Things I forget...

... that must be preached to me every day:

1. God is sovereign and in control of my life. I can rest in that.

2. It is foolish to presume the future. Only God knows the future and what a relief it is to know His Will will be accomplished. It's to our benefit that we don't know the future.

All things are present to Him—there is no past and no future to His all-seeing eyes. He dwells in the present tense forevermore as the great I AM. He knows what will be on the morrow and He, alone knows! The whole course of the universe lies before Him, like an open map. Men do not know what a day may bring forth, but Jehovah knows the end from the beginning! There are two great certainties about things that shall come to pass—one is that God knows—and the other is that we do not know. - Spurgeon

3. Every gift is from above and therefore, rightly Gods. He has the authority to give and take away.

Job 21:1 - And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

5. I am loved and that's worth rejoicing over. I am loved unconditionally and without refrain. Christ loved me 100% of the way. I did no reaching out to Him. He loved me while I was living in sin and enjoying it, while I was engaging in harlotry with the world. How beautiful is His LOVE!

6. This mind boggling love is enough to satisfy me always, even in times of loss.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKipKqLmTe4&feature=related

He's Enough

He knew us first, by Him we’re known. He drew us to the cross, where true love was shown. Revealed in me the debts of my sin. And from that the need for a Savior, for One to come in. By His wounds, we are healed. Forever safe, within Him sealed. Crazy love no words can describe. Trampling over my self-righteous pride.

Christ lived the life we couldn’t live and He died the death we should’ve died. He endured the torture meant for me, separation from His Father, oh did He bleed. But precious is the blood of the Lamb, that ransomed me from my guilt and shame. And graciously showed me the abundant riches of His name.

The story doesn’t end at His death for rise did He. For in his rising, WE ARE ALL SET FREE! Free from living in slavery to this world. Free to live in accordance to His perfect Will. We died with Him and now are sovereignly raised. Only to Him belongs all glory, honor and praise.

His love on the cross displayed for all to see. His resurrection accomplished that we might all be. Joint heirs who love as Christ first loved us. Bondservants who desperately need Christ, on Him we clutch.

That in ALL things He may receive the glory due. In Him we are satisfied, He’s enough, He’s enough.

Grades as an Idol

Even in light of everything that Jesus is to me, I am constantly being made aware to all the things that I withhold and cling to as idols. Though I seem to be improving with some idols, others remain. The most recent one to come to my attention are grades.

I failed two exams yesterday. My heart was burdened beyond belief, a mixture of anger, grief, disappointment. I find that this burden of worry is rooted in that this exam would affect my GPA and ultimately my ability to find a good job. Now what's the motivation of this worry? My lack of faith in God's supremacy and provision.

He's taken me sooo far especially in school. He's given me A's when I don't deserve them and provided jobs when my credentials are really unworthy. In light of this, my current motivation to study is still grounded in my own ability to provide for my future. I don't study for the sole purpose of glorifying God. I worry over exams and the outcome as if they were part of my identity. Grades were just another way for me to please myself and please men.

Matthew 6 goes into great detail how we are not to worry. It is impossible for a Christian to worry about their future and say God is in control at the same time. I mean, look at the birds of the air; look at how God feeds them and cares for them. Would God not care for those that are of greater value? Why worry about what we shall eat, what we shall drink, and where we will work? God knows our need and will provide!

Instead of worrying, we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

God is our provision. He cares for his children and it's ultimately shown on the Cross. Will he withhold any smaller thing if He's willing to sacrifice the gift of greatest value? Certainly not! Romans 8:32. So have faith in Christ, seek Him first that you might be increasingly joyful in experiencing His provision.

In all this, I can rejoice because God is systematically revealing my sins in different areas of my life. He is graciously pruning my deficiencies and showing me an ever greater need for the Savior. May Christ's sacrifice on the cross at Calvary be enough to diminish any worry or faithlessness in me!

He loved me and gave Himself for me.

D.A. Carson - He loved me and gave Himself for me.

The Gospel revealed through the interactions between Peter and Paul on clean and unclean food.

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/resources/a/He-Loved-Me-and-Gave-Himself-for-Me-Gal-211-21

Spurgeon: “Christ First, Me Last - Nothing Between but Love"

http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols40-42/chs2370.pdf

Oh how we must preach the gospel to ourselves day in and day out just to be reminded of how Christ loves us and gave Himself for us! All so that we realize the depth of our sin, the cost of the cross, and hope of salvation in Christ Jesus. I've come to realize that genuine change is heavily dependent on a constantly increasing understanding of Christ's love for me. Oh how deep and never-ending are Your mercies and graces. How inadequately I reflect your love, how quickly I'm to forget, how easily I am lead astray by my evil desires. How is it that in my acts of harlotry, you remain my Redeemer constantly pursuing me and pointing me back to the Cross? There's only one word for it. Love.

Christ Put On

Christ put on - Charles H. Spurgeon

www.spurgeongems.org/vols34-36/chs2132.pdf

Romans 13:14

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

What a joy it is to read the wise words of a man who genuinely loves God and understand's His truths.

