A season of brokenness

I find a lot of things overrated. A few things that are high on the list would be wearing pants or eating salad. Both things just seem unnecisarry and Jesus said don't conform to the patterns of this world so i'm just trying to be obedient.

On a more serious side, there are a few things on the list that are a little different than not liking to wear pants. There is this trend that I see happening, a trend that I have fallen into but I am starting to find overrated. Almost more overrated than wearing pants, and that's that you have to be okay in times of brokenness. That is just not true, but more importantly it's not biblical.
 I want to speak on this to let you know that it's okay to not be okay, it's actually healthy.
 Jesus never said, "in this world you are going to have trouble [and in that trouble I'm going to need you to act like you are completely fine with it.]" HE SAID, "In this world you are going to have trouble but take heart, for I have overcome the world." 


This life is messy. It hurts and sometimes you are going to be broken. That brokenness isn't a sign of weakness or distrust in the Lord, it's just a season of life that God has called you into and if you accept this, it can be the most beautiful season of growth. 

Here is what I see in my own life: I don't like not being okay. I recently went through a time that was a little bit messy. I didn't understand why God was leading me into it and I just felt confused. It was a time where I was being asked how I was a lot. In my head I would think, "i'm not okay at all actually...." but that's not what I would say, instead of owning my brokenness, I covered it up with the "I"m fine, it's all going to be okay!" response. 

Not owning what I was really dealing with, or how I was feeling, I was stunting the growth that Jesus was trying to grow in my walk with Him. 
 That is why it's okay, to not be okay. When we finally sit in the brokenness and our "not being okay" we get to accept the healing that only Jesus can bring. 


"Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up." Hosea 6:1

I don't think in that moment, the people of Israel would have said, "ya man, all is good!" 
They were broken.
They had gone through moments of unfaithfulness, but in this moment, they were returning to God, admitting their brokenness because they were able to see that that was the only way that healing was going to happen. If you don't admit you are broken, you can't accept His healing. It was in that return to God that they got to fully accept and experience the goodness of his promises.


For me, I was able to admit to Jesus that I was broken, because at the moment in time, there was no denying it to Him but it was admitting it to my community that was hard. I don't like being seen as weak, but it's in this time that I learned that being weak is the perfect time for Jesus to show His strength. Admitting it to others was a crucial step in admitting it to myself, that is why it is a part in letting Jesus heal you. He uses the love and support and wisdom of others to teach you the beauty in your brokenness. 

I have seen my fair share of broken times, and there will be many more to come, but I will face them with the promise that he is still bigger than all of it. He strengthens us in this time and without it we would stay the same, and he has called us to so much more than staying where we are. 
"I have come so you may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

God didn't keep Jesus from the cross and he won't keep you from anything that will make you more like his son.



 


 

Faithful Laughter

I like to imagine Jesus with his disciples, sitting around the dinner table, maybe they are laughing over something said, maybe they are laughing over a spilled drink, regardless, I believe there was laughter.

There are two distinct mentions of laughter in the bible, two different women, both regarding the same circumstance: uncertainty.

Sitting in senior year of college I am faced with my own uncertainty. I get reminded of it often, by myself and others, it's the hot topic of conversation almost everywhere I go. Most questions look like this:

"What are you doing after graduation?"
"Where do you think you'll be living?"
"Is it weird that in 7 months you'll be somewhere else?"

What people don't know is every time one of theses is asked, another notch in the "sara freak out meter" rises.


I want to laugh with assurance that Jesus is greater than my uncertainty but i'm too afraid that this laughter will be the sound of disbelief instead.


Sarah and Abraham were, as the bible puts it "very old", not just old, but VERY old. So you can imagine what thoughts were rushing through her head when she overhead the promise being made to her husband, that they would conceive a child. We look at her and think, how could you laugh???? Do you not trust the Lord??? But let's be real here, I probably would have laughed too. I can't blame her, I just don't want to be her.

"So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?” Genesis 18: 12

My question is- how do we get to a place where the laughter is matched with faith, and it's a sound of peace and assurance instead of disbelief and fear?

There's another passage covering laughter, one that we have all heard at every woman's talk:

"She is clothed with STRENGTH and dignity, she can laugh at the days to come." Proverbs 31:25

This woman laughs too. She laughs at her circumstances, her future and her uncertainty because she has tapped into the source of peace. The future to her isn't scary, it's exciting.
She can do this because she is clothed in strength: that strength that the bible is talking about is not our own strength, but only that of the Lord.


There are two distinct differences with these two woman:

Laughter in the disbelief: Sarah can't see past her human head knowledge, to understand that "His ways are not our ways" She is not laughing out of trust, she is laughing out of disbelief, like it's just too crazy to actually happen. Too often we are Sarah, we just can't see how it could work out so God's plans become comical to us.

Laughter in the belief: The woman in Proverbs is laughing because she knows that she is taken care of, so to stress out over the uncertain, is just well, laughable. She sits secure at the feet of Jesus, taking in all of his promises because she has tapped into the peace that surpasses all understanding. She laughs, not because Jesus is a great joke teller but because she is found and secure in the promises he has given us.


I feel like I'm on a crossroad, my laughter can go either way, I could look at God and laugh because those dreams he has placed in my heart, those plans he wants for me, are just too crazy, they aren't possible. But that's not the response he calls us to. I want to laugh at my days to come because I can trust in my faithful father who has carried me this far, no matter what is thrown at me, or how out of reach it may seem, I get to rest secure, no matter how crazy the situation he calls me into may look.

God shows up when the possible ends, and the impossible begins.
My prayer is that your days are filled with laughter that is matched with faith.
Trust his crazy plans for your life. Laugh off the uncertainty and sit in the security that you are His.

Staying certain in the uncertainty

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

un·swerv·ing

ADJECTIVE

1. not changing or becoming weaker; steady or constant:

 

I've always heard that as you get older, time just seems to move faster. I have never really given it much thought, until now. I am entering my senior year of college, and as I type that I still can't really grasp that. I look at the incoming freshman, excited, nervous, anxious about what these next few years hold for them. In a lot of ways, I can relate a lot to them. Those are exactly my emotions as I look into my next few years ahead. While sometimes I wish I was still that scared freshman trying to navigate the bus routes and figuring out what it meant to make my own meals, I know that that's no longer my stage of life, instead I get to be the scared senior, trying to figure out what it means to do this whole "adult" "real world" thing that everyone talks about.  

