I Believe...

There seems to be a magical quality about the Christmas season. There are discussions about holiday traditions and events for the family. If you have kids or are around people with kids, there tends to be talk about Santa Claus. In the spirit of the season, I thought it would be nice to share my beliefs. Please feel free to share your own in the comments section.

 

I believe in a Creator (God). I believe that God created the universe, the earth and everything in it. I believe there's a heaven and a hell. I believe that Jesus is God's son. I believe that Jesus lived a sinless life and died on a cross. I believe that God raised him from the dead three days later. I believe that we all sin and are in need of a Savior. I believe that Jesus is that Savior and desires for all of us to come into a relationship with God through him. I believe that each one of us has a purpose for our life. I believe that God loves me (and you) even when I/we do not choose to seek him or his will. I believe that God answers prayer, though not always as I might prefer. I believe that we have an enemy who seeks to destroy us and his name is Satan. I believe that we can have victory over our enemy through Jesus.

Those are some of my beliefs. What are yours?

BUG Book

I believe I've mentioned on here before that I am working on writing a book for Christian girls preparing for college. Well, I finished the first draft at the end of July and handed out a few copies to some trusted people to read and make comments the beginning of August. That was a scary step because it required me to be vulnerable to others and allow them to critique my writing style and ideas. But I knew it was necessary. It was probably also good to let people who know me see it first so that I can get used to the feedback before giving it to random people who will probably be more harsh with their comments. Plus I want it to be well developed before potential publishers see it.

It is now the middle of October. I have received a couple of manuscripts back with notes. There are still a couple floating out there, which is fine. However, I have done absolutely nothing with the notes since receiving them. I did read through the first edited manuscript to see what kind of feedback there was. It was much more encouraging than I had expected (why I expected harshness, I have no idea). But they've just sat in the closet not being properly used. I have had people ask how the book is going and have honestly answered that I've been lazy and done nothing with them. In slight defense, I was dealing with my first trimester of pregnancy which makes one less than ambitious.

You would think that the accountability of people knowing and asking would motivate me, but it really didn't. I was okay with being honest about my laziness and not doing anything about it. I was sort of proud that I was at least honest. But, at the Catalyst Conference, the question was raised by someone speaking whether there was something God had called us to do that we weren't doing. I immediately thought about the book. God placed the idea and desire in me and I do need to be obedient and see it to completion. I don't know what is going to happen with it, but I need to do my part. And then Sunday's message was about needing to be obedient to God's promptings if we want to continue to hear him.

I finally got the message. I need to put aside any of my handy excuses for not working on the book (I'm lazy, the editing part is soooooo boring, I don't have all of my copies back) and just do it. So I decided to go back to the reasoning I used when working on the first draft when the writing became tedious. "Just sit down for 15 minutes and work on it. When it's done, you can go do other things." In the past, fifteen minutes sometimes was just that. But many times it turned in to an hour or more.

This morning I decided that it would be the first task I worked on for the day. To my surprise, it wasn't as bad as I had imagined it to be. I know some later parts will be more challenging than today's editing process, but fifteen minutes is a manageable chunk of time. I think I had allowed Satan to build it up in my mind as this completely boring and painful chore, which kept me from action. Now that I've taken that first step, I think the next one will be easier. Praise God who frees us from fear and does not allow us to drown in condemnation, shame or guilt!

Things God Has Been Showing Me

I was meeting with my accountability partner, Jill, yesterday and shared with her some things I wrote down not too long ago. I had wanted to make sure I didn't forget the insights I have received about myself because I don't necessarily want to have to be reminded again. I'd rather remember and, hopefully, change. She said that she could relate to a lot of them and thought putting them here on the blog would be a good idea because there might be others who understand and/or feel the same. So, if you happen to read this and can relate to anything, please let me know. Thanks!

1. I let fear keep me from doing what I ought to. Allowing fear to win is ultimately saying that I don't trust God to protect or provide for me. Fear is how Satan keeps me from being effective and powerful.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

2. I don't truly live in light of God's love for me. I don't fully grasp or understand his love. God loves me because he created me - he loves me because I am not because I do. I cannot do anything to cause God to love me more or less. He loves me so much that Jesus died for me. How do you love more than that?
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

3. God has forgiven me before I even seek forgiveness - that's what Jesus did. He offered forgiveness without knowing whether I would seek it. He loves me so much he is willing to do whatever it takes to be with me. He risks being rejected by me because he believes that the reward of my love is worth any and all humiliation.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." Luke 15: 20-24

