Where is the center of your life? [06/16/13]

Dear friends,

I hope you have all been well! And happy Father's day to all the wonderful fathers out there! I'm a little sad to be separated from my own father on this special day, but thank the Lord for technology! I could talk to him on the phone all day if I wanted! (More like if he wanted... which he doesn't.) But that is okay! I hope you all have an amazing day today filled with very special time with your families :)

Today, I would like to share with you a couple of verses that have been speaking to me in the past couple of days. You see, I'm preparing to go to Haiti in August and as we train together as a team, we are supposed to memorize a whole pile of bible verses, which is an excellent idea, but I have a very unfortunate memory. I've memorized next to nothing and no matter how hard I try, it just won't stick! But they've still been speaking to me. :)

Romans 12:1
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your act of spiritual worship."

Galatians 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

The life I had previously lived had been a Kristen-centered life. What was the purpose of my life? Earn money, buy a car, buy a house, buy clothes, buy food, be popular, be funny, be "loved," be famous, be fit... and the list goes on and on. These are the only things I wanted in life and I worked hard for them. I earned a lot of money in high school and I was able to buy many different objects, but I got bored of every single one of them. I also had many friends in high school, but I was never satisfied. I wanted more. I wanted them to love me the MOST. I wanted to be everybody's best friend.

I was, and still am, very sinful. My heart was so full of sin and pride... But at the time, I didn't realize the extent of it. Even now, I am still realizing every day exactly how sinful I really am, and it makes me all the more thankful for the mercy God poured out onto us. Have you ever thought about it? Have you ever realized how merciful our God truly is?

In Romans, Paul is urging us, but not telling us, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. He is exhorting us to offer our lives to God. I was reading a commentary on this verse and it was explaining how the greek word for spiritual is logikos. But derived from logikos is also the English word logical - which is normally associated with the mind. The definition is a little confusing, but it makes sense when you put it into context. When it says "this is your spiritual act of worship," it makes sense for the word logikos to be inserted there. For it should be logical that since God has shown us mercy, we would offer our bodies as living sacrifices to him! He has freed us from our old masters... So now that we are free, why would we continue to serve our old masters?

Just as Galatians says, we have been given this new life to live where Christ lives in us! We are now in union with Christ - both actively and passively. Further on in Galatians (5:13-6:10), it speaks of both walking in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit. It is not only one or only the other, but it is both. Christ now lives in us, but we now also live by faith in the Son of God!

Amen to that! We have been freed from our old masters and are now able to serve our merciful God with our lives. We are able to walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit! I am truly so grateful that God has allowed my eyes to be opened to his great works. Every single time I heard the truth of how a God sent his one and only son to die on a cross for an undeserving human... I feel nothing but overwhelming thankfulness in my heart and the desire to give everything I am to my creator. How blessed are we, dear friends, to be able to serve such a wonderful God. I don't want to sit around and live for myself anymore!

Brothers and sisters, may we learn to love like our creator! May we learn to die to ourselves every single day and live for God! May we learn to love one another selflessly!

Much love. :)

-kjoosaurus out!

Memory of a goldfish [6/4/13]

Hi everybody! :) 

There has been a question in my mind for a few weeks now... And I really can't figure out the answer to this question! 

Is it summer yet? 

The weather has been up and down and all around and it seems as though I can no longer pinpoint what season it is. How confusing! But you know what's cool? Although our walk with God seems to be hectic at times, and there are periods of time when God feels more absent than others, he is always constant and he is always there. No matter what! 

In the past week and a bit that I haven't posted anything, a lot has happened and God has, as usual, been working and revealing new and old things to me! I no longer label my faith as a roller coaster ride, because thankfully, my faith has become more constant. The only roller coaster ride in my faith is how struggles come and go! But I try to welcome these struggles as I am able to participate in the sufferings of Christ and will be overjoyed when his glory is revealed! (1 Peter 4:13) The past couple of weeks have been a test of welcoming new struggles as they have been marked with different struggles where I was tempted let go of my trust in God and tried to deal with the problem myself. 

I love, love, love it when I am able to see what God has been doing my life. I love it when he reveals his plans to me and shows me what he has been teaching me and how he has been doing it! 

Today, I was spending some much needed time reading the word of God when I was lead to read Exodus 14-17. This specific part of Exodus is where the Israelites cross the Red Sea, and rejoice, then seem to forget what God has done for them when they complain for food and water. In Exodus 14:31 it says, "And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant." 

If I were them, I would be exactly the same! What other man or god could split the Red Sea in half and allow us to pass through with safety!? What else is capable of doing this impossible task? From my knowledge, the answer is nobody. There is no one else capable of such amazing works! None but our God! 

As I continued to read Exodus, I read Exodus 17:7 where it says, "And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested the Lord saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" The meaning of Massah is testing and the meaning of Meribah is quarrelling and in my opinion, is that not slightly embarrassing for the Israelites that their lack of trust in God was so significant that they actually named the place after their doubt? 

From fear to testing - what a distinct contrast between Exodus 14 and Exodus 17! When I read this, I actually started chuckling a little bit. How inconsistent and foolish humans are. We say we fear the Lord one moment, and the next moment we test him? You would think that once you walked through a parted sea, you would always fear God and trust in him and his provision. But nope! We always end up doubting him and sometimes forgetting the amazing things he has done for us! 

As I read Exodus, God was gently telling me that I am no different from the Israelites. I as well have seen God do amazing things in my life, only to forget the next week and go back to my foolish ways of doubt. And I think this is the case for many people! If this is you, then you are not alone! We are often called to trust in God, in his provision and trust that his plan will be unraveled in his time, but we still end up worrying about whatever situation is causing us to struggle and we try to put things in our own control. 

So brothers and sisters, I want to encourage each and every one of you to remind yourselves of who our God is - how powerful, wonderful and caring he is. We should also encourage one another in these times (and all other times)! As I have had several different struggles entering my life recently, I was blessed to have brothers and sisters that continued to remind me to just trust in the Lord - be constant in prayer and thanksgiving to the Lord for what he does in my life. Praise the Lord!

May we trust in the Lord always! :) 

- kjoosaurus out!