Do we really know Jesus?

So today during my devotion time something I've read before totally spoke to me in a way that it never has done before. I was reading John chapter 1 and I was reading about John the Baptist. The part that stood out to me the most was how John knew what his job was, preparing the way for the Messiah, but really didn't know exaclty who He was until it was revealed to him that it was Jesus. I was reading a little commentary note in my Bible and is was talking about truly knowing who Jesus is. At first I didn't see how they made the connection between Jesus and John until the commentator said that Jesus and John were related. He said that even though John lived in the wilderness he probably knew who Jesus was because they were relatives. So to say that John knew Jesus but didn't really know who Jesus was is a fair thing to say. Then of course in John chapter 1 Jesus was revealed to John by the Spirit. As soon as I read that the first thing that popped into my head was the idea of know who Jesus the person is and knowing who Jesus my personal Lord and Savior is. I believe there is a difference of know who Jesus the person is and knowing who Jesus really is. The portion of scripture that comes to mind is found in Matthew 7:21-23 when Jesus tells people that He never knew them. That's a real scary thought to think that we might think we know Jesus but maybe we might be like those people who He told He never knew?
So what does this mean for us, the only thing that comes to mind is we better make sure we know who Jesus is! We need to make sure that we develop an intimate relationship with the Son because He's the only way to the Father. I believe it's super easy to just say we know Jesus and because we do then that's all we need to do. In Matthew 7 the people that Jesus told I never knew you to were people who were actually doing things that were good things yet they weren't good enough. So if you are wondering what it takes then to be known by God then I suggest that you pick up your Bible and find out. Also how about asking the One who knows what it takes:-)
So my prayer for us today is that we don't get comfortable just knowing God the way we think we do. I pray that we would daily want to find out more and more about Him. I pray for faith and strength for us to let God be God.

Is God's way really better?

This question might be a question that some of you might have thought before or maybe even struggling with now. The question of is God's way really better came to mind because of what My Pastor said on Sunday and what I read yesterday. My pastor was talking about how God isn't always going to sit back and just keep letting our society and our morals stray further and further away from what He said they should be. I've thought before that I know that God is going to have the final say and judge the world for their sins but when looking at all the people around me thriving and living "good" lives yet there are in so much sin is kind of a hard thing to swallow. I've asked the question; why am I not as successful as those who don't follow you when I've devoted my whole life to God? When that thought runs through my mind I've also thought that maybe I can just live the life the way my flesh wants to and once I get to where I want to be then I live the way God wants me to. That kind of dumb thinking is caused by seeing all those people around me that reject God yet are still living the "good" life. Now here's what separates us from the rest, we know that God can and will bring judgement to those who reject Him. We know that He's not going to extend mercy and grace when that time comes. The hard thing about this is we don't know when He will do all that, but the fact of the matter is we do know it will happen.
So the reason why this question came up beside of what my pastor said is because of what I read in my devotion yesterday. I read Leviticus 26 and in that chapter God lays out what will happen to those who chose to obey Him and what will happen to those who chose not to. After reading that my answer to the question is simple, YES!!! God's way is better. Right now we may see that things aren't going our way or that people aappear to be living a better life but that's all smoke and mirrors. They have happiness in things that will get old and lose their flair, but we have joy in things that are eternal. I challenge you to read Leviticus 26 and see how gnarly of a difference their is between the two choices and I bet you will come to the same answer I did, not because I'm smart but because God's way is.
So my prayer today is that we would chose God's way. I pray for guidance and direction for the Lord's path. I pray for faith and strenght for us to let God be God.

Being refilled.

So it's been about a month since my last post but now I'm back, excited to see what God speaks to me which I can share with you. The reason why I haven't posted anything is because to be completely honest with you I had nothing to say. When I first started this blog the Lord was spekaing through me in so many different ways. It was easy to log on and just write what God was speaking to me. But then I started to notice that as I was ready to log on and start writing, I couldn't think of something to write. And that's when it hit me, I started to think what to write. When I first started this blog, the entries where just things that where placed in my head and needed to get them out. I didn't have to think or figure out what would someone wanted to hear, they just flowed out and that's what made this experience so awesome. So that's why I took a break from the blog. I wanted to give myself some time to get refilled so I could be poured out again. That's what this entry is all about. If you feel like your empty then chances are maybe you are. Maybe you just need to recognize that you need to take the time to get refilled again. I'm not sure what that means to you but things that could help with this are reading more of God's word, spending more alone time with Him, I know this might sound not very "church-like" but maybe you need to take some time off from serving if that's all you do. I know that might sound wrong but I've seen people just get burnt out because they never take the time to get refilled again. Answer me this, how can you pour something out if you got nothing left to pour?
So my prayer for us today is that we ask God to show us how we can be refilled. I pray that we would put in the effort to do what it takes to get refilled. I pray for faith and strength for us to let God be God.

The importance of reading God's word.

