As I remember...

This morning, I woke up, looked at my calendar, and tried to comprehend how it could possibly be the last day of 2012 already! This caused me to simply praise Him for what a wonderful year He has blessed me with. It just fascinates me that a year ago, I would never have imagined myself in the place that I am at. In fact, I said repeatedly that I could never go or do that which I am living currently. Oh,  how truly grateful I am that His ways are not our ways! I would have totally messed up my life by now if I was not completely yielded to Him! 

My year at a glance: 

• First and foremost, dedicated the year to Jesus in complete surrender
• Applied to Ellerslie Leadership Training to be a part of the Summer 2012 class and heard back shortly thereafter that I was accepted! 
• I got to attend the Cross Style Conference in early January
•  Continued to work at Blondie's Cookies up until middle May
• Applied to several different colleges, including Lipscomb, Campbellsville, Charleston Southern, Indiana Wesleyan, IU, and Bethel. 
• Spent Spring Break visiting the different colleges and finally made a decision a few weeks after
• Flew out to Colorado in early April for Hannah Day's beautiful wedding. It was such a blessing to stay at the Joy House and enjoy sweet times of fellowship and prayer with the girls!
• I graduated from  high school with an amazing senior class and then got to spend a week with them on our senior trip in Tennessee! 
• Probably the best summer of my life out in Colorado. He pressed me deeper, taught me what it truly meant to spend myself in intercession for others, and blessed me with some really close sisters that I still talk to. It's incredible to be able to just randomly text a dear sister and ask for prayer and know that she's wrestling! 
• I began college in late August at Campbellsville University. God had wonderful things planned last semester! The first two or so months were really spent just in the secret place, learning to spend myself upon my King and in prayer. He brought a wonderful ministry to my attention, in which a group of us go each week to pour into children who live in a low income neighborhood and have really devastating family situations. I also became involved in a prayer group that meets every night, the people of which I have made close friends with! 
• Early October, I had the amazing privilege of returning to Ellerslie for the Alumni Reunion. It was a much needed time of refreshment and being encouraged and edified by like minded people pressing hard after Jesus! Though my class had just graduated a few months ago, sharing battle stories with them was incredible. 
• I spent Fall Break and Thanksgiving Break at home, getting to quench (at least a little) my desire to bake that had been building for months! 
• And this Christmas Break has been an incredible time with Jesus, working at Blondie's again, and spending time with family and friends. 

He is so wonderful! I am so amazed at how faithful He has been! There are moments when I take a step back and really just am astonished at how perfect He orchestrates everything in my life. Though many things have been difficult and far from easy, He knows what He is doing. His plans and ways are so perfect. Oh, I never want to lay a finger upon my life or agenda-- it's all HIS, now and for eternity! 

And what is also amazing? I know that it can only get better! 

"Better is the end of the thing than the beginning thereof." Ecclesiastes 7: 8

"Oh, how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee, which thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!" Psalm 31: 19

His strength or mine?

We, as Christians, are called to live an impossible life.

     Growing up, I guess I knew that my life was supposed to look as least somewhat different from those around me, but the impossible things that Jesus commanded, were passed off as “just do your best, and when you mess it up, it’s okay. He forgives you, and it’s not like you will ever actually live this life as a Christian well. That’s what grace is for.”  However, in the past couple of years, I’ve taken on a different perspective. According to Romans 6-8, my old Krista is dead with Christ. I no longer live. Instead, the very life of Jesus Christ Himself, along with the same power that raised Christ from the dead, dwells in me.

     Our lives are not to be ones of defeat. They are to be lives that represent His triumph, joy, and victory.

     So, what about this impossible life He calls us to?

     These past couple weeks have required a supernatural energy. Being a college student at the end of a semester is not easy; there are papers to write, exams to study for, schedules to make for next semester, etc. Though these can be straining, what really requires the grace of God is choosing, in the midst of tiredness from work and exams, to serve, spend, spill, pour out your life. The enemy has brought the bait a couple times:

“Don’t respond immediately when you know that someone needs help. Sit back, and pretend you don’t see.”

“It’s okay to get irritated with that person right now. You’re stressed and have a lot to do. They most certainly will understand later. After all, it’s just normal.”

“Just take this morning and sleep in. God understands that you need rest. You can spend time with Him in intercession and study later.”

