in His holy presence; and I manage to miss them all the time. I am wasting my time on the good things and missing out on the best that He has for me. I lay in bed at the end of the day and realize how little time I spent with Him yet again. Jesus is supposed to be the one I love, my Husband, best friend, counselor, and so many other things, but most importantly Lord of my life. I don't act like it when it comes to the way I spend my time and energy. I can easily push through and stay up until 3,4,5, 7 in the morning with friends playing games and hanging out, but when it comes to the one who died for me I am constantly too tired or too busy.
I have a million things in my life I want to change, to do differently, to become, but most of all I just want to spend more time with Him; I want to spend all my time in His presence. If I can just manage to give Him more of me and more of my time the other things that need changing will transform in His presence because the imperfections cannot exist when I am in Him and He is in me.
So this year my resolutions are all going to be dependent on Him and spending more time with Him. I want to do so many things; I want all those things to only be done in His strength and His will. I want the changes this year to come from His heart not mine. I have goals but they are in my open palm, I have no grip on them. He gives and takes away. If I don't accomplish anything this year besides spending more time with Him, being in His will more, listening to His heart more attentively; then I think I have still accomplished the greatest goal.
God always provides for me, He blows me away every time, I am never disappointed. His decisions have always been best, mine have always been second rate at best. I want to put my trust and my life in the hands of the one who has the greatest interest in it. To Him be the glory, to Him be all honor, to Him be praise.
I want this year to be different, I want to miss less opportunities. I want to hear His voice more, and more clearly. I want to know Him more intimately. I don't want to prioritize Him to the bottom of my to-do list. I want to instead make my days revolve around finding the maximum amount of time to dedicate to Him alone. I pray that my time this year is not wasted on all the good but lesser things. I pray for wisdom to know when to say no and when to say yes. I pray that I may receive all He has for me this year, I know it's a lot and it will be incredible if I choose to give Him the permission and time to move and work in my life.