Do you know what finally gave me rest in God? The one thing that allowed me to abide in Him fully and gave me the courage to stand up for what I believe?
Fully understanding the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I have been a Christian for most of my life. It's been about 25 years now since God found me. And I didn't fully understand the Gospel until last year. 2011 was my biggest year for growth in my walk with the Lord. I publicly turned my back on a promising writing career and jumped in with both feet into the Gospel.
And the funny thing is -- I had no idea what God was teaching me. I was on a journey to get to know the God I only thought I knew. Scripture I'd read a thousand times before suddenly jumped out at me. A picture of what God intended for me to know began to coalesce. I asked the Holy Spirit to teach me. I asked Him to teach me how to love Him more. And after reading the book of Acts on my deck last summer, I closed the book in awe.
Acts has got to be one of my favorite books in the Bible. It shows timid men from Galilee, who fled from Christ's crucifixion in terror, becoming bold and fearless after the Spirit came down on Pentecost. After I read Acts with "new" eyes (because I'd read it before years earlier), I understood something new about the Apostles.
They were nothing like modern-day Christians.
There was a disconnect there. What was the deal? Well, they loved God more than ANYTHING in the world, and they weren't afraid to literally shout it from the rooftops. They were sure and bold in God. They knew their identity in Christ. They fully understood the Gospel.
After that, I asked God to help me love Him like the APOSTLES loved Him. Be careful what you wish for! God showed up in my life last summer like never before. And you know what? God Himself was teaching me all about the Gospel and I had no idea.
For decades I'd heard about the life and death of Jesus and His resurrection. I had the head-knowledge, but not the heart-knowledge.
God was showing me that He loved ME so much that Jesus came into the world to LIVE for me. His life was a gift, to give me the perfect record of a sinless life I could never accomplish on my own. He then died for me, separating me from my sins as far as the east is from the west. At the cross is where He became my sin and I became His righteousness. The Bible says I've been crucified with Christ, it's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives through me. What does that mean? My old life is now dead and buried, and I am a new creation in Jesus.
But what really brought me to my knees throughout my entire journey to re-aquaint myself with God was the fact that I have God's approval, come what may. In realizing that Christ gave me His perfect record, I understood I have it NOW, not at some distant point in the future when I'm "good enough". I am covered by the blood of Jesus right now, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit as a promise of my future resurrection into my glorified body. That means the book in Heaven that has all my sins recorded was nailed to the cross. It no longer exists. Now, when God looks at the record of my life, He sees CHRIST'S record.
That's amazing!! Why? Because no matter where I came from, no matter what I've endured, no matter how many sins I've committed, there is NOTHING I can add or subtract from the work of Christ. He did it ALL for me. Not only did He live and die for me, but He gave me His righteousness. Right NOW!! Even if I stumble in my sins, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. The sin that made me stumble is never recorded in my book. Christ's record is MINE. ALWAYS. Not just for past sins, but for future ones as well.
What freed me to rest in my Divine acceptance was the knowledge that when God looks at me, He sees CHRIST. That means I not only have God's acceptance, but He smiles upon me.
THERE IS NO HIGHER STANDING WITH GOD THAN CHRIST!
And this means my salvation is absolutely, 100% SECURE. I do not have to repent-repent-repent in order to keep my ticket to Heaven. No, that's slavery, that's not living in the freedom of Christ! Repenting keeps us close to God since sin is rebellion against God, but once you're a Christian, NOTHING and NO ONE can pluck you out of God's hand, not even yourself. Therefore we, as believers, do not repent in order to clutch onto the slippery slope of our salvation, but rather to repair our relationship with Almighty God. ALL your sins were paid for by Christ, past, present, and future! That's why Christ lived a perfect life - in order to give you that perfect record before God.
If you're hearing a voice today that tells you God can't possibly love you, that you're such a sinful Christian - how can you get right with God when you have such ugliness in your past? If you're ashamed to come into His presence, if you don't think you're a "worthy" Christian, I want to tell you right now that's a LIE straight from the enemy. Rebuke it in Jesus' name!
If you're a TRUE Christian, blood-bought by Christ through His sacrifice on the cross, then you are ABSOLUTELY worthy because HE is worthy! You are loved because HE is loved! You are accepted because HE is accepted! Why? Because He gave us HIS RECORD!!
Our life is hidden in Christ. If God sees CHRIST'S life and HIS righteousness when He looks at us, if He remembers our sins no more because Christ paid our penalty in full, then we have the absolute acceptance of God Almighty, and we can rest in the knowledge that HIS acceptance is ALL WE NEED.
What worldly, vain acceptance could possibly compare...to that?
~~Becka
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
God Invented Me
Do you ever have a random thought that just kind of floors you? The, "Wow, that was really profound" kind of thought? I had one recently.
God invented me.
Now, we all talk about God being our Creator, but usually, we don't think much beyond God knitting our bodies together in our mother's womb. But what we don't stop and think about is the fact that God also created our souls, our very life. He knew from day one what our temperaments would be, what we'd like, what we wouldn't like. He knew what kind of dreams we would have and who our lives would touch.
God invented me.
Think about that for just a moment. Sparked within the mind of God was the idea of YOU. He always knew He'd create you. Who knows what was here before creation, but God knew you even then. In that way, His idea of you was always eternal. God has no beginning; we cannot fathom it, but an eternal God is eternal in both directions. Therefore, if He always knew He was going to create you, then you have always been on His mind.
We are a product of our own free wills, but who we are and who we ultimately become is straight from God's imagination. Just as He invented rocks and chlorophyll and oxygen and the color chartreuse, He invented you as well.
More than knowing your eye color, your hair color, or whether or not you'd have freckles, God wanted you to be exactly who you are. Where you are in life is no accident. He places us where we can shine the brightest for Him. He gives us our abilities to shine wherever we happen to be. The will of God for your life was known long before Genesis 1:1.
