Final Judgment: It's a Lifestyle.

What did Jesus mean when he said we needed to visit the sick? In Matthew 25 when speaking on the last judgment, Jesus said that His people were the ones who visited the sick, clothed those in need of clothes, visited those in prison. 

What does Jesus say about those he calls to eternal life? What does Jesus say his followers will do? What will they be about? In this particular section of Matthew, Jesus is seperating the goats from the sheep. He is separating the true followers of Christ from the rest--including those that may profess to be Christians, but are not following Jesus. This is the final judgment. THIS IS IT!

Let me go ahead and explain just a bit about what that means. What does it mean Jesus separates the true Christians from the rest? How can I be sure of my salvation?

As Christians, we are told to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12) We should constantly be checking and ensuring where we are in our walk with the Lord. We should constantly be growing in our faith. We can only be growing in our faith if we are praying (and listening to God's voice). We need to be reading His Word (the Bible) on a daily basis! We need to be A. Growing in our knowledge of the Lord. (Reading God's Word, Fellowshiping with other believers who are walking the Christian walk) B. Bearing fruit. In John 15, we are told that we are to be bearing fruit. Jesus is our vine. He is our power source. We need to be growing in different areas of our lives. We need to seeking to live a more obedient life to Christ. We need to be pursuing a relationship with Him. Some of fruits are things like: patience, self-control, gentleness, love, and faithfulness. There are others as well.

Most important is the Holy Spirit. We should know that the Holy Spirit is living and working inside of us. We will feel convicted when we are committing sins. Also the more we grow in the Lord, our faith in Him is going to come out through our actions. We are not saved by doing good works, but our faith will come out as we continue to grow in our Lord Jesus!

James 2:17-19 says:

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Maybe, you are reading this and are not feeling confident in your salvation. Stop all the distractions right now, and pray. Read and pray. This is a good website to go to if you are still feeling unsure and stuck with questions.

1. First, we must admit to God that we are sinners. We must realize that our sins have definite consequences. My sins have consequences. Your sins have consequences. Each one of us will have to answer for all that we have said and done. Our sins will result in a physical and spiritual death without Christ. We need to recognize this! Our sins have separated us from God, and stopped us from receiving the blessings that He has given us. One of those blessings is Heaven.
2. Second, we must believe that God sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus paid the price, so that we would not have to be separated from God.
3. Third, we must confess Christ as our Lord! Jesus died on the cross for our sins! We should honor him with our lives, and choose to have a daily relationship with Jesus!

These are the steps of becoming a Christian. As we learn and grow in Christ, we will live differently. We will seek to live obediently. Philippians 2:12 can also be said this way: "Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear."

Are we seeking to obey God with deep reverence and Godly fear?

Today's scripture is on the Final Judgement. We will either have inheritance of God's Kingdom from the obedience of following Jesus, or reap the punishment from not following God. God sent his son to pay for our sins. It is about seeking justice. God is all about justice. Does that mean we will always be obedient? We all fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. God seeks our heart. God knows our hearts. He knows our motives. God is not going to let us slide by if He has called us to do more. God is not like a human who will not know if we are giving our all or not. God is our Creator! He knows us better than we know ourselves, as Psalms 139 teaches us.

Matthew 25:31-40 says: 

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

What is happening?

Jesus is on the throne.

There are angels with Him.

All the nations will be there! Meaning, the entire world will be there!

Followers of Jesus on the right; Everyone else on the left.

Jesus, the King, will tell his followers to "COME!"

They have inherited the Kingdom!

It is not just going to church.

It is more than that!

It is a lifestyle of literally "denying ourselves and taking up our cross to follow Jesus". (Luke 9:23)

It is feeding the hungry.

It is giving a drink to the thirsty.

It is clothing the poor.

It is visiting the sick.

It is visiting those in prison.

It is welcoming a stranger.

In Jesus' exact words, whatever we do to the least of these--we are doing to Jesus Christ the King of the world!

What happens if we don't? What if we choose to (A) Not follow Jesus (B) Not give Him our life. Ultimately, they both have the same consequence.

Let's look further in the passage.

Here is Matthew 25:41-46: 

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

We will be told to depart from Jesus!

Put in eternal fire with the devil and his angels.

The punishment is an eternal one.

While the righteous inherit eternal life because of Jesus' sacrifice, those who choose not to follow Jesus with their lives will face eternal punishment. I know why I follow Jesus. I follow Jesus, because He is my friend, my companion, my husband. Jesus gives me strength to carry on through the days! According to Jesus, it is about more than going to church on Sunday mornings. It is about more than giving our tithes. Jesus wants our lives! 

What does Jesus say?

It is feeding the hungry.

It is giving a drink to the thirsty.

It is clothing the poor.

It is visiting the sick.

It is visiting those in prison.

It is welcoming a stranger.

It is a lifestyle!

Following Jesus COSTS.

