Real Growing Pains

Have you ever felt like you were literally losing your mind? Like you had lost control and were drowning in a sea of bitterness, unbelief and defeat?

Emotions are really intense, especially for those of us who feel just about everything, within themselves, others, and in the atmosphere around them. 

I got beat down this week. I didn't talk to God for days. I didn't want to. I was mad at Him and had given up on Him. 

He's my perfect Father though and I just knew that the picture of us standing there was like a small child throwing a fit while her incredibly patient father bent down and gently said, "Baby, you may not like this right now, but it's the best thing for you. I know 'cause I love you, believe in you, and want the best for you."

Looking back, those moments were sweet because they were real. I'm pretty over not being real with God in how I'm feeling or with what's going on. He's seen everything since before time. There is no hiding from Him so I may as well come out naked from behind the bushes.

God cares so much about our growth and development into the people He created us to be that He is never concerned or worried about our momentary trials. I think He cares - I think He can relate - I think He grieves with us, but I think He is so confident about the good that's going to come out of each trial and the beauty He can create out of ashes that He many times does not remove us from a situation or from this world simply because it hurts and we beg Him to. You cannot control Him, and I love that.

My Lord wants me to take hold of all the promises, gifts and life that He's given me in Jesus. He wants me to be the bold, courageous, God pleasing, truth and justice loving, merciful, wonderful child that He created me to be. Though I have received everything at once from Him, I am not yet perfect. I am still being made into the likeness of Christ and am learning to walk in the new life He's given me. As God rids me of past habits and ways of living and thinking, it is painful - so painful I often allow the trial to overtake my mind, pulling my focus off of Jesus and leaving me in a flailing state of confusion and bitterness. 

This time of testing and molding is not finished. Not even close. But I want more. That is the Holy Spirit. Without Him, I would simply desire a painless life of comfort and carelessness. I know because that's what I desired before I knew Him. Now I desire Him and to be more like Him. So, if that means more moments of telling Him that I simply cannot talk to Him and feeling like I'm walking through a desert, bring it on. 

Just promise You'll keep shining Your light to bring me back home.

Love Wins

The phrase 'love wins' is very dear to my heart. It is in fact the foundation of my beliefs and relationship with God. I have seen this phrase countless times on social media over the past day. Since I do love this phrase so much, and I believe so deeply in its truth, I thought it would be a great opportunity to share what 'love wins' really means to me, and what I believe it really means.

John 15:13 says, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." 

Jesus, with knowledge of the pain and suffering that He would endure, chose to be born into a broken world and die the most excruciating death imaginable because He wanted to cleanse the entire world of its sin, brokenness, and bondage to darkness.

That is truth and that is love. 

People love people. We fascinate each other, gratify each other, and fulfill each other's longings. Overall, it is not difficult to be physically and/or emotionally intimate and close with people in life because it feels good. It is interesting, because I've found through experience that when we walk in brokenness, the people we choose to be intimate with (friends, lovers, same sex, different sex) are ones who we perceive as being healers or saviors of past heartaches. Not healed, many of the choices are unhealthy and we walk in paths of destruction because in the moment it seems to be the right answer to our problems.

I bring this up because understanding the word 'love' through this framework is often harmful. Yes, I love people. I am one who tends to be easily fascinated by people and craves time with them. I thank God for this gift! I have however come to learn that a fascination or feeling of endearment toward someone cannot be compared with the real love that God has for us and expressed to us on the cross. I have met no one else who would choose to experience the ridicule, backstabbing, pain and suffering that Jesus did for me. I owe Him everything, but He does not demand anything in return.

The truth is - love already won. This is not something new. Love did not win because of a human made decision that gives new legal rights to a group of people. Love won when Jesus spilled His blood out on the cross. He did it for me, you, and every single individual who has ever lived or who will ever live. His desire is that each one of us recognizes that, accepts His unchanging love, and begins to walk with Him. Nothing can compare with being in love with the One who would do and did do everything for you. He is the answer to every question - He is real love.

