Salvation....

So I'm doing a special post today. I was looking at my audience on blogger, which gives me the stats of my blog. Stats like, how many people have looked at it and what countries it has reached. The statistics amazed me and I'm completely claiming God in these stats. A small town girl from Alabama could never have done this on her own, want to see what I believe to be God's work? Here's the stats

My blog has been viewed this many times in these countries...

United States 304

India 23

Canada 11

Australia 6

Lithuania 5

United Arab Emirates 3

Germany 3

Denmark 3

Hungary 3

Malaysia 3

Pakistan 3

Mauritius 2

Singapore 2

Thailand 2

Croatia 1

My blog has gone around the world, literally. So as I looked at these, I began to start looking over my blog, I realized that I have shared so much of my heart, I have never shared how salvation through our Lord, Jesus, happens.  I also realized looking over the list, that Christianity is not looked at kindly in some of the countries and worse than that in a couple. 

So anyways, this all got me to thinking about if I had one chance to say something to anyone in the world, I would want to say this... GOD LOVES YOU, HE HAS ALWAYS LOVED YOU, AND HE WANTS YOU TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH HIM!!!  So I am going to share with you what it means to be a Christian and what steps it takes to enter into God's presence.

Let me start by saying that becoming a child of God is not a ritual, there is no secret incantation, or magic words, there is no magic lamp to rub so that He will appear. It is as simple as this. He is right next to you, right now.  He is looking at you, knowing your reading this and saying, "I really do love you. I've been waiting for you your whole life."

This is so so so very important, I pray that if any post is ever read it be this one. Because I understand how God changed my life, I know how important it is that I get this right. So I'm actually going to copy and paste this from another web site. Because I'm afraid I won't word it right, and I want more than anything for you to have the love and joy I have in my Heavenly Father. So here goes.

"

You're not here by accident. God loves you. He wants you to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus, His Son. There is just one thing that separates you from God. That one thing is sin.
The Bible describes sin in many ways. Most simply, sin is our failure to measure up to God’s holiness and His righteous standards. We sin by things we do, choices we make, attitudes we show, and thoughts we entertain. We also sin when we fail to do right things. The Bible affirms our own experience – “there is none righteous, not even one.” No matter how good we try to be, none of us does right things all the time.
People tend to divide themselves into groups - good people and bad people. But God says that every person who has ever lived is a sinner, and that any sin separates us from God. No matter how we might classify ourselves, this includes you and me. We are all sinners.
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

Many people are confused about the way to God. Some think they will be punished or rewarded according to how good they are. Some think they should make things right in their lives before they try to come to God. Others find it hard to understand how Jesus could love them when other people don't seem to. But I have great news for you! God DOES love you! More than you can ever imagine! And there's nothing you can do to make Him stop! Yes, our sins demand punishment - the punishment of death and separation from God. But, because of His great love, God sent His only Son Jesus to die for our sins.

"God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

For you to come to God you have to get rid of your sin problem. But, in our own strength, not one of us can do this! You can't make yourself right with God by being a better person. Only God can rescue us from our sins. He is willing to do this not because of anything you can offer Him, but JUST BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU!

"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy." Titus 3:5

It's God's grace that allows you to come to Him - not your efforts to "clean up your life" or work your way to Heaven. You can't earn it. It's a free gift.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

For you to come to God, the penalty for your sin must be paid. God's gift to you is His son, Jesus, who paid the debt for you when He died on the Cross.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23

Jesus paid the price for your sin and mine by giving His life on a cross at a place called Calvary, just outside of the city walls of Jerusalem in ancient Israel. God brought Jesus back from the dead. He provided the way for you to have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus. When we realize how deeply our sin grieves the heart of God and how desperately we need a Savior, we are ready to receive God's offer of salvation. To admit we are sinners means turning away from our sin and selfishness and turning to follow Jesus. The Bible word for this is "repentance" - to change our thinking about how grievous sin is, so our thinking is in line with God's.

All that's left for you to do is to accept the gift that Jesus is holding out for you right now.
"If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10

God says that if you believe in His son, Jesus, you can live forever with Him in glory.

"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16
Are you ready to accept the gift of eternal life that Jesus is offering you right now? Let's review what this commitment involves:

I acknowledge I am a sinner in need of a Savior - this is to repent or turn away from sin

I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus from the dead - this is to trust that Jesus paid the full penalty for my sins

I confess Jesus as my Lord and my God - this is to surrender control of my life to Jesus

I receive Jesus as my Savior forever - this is to accept that God has done for me and in me what He promised

If it is your sincere desire to receive Jesus into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior, then talk to God from your heart:

Here's a Suggested Prayer:

"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I do not deserve eternal life. But, I believe You died and rose from the grave to make me a new creation and to prepare me to dwell in your presence forever. Jesus, come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I am now placing my trust in You alone for my salvation and I accept your free gift of eternal life."

provided by http://www.sbc.net/knowjesus/theplan.asp

If you prayed that prayer, if you accepted Jesus as your personal saviour, then I want to welcome you to the family! I can't wait till I get to sit across from you at the table in heaven and see you face to face my brother or sister!