“Use your free time for yourself. Don’t worry about those kids you know that need love and to be shown Jesus. You need some time this afternoon to relax—you’ve had a busy day.”

     When each of these has been presented, God has continually reminded me to rise up by His supernatural strength, and declare “NO!” My calling and purpose is to serve and spend myself for those around me. God will take care of how much rest I need. God will take care of how much sleep I get it. God will take care of how much time I need to finish that paper. God knows that I need to finish that test.

I have discovered in a whole new way what it truly means to trust God to supply the needed grace and strength for the day. When I have deliberately chosen to set my alarm in order to have sufficient time to spend with Him, even though it may mean significantly less sleep that I am told is “needed,” He always provides more than enough.

     I have learned in an even greater measure what little “strength” I have is…nonexistent. If I rely upon what I have, I will crumble under the weight of the high calling He has given me. For, this impossible Christian life requires constant vigilance, prayer, watchfulness, sobermindness, strength, endurance, fortitude, and immovability. However, when I rely fully upon His strength, I always, without fail, have more than enough for what is needed.

“Normal Christianity means never being ‘normal’ again.” Leslie Ludy

“Now unto HIM that is able (the dynamite power of God) to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power (the dynamite power of God) that works in us.” Ephesians 3: 20

Set as Flint

Lately I have noticed at a new level that whenever God is doing something great in a body of His people, the enemy brings an onslaught of attacks as a result. At Ellerslie this summer, many of the girls talked about how they just felt so tired whenever we were in session but were fine out of session.  Some people also had an increase in bad dreams, while others dealt with various attempts of the enemy to distract them.  These would come at crucial moments in the semester, when we knew that we needed to be engaged and fighting the battle but were being barraged by the enemy. However, once we recognized that they were attacks coming from the enemy to get our eyes off Jesus, fixed upon ourselves, and thusly not allowing God to accomplish the work He was wanting to do in us, we began to fight and saw vivid and great results.

I have noticed something similar here at college lately, also. We have been meeting for prayer every night for a while now. We have been pressing into prayer for the salvation of those around us and for campus revival. The enemy knows, of course. Today I suddenly realized that many of the girls I have talked to recently have been experiencing distractions in a greater measure in their lives than earlier in the semester.

While it is difficult to fight these battles, raise up walls of fortification, and not allow the enemy to have an inch of ground in our lives, we should also count it a great privilege. It simply means that God is doing great things, and the enemy is trying to stop it. I think it may have been William Booth that said, in talking about sending people out to do the work of the Kingdom, “Go and take the devil with you.” Every true work and movement of God will have the opposition of the devil along with it. Spurgeon said, “There was never a revival of religion without a revival of satan’s opposition.”

So, while we consider it all joy that satan sees the mighty work God wants to do in us, let us also be on our guard. He must not be allowed to distract us, to move us, to get our eyes off of Jesus. Jesus wants to do something mighty in our lives, so let us continue to look to Him, with our swords drawn, ready to fight any spiritual power of darkness that would seek to thwart His purpose!

This morning, I was struck by the phrase in Acts 11: 23, “with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.” Let us set our hearts to seek the Lord, and set our faces as flint (Isaiah 50: 7) in this battle. We will not be distracted, we will not be moved, we will not be deterred. For King and Kingdom!

A heart full of love...

Continuing my post from last week, here is a list of things I am thankful for today...

1. Sweet time with friends over the weekend...

2. Improvising because of the whole no-oven-in-the-dorm- rule and making puppy chow instead...

3. Colorful pens...they help make my assignment book so much more festive, fun, and feminine! 

4. My wonderful space heater that keeps my warm when the room is cold...

5. The fact that I have the privilege of going to a prayer meeting every night with a group of people truly seeking after Jesus...

6. HIS love...

A Lily Among Thorns

This week I have been meditating upon and studying Proverbs 31. While I have heard the chapter quoted many times in my life and deeply love it, I felt a need to meditate on it and do a deeper study of it this week. While my thoughts are definitely not all inclusive by any means, these are just some characteristics that I came up with that describe the Proverbs 31 woman and how it applies to women today:

