Day 34:: Not Peace, But A Sword

"Whoever find his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39

• He brought peace: Shortly after I was saved and baptized, my parents passed away. I'm not sure of any other way I can describe the amount of peace on my life at that critical time. I don't recall any time really that He brought conflict to my life until the past few years. It wasn't conflict because I chose to follow Him, but it was conflict because I wanted Him more than I wanted partying, drinking, etc. :)
• I just read 'Boundaries'; This is a prime example of what that book was about. You have to make Christ your number one. Not your mom, dad, friends....it HAS to be Christ. Make that number one...Everything else will fall into place.
• Jesus says 'hate' but I don't think it means to actually hate your dad. :) 
• Any tension in my family? No. I have a family who believes in Christ. While not all of them are saved, they don't really look at me and tell me what I believe is wrong or anything like that.

Matthew 10:34
Luke 18:27
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
Matthew 10:37-38
Luke 14:26

Day 21:: True Worship

It's a lifestyle, not just a group of songs. --Nassar
Worship is turning your mind's attention and your heart's affection to God. It is declaring, by word and deed, God's great goodness, power, and mercy. --Nassar

1. Let the song be a spotlight on your heart.
2. Let the song be the cry of your heart.
3. Let the song be a benchmark of integrity.
4. Let the song be translated into action.

• Walking worship is doing things all day, all week, all month, all year to bring glory to God and not to yourself. 
• "Worship in spirit and in truth": I think that means for your worship to not be fake. I raise my hands up in "worship" because I see everyone else do it. That isn't worship. In order to worship God in the right spirit, we must take time before worship to make ready our hearts and emotions so we will be in the proper frame of mind. God in the New Testament has given to us all things we need to know that pertain to life and godliness so we can worship Him acceptably, in spirit and in truth.  God has always made it plain and emphatic that the only worship that is acceptable to Him is only that which is in accordance with His will.

Music really is the number one way I worship. Driving down the road, that one song comes on that I really need to hear to solidify what God has been speaking to me about. That's when I'm absolutely blown away. When I'm singing those songs at the top of my lungs and feel the Holy Spirit settle all over my body... That's why I worship. That's why I sing. I love for the truth to be slapped in my face. 

Romans 12:1
John 4:23

I WANT TO BE A WALKING WORSHIPER.

Day 20:: Grow Up

The issue is not IF you study the Bible, but what advanced Bible study methods are most effective for you. -Nassar

Peter tells us why we fail to grow spiritually: 2 Peter 1:8-9
Thankfulness for our forgiveness and glad obedience are the signs of someone growing in their faith.

Maybe instead of taking advantage of God's grace, I could take the adventure of holiness and obedience. Maybe I could value Him above convenience and a moment of pleasure. Maybe I could rearrange my life to be sure that everything I do, every moment of my life, is glorifying to the One who bought me. --Nassar

• New Christians pretty much 'tempt' themselves in their new life. They try and get as close to sin as possible. Is it ok if I go to the bar? Can I still have sex with my boyfriend if I'm a Christian? It's almost as though they won't give up one life to reap the full benefits of the saved life. I know that's how I was. 
• It says in the book: If you've been a believer for a while, the issues you should be dealing with are things like: how to teach Scriptures more effectively, how to serve better, how to become more intimate with Jesus. I agree to an extent. Maturity, when it comes to growing as a Christian, isn't how long you've been saved...its how much you've grown with Christ.
• 2 Peter 1:5-11--- This passage does show progression. You go from FAITH to LOVE. It shows how if you have faith, then put VIRTUE with it, and so on. Without faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love, then you have nothing and you have no idea of what Christ is really all about. VS 8: If you have all these qualities, you will be effective and will grow in Christ. VS 9: If you don't have these qualities, then you are absolutely blind and can't see the big picture and you are clueless about what being a Christian is all about.
• Am I growing or am I stuck? You know, right now, I'm not sure. I don't feel like I am growing really...but I'm the only one who can change that.
• The more we thank God and truly praise Him, the more we are allowed to grow. He is to be held higher than anything else and as soon as He gets placed there by me, the sooner I will grow in Him.