Father, I come to You in prayer today for my sister's and brothers all over the world. Father, you know their needs, their hurt, and their fears, I pray that today you allow them to feel Your presense. Let them know that you are near always. Father, please don't ever let them feel forgotten. But allow them to see how precious they are to You. I love you and I praise You!!!

Do not fear...

I have been watching reports on world events and you have to love my family who is always up for some bible discussions. Our latest discussion led us to talking about revelation and the second coming of Jesus.  I have to be honest, looking at all of the crazy things happening in the world, I have pondered if our Lord will come back some time soon.

It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

1 Corinthians 15:52

The bible says it will happen when we least expect it.  I honestly have feared this moment since I was young and first heard of it.  The whole idea of the world colapsing as we know it, the dangers and trials that will come after. The thought of the anti-christ walking among us.  But as an adult, I have come to have peace about it. Revalation is a hard book to read for anyone, but my husband and I decided to read it last year together. My inlaws also read through it and it often becomes the discussion. What will it be like, will God allow us to see the destruction? Or will He shield our eyes? Will it come tomorrow? or ten years from now? Will it come 100 years from now?  What will the rapture look like? Will we just dissapear befores peoples eyes like a vanishing ghost? Will we rise up on clouds to our Father? Will we know everything immediately? Or will we get to sit at our Father's feet as He tells us great tales? Will I know who my family is when I get there? Or will the glory of God be so much that I won't care?

I have so many questions! I have a tendency of not wanting to be suprised. I want to know what will happen, when it will happen, and how will I feel about it.  I guess I want to control it.  That's always been my biggest delihma with God, I want to control things that happen to me, I want to have a say.  I never thought I wanted to let that go, until the day I did. I will never forget how free I felt in that moment! Along with the control, guilt, and worry left me as well! I have to remind myself daily to let God handle it. That I don't have to be in control, God's got me, He won't let me fall.

Throughout the Bible, it says "Fear not".  Some people say it's in there 365 times, I won't claim that, simply because I don't have the proof to back it up and I would never want to talk falsly against God's word. But I do know from reading that it is in there a whole lot!  Many times it is followed by the fact that we serve the God most High! Like in Psalm 46

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
   and the mountains quake with their surging.^[c]

 ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
   God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
   he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

 ⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 ⁸ Come and see what the LORD has done,
   the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
   to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
   he burns the shields^[d] with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.”

 ¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.



In verse 10, God states, "Be still and know I am God;". He wasn't saying, "Hey there's nothing scary out there." Of course life is scary! There are terrors all around us, no matter where we live, no matter our race, no matter our background, no matter our age, no matter our size, we are all afraid of something.  God didn't say that life would leave us untouched.  He said, "be still and know I am God." Be still, don't be scared, do not fear, because I am God, I am the I AM, I am your Father, I love you and nothing can stand against me!

It was once said, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but acting despite of fear!"  Which brings me to David and Goliath....

For those of you who don't know much about the story, David was a young boy who defeated Goliath, the Giant. But first I want to give you an idea of what yound David was up against....

Goliath was a Phillistine warrior, estimated to be about 7 feet tall (if you read a newer translation of the bible it states over 9 feet tall, but according to the dead sea scrolls and other older hebrew text he was about 6'9 so that's what I'm going with.) and his armor weighed about 126lbs and his sword was about 15 lbs.   The average height, according to the research I've done, of the men in the bible was between 5'2 and 5'6, so you can see how they would have seen Goliath as a giant.  It would be like putting someone even shorter than me, up against a NBA star! Not to mention, he's hauling that armor and sword around like it didn't weigh anything, his armor weighed more than a typical middle schooler!

David was a faily young boy as the bible puts it.  In fact while the Isrealites shook in fear not knowing who to send to fight the giant, David volunteered. King Saul, didn't want to send him, he thought it would be suicide for the young boy. But after much persuasion, King Saul allowed David to go...

³² David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”

 ³³ Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

 ³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

   Saul said to David, “Go, and the LORD be with you.”

³⁸ Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. ³⁹ David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.

   “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. ⁴⁰ Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

 ⁴¹ Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. ⁴² He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. ⁴⁴ “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”

 ⁴⁵ David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷ All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

 ⁴⁸ As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. ⁴⁹ Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

 ⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

1 Samuel 17:32-50



David didn't go into the fight believing that he was actually big enough to kill the giant, but on the belief that our God is the God most High and He will not forsake us.  Just like David we are going to face giants in our lives. So we can go into battle knowing that, even though the situation may be scary, our God will never forsake us either!

Another saying I love it this, "Don't tell God how big your problem is, tell your problem how big your God is!"

My prayer today is for me and all my brothers and sisters, Father I pray that when giants rise up and threaten and terrorize, that we stand strong, knowing that with You all things are possible, and nothing can stand against YOU! I love You and praise You!