        *   Her sword is always drawn, ready to fight any spiritual foe that may seek to conquer what God has already won in her soul or in the souls of those around her. The word “virtuous” in verse 10 is the same word used to describe David’s mighty men.
      *        She is truly a lily among thorns (Song of Solomon 2:2). She is rare, and her price is far above rubies
      *        Her husband trusts her and has absolute confidence that she will guard and steward well that which he has earned and gives to her (verse 11).
      *        She seeks to do her husband good…even before she even meets him. She is set apart for her husband, loving him, honoring him, and seeking to please him, even during her single years (verse 12).
      *        The word “willingly” in verse 13 means “with delight and pleasure.” She does her work for her husband and children with delight and pleasure. It is not a burden for her to do. She loves to serve those around her and counts it her greatest privilege and honor.
      *        She seeks to provide her family with the best and is willing to work long, tedious hours to do so, never grumbling or complaining about it (verse 14-15, 18, 21-22, 27)
      *        She doesn't take any thought for her own comforts, luxuries, or pleasures. Her desire is to pour herself into others (verse 15, 18)
      *        She possesses mystery (verse 14). That which is sacred is kept sacred within her, not to be flippantly given to those who have not proven themselves worthy or have no claim to it. I remember reading that it was said of Elisabeth Elliot that guys in her classes at college would just sit in class and wonder what she was thinking about, for she was a “garden enclosed” (Song of Solomon 4:12)
      *        She is strong with the strength of Jehovah, ready to fight any spiritual foe that would wreak havoc on her soul or the souls of those entrusted to her care (verse 17)
      *        She cares for the needy and seeks them out (verse 20). It is not her spiritual “obligation” or “duty” to serve them. She sees them as Jesus does: royalty.
      *        In verse 21, “scarlet” could be translated “clothed doubly.” She wants the best for her family, no matter how much “extra” work it costs her
      *        She does not dress seductively, sloppily, or haphazardly. She dresses and carries herself with feminine grace and dignity (verses 22 and 25)
      *        She waits and preserves her heart for a godly man, who can lead well (verse 23 and compare Job 29)
      *        She is clothed with the strength of her God. She knows that she does not possess strength in and of herself. Therefore, she clothes herself with the all-sufficient strength of God in order to be able to govern her house and children well, never allowing a moment of “down-time” or “me-time,” constantly and consistently focused on the needs of those around her (verse 25).
       *        She honors those around her. She gives honor to her husband, giving him place to be a man, lead the home, and edifying him with her words. She honors her children by listening to what they have to say and pouring into them. She honors the “least of these” by serving them and treating them as royalty (verse 25).
      *        She laughs at the days to come (verse 25). She is not afraid of the future. She does not give an iota to doubt, fear, or anxiety. She trusts the future to her God and knows that He has it handled, no matter how circumstances around her appear. She has a joy and peace that are beyond all earthly explanation.
      *        She speaks words of wisdom and kindness. Her tongue is Spirit-governed. Her words are not gossipy and don’t bring others down. She edifies those around her and points them to Jesus (verse 27).
      *        She watches over her household. She is constantly attentive to the needs of her family (verse 27).
      *        She doesn't give time for herself or to laziness. She is constantly engaged, vigilant, and sober minded (verse 27).
      *        Her life and servant heart incite the praise of her husband and children. She inspires their respect (verse 28-31).
      *        She is clothed with a “meek and quiet spirit” (I Peter 3: 4). She has an inward beauty that radiates Jesus and that will never fade, for it is His very beauty within her (verse 30). She does not chase after the fleeting beauty of this world, nor give into its pressure. She is confident in Jesus, not in herself. She does not look inward or to herself for true beauty. She looks to Jesus and knows that all true beauty comes from Him alone.
      *        She will be rewarded and honored (verse 31).

Now, I realize how impossible this type of life sounds. However, it is the life that God calls us to. Proverbs 31 is not to be explained away or compromised in any way. This life is entirely possible – to a woman who has yielded herself fully to Jesus Christ and is leaning upon His strong right arm. His grace will supply every need that we have. We are not to attempt to live this impossible Proverbs 31- woman -life in our own strength. Only He can live it in and through our surrendered lives. 

Abounding with love and thanksgiving!

My heart has just been abounding in joy and thankfulness to my great Jesus today! Here are a few things that I have just stopped and marveled that He has been so gracious to give me:

 Himself! How can I ever thank Him enough that, not only did He die for me and purchase my forgiveness, I get to be intimate and close to Him, dwelling with Him every moment of every day?! He has so wooed me today-- my heart cannot contain its love toward Him!

 

Though it may seem small, hot chocolate has helped to keep me warm on this chilly  November day, not to mention: it's very tasty!