Whether a believer or a non-believer, we all belong to Him. There's no getting around it. Everyone was created by Him, every single person who's ever lived was invented by Him. He knows their thoughts and fears, their joys and their sorrows. We are, each of us, unique. Like fingerprints, each person God has invented is not like anyone else. God is one of a kind -- therefore so are we, made in His image to think, reason, and love.
It is both staggering and humbling at the same time to know there has never been a time in all of eternity that you were never planned for. Nothing is an accident to God. Whether or not your parents planned for you, God did.
He made your body and your soul. He made you YOU. The way you smile, your angry pout, that loud guffaw, that determination, your stubbornness, your easy-going-ness... All of it planned for, all of it finely tuned to be the person God wants you to be.
He is the Ultimate Inventor, the Master Crafter. His Imagination is infinite, and in eternity past, He imagined you, and knew He'd always create you to be you, because God's will is always done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
~~Becka
God invented me.
Now, we all talk about God being our Creator, but usually, we don't think much beyond God knitting our bodies together in our mother's womb. But what we don't stop and think about is the fact that God also created our souls, our very life. He knew from day one what our temperaments would be, what we'd like, what we wouldn't like. He knew what kind of dreams we would have and who our lives would touch.
God invented me.
Think about that for just a moment. Sparked within the mind of God was the idea of YOU. He always knew He'd create you. Who knows what was here before creation, but God knew you even then. In that way, His idea of you was always eternal. God has no beginning; we cannot fathom it, but an eternal God is eternal in both directions. Therefore, if He always knew He was going to create you, then you have always been on His mind.
We are a product of our own free wills, but who we are and who we ultimately become is straight from God's imagination. Just as He invented rocks and chlorophyll and oxygen and the color chartreuse, He invented you as well.
More than knowing your eye color, your hair color, or whether or not you'd have freckles, God wanted you to be exactly who you are. Where you are in life is no accident. He places us where we can shine the brightest for Him. He gives us our abilities to shine wherever we happen to be. The will of God for your life was known long before Genesis 1:1.
Whether a believer or a non-believer, we all belong to Him. There's no getting around it. Everyone was created by Him, every single person who's ever lived was invented by Him. He knows their thoughts and fears, their joys and their sorrows. We are, each of us, unique. Like fingerprints, each person God has invented is not like anyone else. God is one of a kind -- therefore so are we, made in His image to think, reason, and love.
It is both staggering and humbling at the same time to know there has never been a time in all of eternity that you were never planned for. Nothing is an accident to God. Whether or not your parents planned for you, God did.
He made your body and your soul. He made you YOU. The way you smile, your angry pout, that loud guffaw, that determination, your stubbornness, your easy-going-ness... All of it planned for, all of it finely tuned to be the person God wants you to be.
He is the Ultimate Inventor, the Master Crafter. His Imagination is infinite, and in eternity past, He imagined you, and knew He'd always create you to be you, because God's will is always done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
~~Becka
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Draw Near to the Lord...
...and He will draw near to you. ~~James 4:8
I'm amazed at how many Christians don't have a close relationship with God. I don't understand how you can profess Christ on the one hand, and yet not have a relationship with Him on the other. It doesn't make sense to me. And perhaps that's because I've been so close to Him myself for most of my life, that anything less is foreign to me.
Some Christians have been hurt in life, and therefore distance themselves from God. Some Christians don't care. They're content to live their lives and deal with God after their death. Some Christians just don't know better. They go to church, they pray over dinner, and they might pray for a certain favor or a certain material item they want.
But...God doesn't force Himself on anyone. You are as close to God as YOU want to be. If you want to be distant, God will be distant. But if you want to immerse yourself in Him, He will be BIG in your life.
If you're distant, you cannot expect God to move in your life as if you're one of His closest friends. Some people pray, and if they don't get what they want, the end up getting mad at God and sometimes cursing Him. They might even forsake the truth of the Bible, saying, I asked, but God did not provide. I knocked, but the door didn't open.
But what's the key to these verses about asking God in prayer?
Do you seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness before all things? That's what "first" means in this passage. Is God #1 in your life? Before your SPOUSE? Your CHILDREN? Your POSSESSIONS? Your FRIENDS? Your ENTERTAINMENT?
If not, WHY not?
God's not your thing? If you claim to be a believer, GOD *IS* YOUR THING!! If He is not, you really need to examine your heart and your motives for being a "Christian". Is Jesus a "Get Out of Hell Free Card" for you? Or is He the absolute Sovereign Savior of the World? Because if "God's not your thing" and you say you're a "Christian", you are NOT ready for Heaven, my friend. If worship "bores" you, if you can't crack open your dusty Bible (if you own one) because you've "already read it" or it's full of hard-to-understand prophecies, then you need to meet the Living God! Because if you're not transformed by ENORMITY of what God has done for you, if Jesus is not the treasure you'd leave EVERYTHING for, I'm skeptical that you've EVER met the Lord.
I have to believe Christians who don't put much effort into their relationship with God don't fully understand the Gospel. Oh, they might have the head-knowledge, but they don't have the heart-knowledge. Too many Christians are still in bondage to sin, believing that God will pour out wrath upon them if they don't repent a million times for every little thing. "Oh, if I have one unconfessed sin, I'm going to Hell....!"
Um, no, you're not. Don't you know that CHRIST ABSORBED ALL of your sins upon the cross?? How can you not know that?
It's as if these Christians think Christ died for past sins but not future ones. I want to share a bit of wisdom I learned from Pastor Joseph Prince.
When Christ died 2,000 years ago, ALL YOUR SINS WERE FUTURE SINS!
Do you get that? Do you understand? Christ didn't die for the sins you've committed up until the day you became a Christian and now you have to repent to keep your salvation until the day you die. No! He died for your ENTIRE LIFE!!
