Reason #18 - He Asks Us to Die

Perhaps this reason would strike others as odd. For me personally, I think it is going to be one of the most life changing ones God has shown me. This post was taken straight from my journal, so it is a glimpse of me for who I am - just a mess really! :) and yet excited for what God is showing me, and excited to grow.

This past summer held some of the best weeks of my life. Who would have ever guessed it?

I love going places.
I stayed home almost the whole time.

I love being being with people.
I interacted with very few others, besides my dear family.

I love accomplishing goals and getting things done.
Outside of the spiritual realm, I got almost nothing done.

So why was it such an amazing time for me? Simply put, my life was God this summer. My whole family took a month to do nothing but seek God. We aren't some super spiritual saints - we hardly even planned to do it, and certainly not for that long! God dropped the idea in our laps, and all of a sudden, we were in the middle of one of the most spiritually beautiful times of our lives.

During those weeks, I had glimpses of what it meant to abide in Christ. I had glimpses of what it meant to love the Lord with all my heart. I had glimpses of what it meant to actually hear the Lord's voice (not audibly, but in my spirit) and to know that He was speaking to me. And I had glimpses of what it meant to die.

Jesus said:
"If any man will come after me, let him...

...pray for long hours?
...give a lot of money to charities?
...go every week to church?
...even become a missionary?

No! "...let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me." And then His next words are:

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. " (Luke 9:23-24)

I lived 18 years of my life with a will that was strong and alive and well, and I regret that. Just a few months before I turned 19, God finally brought me to a point that I could choose to die. I died to my pride, my stubbornness, my selfishness; and also to my dreams, my desires, my goals.

And I found that dying is the only way to live.

"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." (John 12:24)

This summer, God brought me into a deeper understanding of what that looked like. He impressed on me a very simple fact:

"The only things that matter at all are the things that count for eternity."

In eternity, will it matter if people liked me? If I had friends out the wazoo, and impressed those in my life with my talents? When I stand before the judgement seat of Christ, will it matter if I could sing beautifully? If I was busy? If I had a successful career?

On the day that I step into eternity, the only thing that will matter is if I served the Lord with every atom inside me. Simply put, did I love the Lord with ALL of my heart?

And these are all very nice thoughts, right?

Until I have to put them into practice.

Because if I believed them, then they would shaped every activity I chose to participate in. In every choice I made, the deciding factor would be, "does it count for eternity?" And if not, then what in the world am I doing messing around with it??

That is dying. And that is hard.

But I understood that so clearly this summer. It was my heart. And there was joy in that.

Somewhere along the way, my focus shifted. I remember feeling vague uneasiness over it...realizing that I didn't have quite the same passion and single-hearted focus as before. But hey, life is busy right? And in the flurry of getting ready for a new semester, I forgot.

I forgot that greatness isn't about how many people serve us. It's about how many people we choose to serve. I forgot that success isn't busy-ness, and popularity, and favor with men. Success is favor with God.

I heard from the Lord today. And He told me, "you think life is all about you."

I was in awe. Of course it's true. I had planned my whole semester around the activities that I would enjoy, and would sound impressive to others. I stepped into the new semester for me. The painful, honest truth is that I resurrected my "will" and my "self" once again.

And once again, God asked me to die.

And once again, I died.

"I am crucified (dead) with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me..." (Galatians 2:20)

This whole dying business isn't too popular with Christians nowadays.

We want just enough of Jesus to make us happy, just enough to give us a peace, and just enough to make things go our way to fulfill our dreams and our agenda. Meanwhile, (Christ) wants to take us to the cross, where our own selfish dreams, egos, and plans for "great accomplishments" have to die. The cross brings you to a place of total and absolute surrender of all you have and all you are. You submit everything in obedience to (Christ).

~ Chip Ingram, "Good to Great in God's Eyes

No we Christians don't understand the dying part of Christianity, nor do we care to. But the disciples did. What did they say?

"Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee (Jesus)..." (Matthew 19:27)

Imagine that. Everything. Thrown aside and forgotten. Why? In Paul's words,

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." (Philippians 3:8)

Is Christ enough for us? Do we crave Him so intensely that we would give Him every fiber of our lives, every vibrating pulse of our passions, every heart throb of our dreams?

This is what He asks for. I am convinced that this is what it takes to "win Christ." And He is enough.

I love Him, because He has asked me to die.

