Friday, March 30, 2012

Crucified with Christ

I was surprised with flowers Wednesday afternoon :) I'm waaay too spoiled. They sure are pretty though, huh? Spring is definitely in the air.

In other news...I've always felt somewhat "disconnected" from the crucifixion and resurrection story and I don't want to be. So I'm asking God to make it feel more relevant to me. He's in the works already by helping me to reflect more on the statement "crucified with Christ."
Galatians 2:20 "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."


What if that statement was constantly true in my life? I would never be concerned with people-pleasing, but I would always be God-pleasing. I would never spread myself too thin, but I would always take time to rest in God. I wouldn't come up with excuses for not doing stuff, but I would always have awesome time management and prioritize my life around Jesus. I would never think nasty things about people who annoy me, but I would always benefit others with the words out of my mouth. I would never care what's in it for me, but I would always be a servant to others.


And yet, this is what is possible! I have received the Holy Spirit of the Son of God! Jesus Christ lives in my body by me trusting in Him. It's when I fail to trust in and rely on Him that my old self tries to take over again. 
My old sinful self was crucified on the cross right along with Jesus. Yet, unlike Jesus Christ, my old self did not rise again. Jesus is the only One who resurrected and is allowed to live in me. 

When I start to people-please or do too much or think nasty things or be selfish I need to remind myself and thank God that my old self died a long time ago. I need to learn to renounce those thoughts and remind my earthly body to trust in Jesus.

I've chosen You, Jesus and I'll never be the same. Thank You for what You've done. I know the only thing that's good in me is Jesus. Thank You for your reminder of crucifixion during this Lent season.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

We Want More!

If you were given the opportunity to love people even more than you are now, you’d take it, right? Of course! Well, what if I told you that you can only give love to others to the extent that you have received love from God? 

“I have received God’s love,” you say, “I know that God loves me enough to send His Son to die on the cross to save me from my sins so that I can have abundant life with Him both now and eternally!” But do you really know how God feels about you? Can you comprehend that your Heavenly Abba sees you as His precious child and wants to give you anything you ask him for in His name? Do you understand that Jesus loves you like a Bridegroom loves His Bride?

Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:19 that God’s love for us actually surpasses knowledge—it’s too great to fully understand. But that doesn’t mean it’s not something worth striving to understand. So how do we try to better comprehend this? Let's start with the love chapter—1 Corinthians 13.
God is patient—He never gives up on you or gets annoyed with your failures.
God is kind—He cares more for you than for Himself.
God does not envy—He is only righteously jealous for your heart to love Him because that is what is best for you.
God does not boast; He is not proud.
He is not rude—He actually has the most perfect manners. He doesn’t force Himself on anyone, but rather invites you to seek Him so He can draw near to you.
God is not self-seeking—He will always put your best interest first, even though you may not see it that way at first.
He is not easily angered—this ties directly in with patience. He understands your heart and He knows that you’re trying. He does not get angry with your brokenness. He understands so much better than anyone else.
God keeps no record of wrongs—when you give your life to Christ, you are forever regarded as holy, perfect, and blameless in His sight.
He does not delight in evil—it does not make Him happy to see you fall to Satan’s lies.
God rejoices with the truth—but it does make Him happy when you come to find truth in Him.
God will always protect you. He will always trust your heart. He will always hope in your goodness. He will keep on fighting for you.

Let these words wash over you. Drink deeply of God’s unfailing love. Ask Him to reveal more of His heart to you. Ask for you to be able to more fully understand how much He loves you. Ask Him to drive away any of Satan’s lies that tell you otherwise. Tell Him you want to receive more of His love so you can pass it onto others.

Prayer:
Abba, we pray the words of Ephesians 3:16-19 that from Your glorious, unlimited resources You will empower us with inner strength through Your Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in our hearts as we trust in You. Our roots will grow down deep into God’s love and keep us strong. Abba, may we have the power to understand how wide, how long, how high, and how deep Your love is. May we experience the love of Christ, thought it is too great to understand fully. Then we will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. We want to love others more God, but we need to know more of Your love for us first. Continue to reveal more of Yourself to us, and teach us to discern Satan’s lies so we can drive them out before they take root. Let us hear your voice alone, Abba. Amen

Discussion:
1. Go through 1 Corinthians 13 again. Which of these descriptions of love is hardest to attribute to God. Why do you think that is?
2. The prayer from Ephesians 3 talked about growing your roots down deep into God’s love. What do you think that looks like? What are some concrete ways that you can grow your roots deep into God’s love?
3. The greatest love relationship that we know on earth is the love between a husband and wife. The Bible tells us that God’s love for us is even greater than we can understand. Can you imagine a love that surpasses even that of between a husband and wife? How does that make you feel? 

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Putting Real Love Into Action

Here's devotional numero uno from what I wrote for PLIA...