Day 19:: "God-And"

We can't always have God AND (success, peace, wealth, rest) earthly blessings.

1. What do we pray about?
2. How do we respond when someone has more than we do?
3. Do we get angry when God doesn't give us what we want?
4. Do we feel sorry for ourselves when God doesn't come through the way we wanted?

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life" John 5:39-40

• How do I use God to get what I want? I'm not sure that I do honestly. Sometimes I try and bargain. Or maybe just do things halfway. 
• Self-focused Prayer: I have an unusual stance on this one. I don't hardly ever pray for myself. I was asked once, "What can I pray for you for?". I didn't know what to say. I'm pretty much content. So I said nothing. I know that I need prayer. We all do. But I am not bad off. I have an amazing life and God has for real blessed me in every single way. I don't get angry when God doesn't answer me. And I don't feel sorry for myself. I don't even think I really compare myself to other people. I don't necessarily like it when the people who treat people badly get the upper positions or the nice houses and stuff like that...but my stance is that they can step on whoever they can for only so long before God strikes them. :)

This one didn't really slap me in the face like the rest of them has. To me, its not "God-And"... Its only God. 

Day 18:: The Cross: Are You Beyond It?

I believe we never "get beyond" the cross. We only go deeper into our grasp of what it means in every relationship, every desire, every goal, and every decision. --Nassar

If you sin, sin boldly. Every time you sin, you are saying that sin is worth more to you than the cross of Jesus Christ. --Charles Spurgeon {{If we sin boldly, we will be slapped in the face with the absurdity of what we are choosing in light of what Christ did on the cross. Some of us need to be slapped in the face. --Nassar}} **He paid a price (Whip tore chunks of skin and left his flesh exposed and bleeding; Nails ripped through real muscle and tendons and bone.) and for that, we owe him everything!**

"But," some people complain, "Christians are so arrogant. They say Jesus is the only way." No, it's not arrogant for god to humble himself to become a man and die a horrible death to pay for the sins of everyone who ever lived and then to say, "My forgiveness is yours if you want it." If there was another way, then God was cruel to have his Son die. If that's true, then he died for nothing. Muslims say Jesus was a prophet and a man of truth, but Jesus said "I am THE way," not just "a way" (John 14:6). --Nassar

• Luke 7:36-50. The woman was a sinful woman. She spent her time at the house pouring out her own tears onto the feet of Jesus and wiping them with her hair. She kissed his feet. Worshiped at his feet. She knew she was a sinner. She did this as a token of faith and was redeemed for it. Simon was judgmental of the woman. He didn't understand how her sins could be forgiven but not his own. The one who has more to repent of seems more appreciative of Jesus' forgiveness.. 
• In this parable, I'm more like Simon mostly, in the way that I don't feel like the sin I commit isn't 'as bad' as some others. I know that isn't right.
• It's not "What Would Jesus Do?"...It's what He did on that cross. If I can put that cross in the center of my life, everything else will fall into place right along with it. 
• Gore of the Cross...Healthy to dwell on it or not? I think this one can go either way. If I think about it too much, I feel completely unworthy of all it is. Why in the world would He suffer like that for ME?? But I do think that it should be thought about often...just to keep us in check as to what He did go through for us.
• Should a Christian wear crosses? As long as you know what it stands for, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Crosses aren't a profession of faith; it's a symbol of what Christ did for us. 

• Luke 3      John the Baptist Prepares the Way

1In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. 3He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.4As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: 
"A voice of one calling in the desert, 
'Prepare the way for the Lord, 
make straight paths for him. 
5Every valley shall be filled in, 
every mountain and hill made low. 
The crooked roads shall become straight, 
the rough ways smooth. 
6And all mankind will see God's salvation.' "[a]

7John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.9The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

10"What should we do then?" the crowd asked.

11John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

12Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?"