People, hear this. If all Jesus had to do was die for us, He could have come down as a full-grown man and die on Passover just as He did in Scripture. But that was NOT the entire plan. He had to be born, grow up, and become a man, not only to teach us how to live and love God as well as our neighbors, but to live a PERFECT LIFE.
Why did He have to be perfect? Because every Passover lamb had to be spotless before God. And Christ was the Lamb of God! When a sacrifice is made, the sins are imparted to the innocent lamb, and the lamb's innocence is imparted to the sinner.
The record of Christ's perfect life is yours, friend. Right here, right now.
Repentance for the believer is not a way to desperately hang on to your salvation, but to keep a close connection to God. Sin pulls us away from Him, as sin is rebellion against His Law.
Our salvation in Christ is guaranteed by the grace of God through faith.
But when you become a believer, the Holy Spirit does a great work in you. You become a new creation by the renewing of your mind. What you once loved to do (sin) you now hate, and what you once hated (righteousness) you now long for.
Your eyes are opened to the power of the Gospel and your heart is filled with an overwhelming LOVE for God. Remember when you were a new Christian? Do you remember the absolute JOY? The FIRE in your belly? The way you BOUNCED off the walls for Christ?
That was not a fad. It wasn't a phase. It wasn't puppy-love or some kind of romantic euphoria one might have for someone they're crushing on. That was the kind of love God wants us to have for Him ALL THE TIME.
And it's not about being a Jesus Freak. Loving Christ is a very personal relationship with Him. There is no law that you need to have 1,000 Jesus fish on your car and tell all your friends the Good News.
But when you love God so much and put Him FIRST in your life before every other thing you love, you can't help but produce fruit for the Kingdom that tells others in this world that you love God. Or at least that you're peculiar. As Christians, we are the light of the world. And Christ said you do not light a lamp and hide it under a basket!!
Unfortunately, I think that's what a lot of Christians have done -- they've hidden their light under a basket. They've hidden their light under the bed. I have one question...WHY??
The Sovereign God of the Universe humbled Himself and came down as a man. He lived a perfect life that we couldn't possibly achieve and died an excruciating, tortuous death in order to purchase our souls from Hell. One look at the cross of Christ, and you KNOW the measure of God's love for you. No longer do you have to wonder. Christ suffered the FULL VIOLENCE of God's wrath for you on that cross. And then, after being dead for three days, HE ROSE!! He rose, proving He has all power over death. And one day, we will also rise and be like Him, glorified in His perfection, given His holy righteousness to wear ourselves. How amazing is that? GOD giving us His very own holiness? His very own perfection and righteousness? It is so mind-blowing to me that I can do nothing but stand before God in awe at the depths of His mercy and grace.
Brethren, how can we settle for anything lesser? How can this world possibly satisfy us? How can the world be more attractive than this God of unbelievable, unfathomable, unquenchable LOVE?
Seek Him. Seek Him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. I promise you will find Him.
In Jesus name,
~~Becka
I'm amazed at how many Christians don't have a close relationship with God. I don't understand how you can profess Christ on the one hand, and yet not have a relationship with Him on the other. It doesn't make sense to me. And perhaps that's because I've been so close to Him myself for most of my life, that anything less is foreign to me.
Some Christians have been hurt in life, and therefore distance themselves from God. Some Christians don't care. They're content to live their lives and deal with God after their death. Some Christians just don't know better. They go to church, they pray over dinner, and they might pray for a certain favor or a certain material item they want.
But...God doesn't force Himself on anyone. You are as close to God as YOU want to be. If you want to be distant, God will be distant. But if you want to immerse yourself in Him, He will be BIG in your life.
If you're distant, you cannot expect God to move in your life as if you're one of His closest friends. Some people pray, and if they don't get what they want, the end up getting mad at God and sometimes cursing Him. They might even forsake the truth of the Bible, saying, I asked, but God did not provide. I knocked, but the door didn't open.
But what's the key to these verses about asking God in prayer?
31 "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." ~~Matthew 6:31-33
Do you seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness before all things? That's what "first" means in this passage. Is God #1 in your life? Before your SPOUSE? Your CHILDREN? Your POSSESSIONS? Your FRIENDS? Your ENTERTAINMENT?
If not, WHY not?
God's not your thing? If you claim to be a believer, GOD *IS* YOUR THING!! If He is not, you really need to examine your heart and your motives for being a "Christian". Is Jesus a "Get Out of Hell Free Card" for you? Or is He the absolute Sovereign Savior of the World? Because if "God's not your thing" and you say you're a "Christian", you are NOT ready for Heaven, my friend. If worship "bores" you, if you can't crack open your dusty Bible (if you own one) because you've "already read it" or it's full of hard-to-understand prophecies, then you need to meet the Living God! Because if you're not transformed by ENORMITY of what God has done for you, if Jesus is not the treasure you'd leave EVERYTHING for, I'm skeptical that you've EVER met the Lord.
I have to believe Christians who don't put much effort into their relationship with God don't fully understand the Gospel. Oh, they might have the head-knowledge, but they don't have the heart-knowledge. Too many Christians are still in bondage to sin, believing that God will pour out wrath upon them if they don't repent a million times for every little thing. "Oh, if I have one unconfessed sin, I'm going to Hell....!"
Um, no, you're not. Don't you know that CHRIST ABSORBED ALL of your sins upon the cross?? How can you not know that?
It's as if these Christians think Christ died for past sins but not future ones. I want to share a bit of wisdom I learned from Pastor Joseph Prince.
When Christ died 2,000 years ago, ALL YOUR SINS WERE FUTURE SINS!
Do you get that? Do you understand? Christ didn't die for the sins you've committed up until the day you became a Christian and now you have to repent to keep your salvation until the day you die. No! He died for your ENTIRE LIFE!!
