Rebecca Darga, Author at

What would you sacrifice for the Gospel?

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body,whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.-Phillippians 1:18-21

The apostle Paul is in prison as he writes these words. What a bold prayer. He could of prayed for protection, but instead he prays that he will boldly continue to preach the gospel. The very thing that put him in prison. He offers up his life so that it may be used for God’s glory whether that be his life or death.

Where does this boldness come from?

He not only hands over his life, but he is rejoicing in his imprisonment.

How do you get to that point in your relationship with Jesus, where you are willing to sacrifice everything for him to be glorified?

It’s by knowing the character of God. When you know his character. You know you can depend on him because of who he is. God is always in our corner backing us up. Who would want to go against the God of the universe.

Some may say that was in the bible, try doing it now.

But there are people living this way now. A present day example of this is in the book Heavenly Man by Paul Hattaway. Heavenly Man is about Brother Yun, the Pastor of an underground church in China. This book will stretch and strengthen your faith more then you can believe. Brother Yun sacrifices everything to witness to those around him. He’s beaten, abused and imprisoned for preaching the gospel, but he rejoices in his suffering and preaches even to the guards and inmates that attack him.

What lengths are you willing to go to for sharing the gospel with others?

What God’s Presence Provides

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
    he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever. –Psalm 23

Read this again. But see yourself as a sheep and Jesus as your shepherd.

Jesus provides water and food. He leads us on the safest path. Even when we can’t see, we know that he will guide and protect us with his staff as he leads us. Even in the presence of a predator he provides abundance and peace. All of this love, peace, provision and protection comes from Jesus. But only when we follow and trust him. Only when we depend on him to do what he’s promised.

We can’t be wondering sheep, doing whatever we want and expect our shepherd to provide if we don’t put our trust in him. Yes he will seek us out and bring us back to the flock. But it’s there in his presence where he provides all that we need and more.

God’s Ways Are Not Our Ways

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:9

Trusting God’s way can seem scary. But he has never failed me.

He always wants what’s best for us and that’s him. His plans for us may not be what we think they should be. But they are what is best for us.

I ‘ve tried many times to serve my own goals and even when I’m accomplished some of them. They have never compared to follow his plan. I’ve tried to accomplish for God what I though he wanted. But being the hard worker that I was raised to be. I have pushed forward to quickly and tried to do ministry on my own knowledge and experience. Rather than following God’s lead for every word and every step.

His ways are not our ways. We need to seek him for his way and his word to accomplish what he has called us to.

God Given Dreams

God given dreams are not ours to fulfill they are God’s. We are called to surrender and trust his timing. Look at Joseph or David it took decades for the dreams God gave them to be fulfilled. But they we fulfilled by God. Not by them. David had multiple opportunities to take the thrown from Saul but he knew he had to honor the authority God had given Saul. David choose to honor God instead of himself.

This world is full of people trying to achieve their dreams and goals. Striving and sacrificing morals, ethics and anything that stands in their way. But we as God’s children are called to a different sacrifice. We are to lay down our lives for God as he did for us. To let him live through us and let him fulfills the dreams he has placed on our hearts. The only thing we need to do is stay focused on Jesus. Seek his face and follow his direction. Trust him to provide and make the way for what he’s called us to.

What are your dreams? Have you given them to God to fulfill or are you still trying to achieve them on your own.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. – 1 John 3:16

Jesus Sacrifice Provides for More Than Salvation

What sacrifices are you willing to make for the gospel? Are you willing to sell all that you own and move half way around the world to share the good news. Thousands of missionaries have done just that. They have uprooted there families and moved across the planet to reach people groups that God has laid on their hearts.

Why are so many willing to make this kind of sacrifice. Because the good news changes us. It gives us a second chance and a third and a fourth. The good news is that Jesus came to sacrifice his life for us. So that everyone in all of humanity could be forgiven. We sacrifice because he sacrificed. The gift he gives is unmatched.

His forgiveness gives us the opportunity to have relationship with Father God every moment of every day. A line of He Lives by Nicole C. Mullen says “I talked with him this morning” because she did, because I did. Having a relationship with Jesus is more than accepting his sacrifice and forgiveness. It’s the opportunity to talk with God every moment of everyday. We just have to listen.

Sometimes he’ll just remind you of the little things in life like to stop and smell the roses. Sometimes the big things like asking you to move half way around the world. Whether it’s big or its small you have to talk to him to know. You can’t build a relationship without conversation. The faith to do the big things comes from the days of talking about the little things.

Start the conversation, read your bible and ask him to explain a verse you don’t understand. Watch a Christian movie (try “End of the Spear“) and ask him to teach you something through it. Take a walk and asks him about his creation. Watch your kids play and ask him to teach you something about them.

Talk to God you never know what he might say.