In this sermon, Spurgeon illustrates the importance of putting on Christ in the same way we put on clothing. Having said that, we cannot merely put on Christ, we must also put off our old self. If we put on Christ's garment over the fleshly garment, we are still wearing the old man! Therefore it is imperative that we take off and put on.

This act of taking off and putting on is not a one time act. As Christians, we are commanded to put on Christ DAILY. Now only in this instance, may men take more than an hour to get dressed. Putting on Christ in the morning should take as much time as needed. This command is not a burden like many perceive it to be. Rather, God commands us to do so because it is for our own good, our own protection. Nothing can touch us when the full armor of the living God is worn. You see, when we wear Christ on our sleeve, He stands between us and the fiery darts of the evil one. He preserves us and sustains us. He starts to transform our motives and our inner being. He allows us to reflect Him all the more through the sway of the Holy Spirit.

Now where do we go for this daily garment? Jesus! He is our everything - our Priest, our Prophet, our Savior, our Coverer. Put him on continually, in every aspect of our lives. We put Him on not in order to impress others but out of the gratitude and desire to please Him. We go to Christ for changed motives!!!

Putting on Christ will display itself in our natural inclinations. Why will God show patience to us if we do not show patience to others? Is one who is angered easily wearing the robes of Christ? Putting on Christ changes our character. A heart of gratitude and love towards others are examples of the transformation of character.

Do not ever take off Christ. When Christ is not put on, we are giving a foothold to the devil, provision for the flesh. Therefore, we must labor daily and methodically to strap in our garments. We must have absolutely no tolerance for sin, not even a hint. Starve the desires of the flesh and ask Christ to take their place.

Now there is a sense of urgency in all of this because we don't know when Christ will be returning. We know something is wrong when we are scared of Christ return. We shouldn't be like the brides than ran out of oil, unprepared for the bridegrooms return. Rather, we ought to be diligently watching and wearing Christ on our backs as we wait for His final return. What great hope there is in Christ's return! When, finally, we will be completely transformed into Christ's likeness from the depths of our hearts into eternity!

butt bruises

So as most of you know, I live in the farthest outskirts of society, in Frederick county. It's a great place, it really is. There is plenty of scenery and fresh air out there. The only problem that I have to travel great lengths to get to shopping malls worth going to. The time it usually takes for me to get to Montgomery mall is 30 minutes. Today it took almost 2 hours! This was partially because of traffic and partially because of my impatience. While waiting to take exit 1, I couldn't stand the wait so I tried to bypass it by going to the next exit. Right after I passed the exit, my gps told me that it was 2 MILES until the next exit, IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC. It was crazy, the first time I had to endure such hopelessness and powerlessness. Yelling or throwing fits did no good.

Something good did come of it though!!!! This test of patience was very beneficial in teaching me to bear responsibility for wrong decisions and to see the positives in negative circumstances. I've never been so frustrated in my life (that may seem astounding) but somehow after talking to pops a peace came and comforted me. Then I turned on Christian radio which definitely helped too.

The pain of driving didn't end there as the way home took another 1 1/2 hours cause of crazy congestion.

LESSONS LEARNED:

1. when it snows, don't travel tremendous distances

2. hang out in Frederick even though it may be less attractive

3. PATIENCE is a fruit of the Spirit which i need more work on

Turkeys, Turkeys, Turkeys, Outreach?, Turkeys

Thanksgiving is here and it's time to reflect on the things that we are thankful for. I know God has blessed me in numerous ways through friends, family and physical needs but of these things, salvation is the most important. While all these blessings are great and need thankfulness, we tend to forget the most important person God has blessed us with: Jesus. Last Saturday I had to privilege of going to Turkey Outreach with a group from the Gathering and Frontline. Frontline has been doing this program where it hands out turkey dinners and share the Gospel to the less fortunate folks for a few years. Since I had football practice later that day, I could only stay for two hours, enough time to help unload turkeys from the truck.

While unloading the turkeys, one thing kept going through my mind. "Don't waste this time by talking to your friends from school who are always available, rather spend it sharing with someone you may not see on a regular basis." I was given this opportunity for a purpose and wasting it was not an option. I was convicted to go talk to someone with the purpose of sharing the Gospel. There was a group of dudes just hanging off by themselves in a corner. They didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the Frontliners so I approached them after taking a couple of deep breaths.

After a couple of preliminary questions, prepared myself for the awkward stage of turning the conversation into a spiritual one. To my surprise, there was no such stage. The individual that I ended up talking to was actually a believer from a drug rehab center. He has recently gotten himself clean and was a new believer. What was really amazing, was that he was struggling with the same thing as me, sharing our faiths to the ministry in which God has placed us. For me, I have difficulty sharing with my peers and with him, he has recognized that God wants him to reach his fellow rehab patients. What fueled the conversation was being thankful for salvation. Just talking to this guy was a continuation of what God has been trying to say to me. "When we are truly thankful for salvation, we can't help but talk about Jesus, we can't help but read about Jesus, we can't help but think about Him."

When I was driving back to football practice, I realized that though I didn't exactly share the Gospel to one who's never heard it, the Holy Spirit used that conversation to encourage an individual is able share the Gospel with even more people. It's awesome to see God's divine plan in work.

Now that's something to truly be thankful for, not only at one time a year, but rather all the time!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!