Gone...

I'm leaving tomorrow morning for my summer mission field in Waterville, Minnesota where I'll be a camp counselor at Camp Omega. I'll be back, and the blog will resume after August 22. Have a great summer!! :)

Take Up Your Cross...

Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'
-Matthew 16:24

Jesus' words were unmistakable--and brutal--to His disciples. They knew what crosses were. No, they weren't silver charms worn on necklaces. They weren't the designs in tattoo parlors. The cross was an instrument of execution, one of the most violent and horrible ever invented by evil men. I can imagine the disciples gasping when Jesus uttered those words. If we fully comprehend them, well will gasp, too.
But before we get to the cross, let's understand some things. Jesus begins this statement with a tiny but important word: if. He doesn't take it for granted that you and I will be willing to follow Him along His path of radical obedience to the Father. Jesus is no bully. He doesn't try to get us to pack our bags for a guilt trip. No, He simply offers that path with all its hardships and joys, and says, "If you want the greatest adventure life has to offer, here's what the ticket will cost you." Quite frankly, the vast majority of Christians look at the brochure and say, "No thanks. The price is too high. I'll settle for something else." Only a few are willing to say, "Yes, Jesus. I want to go wherever you go." Fewer still stay on board for the whole journey. Jesus makes the offer, and He leads each of us in deciding what we want to do. The question isn't "Do you do what you want to do?" but "Do you do what He wants you to do?" In this lies the opportunity to die.
A few months later, the disciples understood what Jesus meant. At that time, the perfect Son of God, the sinless messiah, willingly "endured the cross, scorning its shame" (Heb. 12:2) in obedience to the Father. He prayed so hard that blood vessels in his forehead burst from the strain. Drops of blood fell on the ground where he agonized with his Father about dying such a horrible death. But His commitment to obey the Father was greater than His desire for comfort and approval. So He went to the cross.
That's what it means for you and me, too: to obey God no matter what He asks us to do and no matter how much we don't want to do it. On a daily basis, we are to say "Yes!" to God by:

• Valuing what God says is important, and blowing off the things that aren't
• Being loyal to the Father at all costs because He is worth of our love
• Obeying Him wherever, whenever, and however He leads

So "taking up our crosses" means to value God above all else, to serve instead of demand our rights, and to be humble instead of proud--to the point of death.
The rewards are great, but so is the cost. It costs us everything. Like the hymn says, "I surrender all," not "I surrender 10%." No one will tell you that it's an easy road. Jesus himself faced hardship on the cross. He wept. He sweat. He asked his friends to pray. The result of his obedience was that God is exalted above all and Christ became the way for you and I to be forgiven. You and I will face excruciating moments, too, when it seems like God is asking too much and nobody is there for us. Those are the most painful, and the most important, times in our journey. We will feel alone, but we aren't. God is with us, and He has not forsaken us, especially in those times of need.
[taken from A Call To Die by David Nasser]

Footprints In The Sand...

So I know that this poem isn't one that hasn't been heard multiple times before. Odds are one has heard or read the poem at least once in their lifetime. But for me, this poem was one of those things where I had read it as a child being that it was printed on a magnet on our refrigerator, but the reality of what it spoke of didn't come to me until I read it again when I was older. So often, especially in the hardest times of our lives we feel as though God is no longer in control of us and that He's slowly letting us slip away from His grasp. But we're wrong. It's in those very times where He is closest :)
--

"One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was
walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the
sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he
noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one
belonging to him, and the other to the Lord. When
the last scene of his life flashed before him, he
looked back at the footprints in the sand. He
noticed that many times along the path of his life
there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed
that it happened at the very lowest and saddest
times in his life. This really bothered him and he
questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, You said that
once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all
the way. But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life, there is only one set
of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed
you most you would leave me." The Lord replied,
"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would
never leave you. During your times of trial and
suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it
was then that I Carried You." "
--Mary Stevenson

I Will Lift My Eyes...

