So I again know I haven't posted in awhile. I really am trying to be better about this keeping a blog thing. Seems it is going to just have to be made a habit somehow. You know I got to thinking the other day about my life in general and all of the blessings that I have. I have great friends, a wonderful family, and marvelous fiance. All of this is such a blessing. Then I noticed that the things I was thankful for weren't the big things in life, but the little ones. I wasn't happy because of all the things I possessed, I was happy because of the people God has allowed me to be surrounded with.
How many times have we made some big fuss over something we owned or something we want? How many times have we let those wants and desires hinder our sight of God? It isn't a bad thing to own possessions. I am not saying that, but as soon as they become a hindrance to your faith...it is time to reassess your life. In fact, I was just talking to a dear friend the other day about this very thing. She had decided to get rid of some of her possessions that she truly loved because she felt that they were hindering her faith. At first I honestly thought she was being over dramatic, but then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I did the same thing. How many times had something I wanted or something I possessed distracted me? I can say that countless times I have let "things" get in the way of not only my faith, but in my relationships with other people as well. And in the end, when I assess the things that are important in my life, I realize that I always pick the people God has blessed to surround me with. These people are always there for me and truly mean to help me in my walk with God. And in the end
God has blessed me with something even more precious than these wonderful people. He has blessed me with His mercy and the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ.
So in the end I realize that no amount of "things" in my life can replace the blessing of my salvation. So I leave you with this passage my friends:
"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to see the beauty of the Lord and seek him in his temple. For in the days of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies that surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord."
-Psalm 27:4-6
Praise be to God for His mercy and sacrifice! I will sing and make music to the Lord!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
New Start
So I realized that I am apparently not so good at this keeping a blog thing...I keep getting destructed and forgetting that I have it. It's like when I was 10 and I said that I would keep a diary my whole life so that when I was old I could pass it on to a child and hope that I left some lasting impression on them. Ha!! I kept the diary for two days and then the rest of the pages went unwritten on. Oh well, I guess I will have to make it a point now. I'm starting a new chapter in my life at this point. I have officially started my student teaching and I am not engaged to be married. It's hard to believe that so much time has passed. However, I have not forgotten the true purpose of this blog. To record my struggles and triumphs as I try to study God's word.
Well today (or rather yesterday) was Sunday. I ended up waking up earlier than I had planned this morning, so I resigned myself to getting ready for church early and going to Sunday school. I had every intention of being there on time. In fact, I left so that I would be 10 minutes early. Well incidentally, I was in the mindset of my home church and thought Sunday school was at 9:30, but instead it was actually at 9:00. So I go the church a whole 20 minutes after class had already started. So I improvised. I ended up taking a walk and found myself outside the town library. there was a wonderful little bench sitting right there in front of the building. I decided that it looked like a nice enough place to stop and decided to sit down and enjoy reading through the Word on my own. I found myself flipping to Proverbs and read the first five chapters. I have to say that this reading didn't exactly sit well with me. The more I read about Wisdom...the more I realized that I had not been focusing on God a whole lot lately. I found myself identifying with the horrible and unrighteous things that were mentioned in those chapters. Obviously I do not mean that I was doing those things literally, but I found myself realizing that I had been in that mindset. I don't know how many times in the last few months that I have wished ill upon someone that I don't like, or have done things that I knew were wrong or even blatantly lied to someone's face. I remember having a feeling of despair while reading these passages, but then something happened. I realized that it was time for me to start walking back to the church. As I closed my Bible and started the what seemed like long road back to the church, I started thinking. What can I do to make these misdeeds better. What I can I change about myself that will make me seem less horrible. I thought about these things all the way back to the church and as I walked inside, I still had not really given myself any answers to my questions. As the service started I pushed my thoughts from my mind and began the weekly ritual of the Sunday service. And my mind stayed that way until we came to part of the service where we confess that we are sinful beings and ask God to have mercy on us. I realized that in that moment I was truely asking for God's mercy. I wasn't just going through the motions like I usually felt (unfortunately). I kept thinking that there was no reason for God to have mercy on me, but that I was going to ask for it anyway. Later, we read the Scriptures and a passage for the day struck a cord with me. It was from the Luke 14. Jesus was talking about bearing your own cross in order to be a disciple of God. I realized that I was trying to bear that cross (my sin), but was not succeeding. The sermon ended being on that very thing.