Esther

So I got into watching movies yesterday and decided to watch "One night with the King".  Wow, God is on a roll with me this week. It is about Esther.  Outside of Mary, she's probably one of the best named women of the Bible, but to be honest, I really didn't know anything about her other than she was a queen and obviously did something great in God's name (Otherwise, why would we hear of her so much in the bible?).  So I got to watching it and was just sucked in. It's an amazing story of how once again, God will take someone who seems so insignificant and do great things through them.  This was a trailer to give you an idea...

I guess I got sucked in, because Esther was this orphan, who was well educated, and a dreamer.  She dreamed of Jerusalem, but just as she got permission to go, the King was looking for a queen and sent his guards to round up young women from the land. Esther was one of the girls taken. She hid her faith from everyone so as not to be killed, but when the kingdom decides to kill all the Jews. She had to come forth and ended up saving the Jews from genocide.  She was terrified of being killed. Wouldn't we all be, but this young woman sought out God and gathered the courage to stand against a Kingdom!  One person can make all the difference.

OK, so I have to admit, I still have the little girl side of me, that totally fell for the whole Cinderella side of the story. I mean think about it. It is a rags to riches story in a way. Not to mention a Jewish girl who's race had been exiled to Persia, became the queen of the Kingdom. Then there's the side of me who is a bit of a tomboy who longs to be strong and courageous like Joshua. She pushed all fears aside and offered her life for the lives of her people! I can't imagine more courage than that!

I have to love my buddy Micheal, he sent me this text yesterday afternoon right after I watched this movie.

"The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember...Noah was a drunk, Abraham was too old, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Moses had a stuttering problem, Gideon was afraid, Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Jeremiah and timothy were too young, David had an affair and was a murderer, Elijah was suicidal, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran from God, Naomi was a widow, Job went bankrupt, John the Baptist ate bugs, Peter denied Christ, The disciples fell asleep during prayer, Martha worried about everything, the Samaritan woman was divorced more than once, Zaccheus was too small, Paul was too religious, Timothy had an ulcer...AND LAZARUS WAS DEAD!!!!"

So the question today is not "Will God use me?" It's "How do I prepare for God to use me." Esther was in a sticky situation to say the least, but she kept her heart open to God, kept her faith, and acted when God commanded her to do so. 

A second chance

Have you ever felt as though you have totally failed?  I know that I have, especially when it comes to God.  Even though I have an understanding that I can never let God down, because he holds me up in His right hand and He doesn't need me to suceed to be great, after all, He is God!  But I still really get down on myself when I feel like I have not met his goal for my life.  I mean, I really feel awful!  I also have a tendency to look at God and say "Father, how could you ever want me. I'm not even worth the trouble.  What do you see in me?"  I got to this point the other day, the same day that I posted "Don't quit, Your very best".  So, I found myself sitting on my floor and crying out to God, "I'm sorry..." I felt so worthless.  I sat there with my bible in front of me, it was closed and I began to pray, "Father guide my hand".  Finally I flipped open the bible and my right hand was laying on the beggining sentance of Isaish 43. And this is what the Father spoke to me....

Israel’s Only Savior

 ¹ But now, this is what the LORD says—
   he who created you, O Jacob,
   he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
   I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
   I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
   they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
   you will not be burned;
   the flames will not set you ablaze.
³ For I am the LORD, your God,
   the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
   Cush^[a] and Seba in your stead.
⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
   and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
   and people in exchange for your life.
⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
   I will bring your children from the east
   and gather you from the west.
⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
   and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’
Bring my sons from afar
   and my daughters from the ends of the earth—
⁷ everyone who is called by my name,
   whom I created for my glory,
   whom I formed and made.”

 ⁸ Lead out those who have eyes but are blind,
   who have ears but are deaf.
⁹ All the nations gather together
   and the peoples assemble.
Which of them foretold this
   and proclaimed to us the former things?
Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right,
   so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰ “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
   “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
   and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
   nor will there be one after me.
¹¹ I, even I, am the LORD,
   and apart from me there is no savior.
¹² I have revealed and saved and proclaimed—
   I, and not some foreign god among you.
You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.
 ¹³ Yes, and from ancient days I am he.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
   When I act, who can reverse it?”

WOW! God started this statement by stating how He is God who formed us, but then He goes straight into telling us not to be scared, because He has REDEEMED us. We have been redeemed, our transgretions wiped away.  Then He said that He has called us by name, you have been called by His name, the holiest of all names! And then He said something that brought tears to my eyes, "you are mine." The God of the universe claims us as His own. He goes on to tell us how we will not walk through trials alone, and how though it might look scary, He will let no harm come to us.  And then He says it again, "Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you," Wow! We are precious and honored! And again He says I love you! Then God says again, don't fear, He will call all of us called by His name from all over the earth. He will not let anyone hold us back from Him. He calls us his wintnesses, and says that He is the only Savior. But then He says something at the end something that stuck me like lightning.  Something I should know, but we all need to be reminded every once in a while, He says this..."When I act, who can reverse it?"

Why is it as christians, that we question God when He tells us to do something?  I mean I get it, If crazy uncle Bubba tells us "What you need to do is this!" and it involves a getaway car, then by all means, question away!!! But we are talking about the Creator.  We're talking about the One who formed you. Of course He knows best, He knows the future!  Why would we even consult anyone else?  We are His, He loves us a million times over and beyond. He promises to deliver us.  He says that we are precious in His sight. And He states very clearly that when He acts no one can reverse it! 