People, hear this. If all Jesus had to do was die for us, He could have come down as a full-grown man and die on Passover just as He did in Scripture. But that was NOT the entire plan. He had to be born, grow up, and become a man, not only to teach us how to live and love God as well as our neighbors, but to live a PERFECT LIFE.
Why did He have to be perfect? Because every Passover lamb had to be spotless before God. And Christ was the Lamb of God! When a sacrifice is made, the sins are imparted to the innocent lamb, and the lamb's innocence is imparted to the sinner.
The record of Christ's perfect life is yours, friend. Right here, right now.
Repentance for the believer is not a way to desperately hang on to your salvation, but to keep a close connection to God. Sin pulls us away from Him, as sin is rebellion against His Law.
Our salvation in Christ is guaranteed by the grace of God through faith.
But when you become a believer, the Holy Spirit does a great work in you. You become a new creation by the renewing of your mind. What you once loved to do (sin) you now hate, and what you once hated (righteousness) you now long for.
Your eyes are opened to the power of the Gospel and your heart is filled with an overwhelming LOVE for God. Remember when you were a new Christian? Do you remember the absolute JOY? The FIRE in your belly? The way you BOUNCED off the walls for Christ?
That was not a fad. It wasn't a phase. It wasn't puppy-love or some kind of romantic euphoria one might have for someone they're crushing on. That was the kind of love God wants us to have for Him ALL THE TIME.
And it's not about being a Jesus Freak. Loving Christ is a very personal relationship with Him. There is no law that you need to have 1,000 Jesus fish on your car and tell all your friends the Good News.
But when you love God so much and put Him FIRST in your life before every other thing you love, you can't help but produce fruit for the Kingdom that tells others in this world that you love God. Or at least that you're peculiar. As Christians, we are the light of the world. And Christ said you do not light a lamp and hide it under a basket!!
Unfortunately, I think that's what a lot of Christians have done -- they've hidden their light under a basket. They've hidden their light under the bed. I have one question...WHY??
The Sovereign God of the Universe humbled Himself and came down as a man. He lived a perfect life that we couldn't possibly achieve and died an excruciating, tortuous death in order to purchase our souls from Hell. One look at the cross of Christ, and you KNOW the measure of God's love for you. No longer do you have to wonder. Christ suffered the FULL VIOLENCE of God's wrath for you on that cross. And then, after being dead for three days, HE ROSE!! He rose, proving He has all power over death. And one day, we will also rise and be like Him, glorified in His perfection, given His holy righteousness to wear ourselves. How amazing is that? GOD giving us His very own holiness? His very own perfection and righteousness? It is so mind-blowing to me that I can do nothing but stand before God in awe at the depths of His mercy and grace.
Brethren, how can we settle for anything lesser? How can this world possibly satisfy us? How can the world be more attractive than this God of unbelievable, unfathomable, unquenchable LOVE?
Seek Him. Seek Him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. I promise you will find Him.
In Jesus name,
~~Becka
Thursday, April 12, 2012
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
When bad things happen to good people, should we get angry at God? Should we blame Him for our malady? Should we demand of Him that because we are His children, our lives should be filled with rainbows and butterflies?
Where does this sense of "entitlement" come from? God has never promised us rainbow-filled lives. In fact, the Bible promises quite the opposite. Those who believe in Christ will suffer. No man is greater than his master, and our Master SUFFERED. In the most horrendous of ways. Crucifixion has got to be one of the most heinous of tortures ever to spring from the mind of man.
Aside from the torture our Lord endured, look at His life. He was, for all intents and purposes, homeless. He had no money. He ate where He could, most likely from the generosity of His disciples. Perhaps from the providence of friends and strangers. Most likely He only owned one set of clothing. He washed whenever He could find water. He slept on the ground. A lot.
As His followers, what makes us believe our lives should be any better?
I have said before our joy comes, not from our circumstance, but from God alone. If you build your house on the rock, then no storm can shake you. No wind can move you. You're anchored in Christ Jesus.
Recently, I've been diagnosed with a disease in my lower leg called Cellulitis. It's a nasty infection of the skin, usually caused by the staph virus. It laid me out in the hospital for a full seven days. After I got home, it laid me out in bed for a week and a half. In fact, I'm still IN the bed, as I'm writing this at the week and a half mark. I have huge, disgusting blisters on my calf that have turned into open wounds. The pain of having my leg vertical can become excruciating. I have to use crutches to get around, and I visit the wound care clinic at my local hospital twice a week to change my bandages.
Have I once blamed God? Have I once shaken my fist at Him and cursed His name?
Absolutely not.
In fact, being forced to lie on my bed day after day has brought me closer to Him rather than farther apart. Things I've taken for granted, like warm sunlight on my face or the cool breeze in my hair, have now become simple delicacies that I acutely enjoy. Birdsong - who knew how beautiful it is to just sit and listen?
If anything, this illness has given me a greater appreciation for God, and for the Body of Christ. During my entire stay in the hospital, I had members of two churches praying for me, as well as an entire Christian forum I'm a member of, friends on Facebook, my family, and my real-life friends. Three members of my church came and visited me and prayed over me -- twice. My sister had her pastor pray for me on Good Friday. I believe all these prayers covered me during my stay in the hospital, and beyond, as I've had a good-natured attitude throughout it all.
Some people might say, "Well, that's just you, Becka. You're a good-natured person in general!" Well, that's true, but let me tell you, I do get down in the dumps. I do get depressed. And this was one of those times when I had every opportunity to become depressed. There have only been a handful of times, perhaps two, that I've teared up over being stuck in the bed for so long. But even then, what comforts me is turning on my Christian music and gazing out the window at God's creation.
