To Know You More [11/26/13]

Heavenly Father, 

I want to know you more. I want to discover more of you - more of your character - that I may truly mean it when I say "I love you, Lord." I desire to fall deeply in love with you. I desire for you to be on my mind all day long, I wish to seek you in every waking moment and dream of you as I sleep. Reveal to me your character; help me get to know you! Father, show me who you are through scripture, through testimonies, through nature, through all of your creations. Show me, so that I can fall more and more in love with you with every passing day. 

In Your name, 

Amen. 

For the past couple of months, this has been my prayer. I want to know him more and more because as I do, I believe I will fall deeper in love with him and he will continue to surpass the limited human expectations I have placed on him. As I have been praying this prayer, he has truly been revealing himself to me. He has revealed many of his characteristics that I had previously heard of, but had not really known or understood.

Most recently, God revealed more of himself to me through the book of Deuteronomy. Specifically, through chapters 28 and 30 when Moses knows he is soon to be taken by the Lord and he speaks to the Israelites the commandments, blessings and curses. I encourage you to read them now :)

In chapter 28, what God showed me was his wrath against sin. Moses is speaking of what happens when the commands are obeyed and when they are disobeyed. First, the blessings are spoken of in the first 14 verses. But then, the curses are described from verse 15 to verse 68. The heavy emphasis of what happens to those who disobey the Lord stirred up a new fear in me as I sat in my bed reading. The wrath of God follows sin/the sinner everywhere it goes. Wherever you go, whatever you do, whatever you desire. Anything you take pleasure in or find joy in, will be taken away. As I read line after line, there was only one thought in my head: God hates sin. This passage is when the fear of the Lord began to make much more sense to me. But we'll get back to that later.

Now. Jumping to Deuteronomy 30, I found hope, and another characteristic of the Lord! Two chapters ago, Moses had been describing the blessings that will be given to those who obey, and the curses that fall open those who don't. But in chapter 30, he begins to describe what happens to those who return to the Lord!

Deuteronomy 30:1-4

And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse,

which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among

all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 

and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey

his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart 

and all your soul,

then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you,

and he will gather you again from all the peoples where

the Lord your God has scattered you.

If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven,

from there the Lord your God will gather you, and 

from there he will take you. 

Our God is a compassionate, forgiving and gracious God! For even those who have gone to the lowest of lows, who have strayed the furthest and who have hid the longest have still not gone low enough, far enough, or long enough to be out of God's reach. If, and when, we choose to return to the Lord, he receives us! He does not reject us and leave us, but accepts us and guides us back to the right path. For in verse 6 it says, "and the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."

He himself guides us because he desires for us to turn back to him. He desires for us to love him and trust in him! This desire is shown in verse 14 when it says, "But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it." This very verse is later quoted by Paul in Romans 10:8, but in it he weaves in the gift of the new covenant: Jesus Christ. If we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, then we are saved! Just as Moses and Paul say, to be saved is not an impossible feat. In fact, God has made it very achievable for us because he loves us. He is such a merciful God.

He revealed so much of himself to me through these passages, and as I continued to research and seek, there was more that he revealed. The next thing he helped me to better understand was what it means to fear the Lord. This fear was explained through a sermon I was listening to that described it in a way that made it much clearer!

I'm going to paint a picture for you, so imagine it with me :)

You have some well-earned vacation time and you've gone on a trip to see Niagara Falls. It's your first time going and you're very, very excited as you have heard so much about it but never had the opportunity to witness the majestic beauty with your own two eyes. As you approach the waterfalls you can hear the water crashing down and you can't wait anymore, so you run to the railing! You stand on that little cement block the railing is built on and you lean slightly over the railing to get a better view of the breathtaking waterfalls. But suddenly, since you were so caught up in the moment, you realize you've leaned a little too far. You feel yourself losing balance and you know you're about to fall in. That's when the thought, "I'm about to die," jumps into your head. (If you've ever had a near-death incident, you know what I'm talking about.) But as soon as the thought crosses your mind, somebody grabs you and brings you back to safety. You grab on to them, but you haven't forgotten the sound of the crashing water, the feel of the cool wind on your face, the distance from the railing to the water. Your legs are still trembling and you still feel the fear from what almost happened even though you know you're safe. You grab onto the person who saved you and you never want to let them go.