 

 

 

Everyday I am answering the question "What are you doing when you graduate?"

This is a question I have grown to dread because my only response is "I don't know"

 

That interaction has caused a lot of doubt, and nervousness about the journey ahead. If I'm being completely honest, it's caused a lot of dis-trust with The Lord. It's like I have completely erased his faithfulness over my life- and all I can see now is uncertainty.

 I am too consumed on making the right choice, to see that I already made the right choice when I gave my life and my decisions over to Him.

 

 

The consistency and faithfulness of Jesus doesn't change. Our stages in life are meaningless to Him and the overall plan of His kingdom work.

[Whether we get that job, or decide to take the other one, or maybe we decide to go a completely different route, maybe you end up doing something completely irrelevant to your major.]

 

Here's the key question: Is it brining glory to The Lord?

 

That is all the Lord wants from you. He wants you to do HIS work, wherever you go. He isn't going to abandon you in the process of choosing that job, but what we have to realize is not all choices come with flashing signs that say "CHOOSE THIS ONE" or "GO THIS DIRECTION"

Jesus isn't a cheap genie that is trying to give you three wishes to make all your dreams come true and all your choices easy. He is a faithful Father that wants His children to serve Him, in all aspects of their life, wherever they are, in whatever they are doing.


Although these lies sneak in, I am able to speak truth over them and remember that my hope is in an unswerving Father who loves me and who has always been more faithful than I can comprehend. I know that whatever this next stage brings, He will be in it, leading and guiding me in all my steps.


This is a growing process that I am learning to find Joy in. I am getting to trust in The Lord in ways that I never have before and because of that, I thank Him. I am not going to look at it as a scary or uncertain stage of my life, but as a new adventure and new ways to learn and serve my Jesus.


I am choosing to celebrate this uncertainty because I am certain of His faithfulness.

Instagram isn't real

Can we just get something out of the way? Something that I feel really needs to be said, something that I myself, have to constantly tell myself...here it goes..ya ready?

Instagram isn't real.  I know know.... whatttt?????
THIS IS BRAND NEW INFORMATION!!!


All jokes aside, I'm going to get real for a second...this little app that I use on a daily basis is the tool that satan uses to distract me from the {MANY} blessings I have in my life.


Here me out: this isn't a "everyone should delete instagram, it's so bad for you" rant
This is a "please see that everyone is broken and no one's life is perfect" rant
(I prefer to not call it a rant but ya know if you must)

Here is what I want my point to be:
sweet daughter of the King, please understand that her life is not perfect. I can promise you what you see on your phone is not what she sees through her eyes.

So, she ordered her Aggie ring AND got engaged...all in the same semester, and had about 300+ likes on her family ski trip, and of course here is an artsy pic with her bible and coffee so her relationship with Jesus must be perfect and basically she's perfect....

**now you're rolling your eyes, closing the app (for 2 minutes) and you're over analyzing your life, wondering why it's not hers**

Can I tell you what you aren't doing while you are (probably just creeping on this girl you don't even know) you aren't seeing that she is a sister. That she faces the same struggles that you do on a daily basis, you don't see that satan is also attacking her. Instead, you are choosing to allow the enemy to form a wall between the family.

As sons and daughters, brothers and daughters, we are called to bring people into the family. Into the family that sees them as redeemed, loved, cherished, and saved.


We are not called to sit and waste our lives comparing ourselves to them, wishing we had their lives. Do we not see what that does to our Father?

We are saying that we don't care about the story he has for us, we would rather have hers. We don't care about the work he has for us, we would rather do hers. We don't care about the gifts for the kingdom he has for us, we would rather use hers.

Jesus knit YOU together in YOUR mothers womb for good works he prepared in advance for YOU.

So, what do you do? Do you delete instagram?
Do what you feel called but I will say this, instagram isn't the problem, it's just a tool the devil has at his fingertips to easily access our deepest insecurities.

I don't have a quick fix formula, what I do have is just my own testimony.
Pray for that girl.
Pray for the girl that you just stalked for 45 minutes
Pray for her heart, for her struggles, for her walk with Lord.

While you're at it, don't forget to pray for yourself, pray that the Lord can give you a new perspective on His plans for you. Most importantly I hope you pray that Jesus can change your heart. That we can all understand that instagram isn't real, that life is hard and we are all broken.
 "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses made us alive TOGETHER with Christ." (Ephesians 2:4)


Sweet sister, don't forget, we are in this together.

Let it be Jesus

let:
1.not prevent or forbid, allow
synonyms: permit to, give permission to

be: 

1. exist
2. occur; take place
synonyms: occur, happen, come out, arise

"let it be Jesus" is the title and main verse of a song that was sung at passion, it's also the same line that has been stuck in my head for the past few days.

When I think about this song it reminds me that as we go through storms, the first name we should call upon is our Jesus, but as the verse continues to play in my head, it began to hit a different place in my heart that I just couldn't understand. I felt like Jesus was trying to tell me something, so I decided to really think about what it meant to "let it be Jesus"



Here's the thing- we let words become to mundane to us. We hear words like "let" and "be" and we really don't think much of it, we know what these words mean so why do I need to look any deeper?

One of my favorite things is to take words like "let" and "be" and see what there given definition is, not the definition we think it to have in our heads. Usually, by doing this simple act we are able to transform a sentence and unpack all new power to it.

When I look at the definition of these simple words it makes me realize that i'm not supposed to just "let it be Jesus" i'm supposed to "give permission for him to arise"

Here's what I mean by that:
Jesus can't work through us until we surrender to him.
The good He wants for us is ultimately tied to our obedience to letting him take root in our lives. Jesus desires for us to be set free, but we have to accept that freedom by dying to ourselves.

My biggest issue is that my heart is trying to "let it be Jesus" but my actions aren't truly giving him permission. When I don't give him the permission to work through me, then it's me trying to use my own strength which leads me nowhere. All i'm getting from the situation is frustration. Frustration in myself and ultimately frustration with The Lord.

"Why is this not working out??"

As I am looking back at these different situations I am clearly seeing that I was falling into the lie that I am afraid a lot of us do.

