Goodbye 2014!

 For the past week I’ve been reflecting on this past year. 2014 has been filled with ups, downs, joy, sadness, laughter, tears, anger, and happiness. Basically it’s been a roller coaster of emotions.

The more I dwell on 2014, the louder God’s voice becomes in my Spirit. He has been quietly telling me that dwelling on the past doesn’t get me anywhere. In order to move forward I have to keep looking and moving forward. Dwelling in the past keeps me in the same place. I have come to realize that I have been dwelling in the past all year. Thinking about things that happened in 2014, how situations in my life have changed and how I don’t like it, and wanting things to go back to how they were. I have come to realize that I have been stuck all year. I haven’t moved forward. I have stayed in my comfort zone that wasn’t so comfortable.

I don’t want to be stuck. I want to move forward. Not just move, I want to run forward. I am ready to leave this past year behind, but that means I’m going to have to make some changes in my life including making sure I’m putting God first and not letting Him sit on the sidelines and probably some regular exercise.

Here’s to making 2015 one of my best year’s yet!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

1.     Be joyful always. 

That doesn’t mean that we should only be joyful when everything is going right in our lives, or when we have a good hair day, or when our favorite sports team wins a game. That means that even when everything seems to be falling apart and nothing is going our way we should still be joyful. Being joyful isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s down right hard. Especially if you have had a bad day and you just want to go home and curl up in your bed under the covers. I have found though that when you keep a joyful attitude, even when you don’t want to, you can brighten someone else’s day. The joy that you have will spread to others around you and others that come in contact with you.

2.     Pray Continually (Other versions say without ceasing)

I think that praying continually is a little easier than being joyful always. We have been taught that if you have a problem, pray about it no matter what it is. It could be for someone’s salvation, or healing, or something as simple as help me remember the answers to the questions on this test.  There are sometimes though, we get so caught up in our problems, that we either forget or choose not to pray. Maybe its not that we forget or choose not to pray, maybe it’s that we don’t think our problem is good enough for God. But that is so not true. God cares about every aspect of your life.  Psalm 55:22 says to “Cast your cares on the Lord” Everything that is troubling you or worrying you, God wants you to give to Him so he can take care of it. There is nothing too big or too small for you to pray about. Even if you think no one else cares, God does.

3.     Give Thanks in ALL Circumstances

This is a tough one. Giving thanks in all circumstances means giving thanks even in the bad times, not just the good ones. I recently experienced this in my own life. You see, my friend was diagnosed last October with a form of cancer. I remember thinking, “How am I supposed to give thanks for this when my friend could die?” Now that she has gotten the news that she is in remission, which I am very thankful for, I can look back and see all of the things that I can be thankful for through this. I am thankful that God healed my friend. I am thankful that my friends and I have grown closer to Christ, even though the way it happened wasn’t ideal. I could go on, but I won’t. Sometimes we can’t be immediately thankful, but God is always giving us something to be thankful for even when we least expect it.

Now, let me tell you. I’m no saint. There are days when I am not joyful. Some days I am downright bitter and mean. And even though I try really hard to remember to pray, sometimes I forget or just don’t. And there are a lot of times that I don’t give thanks and I just complain all day long. I’m sure a lot of you guys have these problems too. But, here’s the great thing. We have a God in heaven who loves us! He knows that sometimes things aren’t easy.  He knows that sometimes we are going to mess up. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and we can start again with a clean slate!

Brokenness

In life, when something breaks we tend to throw it away and go buy another one. It gets thrown out with the trash. It is deemed as worthless. What about people? I see many broken people in my life, I’m one of them, but can we just throw people out because they are broken on the inside? Throw them in a pile because they are worthless? No, that would be inhumane and probably land you in jail. Broken people are not worthless. Broken people are valuable! It means they can be fixed.

A few nights ago, I was talking with one of my friends about not liking to talk about what I am going through and not wanting other people to know that I am a less than perfect Christian. Basically we boiled it down to us being broken, but we don’t like to look weak and admitting that brokenness makes us feel weak. Monday night while I was in prayer at church, we didn’t exactly have a plan of action, so I was praying restoration over the broken. During that time, God spoke to me. He said that brokenness is not a weakness, but being broken means he can use you.

Which brings us to today. I knew I would be writing a blog about brokenness, but I just didn’t have all of the pieces yet. While doing my morning devotions, the song Change My Life by Ashes Remain came on. The first words of the song are “I’m still awake tonight, broken up inside.” Let me tell you my head snapped up at that line. Immediately I knew this song was my missing piece! As I continued to listen to the song, and it spoke to me like it was written for me. I was able to hear the song in new light.