Reason #17 - He is a God of Grace

How many times have we sung the beautiful song:

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me..."

And never even once thought about the words we were singing? I am so very thankful today that I serve a God of grace!

A few days ago, I heard a preacher speak on the book of 1 Corinthians. The first verse in this book says:

"Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother."

I had always skimmed right over those type of introductions. Not much there right? Let's get right to the good stuff! :) I wonder how much we miss of God's Word in the "not important extras" that we always skip over?...

We all know who Paul was. Formally named Saul, I know of few other men described in the Bible who were more passionate in their zeal AGAINST Christianity. Paul was responsible for the death of hundreds, maybe thousands of Godly, innocent Christian men and women. Can it get much worse than that?

Yes, we know about Paul. But who was Sosthenes?

This was a man who also passionately persecuted the Christian church. You see, Sosthenes was the ruler of the Jewish synagogue. He hated Christians and wanted them wiped out. One day, he took his case against the Roman courts, only to be thrown out because the Romans didn't want anything to do with religious cases. The angry mob that Sosthenes had stirred up against the Christians, now turned against him and beat him.

Somehow, through all of this chaos, God gripped his heart. Sosthenes became a vibrant, passionate Christian.

Two men...both dead set against the only One Who could save their souls. Two men...filled with hatred and anger. Two men...responsible for the deaths of innocent men and women.

And two men...transformed into two of God's most passionate, faithful servants.

We serve a God Who declares "There is no sin so great, that I cannot forgive. There is no past so dark that I cannot transform. There is no life so broken that I cannot repair. There is no man so sinful that I cannot use."

We serve a God of grace.

I love my Lord, because He is a God of grace.

Reason # 16 - He Gives Meaning to Life

I have often wondered how non Christians can feel fulfilled in life. I am realizing now that they can't. They flat out, hands down, just...can't.

Christ and Christ alone brings purpose and meaning to our lives. I am so thankful today to know that my life is full of rich, vibrant purpose because I have the Only Reason to live dwelling inside of me!!

For a long distance college communications course I am taking this semester, I had to write a 500 word essay on my life goals. I am so glad that I was forced to take the time to do this!! :)

Thank you Jesus for being a Goal worth living for, and a Goal worth dying for.

"My goal is to live a life that is vividly marked with a wholehearted love for my Savior and Lord. That I could say in complete honesty that I have no closer Friend than Jesus. That the best part of each day would be those precious hours in the morning spent in His presence. That I would involuntarily talk with Him all throughout each day. That my eyes would light up at the mention of His Name.

My goal is to live every day of my life in the light of eternity. That I would evaluate each activity in terms of how it will appear when I stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. And thus, that I will reject any activity that would be meaningless at best or shameful at worst when my life has ended and I am called to give an account.

My goal is to live my life in such a way that I would be worthy of all 4 crowns that Christ has promised to reward His children with: the crown of life for those who persevere and remain faithful through trials and persecution; the crown of righteousness for those who love the Lord’s appearing; the crown of glory for those who are good shepherds of God’s people; and the crown of rejoicing for those who are soulwinners. That as the athlete devotes his life to competing in the Olympics and winning the gold medal, so I would devote every fiber of my life to win the rewards that my Father longs to give to His triumphant children one day.

My goal is to bring with me a vast group of precious souls to heaven, who came to know Christ and first heard of His gift of salvation because I took the initiative to share with them. To unashamedly and fearlessly proclaim the love of Christ not only in my actions, but also in my words. That when I see a new face, I would have only one question: “Do you know Jesus?” And that I would choose to ask that question in all boldness and love.

In short, my goal is stop short of nothing less than a radical life wholly devoted to my Lord…nothing held back. Does my goal seem radical? Does is seem unnecessary? Does it seem unattainable?

In the eyes of most, the answers to the above questions would be a resounding yes! And yet, I am reminded: “Some goals are so worthy that it is glorious even to fail.”

I have not even come close to reaching my goals. Sometimes, it seems that dozens of lifetimes could not give me enough time to accomplish all that I hope to accomplish in one lifetime! But I do not strive alone. With the Giver of all strength and power dwelling within me, nothing is impossible.

I have only one chance at this life. My goal is to make it count! "

I love my Lord, because He brings fullness of meaning to otherwise empty lives.

