Choices...

Lately I have had to make many decisions and choices that will affect my future and my relationships with God and others. As I think about the Christian life, I see how decision making is an important aspect and that it is crucial that we go to the Lord in all decisions in life.

When making choices here are some things that we should consider...

...will it help my witness for Christ?

...am I motivated by a desire to help others know Christ?

...will it help me do my best?

...is it against a specific command in scripture and will cause me to sin?

...will it be best and is it helpful?

...will I be thinking only of myself or do I truly care about the other person?

...will I be acting lovingly or selfishly?

...will it glorify God?

...will it encourage someone else to sin?

When you are walking in God's will, He will lay it on your heart the right thing to do. Something I find myself struggling with is whether I am hearing God or just my own thoughts? But what I have come to realize is that when we are pursuing the Lord wholeheartedly, reading his word, and communicating with Him, his thoughts become our own. The closer you become to God, the more his desires become your own.

Another thing I have noticed is that the Lord will give you peace when you are making the right decision. When you do not feel that peace then that is Him signaling to you that you need to stop right there, and listen. So many times people say that no matter how hard they try, they cannot seem to hear from God. But the question is, are you listening? Are you truly trying to hear from Him?

Nailed to the Cross...

"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another." -Galatians 5:24-26

The bible constantly talks about the battle between our sinful nature and the Holy Spirit. Our sinful nature desires to do evil, but the Holy Spirit gives us the opposite desires.

Want to see the difference between the two?

Our sinful nature looks like this...sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, hostility, jealousy, anger, selfish ambitions, drunkenness, wild parties, quarreling. (gal. 5:19-21)

The Holy Spirit looks like this...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (gal. 5:22-23)

The good news is that when Jesus died on the cross, our sin was nailed to that cross on that very day. Jesus defeated sin so that we are no longer in bondage to our sins. Christ provided a way out at the cross. He gave us his Holy Spirit which gives us the power to defeat temptation.

Satan comes to kill and destroy and he knows our weaknesses. Satan uses that knowledge of our weaknesses to tempt us and lure us in. Then he tears us down and pulls our heart away from the Lord. But the Lord says to flee from temptation and run the other way. Since we are no longer a slave to sin, we have the power to run, and keep running.

Nailing our sinful nature to the cross is a daily action that we all must take. It requires us to commit each and every morning to stand up against our flesh and follow the Spirit's leading. It requires us to die to ourselves and come alive in Christ.

And remember..."When we allow ourselves to live recklessly for Him, then we, too, will see his glory. We will see Him do the IMPOSSIBLE!" -Francis Chan

I love you all!! Keep running hard after Jesus!!! He loves you so much!

"A wife of noble character who can find?..."

..."She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised!" -Proverbs 31

So a couple years ago my brother gave me the "Becoming Esther" article by Paul Washer. We read it together back then and I recently came across it again. Reading it now that I am older, it really makes a lot of sense to me. Esther is one of my favorite bible characters. She was beautiful inside and out and her courage set her apart. Esther had to go through a long process of cultivation. Before she could be queen, she prepared herself spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually. Esther did not sit around like many of the other women who were fighting for the crown, but rather she used her time as a single woman to pursue the Lord and let Him work on her heart.

"Singleness is not a waste of time or a sitting on the sidelines, but a time that God has set aside especially for the woman, to make her into what He wants her to be, and to use her in ways that just might be impossible after marriage. Singleness is a time in which a woman is to cultivate the virtues that pertain to being a woman of God, so that she can offer her future husband and the world something more than just a pretty face."

Wow!!! Is that not a beautiful picture! This gets me so fired up...I want all single women to know that right now is the time to step out on faith and run hard after God! We must live in the here and now and let the Lord prepare us for the great work he is going to do in us. The Lord longs for a beautiful relationship with us and He wants to be our first love. The Lord wants to show us how to be a woman of God so that one day we can be a godly wife and mother. If we take advantage of this time now, I believe that the Lord is going to take us to new heights. I believe that if we let Him have our hearts then He is going to show us a marriage that goes all the way and one that thrives and is on FIRE.

"Remember in your singleness that you are not the only one single, but your future husband is passing through the same stage as you. Would it not be a terrible thing to finally meet the man who is to become your husband only to find out that he has used his singleness to serve God and to prepare himself to be a better husband for you. And yet you did not use the freedom of your singleness to serve the Lord, nor did you take advantage of the training that God offered you? Would it not also be a terrible thing to realize that your husband spent his days as a single man praying daily for your needs and the work of God in your life, while you neither prayed for him, nor responded to the grace of God that was given you as a result of his prayers."

This really hit me and really kind of scares me when I think of all the time I have wasted and the mistakes I made in the past. I know that the day that I walk down the aisle to my future husband, I want to present myself to him fully equipped. I want him to know that I prepared my heart and cultivated my character so that when joining with him, we would carry on God's will in a marriage. I know that in preparing myself for that now, I am preparing for a marriage that is completely and undeniably thriving.

Lord, cultivate in me a beautiful heart for you. Teach me your ways and help me to use my time in a way that honors you and brings you all the glory. I pray that you would continue showing women their roles and their calling and create in every woman a heart that is on fire for you.

Confessions

1 John 1:9-10
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

So I will be the first to admit it. I am not perfect. I am human and I have faults. I am constantly having to battle my flesh and my sinful nature. God tells us to come to him with our sins and admit that we messed up and he will "purify" us. All we have to do is come humbly and bring it to the table. If we try to hide our sins and justify them, then we are not being true to ourselves or to the Lord.
I have made mistakes recently and I have had to go humbly to the Lord and ask for his forgiveness. I know that what I did was wrong and all I could do was to be real with myself by going and asking God for his grace and his forgiveness.
The good news is that God is so faithful and God forgives. Even though we constantly mess up and sin against him, he always takes us back. He never stops loving us and his grace is everlasting.
Thank you Jesus for your patience with me. Forgive me for the times I have messed up and not always did the right thing. Take my heart and make your desires, my desires. Help me to be more like you and to love like you do. I pray that my life would shine brightly for you and that others would see YOU when they look at me. May I live in a way that brings you all the Glory and Honor and Praise! Amen.