Many people have given up their lives and died to follow Jesus!

We must count the COST that comes with following Jesus Christ.

It is about living beyond ourselves. It is about more than our feelings or our "wants". It is about choosing to recklessly abandoning our self-contained world, and FOLLOW the One who gave us life! God gave us life, and a way out of the mess we created with our sin! Jesus is the Word. Jesus is God in flesh. He became our sin offering. He paid the price we could NOT pay!

Choosing to follow Jesus means choosing to not follow the world. It means to give up your self interest for your desires to pursue God's desires. This is the easiest way to describe these verses. I know I fail at fulfilling Jesus' commands for my own life, but I am praying that God will continue to refine me and grow me in Him. I want to be more like Jesus and less like Stacey. I want to imitate more of Jesus, and become less like this world.

This world is all about "me, me, and me", while we should not be so self-center--it seems to be the worldly characteristics rubbing off on us. This world teaches us to worry, agonize over money, and do only what we want to do. This is not God's ways, no it is the world's ways.

In God's kingdom, things are much different. We are told to LOVE others. Jesus has shortened the ten commandments and given us two. We are to LOVE God and LOVE our neighbor. God does wants ALL of us! If you had someone who was your passion and desire, would you settle for less? What if they would only give you a hour once a year? Would you settle for this? Or, would you want more? We were SEPARATED from God, because of our sins! And, God gave us sooo much more! But, what did it cost? It cost Him his only son! His sinless son!

So yeah, God wants all your heart, mind, body, and soul! Does He not deserve it? The One who has GIVEN you life. Not only has He given you life, He has rebirthed you and given you aspiritual life!

We are told to give away everything to follow Jesus. Jesus knows the cost. God knows the cost. We too need to realize the cost, and then recklessly abandon ourselves, religion, and society. We need to just fall deeper in LOVE with Jesus, because it is a L-O-V-E relationship!

In visiting the sick, it is not so much the action--it is the heart behind the action. Are you doing it because it is required of you? Or, are you doing it because of your love for God and a compassion to be there and encourage others? Are you giving clothes to others, because you feel it is required of you? Or, are you doing it out of a love for others? Each of these things should be done out of LOVE for God. A kind of love that Jesus has CLEARLY demonstrated for us!

God wants our very best. He wants us to work as though we are serving Him, not our bosses, our teachers, our family members.. Same with how we can love others. Are we doing it with the same kind of motivation as though we were serving Christ?

It is about feeding the hungry.

It is about giving a drink to the thirsty.

It is about clothing the poor.

It is about visiting the sick.

It is about visiting those in prison.

It is about welcoming a stranger.

Jesus was about ALL of these things as He wanted the earth, and lived among us.

We are called to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1). How can we do better at living this kind of life with the right motivations this week? How can we love others with humility?

Lent

It is that time of year: lent. If you are like me, you have no idea what lent is, or it's significance. Maybe, you have never heard the four letter word before. Maybe, you have seen posts about it on facebook. Maybe, you have heard about it from elsewhere. I am here to basically share my own thoughts on the subject. I am not an expert on lent, but I definitely believe it can be a time of blessings where our relationship with the Lord can be strengthened if our heart and motives are in the right place.

Lent is viewed as a chance to give up certain luxuries and begin to practice some form of self-disciplined. It originally started as a very traditional and religious practice. It is practiced by a variety of Christians. It may mainly be practiced by Catholics. I personally am not a catholic, but I am thankful to be able to enjoy fasting alongside friends. For some, it may be a religious thing. For others like myself, it is the chance to give up something and get closer to the Lord.

There are things that distract each and every one of us, which make our lives a constant battle to maintain self-control in our lives. The practice of lent is a new chance for me to join others and grow in my walk with the Lord and be better disciplined in a particular habit. Like many others, there are numerous things that I could focus my attention on, but I am choosing to stick to one thing that I want to exercise discipline over.

I love what it stands for, as it is a discipline of fasting. It is choosing to give up something, for the One who gave up everything for us. God loves us so much that He sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. He became our Passover. He became our sin offering. He paid our debt for our sin, when we could not. We were once enemies of God, and have now been reconciled to God! We must accept His free gift of salvation. Not one of us is righteous or deserves to be in a right relationship with God, but we are--- We are in a right relationship, because of God's great love for us! Through Christ, we can come to know Him and have eternal life! Not only do we have eternal life, but we get the joy of living with God forever. We get to enjoy the promise that: God will never leave us nor forsake us! (Hebrews 13:5) We will never be alone or left to our own invisibly! Jesus is our comforter, savior, friend, shepherd, messiah, and our everlasting hope that never leaves us despaired.

The Bible may not talk directly about lent, but it talks greatly about fasting greatly. It is not a religious regulation, but it should be something that gives us great joy as we grow more in our relationship with God during times of fasting and praying. Praying should always accompany fasting, if we want results... if we want this time to grow us and bear us fruit (John 15:16) in our walk with God.