So I wrote this today thinking of how I was feeling about myself the other day, and how God just lifted me with it. Number one, God is God, His greatness is not dependant on our actions, He doesn't need us to be the Ultimate, rather He chooses to be with us. He stoops down out off His heavenly thone to pick you up.  Number two, if you are saved, you are called by His name. You are redeemed.  Matt Pitt, a local pastor, once said, that when we look at God, broken and feeling lost, knowing that we failed and asking God "Can I please start again?" God's answer is "ALWAYS!"  We may give up at times, but He never gives up on us. He always wants you, always loves you, will always come back for you. Finally, the christian road does get rocky. At times it can be down right trechurous! But we never walk alone. When God acts, noone can reverse it. If He tells you to do something, it's because He has prepared a way for it to happen. So walk with confidence today, that you serve the one true God! You are His child! You are His love! You are called by His name! Stand up and stand out!

Don't quit! Your very best!

If you have never watched facing the giants, I am telling you that you are missing a blessing!  It is an amazing story of how our God can take something so small and make it into greatness. The clip above is my favorite part of the entire movie.  Brock who is somewhat of a troublemaker and has a bad attitude about what his team can do is called out by the coach. He tells Brock to do the death crawl again, in which he has to crawl feet and hands with another team mate clinging to his back. Brock then asks, "want me to go to the twenty yard line?" The coach replies "nope I think you can go to the fifty." Brock's response is "I can go to the fifty without my teammate on my back." The coach comes back with, "I believe you can go with him on your back." But there is a catch, the coach asks him to do it blindfolded, because he doesn't want Brock to quit when he has more to give. Brock laughs at the idea, but agrees. All the team is in laughter as Brock starts down the field, but then you see them in awe as they start to stand up and watch. Brock begins to get tired, and the coach begins telling him "don't you give up, you've got more." Brock struggles on, but then begins to cry out in pain, "IT HURTS!".  The coach is now on the ground crawling with him, "DON'T YOU QUIT ON ME! DON'T YOU QUIT ON ME!! YOU'VE GOT MORE IN YOU THAN THIS! DON'T YOU QUIT BROCK!! DON'T YOU QUIT! YOU KEEP GOING!" Brock continues to struggle, reaching for more and more, crying out "IT'S TOO HARD!". Coach is right there with him, yelling and encouraging him on. Finally Brock collapses and says "I can't go anymore. I don't have anymore." The coach, lying on the ground next to him tells him to look up, "Brock, you in the end zone."

How many times as Christians are we walking blindly in faith, screaming out "IT HURTS! ITS TOO HARD! I CAN'T GO ANYMORE!"  And there is our heavenly Father, screaming back at us, "DON'T YOU QUIT! DON'T YOU QUIT! YOU'VE GOT MORE IN YOU THAN THIS! YOU KEEP GOING!!!"  God has placed in us a strength, a potential, that we don't even realize we have.  And when we get to a certain point, we give up because we know that we reached to goal that was expected of us. God wants us to exceed all expectations. God has proved throughout time that He works by taking the person you least expect and doing something great through them.  But you have to be willing to push it, to give it your all, to negotiate with your body to find more strength when you think you have none left to give and know that God will honor those who honor Him.

 My challenge for all my brothers and sisters in Christ today is this, watch the clip above. If it won't load go to youtube and look up "don't quit facing the giants". Watch it again and you place yourself in Brock's position and put God in the coaches position. Then ask yourself today, what obstacle are you facing that God is yelling for you, "don't quit on me!" Pray about it, if you feel led, share it and allow your brothers and sisters to pray for you today. Feel free to post it below this, I promise that I will pray with you. Imagine what our faith would be like, if none of us quit.

Father I come to You today, asking for forgiveness. I have failed at this.  I have failed in times of ministry, in my family, and as a christian. I have given up, when I know that you will never give me a task that you have not given me the strength to complete.  I have given up when it got hard and when it hurt. I have not listened when you told me not to quit. I have been selfish and had a bad attitude about what you told me do. Father, help me to see what you see in me. Don't give up on me, keeping yelling and encouraging me like the coach to not quit. I love you Father and I praise You!

life is a highway...

I'm planning on doing my day 6 tonight, but I can't help but think of a conclusion my husband and I came to the other night. As Christians, we talk often about how God has set a path before us, or stay on the straight and narrow road. We happened to be going down the interstate the other day and the comment came about, that our lives are like the interstate. God lays down this big road in front of you and gives you a destination.  Hypothetically, you have a car that never runs out of gas and everything you need in the car, because we believe as Christians that God provides all we need. So it makes sense that you would just floor it right? An straight road, with no red lights, and all we need. So why wouldn't we have a lead foot down this open road?



Yep just a big ole' open road to God. So why is it that we find ourselves not rolling on it sometimes. My husband and I came to the conclusion that it is because the devil has set up tourist traps! That's right! Tourist traps!