You Are Wanted

Adoption is a powerful way to impact the life of another. My husband is adopted and we plan to pass that blessing on by adopting in the future. We know that the child we adopt may have been through something traumatic or have been unwanted. And we also know we cannot be their whole solution to healing. We can love them as best we can. But only Jesus can repair the damage. He is the only one that truly fulfills us. He is the only one that can completely heal and fulfil them.

We all have damage in some way and have all felt unwanted at some point in our lives. But Jesus wants us. He loves us and wants us to be whole, healed and completed by him.

He adopted us all into his family when he choose to give up his life for us. He made a way for us to be a part of his family and there is always enough room for everyone in the family of God.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. – 1 John 3:16

Photo by Sebastián León Prado on Unsplash

When We’re Shattered

God puts us back together at our most shattered moments. The moments when we are broken. When we are nothing a ball of tears, frustrated and have given up. That’s when he can do his greatest work.

In 2008 that was me, nothing but a broken ball of tears. I felt worthless and completely unworthy to be in God’s presence. But God welcomed me with open arms. When I was at my worst he was at his best. I didn’t have to do anything but surrender and let him in.

He lifted me up and enveloped me in his love and forgiveness. I let go of all the hurt and pain. In return he gave me new life, new meaning and new joy.

We don’t need to clean ourselves up. Just surrender. We need to stop striving and let him do the work. Surrender to his love and grace and let him be our strength, endurance, our everything.

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.

To brighten your day!!!

Some days we get news that saddens us. We don’t always get the answer we are looking for in the time we expect. But that does not mean that God is not good. He is and he knows the best timing for his blessings.

Hannah prayed fervently for a child and God blessed her with one. But it was his timing that mattered. Hannah had Samuel. Samuel was a great prophet but his birth needed to coincide with Saul and David. So he could anoint them both king and be the voice of God to them both. Delayed answers can make us sad. But if we keep looking to King Jesus he will bring us joy in the morning. So no matter what your facing. Know that if you put your trust in God he will provide the desires he has placed in your heart, but in his timing.

The song in the video will bring some sunshine to your day. God loves to bring joy and laughter into our lives. Especially when we don’t feel it. This song always brings a smile to my heart. Enjoy and laugh with Jesus!

We’re Never Truly Lost

“Just because someone stumbles and loses their way doesn’t mean their lost forever” (Professor X, X-Men: Days of Future Past)

While cooking lunch I heard this quote from the movie my husband was watching. Reminding me that God never sees us as permanently lost.

We have all stumbled in our lives or we wouldn’t need God’s forgiveness. But we must remember that when we look at others they may be stumbling and lost now. But they don’t have to stay that way. We shouldn’t give up on each other. We all have friends or family that we ache for them to find freedom in Jesus.

Having been that person for several years I know both sides of it. What helped me the most was not people pointing out what I was doing wrong (I knew it was wrong, I didn’t care.) What helped was the people that were there for me when I was ready to make a change. It was that support system that helped me to stay committed to the changes I had chosen to make. When I was ready to give my life back to God.

We must remember. We can’t force anyone to change. But we can encourage and uplift them in their decisions to change.

What Defines You?

We are bombarded everyday, all day, from every direction. By things that try to tell us who we are. What we should do. Or who we should be.

But our identity should be in Jesus. When we give our lives to him. We die to our old selves. We die to our selfish ways and we let Jesus live through us. He is the one who defines us and fulfills us. He knit us together in our mother’s womb.

This video is one of the most healing videos I have ever watched. It is filled with scripture of how God sees us. Listen to it and let God tell you who he made you to be. I hope it brings you as much hope and comfort as it has me.

Jesus was not a back up plan

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Colossians 1:15-20

Jesus was not a back up plan. He is God. He is creation. He is the very word that created us.

He loves us and in loving us gave us choice. It would not be love if we were forced. God is gentle and he will never force us into anything we do not choose. We make choices in life that either brings us closer to him or further away from him.

He knew we would make mistakes and he planned from the very beginning to sacrifice himself for us. To make a way for us to come back into right relationship with him.

Jesus choose us because he loves us. We either choose to accept his sacrifice or we don’t. But in choosing we also choose to let him love and forgive us or we choose not to.

Humility in Worship

And David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouting and the sound of the trumpet. –2 Samuel 6:14-15

King David expressed his joy and love for God by dancing and shouting. He was honoring God because the Ark was being restore to its rightful place. Dancing to worship God is a freeing experience. Its using all your being to praise God with your words, your mind, your heart and your body. Dancing to praise God isn’t about skill or show. It’s about rejoicing over what God has done and is doing in your life and expressing that though more than your voice but your body too. Think of the some of the most exciting moments of your life. Didn’t you jump for joy?

Dancing to praise God does not have to be public or in front of others. I prefer to dance in worship in private at home or if in a corporate setting I will go to the back corner. For me dancing in worship is freeing but also something very private between me and Jesus. Please don’t misconstrue that you have to dance to fully worship God. A lot of my moments of worship with Jesus are sitting in a corner saying nothing, doing nothing just enjoying his presence. Those moments are just a deep and intimate.