Before we look at examples of what we could give up for lent, it is important to remember what the Bible has to say about fasting:

Mark 2:18-20- Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?” Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. (NLT)

The disciples of Jesus had no reason to fast, for Jesus was still with them. As the Church, we are waiting for the second coming of Christ. While we wait, we should fast. Different denominations hold to different values on fasting, but according to Jesus--His disciples will fast. Whatever your views, fasting is about drawing closer to Him as we await His second coming. It is about choosing to draw nearer to Him during these times we find ourselves in.

Matthew 6:16-18- “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (NLT)

Remember, it is all about the heart. It is not about others, people pleasing, or even the attention we may receive from others. It is about us and the Lord. We need to envision that it is just us and God, because God weighs the motives of our heart. It is should not be about anyone or anything. It should only be about us wanting to grow closer to the Lord. He will see our motivation and our resulting actions, and give us the reward we deserve.

Mark 9:28-29- And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could not we cast him out?" And He said unto them, "This kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting." (NKJV 21st century)

For the disciples, they were questioning why they could not cast out a demon. The reason was for the lack of prayer and fasting. Fasting draws us closer to God. It gives us the opportunity to do things that we may not ordinarily have the ability to do. It gives us a much deeper connection with God.

Isaiah 58:3-8- They say, “We fast to show honor to you. Why don’t you see us? We starve our bodies to show honor to you. Why don’t you notice us?” But God says, “You do things to please yourselves on those special days of fasting. And you punish your servants, not your own bodies. You are hungry, but not for food. You are hungry for arguing and fighting, not for bread. You are hungry to hit people with your evil hands. This is not the way to fast if you want your prayers to be heard in heaven! Do you think I want to see people punish their bodies on those days of fasting? Do you think I want people to look sad and bow their heads like dead plants? Do you think I want people to wear mourning clothes and sit in ashes to show their sadness? That is what you do on your days of fasting. Do you think that is what the LORD wants?

This is the kind of fasting we do not want to do. It is dishonoring to our Lord where our actions do not match the place in our heart. Instead of observing lent because it may be expected or because others are doing it, we need to check our heart and see where our motives are. God is after our heart, not just our actions. If we fast, but our heart is not in it... what is the point?

Continuing on in verse 6-8.. “I will tell you the kind of day I want—a day to set people free. I want a day that you take the burdens off others. I want a day when you set troubled people free and you take the burdens from their shoulders. I want you to share your food with the hungry. I want you to find the poor who don’t have homes and bring them into your own homes. When you see people who have no clothes, give them your clothes! Don’t hide from your relatives when they need help.” If you do these things, your light will begin to shine like the light of dawn. Then your wounds will heal. Your “Goodness” will walk in front of you, and the Glory of the LORD will come following behind you. (Isaiah 58~NIV)

What kind of actions can we do that honors both where our hearts are at, and honors God? What kind of practice can we choose to do for the next 40 days that honors God? Maybe, it is not giving something up.. Maybe, it means giving something. It can be choosing to pray for someone daily, choosing to call and check on a friend each day of the week, dedicating ourselves to reading God's Word and let Him transform our lives during this time.

There are many other examples, but here are just a few ways to let our lives be impacted as we expectantly prepare for the celebration of Easter.

Some things we can give up: 

A specific meal (time used to pray and read His Word)

Certain foods

Soda

Texting

Using cell phone for purposes that are not a necessity

Games

Television

Movies

Music

Secular reading

Some things we could add into our lives:

Devoted time to spend in His Word

Time of prayer and listening to His voice

Make it a practice to help others (Volunteer at a shelter or food bank)

Praying for others daily

Instead of indulging in some of our regular habits and behaviors, we can choose to make a deliberate effort to be in God's Word more. If we are seeking to rid ourselves of a bad habit or behavior, we need to replace the bad habit with good habits. We need our time in God's Word. It does not matter who you are or what time of year it is. We each need to be spending time in God's Word. None of us spend enough time in God's Word. It is through this time in His presence through praying, listening, and reading His Word that God can speak volumes into our lives. In addition to being in the Word, each of us as God's children need to learn to serve others. Jesus said that the greatest in the Kingdom is the one who is a servant. (Mark 9:35) We need to spur one another toward love and good works! (Hebrews 10:24) Who can we help? How can we become more others-centered (Philippians 2: 4) this season? 

Pray and see where the Lord leads you this season!

Month 1 of Chronological Bible Reading Plan

Month One--January!


It may have taken me a bit more time, but I made it. I just finished reading Genesis. I finished the book of Job a couple weeks ago. I must say it has been an amazing journey, and I am so glad that I chose to do it and continue on even where there are days when it just feels a bit difficult to continue to read. There were many days where the reading did not happen. There are days when I binge read, because I cannot get enough. All in all, I think I am about 3 days off track. I am hoping to catch up this week, and definitely stay caught up. I need to rediscover a routine, as I resume my daily bible reading plan. It is easy for me to get busy or distracted. I need to make a continuous effort to be in the Word more this month!