So in our college group we are going to start diving into spiritual disciplines which are things like, solitude, fasting, praying, and reading God's word. Yesterday a text message brought to light to me one reason why God's word is so crucial to our faith. There are many reasons why it's so important but I want to share the one thing from yesterday. So I had a friend text me to tell her something good. So I responded "Jesus loves you:) " then her response was what triggered this thought. She responded by saying that she knows and it's not because the Bible tells her so:) Now I know that she knows that Jesus loves her and that she loves Him right back with all her heart. As I started to read that again that response wasn't sitting right with me. Just so you know I know she was being funny with her response and that she meant no wrong in it but I couldn't help what was going through my head. I thought to myself that the only reason why we know that God loves us is because the Bible tells us so. Anything we know about God, the ways He loves us, cares for us, and all those other wonderful things about God, we only know them because that's what the Bible tells us about God. I'm not saying that God doesn't give us understanding on issues but I do believe everything we know and need to know about life and God are in His word.
I want to leave with this, I believe that reading the word isn't mandatory it's only a benefit. Look at it like this; every try putting something complicated together without the directions? You can take all the pieces out of the box, lay them all out then throw the directions away and go at it. Half way through it you get stuck, frustrated, and are ready to give up. Then finally hours later you have it all together but you notice there are pieces left over and now your not sure if its going to hold up. God's word are those directions to this complicated thing we call life. Yeah we can get through it but it would have been way easier to just follow the directions which would have saved us struggle, frustration, pain, and wanting to give up. So if your tired of barely making it through life or not even sure how to get through life then pick up the instruction manual and see what God has mapped out for you.
So my prayer for us today is that we would discipline ourselves to read God's word daily. I pray for faith and strength for us to let God be God.

Very detailed.

So I was reading Exodus 25-26 this morning and I believe the Lord spoke to me through these chapters. I've read these chapters before. These chapters are filled with God giving specific details for building the Arch of the Covenant and the tabernacle of the Lord. God was so detailed in His directions for building these things. It just wasn't where to build them but it was how they should be built and exactly what it should be made out of. Every dimension and every material God told them how to build these things. At first when I read this I kind of just thought of how boring it was to just read detail after detail but then I believe my mind was opened to see how God can and does operate. I know that we ask God for to reveal His will for our lives or we might ask God to show us the ways we should go. I know for most of those times God doesn't reveal these things with such detail but then again there are those times that He does. I believe that this spoke to me because I have been asking God to guide me in certain areas of my life but I've kind of been just expecting God to just help me through these areas but not really expecting clear detailed things. Maybe you are in the same boat as me? Maybe we are waiting for God to give us direction and maybe it's going to be very detailed, who knows? This is one thing that I hold onto and you should too, whether God gives you specific details or just kind of helps you navigate where to go, His ways are always better. I believe this portion of scripture was just renewing my faith when it comes to the area of trusting in God to show me where to go and what to do. I'm super thankful that God is so good and so faithful.
So my prayer for us today is that we would just continue to place all our hope and faith in the Lord. I pray for faith and strength for us to let God be God.

Is God your Lord?

I looked up the definiton of the word lord and one of the definitions said someone who has power or control over others. Today I read something in my devotional which was talking about Jesus being Lord over our lives. I know its easy as Christians to just say yes to that question without even thinking about that answer. But my devotional really got me to think about my answer. Is Jesus Lord over my life? A better way to put this; Is Jesus Lord over everything in my life? When it comes to saying Jesus is Lord over my life it's easy to just say yes because we know He's Lord over everything. But this idea of Him being Lord over everything in our lives isn't something that just automatically happens. By saying Jesus is the Lord of our life we are saying that we made a conscious decision to allow God to fully reign over our lives. What I read today broke this down better. It was talking about giving all the keys to our hearts, souls, minds, and all the rest of the areas of our lives. When can't just give God some of the keys, He needs them all. I know the thought of submitting everything to Him is a scary thought but it's the best thing that we could do. God know's exactly what we need and He knows what best for us.
So my prayer for us today is that we would give God total control of our lives. I pray that we would release all our hopes, dreams, and concerns to Him and let Him work everything out for the better. I pray for faith and strength for us to let God be God.

Why did God do that?

Todays entry is something that I have been thinking about these past couple days because I have been reading the account of Moses and Pharaoh. The thought that has been running through my head was how come God hardened Pharoah's heart some many times? I understand the concept that God would harden his heart so that God's power would be known but then I thought to myself why some many times? The things that God did to Egypt were pretty gnarly and I'm just thinking out loud but I think they would have gotten the point after the first few things God did. Instead God repeatedly keeps hardening Pharoah's heart. As I sat with this question these past couple days, now I'm starting to come up with an answer. My answer is the same answer I get when it comes to gnarly questions like this which is I Don't Know!!! I really have no idea why God would choose to do this. The coolest thing that has happened when thinking about this is I believe God is trying to tell me something which I want to share with you. I feel like God is telling me don't worry about what or how He does something, just know that He's in control. Now that might sound harsh but it's so true and actually to me it's freeing. I know I could just waist so much time on wondering why God would choose to do something I have no idea why. This first thing that pops into my head is the story of Job when Job is complaining and wondering why God would do this to him then God puts him in his place for like 3 chapters. I feel that's what God would say to us too. I believe when it comes to this idea of wondering why God would do something that doesn't make sense to us, we need to be put in check just like Job. We need to realize that God is in control, His ways are not our ways, and that He has our best interests.
So my prayer for us today is that we would be more trusting in the Lord. I pray for faith and strength for us to let God be God.