Month: April 2017

Suffering From Spiritual Memory Loss

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IMG_0761.JPGIt seems that lately little things here and there keep going sideways. My husband and I have been waiting for a breakthrough for so long but it just hasn’t seemed to come yet. It can be so easy to allow ourselves to get discouraged and become afraid. Has this ever happened to you? It can be so hard to focus on the good when I’m focused on the not so good. Alone each struggle seems manageable and small, but combine them and it can seem like I’m going to drown. This is exactly where my problem begins. Rather than shift my eyes to the Lord and all The awesome things He is doing and has done I focus on all the little annoyances and struggles I seem to be facing, suddenly it feels like I’m being drowned by crashing waves and the boat is going to sink. Does this ever happen to you?

I was reading in Matthew the other day and came across a verse that convicted me while at the same time gave me a renewed sense of victory.

“Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” So the men marveled, saying, “who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭8:23-27

Right before this incident happened the disciples had watched Jesus perform amazing miracles, but as soon as the storm came they suffered from spiritual memory loss. Suddenly they had forgotten what Jesus was capable of and were certain they were going to die along with Jesus.. seriously?? Sounds crazy right? I read this and realized I was doing the same thing. I’ve seen Jesus perform amazing miracles in my life and in the lives of others around me yet when waves start to roll in I become afraid and lose faith that Jesus has it covered. The disciples had forgotten who Jesus really was. Do I forget this sometimes? I hate to admit it but my fear and lack of faith proves that I do. This spiritual memory loss can really get me discouraged and cause me to wonder if God really will come through for me. Will He allow me to sink? When I remind myself of who He is and His faithfulness to me my faith is restored.

I’m thankful that I can open my Bible and be reminded that I don’t have to be afraid of the waves because Jesus is on the boat with me and will bring the calm. If you have chosen to follow Jesus then this is true for you too! And if you haven’t, know that you can make that choice today. His love and strength will fill you up and you will never face a storm alone again.

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Maybe Having Faith in God Isn’t What you Think it is…

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IMG_0209I’ve been surprised many times by people thinking that faith means not knowing but believing anyway. They seem to think that my belief in Jesus goes something like this:

I believe in Jesus but I’m not totally sure it’s true, I have to just have faith. but I sure hope I’m right and get to go to heaven.

Maybe I’m to blame for this impression people have of faith and following Jesus. Do we make the mistake of not sharing all that God has done in our lives? Leading people to believe it’s a life of hoping rather than fully knowing with confidence? The definition of faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. My faith is much much more than simply hoping I’m right. You see when I made the choice to follow and accept Jesus Christ I became a child of God. In a literal sense. God has revealed himself and moved in my life in such incredible and amazing ways I could write all day long telling you about it. It would blow your mind. It starts with choosing to believe but this isn’t the end of the journey. This is where the journey starts. After this point God makes you his own. After this point you know God on a deeper level, as your father. There is no more questioning whether or not He is real and whether or not the Bible is truth. (By the way, the Bible is a historical document, not just stories. Don’t believe me? Look it up!) A person who has never made this choice will never be able to comprehend this fact. But maybe, just maybe if I were more vocal about all that God has done and is doing in my life I would clear up some of the misconceptions people have regarding my faith in Jesus Christ.
I’m not a Christian because I don’t want to go to hell. I choose to be a Christian because I am so beautifully loved by God. Not just because the Bible tells me I am but because He shows me daily and I feel it. Every single time I pray, read my bible, worship God, I walk away full. Full of strength, joy, peace, courage, love, excitement. Does what you believe offer you that? If you aren’t fully confident in what you believe I would question it. God has done beyond more for me than I could ever say. He has loved me, protected me, guided me, rescued me, and healed me. He wants to do the same for you. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without Him. It wouldn’t be worth living, not even for a moment. You can say I’m extreme but it’s true. This is what I want you to know about my faith in Jesus. It’s not a religion that simply guarantees me eternal life, it is my life. Every. Single. Day. And it is a beautiful and full life to say the least.

You see the amazing thing about choosing to follow God is that He is constant. Things in life are always changing. God never changes. My happiness and Joy isn’t dependent on things in my life always going right, it’s dependent on my choice to seek God and spend time close to Him in His presence. If you haven’t made this choice then this is foolishness to you and I can’t expect you to think otherwise. All I’m saying is don’t think I’m just like you apart from having a contingency plan. My life with God is beyond more than that. you could have the same thing if you would take a chance and choose to believe. This will transform your life forever and fill you like you never could have dreamed. Don’t waste your life on the temporal or choose to live with less than God planned for you. Don’t think you know what it means to follow Jesus based on what the media tells you or based on the hypocrites who claim it to get into heaven and nothing more.

Don’t think I’m a stupid person who simply wants something to believe so I can feel better about life. This honestly makes me want to laugh. I believe what I do because God has filled my life beyond comprehension and has transformed every single aspect of it. What gives you fulfillment in life? Is it constant and unchanging? It surely is for me and I wish more than anything that everyone could experience what I do on a daily basis. The ability to trust in a God who is present and faithful, who can always be trusted in.

I have total confidence and belief in God and the fact that Jesus died for me and rescued me from sin. I also have total confidence and belief in the Bible to be accurate and truth (which can be backed up as reliable and valid in the same way that other historical documents are, if you would take the time to look into it). If you can say that you feel this way about what you believe great! If not, then I ask you to take a chance on God. Take a chance to find out for yourself rather than listen to what others tell you about Jesus. When CS Lewis was an atheist and struggling with his beliefs he did this very thing. It changed his life forever. This is the case for countless other people who struggled to place confidence in their beliefs and decided to find out the truth about God. As I said before, if you choose to go on this journey you will not be disappointed. I pray that you make that choice.

Thanks for reading!

Jesus Died for YOU!

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Did you know that Jesus came down to the earth, willing to give his life, to rescue you? He loves you that much! It’s easy, especially around Easter, to think about Christ’s death as a “religious story” but the truth is Jesus died for you whether you call yourself a Christian or not. You have a choice to either accept or reject him. I once heard Loui Giglio say that “we all have a common end at the end, the face of the son of God.” Whether you have accepted that Christ Jesus died for you to rescue you from a life of sin or not, you will face Him in the end.

When you see Jesus what do you want that to be like? Do you want to suffer the regret of rejecting Him or experience the joy of accepting Him as your savior? Easter isn’t a Christian holiday. It’s a story of how Jesus Christ laid down His life and rose again to save you from the power of death. What choice will you make? Maybe you never knew you had one. The bottom line is we all make that choice. You will meet Jesus, either now or at the end. Choose now. What’s in it for you? A life of freedom. Freedom from pain, regret, sin. A life full of healing grace, redemption, and love. Jesus already died for you, it’s up to you to accept Him.

You will believe in Jesus at some point. It will either be now or when you stand before him at the end. I urge you to make it now so that you can experience, not just eternal life, but a life on earth that is full of the promises God has for you. I beg you not to wait until it’s too late.

If you have any questions about Jesus and what he’s done for you please don’t hesitate to ask me! When you seek God I promise you will surely find Him as He is always waiting to receive you as His child.