Some highlight of this journey so far:

• The Life of Job. 
• Nothing is hidden, but all is seen in his struggles. He is seen complaining and arguing with God. He is rebuked for his ways in the end. For me, it has been an asset to see how Job handled his struggles. Many would do much worse. His faith carried him through his struggles, even on the hardest moments. Seeing Job's struggle has helped me with my own struggle. I have not given up. I keep fighting. It is knowing that others have walked the road of hardship that gives me strength. I find strength in reading about Job's struggle.
• The Life of Abraham
• His faith is tested by taking his son to the mountain to possibly sacrifice him. Instead, God removes the need for the sacrificing of his son. It was a test of his faith. The test of our faith brings us to our knees, and makes us realize which we love more: Family or God. There are moments when Abraham was asked to leave his family behind, and he took his nephew with him. What would have happened if he had left Lot at home? Would he have a wife who ended up looking back at the past so to speak, and turn into a grain of salt? Probably not..
• The Life of Jacob
• Jacob is seen stealing his brother's blessing from his father. He ends up on the road to hopefully avoid the sword of his brother Esau. Once he finally comes into contact with Esau after many years apart, his brother embraces him. Our problems may not be so easily solved, but they are solvable. We do not have to run to avoid facing them and risk facing greater dangers.
• The Life of Joseph
• Joseph handled his struggles with grace. His brothers threw him in a well, and he managed to get out. They sold him to Egyptians, and God enabled him to succeed as a servant of his master's house. His master's wife screams rape, and God uses his time in jail to help others' know the meaning of their dreams. The Pharaoh gets his dream interpreted by Joseph, and he is put in a high position of helping others fight againest a world wide famine. He reunites with his brothers and does no harm to them---instead he chooses to bless them continually!

I am looking forward to seeing what Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers  has in store for this month's journey! To read more about what I am reading and learning, click here

Complaining and Arguing

What kind of friends are we to be considered if we are not known for our compassion and listening ear? What if instead we are known for our judgment?

Today, my mind is set on a verse. As I continue my journey of knowing Him and knowing more about me, I am more and more realizing my own faults. How often do I argue? How often does my arguing change anything? What kind of friend am I? Am I a friend who supports and encourages another? Or, am I known for my criticism?

Philippians 2:14-16 just so happens to be today's verse of the day for Bible Gateway. It is what I needed, when I needed it.

It says:

“Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you will be blameless and pure, children of God without any fault. But you are living with evil people all around you, who have lost their sense of what is right. Among those people you shine like lights in a dark world, and you offer them the teaching that gives life. So I can be proud of you when Christ comes again. You will show that my work was not wasted—that I ran in the race and won.” 

A few things about the passage stick out to me. First and foremost, do not argue or complain. Can I go a day without complaining? This verse has actually been on my mind for the last couple of days. I have been working on on one aspect: not complaining. On days when you feel lousy, it is actually really easy to just let the complaining nature come out. Today, it is speaking to me on a whole new volume: arguing.

We need to be diligently "working out our salvation"--continuing to move forward and live a blameless life. It is through our actions that we are showing our own hearts. Disputing with others are smaller, hindrances of love.. Some people waste their lives complaining. Many of us (me included) do it. It becomes a habit. I want to take that discontent inside of me, and turn it into being content in my own situations before it becomes something more than simple complaints. I cannot make the transform myself. I need God to continue working in me, as I overcome my past. He can transform my present moments of complaining and arguing into a thing of the past!

Complaining and arguing with others: Only they aren't always small hindrances of love. They sometimes have big consequences. In the New Testament, the religious group (Pharisees) were well known for their judgmental remarks. What about us, as followers of Christ? Are Christians known for their judgments, rather than their love? How are we perceived by non-Christians? How are we as individuals lives our lives? Are we known for listening and loving others? Or, are we known for our judgmental words? Are we known for our complaining and argumentative nature? For the non-believers and Christ-followers alike, how are we going to let the past affect the future? We may have been complaining and argumentative yesterday, but that does not have to be the case today..

The second thing that strikes me is the goal. Our goal as followers of Christ: to be blameless as Children of God. We live in a messed up world that can definitely affect what we say and do. This world is pretty good at teaching us to complain and argue, not that we need any help in that area. If you are anything like me, you can pretty much handle the "complain and argue" department all on your own. As children, we often imitate our parents in whatever they say or do. As children of God, we need to be the imitation of our great God. We are held to a higher standard. We, too, are judged and will be held accountable for what we say and do. We are children of the King! Think about that..