13"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told

them. 14Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" 
He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay."

15The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.[b] 16John answered them all, "I baptize you with[c] water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

19But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done, 20Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

Day 17:: The Crucible of Choice

Not my will, but Your will be done.

I'm just saying, "Let's be gut-level honest here. If it doesn't cost you anything, it's not worth anything." Need more clarity? Do whatever you want. But if it pleases you, all the while contradicting the word of God, you are pleasing your own god--but you are your own god.

• Thoughts of Jesus in the garden? Scared. Tired. Desperate. 
• Collision of Wills:  What I want for my life vs. what God wants in my life.
• Big collision of wills: I was called to be a missionary right after I was saved when I was 13. It's not that I didn't want to do that. I would love to be more involved in all sorts of mission trips. I just picked different things and walked different paths that led me in the opposite directions. 
• I was so completely convicted after I realized what I had done. There's only one thing left to do. I should probably find every way possible to get back to where I could be had I not ventured away from the will of God.
• I make excuses. I make them often. "its not in my nature." "i can't just go and talk to them." "I don't do things like that by myself." "I don't want people to think I'm a goody goody." 

• Matthew 26:36-46 (New International Version)

  
  

  Gethsemane

   ³⁶Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." ³⁷He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ³⁸Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." ³⁹Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
   ⁴⁰Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter. ⁴¹"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
   ⁴²He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
   ⁴³When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
   ⁴⁵Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour is near, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Rise, let us go! Here comes my betrayer!"

Matthew 26:39, 42
2Samuel 24:24
Psalm 63

Day 16:: God's Curriculum

God's Curriculum includes:

1. Enough joy to encourage us.
2. Enough love to strengthen us.
3. Enough success to build our confidence.
4. Enough suffering to force us to depend on Him.
5. Enough confusion to make us seek His Face.

He Does Puts Us Through "School" to Build Our Faith!

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God's method of Instruction:

1. Impart truth.
2. Affirmation; like an answered prayer.
3. Test...to see if we really believe Him.

 There are 2 kinds of Darkness:

1. to young Christians, darkness is through their sins. The solution is confession, repentance, and obedience.
2. to mature Christians, the darkness is very different. If you are in that darkness and you try to 'light your own flame' and produce your own emotion, you will "lie down in torment" (Isaiah 50:10-11)

"Many times the tests God gives us are not only for us. God uses them to get the attention of those around us too."
"Each of us faced a test to see if we would trust Him, to see if we would cry out to Him when no one else could come through for us."

• God gave me:
• Enough joy to encourage me: Joy isn't the same thing as happiness. I get absolutely giddy with joy when I think about what's waiting for me, of all people, on the other side of this life. :)
• Enough love to strengthen me: I'll tell you one thing. If Jesus loved me enough to die the death he suffered on that cross, I know that through Him I have the strength to do anything. :)
• Enough success to build my confidence: When I feel like there's nothing else I can learn, or no way I can advance...He throws a little 'success' my way and lets me know that I'm capable of so much more than I give myself credit for. 
• Enough suffering to force me to depend on him: I suffered so much when my parents passed away. I didn't know, until recently, how much of me that took and how big of a deal that was. Without Christ, there is no doubt in my mind that I would not be who I am today.
• Enough confusion to make me seek his face: Lately, I've been so confused with death. I don't know what happens when you die. I don't know how things happen. No better time than to really investigate. :)
• "Dark Night of the Soul" :: Sometimes, even recently, I have felt like there's nothing I can do to make certain things be heard by Christ. I suppose He has a plan for me and those things don't have a place in my life. Its really hard when it seems like I can't overcome a sin, especially when I don't even know its a sin. 
• As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than our ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)  This is very encouraging to me. And very incomprehensible at the same time. All I can understand is what I know. It's amazing that Christ knows so much more about the direction I'm heading.
• Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (Romans 5:3-5)  He leads us the right way through obstacles that we see as being 'in our way' of coming through that test, when, in reality, the journey is the test.