But we shouldn’t be afraid to express our joy in the Lord and to worship him with our whole being. He formed our bodies why why wouldn’t we use them to glorify him.

When I was in Uganda everyone danced and sang for worship and honestly when I got back to home it was hard not to dance.

The point of worship is to glorify God, not ourselves. So even if we are preforming skilled dance for others in worship to God it is about our heart.

Worship is about our hearts.

Its about surrender, humility and glorifying God. However you worship or someone else worships humble yourself and glorify God.

Jesus name changes the atmosphere

Just mentioning the name of Jesus can change everything. It can change our attitude, our view towards someone or something. Jesus can change our whole perspective, if we let him.

It’s more than just mentioning his name. It’s the knowledge of who he is and what he brings to the situation or conversation. He provides peace in the storm. Healing where there is pain. Love where it feels lost. But it needs to be more than knowledge of him. When we speak his name we need to seek what he is doing in the moment and share it with the faith that he will do what he tells us.

Years ago I was standing in line and heard a woman say she could only wear certain shoes because her feet hurt. Knowing that God could heal her I asked to pray for her. I prayed and she was not healed and she grew angry with me.

I can’t control how she choose to react. But I should have asked God how he wanted to reach her and what to say. I relied on what I knew of what God could do. Instead of seeking him first before speaking or acting. I expected God to act out of what I had learned he could do. Instead of seeking what he wanted to do in that moment for that person.

There is power in the name of Jesus. But speaking his name without seeking him is fruitless. Its his power, his will, and his children he wants to reach. When we share Jesus with others we need to seek him and ask him. What he wants to do and say. And how he wants to reach them.

Jesus knew how to reach us. We need to seek him to reach others.

A still small whisper

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.-1 Kings 19:11-12

God was in the gentle whisper. He speaks to us in many ways. Whenever I read this verse it reminds me of the scene in The Nativity Story. When one of the ladies in the village where Mary lives tells the kids in her village this story.

She’s teaching them the different ways God speaks.

God speaks to us through our surroundings, through nature, through visions and dreams, through others and he speaks directly to us. (more about how God speaks to us)

Often people think that God doesn’t speak to them because they didn’t hear a loud, booming audible voice. But don’t you think we would all be a little freaked out if that was the only way he spoke to us.

God desires a deep intimate relationship with each one of us and to do that he whispers to us. But we have to listen. Seek God through his word, ask him questions and expect answers. Often times he speaks just as a still small voice in our head. That may even sound like us. But his words are different than what we would tell ourselves. He wants to talk to us every day about everything. We need only ask and listen.

What is true BEAUTY?

He has made everything beautiful in its time. –Ecclesiastes 3:11a

Beauty is something we all seek. We seek it in others, in possessions or ourselves. But what is beauty?

Beauty comes from God. You need only look at his creation to see his beauty; the multitude and variety of flowers and trees alone shine his authorship on beauty.

So how do we attain this beauty? Is it through adornments? Or is it something else? You wouldn’t hang an earring on a flower and say you improved it. Nor do adornments make us truly more beautiful. No true beauty shines from within.

Beauty is Jesus shining from within us as he does through all his creation.

Some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever met are not what society would deem beautiful outwardly, but they shine Jesus with all that they are, and that’s true beauty.

What are you sharing?

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ~Colossians 3:16

We as believers in Jesus are meant to teach and encourage each other. But we need to make sure we are teaching what Jesus has taught us. Not what the world has taught us.

How do we separate the two, how do we know what God is teaching us and what we’ve learned from the world.

By asking the Holy Spirit and testing what we’ve learned against these verses.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. ~Philippians 4:5-9

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ~Galatians 5:22-25

Seek God, expect his peace all that bolded above. If you don’t have these. Then ask him why and seek him till you have them. We are not supposed to be in charge. God is. And if we are following his leading then we will have the fruit of his Spirit.

What’s your foundation in the storm?

It’s in the hardest moments when our faith is tested. When we are in turmoil. What we stand on, is what keeps us afloat.

God is our rock. Our firm foundation. If we trust Him in our hardest moments. Even when we feel like we’re in the drowning. We can stand against all odds.

Because God is what supports us. If we turn our focus back to Him. He will raise us up out of the water. And we will walk upon the water with Him. Even in the midst a storm.

Jesus Walks on the Water -Matthew 14:22-33

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, ²⁴and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

³²And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

True identity

God gives us our identity before we are even born. We are sons and daughter of him. Because of Jesus sacrifice he made us co-heirs with him.

But when we face problems in life. It’s often easier to run away from our problems. And to believe what others says about us. Instead of staying and fighting for what is ours.