I mean seriously, the kid in all of us, wants to see the worlds largest McDonald's!

or the hole in the rock!

and who wouldn't want to stop here?

You can't tell me your not the least bit interested in eating with a giant cowboy!

and why is it we all want to know what "the thing" really is?

The devil gets us trapped, by going, "Oh just take a break for a little while, look I have fun stuff over here! Aren't you tired of traveling?" And we fall for it, we take the exit, knowing that it will put us off course, knowing that we should keep our eyes focused on the prize. I can't think of a better example of this other than when I was about 10 years old. My grandparents were taking me and my cousin Amy to Disney world.  We drove, and to a 10 and 6 year old, it is a terribly long drive. But so worth it! We were going to Disney world after all! But I remember, it was probably about 35-40 miles outside of our condo, Amy and I saw a billboard "Largest McDonald's Playground, NEXT EXIT!" Oh we begged my grandpa! "Please, please, please, PLEASE!!!!" But my Grandpa would not waiver on his decision that we would stay the course. He knew that it would throw us off schedule and something much greater awaited us ahead. How I love my grandpa, for filling my life with Godly examples! Just like Disney world awaited me and Amy, something much greater awaits all of us! God has planned greatness for all of us, none of us were made to sit idly by and watch others!

Another reason we get off course is this,

We go the wrong direction because we do not consult the map.  I believe that we as Christians are failing at staying in the word of God daily. Notice I said we, I am totally including myself in that statement. We have a map right in front of us, and here in America, the freedom to read it! So many of our brothers and sisters through out the world, would do anything for the freedom to read it in public and to share it. But some face penalty of death for even dreaming such. We take it for granted! I want to end this with a verse that has God has spoken to me many times with....

Hebrews 12;1-3
 ¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.



 Father, it's my birthday today, thank You for creating me for great purposes for Your honor. It is my prayer this year that we as Christians will truly fix our eyes on You! That we will ignore the tourist traps and stay the course, I pray for all of us, that we do not grow weary or lose heart and that we all find strength in You!

Radom act of kindness....

I'm taking the day off from "A call to die", not because I don't have the will to do it, but for two reasons. One I am looking after my best friend's two kids along with my own, and while I am enjoying every second of the giggles, I am also refereeing about every 5 seconds. While trying to get through the first chapter of Mr. Nasser's day 6, I have had to stop about 20 times. The second reason is, I have something laid very heavy on my heart today. I don't know if you have ever watched Evan Almighty. But it's one of my favorites, yes it's funny, but more so than that, it focuses on changing the world, one act of random kindness at a time.

How many times have you been having a terrible day, and someone just shoots you a smile or does something so small as a kind gesture that just changes your whole mood? I can't count how many times it has happened to me. I am a firm believer in the fact that only God can change hearts, but that we can plant the seed. What if, every day, everyone made it a point to do one random act of kindness? What would our world be like? What if today, you walked into your local branch to do business, and you smiled at the teller who had just been told off by an angry customer, and talked to her like a hurting person instead of a gopher who just needs to suck it up and do her job? What if, we looked past people's appearances and saw their feelings? What if we dropped the defensive walls and truly saw who someone was? What if we decided that we wouldn't join in on the gossip? What it we decided that we would be bold and take a stand on God's principles? What if we truly stood for righteousness? What would our world be like tomorrow? What would our children's world be like?

As a mom, I try to instill in my children everyday, that you can't control what happens to you, but you have control over how you react to it. But I know as well as anyone that sometimes we all just need a little help. So this is my challenge, I don't know how many of you will do it, but I won't be checking up on you. I'm posting this in faith alone. I challenge each of you to do one act of random kindness today. Whether it's reaching out to someone you've never talked to before and telling them that God loves them, or buying someones lunch, or even just speaking kinds words to someone who needs it. God will lead you, pray about it. Then wait, because God will bless your heart for it. Who knows, you may want to do it everyday, and if that's true, then what will our world look like in a year? Then the next part of the challenge, pass it on. Encourage others to do the same, keep it going.

Jesus said in John 13:35: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

What if the whole world, knew who we were, just by our love for other people? Christianity is not about rules, it's about love!

Day 5...EXCUSES, EXCUSES

¹⁹ Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

 ²⁰ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

 ²¹ Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

 ²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:19-22

"Our struggle with excuses is the test of our commitment to Christ."-David Nasser. For every chance we have to obey God, there are several sensible reasons to turn away. For the teacher of the law, Jesus stated that while he had wealth and comfort, he'd have to let that go it. Mr Nasser pointed out that one of the greatest examples of this, was Mother Teressa. She felt conviction to serve the poor and sick in the poorest city in India. She gave up comfort to do what God had called her to do. And because of her kindness, she was able to share the love of God with presidents and kings! The second man, who needed to bury his father, also had an excuse and a legit one at that. But Jesus was making the point, that you have to put your love for him before even the love of your own family. 