We need to show ourselves..as the light of the world: through our actions. We have His light glowing inside of us. Are we going to let our light shine? Or, are we going to be selfish and hide our light? We have the goal before us: To run this race and win. We need to be deliberate in what we say and do. Holding to the Truth unswervingly, and choosing to forsake all and follow Him. It does not matter what others say or do, we need to keep digging in His word and find out what it really means to be a follower of Christ. We all have sinned and fallen short of His glory! So often, we, as followers of Christ, we get it wrong. Complaining and arguing as our way of life is getting it wrong. It is sinful and proves how much more we need to be digging into His Word!

When Christ comes again, we will be caught following other "Christians"? Or, will we be caught following only Him? We will be held accountable for our actions. The question is what kind of witness will we have spent our lives being? Someone who is known for judgments, or someone known for showing Christ's love? Someone known for their silence to just sit with you, or someone known for their arguing?

Brokenness and Humility in Trials

I have a bit preoccuppied, and haven't had time to read or write much. I have been pretty much centered on my scripture reading plan, which is a really good place to read. As a result, I haven't been able to get into "The Practice of the Presence of God" since Sunday. I am going to spend some time reading very soon. I am just not sure when it will happen. I think I am going to get some book reading time in on Thursday since I don't have class on Thursday. I will have the day free..

God has really been speaking tenderly to me about brokenness. After a bad doctor appointment and some other things happening, I just feel really really broken. I know, God is using this time to continue the molding process. Trials are not just something that happen, but God uses them to discipline (part of the molding process) us and draw us closer to Him. I am reminded that we are like jars of clay. God is my potter. He is constantly making me new. Part of the process is to be vulnerable, and allow him to do what He does to make the inner me and my life beautiful. Each moment, hour, day, opportunity, trial, and temptation brings new ways for God to show Himself to me, and continue to build my trust in Him.

I am sitting here, seeking to explain this process of being broken down and being vulnerable to an audience that may not know the Lord Jesus as their Savior. God is my ultimate Father. Like any child, I need discipline. Not to harm me, but it is for my ultimate benefit--It is this process of keeping me on the right path that grows my faith, draws me closer to God, and constantly gives me this amazing intimacy I can have only with my Creator. People will constantly fail me, but God never will fail.

It is this chance to get rid of things from my life that I cherish. It is opportunity of serious spiritual growth and getting "stronger" that I cherish. While I despise the moments of trials running me off the road in a sense, I value the intimacy that I learn to cherish during these moments.

There are many websites bashing brokenness. I know, I just visited a few of them. There are many scriptures on brokenness itself. There will be a list at the end of this blog, as there typically is.

I love what Matthew Henry writes in a commentary on brokenness using Matthew 9:18-26 on the bleeding woman and the daughter of a leader. Jesus is willing to enter into our brokenness with us. If Jesus is risk everything to enter into our brokenness, then it says to me that being broken and vulnerable is worth the emotional pain it may cause and it is worth our own risk. 

It is about being humble, which is a sometimes daily practice of realizing that only by submission to the Holy Spirit can any Christian ever allow God to do His good works through them. Being humble is not about always being right nor is it about never speaking up. Humility in its truest forms is about being able to ask for forgiveness, not need to put on a "false front", and is choosing to not argue. I have tons to learn about humility, and I am in no way there..

It is also about relying totally on God. It is not about relying on my own strength, but that has gotten me nowhere. I know my strength is not enough, and will never be enough. The only One who is enough is Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can carry me through trials and struggles that will come on constantly until I finally die (or at least that is what I am learning from Job 14).

While I have not arrived at humility or total dependence on God, I am realizing more and more this is why this is the season of my life. This is why I am constantly experiencing trials. God is still teaching me, thankfully! I am still learning what it means to be a follower of Christ, and how to live humbly and walk with God daily and depend on Him.

What I find comfort in is God comforting me in this process of trials and messed up feelings..

Job 35:9-10 reads, "The oppressed cry out beneath the wrongs that are done to them. They groan beneath the power of the mighty. Yet they don't ask, 'Where is God my Creator, the one who gives songs in the night?" God comforts us during our darkest times.

Psalm 34:18- The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 147:3- He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Micah 6:8- He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

James 4:10- Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Isaiah 57:15- The high and lofty one who lives in eternity, the Holy One, says this: "I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.

James 4:6- But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Matthew 5:4- God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Psalm 51:17- The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

2012 Goals

Spiritual

·         I want to be in the Word daily! I joined a youversion bible study tonight, which is going through the Bible in a chronological order to keep me a bit more engaged. I realize that I will need to spice up my time in the word. Originally I wanted to go through the Bible in 90 days, but that is a really unrealistic goal for me to make… So, I have deicded to “try” to go through the Bible in a year using the chronological Bible to keep things interesting. =)

o   Methods: Audio Bible; Reading the three chapters a piece at a time; Reading the chapters preferably in the morning to give me time to digest what I am reading..

o   I want to try to blog about what I am reading/learning as I go through this reading plan. I may end up using the “note” feature on Youversion..Or, I may end up using my blogger account for that.