4. I should be willing to risk it all for God because the possible reward is greater than any possible failure or humiliation. It is worth everything.
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. I Peter 1:6-7

5. I struggle with making myself vulnerable in my relationships. I know that risking rejection allows for greater intimacy and is worth it but the fear still holds me back. I know that many relationships are not as deep as they could be because both people are hesitant to risk due to the fear of rejection.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom all men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

6. I struggle to give God control of all areas of my life. For example, I want a successful marriage but I act like I am solely responsible for that result. I try to do everything on my own and get frustrated when it doesn't seem to have an effect. I need to constantly and consistently give God the reigns and trust him to do what is needed.
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." Luke 9:23-24

7. I concern myself too much with what others think of me and not enough with what God thinks. I try to people please and receive acceptance of others rather than being honest about who I am, what I think, and what I want.
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10

8. Why should I fear others learning of the sins of my past? Should it be so surprising that a sinner has sinned? What should be surprising are the sins I haven't committed, the ones God has protected me from. Proof of sin is not evidence that I do not love God. I do love him. I have repented of my sin. My sin is evidence that I need God - his mercy and grace. God knows my heart and knows that I don't want to sin, but the human state of being (weak flesh) has a propensity for sin. Thank God he continues to love me and show compassion toward me! What can man do to me? I know and admit to being a sinner. I have all the acceptance I need in Jesus Christ.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

9. For a long time I have been concerned/a little nervous about publishing the book I am working on because I know that I can't control who reads it and there is the possibility of many people I know reading it. I am concerned about what they will think of my past transgressions, though it shouldn't matter. We all have things we aren't proud of - who are we to judge others for their mistakes? I need to trust God that the risk is worth it and it's for his glory and purposes that this book is being composed.
In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? Psalm 56:4

P.S. - While I was writing my list, I felt the urge to supplement with scriptural truths. Hope it benefited the reading.

Satan and prayer

As I was driving to work this morning I was hit by the thought that Satan fully understands the power of prayer and uses fear to keep God’s children powerless. He makes us self-conscious about praying out loud. He causes us to be concerned about whether others will approve of the way we pray. We worry that we will not be eloquent or that our prayer will be too short. Or too long. So out of fear we elect not to pray. Yet prayer is our connection to God. It is how we learn what he desires of us. It is how we ask him to intercede on our behalf, to give us strength, courage, and wisdom. It is how we draw near to him and learn his will for us, for our lives. Satan knows all of this and knows that if he can keep us from prayer then he will have less resistance against his plans and desires for this world.

I am reading Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala and he talks about the powerfulness of the prayer meetings in his church and how they are the factor that determines his church’s effectiveness. A quote in the book says:

You can tell how popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning. You can tell how popular the pastor or evangelist is by who comes on Sunday night. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting. p.28

That quote really struck me. I have encountered numerous people who refuse to pray in front of others. I used to be one of those people. I was terrified of how I would sound, whether I would mess up. I know how important praying in community is and have asked God to stretch me in this area (and boy has He!). I’ll admit that there are still times when I feel insecurity and doubt, but I know that’s Satan trying to keep me from praying. He wants to sever my lifeline. I don’t want to give him any satisfaction. I have to remind myself that my prayer is not for those I’m with but for God alone. It doesn’t matter if I’m eloquent or if I stumble through. What matters is my sincerity. Most people will not remember what you said five minutes later. But God will hear our call and will answer.

As of late I have been trying to spend more time in prayer. Sure, I spend some time each morning praying, but I know that’s not enough - I am not satisfied with just those few minutes. We are supposed to pray without ceasing and, while that sounds daunting, it seems like a reasonable goal to work toward.

I have joined a prayer group that has committed to meeting together monthly. We are a small group of four, but I am praying that more people in our church will have a desire to petition God on the church’s behalf and that our numbers will grow. We don’t want it to be a popularity thing, but a true desire to humble ourselves before the living God and seek His will and provision.
I truly desire to have an effective prayer life and to grow deeper in my relationship with God. I want to know what His will is for me. I want to more fully comprehend his love for me. I want to be obedient and faithful. But I know that I need to seek Him daily and ask Him to give me the strength to follow Him if I am to be useful to Him.

One more quote from the book I want to share:

If the times are indeed as bad as we say they are…if the darkness in our world is growing heavier by the moment…if we are facing spiritual battles right in our own homes and churches…then we are foolish not to turn to the One who supplies unlimited grace and power. He is our only source. We are crazy to ignore him. p.86