The Lord of Patience

“But, God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even while we were in sin, made us alive together with Jesus!” Ephesians 2:4-5. I’m living proof when I say this, God is SO beautiful when displaying His unusual patience. My God is the Lord of patience. It’s weird when you have to remove yourself, sometimes without much of a choice, from a certain situation to see something differently or even clearly. But, through that removal, God can restore you. Through distancing ourselves purposely from a habit or a person that we know isn’t okay for us, we realize that we’re made for more. For me through that kind of removal, it has been a continual realization more deeply that as individuals we’re created for God’s glory and not our own. Being created for God’s glory isn’t simple, but what it means is simple. God isn’t confusing. God’s glory is something that will last forever, unlike my own glory. I can certainly want something but it may not be the best thing for me. I’m realizing that’s probably why God’s so patient toward us. We don’t always remember that or keep that in our heart as being something important. We don’t really want to glorify God all the time, let’s be honest. I have stories about crap too where God has protected me undeservingly and I probably shouldn’t be here or writing this. I know that I personally don’t deserve to even write or talk about Jesus and get to. I know that some people couldn’t care less. But, I just get to be living proof of a lot of sin and a whole bunch more grace. It’s worth sharing and talking about. It’s what I want my life to be about. God’s rich mercy. His great love. His grace. His glory.

Paul’s… I mean, my thorn.

2 Corinthians 12:6-10 talks about Paul’s thorn and how even when he’s weak, he’s also strong. Anyway, I’ve never thought about what this could mean until a little bit ago. Thorns are so tiny. So many people have probably tried to guess what Paul’s thorn was and everything too since he doesn’t specifically say what it is. But here are some more thoughts, if God wanted us to know what that thorn was, he would’ve told us and if God told us what the thorn was, we probably wouldn’t have any kind of opportunity to relate to it. Sometimes, I don’t know about you, but I can disassociate myself from problems because they’re not problems that I understand. And when we don’t understand someone else’s problem sometimes, we see the craziness in that person and not the problem. But, honestly like everyone has a problem that doesn’t make sense. That’s probably why it was harder for Paul to describe it. That’s probably why he tried to pray for God to take it away three times. Little things can hurt bad. Thorns are little. But that little thing that seems to set us back sometimes helps us remember that we need Jesus. Our thorns take us to the throne of God. Have a great rest of the day 🙂

First day 😳

Today is my first day of college and I’m pretty nervous. 
I don’t know what I’m doing or how I’m going to do it. The people who care for me reassure me and encourage me to the point that I know I’m good. God is going to hold my hand.

You have

  

Hope is

  

Roomie.

Last night, my super sweet roomie and I were up for a while talking until close to 1 am. But, since I’m a morning person and can’t sleep-in ever, I’m just so in awe of Jesus. We shared our stories and more of our interests and I got to share the gospel with her and how Jesus has changed my life. The Holy Spirit made a way! She even asked me questions as shy as she is. Throughout the day yesterday, she started to laugh and talk more with me and so she felt more comfortable. I figured out and learned from this that fear helps us to over-exaggerate situations. Fear attempts to tell us that we can’t possibly do something and that God isn’t really going to help. But, it’s just a huge lie! Though she does carry a pocket knife, it’s because she is also scared. I was selfish in some regards to not always keep that in mind. I think this year is going to be alright. God is certainly my helper and when I look up to the mountains, I can know that God still is my helper. He made heaven and earth and he has a plan for our lives. He has a plan to something awesome. He won’t let us stumble in getting to that point either, because He never sleeps or stops looking out for us. God knows when we need shade when it seems too bright of too hard of a situation and he gives us rest. He takes on our fear. He surely protects us from evil… And he watches over us no matter where we go or what we do forever!! Psalm 121 has continually been becoming something personal.

Seasons

This morning, whoever reads this and gets to share in this with me, I’m praying that in the midst of whatever season you’re in, God’s grace would just be overwhelming in it.
As love becomes our way of life as a believer, we must constantly be reminded of His strength in us. Christianity is not an addition to our lives, it is a new life to live. When we let go of the world and find our identity as children of God, His Spirit grows the character of Christ in our lives. Ephesians 2:10 says that we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Keep this in mind for yourself today: I am God’s, and there’s work He has for me to do! You have purpose and whatever changes that are coming your way or even if it’s the people around you that have changed, God and His promises for you will never change.
Have a great day 🙂