I try to half-heartadly surrender because that's what makes me the most comfortable.
Here is where that backfires: Where we don't give full permission to Jesus, He can't arise within us.

He wants to use you for His glory, but until we begin to turn the light on Him and off of us, we will continue to fall into the trap of "letting it be us" while we are pretending it's Jesus. 

Jesus is teaching me that there is no such thing as a half-hearted surrender. He didn't humble himself and die on the cross so that we could choose both of us. He sacrificed himself for the sake of all, so that all may have the chance to humble themselves and follow him.

My charge seems simple, but it takes sacrifice.
Let Jesus not just IN your life but let him BE your life.

You won't regret what arises with the permission from surrender.

Rope Burn and Skinned Knees

One of the biggest things that I struggle with, is in my mind, choosing what I lay at the feet of Jesus and what I keep for myself. In my head I have two columns, one if for Jesus, and one is for me.

We have all heard things like: 
"take up our cross and follow him."
"die to ourselves"
"we must become less, and he must become more"

All of those things are completely true, and I honestly think we do believe those things, but how many of us actually do them?

We paint these verses on canvass to hang in our houses, we highlight them in our bible, we share them on facebook...Why? Because we can see that they matter. There is something in us that connects with the idea that we must let Jesus take control of our lives.

But how many of us actually let him?

For me, I don't mind Jesus having control on situations that I know I really can't control.
My struggle isn't letting him have control of my problem it is letting him have ALL of the control, no matter the outcome.

If you're honest with yourself you can see that you might share in this struggle with me.
I feel like I try to control certain situations because I feel like by me having control, I get to determine the outcome.

Have you ever played Tug Of War with an opponent that you knew was going to beat you? You size them up and you can see that they are going to end up pulling you across that line. Some people might run away, but it is in my character to go "i'll show you" and I fight until they have gotten me off my feet and are pulling me across that line.

This is how I imagine myself when I try and take control of my life.
God is on the other side of the rope going "okay really Sara, you see this can't end well"
and it's like I say back to Him "No really God, i've got this!"
And I pull and I pull and I pull and what's the result?
After rope burn, and skinned knees from fighting it, I am on the other side, looking up at God going "Okay you were right"


Maybe you follow my analogy, maybe you think I'm completely wrong but when we cling so tightly to our plans, our dreams and our goals, instead of placing them at His feet, we are in a losing battle. We can grip as tight as we want to but God is going to win, every time.

More times than not I come with scrapped knees, and rope burn because I am a hard-headed girl that thinks that my ideal outcome of the situation is more important than giving Him control.

Every single time God shows me that there is a reason he says to give him our life, ALL of it, not just the parts we want to.
and every single time God is there with band-aids for my knees and medicine for my rope burn because even in my stubbornness His grace abounds.

My heart behind this is to help someone that might be a little bit like me. Maybe you think you have a grasp on your life, and you can decide what you lay at His feet, but please, take it from someone that has been there (more times than I like to admit) let go of the rope and run to the other side.

Giving Him my tomorrow

God tends to talk to us in ways and at times where we don't expect it. I am currently sitting at a table with my notes in front of me getting ready to take a test. While I am studying for that test I have my earphones in, nothing out of the ordinary, I like to have simple background music to drown out the outside noise. One of my favorite artists to listen to while I study is Shane & Shane. I have listened to all of their songs probably 100 times each, but for some reason today, their song "crucify Him" stuck out to me like it never had before. Here are some of their lyrics: 


I sing, "Hosanna!" when I want it all.
Then I crucify the Son of God.
Cause He isn't who I always thought.
Not what I want, but what I needed.
I sing, "How great and mighty is the King!"  
Just as long as He considers me
High above every other thing.
Even His glory.

It's packaged differently than Pharisees.
Wrapped in sing-a-longs and Christianese.
Empty hallelujahs to the King.
When my heart is loving idols.
A man of sorrows acquainted with grief,
He had no form; He had no majesty.
How could He have the audacity
To ask me to give Him my tomorrow?


 I think these lyrics are hitting me so hard today because I have come to the reality that this is exactly what I do to Jesus. 
Too many times than not, I put my own desires, my own plans and my own self before His glory. If I'm being completely honest, I do it ALL the time. It's a battle that I have within myself, to keep doing this. My heart longs to pursue Jesus and let Him have my life, but the moment it turns into something that makes me uncomfortable, I run for the hills. 

For some reason I forget the part that sometimes, things are going to hurt, and in that hurt we might not always understand why we are walking through it, but that shouldn't change our pursuit of Jesus. If anything it should make it stronger, knowing that He is the only one that can get us to the other side. 

So you can see my problem, I have a heart to follow Jesus but my human nature kicks in and sometimes my longing to have my own plan seems to overshadow my surrender to The King. Jesus is really sweet with his conviction, I am starting to see that why I have such a hard time surrendering, even when it brings Him glory is because I have turned my desires, plans and pursuits of my life into my idols.

My heart can't cling to Jesus when it is so heavily clung to these idols. 

In my head I know what is right, I know that surrendering my life to Jesus is what I am supposed to do, no matter the cost, because ultimately it will bring ME good and HIM glory 
(What a great deal right?!) 
When you read that you're probably thinking "why would I not want that?" 
I do, I so desperately do, but I have to get my heart along for the ride in order for this deal to go down. 

 If you are like me, and this is a problem in your life these are some things that I am finding make it easier to surrender...

You have to figure out what the idol (or idols) in your life is. This is not a fun process because it's an idol for a reason. You are going to have to ask Jesus to reveal this to you, and help you to release it to Him. I have found the most surrender comes when you are completely honest with the Lord. 
What I have learned with idols is that you can't just "place" them before Him, sometimes you have to ask him rip them from you.

In my personal life, I have seen that I have to be honest with Him in the fact that I don't want to surrender, some things are easier than others but ultimately it's scary, knowing that releasing things to Him doesn't come without a cost. Jesus has done a lot of ripping lately and my heart is beginning to see the beauty of it.

Right now Jesus is teaching me that while it is uncomfortable to release my life to Him, it's the only way I can know true freedom. He is showing me that He is a faithful father that loves me, because of this I know that while it may not be easy, it is more than worth it to give Him my tomorrow.