#lovewins

Sacrificial Love

‘How is faith expressed through love?’ I asked myself this question as I sat at the counter with a cup of coffee and my Bible opened to Galatians in front of me. Galatians 5 was stirring deep, penetrating straight to my soul. The very first words of the chapter are, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Wow. I could have sat with that verse, repeating it in my heart for the rest of my life and would never have tired.  I kept reading and came to verse 6, one that I have read before with much joy and fondness. This time however, it caused me to think, to pull apart and dissect each of its words. For the first time, I saw the verse’s depth and meaning, not simply the melody and beauty of its language. The second half of the verse reads, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” At this point, I could not move on. God has just told me the only thing that counts in life! After pulling it apart a bit and reflecting and meditating on these words, I believe this is what the verse means for us: The only thing that matters is believing and trusting in God, so that we are free to live and express a sacrificial lifestyle.

Let’s backtrack a bit and look at the context. Right before this verse, the Apostle Paul argues that the Galatian people have fallen away from grace, and that they are still trying to follow the law to be saved, especially in regards to circumcision. The first part of verse 6 says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.” He is clearly making the statement that goes against what many of their actions has been eluding to. Now here comes the clincher, the second part, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Upon reading this, my first thought was, ‘the only thing’? That seems really extreme and a bit exclusive. Now when asked what someone needs to have or do to be saved, I think most Christians would robotically respond with something like this, “Nothing, you just need to believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins.” That might be our verbal response, but what do our actions say? Do we truly live as if the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love?

When coming upon words that we say or hear a lot like “faith” and “love”, I like to write my own definition of them, or put a different word in their place just to make sure that I grasp their meaning. So for “faith”, I replaced it with “belief” or “trust”, and for “love”, I replaced it with “sacrifice”. This is where I begin to see more of what God wanted to communicate to me in this verse. As far as our salvation and where we stand with God, the only thing we need is faith. However, He does not stop there. He goes on to say that it is faith that expresses itself through love, through sacrifice. The Bible says that “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). The word “sacrifice” may not be as glamorous-sounding as “love”, but they really have the same meaning when referring to God’s love and who He is. And I believe that God wants us to be full of this same type of love for others.

The amazing thing is, when we have faith, real faith in God, this type of love doesn't feel like sacrifice. We always think of a sacrifice as being something we reluctantly give up. I think when we step into the freedom that God has purchased for us and truly place all of our trust in Him, sacrificing becomes second nature and a way of life. Please don’t think of sacrifice as giving up all good things in life to just be miserable in the name of God. No, that isn't what God wants us to do at all, and I think some have heard the term “sacrifice for God” and have taken it that way. I think it’s more of an active obedience to His will, sacrificing ourselves and fleshly desires for His, so that real love can be embodied in us and toward others. Jesus said, ”No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded" (John 10:18). Jesus is the perfect example of trusting God completely and sacrificed exactly as His Father had commanded Him, voluntarily.

What does expressing our faith sacrificially mean for us today? With family, friends, co-workers, strangers? I think the world is dying to see the kind of faith that expresses itself through love. The kind of faith that produces love that can only be sacrificial.  Let us continue to trust God completely – that way we can live in the free manner that we were meant to – in sacrificial love.

How God Sees Us

I think it's about time that we as God's people catch up with Him in how He sees us. The Lord has given me incredible insight into this in the past year, and I praise Him because it's nothing I would have thought of or believed without Him. Understanding how God sees us is not a bottom line, it is the beginning of how we should in turn see ourselves.

Before going into God's and our own view of ourselves, I want to acknowledge first the fact that we have an enemy and we live in a broken world. The two go hand-in-hand and are the sole reason we believe wrongly about ourselves. As God's people, we often walk afraid, unsure, and lacking confidence. We believe lies that we are not good enough or that we must prove ourselves to others each day; if we don't, our world may come crashing down. It's quite remarkable that even in churches there is a lack of conviction, not that we are sinners saved by grace, but that we are the righteous called into holiness: God's royalty. I believe firmly that the devil's stronghold is keeping God's people in a place of false identity and humility. Again, I am acknowledging this because it's important to first acknowledge why so many do not know how God really sees them and who they really are.

Now the fun part. Did you know that God sees you as wonderful? Did you know that His will for you is really good stuff, and that He believes you can do anything because He knows who your God is? Did you know that the instant you proclaimed Christ as your Savior and received the Holy Spirit, God marked you as His beloved who reflects Christ's holiness?