·        I want to be better at realizing that God is constantly present in my daily life, and learn how to unceasingly pray and commune with Him as I go through daily tasks. I want to learn how to show my love for God through doing tasks versus putting off tasks, because after all—it is tasks God has given me to do.. so, why put it off?

·         I want to READ more in general, particularly in my books on Christian Living.. I want to read more than just textbooks this year, despite the fact I am entering grad school..Shooting for the moon, I know =)

The Practice of the Presence of God- Section 2

Communing with the Father in anything!

Today, I wanted to get around to reading the 2^nd section of the book: “The PRACTICE of the Presence of God”. There are five sections in the book, and am really excited to come further along in the book. It is a good book and stirring me up to new ways of worshipping God! I love it!!

The book is about a monk (Brother Lawrence), and his journey in faith and how it affected the way he carried out his daily tasks of dish washing and as a sandalmaker once he was unable to stand due to his gout..

The purpose on the second section of this book is to examine the CHARACTER of a Catholic monk in the 1600s, whose attention was constantly focused on the Lord’s presence. Realizing and basking in the presence of God is the spiritual discipline that we each need to have in our lives. So often our lives are busy, and never quiet. We so often do not experience God’s presence in a way that we could. I am excited to dive into some more of this book, because I want to experience God in greater ways, as I am sure you do. We make it so much more difficult than it has to be as I am discovering for myself. It is no so much about the reading, but the aftermath of experiencing God in a mighty way in light of what I have read. I am excited to see what God is going to teach me in this next year. This will be a journey that will not always feel fun, but it will teach me to experience God and bask in His presence on greater levels that I have ever experienced before!

What I learned in tonight's reading:

• Our faith needs to be ALIVE! Book knowledge cannot even compare to the knowledge of knowing and experiencing Christ!
• Communion with God can be interwoven in our daily tasks!
• I need to quit pursuing me, and recklessly pursue God in all things! 
• I can sacrifice my wants, and pursue God and do my daily tasks by showing my love to Him! Anything can be used for Him to worship Him! It does not matter how big or small of a task, it is about my sacrifice! It is about the love that I am showing Him, even if it is simply by doing the tasks instead of procrastinating the task.
• I can choose to suffer or choose to worship God in my pain and suffering! It is still sacrifice, and should be about showing Him the love and building up of my faith!
• Prayer does not have just one form. Worshipping God can take many forms. It is simply meeting with God or letting God join in with what we are doing--and choosing to worship Him!

Part 2: Chapter 1: The Beginning of Perfection.

The beginning of perfection starts with Christ. It starts with our faith.

This chapter really just began to stir in me about experiencing God. We can read book after book, but it does not equate to experiencing God. We can learn things about God through book, but realistically given the choice---if we had to choose between hearing facts about someone and experiencing time with them to get to know them first hand... which would you choose? Odds are, you would prefer to spend time with them. It is about awaking our faith and renewing our hope that we can only find in Christ. It is about gaining freedom, and learning to breathing again with the knowledge of God.

 “All that I have heard others say, all that I have found in books, all that I have written myself, seems savorless, dull and heavy, when compared with what faith has unfolded to me of the unspeakable riches of God and of Jesus Christ.”

What we experience in our walk of God cannot compare to what we may read in books. It is through our own experiences that our faith in God comes alive and transforms us in countless ways. I think that is what inspires me most about this particular reading is the faith coming alive… It continues on by stating:

“ Christ alone,” he said, “can reveal Himself to us.” We toil and exercise our mind in reason and in science, forgetting that therein we can see only a copy, while we neglect to gaze on the Incompariable Original. “In the depths of our soul, God reveals Himself, if we but realized it, yet we will not look there for Him. “”we leave Him to spend our time in foolish behavior or speech, and pretend to scorn communing with Him, who is ever-present, who is our King.” “It is not enough, he said, “to know God as theory from what we read in books, or feel some fleeting affection for Him that is brief as the wave of feeling or glimpse of the Divine that prompts them.

“Our faith is ALIVE, and we must make it so, and by its power LIFT OURSELVES beyond all these passing emotions to worship the Father and Jesus Christ in all their Divine perfection.” “This path of faith is the spirit of the Church and will lead to great perfection!”

Not only did Brother Lawrence perceive God as present in his soul by faith, but in all the events of life, whenever they happened, he would instantly arise and seek the presence of God.. using things he saw (like a leafless tree) to lead him up to the Unseen Eternal (the fact of God).

