Changes

♪Everything it changed overnight. This dying world You brought it back to life and, deep inside, I felt things shifting, everything was melting away. And You gave us the most beautiful of days♫ -Relient K "In Like A Lion (Always Winter)"

Changes. They are inevitable. Eventually, almost everything changes. Schools change, people change, preferences change, life changes. However, there is always an exception to the rule. Hebrews 13:8 has the exception to this certain rule. It reads "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His love never changes, His standards never change, He never changes. Thank goodness! Can you imagine serving a wishy-washy God?? One of the best things about God is that He is a solid rock, firm in all He does. Psalm 18:2 says, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock in whom I take refuge."

Now this blog entry was not originally to write about how God never changes, but rather what He changed.  Around 2000 years ago, He changed everything. He sent us the greatest Christmas gift we could ever ask for, a savior. Jesus Christ came as a man to save mankind. We have made a horrible world out of the perfection that God initially gave us, and everyday we choose to sin, we choose to disobey God, we choose to separate ourselves from Him. We need Him to save us from ourselves. Just like the lyrics above read, "This dying world You brought it back to life and deep inside I felt things shifting, everything was melting away." There is good news! Just like the angel said to the shepherds so many nights ago "I bring you glad tidings of great joy!!!" We too have glad tidings of great joy from God. He can make all things new. He restores each season, and breathes life into all living things, so what makes you think that He cannot change your heart? Anyone who has had an experience with God can relate to the feeling of things shifting, feeling renewed and transformed, and feeling their old self melting away. Ephesians 2:5 says, "Even though we were dead in our sins, together with Christ we are made alive-it is by grace that we have been saved." 

The last part of these lyrics is my favorite part. He bring us the most beautiful of days. We have future hope because of the choice that God made to send His son for us. It is in Christ that we find eternal joy, eternal beauty, and eternal life. He is the wind at our backs and the sun on our face, promising that the best days are ahead if we walk with Him by our side. I challenge you to stay focused on how God changes things in your life, and to testify how He works in your life. 

*I apologize if this blog seems a bit scatterbrained...its late, but I felt like writing. Merry Christmas!! 

Intellectual Christianity

"That this ignores most of the rest of Scripture, and also makes a fine distorted case for tearing all the wisdom books out of the Bible, eludes far too many people. In the end, Christianity never calls anyone to turn off his mind. To insist it does, only results in the kind of brain-dead emotionalism that leads to error. Hoisting godly wisdom by its own petard makes the Church look vacant in the cranium." -Dan Edelen

Intellectual Christianity...is it an oxymoron? No.

Not much makes me feel more embarrassed than when a Christian sounds ignorant trying to defend the faith and can only repeat what they have been told.  In this, there is no satiation, there are no personal feelings. It is a recorded message played over and over again, and when innocent theological questions arise, the Christian defenses automatically go up and they can get snappy.  To accurately handle the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15), you must study it. You must know it, and you must be able to defend it without sounding foolish. 

I once heard a pastor say that it is okay to be narrow and closed-minded, although I have a lot of respect for this man, I must humbly decline this idea. The Bible says, "narrow is the way that leads to life, and only few will find it" (Matt. 7:14).  Matthew is trying to explain that the road is narrow, not the mind. Unless you are able to see all the roads from an open-minded point of view, you have nothing to compare it to to know that the narrow way is in fact, narrow.  I am not saying that you should test out every road, but what I am saying is that you need to know your surroundings in order to be able to defend why you choose the narrow path.  To do this, you cannot be narrow-minded.  You must act and think intellectually.  Narrow-mindedness says "I chose this path because it's the right path, because it's the one I was told to take, it's the one that leads to life."  You must have your reasoning for it though. Intellectual Christianity and open-mindedness says, "I considered my options, I looked at what each road had to offer, this one does not look easy, but I choose the narrow path because I choose Jesus."

Okay so here's a 180 on the topic of intellectual Christianity, don't get dizzy...different subject, same topic.

