on repeat.. give it a listen if you haven't... or if you have
Well.. I think it's safe to say that it's been too long. Here's the deal.. Jesus has been showing me some things this semester and I'm gonna share these with you. This semester has been a hard one. I haven't exactly been the best friend to my Jesus. I wasn't making time to talk or commune with Him, and my friends.. this is a necessity. If ever you realize it more, it's when you go without for some time. The more I withdrew myself from communion with my Jesus, the further I felt from Him and it was all my own doing. He never left me. He never packed His bags and headed south for the winter. He's been here the whole time. I only realized this after some time passed, mistakes were made, and tears shed. But my Jesus opened those arms of His and whispered that He loved me and hadn't went anywhere. I realized that I was being the stubborn one. I wasn't allowing myself to recognize this grace that I had already experienced so many times in my life. I knew what I needed to do: make time for Him. That was the very first thing that my Jesus showed me. ^^You make time for the ones you love.. because well, you love them and why would you want to give them any reason to think otherwise. And also because.. well, you love them and therefore you love spending time with them.. they are life giving and bring joy. So, this is where it was my turn to be intentional about making the time. I decided that I was going to start reading through the Old Testament, beginning to end. Genesis was the start of this journey.. I found that one part in particular stuck out to me.. 'Noah found favor in the eyes of God not because he was without sin, but because he walked with God, faithfully. genesis 6:8-9 So first, the pure fact that Noah was found favorable in the eyes of his God, well that's just beautiful. And secondly.. this being not because he had never or would never again in the future be found without sin, because unfortunately this is a reality that we are a broken creature and therefore have broken tendencies. But by the grace of a God, by the steady grace of a big God.. he was found favorable.. and I too am found favorable in the eyes of my God, and you my friend, are found favorable in the eyes of our God... if we are walking in step with Him. If we are in constant communion, we find favor in the eyes of the very God that created us and delights in us, His creation. Now, I must be clear with one thing.. this is not saying that we have a clear card to sin, because that's not the case. We need to take the sin that is corrupting our lives seriously and surrender that to Jesus. This isn't always as easy as it sounds either. In fact I know it's not as easy as it sounds. It's actually sometimes a really hard process. I know the worst place to be is caught up in sin that you're not willing to give up. But friends, accept that it is a process. And humbly ask your Jesus for help if you can't do it on your own. Because when you do.. it's so worth it. And it does get easier. So my friends, stop running. Don't let the sin in your life hold you back from running towards your Jesus. Even if you feel that right now you can't run, but maybe all you can do it crawl His way.. the reality? He's going to meet you exactly where you are, He's going to pick you up, and tell you that He loves you. Let steady grace reign in your life. It may be a process, but start it. Start the process. Let your Jesus come to you and heal your heart. (*Also, I'm fairly confident that someone needed to hear this, because there were several set backs in my trying to post this. The enemy is at work.. but we serve a God that is far bigger than any of his schemes.)
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This life is not my own and so I choose to take the hand of the One who knows what lies ahead. Along the way we sing, we dance, we are learning portuguese and living in Brazil, and always gazing on beauty.^^^^
bind my wandering heart to Thee Archives
March 2016
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