Stop right there.
Before you read any further in this devotional, I want each of you to individually read the entire book of 1 John. It’s not that long—we read far more than this in a night for our classes. I just read it in less than 10 minutes. Please? J

Okay, welcome back. Powerful stuff, huh? Can I suggest that you read that same book every night of this break? Just watch the Holy Spirit reveal different insights to you each time. God’s Word is an endless treasure that never runs out, and I’m convinced that if you dig into His Word with the right attitude, you will never get bored. Consider that a challenge. J Okay cool. Moving on then…

So I hope you gathered that the theme of 1 John is love. Real love. The love that you can see and touch—not just hear. The love that is of the Father—not of man.  John talks about man’s “love” earlier in the book in 2:15-16. The New Living Translation says:
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
This is pretty essential information if you plan on putting any love into action during this break. Do you know what kind of love you have in you? Are you absolutely certain that you’re going to be putting the Father’s love into action? Of course, none of us would say that we intend to put worldly “love”/lust into action, but we also all know that “actions speak louder than words.”

So think about what your actions “say” about you. How do you treat others? What kind of people are you in relationships with? What does what you invest your time and money in say about your character and lifestyle? Do you crave physical pleasure more than the deeper pleasure that comes from resting in God? Do you find yourself boasting in what you’ve achieved or the cool stuff you own more than boasting in what God’s grace has done in your life? 
Seriously, think about those questions. Don’t just quickly read over these.

I realize these are intense questions, but I want you to really think about this because this is pretty crucial. You have an amazing opportunity to put the Father’s love into action with people who need to feel it.  I don’t want you to throw away this opportunity by showing people a worldly love instead. If we call ourselves Christians, people are expecting to find Christ. We can’t let them down. And John himself is pretty unapologetic in his book for those who don’t show love. Is he talking about you?

Maybe after answering those questions, you’re feeling inadequate to put God’s love into action. Relying on your own strength, you are inadequate. You can’t truly love others without total 100% reliance on the work of the Holy Spirit. We are fallen human beings who need God’s grace. His grace isn’t just a one-time gift that gives us salvation from sins. It’s a continuous stream of mercy that gives us the ability to do anything and everything that pleases Him. God’s grace through the Holy Spirit is what enables us to put the Father’s love into action. The sooner we discover that, the better. J

Prayer:
Abba Father, we are amazed by Your unfailing love for us. We mess up so many times, and yet You are so faithful. We deserve absolutely nothing from You, but You desire to give us grace upon grace from Your abundance. Thank You for Your forgiveness when we forget about Your grace, when we try to live our lives on our own strength, when we turn to the world for our attempts at satisfaction. Continue to sanctify us and teach us that You are all that we need. Thank You for this opportunity to put Your love into action. Thank You for this opportunity to connect with people within this group and others that we will meet along the way. Thank You for giving us a break from school to revive ourselves. Thank You for being with us no matter where we go. Please bless this trip and may Your name be glorified through it all. Please help us to realize more and more what it means to completely surrender ourselves to the work of Your Holy Spirit. Thank You for Your discipline and for training us to be Your disciples. Help us to follow the perfect example of Jesus’ sacrificial love every moment of our days. Teach us that dying to ourselves is the one way to true joy and satisfaction. You are our portion, Jesus. We love You—help us love You more. Amen

Discussion:
1. How can we be sure that we have the Father’s love in us? (Hint: 1 John has lots to say about this J)
2. Is it actually wrong to love worldly things a little bit as long as we love God more? Doesn’t God want us to be happy or is this simply following the “Gospel of Prosperity”?
3. Is there anything worldly that you feel convicted that you love too much? Spring break would be the perfect time to turn away from this and start fresh when you get back to school. Think about it! J
4. What are some concrete ways that you can put the Father’s love into action tomorrow? What are some concrete ways that you can put the Father’s love into action after PLIA?

Monday, March 26, 2012

Sunshine & Spring Break

     The new sunny background inspired me to post again! :) It's hard to believe how quickly this semester is flying by! I've hardly posted much since my Christmas break...and yet a lot has happened since then.
     I'm having an awesome semester. My classes are wonderful--Interpersonal Communication, Family Communication, Youth Ministry, Christian Mind & Heart, and Culture, Task & Calling (aka-CORE 300) I look forward to all my classes and really most days none of them feel much like "same old class." This spring semester is definitely refreshing! :)
     So spring break for me this year wasn't even really necessary. I think every other time we get a break, I'm really looking forward to it and need the break but this year I think I would have been fine without one. But that doesn't mean I didn't take it!
     I spent a lot of time "working" aka--sitting at the Rec center, getting ahead on end of the year projects and other things. I also spent time at home with family which was really nice. I haven't spent a break at home (including summer) since Christmas freshman year, so it was about time! :)
    While I stayed in Northwest Iowa trying to earn some money back that was spent over my big Christmas adventure to Laos, other people went on PLIA. I was honored with the request to write a few devotionals for  their trip so I thought I would add them on here, too. :) I'll post those after this.
Enjoy the beautiful weather!! I know I've been spending more time outside this March than any other that I can remember. God is so kind :)