Purity of mind

If you have read any of my blogs before this you can see there is a trend with singleness. Not only is it a trend within my blogs, it seems to be a trend with blogs all over the internet. They range from all different kinds:

"10 things 20 something singles should know"
"purposeful singleness"
"25 things that happen when you're single"

I really could go on but you get my point.

I'm not hating on these articles (I mean I really can't considering i'm sitting here writing one about the same topic) But if you are about to quit reading because you are tired of the same old singleness post I urge you, KEEP READING.

Yes, this is about singleness but this article is also going to be about so much more, so please take the time and let's look into what it means to be pure in your singleness

Now, some of you might want to stop reading because you read the word "pure" and you think i'm going to go through a blog on why you shouldn't have sex or go too far with a guy (while I do agree in not doing that I'm not going to bore you with that right now)

I think there are aspects of purity that we are missing.
Why is it that when you hear "purity in singleness" you automatically assume it's going to be about sex? Our brains are wired to connect purity with our bodies, and while that is so very true, it's not where purity stops.

Personally, my downfall in my singleness has not been sexually. My downfall with staying pure while single has been purity in mind.

**DISCLAIMER
I don't struggle with thinking impure or sexual things, what I mean when I say I struggle with purity of mind I mean that I have let boys control my thoughts.

Some examples would be ---->

"I wonder why he isn't texting me back..."
"wait should I have said that"
"Do you think he's flirting with me or no..."

(i'm sure there is some laughter going on right now because while you are sitting here reading those examples you can put a time, place and boy with all of them)

What I want to address is why these situations are toxic

Purity:
the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc.:

When we let those thoughts run wild we are letting a chain reaction occur in our head. Before you know it we have left no room for the thoughts that bring us joy

How could we even think about joy when we are too busy being unhappy because we saw a boy read our text and didn't text us back.

Our minds are being contaminated and before we know it we will look back and realize we have pushed ourselves away from God.

Why are these thoughts toxic?
Not only do they steal our joy and push us further from the truth of God, they leave room for bad decisions.
When we don't have purity of mind, we let satan take hold of our thoughts, we let him lie to us, we let him make us feel empty and broken.
Those feelings will only lead us further down the path of destruction.

So how do we fight it?
Well first is realizing that there is no form of purity that can happen if you are separated from the Lord because he is the only one that makes us pure.
We have to come to him and pray that he transforms our thoughts, but the only way that he can do that is if we GIVE them to Him.

What I want you to see is that these thoughts are normal, but that isn't an excuse.
It's too easy to play them off as "just things girls think about" or "just being a girl"

I beg you to see that thinking these things is damaging to your heart.

Jesus wants to speak TRUTH into you, His unfailing love, mercy and grace are far better things to meditate on than if a boy is going to text you.

Get into His word, pray to Him, surround yourself with a community that is going to speak life into you and affirm that you are a child of the one true KING, who loves and pursues you daily. Who has turned your heart of stone into a heart of flesh and He doesn't want that heart hurting.

Don't be your own cause of heartache because you are letting your own mind tell you lies.

I hope this blog was helpful, and I pray that if you are single right now or even if you are in a relationship you see that there is so much more to staying pure than just by your body. I pray you see that it starts with your mind.

Speak Life

If you were to talk to me about an hour ago, you would have probably heard an ear full of everything that was going wrong with my day. I'll spare you the details because they are irrelevant but
as my head was spinning of all the reason today just really sucked I quickly became convicted of a simple truth that I think we all so easily fall into...

First, too often I let my circumstances change my outlook on my day
and secondly, I am too quick to share my bad days and too slow to share my good

I think if you are honest with yourself you can admit that you fall into those things, or similar ones.

Here's a test just incase you aren't sure:
When someone asks you how your day was, what is your immediate response?
Mine usually sounds something like this.... "there was traffic after class, my professor let us out late, I failed my quiz, it was so hot outside, I'm so stressed out"

Seriously the list could go on.
We have to think, How do those responses shed any glory on God?

I'm not trying to be harsh, and i'm not saying that you can't talk about your days if they are rough, what I am saying is that if our minds are so entangled in what is going WRONG in our day, we are having a selfish perspective and we aren't leaving God any room to show us the GOOD in our day.

There is a difference in talking about your day, in hopes that those listening can pray over you or give you advice and then just straight up complaining. And that Is what I want us all to see.

When we complain about our day we are being selfish.
Yup, I said it and I'm not going to sugar coat it. We have GOT to remember that this life is not about us, it's about HIM and if this life isn't about us then each day isn't either.

Ask yourself, what are you really complaining about? And more importantly what is it doing?
You may be thinking this is extreme, what's that bad about a little complaining?
But when we complain, we are letting our minds continue down a path of negativity

"Set your minds on things above, not on things that are on earth." Colossians 3:2

When we complain we are literally doing the opposite of this.



What I mean by all of this, and the point I want to make is this,

Jesus was not crucified on the cross for us to bicker about every little thing that goes wrong in this world. Jesus died so that we could live a life of JOY, a life that points other people to HIM, that is literally the only reason you are still on this earth.

What a difference it would be if we spoke of our good instead of our bad, if we didn't let our circumstances run our day, if we clung so tightly to the cross that we could remember every single day on this earth is a gift, and every encounter we have with another person matters.

Don't miss out on a chance to share God's love because you are too consumed in your problems.

I'll leave you with this:
If any person had the right to complain it would have been Paul.
Instead of complaining what did he say?

"Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound." Philippians 4:11

I am not perfect, and that is my heart behind writing this. Because of my imperfections I am going to fail at this, I am asking us all to take action in keeping each other accountable and remember that our actions and words matter.

A call to action

I went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic my sophomore year of high school. I can still remember almost every detail. The people I encountered, the food I ate, the conversations I had, but what I remember more than anything is the feeling I felt about a week after the trip. You could compare it to the drop you feel after your "camp high" is over. It's a feeling that I now realize I had after almost every trip I went on.

While I was there I felt so on fire for the Lord, preaching His word, sharing the gospel with people and then what? I come back home to my same old routine, I fall back into my same old slump and that "GO JESUS" feeling I had seems to fade away. 

If you have been on a mission trip, whether in the states or abroad, you can probably relate to those feelings. 