The next line talks about running, but not knowing where to go. When I start to feel that brokenness build up inside me, I don’t always run to Jesus like I should. If I’m being honest, a lot of the time I run the complete opposite way to try and fix my brokenness on my own. It doesn’t work; so don’t follow in my footsteps. Why do I run? Well, this goes back to what I said earlier about my brokenness making me feel weak. I don’t want to look weak to the people around me, but I especially don’t want to look weak in front of Jesus.

Here’s the thing. God said that He uses the broken, but if I’m running how can He use me. The easy answer is, He can’t. In my running, I’ve learned that I eventually get to a place where I’m so far away, that I can’t see God anymore. I look up one day and realize that God isn’t walking next to me anymore and I call out to him asking where He is and why He’s left me. I’ve been scolded on many occasions. He says, “I never left, you did.” That’s not an easy pill to swallow.

This brings us to the next verse of the song. It talks about knowing that Jesus can fix our hearts and realizing we don’t have to run anymore. Duh! I never had to run! If I just ran to Jesus in times of trouble, He could work on my heart and use me to help others!

The chorus talks about all of the things God can do, like making the dead man come alive, or the oceans all run dry. If God can do these things, then why couldn’t He change our lives? He can! We just have to be willing and ready!

My prayer for you, and for me, is that we stop running from God and run to Him when we feel broken. Brokenness doesn’t mean you are worthless. Brokenness doesn’t mean you are weak. It just means that God wants to use you! Let Him!!

Control, Change, and Comfort Zones

Control, change, and comfort zones are all things I struggle with. Lately I’ve been learning that the three things I struggle the most with are interconnected.

Control

I have learned over the past few weeks that I am a bit of a control freak! It may not seem like it, but I like to be in charge and tell others what to do and make sure they do it right. I realized this during a group project in one of my classes. We split up the work and I did my part, but I worried if my group mates were doing their work to the standard that I hold myself to. In the end, I read over our whole paper and made corrections so it all made sense. I had the final say. Well, there is one thing that I am not in control of: my life. God is in control of my life. I don’t have much of a say in what happens in my life. When I try to take control of my life, I find myself drifting from God. When we try to control our life its like pushing God out of the way and saying, “I can do this on my own!” In the end, we can’t do this on our own! We need God to be in control!

Change

A few posts ago I said I don’t like change and it seems I have been going through a lot of it lately.  I enjoy living in my safe little world where everything stays the same. Unfortunately, that isn’t reality. Change is a natural part of life and there is no way of avoiding it. Like I said, I have been going through a lot of change lately and I’ll admit it, I have not been handling it well. I’ve pretty much failed on this one, but that’s okay because God is a God of second chances, and third chances, and fourth chances... Its time to rely on God to help me through these changes!

Comfort Zones

Much like with change, getting out of my comfort zone isn’t fun for me. I like living in my happy world, but again, that’s not reality. I think the best way to describe comfort zones is how one of my favorite Pastor’s did. He said that you are like a rubber band. When you stay in your comfort zone and don’t leave, it is like a rubber bank not being touched for a while. The rubber band turns brittle and when it is stretched again it breaks. So, basically if you stay in your comfort zone you won’t survive and you can’t grow. In order to grow, you must be stretched, which means getting out of your comfort zone! Guess what? It will be painful. Growing or stretching is not easy, but it is necessary for your spiritual health!

Basically, I would prefer to live in a bubble where I can control everything, there is no change, and I can stay in my comfort zone. But that’s not where God has called me to be! Bringing all of this together: God is in control of everything! No matter how much I want to be in control, I never will be and neither will you. I have to let go and let God. When I let go of that control I open up room for change. And that change will most likely force me out of my comfort zone. When that pain of being out of my comfort zone begins, instead of going with it, I immediately try to take control again. The vicious cycle keeps repeating itself, but why?

I will never be in control that is a fact. Change may not always seem good at the time, but you are probably better off after the change than you were before. A few weeks ago when I was dealing with change and not happy with what I was finding about change in the Bible, God challenged me to take a look at the change I have been through in the past. He then asked if any of the change had turned out bad. I couldn’t argue with that. So, change is good. That leaves comfort zones. I need to become more okay with the pain of being out of my comfort zone.

Obviously, I am a work in process! I’m not perfect, and I don’t want to be! As I was writing this, God revealed to me that working through these issues involves surrendering these things to Him daily much like we die to ourselves and pick up our crosses daily. So, its time to surrender daily, dig into God’s word, and get closer to Him so I can work on my issues. If you struggle with control, change, and/or comfort zones I encourage you to do the same!