This is what fearing the Lord is like. As sinners, we were destined for the wrath of God (remember the anger God has towards sin in Deuteronomy 28) - a life of misery and separation from the creator. But the Lord loves us and because of this love, he gave us the choice to choose life over death by accepting and believing in Jesus Christ. This is a gift that I have taken for granted... One that I want to appreciate more, and that has been another one of my prayers. I pray that God will allow me to realize what he saved me from! I believe that as I begin to see and realize what I was rescued from, I will love the Lord my God more and more.

Day by day, I learn more about the one who rescued me. I'm continuously learning and I'm excited to share with you what I'm learning :) Let's share together as we learn more and more about our creator! Don't be afraid to comment, message me, talk to me in person, or whatever method of communication you prefer.

Thanks for reading!

-kjoosaurus out!

Missions [6/2/12]

Hello!

I hope you have all been well :) I know I haven't posted in too long... I apologize for this. These past few days were full of confusion and extremely busy for me. I recently committed to go to Turkey for missions this summer. It isn't set in stone yet, but I am beginning to train for missions, and a lot has happened in the past little while!

Today, I just wanted to share a bit about the thought process throughout days until today. It all began in Ottawa. A sister of mine was part of an organization called intercp. She is very involved with this organization and she had already gone on missions before; she told us stories of her trip to Iraq, and it made me become more and more curious about missions. She encouraged me to check out intercp when I got back to Vancouver, and she graciously put me in contact with some of the people who were involved!

When I arrived back in Vancouver, I was in contact with some of the leaders of intercp, but only through the phone. It wasn't until last Tuesday when I finally met for coffee with the em leader. It was then when I committed to go to Turkey for missions. I told him, "I will go to Turkey this summer, and I will make sure there is Vision School when I get back to Ottawa."

Wow. Those were big words coming from little old me. I'm not the kind of person who stops out of her comfort zone very much. I like to be in my cozy little bubble, and I have never stepped too far out of it. As soon as I realized what I had committed to, I became very, very scared. I didn't want to do it. There was too much at stake for me. I had so many obstacles to overcome, and I didn't want to put the effort into overcoming them. So, I started to hide from God. I began to go out with my friends a lot, I stopped writing this blog very regularly, and I immersed myself in worldly things. This last week, I rarely prayed, and I only read the bible on several occasions.

All of a sudden, I had gone from a girl who was doing nothing but looking for a job this summer, to a girl who was going to do God's work! Eep! What a change! But it made me begin to think... Is this why God wanted me to come home this summer? Did he want to give me this opportunity? Does he want me to do this? Well, this scared me even more. If God wants me to do something, and I tell him I'm going to do it, then that means I'm doing it. My friends were so excited for me! They were really hyping it up, but that scared me more and more. I didn't want to commit; I wanted to back out! But it wasn't until today, that I finally feel at peace.

You see, I forgot about why I wanted to do missions in the first place!

John 15:12-13

This is my commandment:
Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

There is no greater love than to lay down one's life

for one's friends.

God calls us to love others the way he loves us. To go to the unreached nations to tell them of God's love and bringing light to their darkness... That is showing them how we love them! It doesn't matter if they reject the words we speak; it doesn't matter if they hate us. We must love them; we must want for them to experience the glory and mercy of God! God feels so much sorrow to see them sin; he loves them deeply. He wants us to go out, and tell them how he loves them! He wants us to go out and tell them there is a way! He wants to use us to lead them to the path of righteousness! 

This is why I wanted to do missions. I want God to use me to lead these people to the path of righteousness. I want others to be able to experience the love of God just the way I have experience it! I was so focused on myself, but I pray God will make me selfless! There are people who need to hear the word of God, and we need to tell them the word of God! Oh, how he loves us. Let us love each other just the way he loved us! God's love is the true love. God's love is the greatest love of all! :) 

- kjoosaurus out!

Armor of God [5/20/12]

Good evening everybody!

Is there anything you are afraid of? I've noticed that most people are afraid of spiders, the dark, roller coasters, dying, etc. Well, to be honest, I just listed most of the things I am afraid of. It used to be impossible for people to tell me scary stories, because if they did, I would spend the rest of the week in fear. I couldn't watch any scary movies, because I would start being very paranoid, and check behind all the doors, etc.