But why do we get those feelings? 

I can remember telling my parents a week after my trip that I was going back. I didn't know when or how but I was. Looking back now I see exactly why I wanted to go back. It wasn't really for the trip itself, as much as I loved it. I wanted to go back to get out of my funk. I wanted to go back to feel the way I did when I was there. I wanted to feel like I was making a difference in His kingdom. 

This brings me back to my question. Why do we get these feelings of discontentment once we return home? 

The answer is rather simple. We are called to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) that is a command from Jesus. We are to go and tell everyone the good news. 

Maybe someone's thinking, well I did that! So why do I still feel this way?

Here is one of the issues I have found, when we go on these mission trips, we feel so good about the work we are doing, and then we come home and feel "off" as we enter back into our daily routines..

Guess what, IT'S BECAUSE WE ENTER BACK INTO OUR DAILY ROUTINES!


Romans 1:5 (MSG) puts it pretty clearly 
"Through Him we have received BOTH the generous gift of his life and the urgent task of passing it on the others." 

We feel a discomfort because we see the JOY that comes from following Jesus's command of "going and making disciples" and then all of a sudden we stop. Why? Because we are home. 
Going to the nations is an urgent need, please don't get me wrong, BUT please don't forget that this nation, the one you live your daily life in, is also a mission field. 

It was once put to me like this, If you had the cure for cancer, would you keep it to yourself knowing someone next door to you is dying? We have the CURE. 

Don't let your fear, doubt or selfishness keep you from telling people about the cure. 

Jesus didn't call us to be comfortable. He called us to live a life of obedient faith. Sometimes that means we are called into situations that we don't like and I'm sorry but I'm going to be blunt.

GET OVER IT

We have a mission field right in front of us and we are too distracted from our own lives to see that we are MISSING IT! You can do work for His kingdom every single day of your life, and you should be, you just have to step AWAY from your self in order to see it sometimes.

Don't live mission trip to mission trip. We have a call to action that is to be lived out every day of our lives. 

A life of lingering

I want you to examine your life. REALLY look into it.
Think about how you spend your time, what you think about, the decisions you make, ect.

Now, ask yourself, Is Jesus the center or is He an add on? 

My heart behind this post is to share with y'all that I struggle with treating Him as an add on, like i've said before, A lot of times I don't even want to let Jesus in the car much less be the driver. 
Knowing this about myself I really have two options, to be okay with it or change it.

I think a lot of my "treating Jesus as an add on" comes from me treating Him as a feeling. When I "feel" Him, it's easy to acknowledge Him and let Him be the driver but on the flip side, when the feelings don't come I begin to get in a rut. From that rut starts a snowball of effects, like me trying to drive my car on my own, and only thinking of Jesus as someone who's their sometimes.

I can not stress this enough, so please if this is all you get from my post listen up:
JESUS IS NOT A FEELING

He's not some "camp high" God that is going to make you feel butterflies every day of your life.

I'm timid to get honest, but here it goes,

Receiving salvation takes no work on your part. Jesus did ALL the work 2000 years ago on a cross, now it's a free gift for anyone to take it. 
BUT A relationship with Jesus takes work. (notice how I didn't say workS)
Just like an earthly relationship, you'll have your high and your low points, sometimes you'll feel so on fire for God and other days you just can't even open your bible. Why? Because we are human.
I don't like that excuse though.

So, we are human, yes. But don't use that as an excuse to stay distant from God.
We are as close to Him as we choose to be. 

In this life we have choices, He has given us free will, So choose to make Him the center.
It's going to be work, you aren't always going to "feel" like it, but let me encourage you with how I find it easy to seek God, and that's to stay near to Him...


There's a word that has been mentioned at different events that has stuck in my head and I believe it's how we escape from keeping Jesus as an add on, how we get out of our ruts, and how we get fullness of life.


"linger"

I was really curious as to why Jesus was laying this word on my heart so I decided to find out why. 

From Dictionary.com

1. to stay in a place longer than is usual or expected, reluctant to leave
2. To remain alive, although gradually dying
3. to dwell in contemplation, though or enjoyment

Do we linger in His presence?
Lingering for Jesus is the opposite of treating Him as an add-on, it's clinging to him,"reluctant to leave"

I found it interesting that the 2nd definition is "To remain alive" because that's what Jesus does for us, He gives us life.

We are all going to die, if you didn't agree with anything else on this post you have to agree with that. So while you are here on earth let Him give you life, He is the only one that can.
 My challenge for you is to linger in the presence of God,  ENJOY His goodness, find LIFE in Him,
Don't treat Him as an add-on, He doesn't belong there.

Pursued by a KING

Growing up I was one of those typical little girls, my day consisted of dress up, barbies and of course, princesses. I can't tell you how many times I have watched Cinderella. Still to this day it is my all time favorite Disney movie.

I had a desire from a young age to be like Cinderella, to have a prince come into my life and save me (not from an evil step mother) but you get my point. I just felt this longing to be wanted, not just wanted but pursued after.

I mean lets be real, who doesn't want a prince to ride around on his horse for days trying to find you?

Not only did he find Cinderella but he saved her. He took her out of her ugly situation and turned her rags into riches.

When we watch this movie it tugs at our heart, why? Because we were designed to want this. These aren't bad feeling, I actually believe that the Lord placed them within us. Where we go wrong is when we don't realize that WE ARE LIVING THIS LOVE STORY

Not only are we living this love story, we are living it BETTER.

Cinderella was pursued by a prince, WE are pursued by a KING
Cinderella was a slave to her step mother, WE are a slave to SIN
Cinderella was saved by a prince, OUR KING CONQUERED SIN AND OVERCAME DEATH
Cinderella was given a castle, WE inherit a KINGDOM


I plead with every girl out there that is like me, you have grown up hearing about fairy tales, you long for this day, and as each day passes, and no prince comes, you become more discouraged. I plead that you see that you are looking for the wrong fairy tale.

Jesus longs to have an intimate relationship with you, to give you the fairy tale of all fairy tales, but he can't do that if you have a death grip on your desire for a fairy tale that will never come.

Having a desire for a man to pursue you is not wrong, here me again IT'S NOT WRONG, but please, don't fall into the trap that that's what's going to satisfy you. Because the truth is, you will never be satisfied with an earthly relationship until you have one with The Lord.