Like in The Lion King. Simba lets Scar take his birth right of ruling Pride Rock. Because he believe the lies Scar says abut him. Simba runs away. He doesn’t fulfill his true purpose until he claims his birth right and stops believing the lies.

We are the same. We can try to find our identity in our work, our friends, our family. But we will never really be fulfilled until we find our identity in Jesus.

Let faith be bigger than your fear

If we let fear control us we would never do anything. We would always be afraid of something going wrong, even if its the smallest detail. But when we put our faith into something it changes things.

We do it every day, we have faith that a bridge will stay up when we drive over it. We have faith that there will be water when we turn on the faucet. We do things everyday that require faith.

Faith is simply complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

So when we put our trust or our faith in God its because we are confident in him. We know him and know we can trust him.

God has never let me down and I know he never will. That’s why I put my faith in Him. So when we feel fear creeping in. We need to remember who’s with us and in us, the creator of the universe and He’s got this.

Lead Like Jesus

And masters, treat your servants considerately. Be fair with them. Don’t forget for a minute that you, too, serve a Master – God in heaven. –Colossians 4:1

When we are in any leadership role at work, at home, volunteer or any other capacity we need to be mindful of how we lead. Jesus lead by example as a servant, he never asked his disciples to do what he was not already doing, he never saw anything or anyone as above him.

He knelt in the dirt for an adulteress. He dined with a tax collector and saw greatness in fisherman.

He saw each person as valuable and worth eveything and he treated them as priceless.

Jesus lead with humility, patience and kindness. Shouldn’t we do the same?

We Can’t Earn God’s Love

In lives we seek out love. We pursuit it. We desire it from our friends, family, and others but somehow it is never enough.

No matter who it’s from or how much we love someone. Their love for us will never be enough. This is because we are meant to only be truly 100% fulfilled by God’s love. He created us and made us with a God shaped hole that can only be fulfilled by Him.

My whole life I pursued unconditional love from friends, family and others, hoping that I would find that person that filled the void.

But I never found that fulfillment from a person. And even though I have an amazing husband. What bonds us together the most is that we both came into our marriage knowing that only God fulfill us. That’s why I call my husband the cherry on top of my sundae. He’s the bonus, the blessing above the fulfillment I get from the love of God.

God’s love is the only love that has ever made me feel complete and wanting nothing. In His presence, He is all I want and all I need.

We can’t earn His love because He gives it freely.

God loves you! What could you lose by giving Him a chance to share His love for you, with you?

Do you know God or just about him?

How do you know God? Who is he to you? What comes to you when he’s mentioned? Is it joy? Is it peace? Is it love?

Do you know him or do you know what others have said about him? What has shaped your image of him?

Knowing about others perception of God and actually knowing him are two very different things. Think of it this way. If someone asked you to describe someone famous that you admire but have never met in person how would you describe them? It would be from what you’ve read or watched or learned about them from various sources of those that have met them in person. But then if I asked you to describe the person you are closest to (your spouse or best friend) you would describe them differently because you have physically been around them, you’ve spent time in their presence. You’ve been with them for your best and worst moments in life and you could probably finish each others sentences. The later is the type of relationship God desires with us. He wants us to know him, so intimately that we know how he would react.

So what if you don’t have that type of relationship with God. Well you can. Start by spending time with him not to study or learn but just to be with him. To learn his character, his speech, his mannerisms, his presence. So that we know him instantly.

Struggling to hear his voice. I highly recommend you check out Voice Of God

Jeremiah 29:13- And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

God is bigger than the boogie man

We teach our children that they have nothing to fear, there is no monster under the bed or in the closet. Because God is always with them. But do we use the same reasoning with ourselves?

God is always with us and that should make us fearless. But often we let our imaginations get the best of us.

In the those moment we need to change our focus to the reality of our situation instead of our fear of the possibilities.

The reality is that God is with us. That he does and will provide everything we need in every situation if we just look to him first.

Jesus is Our Fresh Start

Our lives must become a fitting response to His love. ~Heidi Baker

You can never have enough of God. We need to make him part of everything, everyday. He created the universe. He can plan our day or show us the best way to handle life’s curveballs. He can fill us with all that we need and overflow us, so that when the hard times in life come all that pours out is Him.

The beauty of Jesus sacrifice is that we get a fresh start. We die to ourselves. Our past is dead, our mistakes are forgiven and we can start fresh and new. Its not in our own strength but in His strength. His wisdom. His words. His everything. The beauty of being made new in Jesus is that its not on us. Lets face it we screwed it up the first time, so why would we think we’d be the solution to our redo.

When we feel our past or our old selves creeping back in, our answer should be to say ‘No in Jesus name, that is not who I am anymore’ then fix our eyes back on Jesus. He is the solution to everything. I don’t have all the answers and neither do you, but he does.

So stop struggling and surrender.

roots

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. –Colossians 2:6-7

Where we draw our strength, is what lets us stand in the storm.