I find my joy in Him. I always have and I always will. Whenever I'm feeling blue, all I have to do is turn to God. "I lift my eyes up, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth." ~~Psalm 121:1-2
You know what it's like for me? Coming to God when I'm feeling lost, alone, hurt, sad, or depressed is like being able to BREATHE again. Suddenly, I'm cleansed from my problems. They don't seem so big anymore. I don't have to bear them alone. I don't have to bear them at all. My Savior carries them for me. He makes me feel loved, cherished, and cared for.
I know without a doubt that God has heard all the prayers from His saints regarding my healing. My swelling has gone down tremendously and my pain level has lessened from the torture it used to be of just getting out of bed to use the restroom. There is still a great deal of pain, however, and a long road before I'm back to 100%, but through it all, I have never once even let the thought cross my mind to "blame" God or "curse" Him for allowing this to happen. I know all things work together for the good to those that love the Lord. If God allowed me to contract Cellulitis for His glory, who am I to yell at Him for it?
He's helping me through it, He hasn't left me alone. He's right here with me, encouraging me, teaching me, and giving me a Shoulder to cry on if I need it. Why would we EVER turn from the One who understands what we're going through? Who's felt the pain Himself? Who knows what it's like? Why would we forsake the very One we need in our time of need? How could we turn our backs on the One who has NEVER turned His back on us...?
Bad things happen to good people. It rains on both the righteous and the unrighteous, just as the sun shines on both the righteous and the unrighteous. "In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world!" ~~John 16:33
Do you know why we can find comfort in Christ's words that He has overcome the world? Because if we remain in Him and He lives and shines through us, then WE TOO shall overcome the world.
Amen. Lord Jesus, may I ever find my comfort and hope in You, no matter how tempestuous the storm, no matter how dark the valley of the shadow of death. May I ever cling to Your robes and follow where You lead to the glory of God the Father, and for the simple fact that I absolutely adore You, my precious, wonderful King.
Amen and amen.
~~Becka
Where does this sense of "entitlement" come from? God has never promised us rainbow-filled lives. In fact, the Bible promises quite the opposite. Those who believe in Christ will suffer. No man is greater than his master, and our Master SUFFERED. In the most horrendous of ways. Crucifixion has got to be one of the most heinous of tortures ever to spring from the mind of man.
Aside from the torture our Lord endured, look at His life. He was, for all intents and purposes, homeless. He had no money. He ate where He could, most likely from the generosity of His disciples. Perhaps from the providence of friends and strangers. Most likely He only owned one set of clothing. He washed whenever He could find water. He slept on the ground. A lot.
As His followers, what makes us believe our lives should be any better?
I have said before our joy comes, not from our circumstance, but from God alone. If you build your house on the rock, then no storm can shake you. No wind can move you. You're anchored in Christ Jesus.
Recently, I've been diagnosed with a disease in my lower leg called Cellulitis. It's a nasty infection of the skin, usually caused by the staph virus. It laid me out in the hospital for a full seven days. After I got home, it laid me out in bed for a week and a half. In fact, I'm still IN the bed, as I'm writing this at the week and a half mark. I have huge, disgusting blisters on my calf that have turned into open wounds. The pain of having my leg vertical can become excruciating. I have to use crutches to get around, and I visit the wound care clinic at my local hospital twice a week to change my bandages.
Have I once blamed God? Have I once shaken my fist at Him and cursed His name?
Absolutely not.
In fact, being forced to lie on my bed day after day has brought me closer to Him rather than farther apart. Things I've taken for granted, like warm sunlight on my face or the cool breeze in my hair, have now become simple delicacies that I acutely enjoy. Birdsong - who knew how beautiful it is to just sit and listen?
If anything, this illness has given me a greater appreciation for God, and for the Body of Christ. During my entire stay in the hospital, I had members of two churches praying for me, as well as an entire Christian forum I'm a member of, friends on Facebook, my family, and my real-life friends. Three members of my church came and visited me and prayed over me -- twice. My sister had her pastor pray for me on Good Friday. I believe all these prayers covered me during my stay in the hospital, and beyond, as I've had a good-natured attitude throughout it all.
Some people might say, "Well, that's just you, Becka. You're a good-natured person in general!" Well, that's true, but let me tell you, I do get down in the dumps. I do get depressed. And this was one of those times when I had every opportunity to become depressed. There have only been a handful of times, perhaps two, that I've teared up over being stuck in the bed for so long. But even then, what comforts me is turning on my Christian music and gazing out the window at God's creation.
I find my joy in Him. I always have and I always will. Whenever I'm feeling blue, all I have to do is turn to God. "I lift my eyes up, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth." ~~Psalm 121:1-2
You know what it's like for me? Coming to God when I'm feeling lost, alone, hurt, sad, or depressed is like being able to BREATHE again. Suddenly, I'm cleansed from my problems. They don't seem so big anymore. I don't have to bear them alone. I don't have to bear them at all. My Savior carries them for me. He makes me feel loved, cherished, and cared for.
I know without a doubt that God has heard all the prayers from His saints regarding my healing. My swelling has gone down tremendously and my pain level has lessened from the torture it used to be of just getting out of bed to use the restroom. There is still a great deal of pain, however, and a long road before I'm back to 100%, but through it all, I have never once even let the thought cross my mind to "blame" God or "curse" Him for allowing this to happen. I know all things work together for the good to those that love the Lord. If God allowed me to contract Cellulitis for His glory, who am I to yell at Him for it?
He's helping me through it, He hasn't left me alone. He's right here with me, encouraging me, teaching me, and giving me a Shoulder to cry on if I need it. Why would we EVER turn from the One who understands what we're going through? Who's felt the pain Himself? Who knows what it's like? Why would we forsake the very One we need in our time of need? How could we turn our backs on the One who has NEVER turned His back on us...?
Bad things happen to good people. It rains on both the righteous and the unrighteous, just as the sun shines on both the righteous and the unrighteous. "In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world!" ~~John 16:33
Do you know why we can find comfort in Christ's words that He has overcome the world? Because if we remain in Him and He lives and shines through us, then WE TOO shall overcome the world.