Now, some of you might be confused when I say the Lord wants to pursue you, and even romance you. I know this is a concept I didn't get until my senior year, I just couldn't really see God in that way. If you are like that I beg you to stop right now and cry out to the Lord, let him change your heart, let Him show you what it means to surrender and fall in love with Him. 

I promise, when you see what it's like to be romanced by A KING, it puts every other fairy tale to shame.

Seeking the whole truth

"Guard your heart" is a term I have heard for as long as I can remember, and since coming to college it's become one of the christian things you hear almost everyday.

When we are told to guard are hearts, it's mostly referring to a guy. 
We take it from Proverbs 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
The more I heard the term, the more I became curious on what exactly it meant. Not only what it means, but how to actually do it.

"Sure, guard my heart, got it."
But what does that look like really?


Personally I think this is a verse that we are belittling. I say that because the only time I have ever really heard this verse used is when it is followed by relationship advice.
We aren't necessarily taking the verse out of context but we are taking it out and applying it to a certain area of our life and calling it a day. That is still a dangerous zone to play in.

Don't get me wrong, we do need to guard our hearts when it comes to the opposite sex but when we leave it to just that we are missing the point.

This verse isn't telling us to guard our hearts from the opposite sex, this verse is telling us to guard are hearts from our own thoughts.

What we spend our time meditating on runs our lives, whether you believe it or not.
 That is what the warning is here.

"for everything you do flows from it." 

What is in your heart?
guilt? pride? lust? the list can go on and on
what we think about, what we allow in our hearts, then flows into how we live our lives.

This is why we are told to guard our hearts, not just from boys, but from real evil that is lurking in the shadows.

For me, I read this and I think okay okay, I see but i'm still left with HOW. Luckily, this isn't where the verse stops.

"Keep your mouth free of perversity;
    keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
    fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
    and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
    keep your foot from evil."

To guard our hearts, we must turn from things of this world. 

When we read the rest of chapter 4 we see Colossians 3:2 played out

"Set your mind on things above and not on earthly things" 

That is how we ultimately guard our heart, we can't let the things of this world sway us right and left, we must stand firm in our faith and trust in our Jesus. Seeking Him fully will only happen when we rid ourselves of this world.

That is why we must guard our hearts, so that we can let Jesus fully use us for His glory. 

I hope you don't think any of this means I don't think guarding your heart when it comes to boys isn't important, because I believe it is. My heart behind this is that we would ultimately see that that's not where the verse stops. We have to stop using bible verses for our own personal pick me ups and remember that Jesus wants us to see the truth, and the whole truth. 

Think of things above so Jesus can flow from you and people can see His grace through you. 

All the single ladies

As I sit down to right this I am finding myself overwhelmed with nerves. This isn't my first blog, writing is something I enjoy, so why am I nervous?

You see, this blog might be one of the most honest blogs I've written. What you are about to read is my heart and my struggle, so please, understand that I am a broken person that yearns for more Jesus but recently I have seen my brokenness more than I like to admit. 

I am someone that hates to admit their wrong. Conviction is something that literally makes me hurt. I'm unsure if it's my desire to always do the right thing, or my stubbornness that takes over during conviction but either way I tend to shove it out of my mind. If you are honest with yourself, you have done this at least once in your life. 

My mechanism for this is that I come up with a huge list of why it's okay. Literally, a list. That's how stubborn I can be, it's like God and I sit down and I try and draw out why I'm right. (please just picture that) 

The fact that I even think to consider that I know better than my King is ridiculous. 

My most recent experience with this is, is when I told myself this lie- 

"I am not one of those girls that tries to complete her life with a guy." 

Actually, that's what I've always told myself. And I wasn't just telling it to myself I was actually believing it. 

Now, that statement is all truth, and you shouldn't EVER let a guy complete your life, because he can't. Where my conviction comes in is that I was lying to myself. 

My words were not matching up with my actions.

I like to put up a "I am a strong independent woman who don't need no man" front, that's just my personality. I have this need for people to see that I am single, and okay with it. So I continued to feed myself these lies, while I pursued other things with my actions. 

Recently, I was in a situation that was not my smartest move. A guy had come into my life and I literally jumped at the chance for it. Not only that but in a way I pursued Him.

My lies then shifted. Instead of telling myself I was fine without a guy, I was telling myself this one was fine for me. I was beginning to make exceptions in what I wanted out of a guy because he was a guy and he was giving me attention. I threw out my list and was ready to settle. 

I mean, He claimed to love Jesus and that's really all that matters right?

WRONG.

Please hear what I am saying, DO NOT SETTLE.

You are worthy of being pursued in the right way, by a man who fears the Lord, not a boy who is just playing with your heart.

Remember their is a difference in a man after God's own heart and a boy that wears a cross necklace. 

Don't be so quick to dive into a relationship because he has "a few of the qualities you want"

So you are 20, single, and have not prospects..guess what... THAT'S OKAY! 

I am writing this blog to admit that this is something I struggle with on a daily basis. 

I can't flip a switch and make myself not and that's something I am having to realize, but what I can do is change my focus.

Instead of telling myself I am fine being single, I tell myself how much my Jesus loves me. When you sit and meditate on how amazing that truly is, everything else fades away. It's not easy, but it is possible. 

After having this conviction and realizing how wrong I have been, Jesus is changing my heart. He is showing me all of the opportunities that await me, opportunities to further His kingdom. 

My prayer for each girl that is in my same boat is to see her true worth, to see that Jesus has BIG plans for each of us. We were made for so much more than we think.

Focus on His true promises, not the ones we make up in our head. 

He is constant

We are promised numerous amounts of times in the bible that God will never leave us, nor forsake us.
But do we really grasp that? 
Never. He will NEVER leave you.

Recently I have come to the harsh reality that too often I make God too much like the people around me. I will say things like "oh I just don't feel God in this right now" or "Is he even here?"

Looking back on those instances I seriously laugh at myself.....really Sara?
Do you not see that you have a loving, constant, faithful God who is pursing you daily? 

God isn't a father that walked out on you.
He's not a husband that has turned his back.
He's not a friend that became a backstabber.