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt

Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let Mercy sing
Her melody over me
God, right here all I bring
Is all of me

Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me
Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
So hold me now
[Lyrics by Bebo Norman]

Everlasting God

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
Wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
Wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Our God You reign forever
Our Hope our strong Deliverer

You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles

You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
The everlasting God
The everlasting
[lyrics by Lincoln Brewster]

Verse

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." -Romans 1:18-20

Ocean Wide

Look outside
It's already light and the stars ran away with the night
Things we're said, words that we'll try forget,
it's so hard to admit I know we've made mistakes
I see through all the tears but that's what got us here

If love is an ocean wide
We'll swim in the tears we cry
They'll see us through to the other side
We're gonna make it
When love is a raging sea
You can hold on to me
We'll find a way tonight
Love is an ocean wide

I'll stay right here
It's where I'll always belong
Tied with your arms
Days like this, I wish the sun wouldn't set
I don't want to forget
What made us feel this way
You see through all my fears
And that's what got us here

If love is an ocean wide
We'll swim in the tears we cry
They'll see us through to the other side
We're gonna make it
When love is a raging sea
You can hold on to me
We'll find a way tonight
Love is an ocean wide

Love is an ocean wide enough to forget
Even when we think we can't

If love is an ocean wide
We'll swim in the tears we cry
They'll see us through to the other side
We're gonna make it
When love is a raging sea
You can hold on to me
We'll find a way tonight
Love is an ocean wide
[song by The Afters]
--
This is such a beautiful song :)

New Verse...

As my family and I were driving through the mountains in Northern Arizona this afternoon, I was reading the book of Proverbs, and this verse popped out at me, and I really enjoyed it and it's analogy.

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
[Proverbs 4:18]

Find Your Wings

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep you strong
Guide you on your way
May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh, but more than memories
[lyrics by Mark Harris]

Through Inability...

"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." -Jude 1:24-25

"There is nothing certain in a man's life but that he must lose it." -Meredith Owen

Let's face it. We control nothing. Not the weather, not wars, not the stock market--not even whether or not our loved ones will keep loving us. The pain of a broken marriage, a church split, the loss of a loved one--there are infinite levels of "sure things" from which we can fall.
That's why it's such a relief when we surrender to the fact that God is the only one who is able to keep us from falling. Not our money, not our best intentions--nothing except our Heavenly Father will keep us safe.
We have to put our trust in Him first, living a life of obedience so that we allow Him to be in all the details. If you keep in mind the eternal value of your actions, obeying Him first, you'll know that whatever circumstances come your way, He ordained them.
There is only one true God who can keep us from falling. He is the only one who can hold all things in His hand. You can't put your security in your marriage, your children, your job, your future...you can only be dependent on a God who has always been and who will always be.
Our inability to keep ourselves from falling is the very thing that turns us to a God who is, in fact, able. It's one of the reasons Jude was warning the early church to cleave to Christ and not be distracted by the disability of man. When we are reminded that we are unable and He is able, we find ourselves free, leaning more and more on Him. And through our leaning, God reveals His glorious stability.

"I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess." -Martin Luther
(Glory Revealed, David Nasser)

My Soul Thirsts For You...

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Enter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.

For the enemy has pursued my soul;
he has crushed my life to the ground;
he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.

I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

Answer me quickly, O Lord!
My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge!
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!

For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your servant.

[Psalm 143]

Refining Silver...

Malachi 3:3, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."
She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The silversmith answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed!
The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."
--
What an amazing analogy of what God does in our lives!! We go through those 'hot' times in life where we feel like we're sitting in the middle of a hot, burning fire, but all the while God has hold of us. He keeps us visible in His eyes to make sure that we will make it through. He uses those times of pain and hurt to mold us until the person that He wants us to be. He burns away our impurities. God desires for us to be like Him, and He keeps 'refining' us until we are pure and He can see His reflection when He looks at us. What an amazing thought and encouragement :)

Reassurance...

"You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
-Psalm 16:11

Praise God! :)

Quoted Encouragement...

"Never give up on something that you can't go a day without thinking about."

Summer Hopes...

I've been praying for a few months for a summer employment opportunity to arise.

I had an amazing idea which incorporates my two biggest passions in life: Christ and children.

I did my research.

I sent in my applications.

I got a phone call for an over-the-phone interview.

It went AMAZING!

Two weeks to wait for a definite answer.

This would be an amazing opportunity.

New challenges.

Extreme growth.

I'm excited :)