The college He has blessed me with and the sweet, sweet friends I have made here. 

The beautiful times of intercession He has pressed me into, as well as the amazing times of praying with friends here. 

All things pink, frilly, feminine, and flowery. In case you haven't noticed, I just relish being a lady. :)

The new issue of Set Apart Girl magazine came out last week, so I am gotten to dive into that for the last few days! It is such a blessing and encouragement! 

There are many more things that I am thankful for that will be (hopefully) coming in the next couple of days!

"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless His Name. For the LORD is good. His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations." Psalm 100

Surrender: Access to Joy

A concept that Jesus has been pressing on my soul lately is the concept of true surrender. A picture He has used to illustrate to me what this really looks like is found in John 12. Mary had a bottle of perfume, and it was worth a year’s wages. This would be around $50,000 today. A word connected with “spikenard” isn’t translated into our English Bibles, and it’s pistikos. This word means “object of faith.” This little bottle of extremely costly perfume was the object of Mary’s faith. She had security because she had this perfume. She had something to fall back on. However, what did Mary do with this little perfume?

She lavishly spent it on Jesus, pouring it out at His feet. This action showed that Jesus was worth more to her than anything, no matter how much security or pleasure it brought. The same question faces us today. Mark 8: 34 commands us to take up our crosses, deny ourselves, and follow Him. When Jesus first called Peter and Andrew to him in Matthew 4: 18-20, they didn’t hesitate about following Him. They simply left all that they had ever known and followed. Then, in I Kings 19: 19-21, Elijah, the prophet of God, recruits Elisha. At first, Elisha wants to go back and kiss his father and mother. However, he returns and kills the oxen he had previously been tending, demonstrating that he would never return to his old way of living.

Are we willing to lay everything upon the altar? Jesus gave everything for us.  He asks for everything in return. The Christian life is not one in which we accept His forgiveness and now just get to go to heaven in the end. The Christian life is one in which we give up everything in radical and complete abandon to Jesus. There is no such thing as a “super Christian,” who has given up everything and is passionate about Jesus Christ, while every other “Christian” lives a normal, mediocre life, fitting in with the rest of the world with just slightly higher morals. Jesus asks us for everything. We must deny ourselves and die daily. This means that nothing we have belongs to us anymore. It’s all His.

Samuel Rutherford said this: “Some would have Christ cheap. They would have Him without the cross. But the price will not come down.”

Then, this summer while I was at Ellerslie, Nick Thompson said, “There is no such thing as a Christianity without a cross. There is no such thing as a Christianity without a cost. It costs everything.”

Though giving Jesus everything is hard, it’s also the only way to get true, lasting joy. He has brought me to a point in my life in which I honestly don’t desire to control my life. I don’t want to make my life decisions. I know that when I do, I only mess them up. He has far more beautiful and fulfilling plans for my life than I could ever concoct myself. So, I leave the choice in His hands. And, oh, what joy there is in complete surrender!

A very godly woman I know named Annie Wesche said, “I have found no adventure so great or joy so full as bringing death to my own life and living in His!”

Truly, a life of surrender is a life of the fullest joy!

The Gospel: Victory over Sin

Growing up in the church, I was taught to abide by good “Christian rules” of living. I knew that I shouldn't cuss, drink, do drugs, sleep around, etc. However, this was all I knew about the Christian life. I figured it could just be summed up in, “be a slightly better moral person than those around you who aren't Christians.” So many times in churches and just with Christians in general, you hear the exhortation, “just do your best.” The popular teaching is that we are to try to do our best, and what we can’t do, God will supply us with the rest of the strength that we need.

This is not the Gospel. The truth of the matter is that every single one of us who have ever tried to be “Christian” or live the Christian life as God calls us to live has discovered that it’s impossible.

God commands us not to worry. Impossible. God commands us to be completely pure, in thought and deed. Impossible. God commands us to love our enemies and forgive those who hurt us. Impossible. God commands us to be perfect as He is perfect. Impossible. And we all know it.

We fail time and time again. That’s where the modern concept of grace comes in. “Well, God knows that you’re just going to keep on sinning. He never meant for you to actually have victory. That’s why He forgives you of your sins.”

Jesus did not just come and die so that we could be forgiven of our sins. He came and died so that we could be rescued from the problem of sin itself!