Our faith is built on Jesus and when we know that he is our roots. We can weather the storm. When we draw our nourishment from Jesus, we grow stronger in him and we can withstand more then we can imagine.

When the storm is over we may see damage to branches and leaves. But its what we can’t see deep down the root of Jesus that give us the strength to grow back bigger and stronger that matter.

Let Jesus be your roots.

So when the storm comes it’s his words, his love, his strength and his character that we depend on to weather the storm and come out stronger.

not afraid

I’m not afraid of the world. I’m not afraid to travel or to move. I’m not afraid to follow God.

Every time I follow God’s leading, his direction, his plan. He has been all I needed. He has provided more then I needed.

When I follow him he give me all I need. The strength to follow his direction. The confidence to walk through the storm and the love to do all that he has asked.

When God calls us to do something, to be something. He gives us all that we need and more. To not just accomplish what he has for us. He give us boldness and confidence to thrive in what he’s called us to.

What has God called you to? Fear not, for he will be all you need and more.

What fuels your flame?

The tiniest spark can start a whole blaze.

The Holy Spirit works the same way. He sparks a fire and a passion in us to share God’s love with people. But we have to fan the flame. Nurture it and help it grow. If we snuff it out. Then we have to keep restarting that spark.

God gave me the verse Jeremiah 20:9 a long time ago to remind me that even though I turned my back on him once. That I won’t do it again. But I need to fan the flame each day, I need to fuel the fire he put in me.

But if I say, “I will not mention his word
    or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
    a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
    indeed, I cannot.

I fuel it by spending time with Father God, by fixing my eyes on Jesus and asking Holy Spirit to teach me something new each day.

What fire has God started in you? Are you snuffing it out? Or are you feeding the fire he put in you?

Is it worth the sacrifice?

Is chasing your dream worth the sacrifices you have to make to achieve your goal? What compromises will you make to get there? Who will you be when you achieve your goal? Will your goal make you who you want to be? Or will chasing your goal change who you are?

When we chase our own goals, we often make compromises or sacrifice our integrity to take shortcuts to achieve it. Many times when we achieve that goal we may lose who we wanted to be by achieving that very goal.

When we let go of our goals and trust God. He surprises us with something beyond what we thought possible.

Every time I have tried to make my own goals or success it has not turned out as I have planned. The result of my goal has been less satisfactory then I had hoped for or I compromised who I was to achieve that goal. Nevertheless it has never left me feeling satisfied.

But when I follow God’s leading and look to the interest of others, I have never been disappointed.

It’s easy to get caught up in ourselves. But so much more rewarding to serve and achieve the goals that God has laid on our hearts. Seek Jesus and what he has laid on your heart. But follow his plan, method and timing. If He places something in you He will provide all you need.

Gentleness Takes Strength

What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness? –1 Corinthians 4:21

How would you like someone to approach you about anything in life? With a stick ready to beat you into submission or with love and gentleness. I think we would all choose the later. No one wants to be beaten up. So why do we see gentleness and love as a weakness?

Its easy to let our emotions run away. But it takes self control to choose to be kind, loving and gentle.

Some of the strongest people I know are the ones that are the most willing to open up and share their mistakes and failures along with their victories.

Gentleness is being humble enough to focus on the needs of others instead of trying to boast or promote yourself; it takes strength to choose others above yourself.

What pours out?

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience–Colossians 3:12

Sounds exhausting right, and it is. If we try to do and be these things on our own. But that’s not what God intends.

He wants to be these thing in us and through us.

When we give our lives to him he lives in us. That’s why we die to ourselves (not literally, spiritually) We let Jesus live through us.

But we have to nurture that relationship and feed it. By reading his word, talking with him (prayer) and surrounding ourselves with what draw us closer to God, not further away.

The more time we spend with God, the more we know him the more he pours out of us.

No perfect people

Jesus rescues us. He rescued me and he can rescue you.

So many people think Christians are “perfect.” But we wouldn’t be Christians if we were perfect. The very reason we need Jesus is because we are not perfect.

We need Jesus. We need his grace, his sacrifice, his love, his forgiveness.

We have all messed up in our lives, and that’s why we need him.

We don’t need to try to clean up before we come to Jesus, or fix our mistakes first. We need to come to him at our worst, so that he can makes us our best.

Jesus wants us to come to him when we are at our worst because that’s when we have broken down our barriers and he can come in and make us new. He already knows all the junk and he wants to make us clean and a new creation. He wants to take away the harm of our past mistakes and give us love, joy and confidence because we know that no matter what he will always love us.

I will never claim to perfect because I know that I have a past. A past full of mistakes that I regret. But it’s because of his love and forgiveness that my life has changed. And that’s what I focus on, Jesus and his love and forgiveness.

That’s what he has done for me and he can do that for you too.

Don’t fear God

All any of us ever want is to be loved. To have a safe place where we know we can be open and vulnerable about our troubles, hurts and wounds.