Each day we are faced with decisions, some very small and some that will affect us very deeply. Some have clear cut answers of what is right and wrong, others we go deep in prayer about. Some of our decisions affect not only us, but others as well. Will I live by example? Will I be kind to that new person or join in on the gossip ring as we try to assume who they really are? Will I follow what Jesus has commanded of me, or choose the easy way out? Should I watch movies and TV shows with skin and violence, even though I know it doesn't honor God?

Mr Nasser gave a perfect example of his own life.  One Friday night he went to the movie rental store and went to the shelves. He grabbed what was left, as it was Friday night and most everything had been gotten already, knowing that it really was not something that he should have been renting. But he shared that he though, I am a strong enough Christian to enjoy the good parts and look past the bad, so he gave the excuse and proceeded to get the movies. He took the movies up to the front and handed over his credit card. He said that as the clerk slid the video's past the metal detectors, God must have looked at his angels and said, "Watch this, David is about to get busted". For as he stepped passed the detectors, he heard "Hey David! Nasser! How you doing?!" Nasser's response was "Hey bud..." code for, who are you again?  It was one of his students. "Dave you spoke at a conference that I attended last year, I gave my life over to Christ! Hey me and some of my buddys from bible study are going to my house to watch some movies, and since there is nothing left, why don't you come? we can watch whatever you have." David's heart stopped as he reached for the movies he had picked out. As he reached, he realized, there were no other movies up on the counter but his. The student laid eyes on the movies and his face dropped. David turned to the clerk and told him, "I don't want these movies anymore". "Do you want your money back?", David replied, "No, I just don't want them."  He then went home, to sit in the dark and reflect.

As Mr. Nasser put it, this isn't about rules, and about which movies to watch. What this lesson is truly about is this: When we truly understand the sacrifice of Jesus, we won't try to see what we can get away with, we will see how much we can honor God.

Day 4...Rewards

Mr Nasser said it pretty perfectly. The past three lessons were pretty hard to swallow. Is there truly anything to make someone choose this life?

"Those who honor me I will honor"

1 Samuel 2:30

The Bible speaks of the law of reaping and sowing. Paul spoke about it.

 ⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature^[a] will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Galations 6:7-9



As Mr Nasser put it, "the law of the harvest" means that we reap what we sow, we reap more than we sow and we reap after we sow. You don't go and scatter wheat seads and expect to see corn growing the next day. A farmer knows that if you scatter wheat seed, your going to get wheat and your not going to get it for several months. Sowing and reaping is the same for us, only in sin and goodness.

As I posted yesterday, we are very self-absorbed people. When we focus on sowing success, money prestige...we might reap just that, but most people who do can't even enjoy it, because they are so worried that someone will out-do them!  For those of us who seek approval, it's like an addiction. We are so anxious about what we say, what we do, that the rolling of the eyes or the shaking of one's head could destroy us. Some of us have one goal in life and that is to be number 1. In trying to be number 1 we manipulate and diminish people. What is reaped from that is that the people closest to us, feel used and abused. All three of these examples boil down to wanting to be the center of attention. The desire for power and attention always reaps a painful, destructive harvest. The result is heartache.

Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. Jeremiah 45:5

But the good news is that by sowing good seeds, such as truth, love, forgiveness, helping others. We will reap the good harvest and recieve those things back, if not by others, by Jesus. As we grow in the love and forgiveness of Jesus, our hearts will change, we will want nothing more than for God to be honored. We won't care if we go unoticed by others. If we seek only happiness, things will always get in the way of it. If we seek to honor God, nothing will be able to stand in the way. 

Mr Nasser spoke of a man by the name of Eric Liddell, he ran in the 1924 olympics in paris. He was a Christion and believed very strongly in keeping the Sabbath day for God. When he learned that his first heat was scheduled for Sunday. He refused to race. Countless people tried to convince him to change his mind. He wouldn't. Another British runner, who had already won a medal, offered to let Eric Liddell run in his place in the 200 meter race. Liddell accepted. On that day, as Eric dug out his starting point an American runner handed him a slip of paper. On it this was written: "In the good book it says, 'He who honors me I will honor'" When the starting gun sounded, Liddell took off running, the piece of paper clinched in hand. He won! He was faced with pleasing his country or his God, and for choosing God he was rewarded. He became the sensation of his country, and what an example he set! 

God will honor us too. Sometimes we will enjoy the rewards of the harvest soon after, sometimes in eternity. But it should be known that when we honor God, no action, big or small, ever goes unoticed and will never be forgotten by our Father.

 "We will reap what we sow, more than we sow, and after we sow."-David Nasser

Day 3....RUINED!

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a

 man of unclean lips, and I live among

a people of unclean lips, and my eyes

have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Isaiah 6:5

I am going to start my post with, wow! God meant for me to read this today. Right here in this moment. I pray that my post does not step on anyones toes and that it is not read harshly. Because I will be honest. God put me through the ringer on this one.

Mr. Nasser said it perfectly, "We are incredibly self-absorbed people." All we seem to think about is our appearances, what we want, how to get what we want, when will we get what we deserve. As Mr Nasser puts it self-absorbness leads to two things cockiness and shame. If we feel like we are doing a good job, we somehow get a complex like we are above other people. If we feel like we aren't measuring up, we feel like complete failures.