Reason #15 - He is a Very Present Help in Trouble

Several months ago, a dear friend of ours lost her unborn baby girl at 7 months pregnant. So many other hard things were going on in her life...and now this. There are times when God may seem so far away. A life falls to pieces, and we're tempted to wonder if God even cares.

At the time, as I thought about her situation, I was absolutely overwhelmed as I realized God's nearness in the midst of her pain. Life is hard. We have an enemy (Satan) here on earth who comes to steal, kill, and to destroy. But oh what a beautiful contrast - "Christ is come to give life, and to give it more abundantly!" And even in the midst of our pain, He has promised us that He will walk through it with us - right by our side. To be a very present help in times of trouble.

I wrote this poem at the time, and was in tears through most of it, as I marveled over God's nearness and care for His children...


A father and mother stand together
Grieving over their loss,
A child they have never known
Has left them at such a high cost.

Their hearts ache together
As they try to say goodbye
But how to find adequate words
When all they can do is cry?

But there is One Who hears pain unspoken
Who understands silent grief
Who knows the agony of each tear
And Who alone, can bring relief.

Their joy is His
Their care is His
Their love is His
More infinite, more deep, more abounding
Complete, never ending – perfect.
He Who holds galaxies in His hands…also holds each tear.
He carries in His arms the children He has LOVED:
The Good Shepherd – Who has laid down His life so the lambs may live.
And it is in these everlasting arms that He cradles their child,
Gently caressing, rocking her to sleep against His breast.

In a world where roses are few
Where thorns and briars abound,
Where clouds often cover the sun
And where pain sets in all around…

Surely our joy is not here!
Surely our hope elsewhere lies.
Surely she has found what we long for one day
The pure joy that no money buys!

What comfort is hers!
What peace –
What delight!
And we rejoice with her.
Though our hearts here grieve
We offer our grief to our Lord
And commit her to the Savior’s care.
Knowing that a child who has grown up in the presence of Jesus is the happiest child that could ever be.”

What could be harder than losing a baby? And yet, this thought came to me...our Father, too, knows the pain of losing a loved One. He too understands the pain of losing His Child. There is no hurt too great to give to Him. There is no pain so piercing that He cannot soothe it. There is no burden so heavy that He cannot carry it for us.

What a God we serve!


Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

I love my Lord, because He my very present help in all my trouble.

Reason #14 - I am His Bride

"How beautiful, the hands that served the wine and the bread and the sons of the earth
How beautiful, the feet that walked the long dusty roads, and the hill to the cross"

This morning, during my praise and worship time, I listened to the song "How Beautiful" by Twila Paris, one of my all time favorite songs! As I let the meaning of the words sink into my heart, a certain phrase hit me and in a moment changed my perspective forever.

"How beautiful, the radiant bride, who waits for her Groom, with His light in her eyes"

It was as if, in that moment, Christ knelt down on one knee, held out His hand and whispered to me "Behold your Groom."

Instantly, I was reminded of the way that a bride eagerly waits for her groom, adoring him, cherishing in her heart every memory, every special moment. Her eyes light up every time she speaks of him. She spends much time fussing in front of the mirror before she sees him, and tries to the very best of her ability to please him - to be the woman of his dreams. Nothing could be more important to her - all her thoughts are consumed by this man.

What is her motivation?

She loves him.

And he loves her.

And with this reminder came a new realization - I am the bride of Christ! As a bride, do my eyes light up for my Savior, my Groom, my All in All? Is every fiber of my life focused on Him? Do I think of little else? Do my eyes shine when I think or talk about Him?

Do I absolutely adore Him?

Oh, more than anything else, I want to!! I want to be that radiant bride, adoring her Groom, absolutely swept off her feet, head over heels in love.

God reminded me of this beautiful verse:

"...as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." ~ Is 61:5

Ok, so I'll just admit it...I'm a girl. :) No beating around the bush...no denying it or making excuses. I love hearing fairytale love stories - I love dreamy, romantic pictures of couples walking side by side on the beach at sunset - I love going to weddings! And when I do attend a wedding, while everyone is craning their neck to watch the beaming bride walk slowly down the aisle, I love to watch the groom. That look of unspeakable delight - sheer, overpowering desire - and raw, emotional, unveiled love...there's something about that emotion that speaks to a woman's heart.



Do I dare to hope that Christ as my Groom delights in me the same way? And yet, this fact is so clearly stated in the verse above, and in many, many other passages all throughout the Bible.