Protect Your Joy!

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

Jesus came to bring us joy! As the verse says, He came so we could have life and live it to the full! This includes having joy! Joy is defined as great happiness. When we have joy, or great happiness, it bleeds out of us and onto the others around us. We share joy when we have it.

But, the thief, whom I believe is Satan, comes to do three things: steal, kill, and destroy. One thing he desperately wants to steal from you is your joy! He doesn’t want to see you happy. He wants you to be down in the dumps. He wants you to be depressed. He wants you to mope around. He wants you to bring others around you down too.

Has someone or something stolen your joy? Take it back! God gave us the power to do that! I remember a song we used to sing at church. It says, “I went to the enemy’s camp and I took back what he stole from me!” This seems so simple, but so often we forget about it. We just let the enemy keep what is rightfully ours!

If your joy is stolen, take it back! Stand on God’s promises and be joyful! Sing praises! Read scripture! Be in fellowship with others! Whatever it takes, get your joy back!

Fellowship IS Needed!

As I was driving to school today, I saw a church sign that didn’t sit well with me. Here is what it said:

“Why go to church, 10:45 and Online”

I took this to mean, if you don’t want to come to church, just watch online. Now, I am in no way against broadcasting your church service online, in fact, I love it! But I believe that online church services should be watched if you cannot make it to church for some reason.

We are called to be in fellowship with other believers. There are many reasons why, but I have three in mind:

1. Encouragement

Hebrews 10:24-25 says this, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” We gather together to encourage other believers to love and to do good deeds. Sometimes we are having a bad day and we need someone to remind us that God still loves us or that there are people who love us and care about us. I know personally, without the encouragement I get from being in fellowship with other believers, I would probably go crazy!

2. Accountability

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says this, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. 
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”  When you are in fellowship with other believers, you become accountable to one another. If one is going through a trial the other can be there to make sure you don’t fall, but if you do, they will be there to help you up. If one is struggling with sin, the other can be there to make sure you stay on track. If one has trouble staying on top of your bible reading, the other can be there to remind you to read. There are countless ways that fellowship can help you be accountable.

33. You ARE Needed!

 1 Corinthians 12:12 says this, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” Every believer in the church has a different function, just like every part of the body has a different function. Maybe you can sing, or maybe you are good with kids, maybe you love to clean, maybe you are good at organizing, maybe you are good with technology, etc. Whatever your talent is, you are needed! Everyone has a place and a need in the fellowship, whether you know it or not. The only way to know where you are needed or where you can be used is by being in fellowship.

All three of these things require you to be in fellowship, not just watching service online!

Let It Go!

Do you ever feel as though there is something holding you back from getting closer to God? Like you want to press closer, but you are being held back?

This is where I was this morning. I want to grow closer to God, but for the past few weeks I have just felt like I can't. God revealed to me today what is holding me back from getting closer to him. There's some hurt, and some anger, and probably a little bit of bitterness, and a whole lot of my own opinions of how things should be. This realization was hard to swallow. Sometimes God has to be harsh to get our attention. Today was one of those days. Before I can grow closer to God, I have to let these things go! I have talked about this a couple of times now. It's not easy to let things go. The things I mentioned are so familiar in my life, that I don't want to let them go. Many times I let things like this go and then turn around and pick it back up again. But picking it back up, doesn't help. It brings you right back to where you started. This time is different, I can feel it. I have let it go once and for all! I refuse to pick it back up again!

So I ask you, what is holding you back? What do you need to let go of in order to get closer to God? If you aren't sure, ask God to reveal it to you! Then you can work on letting it go an becoming free! Freedom in Christ is one of the greatest feelings in the world!

Change - Me No Like :/

If you have known me for any amount of time, you will know that I don’t do well with change. Change is one of the things that I despise most in my life. I would prefer things to just stay the same and go smoothly. Most of the time that doesn’t happen.

Right now in my life, there is a great deal of change going on and I don’t like it! So in an effort to cope with these changes with an open mind, I began looking up Bible verses that talk about change. I searched and I searched and I searched some more, not finding exactly what I wanted.

I will tell you that I was a little disappointed in not finding what I wanted, but God never disappoints us! God spoke to me. He said, “Have I ever changed anything that didn’t work out for the better?” That my friends, I couldn’t argue with. God has never allowed change in my life that didn’t result in something better. Even though I don’t like it, God has something bigger and better planned through these changes!

Hebrews 13:8 says this: “There should be a consistency that runs through us all. For Jesus doesn’t change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he’s always totally himself.” (MSG). While going through these changes, I must cling to these things: God never changes! God is always consistent! And He is always right beside me!