You make a difference

Good morning 🙂 I’m praying this morning that Jesus would just show you even more of who you are in him today and who he has made you to be. You make a difference.
“I’m always looking at everyone else having a good time and I’m not.” “I didn’t belong in my family, so why should I feel like I belong anywhere else.” “I may be included but I never really feel like I belong.” These are just a few things sweet younger and older friends have told me recently. They are sad parts of stories, but real. These are the voices of individuals who have shared deep loneliness and isolation—and continue to feel like outsiders. There can be a lot of experiences that we or other people experience in regard to feeling like an outsider, but what can we do as a follower of Jesus, to better include others?
“And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, ‘If you will, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately the leprosy left him, and the man was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for proof to them.’ But he went out and talked freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.” Mark 1:40-45.
In this story of the leper in Mark 1, a leper came and approached Jesus. He was taking a chance that Jesus might walk away as the Scribes and Pharisees did, or that Jesus might cast stones at him or make fun of him like others did. But, he felt that Jesus was different. He felt this man might just be the One who could seriously change his whole life. Man, was he right! Jesus loved this leper, and He took action when nobody else would. Jesus acted when the rest of society dispised and rejected this man. He acted when this man’s religion and the people who also worshipped like he did, ignored him. I wonder how many people in our community are like this leper and they think, “I wonder if those people at this church or in this place are different? I wonder if they will love me, accept me, and help me?” Just as this man came to Jesus, people come to us. 
It’s scary sometimes when people come to you for help because, in that moment we’re almost reminded that we personally have little to offer them. Especially, if we don’t understand their circumstance or feelings. I think that is why we have to have reliance on God through helping others. God is the One who changes hearts, not us. God has the answers and provides ultimate comfort and relief. 
You are so loved. Let that love include someone, make someone feel different about themselves, or even smile today.

Jesus is my fill

Good morning 🙂 I’m praying that the Lord does something absolutely awesome in your life today. Even if it’s something seemingly normal, that it would just bring you joy and that you would look at it as something awesome too!
“But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭68:3-6‬.
Psalm 68 says that God is a Father to the orphan, a Defender of the lonely and the hopeless. It’s easier to see this as truth when we hear about someone else who is going through something worse than we are. But, what if we were really an equal to them? And, God says that we are. God says that we are equals to the orphans, the lonely, and the hopeless. So He alone is our Father. All of us were once orphans, we’ve all been lonely at some point, and we’ve all been hopeless one time or another as well.
You don’t belong because you conform; You belong because you just do. Because in Jesus, every one belongs! 
We don’t all look the same, talk the same, even BELIEVE exactly the same… It’s not in those things that we find common ground with one another either – Jesus is our common ground. And I think he is big enough, expansive enough, to handle everything.
Our culture tells us something completely different from Jesus. Our culture doesn’t have common ground. Our culture says, “dress like this and you can be here”, “do this and then you can be happy”, “be this skinny/fit (sometimes anorexic/bulimic) and then you do what you want to do”, “eat this food and then you can be energized and ready for the day”, “don’t do this and then you can live longer”, etc. We know what culture and other people tell us because we’re surrounded by it all the time. But, since we’re surrounded by culture and other people almost all the time telling us things, that aren’t always right or true; do we really know what God tells us, instead, to those statements and remarks about who we should be and what we should do? 
Diversity should not be a threat to our faith. Comparison, judgement and exclusivity does the job of dividing quite well. Our culture and people create exclusivity enough. Faith should be different… We should be different. 
And I don’t know about you, but I see hunger everywhere I go. The world is starving on so many different levels a million times over.
But, Jesus gives us living water. He gives us life and love that can FILL us to the core! So, let him. Let Jesus be your fill. With him, you can do something great today. 🙂 Here’s another long message from yours truly. Haha. I’m praying that the Lord does something absolutely awesome in your life today. Even if it’s something seemingly normal, that it would just bring you joy and that you would look at it as something awesome too!
“But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him—his name is the Lord. A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭68:3-6‬.
Psalm 68 says that God is a Father to the orphan, a Defender of the lonely and the hopeless. It’s easier to see this as truth when we hear about someone else who is going through something worse than we are. But, what if we were really an equal to them? And, God says that we are. God says that we are equals to the orphans, the lonely, and the hopeless. So He alone is our Father. All of us were once orphans, we’ve all been lonely at some point, and we’ve all been hopeless one time or another as well.
You don’t belong because you conform; You belong because you just do. Because in Jesus, every one belongs! 
We don’t all look the same, talk the same, even BELIEVE exactly the same… It’s not in those things that we find common ground with one another either – Jesus is our common ground. And I think he is big enough, expansive enough, to handle everything.
Our culture tells us something completely different from Jesus. Our culture doesn’t have common ground. Our culture says, “dress like this and you can be here”, “do this and then you can be happy”, “be this skinny/fit (sometimes anorexic/bulimic) and then you do what you want to do”, “eat this food and then you can be energized and ready for the day”, “don’t do this and then you can live longer”, etc. We know what culture and other people tell us because we’re surrounded by it all the time. But, since we’re surrounded by culture and other people almost all the time telling us things, that aren’t always right or true; do we really know what God tells us, instead, to those statements and remarks about who we should be and what we should do? 
Diversity should not be a threat to our faith. Comparison, judgement and exclusivity does the job of dividing quite well. Our culture and people create exclusivity enough. Faith should be different… We should be different. 
And I don’t know about you, but I see hunger everywhere I go. The world is starving on so many different levels a million times over.
But, Jesus gives us living water. He gives us life and love that can FILL us to the core! So, let him. Let Jesus be your fill. With him, you can do something great today.