Chapter 2: Pursuing the Sense of the Presence of God

What I enjoyed from this chapter is one thing. Learning how to have constant communion of God. I believe this is what Apostle Paul writes about when he says we should pray without ceasing. We can continue steadfastly, glorifying God, and showing love to Him. We can communion with God daily even as we go about our daily tasks. It will reach the point where our tasks do not hinder our communion with God, our Father. It is a process of practicing to recognize God’s presence even as we go through my daily life. It is not choosing to not just give God a portion of us, but giving God all of us! All of our acts can produce a joy uninterrupted as we commune with God. Our faithfulness can cast away all other thoughts, and leave our souls free for unbroken communion with God. We can worship God and show our love for Him, as we do dishes or pick up a straw that has fallen on the ground, and do it because we LOVE Him!

I love what it says: “In the end, habit became so much second nature that, as he told me, it was in a way impossible for him to turn away from God and busy himself with other matters.” What if our worship through our daily tasks made us fall completely in love with God again? What if we didn’t want to be distracted with non-God things? The presence of God can be reached more readily by the heart and by love than by understand. This is why it won’t matter how many books we read. We just need to fall in love with Him again. We need to experience His presence. He is there, but we may not be experiencing Him like we could be..

Brother Lawrence gives a powerful picture that I am going to type out and share..

“I am giving you a picture of a lay brother serving in a kitchen—let me then use his own words:

“We can do little things for God. I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for the love of Him. When that is done, if there is nothing else to call me I prostrate myself in worship before Him, who has given me grace to work—afterwards, I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God. We search for stated ways and methods of learning how to love God, and to come to that love we disquiet our minds by I do not know how many devices. We are giving ourselves a world of trouble, and pursue a multitude of practices to achieve a sense of the presence of God…yet it is so simple. How very much shorter and easier it is to do our common business purely for the love of God, to set His consecrating mark on all we lay hands to, and thereby foster the sense of His abiding presence by [constant] communion of our heart with His! There is no need either of art or science—we can go to Him just as we are, simply and with single heart…I have come to see that my only business is to live as though there were none but He and I in the world.”

Chapter 3: Forsaking All of Self for God

In this passage, we see what it would be like if we truly traded our own selves for the living God. Scripture talks about what happens when we are baptized that our old self is dead, and our life with Christ is what we become—as we are a new creation!

The brother began by what was most perfect, forsaking all for God, and doing everything for His love. He entirely forgot about himself. He did not think about Heaven or Hell or about his past sins once he asked for forgiveness.

“We are made for God and for Him alone. He cannot, therefore, think it wrong that we forsake all, even ourselves, to find our all in Him.”

In forgetting ourselves, we can truly be found. We can only be found, once we see who we are in view of God’s mercy. We can only find our true self as we pursue an intimate relationship with the Lord! In the events of Brother Lawrence (a monk who lived and served in Paris), he chose to stay fixed on God.

During four years of trials, he stayed fixed on the love of God and said: “Let what may come of it, however many be the days remaining to me, I will do all things for the love of God.” What if we surrendered our will to God’s completely? In all the events of life he saw plainly the working of the divine will, and this kept him in perfect peace, because his mind stayed on God. He continued in peace no matter what, because he knew God could remedy anything. When his superiors made a decision he didn’t agree with, he would say: We must believe that they have good reasons for their decisions, and our duty now is to obey and say no more about it!” I want to be a person like that who respects others authority, even when our opinions is at odds with those in authority!

The attitude brought him to so great an indifference about everything, and to such perfect freedom, that it was very like the freedom of the Blessed. What would it be like to live with bias-free, free of prejudice, and without a trace of our old self? What would it look like to be a true citizen of Heaven where nothing on this earth holds us enchained.. for our wills are no longer bounded to this world.

“Everything came alike to him, every station, every duty. The good brother found God everywhere, as near when he was at the humblest task as when praying with the [others in the] community.”

Chapter 4: Do All for the Love of God

The one method of entering God’s presence is to love. Doing it for the love of God should be our method in our walk with God too. I wish, we could seek God’s glory diligently in everything we do. It may be a task that we absolutely dread, but we can sacrifice our own will and do it for Him---out of love for our Creator. We each have things we hate, and how much would our lives change if we began to do things for God’s glory instead of putting things off out of dread…It does not matter how “little” the task appears to be, but it is the value of our offering to God. God doesn’t consider the greatness of the act, but the love that is involved in our sacrifice!

Having a firmness of mind is another quality mentioned when considering the practicing of the presence of God. What if nothing shocked us about the world we live in today, and nothing gave us fear? Sounds mighty wonderful to me… Resting in the truth of God’s promises that God will never deceive us and only send the best for us as His children… Our part is not doubt, but to do and suffer all for the love of Him.

Do we take pleasure in the duties God has given us? I don’t know about you, but I don’t always take great joy in the fact that I have a sink full of dirty dishes to be washed. This may or may not be seen as a “duty”, but it still has to be done---right? This monk, Brother Lawrence, did dishes (way more than I do..) and it was a duty given by God. What if our attitudes hindered the task God gives us? I think, our attitudes DO in fact hinder our walk with God and the tasks He gives us daily!