God is the only one that can really change people's hearts, but He uses us as a vessel. To do this, you must get on their level. I find this to be ever so true when I work at Camp Longridge.  While talking to a third grader, you cannot condemn them to hell, you can't expect them to comprehend the Trinity, you have to speak in terms of things that they understand. What can they understand? They can understand right and wrong; they can understand love; they can understand hope and peace. Now the same is true with an atheist college professor. When you speak Christianity strictly in the terms of right, wrong, love, hope, and peace, they hear "love, peace, flowers, and rainbows" (...not meant to sound blasphemous, that's just what a lot of them are thinking). You have to take it up a notch. You have to know your Bible, you have to be able to defend the faith. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed. Accurately telling the Word of Truth."  They are more likely to hear you out if you are on their level, if they feel like they are having an educated conversation and just not hearing a repetitive tape.  For example, if it comes to evolution, there are scientific explanations out there for almost everything that jives with the Bible in some way or another.  Know these things. They may not be in the Bible, but what good is only using Bible verses to someone who doesn't believe it?  You have to be on their level and speak in their terminology.  Know what other people believe and know why they believe it.  To understand their point of view is to understand their misconceptions; to understand their misconceptions is to better understand how to minister to them.  Don't let other religions or people who have different ideas scare you off, rather view them as a chance to change their world and possibly the world.  There are some mysteries of God that we will never understand or be able to explain (see 1 Cor. 2:6-8, 10-15), but for heaven's sake do not let that be your cop out on everything.  He leaves so many questions unanswered, but He gives us so much about His love, character, and plan.  Know what He gives us, and search for more. You never know what He might reveal to you. 

I challenge you to be open-minded when choosing the narrow path.  I am guilty of doing all these things and being closed/narrow-minded at one time or another, but it is something I am working on. I challenge you to do the same.  Know what you are talking about and then find the faith to stand up for it. 

Restless

♪I'll be waiting, anticipating; All that I aim for, what I was made for, with every heartbeat all of my blood bleeds running inside me, looking for You♫

Picture this, you're in an empty space, you can see nothing except vast desolation. No color, no vibrancy, no evidence of life, no meaning to anything. You begin walking, you wander and wander, never finding anything or anyone, getting tired and thirsty as you go. You search and search, but find nothing. Then in the distance you see a figure. He is standing there as you approach him. You get closer and closer only to find that he is holding out his arms, a glass of water in one hand. You rejoice as you run to the man, hugging him, taking the water, and thanking him just for being there so that what little bit of hope you had left was not lost. This is my picture of the song above. 

I think that, whether we know it or not, we are all restlessly wandering and searching for God. We all long for meaning and for love.  In fact, one of the first people on the earth, Cain, was a restless wanderer. In Genesis 4:14a, Cain has killed Abel and has been banished to be without God for the rest of his life. It reads, "Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth." I can only imagine the regret, pain, and solitude that Cain must have felt at this moment in his life. To be banished from the very presence of God. And despite this, he probably spent his entire life trying to find favor with God again. He was never able to find the peace that comes with serving, loving, and obeying the Lord.


So the next thing that I considered as I thought about being restless was the question, is it bad to be restless? Is it bad to be longing and searching for God? Is it bad if you can't find peace without Him? Is it bad to be thirsty for Him? Although others may care to differ, I think the answer is no. If you realize that you are in need of God, that is wonderful. Admitting that you are a sinner and that you need Him as your Savior is the first step and is what I was trying to paint in the first paragraph.  If you are searching deep enough inside yourself, you find a void and needs that only God can fill, and when you give it all up to find Him, You find the peace and assurance that you were looking for. 


After we have become Christians, I think restlessness is a substantial part of our Christian walk. We should never be satisfied with what we have and what we know about Jesus Christ. We should always be searching and thirsting for more. We should yearn to understand and know God more even though we ultimately know that we are only scratching the surface. However, in opposition to that, we should also be satisfied and enjoy the peace that comes with knowing God. It may sound confusing if you do not know what I am talking about, but I promise you that it makes perfect sense to those who have had both of these feelings. 


I challenge you to be restless in your search for God and getting to know Him. Thirst for Him, hunger for His word, and satisfy yourself (...maybe even indulge yourself) in it all. 

Reality Check

"The empty-headed treat life foolishly, the perceptive and sensible grasp its meaning and stay on a straight path." -Proverbs 15:21

Reality-"Something that exists independently of ideas concerning it"-urbandictionary.com

Reality check-"Something that clarifies or serves as a reminder of reality often by correcting a misconception"-Merriam Webster Dictionary

Okay, so this blog is a bit of a ranting blog, but promise me that you will read it nonetheless.

Not much makes me roll my eyes and face-palm myself more than those people who are not in touch with reality. I'm not talking about people who have legit mental problems or children who do not understand the concept of reality versus imagination; I am talking about people who are purposefully living beyond the realms of reality and, despite what people tell them or try to hint at, they live in their own little world. Reality is a necessity to be a productive person. To be in touch with the world, to be a sociable person, to have people take you seriously, you must live in reality.  "Reality" meaning that you take things how they are despite your feelings or ideas about it. 

So what may make you lose touch with reality? Well let me make a (short and noninclusive) list for you...