In my devotion, Mr Nasser made the perfect point that as Christians, we normally focus our self-absorption on "my growth" or "my progress".  We talk about wanting to be like Jesus and instead of loving Jesus we spend all of our time comparing ourselves to others.

I love the book of Isaiah, I don't know if Ive ever shared that fact about myself. But I really do. In fact the opening verse in this devotion is one of my favorites. Because it was read to me right before I gave my own life over to Christ. See, Isaiah was a prophet. He went around telling people to stop living in sin and how if they didn't repent from their wicked ways, they would spend eternity separated from God. Then one day, God revealed himself in a vision to Isaiah.

1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” -Isaiah 6:1-5

The angels in this passage had six wings, two that covered their eyes. Because God is so Holy that the light blinds even them! And they repeat over and over "Holy, holy holy!" In front of God, His holiness swamps our petty selfishness and shatters our pride. In front of Him we are broken, helpless and hopeless-unless God himself touches us.

I wonder if my preacher will read this, because I chuckled to myself when I read the next paragraph. Mr. Nasser then talked about how we have dumbed down Jesus to our level and how we tend to treat him like a buddy, "or we call the Father 'the man upstairs". The phrase "the man upstairs" fires my preacher up! LOL! I never thought about it, until he spoke about it in a sermon one Sunday morning (Yes, Brother Mike, I was listening). To me, it wasn't a big deal, until Brother Mike made the point that when we speak of God, the Alpha, the Omega, the Creator, of complete Holiness, it is a BIG deal to dumb him down with such a cliche name. To quote Mr Nasser "Yes, Jesus calls us friends, but be sure of this: Jesus stoops from the blinding majesty of his heavenly throne in order to stand next to us and call us friends. He didn't come from the next street over. He created the entire Universe!"

When Isaiah saw God, he cried out "woe is me!" Mr Nasser made the point that Isaiah had said this phrase many times before, but never about himself. But in the presence of God, all the sudden, Isaiah realized how unclean he was and what trouble he was in. He was ruined.

See, it's like the potter and the clay, we ask God to break us and mold us again. God wants to ruin our already dead lives in order to resurrect in us real life. Again, Jesus brought us "Good news" not "Fun news", but you can't realize how good the news really is until you realize how bad off you are. And when facing God with how bad you are, there will be change, I'm not talking a little bit, I'm talking about your life being dumped upside down. As Mr Nasser put it, "Our lives will then be driven by conviction, not just convenience."

But visions don't just happen. We can prepare our hearts and position ourselves to hear what God has to say, but ultimately only God can initiate a vision. Most visions, come in a time of desperation. Isaiah's vision came in the year that King Uzziah died. A time when the country was in turmoil. God saw an opening in Isaiah's insecurity and was able to break through. Stability produces passivity, upheaval breaks us, and opens us up.

Isaiah screamed "I am ruined!" There he stood before GOD! Imagine what you would have yelled. Realizing all your impurities and having nowhere to run and hide, no way to fix it. But then God touched him.

6Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

-Isaiah 6:6-7

So what was Isaiah's response to this?



8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom

shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

9He said, “Go and tell this people:

ACTION! Isaiah took action.  As a christian, you are going to be one of three types of people when it comes to witnessing God's holiness.

1. Your going to be the person who can walk away unchanged
2. your going to be the person who it affects some
3. your going to be the person who will never be the same from it

So the question today is, what person will you be?

day 2...Hard words

"ON HEARING IT, MANY OF HIS DISCIPLES SAID, 'THIS IS A HARD TEACHING. WHO CAN ACCEPT IT?' FROM THIS TIME MANY OF HIS DISCIPLES TURNED BACK AND NO LONGER FOLLOWED HIM"

-JOHN 6:60,66

So how would you describe Jesus? How about a 'rock star'? That's how Mr. Nasser describes Him in the middle of his ministry. Did you know that when he fed the fish and loaf to the thousands that we are not talking about around 2 or 4. We are talking anywhere from 15 to 20 thousand people! Thats a big following considering the time! But if you think about it, everywhere he went the blind were seeing, lame were leaping to their feet, people of their deathbed were walking around like nothing ever happened! Of course people were amazed, wouldn't you be? But then His teachings got harder, like when he claimed to be the son of God. It was too bold a statement for some. Healing people was cool and all, but claiming diety?

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. -John 6:53

That's when the thousands dwindled. He looked to the disciples and asked them, "don't you want to leave too?" Imagine standing in their shoes, how easy is it to support someone when everyone agrees? In our day, Jesus in mid-minstry being the rock star, would be on the wheaties cereal box! Or as Mr Nasser put it, have a Nike sponsor-ship at least! But suddenly, instead of being a roadie for KISS, your suddenly looked at like a follower of a crazy person. But it was my favorite disciple, Peter who spoke first, saying this "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." And then there were 12.