2 Cor 11:2 - "For I am jealous over your with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."

Ephesians 5:25-32 -"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present if to himself a glorious church, not having sport, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy, without blemish....for no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord, the church...this is a great mystery (regarding the relationship of a man and woman) but I speak concerning Christ and the church."

What a beautiful reminder for us! I love my Lord, because He has chosen me as His bride.

Reason #13 - He Feeds Me

I am thankful today to serve an awesome God! He is good!

Our family is all participating in a time of fasting together right now. (I know that Christ instructed us to fast in secret...but since this blog is pretty much "in secret" itself, I should be fine!! :) ) I believe that it is during these times that we realize the truth of this verse: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by ever word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." My daily prayer is that the Lord would make me hungry for Him...beyond hungry...starving! ravenous! as I wrote about in my last post. As I give up physical food for my body, I am seeing how precious His Word is to my soul.

It is amazing to me how ridiculously important physical food is to my physical body, and how much I miss food when I'm not eating...and yet how there have been so many times in the past when I could easily go without spiritual food for my spiritual body, and never even think to miss it. I think that most of us as Christians (myself included many times) feast ourselves daily on food and drink for our bodies, and breeze right over the absolute necessity of doing the same for our souls.

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." ~ 1 Pet 2:2


"...My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is" ~ Ps 63:1

"As the (deer) panteth for the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God..." ~ Ps 42:1-2

How did David get to the point that he longed with everything in him for the Living God? I don't know. I do know that for myself, the more I pursue God, the more I call upon Him to change my heart and my passions, the more time I spend with Him, the hungrier I get.

"Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Mat 5:6

"...open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." ~ Ps 81:10


I used to wonder why my times in the Word weren't fulfilling to me. Why I wasn't hearing anything through those times, or feeling satisfied afterward. Now I am realizing...for all those years, I just barely opened my mouth a crack!! 20 or 30 minutes of light Bible reading and half-hearted praying isn't going to cut it. That's like grabbing a cracker and a handful of raisins in the morning, and expecting that to last us through the whole day.

Open your mouth wide.

And then He will fill it.

How wide am I willing to open it? How much am I willing to pursue Him, to rest at His feet and listen for His voice? This is how much He will fill me.

I love my Lord because He never leaves a truly hungry soul empty. He feeds me.

Reason #12 - He Allows Us to Hunger

One of the "reasons" that I thought of right away to do a blog post on was that my Lord fills me. He feeds me. He satisfies me. Those are no-brainers, right? :) Often one of the first things that new Christians experience is the incredible satisfaction that Christ brings to their lives...a satisfaction and fulfillment that nowhere near compares to anything they ever experienced before! But I'm saving all those reasons for another day and other posts all their own. :)

My reason #12 is in direct opposition - and yet perfect harmony - to all these I just mentioned!

Have we ever realized that not only does He feed us and satisfy us, but He also allows us to hunger? Does it seem like a paradox that the God Who fills us also would empty us? Listen to this story:

The Isralites are preparing to go into the Promised Land to possess it and claim it as their own. They have been in the land of Egypt, seen the mighty Hand of God work unexplainable miracles. They have experienced His power to save them from Pharaoh's oppressive tyranny and utterly humble his "unconquerable" army. They have wandered for 40 years in a barren wilderness, gone through pain, sickness, sorrow, want, darkness, and death. And they have come out victors.

But through their own strength? Through their own wisdom?

Moses pleads with the Isralites "Don't forget!! Don't forget what God has done for you. Don't forget your incredible heritage, and your incredible history. Don't forget God's awesome works and eternal mercy. Don't forget!!

And one of the things he asks them to remember is this: "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger..." (Deuteronomy 8:3)

Why?

The answer is found later in the verse: (I'm skipping over some of the verse because that will be my next "reason"! :) )
"...that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live."

And what a precious lesson this is to learn! What is life, if we are not being fed daily with the Word of God? Will we not spiritually die if we fail to nourish our souls on His Word?

He allows us to hunger.

I read about a pastor who knew of many Christian women who were married to non-Christian husbands. He decided to begin praying this verse over each of the men.

"Lord, make them hungry. Give them a ravenous hunger for You."

And every one of those men came to know the Lord as their Savior.

I am thankful for a God Who provides for the needs of His people. Whether it is to feed them...or to make them hungry.

I love my Lord, because He allows us to hunger.