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.  How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Do you not know that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.”  Romans 6

When Christ died upon that cross, we died with Him. We have entered INTO Christ. Therefore, our old way of living, our “old man” is dead. We do not have to give into sin anymore. This is the glorious Gospel: when sin and the old man come knocking, you can command “NO!” in the Name of Jesus. Sin does not have to have dominion over us.

Verse 11 says, “Likeness, reckon also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Reckon is an accounting term. Say you need $20 to get into some event. However, you do not have the $20. You can’t get in. You’re lost. However, I tell you that I give you my $20 that you can have and use to get in. My $20 is in my car, and I tell you that you must go to my car, which is unlocked, and take the $20 for yourself. The $20 may be yours, but you can’t actually use it, and it is not actually efficacious for you until you go to the car and take it.

So it is with this concept. You must reckon yourself to be dead indeed unto sin.

“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace.” Romans 6: 14

Grace is not merely the “hug” of God that covers over your sin. Grace is the enabling power of God to accomplish in you that which you can never do on your own! The true Gospel is that we can’t live this life. We must completely surrender to Jesus and allow Him to live this impossible life through our yielded vessels.

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8: 2

A Favorite Quote on True Beauty

Today I was thinking about this quote, one of my all-time favorites. It was written by Jonathon Edwards of the woman who would one day become his wife. It is my prayer for Jesus to make and mold me into such a breathtaking woman, evincing the truest, purest beauty of Jesus Christ and drawing all eyes to Him, never to myself. 

"They say there is a young lady in New Haven who is beloved of that Great Being who made and rules the world. They say that He fills her mind with exceeding sweet delight, and that she hardly cares for anything except to meditate on Him. If you present all the world to her, with the richest of its treasures, she disregards it. She is unmindful of any pain or affliction. She has a singular purity in her affections. You could not persuade her to compromise her true Love, even if you would give her all the world. She possesses a wonderful sweetness, calmness, and kindness to those around her. She will sometimes go about from place to place, singing sweetly. She seems to be always full of joy and pleasure, and no one knows exactly why. She loves to be alone, walking in the fields and groves, and seems to have Someone invisible always conversing with her."

Follow your Heart?

I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard people tell other people or counsel me to “follow your heart.” It’s said all the time on movies, and it’s what I grew up believing. When a character is faced with a hard decision, they are usually instructed to “follow your heart.” This advice, presumably, will lead one to the greatest happiness. After all, our hearts know what is best for us, right?

So, what happens when to “follow your heart” means to commit adultery?

What happens when to “follow your heart” means to abandon your kids and chase after wild dreams that you think will fulfill you

What happens when to “follow your heart” means getting into a relationship with someone that you know will only result in dishonor to your King?

What happens when to “follow your heart” means stealing something in order to provide for those close to you?

What happens when to “follow your heart” means pursuing a dream, career, or ambition that is in direct disagreement with the Word of God?

What does the Bible say about following your heart?

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jeremiah 17: 9

“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man.”  Matthew 15: 19-20

“Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts…” Romans 1:24

Our hearts, according to the Bible, are deceitful and wicked. One of the major misconceptions in Christianity today is that we base our closeness or nearness to God upon feelings. If we feel close to God, then He’s happy with us. If we feel some spiritual “high” after summer camp, then we are great Christians. If we feel like praying, we will. If we feel like reading our Bibles, then we will. We will only serve if we feel like doing it and have some sudden burst of compassion.

Christianity is not based upon how you feel about something. Christianity is based upon fact. Therefore, true Christianity is not based upon what your heart “says” about something. True Christianity is based upon what the rock solid truth of God’s Word says. And when our feelings are in contradiction with the Word of God, we side with the Word of God, despite how we may be feeling at that moment.

If God has called you to pray and you don’t feel like it, you pray anyway. If God has called you to get into His Word and you don’t feel like it, you study anyway. God has called you to serve those around you and take the lowest place always. So, you serve and pour out for people, no matter how much you feel like doing it or not. We are to guide or lead our hearts (Proverbs 23: 19). And the amazing thing is, that as we guide our hearts and base our lives on fact rather than our feelings, our feelings with come into alignment. If you serve other people whether or not you feel like it, eventually the feelings will come. Jesus made us to feel and delights to give us the feelings, if we will just ask Him for them. He wants us to feel deeply for those around us. However, we must learn to base our lives upon His unchanging Word, no matter what this world or our own deceitful hearts may say against it. His Word must be first and foremost in our lives. He will then change our hearts so that they conform to  His Word. 