Whatever your situation is, that has left you feeling abandoned, don't let that ruin your view of who God truly is. Your circumstances don't change God.

 It's while you are in the midst of those circumstances that you need to allow God to change your view of them.
Now understand-- I'm not saying that he will change your circumstances because a lot of times He won't. But we have to see that our view of what is happening is half the battle. 

In my personal situation I have come to the realization that it was nothing that I did, nothing I could have prevented. Just because someone walks out of your life, or leaves you beaten down, it doesn't mean that you are unworthy of love, and we have GOT to stop giving God the same characteristics as these people that have hurt us.

He is our healer. 
It is only by Him that we will be able to finally pick up the pieces and walk on.
It is only by Him that we will find forgiveness- realizing that forgiving someone is usually more so for us than for them.

If you believe in the healer, then why are you still holding onto the hurt?

We weren't meant to. 
Lay your burdens down at His feet, whether it's joyfully tossing them or painfully still grasping on as you weep, release them to Him.

My challenge for you, if you are dealing with a hard situation, or if you are feeling abandoned,

Run to Jesus.  Full force, sprint into His arms because He's waiting.

He will never leave nor forsake you.
Cling to that sweet promise and know that He is the only constant you will ever need.

Staying with the light

Lately, The Lord has really been convicting me of something:

My trust in Him is limited. 

That hurts to write, and even more so to really admit, but I feel like I need to get this out on the table because I'm probably not the only one struggling with it.

My whole life I've been told to trust in the Lord,  but it wasn't until recently that I really figured out what true trusts means. It's easy to trust the Lord when you can see whats up ahead, and for me, for the most part I've always been able to see, or at least i've had some sort of idea.

As I look at my future right now I can honestly say I don't know whats up ahead.
But what i'm learning is that's okay!

It's okay to not have a set plan, it's okay to be unsure in what the future holds but whats not okay is loosing trust in The Lord because all of a sudden the tunnel goes dark and you can't see what's in front of your foot.

Look at it like this,

You're in a tunnel of complete darkness, you have no idea whats up ahead, you don't even want to put your foot out because you can't tell where it will lead you. If you try and walk that path alone, you will either stand still out of fear or end up running yourself into a wall. But luckily for us, we have Jesus.

"Your word is the lamb to my feet and a light to my path" Psalm 119:105

We weren't meant to be able to see the full tunnel, we were meant to follow His light, one step at a time.
When we rush ahead, or even stay behind, panic and fear will crawl in, we won't know what to do, but when we stay with the light, the answers will unfold along the way. Trusting that His plan is good, digging into His word and reading of His promises, we will gain wisdom. With that wisdom we will find the true beauty of surrendering everything to Him.



Our purpose in this life is not to have the next 5, 10, 15 years figured out, we aren't promised those years, and when we focus to much on planning them out, we miss the right now. Jesus has new and exciting things to reveal to us everyday, we just have to be present.
We are called to be a disciple for Him RIGHT NOW, not just 5 years down the road when you have your life "figured out", because lets face it, getting the perfect job, getting married, none of those things will leave you satisfied or make you feel as if you've "figured life out" 


So instead of worrying about what the next five years might look like I am walking day by day through the tunnel with the light that will never go dark. I don't need all the answers to trust Him because I have Him, and that's all the answer I will ever need.

Diving into the unknown

Over the break I've been reading a book called "Letters from a skeptic" which is a book of letters where the father and son "debate" Christianity. It's been an interesting journey to read these letters and it's brought me to a conclusion, As Christians we have two choices when faced with questions we don't understand - 

We can run from them,  or we can dive into them, head first.

God loved us enough to send His son who died on a cross and saved us from our sins.
I don't want to label this simple, but in a way that's what we, as Christians, see it as. We don't think much into it, it's the foundation of our faith; black and white.

But the deeper you dive into a relationship with the Creator, the deeper you dive into questions of this world, there are not simple answers, it's not always black and white and I believe that's how God intended it to be. 

Accepting the first simple statement about Gods love for you, you must also accept that there are going to be questions that knock you on our butt. That leave you confused, that leave you uncomfortable. AND THAT'S OKAY! 

I think one of the biggest issues people run into is, they dig until they get uncomfortable. The moment they can no longer tie a little bow around it, they jump back.

I have to admit, a lot of things Letters from a skeptic have brought up makes me extremely uncomfortable. I want to close my book, take my bible and run to psalms and put Jesus back in my nice, neat little box

 "Jesus loves me this I know"

 ...BUT HE DOESN'T BELONG THERE. 


We have to face the facts that no one knows everything about God, and the moment you think you do, He's going to show you how very wrong you are. 

But how cool is it that we are all on different adventures with the creator? He is revealing new things to each of us if we will accept his offer of the journey He wants to take us on.

 We are going to come to questions that make us confused, Jesus is going to come out of the little box we have put him in but instead of fleeing from that and trying to force Him back in it, take it as an adventure, literally jump into unknown and let Him rock your world. 


The deeper you dive into your walk with God you come to see that it's not about a list of rules, it's not a black and white "to do list" but it's something so much better than that. He takes us on a journey WITH Him, that's how much He loves us. He wants to reveal His beauty to us in the sweetest way. So the next time you don't understand, or you come across a hard concept, take it as a compliment, that Jesus wants to walk you through it, and show you His love within it.

Beauty in brokenness

In the midst of finals week I have come to a strange, yet thrilling discovery-

 I enjoy being in situations I can't handle.
okay maybe enjoy isn't the right word.

I have come to appreciate what those situations do with my walk with the Lord. 

DISCLAIMER
First, don't get me wrong, I am not saying I want a whole bunch of trials to flood my way, I'm just acknowledging the beauty of true dependence on the Lord.  
Some people might be able to see that all the time, and to you people I applaud you. Truly, I seek to be like that one day. Unfortunately, I am human and with that comes a lot of junk I'd rather not admit. 

I am a control freak. 
I like knowing everything
I can't handle letting go of situations. 

^That shines a great light on me, right? 

But it's the ugly truth so there it is.
In my everyday life I have a REALLY hard time letting Him take the wheel. Jesus actually becomes more like a backseat passenger, and some days I don't even want to let Him in the car.  

So you can see why situations where I get knocked on my butt are good for me. 
Jesus breaks us but in the most beautiful way.