Amen. Lord Jesus, may I ever find my comfort and hope in You, no matter how tempestuous the storm, no matter how dark the valley of the shadow of death. May I ever cling to Your robes and follow where You lead to the glory of God the Father, and for the simple fact that I absolutely adore You, my precious, wonderful King.
Amen and amen.
~~Becka
Friday, March 23, 2012
Rediscover the Gospel
In a related post to the song below called "Let Me Rediscover You", I want to talk about rediscovering the Gospel. We all have the head knowledge that Christ came to earth, taught us how to live, died for our sins, was resurrected, and then ascended On High in a brand new glorified body. At the Resurrection, we will also be given brand new glorified bodies like His.
We might sing of His glory, we might listen to the message in church, we might bless our brothers and sisters in Christ. But have we truly internalized what God has done for us? Have we truly grasped the scope of it? He came into the world as the Son of God. God walked among us. God with us (Emmanuel).
He willingly humbled Himself to walk as a man. He emptied Himself of all His glory and became a servant. Our GOD, Creator of the Universe, the very one who designed our bodies and planets and trees and stars, lived with us.
That, in and of itself, is mind-blowing.
But then you go deeper. God knew we couldn't atone for our own sins. Animal sacrifice was a broken system. In order to truly pay the price for sin, a perfect human must become the lamb. But there is no such thing as a perfect human. We're all sinners! There was absolutely NO WAY for any of us to spend eternity with a holy God, because His holiness demands perfection. Nobody's perfect.
Therefore He knew He had to do it HIMSELF. He had to come into the world and take our sin upon His Own shoulders. He kept every commandment in the Law, He never had a vile thought, never did a vile thing. He was God in flesh. He WAS perfection.
Think of how deep His love is for us, that He became a man to reconcile us back to Him. He died for us while we were yet sinners. He became the Lamb of God and DIED, taking God's wrath and drinking to the last drop so that we would never feel it.
And this is the mystery of Christianity. This is why we're bound to Christ like a husband and a wife -- He became our sin, and we become His righteousness. Now, we have no record of wrongs, because God replaces our life with the life of Christ. Now, at the Resurrection, we will have perfection and we will be allowed into the presence of God, because we are given the perfection of Christ.
Spiritually speaking, God doesn't see Christ on that cross, He sees ME hanging there, in all my disgusting sinful ugliness. And when God looks at me now, He sees CHRIST.
This is what is so amazing about the Gospel. We can have head knowledge about what God did for us all the day long, but if this story doesn't CHANGE you, if you're not ALL OUT for God, if you aren't completely and totally IN LOVE with our amazing God, then have you really TRULY internalized the message of the Gospel?
So like I said before, we might sing of His glory, we might listen to the message in church, we might bless our brothers and sisters in Christ. But unless we TRULY internalize all God went through to purchase your soul from Hell, we will never be able to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. That is the Greatest Commandment, straight from the mouth of Christ. The second Great Commandment is like it, to love our neighbors as ourselves. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.
Do you think God wants a lukewarm love from you? Do you think God wants a passing fancy, a "Hey, thanks Buddy, for dying for me!" Heaven won't be filled with those who don't want to go to Hell, but rather, those who love CHRIST.
The cross of Christ is the ultimate demonstration of God's love for you. He came into this world for you. He died for you. He loved you that much. God asks for your love in return. Remember, not everyone who says, "Lord, Lord!" will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What does Christ say to these people? "Depart from Me, I NEVER KNEW YOU." We need to have a loving, personal relationship with our Savior, not just a passing acknowledgement of what He's done. Not head-knowledge. Christ doesn't just want lip-service, He wants our hearts. Totally and utterly. That is why the Greatest Commandment is to LOVE the LORD THY GOD -- with what?
All your HEART, all your SOUL, all your MIND, all your STRENGTH.
That's everything you got. Every last drop of your devotion. That's what God wants. ALL of you.
Do you love Him like that? Do you REALLY? Before your spouse? Before your kids? Before your possessions/family/friends?
If not, you haven't truly internalized the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Puritan Jonathan Edwards likened his reawakening to the Gospel to a man that had known, in his head, that honey was sweet, but for the first time had that sweetness burst alive in his mouth.
This is what happened to me over the past year. In January of 2011, I began to reawaken to the Gospel. And everyone in my close circle of family and friends knew there had been a change in me. I had always loved Christ and praised His name, but never really took in the depth of His sacrifice, never thought about His beauty, His infinite Love for me, His desire to be with ME. I've always loved Jesus. But that's when I fell in love with Jesus.
Now I understand God's Greatest Commandment. Now I understand that we should love God SO MUCH that all other love pales in comparison.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited to go to Heaven. Not because it's a ticket out of Hell, but because I will be with my JESUS! I don't care about rewards and mansions and crowns. I don't care about streets of gold or the tree of life, or seeing any of my friends/family who have passed before me. I want CHRIST, Him and only Him, for the rest of my eternity.
He is my First Love. We love because He first loved us. The magnitude of what God did to save my soul will never be marginalized in my heart. I pray the Gospel will never be marginalized in your heart either.
~~Becka
We might sing of His glory, we might listen to the message in church, we might bless our brothers and sisters in Christ. But have we truly internalized what God has done for us? Have we truly grasped the scope of it? He came into the world as the Son of God. God walked among us. God with us (Emmanuel).
He willingly humbled Himself to walk as a man. He emptied Himself of all His glory and became a servant. Our GOD, Creator of the Universe, the very one who designed our bodies and planets and trees and stars, lived with us.
That, in and of itself, is mind-blowing.
But then you go deeper. God knew we couldn't atone for our own sins. Animal sacrifice was a broken system. In order to truly pay the price for sin, a perfect human must become the lamb. But there is no such thing as a perfect human. We're all sinners! There was absolutely NO WAY for any of us to spend eternity with a holy God, because His holiness demands perfection. Nobody's perfect.