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). And everything He created, He claimed as good. He delighted in every single thing that He made (He knows how good He is!), and I would argue that God's greatest creation is mankind. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1:26). Through simply reading this I would say that God was proud of the people He had made and wanted them to have dominion over everything. God has a heart and His heart for His people has always been greatness.

So, why do we live as if this is not true? The previous paragraph about the enemy's schemes gives good insight, but it's important to also state that his power is extremely limited, especially against the power of Christ that lives in us. We are not unaware of his schemes. We know that we are beloved children, created for great things and a close relationship with God. Even when we were deceived and messed up, God sent His Son Jesus Christ as the ultimate answer to all of our problems. And through Him, we are redeemed to God completely. That means that God now sees us the way that He saw us in the very beginning before shame existed among us.  Colossians 1:20-22 says, "And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him."  We are holy, blameless and above reproach before the God of the universe. That, my friends, is real truth and is what we need to understand and let settle into our hearts.

During this season of remembrance and celebration of Christ's death and resurrection, let us also remember that through Him we are not only saved, but we are completely accepted by Him, and He thinks we are great. We were created in His awesome image for Pete's sake! So, let us thank God again and again and again for providing the Way for us to be His beloved kids again. And next time we think little of ourselves, remember that the Lord thinks highly of us, and who are we to challenge what the Lord thinks. It is the truth. He thinks we're wonderful because we are. He calls us royalty because we are. He says that He loves us because He really does. And this is what our identity must flow out of. Let us go forward being who we really are, and thinking as Christ does about us and others. Amen!

Incomprehensible Love

I like to ask God what He wants me to write about when I write. It's important because I want to be His hands, His voice, His feet in this world. When I do ask, I'm expecting God to say something specific or "super spiritual", He usually just says, "My love". I think that's because God really wants us to know who He is and what He's like.

A very well-known and popular verse in the Bible is 1 John 4:18, which states that God is love. This Greek word for love is "agape". Agape is a different type of love; different from other translations that mean brotherly love or close friendship. This love means self-sacrifice. One writer defines it as the willingness to forgo personal pleasures or undergo personal trials in the pursuit of increased good of another. It is the act of exalting others no matter what; no matter if they seem to deserve it or not. No matter if they screw up or don't appreciate you. It is an act of exalting them and counting them worthy of sacrifice and service. That is the kind of love that describes God: the essence of who He is.  

What if we lived like we knew this was true? What if, having been restored to God, we truly lived life like God is love; like He loves us in a sacrificial, unearned way? I bet we wouldn't walk around like He doesn't exist, or worse, that He does but that He could never truly love us. I bet our deepest longings would be stilled. I bet we would be more loving with others because we're so dang loved ourselves. I bet we would feel more inclined to go sit before God and talk to Him in a real and authentic way. 

I challenge us now to make the truth that God is love and that He truly loves us in a sacrificial way to be the center of our being. Let's not make our lives about trying harder because that is somehow going to make God love us more. Rather, let's slow down and talk to Him because He loves talking back to us. Let's spend time with Him. He is not above that -- He created us for that.

And now let's allow His word to do the rest of the talking:

"All who rage against you
will surely be ashamed and disgraced;
those who oppose you
will be as nothing and perish,
Though you search for your enemies,
you will not find them.
Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.
Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob,
O little Israel,
For I myself will help you," declares the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 41:11-14

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8

True Love

But now, this is what the LORD says- 

he who created you, O Jacob,

he who formed you, O Israel;

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and when you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD, your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom, 

Cush and Seba in your stead.

Since you are precious and honored in my sight,

and because I love you,

I will give men in exchange for you,

and people in exchange for your life.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

I will bring your children from the east

and gather you from the west.

I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'

and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'

Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth-

everyone who is called by my name,

whom I created for my glory,

whom I formed and made."

Isaiah 43:1-7

I don't really think I could possibly add to the richness and beauty of this text. It is the most beautiful love song, the most beautiful love poem that's ever been written. And it is addressed from the God of the heavens and the earth to His chosen people Israel: you and me. 