Jesus is that safe place.

We can always go to Him about anything, anytime. He is always there for us. He always wants to talk to us, to love us and to heal us.

People often fear going to God in the hard times because they think they have to clean themselves up first.

But that’s not true. If it were Jesus sacrificed himself for nothing. He paid the price for us to have relationship with Him, Father God and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus wants us just a we are. So He can make us new. What would be the point of going to Him for help if we thought we had to fix everything first. Go to Him with your mess. Surrender it to Him and let Him fix it.

He already knows everything, you won’t catch Him off guard.

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.

Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. –2 Corinthians 5:14-20

Prayer is a Conversation

The movie War Room is about the power of prayer. But what is prayer? And how do you do it? There are so many that think it has to be perfectly worded, like it was a magic spell or something.

But prayer is simply a conversation between you and God. It doesn’t have to be scary or intimidating, just a simple conversation.

So what is that conversation about or for? Prayer is to develop our relationship with God, as any conversation does. We can talk to Him about anything and everything. Prayer helps us to know God better so that we can see things through His perspective.

Prayer should be a constant in our lives just as we stay in communication with our closest loved ones. God wants to stay in constant communication with us.

We can pray in the line at the grocery store or at work or even while changing your kids diaper. The point is, you can have a conversation anywhere, anytime, while doing anything. He is always there, always wanting to talk. All we have to do is allow Him in. And listen for His answer!

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Freedom Jesus Provided

We take for granted what Jesus provided. We complicate it with ‘Christianize.’ Saying phrases at salvation calls that someone raised outside of the faith would not know. And we wonder why more people don’t give their life to God. Sometimes we don’t explain enough or we use words you only learn in church.

The freedom that Jesus provides is simply this. Jesus paid the price for our mistakes. If we believe that he is the son of God and that he died to pay our debt for us. We can say that it’s paid for when we die. Jesus paid my debt. More than that when an old memories comes up we can say that’s paid for. I’m not the person anymore. Because when we accept Jesus sacrifice for us. The old us dies. Jesus makes us a new creation.

Accepting Jesus sacrifice for us is not for a get out of hell free card. God doesn’t want you to live out of fear. Because things done out of fear are not real commitments. Jesus paid the price for our mistakes because he loves us and he wants us to have a relationship with him, Father God and the Holy Spirit.

Before Jesus. We had to sacrifice an animal to pay for our mistakes. God only spoke through a few people mostly priests and prophets.

But now when we accept Jesus sacrifice in our stead. He provides freedom from guilt and shame. Freedom to have a relationship with God. Freedom to talk to God all day any time. Freedom to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Freedom from the pressures of this world. Because God is our provider in every way possible if we put our trust in him. He provides freedom from it all.

I spent years seeking the approval of others. Trying and striving to do everything on my own. “If I just work hard enough, I can do it.” But that is not God’s kingdom. His economy is backwards. The more we surrender our lives to him, the more we stop striving and trying. The more we trust him. Th more he provides.

When we surrender to God. He provides peace that surpasses understanding, joy in the storm and a love that no human can provide. True surrender is about growing closer to God. Not so he will do this or that. But so we can know him to the very depth of our souls. We don’t seek him for what he can do, but just for who he is.

Think of the person you love the most. Isn’t it just enough to be near them. You don’t even have to do anything just being in each others presence is enough. That is what God wants with us. He wans to be the one we love the most. He’ll take care of the rest. If we just seek him.

What draws us together

We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. –Colossians 1:3-8

When we hear of new believers there is an excitement and a joy that comes with knowing that others have found the same love and peace that we did when we surrendered our lives Jesus. Knowing that more people have found Jesus and are in turn sharing Him with others is something that over joys all believers.

Often we divide ourselves by what church we go to or what denomination. But God never intended for us to be divided. We are all believers in Jesus and His grace and that is what brings us together.

Something I’ve been thinking about lately is how when we meet other believers our first responses is usually. ‘What church do you go to?’ And then we immediately begin to either bond or judge each other based on the answer to that question.

But what if our first question to other believer when we find out we share faith in Jesus is.

“What has God been doing in your life or teaching you recently?”

This question can direct our conversation to encourage and uplift each other by focusing instead on what draws us together, instead of what separates us.

Unstoppable love

God fights for us. He gave up the life of his son just to have relationship with us.

Jesus gave everything. He didn’t come down as a grown man and demand what was owned to him. He came in the humblest of circumstances as a baby born to regular people of no great social standing or of any wealth. He lived a humble life. He served his parents, he served his friends and surrendered every moment of his life even dying the death of a criminal without a single justifiable cause. He gave up everything to pay the price for us, so that we could have a relationship with him and the father.

That’s love. To give up everything owed to him, for us to know his love. Thank him for his love and sacrifice. Cherish the gift we have been given.