Jesus does not break you as the world breaks you. He does it with love, compassion and gentleness.

whatever your stand is on "everything happens for a reason" is, i'm not here to argue it, the purpose of this was not to address that, but to address that I believe there are situations that the Lord allows in our life to make you truly depend on Him.


"We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5 

"For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them all as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:8

Maybe some of y'all are like me, and you need situations that are hard in our life to see that gaining Christ is the only thing that matters. 
There have been times in my life where I truly believe He has ripped things away from me so that I could see Him, at the time it left me completely b r o k e n. 
But it was through that brokenness that I found how to fall in love with Him, instead of the world. 

So in the midst of trials there are only two choices really, and you get to decide..
Are you going to let the world break you or Jesus?

 ^"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." I Peter 1:6-7

The result of a finished trial is so much bigger than us.
As a follower of Christ you are His vessel, we must deny ourselves and follow Him through it all. 
In the present moment it is difficult to see what is going on, or why, but the closer you cling to Him, you will see that your desire to know why begins to fade away. 

Trust that His love for you is SO MUCH bigger than any trial, or issue you are facing.

Putting The Lord on the back burner

One of the craziest things to me is that we think we can handle this life on our own.
I am a victim of this and recently The Lord has shown me how much I need him. Not just that, but how much I need to spend time alone with Him.

Growing up in the church I have always been told "have your quiet time" but I never really understood what it meant. I wouldn't know how to just sit with The Lord. Now that I am older I understand what it means, but that doesn't stop the excuses. Instead of not understanding, I say I am too busy. So many things I have to "check off my list", so many things that have deadlines, that can't wait. 

"The Lord can wait right?"
"He's always here so what does it really matter if I spend time with Him right now?"
"I can do it later"
"He understands I have to get this stuff done."

Sound familiar?

Like everything I write, please know I am saying this to myself just as much, if not more. 

But we have GOT to stop putting things in front of the Lord. Even the good things. 
Even the things that we think can't wait.

I promise you that nothing is more important than spending time with God. 

Do you want to know how I know this?

Lets look at the life of Jesus:
Jesus was the most important person to ever walk this earth. He was Gods son, He was sent to save YOU, He came to earth to bring the message that He is the way, the truth and the light and the only way to get to God the Father, is through Him, the son. He who knew NO sin, became sin, FOR YOU. His purpose in this world was to save the world. 

Talk about important. 
Don't you think He was just a little busy too? 
Just saving the world and stuff. 

Guess what....

EVEN JESUS had to spend time alone with His Father. 


And early in the morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there. ( Mark 1:35) 

And immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the multitude away. And after bidding them farewell, he departed to the mountain to pray. ( Mark 6:45-46) 


But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. ( Luke 5:16)
And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. ( Luke 6:12)


And you think you don't have to?


Going to worship services, bible studies, having accountability partners
All of these things are so important, but they aren't where it stops.


To put it in perspective think of it like this-
If you are in a relationship with someone, it's great to spend time in a big group, all hanging out. You go to the movies with friends, out to dinner in a big group. It's all so fun. But there is still a part of you that needs alone time with them. To talk to them and get to know them even more. If you claimed to be in a relationship with them, but never wanted to be alone with them, what would they think?

Do you not think God wants the same thing? 
HE WANTS TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU.

Spending time alone with the Lord is important not only because He desires us to but because we NEED to....
It's how we find rest.
 "Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest"
Matthew 11:28

 Most importantly it's how we stay connected to the holy spirit, and through that, is how we stay on guard to fight the good fight. 

"For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of our Father speaking through you." Matthew 10:20 

This is why it is crucial that we understand, alone time with The Lord is only going to bring us good. You will see that those deadlines can still be met, the homework can still be done and the meetings can still be made. 

We can't let the everyday tasks of this world keep us from drawing closer to our savior

There is a battle at hand that we must be ready for. A battle that can only be fought by the Holy Spirit. A spirit that we have to be connected with, a spirit that we must draw near to so that He can use us. You are His vessel. Let Him pour into you so you can pour out to others.

Go to the well that will never run dry and see what He can do through you when you surrender to all He is.

Only by the blood of Jesus

I use a face wash called "purity" and for some unknown reason I decided to read the little saying about it on the bottle. It says this:

"You don't have to be perfect to be pure. Purity is intention. Be truthful with your words and actions. Keep your promises. Purity is perspective. Keep an open mind, and reserve judgement. Purity is principle. Treat others the way you want to be treated. No one is perfect, but we all can be pure. Purity is being your best self."

I'm not going to lie this literally made me cringe.

I even laughed to myself.

"Really? Who even would believe this" I thought. 

Then a sudden sadness swept across me. 

All of America, that's who. 

Those views that are so plainly written on my face wash, are the exact views seen today as "right". Just as long as you try your best. Like it says, "Purity is being your best self."

In all reality, what it's saying doesn't seem too bad. These principles that it says to have, aren't bad ones. Unfortunately, it's missing the key ingredient to have these things.


A theme it seems to invest in is you.
What YOU can do to fix it, how YOU should be pure by things YOU do.

 Purity is not something that is attainable by human hands. Nothing you do will ever be good enough to make you pure.  

You can live your whole life thinking you are doing good, being as pure as you can be. 
But let me tell you what your end result will be: 

Failure.

It might seem dramatic to you, and for that i'm sorry but here is the truth:

No matter how good you think you live your life, no matter how much you try and "fix" or "clean" your self, you will always fail.  

You are incapable of being pure apart from the Lord.


"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11 

How do we achieve pureness?

It is not something we can do on our own, but something that must COME THROUGH JESUS.


That is why He died on the cross. FOR YOU. So that we may be near God, because God can't be near sin. He had to do this because we weren't pure. 


"With the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake OF YOU." I peter 1:19

On our own we will never be good enough. 


It doesn't take much to see that when you take Jesus out of the picture, "being pure" and "having good intentions" "keeping promises" and ect. becomes impossible. 

But the GOOD NEWS is that Jesus DID come down to earth to be the sacrifice we needed. We can be pure through Him.

I am grateful when I think about how my King saved me. He not only saved me by washing me clean with His blood, but He saved me from the expectations of this fleeting world. And for that, I will sing His praise.