Since today is notably acclaimed to be the day of love, Valentine's Day, I wanted to meditate on what God's love for us looks like. According to the above text, if God were to shower down on us little candy hearts, they would say such things as 'you are mine', 'precious', 'honored', 'I love you', 'I'm with you', 'My glory'. 

The most amazing thing is that God really does speak to us like that every day, not just on the 14th of February. It may be through other's words and actions, seeing His beautiful creation when we wake up, experiencing the abundance of His favor and protection, or His strong, peaceful voice that we hear when we slow down to listen. He really loves us.

Read these verses a few times; let them soak into your spirit. Because God cannot lie and everything He speaks is truth (Hebrews 6:18), we can know and trust them to be true. And remember, the thing about truth is that it can never change. No matter how we're feeling or what's happening around us, it's real and it stands, never to be shaken, never to be skewed. So, delight in this love; for we are part of God's great nation Israel, and we are His.

Identity: Who and what defines you?

Identity has become an important word for me over the past six months. After returning back from being a missionary in the D.R. and finding myself very confused about where I stood in life and what I was doing, I began to discover the most amazing truth I will ever learn. The discovery and unfolding of this truth continues today, and is the most powerful and freeing truth I've ever known.

My identity, and yours too, who we truly are, is the sons and daughters of the living God. I have a feeling that for some that may be offensive, for others it may sound silly, and to others quite trivial or boring. However, if you know who God really is and what His Word really says, this truth is anything but trivial, boring, or simple; it is the most amazing reality in the world. And if we let it settle into our bones, becoming the truth that we stand on every day, I do believe that our worlds will change more than they ever have.

As I stated previously, I've thought a lot about identity over the past several months. Before, I don't think I gave the word a lot of thought; I certainly didn't analyze what it meant and how it completely affects the way people live. The truth is, it does. The identity someone decides to undertake in life completely controls the way that they live. I do realize that there are things about us that we cannot control. For example, I am a white, 27 year old female. I cannot control that; however, I can control whether those words simply describe my physical appearance, or become my identity. I have noticed that some people allow a description of themselves or what they do to define the core of who they are, and that seems very dangerous.

To me, identity is what you stand on, it's what defines you. In our North American culture, we typically use what we do, have, or like as as a term for identity. "I'm a real estate agent; I'm a stay at home mom; I'm a pastor; I'm a home owner; I'm a husband; I'm a singer; I'm a cook; I'm a dog lover."  No matter what people believe, no matter what their background is, they typically refer to these types of labels to define their identity. As I said previously, this can be very dangerous because each one of the previous things can change. They are not something to stand on because they may not always be there. When the things that you base your entire identity on change, what happens? Maybe you've experienced that yourself; I know I have.

The greatest beauty about being God's sons and daughters isn't that this truth will never change, although it won't. The greatest beauty about this identity is that we get to walk through life knowing that our Father is the most loving, perfect, and powerful being in the universe. We get to wake up every day knowing that this perfect, powerful love He has for us will never change, and that it doesn't depend on us at all; it totally depends on Him. We get to believe that He has chosen us, that He wants us, that He would, and did, give up everything for us. I don't know about you, but being God's daughter sounds much more exciting to me than a 27 year old single female who likes to sing and is trying to learn how to cook. That sort of describes me in part, but is nothing compared to the truth and unwavering reality that I belong to God, and that He is a perfect Father.

This is a beautiful description of our reality as stated by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 4:4-7:

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Again, Paul talks about our sonship and what God has given us in Romans 8:16-17:

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

I don't know which is more exciting- that we are God's children or that we are His heirs! It doesn't really matter because both are true! I cannot think of anything more wonderful. God's will, what He desires, is that we are His children and that we reign with Christ in His kingdom forever. My prayer is that God reveals this to us more and more, and that it becomes even more of a daily reality.

So, let's rejoice in the fact that we are God's children! Let us not say it oh so casually because it is something we have heard a lot in our lives. Let this powerful truth rule every part of us; may it become realer than our job title, race, age, talent or hobby. Those things will never bring us to life; they will never satisfy. What is life-giving is the utter truth that we belong to the most perfect and powerful Father whose pure existence is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That is who He is and we are His; that is who we are.

And now to close, listen to your Father's words to you:

"Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations. You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler. No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise."