Being "Sore" for the Lord

If you know me you know that I love to exercise and get a good workout! The best workouts are when two days later you discover a muscle you didn't even know you had because it is so sore! You worked that muscle so hard and you have evidence of your hard work even days later. To me it's kind of the same with our service to the Lord. When we labor and stretch ourselves for the Lord we feel it! When we give our all to Him in everything we do and don't just keep within our comfort zone our 'muscles' for the Lord become sore; but it's a good sore. I don't know about you, but I like to be sore after a workout. It tells me that I didn't waste my time and that it was well worth it. It also tells me that I stepped out of my comfort zone and really pushed myself. If I don't even get a bit sore the next day I tell myself I need to do a more strenuous workout next time because my body is getting used to that level of activity. It's like that in our Christian life sometimes: If we do just enough to get by or never step out of our comfort zone we will never get "sore". Are you stretching yourself for the Lord? Or are you doing just enough so that you can tell yourself that you are okay? Compared to what Jesus has done for us, our service to Him is just a drop in the bucket. May we workout our 'muscles' for the Lord in our service to Him for His glory. Just like when you need to up your weight during an exercise or maybe do more repititions for another, we need to up our service for Christ. We need to add more weight, more repititions. Let us run the race with endurance, press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Is Jesus your Best Friend?

For most of us we have best friends, our husbands, wives and diciplers. I know for me, as soon as something happens- whether good or bad - the first thing I want to do is get on the phone or on the computer and tell someone. There's nothing wrong with sharing your good news or needing counsel from a brother or sister, but do you go to your heavenly Father first? Is He the One that you praise first and give the glory to when you receive the answered prayer? When you get in an argument or you're having a bad day, do you pour out your heart to Him first? I think a lot of us, including me, have to keep this area in check at all times. It is so easy to not even notice that we called our friend and vented to them, instead of going to our Rock and our Sustainer first. We justify it by saying, "I just wanted to tell them so they can pray for me". Is that really the reason? God never sleeps, never slumbers, He loved us before the foundation of the world, go to Him! He will give you the rest you need for your soul that your your friend can never give you. Is Jesus the One you run to, or is He last on your list? If you lost everything, everyone in a moment, would we go to Him who is sovereign over everything, or would we grow bitter in our hearts? As David cries out to the Lord, "This is my comfort in my affliction, that Your word has revived me." Do you go to His word when you need to be revived, or do you depend on some temporary earthly thing? Jesus will carry you through this life all they way into eternity to be with Him. May we let our cries go before our Heavenly Father, Lord of the Heavens and earth, Gentle Shepherd, Coming King, Savior, Lamb of God, Jesus- our Best Friend!

Our good, His glory

Romans 8:28 is a verse that most of us are familiar with: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." John Macarthur comments on this: "In His providence, God orchestrates every event in life - even suffering, temptation, and sin - to accomplish both our temporal and eternal benefit." I just think of how kind, gracious, and merciful God is to not only forgive us, but then allow our sin that we did somehow workout for our good. That's amazing to me! Other times, when we are suffering, or going through major trials, this is the one of His promises I claim; knowing that God causes ALL things to work together for good. Even when it seems as if there is no possible good that can come out of it! I can testify to this that it is true. There have been times when I want to ask God, Why? Why is this happening? I think about this promise that He gives to those who love Him- He will work all things together for good!

Been 3 months, guess I'm due to Blog

Hi everyone, I can't believe that it's been 3 months since I've blogged. Glad to say, that since then I feel like God has been working in my life greatly and has been refining me to make me more like Christ. I have grown to love my Savior more and my eyes have been opened wider to His great love He has for me. He is a gracious, merciful, long-suffering, compassionate God, who is Sovereign over everything. I thank God that I am not in control of my life, that He is! Who better to control my life than the God of the universe? He has no beginning and no end, Lord of the Heavens and the earth. I am forever grateful that He doesn't deal with me as He should, that He removes my sins from me as far as the east is from the west. The Love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell, so I could go on forever to write about His mercies that are new every morning!

To be Worthy, or Not to be Worthy? That is the question!

Recently I came across a picture on the internet that said "I am worthy of God's love". Now if the Holy Spirit lives in you, immediately He will testify with your spirit that the statement is entirely false! The apostle John tells us in 1 John 2:20-21 that 'you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things...and no lie is of the truth.' He goes on in chapter 4 to say, 'Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God'. It is so easy to read something and not really think about what it says and just assume that it is from God, but Satan is busy and his goal is to distort and deny God's word, as it has been from the beginning (Genesis 3:1-5). Now this was even more disturbing to read this because it was posted by someone who professes to follow Christ and even says they are called into the ministry of teaching and preaching! Even though I knew in my heart it was not right theology, I wanted to search God's word and see for myself.
First of all, what does it mean to be worthy? To be "worthy" means to have worth, merit, value; to be honorable and admirable; to be deserving or due reward. We are all sinners and not one of us has anything of value, honor or is there anything admirable about us! Above all, we are not deserving of God's love - we are deserving of His wrath, and eternal separation from a Holy God. Only because of His love and mercy are we able to have peace with Him through His Son Jesus Christ. He is worthy to be loved - not us. He loves us not because we are worthy, but because it is His nature as a Holy, merciful, loving, compassionate God. He is love- if He stopped loving us He wouldn't be who He is (1 John 4:8). So in saying that, there is nothing lovely about us, the only reason He loves us is because God is love.
I also studied the word "righteous" because this person was using the word worthy along with righteous as if they meant the same thing. I found out they are completely different. Righteous means to meet the standards of what is right and just- God's holy standards; to be guiltless. We are declared righteous through Christ's death on the cross and ressurrection and our faith in Him- and in this God's love was graciously and abundantly poured out on us while we were still His enemies and dead in our sins(Ephesians 2:4-5)! Now we can approach His throne in confidence through Christ alone. God looks at the righteousness of Christ that has been charged to our account and now we are covered in His righteousness!
In conclusion, we are not now, nor ever will be "worthy" of His love, although He will always love us. Only He is worthy of our love, honor, admiration, and praise which He will receive for eternity (Revelation 5:12). If you are declared righteous by faith through Christ you will eternally be singing "Worthy is the Lamb!" to the Triune God in Heaven.

Happy Mother's Day!

For all of us moms, this is our one day a year, with exceptions, that we don't have to do anything and everyone caters to us...well, maybe we might do the dishes, or clean up...oops it's supposed to be Mother's day! I don't know what it is about us mothers, even when our family is trying their best to make it a relaxing day for us we still find something to do! I guess it is true what they say- a woman's work is never done!