I saw Jesus yesterday....

....because he is in people. 

I saw him in a girl named Julia. 

Our God is a personal God. Someone who knows what its like to be human, to feel what we feel. To be hurt, to be broken, to be lonely, to be happy, to feel hopeful, to be encouraged. A personal God who walks with his children, hand in hand. And that's exactly what it felt like. 

God is also humorous. I tend to forget that he is always watching me, knowing what I need, when I need it. Then, out of nowhere, I get smacked in the face. He gives us people when he knows that we so desperately need them. When he knows that we need a smile, a pick-me-up. When he knows that we are down on our knees in need of someone who knows what its like to walk in our shoes. He has his timing down pat. 

Yesterday, I was encouraged. In the midst of brokeness, my hand was held. I was understood, I was praised, I was...all of the above. For Jesus, for Julia, I am so extremely thankful. 

I never understood what it meant that Jesus was 'in people' until a college course. But, he is. He's in that lady who serves you coffee. He's in that man who changes your oil. He's in that lady behind you in line. He's in that crying baby in church. Think about that the next time you are served, the next time you pass a stranger. 

....whatsoever you have done to the least of these (Matthew 25:40).

Christians- hypocrites, sinners, or both?

I just got out of bed to write this because this is literally what just popped into my mind & I know how to express it. right now. 


You know what drives me insane? Hypocrites.


You know what drives me even more insane? The fact that I am one. 


But, what really, really just absolutely fries my gourd......the perception that Christians are, slash have to be, perfect. (I guess this is all stemming from the fact that my little ears keep hearing, "Christians are hypocrites.")


Here's the thing that makes someone a Christian- knowing he/she is a sinner, in desperate need of a Savior. That was the whole stinkin' point of Jesus coming to this earth, being born, dying, rising. Otherwise, pointless. Christ was thee atonement for our SINS...plural, happening more than once, on a day-to-day occasion, on purpose, on accident, to loved ones, to enemies, for selfish reasons, for personal gain. 


I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing (Galatians 2:21). 


Jesus came because he wanted to get rid of the old way of the law that said we had to do something to receive eternal life. If this were the case, the old way, then there would be no way in heck that we would receive eternal life because we can't keep the law; it's not possible by our sinfully-human-selves. Thus, our sin would have damned us. For good. Forever. 


BUT, praise be to Jesus, that he DID come to die, to be that atonement for us. He saw that we were going to be sinners....all the dang time. He knew that, and that's why he wanted to save us. So, he did. 


Botton line. I'm a sinner. And I'm good at it. Thoughts go through my mind that are dirty, awful, and downright disgusting. I'm a hypocrite. I read God's Word and somewhere deep down there is a desire for me to follow it. But, clouding that desire, is my human desire to go against it. I go to church and profess my faith. But, I leave church and go right on sinning. 


Sure, true faith is love expressed through 'deeds or good works'. And I pray that all of God's children strive to do so. 


But, at the end of the day, as I'm about to lay my head on my pillow, I am comforted. Not in the fact that I am a sinner or that I mess up. But in the fact that I, this girl who shoves her heavenly Father to the side day in and day out, I, my dear friends, have a Savior! 

the Power is in the Word.

"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.....

.....But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached." (Philippians 1:15,18)

Paul's imprisonment meant that others wanted to talk about this Jesus guy in the spotlight. They wanted the attention, the fame. Others, ones with pure motives, wanted to partner with Paul and proclaim Jesus out of love.

The church is divided today. Many interpreters, many interpretations. What a turn off to the outsider. I know that if I didn't grow up in the faith, knowing Jesus, I would be really confused by all the differences in denominations, etc. and think it was super odd that there's so many ways that Jesus is viewed, how he should be worshipped, and how much stinkin' water to use when baptizing. (Ps...I still don't understand all of the differences).

Man isn't what makes Scripture, Scripture. God is and God does. He is the Word. Sure, some of us might have it messed up, but you know what....God doesn't expect us to have all the answers or get everything just right. He purposely doesn't answer all of our questions in Scripture because that's where faith comes in.