1. Unrealistic relationships or expectations for relationships

2. Thinking that you are God's gift to the world

3. Insulting yourself for attention

4. Obsessive fantasizing about how things could be but never taking action

5. Dwelling on almost anything for too long

6. Acting childish despite that fact that you are no longer a child.

7. Comparing yourself to other people

8. Convincing yourself that you could never be wrong

9. Excessive self-centeredness

10. You think you are entitled to things just because you are you

Here's the tough part, most people will not tell people to their face. People will try to hint at it in the hopes that they may pick up it on their own. They will try to spare feelings and friendships by letting them come to the conclusion by themselves, but they live in their own little world and are too oblivious to reality and the people that seriously want them to get a grasp on it. Some people will tell you straight up, and promise me that if someone ever tells you that you just don't grasp reality that you will do a reality check on yourself because there is a good chance that they are right. 

I cannot even completely put into words my frustration, feelings, and thoughts about people who live in their own worlds, and as you read this, I would be willing to bet that at least one person was on your mind. I challenge you to give yourself a reality check and make sure you are not this person. You are probably not, but a reality check never hurts. It is not all about you and the rest of the world would appreciate it if you would not waste any more time having everyone rolling their eyes at your foolishness. Do whatever is needed and get into reality. If you don't know what you need to do, just ask around. Someone will be happy to point it out to you.

Morning Light

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!" -Lamentations 3:22-23

How have I never stumbled upon these verses before?!?!?! Between a mix of someone posting this verse online and working That Girl Thing at Camp Longridge this weekend, I have come across this verse more than once recently, and man is it a soul churner of a verse. "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed." Jesus loves us enough to save us from everything that can hold us back from being a powerful and worshipful member of both His earthly and heavenly kingdoms. We can avoid being consumed by the devil, ourselves, and  death because He takes care of it all for us! The best part of this love is that it never ever ever ever ever fails. Like the old hymn says "Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not. Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me!"

Now my favorite part of this verse. "[His compassions] are new every morning." There have been times where I have found myself in huge weak spots in my life. Literally, I have laid in bed at night and cried myself to sleep over things. But praise God that although there may be pain in the darkness of night, that joy is renewed every morning. That He can bring us out of the darkest times of our lives and, if we are willing to bring our weaknesses into the light, He will shower us with the unfailing compassion that only He can give. Great is His faithfulness!!

I challenge you to own up to your weaknesses and your shortcomings. The best way to get rid of them is to let Jesus take them for you. Bring them into the light, and He will bring you into the light. <3

Give Thanks

"Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God." -Job 37:14

10 things/people I am thankful for
1. My parents/family-I could not have asked for better parents and I am very blessed with the way they raised me.
2. Brittany Serago and Lisa Thornsberry- The best friends a girl could ask for.
3. Jason Hadden-one of the more recent blessings in my life. He shows me God's love in ways that no one else ever has.
4. Town Creek Baptist Church-I consider my church family to be my strongest backbone.
5. Camp Longridge
6. Winthrop University-love hate relationship
7. The Kings, Ridgeways, Haddens, and Hissners (...and Abby)...love you guys
8. Erin Shealy, Katrina Waters, Brittany Serago-roomies <3
9. America and all those who have helped to protect it.
10. Jesus dying on the cross for me...saved the best for last.

Satisfied

♪The brightness of Your glory has arrived. In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied♫ -Phil Wickman "Divine Romance"

Complete satisfaction. Hard to attain? You bet it is. I have found satisfaction in many things in my life, such as friends, relationships, academic achievements, athletic achievements, diet coke...haha. However,  complete satisfaction  can only be found in the midst of our Savior Jesus Christ.  


The best way for me to explain the feeling of this is to use lyrics from yet another song...this time by Kari Jobe. The lyrics to her song "The More I Seek You" read, "I want to sit at Your feet, drink from the cup in Your hand, lay back against You and breathe, feel Your heartbeat. This love is so deep, it's more than I can stand, I melt in Your peace, its overwhelming." This feeling of peace, tranquility, and satisfaction found in the midst of a loving savior is incomparable. For me, the idea of melting in peace is amazing, almost to the point that it sends a chill up my spine. If you are looking for something materialistic to fill a void in your life, good luck finding it, but you won't. He is our safe house when the trials of life are pounding down all around us and beating us to our knees. 


If you are longing for satisfaction in your life and have never experienced this complete satisfaction that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I challenge you to give it a chance...to give Him  a chance. He will not disappoint. 


*If you need some temporary satisfaction, listen to Kari Jobe's song "The More I Seek You." :)