Finding Joy in the Storm

I gave my life to Jesus because I tried doing life without him. I tried being happy without Him and it didn’t work. There was always something missing something I was striving for that I couldn’t grasp.

But life with Jesus is simpler, peaceful, and filled with joy.

Don’t think I don’t have bad moments. I do, but those moments are the ones where I don’t have Him in mind.

But it never fails that when I turn to Jesus. He shows me the sunshine through the rain. He shines bright and shows me where He is in that moment and He changes my perspective to find the joy in whatever I’m facing.

No matter what your going through God will make it better. He will comfort you, care for you, cry with you and show you the light through the storm.

Don’t Wish Yourself Away

When we wish to be like someone else we dismiss who God made us to be. All that he planned us to be and do. When we try to follow someone else’s calling we miss who God made us to be and what he called us to do.

Like Lucy in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, wanting to be like Susan she wished herself away and all that resulted from her existence. Lucy wished to be just like her older sister Susan. But if she was Susan then the curious young girl that was Lucy who found Narnia would not have existed. Lucy and her siblings would not have found Narnia.

We are each unique none of us are exactly like the other. God made us that way and that’s what makes each of us special. We are all beautiful and valuable to him. He gave his very life for each one of us.

Next time you get discouraged. Seek God and let him show you the unique reasons he loves you.

For it was you who created my inward parts;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I will praise you

because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.

Your works are wondrous,

and I know this very well -Psalm 139:13-14

You can choose

People can choose how they react. We choose either to be ruled by emotions or choose to be in charge of our emotions. We have the power to choose how we will react to others and whether we will allow their choice to affect us or not.

We may feel a certain way but that doesn’t mean it has to be how we make our decision. We can make our choice despite our feelings. Emotions are not bad. But if we allow our lives to be ruled by our emotions we would never forgive each other.

It hurt when someone wrongs us and we may never feel like you want to forgive them. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t forgive people. We are all human and we all make mistakes.

Jesus forgave us for all the wrong we have done. So in turn he asks that we forgive others.

Choosing to forgive does not make what the person did right. But it does build a bridge for restoration in the relationship. Forgiveness is a powerful thing and to not forgive is to give your emotions the right to rule you. Instead of you ruling your emotions. The forgiveness we extend is God’s forgiveness and he forgives us all. Who are we to deny someone God’s forgiveness.

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” –Mark 11:25

Don’t Just Say the Words

The Lord’s Prayer. Some say it everyday. But we have to do more than just say it. We need to know it, understand it and mean it. God’s word is not a magic formula that you say the words to and they work. We have to believe what these words say. They need to be lived through us.

Below is the Lord’s Prayer with links to a few versions. I want to encourage you to read it slowly. Read it multiple times and let the words affect you. Seek to know their meaning. Click the links and read the whole chapter. Whatever you do don’t receipt them from memory until the words have a personal meaning to you. Jesus was teaching us how to pray. Not to repeat words but how to posture our hearts before our Heavenly Father.

The Lord’s Prayer –Matthew 6 ESV, TLB, NASB

⁵“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ⁶But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

⁷“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. ⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
¹⁰Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us this day our daily bread,
¹²and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

¹⁴For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Before these verses God talks about giving to the needy but in secret. So we get store up treasures in heaven not on earth. And after he talks about fasting and not being anxious. Both of which are accomplished by submission to God.

When I pray the Lord’s Prayer I often don’t even get through it. I just focus on the first two verses. In short “Glorify God and Build His Kingdom.” In our world it’s easy to focus on ourselves. But he calls us to focus on him. The rest of the verses are about him caring for us. But he only cares for us if we focus and depend on him.

Here is a free download for a screensaver. To help us all focus on our King.

God is all around us

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
—Psalm 19:1–2

God is all around us. He created everything and if we take the time to slow down, look and listen he speaks to us through his creation. Sometimes it’s through nature and sometimes through people.

No I’m not crazy. I’ve just found that if I take the time to ask God to teach me something. He often does it through his creation.

When I first made the decision give my life back to God. I became an intern at my church. At the start of the internship we went on a retreat to a beautiful lodge in the woods. Once we got settled we each took some time to be alone with God.

I decided to take a walk in the woods. It was fall and most of the ground was covered in dead leaves. I was walking down a slight hill, having to watch where I was stepping because there was no path. But as I walked I noticed all the dead leaves and broken branches. I asked God where he was during the years I had turned away from him. When I had let so many of the dreams he’d given me die.

He explained that even though I had chosen to ignore him. He was there the whole time for every bad decision and wrong choice. But he helped guide me from some major pitfalls. Just like I was avoiding stepping into some deep holes in my walk in the woods.

On my return walk back up the hill God showed me all the plants that were growing up through the leaves. He explained that even though I had chosen to ignore him for so long. He had planted seeds along the way and that they would grow and produce now that I had turned back to him.