Therefore He knew He had to do it HIMSELF. He had to come into the world and take our sin upon His Own shoulders. He kept every commandment in the Law, He never had a vile thought, never did a vile thing. He was God in flesh. He WAS perfection.
Think of how deep His love is for us, that He became a man to reconcile us back to Him. He died for us while we were yet sinners. He became the Lamb of God and DIED, taking God's wrath and drinking to the last drop so that we would never feel it.
And this is the mystery of Christianity. This is why we're bound to Christ like a husband and a wife -- He became our sin, and we become His righteousness. Now, we have no record of wrongs, because God replaces our life with the life of Christ. Now, at the Resurrection, we will have perfection and we will be allowed into the presence of God, because we are given the perfection of Christ.
Spiritually speaking, God doesn't see Christ on that cross, He sees ME hanging there, in all my disgusting sinful ugliness. And when God looks at me now, He sees CHRIST.
This is what is so amazing about the Gospel. We can have head knowledge about what God did for us all the day long, but if this story doesn't CHANGE you, if you're not ALL OUT for God, if you aren't completely and totally IN LOVE with our amazing God, then have you really TRULY internalized the message of the Gospel?
So like I said before, we might sing of His glory, we might listen to the message in church, we might bless our brothers and sisters in Christ. But unless we TRULY internalize all God went through to purchase your soul from Hell, we will never be able to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. That is the Greatest Commandment, straight from the mouth of Christ. The second Great Commandment is like it, to love our neighbors as ourselves. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.
Do you think God wants a lukewarm love from you? Do you think God wants a passing fancy, a "Hey, thanks Buddy, for dying for me!" Heaven won't be filled with those who don't want to go to Hell, but rather, those who love CHRIST.
The cross of Christ is the ultimate demonstration of God's love for you. He came into this world for you. He died for you. He loved you that much. God asks for your love in return. Remember, not everyone who says, "Lord, Lord!" will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. What does Christ say to these people? "Depart from Me, I NEVER KNEW YOU." We need to have a loving, personal relationship with our Savior, not just a passing acknowledgement of what He's done. Not head-knowledge. Christ doesn't just want lip-service, He wants our hearts. Totally and utterly. That is why the Greatest Commandment is to LOVE the LORD THY GOD -- with what?
All your HEART, all your SOUL, all your MIND, all your STRENGTH.
That's everything you got. Every last drop of your devotion. That's what God wants. ALL of you.
Do you love Him like that? Do you REALLY? Before your spouse? Before your kids? Before your possessions/family/friends?
If not, you haven't truly internalized the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Puritan Jonathan Edwards likened his reawakening to the Gospel to a man that had known, in his head, that honey was sweet, but for the first time had that sweetness burst alive in his mouth.
This is what happened to me over the past year. In January of 2011, I began to reawaken to the Gospel. And everyone in my close circle of family and friends knew there had been a change in me. I had always loved Christ and praised His name, but never really took in the depth of His sacrifice, never thought about His beauty, His infinite Love for me, His desire to be with ME. I've always loved Jesus. But that's when I fell in love with Jesus.
Now I understand God's Greatest Commandment. Now I understand that we should love God SO MUCH that all other love pales in comparison.
I don't know about you, but I'm excited to go to Heaven. Not because it's a ticket out of Hell, but because I will be with my JESUS! I don't care about rewards and mansions and crowns. I don't care about streets of gold or the tree of life, or seeing any of my friends/family who have passed before me. I want CHRIST, Him and only Him, for the rest of my eternity.
He is my First Love. We love because He first loved us. The magnitude of what God did to save my soul will never be marginalized in my heart. I pray the Gospel will never be marginalized in your heart either.
~~Becka
Friday, March 16, 2012
Let Me Rediscover You With Lyrics - Downhere
I posted this song to my Facebook wall a while ago, but I felt it needed to be posted here on my God blog.
There is such truth in this anointed song. I've been Christian for about 25 years, but only in the past year have I been "rediscovering" God. He's been drawing me deeper into a more intimate relationship and I've returned whole-heartedly to my First Love. I heard this song a few months ago and it was as if God was showing me my heart's cry. It sang of me and my renewed journey to know my Bridegroom. This might just be my favorite song ever.
~~Becka
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Baptism
You know what's odd? The fact that every time a person came to Christ through the preaching of the Apostles, they would immediately get baptized. Have you noticed that? In Acts, whenever someone believed on Jesus, they found somewhere to baptize the person. In fact, they most likely preached near water!
The reason why I bring this up is because it's such a stark difference between the early church and the way we do things today. Today, it's all about "appointment". Today, it's all about a "religious ceremony" rather than a public declaration of faith.
Today, we have to be "ready" to be dunked because we have these expensive cell phones and clothing. We need to have a nice change of clothes and a camera for photo ops. And we can't forget the towels!
The problem here is the fact that baptism isn't taught much in church these days. The focus is all on "Repent and be saved!" But Christ called us to be baptized as well. We have altar calls for the repentant, but when's the last time you saw a "baptismal call"?
WHY isn't a church's baptismal OPEN and READY 24/7?? Don't you think the Apostles would put an emphasis on this? Who cares if it's a fancy pool or what have you? The point isn't fancy. The point is dunking. Got a swimming pool? Got a bathtub? A hot tub? Goodness, a water trough? Use what you got!!
There really is NO excuse for a church not to have a baptismal. Even if it's only a "glorified" water trough. The problem I see with not doing immediate baptisms the moment a new believer calls upon the name of the Lord is because they either:
A.) Don't know about baptism
B.) Don't think it's that important
C.) Put if off and procrastinate
D.) Don't know when or how to get baptized
Let me say this: Baptism doesn't save you. Only Jesus' work on the cross saves you.