You see, I am a person who is very easily scared. But, why do I let these things scare me?

This has been on my mind for a while because of a conversation I once had with a friend. I admire this friend very much because she does not seem to fear very many things. But, as I've been thinking, I've come to realize how I as well should live a life without fear of such things. What do we have to fear, when the Lord is on our side?

Psalm 27:1 

The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? 

The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? 

Why do we let so many things strike fear in us? I find that many of us try to ignore the fact that Satan is truly alive and scheming things to make us fall, and the reason why we try to ignore this is because we are scared. Satan does many different things that may make us feel scared. He may send demons our way to strike fear in us, but there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of! The Lord is on our side, and yes, there is always a spiritual battle going on, but we have the armour of God that allows us to stand firm! 

A few days ago, a friend told me, the Devil can bark, but he cannot bite. He can try to scare us all he wants, but because we have God on our side, he can't do any real harm to us! Praise the Lord for this!

^{Ephesians 6:10-17}

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

We are given the armor of God so that we may fight this spiritual warfare! When we have fear in our hearts, we are also doubting the strength of our God, and this gives Satan an advantage. We must never doubt our God, and we must always keep in mind that Satan is continuously trying his best to attack us. He will try many different things to strike fear in our hearts, but we must continue to rely on the strength of our God!

A commentary I was reading online said this, "Resist him, and he will flee."

Isn't it wonderful how powerful God is? What we must do is resist what Satan throws at us, and he will flee. The power of God helps us with this! We really aren't alone; God is always watching over us, guiding us, and protecting us! How great he is! Let us stand together with God! Let us not be afraid of Satan's tricks, for the Lord is with us! Amen? AMEN!

Thank you for reading my blog today! Hope you had a very lovely night :) 

 

- kjoosaurus out! 

Parts of a Whole [5/16/12]

Hello to all of God's beautiful children!

Was your day filled with many blessings? Of course it was! Every single day is a blessing hehe :) I had a fabulous day! I was able to hang out with a friend from Ottawa, and it was plenty of fun! I really, really miss everybody from my church in Ottawa. I wish you could all visit me! I'm praying it will happen one day!

Well, today, I wanted to talk a little about something I learned last night. I was at Soultrek (the youth group at my church) and a friend of mine was preaching. His message was great! He talked about the body of Christ, and how we make up the body while Jesus makes up the head.

1 Corinthians 12:12

¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body,so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free —and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

We, as the church, make up the body. Every single one of us has a certain part, and we must do our part to help the body function! God calls each one of us to play a certain role for Him. Oftentimes, I find we know what He wants us to do, but we do not wish to follow through with it! Why do we do this? Sometimes, there are different pressures in our lives. Sometimes, we're too scared to do it. There are many, many reasons that may prevent us from completing the role God has given us, but we shouldn't let our doubts and fears overcome us! 

When we do not do our part, the rest of the body cannot function properly! I really love how well this is written. It is 100% relatable to our human bodies. If our eyes do not do its job, then the rest of our body struggles. If our hands do not work, then the rest of our body struggles. It is the same with the spiritual body! When God calls us to do our part, we must do our part! 

There is not a single part of a body that can do every single part. A part is a part, but all of the parts together makes a whole! 

Corinthians 12:27-30

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues^[d]? Do all interpret? ³¹ Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Each one of us has a different gift that we must use for the work of the Lord! But, none of us has all of these gifts. We all work together, and together, we make one body! I hope you will seek to do his work. I hope you will pray and ask God what it is He wants you to do. Ask Him to USE you! Ask Him to help you do your part! Some of us know exactly what he wants us to do while others are not as certain. Right now, I know I'm supposed to be writing this blog. I know God will continue to use us in more and more ways! 

So, what are you doing to serve God? What could you change in your life to serve Him better? Do you think you are doing your part right now? 

I personally know I'm not doing enough... There is so much more I should be doing, but I feel scared to do it! Slowly, God is breaking down these walls of fear, and I feel closer and closer to doing my part. May he break down your walls of fear! May he cast away any doubts you may have. Let us praise him through the storm! :) 

Here's the song I listened to today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxvAaq9q5Kw

Well, goodnight to all of God's children! May all of your dreams be from Him! :) 

- kjoosaurus out!