What's gonna matter in the end is belief in Jesus Christ as Savior. Bottom line....When the Word is read, Christ is preached. God holds the power and he speaks to people through his words, not man's!.....All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).

I leave you with a prayer that Jesus himself prayed for you to his Father....

"I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified." (John 17:14-19)

God's plan in Jesus.

As I sit here, alone, on a friday night in my homey little apartment, I'm in a better mood than I would be under these normal circumstances. (ps- I'm sick, so it's good for me to have a night to myself, relaxing). What's making it better is the lit Christmas tree, the peaceful sound of Christmas tunes, a few scattered decorations (thanks to my momma), and the array of Christmas movies that my DVR is set to record. Of course, as cliche as it is, everyone "loves this time of year". Apart from the presents, get-togethers (of which I've already had quite a few) with friends, mass amount of baked goodies, and lights, I love this time of year, this holiday, for a different reason.

I love it for the, for lack of a better term, advertisement of Jesus. For the talk of him, for the joy in celebrating his birthday, for the in and outs of the Christmas story, for the constant mention of Jesus.

I think that's why people think it would be so sweet to be/have Christmas all year long, to feel the way I feel right now. What would that look like? For people, myself, to be just a bit more excited than normal because of all of the love that we feel before, during, and after Jesus' birthday!

But, here's the thing. We are always in a state after Jesus' birthday. Because it happened. We are able to look back at it.

I've heard this song before, Mary Did You Know, but it wasn't until I heard it again last night and really, really listened to the lyrics that it just melted my heart. This little baby boy was born our Savior. Ponder on these lyrics with me:

Mary, did you know that your baby boy would some day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know?


Mary, did you know that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would calm the storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
When you kiss your little baby, you've kissed the face of God.
Mary did you know?


The blind will see
The deaf will hear
The dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb 


Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
The sleeping child you're holding is the Great I Am.

Doesn't this just make you see Jesus in a new light? It shows how human he was, being a little baby, but yet being God, being so powerful and able.

Jesus being born was planned before eternity just like our births were. God knew what he was doing. In Ephesians 1:5-14 (The Message) we are told:

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"Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ (what pleasure he took in planning this!). He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people- free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.

It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.

It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free- signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life."

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In Christ, everything makes sense. I end with a poem:

"If our greatest need had been information,

God would have send us an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology, 

God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money, 

God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure, 

God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,

so God sent us a Savior."  

~Roy Lessin

constant vs. feeling

feeling

-often unreasoned opinion or belief

I often let my feelings rule who I am, what I do, what I think. They go up, they go down, and I go where they go. I lean on them. I think them to be true. I think them to be solid. I believe them. I dwell on situations in which my feelings take over. I over-analyze because my feelings try to take precedence.

Basically, because of letting my feelings take over, I'm a mess. I become scatter-brained, irrational, and, simply, stupid.



constant

-marked by firm steadfast resolution or faithfulness; exhibiting constancy of mind or attachment.

There aren't many constants in life. Death is one. I can't think of many others. I'd like to think a certain part of my life that I've lived could have been constant. It's not. It changed. My home has changed. My friends have changed. My job has changed. My church has changed. My feelings have changed. But, you know what hasn't changed? God & his Word.


I take a whole lot of comfort in the fact that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He's not changin. He is solid. He is gracious and loving and forgiving. Just because my feelings go up and down, his feelings toward me aren't changin! Just because I screw him over, doesn't mean he's gonna screw me over. Just because I forget to acknowledge him, thank him, doesn't mean he's gonna shut the door in my face!

Instead of leaning so much on my feelings, I pray that I can learn to lean on the solidity of God's Word. It is truth! It is solid! And it's not goin anywhere! I want to own up to the fact that my feelings can take a backseat to the truth of the God. I want to believe what God has to say over what I think my feelings are trying to say.