God will use the circumstances around us to teach us if we simple take to the time to acknowledge him and learn. Slow down look at his creation and ask him to teach you something. He will if we just listen.

You are worthy

None of us are beyond saving. We all have the opportunity to feel free and find new life in Jesus. The beauty of His sacrifice is that when He died, we died.

“He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”–Matthew 10:39

When we try to live without Jesus. We are always striving to feel worthy, valued, loved and wanted.

But Jesus sacrifice already paid our debts and He gives us our worth and our value. Because He sees us as priceless. That’s why He gave His life for us. So that we could stop striving and start living through Him.

No matter what you’ve done or how unworthy you feel. God will always see you as priceless and worthy because of His sacrifice. If we accept it.

Know Who You Are

God can speak to us in ways we may not expect If we look for him.

While watching a sci-fi TV show he brought this quote to my attention. “To resist the influence of others, knowledge of ones self is important.”~Tealc

It’s easy to be influenced by whatever is around us. If we don’t know who you are. But how do you know who you are?

First we are all God’s children. Each one of us is important, valued and loved by our Heavenly Father. We are his kids and heirs to his throne. Once we know who we are to him. He can begin to show us each how unique and special he has made each one of us.

That knowledge of who he made us to be. Is what we can stand on when our identity is attacked.

There’s always HOPE

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. —Romans 12:12

Worrying about the future can cause so much unnecessary pain and frustration. But appreciating each moment for what it is can lead to a fuller life.

Enjoy moments of hope and joy to the fullest instead of being distracted by what’s next. If we live our life always looking for the worst to happen, it will happen and we will not find peace.

Being faithful in prayer is simply a reminder to stay in communication with God. Prayer is a two way conversation. By staying in communication with God all the time, he can change our perspective of our circumstances to see the hard times in a new light and to enjoy the times of hope even more.

No matter your current circumstances ask God to show it to you from his perspective. And he will give you HOPE.

Serve without complaining

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”^[Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Phillippians 2:14-18

We are meant to stand out by our words and by our actions. We are to be known by how we react. We should have peace in times of trouble and pour our lives out for others.

Jesus never complained, he served people without prejudice or regard for himself, and we should do the same. Not out of obligation, but out of love. We are to serve, to demonstrate his love to others, to stick out like stars in the sky because of our compassion.

If you are serving or volunteering out of obligation or because you think it will earn you points with God. Stop. Ask God how he wants you to help others and ask him to show you those you serve the ways he sees them.

I have been on many missions trips and seen destitution and poverty but I have also learned from the people I have served because I saw them as equals. Don’t serve people because you see them as less fortunate, uneducated or less then you. Serve because he asked you to and learn from those you serve.

We are all people and we all have the capacity to share God’s love with each other.

We Need More of Jesus Each Day

What was it that attracted you to God? For me it was his forgiveness and love. He knew all my mistakes but still I felt his love and forgiveness the moment I surrendered my life to Him.

What keeps me in relationship with God, is his never-ending love, grace and beauty. I feel his love each day, his grace when I make mistakes and he shows me his beauty more each day.

We should never stop falling in love with God. Just as we should never stop falling in love with our spouse. Each day we need to see them both in a new light and a new appreciation.

God wants to reveal himself to us more each day, we just have to let Him.

What if I’m wrong?

What if you’re wrong? What if I’m wrong? The question that plagues most of us when it comes to eternity.

If I’m wrong. Then I will have lived a life that is amazing, that has caught me by surprise, a life that I would not trade for anything.

Because life with Jesus has been a grand adventure more then I ever could of dreamed or imaged for myself. Even during the toughest times in my life I find joy and peace in Him; and my happiest moments are beyond my wildest dreams, because of Jesus.

Are you so afraid of Jesus that you aren’t willing to give Him a chance? What do you have to lose?

He is the most loving, kind, beautiful and gentle being I have ever know. Why not give him a chance, right now.

Take a moment and talk to Him, about anything you want, scream, yell, whisper or just talk to Him in your head.

He’s listening. He wants to talk to you, but you have to listen too.

He speaks in so many different ways, though our thoughts, through others, through dreams and through images.

Be open and willing to let Him in. I bet he’ll surprise you.

Don’t Believe Everything You’re Told

In the Lion King, Simba tries to run from his problems. Only to find out later that he didn’t even do what caused him to run. It easy for us to take what someone else says about us and let it influence us. But what if it’s not true? We should always take everything to God. He is our creator and he knows us best.

Simba allowed what Scar told him to dictate years of his life. Sure he had some fun with Timone and Pumba but the result was him abandoning his family, and not living as he was intended to; eating bugs when he was designed to eat meat.

If we believe what everyone tells us then we let them determine who we are. But if we take everything to God and let him tell us what’s true and what’s not; we will find our identity in him not the world.

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Jesus Walks on the Water -Matthew 14:22-33

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The Lord’s Prayer –Matthew 6 ESV, TLB, NASB

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