However, He DID tell us to repent AND be baptized (Mark 16:16). It is a public declaration of your faith and an act of obedience to His command. You are symbolically dying to your old life and raising to a new life with Jesus. In that context, it makes SENSE to baptize right after conversion. There's no need to take a "class" and "learn" about baptism if it's PREACHED FROM THE PULPIT! Seriously, the Apostles did not give a class. They PREACHED and they dunked. End of story.
I waited a few years after I got saved before my baptism. I didn't know much about baptism and I also put it off because I didn't think it was that important. If baptism would have been preached along with repentance, I would have LOVED to have been baptized after I'd first believed! Let's put this in the perspective of Christ's Apostles two thousand years ago. Don't you think they would have been AGHAST at the thought of being baptized YEARS after you first believed on Christ? Seriously, years? Years?? And I'm sure I'm not the only one!
You never hear that when John the Baptist preached or St. Peter or St. Paul preached that people had second thoughts because they were going to get wet. Maybe there were some people in the crowd who didn't like that idea.
But let's put that into perspective. You're publicly proclaiming and giving your very life to the God of the universe and you're worried about some wet clothing? Really?
If anything else, churches should publicly display their baptism schedule so that new church members, veteran church members, or even people who might wander in off the street don't have to ask around, wonder about it, procrastinate, be too scared to ask someone, or not KNOW when baptisms are held.
Baptism is IMPORTANT, folks. The Apostles did it immediately upon conversion. This shouldn't be looked at as a "first century" thing. No, the Apostles knew that baptism was a PART of the conversion! It wasn't something to do "later" at a time that's "convenient".
Churches, I challenge you on this. Have a baptismal ready and someone willing to dunk a new believer at the drop of a hat. If nothing else, post a schedule of baptisms so that people don't have to wonder when they can join in. I've NEVER been to a church where I didn't have to go on a scavenger hunt for their next baptism ceremony! Ridiculous! The Apostles would be scandalized at the downplay of baptism in modern Christianity.
Let's be less worried about the ceremony and more worried about getting it done! What's the ratio of baptized believers to non-baptized believers? I bet you'd be astounded by how many Christians out there are NOT baptized due to our putting it off for a religious ceremony!!
And what would Jesus say about THAT, hmm? I thought He regularly put the smack down on "religious" types?
~~Becka
The reason why I bring this up is because it's such a stark difference between the early church and the way we do things today. Today, it's all about "appointment". Today, it's all about a "religious ceremony" rather than a public declaration of faith.
Today, we have to be "ready" to be dunked because we have these expensive cell phones and clothing. We need to have a nice change of clothes and a camera for photo ops. And we can't forget the towels!
The problem here is the fact that baptism isn't taught much in church these days. The focus is all on "Repent and be saved!" But Christ called us to be baptized as well. We have altar calls for the repentant, but when's the last time you saw a "baptismal call"?
WHY isn't a church's baptismal OPEN and READY 24/7?? Don't you think the Apostles would put an emphasis on this? Who cares if it's a fancy pool or what have you? The point isn't fancy. The point is dunking. Got a swimming pool? Got a bathtub? A hot tub? Goodness, a water trough? Use what you got!!
There really is NO excuse for a church not to have a baptismal. Even if it's only a "glorified" water trough. The problem I see with not doing immediate baptisms the moment a new believer calls upon the name of the Lord is because they either:
A.) Don't know about baptism
B.) Don't think it's that important
C.) Put if off and procrastinate
D.) Don't know when or how to get baptized
Let me say this: Baptism doesn't save you. Only Jesus' work on the cross saves you.
However, He DID tell us to repent AND be baptized (Mark 16:16). It is a public declaration of your faith and an act of obedience to His command. You are symbolically dying to your old life and raising to a new life with Jesus. In that context, it makes SENSE to baptize right after conversion. There's no need to take a "class" and "learn" about baptism if it's PREACHED FROM THE PULPIT! Seriously, the Apostles did not give a class. They PREACHED and they dunked. End of story.
I waited a few years after I got saved before my baptism. I didn't know much about baptism and I also put it off because I didn't think it was that important. If baptism would have been preached along with repentance, I would have LOVED to have been baptized after I'd first believed! Let's put this in the perspective of Christ's Apostles two thousand years ago. Don't you think they would have been AGHAST at the thought of being baptized YEARS after you first believed on Christ? Seriously, years? Years?? And I'm sure I'm not the only one!
You never hear that when John the Baptist preached or St. Peter or St. Paul preached that people had second thoughts because they were going to get wet. Maybe there were some people in the crowd who didn't like that idea.
But let's put that into perspective. You're publicly proclaiming and giving your very life to the God of the universe and you're worried about some wet clothing? Really?
If anything else, churches should publicly display their baptism schedule so that new church members, veteran church members, or even people who might wander in off the street don't have to ask around, wonder about it, procrastinate, be too scared to ask someone, or not KNOW when baptisms are held.
Baptism is IMPORTANT, folks. The Apostles did it immediately upon conversion. This shouldn't be looked at as a "first century" thing. No, the Apostles knew that baptism was a PART of the conversion! It wasn't something to do "later" at a time that's "convenient".
Churches, I challenge you on this. Have a baptismal ready and someone willing to dunk a new believer at the drop of a hat. If nothing else, post a schedule of baptisms so that people don't have to wonder when they can join in. I've NEVER been to a church where I didn't have to go on a scavenger hunt for their next baptism ceremony! Ridiculous! The Apostles would be scandalized at the downplay of baptism in modern Christianity.
Let's be less worried about the ceremony and more worried about getting it done! What's the ratio of baptized believers to non-baptized believers? I bet you'd be astounded by how many Christians out there are NOT baptized due to our putting it off for a religious ceremony!!
And what would Jesus say about THAT, hmm? I thought He regularly put the smack down on "religious" types?
~~Becka
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