The book talks about this idea of “What if we fixed our eyes on God, versus reflecting on what to do?” So often the planning (or maybe the procrastination) sucks the life that our tasks could do. They could be countless opportunities to show our love to God, even if it something simple like picking up a straw off the ground (Chapter 2). Our devotion to God could be radically challenged and grown as we do tasks out of LOVE for God!

Chapter 5: Brother Lawrence’s Final Days

The chapter entitled “Brother Lawrence’s Final Days” is what I find amazing. It amazes me and gives me great hope what God can do in a person’s spirit amidst great struggle and pain. Brother Lawrence approached the end of his life without anxiety or concern, which is something I know we each could only hope for. It is possible as we approach the spiritual discipline of recognizing God’s presence is constant and worshiping Him for who He is! I am going to share snippets of the chapter, because my words will fail to capture these last moments and the amount of faith that has me in awe..

“His patience has been great indeed through all his life, but it grew stronger than ever as he approached the end. He was never in the least fretful, even when he was the most wracked with pain. Joy was pain not only on his face, but still more in his speech—so much so, in fact, that those who visited him were compelled to ask if he was not in suffering. “forgive me” he replied. “yes, I do suffer. The pains in my side greatly trouble me, but my spirit is happy and well content.” They added, “Suppose God wills that you suffer for ten years, what then?” “I will suffer,” he answered, “not for ten years only, but until the Day of Judgment, if it be God’s will. And I would hope that He would continue to aid me with His grace to bear it joyfully.” His one desire was that he might suffer something for the love of God.. He embraced it heartily! Often in the hour of pain he would cry out with fervor, “My God I worship thee in my infirmities. Now, now, I shall have something to bear for thee—good, be it so, may I suffer and die with thee.” Then he would repeat those verses of the fifty-first Psalm, “create in me a clean heart, O God. Cast me not away from your presence. Restore to me the joy of my salvation!”…So amazing was his boldness in that dark valley from which so many shrink... We can do nothing better than abandon ourselves to God. He ended with: I am doing what I shall do all eternity—blessing God, praising God, adoring God, giving Him the love of my whole heart!”

I am amazing at the faith of this monk. His timeless example of how faith can overtake our sufferings, and He continues to give God glory. I can only ask: Can I be more like that? Can I be more willful of suffering knowing it is for the love of God and it is a sacrifice that He adores?!

Chapter 6: Part of the Great Band Who Have Forsaken the World for Christ

“Nothing can give a clearer picture of a true Christian philosophy in practice than the life and death of Brother Lawrence. He took the Gospel as his only rule, and forsaken the world to dedicate himself to the life of the spirit and to come to a knowledge of God and of His Son, Jesus Christ.”

Reading a picture of how the Christian life can be is excited to me. It opens up the avenues that we can travel, and ways we can bask in His presence! We can forsake the patterns of this world, and chose to continue to be transformed by God as we fix ourselves on Him—enjoying His awesome presence!

In St. Clement of Alexandra, they said “the great business of a philosopher, that is, a wise Christian, is prayer. Such people pray in every place, at every time, not indeed using many words or thinking to be heard for their much speaking, but in secret in the depths of their soul---while walking, conversing with others, reading, eating, or working. Their praises ring to God unceasingly—not only at specific times during the day, but in all their actions they glorify God..”

It is encouraging to read about how we can experience God no matter where we are or what we may be physically doing. We can worship the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ wherever we are. We can approach God when we are the most busy, wherever we are and whatever we are doing and during our time of leisure! We can see others examples, and be moved to render thanks to God for all His mercies and for the good that He inspires others to do, humbling ourselves before Him for our many failures. We each have an obligation to worship God and love Him.

I will end tonight’s blog with a bit of an excerpt from chapter 6 on the communion with the Father which is sure to be convincing as well as convicting..

“We each have an obligation to worship God and love Him. We cannot carry out this solemn duty as we should unless our heart is knit in love to God. Our communion with Him is so close as to compel us to run to Him at every moment, just like little children who cannot stand upright without their mother’s arms of love.

Far from this communion with our Father being difficult, it is very easy and very necessary for every one—it is to this that the apostle Paul says all Christians are obliged. (1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Cor 13:14, Eph 6:18, Phil 4:6, Col 4:2, 1 Thess 5:17, 1 Tim 2:8)

Whoever does not practice it, whoever does not feel their great necessity, whoever does not grasp their total inability to do it correctly alone, is ignorant of their own self, ignorant of God their Father, utterly ignorant of their continual need of Jesus Christ.

No affairs or cares of the world can serve as an excuse for neglecting this, our duty. God is everywhere, in all places. There is no place in space or time where we cannot draw near to Him and hear Him speaking in our heart. With a little love, just a very little, we will not find it hard.”