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statues, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them."  Ezekiel 36: 26-27

Ours is not to reason why

A certain quote has been on my mind recently. As I have been going throughout my days, there seems to be an increase in the bait and temptation of the enemy to give into self-pity, the desire for down-time, and to just stop, put down my spiritual sword, and quit for a while. I mean, everyone needs a break, don’t they? I have found the thought, Jesus, what You have called me to is just plain hard…present itself to me numerous times. That’s when this quote has been in my arsenal:

“Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do and die.”

I first heard this quote in the amazing devotional book, Streams in the Desert. So, whenever those thoughts and temptations to just set down my sword, stop fighting, or to give into the self-pity of a hard battle come, this quote is what I proclaim.

As soldiers of the cross, we do not have the luxury of sitting around, whining about how hard the battle is. We are in a battle! It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be grueling. It’s going to be difficult. But that’s also where I have found great joy!  When I realize the utter and complete impossibility of the task that He has assigned me and how utterly, completely, laughably weak I am, it causes me to lean all the more upon the strong, right arm of my Beloved. I cannot even lift up my sword to slay the enemy in my own strength. However, He has already defeated the enemy! I go out to battle against a defeated foe—I just stand upon His Word and His promise. I go out with His strength and His victory!

“Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” Colossians 1: 11

This is why we are to be constantly engaged in the battle—we have His very strength to do so. A very real spiritual battle is being fought for the souls of those around us. We cannot afford to set down our swords, for when our swords are lowered is when the enemy will attack. We must rise up, as true soldiers endued with the almighty grace of God, and FIGHT!

We do not get “down-time” as many people would call it. A soldier who is the in midst of a battle can’t just sit down for a while in order to take a break. He must continue to fight. We do not let our minds go numb in front of a television or whatever else may be posed to distract us. We are constantly engaged. Dear friends, this is only by His grace!

A friend of mine said this in an email recently, “Let us stand firmly in the gap, as the Church of Jesus Christ, ready to battle against the forces of the Enemy, and volunteer for the front lines, without looking back.”

I loved how she said that we are to volunteer for the front lines. We, as Christians, are to be the first ones to risk our lives and stand to fight against the forces of the enemy! On our watch, the enemy will gain no ground!

Fellow Christians, ours is not to reason why God has called us to what He has or where He has. Our duty and focus is to simply charge into the front lines of battle and spill and spend our lives for that which is valuable in His sight!

The Father's Will

Lately I have been meditating on John 6: 38-40:

“For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father’s will which has sent Me, that of all which he Has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”

What if this was our mindset wherever we go? For me, I did not come from Bloomington to Campbellsville University to do my own will. I came here to do the will of Him that sent me. I am not here for myself. I am not to take a thought of what my will would be while I am here. I have no right to my own will. Instead, my every thought is to be what His will is and what He wants of me. And one thing He has made completely clear to me is that I am to be pouring out my life and serving those around me. This would not, out of my flesh, normally be my will. However, my will is being conformed so that it matches His. I am been bought with a price, and I am not my own (I Corinthians 6: 19-20). I am His bond-slave, ready and willing to do whatever He would bid me.

What if this was also our mindset even in the day-to-day, seemingly mundane activities of life? I am not in this classroom, in this cafeteria, out to eat with this friend, at the grocery store with this cashier, hanging out in my room with my room-mate to do my will? I am here, whatever circumstance may be, for others. I am here (it doesn’t matter where ‘here’ is) to do His will and pour out my life for others.

        Jesus goes on to tell us what the Father’s will is. The Father’s will is that we should lose nothing. What in the world does that mean? I believe verse 40 helps to give us the answer:

“And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which sees the Son and believes on Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

If we truly have the mindset of Jesus, in that wherever we are we are not there to do our own will but the will of the Father, then we will, as a result, become outwardly focused. We will no longer be focused on our needs (our will) but rather how we can showcase Jesus to those around us. Jesus is saying that we are to lose nothing: we are to not let anyone fall by the wayside on our watch. They are to see Jesus in us constantly.

I want to live such a life that people don’t even remember who I am. It doesn't matter if they remember my name or anything about me. What matters is that I so radiate Jesus that they are drawn to Him through me. This is to be the testimony of my life, and this is the will of the Father.

“Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to a decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road. Make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.”

                                                                             -Jim Elliot