Pastor Terry was kind enough to point out something, which until this day I did not fully understand about this particular piece of scripture. Many times when we think of bearing a cross, we think of some great burden or duty that God has bestowed upon us and that we most endure in order to be His child, but that is just it. We are sadly mistaken with this. In all actuality, the cross that we must bear is our sin. And I have to say that we are not able to bear that cross. Anyone who tries to bear that cross on their own will fail. We must realize that we do not have the ability to bear our own crosses of sin, but that that was why Jesus was sent to this earth to die for us. He is here to help us bear our cross. Something that we can not do on our own. So the next time you think about baring a cross, remember that it is only through the grace of God that you are able to do so. Never forget that we are nothing without Christ, but that because God took mercy on us and loved us, He sacrificed His only Son in order to save us from certain damnation. I pray that this thought never leaves your mind, but stays there to remind you that you must live by faith alone, which God has so mercifully bestowed upon you.
Well today (or rather yesterday) was Sunday. I ended up waking up earlier than I had planned this morning, so I resigned myself to getting ready for church early and going to Sunday school. I had every intention of being there on time. In fact, I left so that I would be 10 minutes early. Well incidentally, I was in the mindset of my home church and thought Sunday school was at 9:30, but instead it was actually at 9:00. So I go the church a whole 20 minutes after class had already started. So I improvised. I ended up taking a walk and found myself outside the town library. there was a wonderful little bench sitting right there in front of the building. I decided that it looked like a nice enough place to stop and decided to sit down and enjoy reading through the Word on my own. I found myself flipping to Proverbs and read the first five chapters. I have to say that this reading didn't exactly sit well with me. The more I read about Wisdom...the more I realized that I had not been focusing on God a whole lot lately. I found myself identifying with the horrible and unrighteous things that were mentioned in those chapters. Obviously I do not mean that I was doing those things literally, but I found myself realizing that I had been in that mindset. I don't know how many times in the last few months that I have wished ill upon someone that I don't like, or have done things that I knew were wrong or even blatantly lied to someone's face. I remember having a feeling of despair while reading these passages, but then something happened. I realized that it was time for me to start walking back to the church. As I closed my Bible and started the what seemed like long road back to the church, I started thinking. What can I do to make these misdeeds better. What I can I change about myself that will make me seem less horrible. I thought about these things all the way back to the church and as I walked inside, I still had not really given myself any answers to my questions. As the service started I pushed my thoughts from my mind and began the weekly ritual of the Sunday service. And my mind stayed that way until we came to part of the service where we confess that we are sinful beings and ask God to have mercy on us. I realized that in that moment I was truely asking for God's mercy. I wasn't just going through the motions like I usually felt (unfortunately). I kept thinking that there was no reason for God to have mercy on me, but that I was going to ask for it anyway. Later, we read the Scriptures and a passage for the day struck a cord with me. It was from the Luke 14. Jesus was talking about bearing your own cross in order to be a disciple of God. I realized that I was trying to bear that cross (my sin), but was not succeeding. The sermon ended being on that very thing.
Pastor Terry was kind enough to point out something, which until this day I did not fully understand about this particular piece of scripture. Many times when we think of bearing a cross, we think of some great burden or duty that God has bestowed upon us and that we most endure in order to be His child, but that is just it. We are sadly mistaken with this. In all actuality, the cross that we must bear is our sin. And I have to say that we are not able to bear that cross. Anyone who tries to bear that cross on their own will fail. We must realize that we do not have the ability to bear our own crosses of sin, but that that was why Jesus was sent to this earth to die for us. He is here to help us bear our cross. Something that we can not do on our own. So the next time you think about baring a cross, remember that it is only through the grace of God that you are able to do so. Never forget that we are nothing without Christ, but that because God took mercy on us and loved us, He sacrificed His only Son in order to save us from certain damnation. I pray that this thought never leaves your mind, but stays there to remind you that you must live by faith alone, which God has so mercifully bestowed upon you.
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