Mr. Nasser makes an excellent point in the fact that Jesus didn't come bringing "fun news" but brought "good news" instead. If we expect to be entertained by the news, we will leave the minute God asks anything of us. Jesus' goal in  coming wasn't to entertain us but to bring Glory and Honor to the Father. So hard words are apart of the faith. Mr Nasser put it this way, "if you don't hear any hard words from God, it's a good sign that you aren't his child at all."

"My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

because the Lord disciplines those he loves,

and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son"

Hebrews 12:5-6



It's like the young man that came to Jesus. He was very wealthy and asked Jesus how to obtain eternal life. Jesus first told him that he must ovey all the 10 commandments, the young man knew all the commandments and said he had kept them. He then looked to Jesus looking for more. So Jesus told him to sell all his possesions and give all his wealth away to the poor. The bible states that it was then that the young man walked away very sad because he had a lot of wealth. Mr. Nasser made the point that a lot of ministers will use this to try and convince you to open your wallet, but really, the point Jesus was trying to get across was, are you willing to give it all? Or do you have idols in your life?

God will shine light on your idols in His own time, yes yours! Mine, yours, everyones! We all have idols, whether you want to admit it or not. It could be that you love your spouse more than him. You could put your job before His purposes. You could love hanging out with freinds more than spending time with Him. God wants you to be the child He intened. As Mr Nasser put it, "you joined the team are you really not going to listen to the best coach in the world?"

I know this post has been long, but if you've made it this far, I want to finish it with a quote from Mr Nasser, again I feel like I have been hit with a ton of bricks.

"Our "etertain me" culture has made us spiritually soft and emotionall mushy. We expect hings to happen simply by pusshing a button or clicking a mouse. Repenting of spiritual idolatry is hard, brutal work, and this culture has not prepared us for it. Still it is essential if we intend to walk with God. When God shows you that something besides him is occupying the center of your life, don't expect it to just melt away. It won't. Don't expect it to step down graciously. It won't. Don't expect it to come out without a fight. It won't." -David Nasser

day 1...taking up your cross

"THEN JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES, 'IF ANYONE

WOULD COME AFTER ME, HE MUST DENY HIMSELF

AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME.'"

-MATTHEW 16:24

So day 1 is all about taking up the cross and what that means. Have to say, Mr Nasser gave some history on the cross that even I did not know. For instance, did you know that as you walked from town to town, that they actually had men hanging on crosses outside as you entered the towns. Add that intimidation to the knowledge of how they hung you there and you slowly suffocated and the fact that it was a symbol of execution. I can only imagine the faces of the disciples as Jesus spoke those words to them. The cross is supposedly one of the most violent execution tools in history. So in modern day terms, you could kind of consider it like someone looking at you and saying, "Hey if you really love me, you would go jump in that electric chair". So imagine the looks Jesus got from that statement. But Mr Nasser made an excellent point in the fact that taking up your cross, meant total obedience to God. Completely denying yourself, to bring honor and glory to Him. But first you have to deny yourself.......

This is where the not so fun part comes in, you have to first deny your wants for God's. I know, as a christian, I should not word that as the "not so fun part". But come on, I'm trying to be honest and any honest christian will tell you that walking in the truth is not easy by any means and is definitely not without its troubles. So how do we deny ourselves?

1. deny yourself gossiping
2. deny yourself that show, that has horrible, unGodly values in it
3. deny your wants and serve someone else

and so on and so forth.....

I could rattle off a hundred specifics, but honestly its really about denying our human selfish ways and longing for God's ways. I'm not going to in anyway pretend that this is an easy task, after all as you read from yesterday's post, I tried this devotion once before and quit only a few days into it. But I feel like God doesn't need big important people to get things done. What He really wants is for a heart to say, "God, our way is not working, we need You! Here I am, send me!"

I do want to quote Mr Nasser on one thing he said, because it struck me like a ton of bricks and I couldn't say it better myself. "What is Jesus' call in this passage of scripture? It is a call to die, a call to let your selfishness starve to death because you don't feed it. If it won't starve, we have to grab our selfishness by the throat and strangle it. once again, remember we are talking spiritual, not physical issues. Because Satan is not gentle in dealing with us, we cannot be gentle in dealing with sin."

A call to die

I'm starting a new devotional book, well..., it's not new, it's actually one that Justin and I picked up about a year ago. I naively picked it up thinking this would be an "easy" devotional for Justin and I to do together.... *Insert wrong buzzer sound here*! I should have been tipped off by the title, "a call to die", got to give a round of applause to David Nasser, He knows how to put us Christians on the spot for sure. But, I think it's only healthy spiritually to be challenged to grow, otherwise we just sit stagnant in the water and we all know that is not the grand plan that God has for us. We were created for so much more! So here goes! I accept your challenge Mr Nasser! I am going to indulge into your 40 day journey. I only made it a few days when I first tried it and to be honest, my heart was not in the right place, but I'm hungry to be challenged. I am longing for something more right here and now. So God I hand this experience over to you. I want you to renew me. I pray for strength, perseverance, and humbleness as I go on this journey. Finally Father, I pray to come back changed.

Day 1 starts tomorrow.....