Priorities, Priorities

Life seems to be crammed with priorities. They come and go. They change with the seasons. Some tasks dominate life for weeks and then grow to insignificance days later. Relationships crop up, they fade away. Jobs consume us, they fall to the background. What once was our constant worry is now a pea in the back of the brain. I recently found myself in quite a different mindset with a list of different priorities than I had had previously in life. I got married! Big change there. As many of you already know, marriage brings its own suitcase of blessings, priorities, and changes. The relationship you have been pursuing while dating is now brought into a whole new light. You are now living with this person, starting a life with this person, and sharing everything with this person. It’s actually a beautiful, crazy, and scary thing all wrapped up with a beautiful bow of love.

Obviously getting married caused many of my priorities to shift. Suddenly I had a husband to love, care for, and tend to. 

Emotionally, my priorities shifted. He became the person I was to share everything with. Physically, my priorities shifted. The boundaries we had been confined to in dating no longer applied to our relationship. 

Mentally, my priorities shifted. He dominated my thoughts. He became what I planned my daily activities around. He became my main focus. 

Spiritually everything shifted. Within only a few weeks of my new marriage, I realized how differently I thought about God. In one aspect, I saw God in a new light because I saw how Christ designed marriage to funcion, but in another aspect I realized I didn’t really think about God…at all. 

Instead of my normal morning routing of reading the Bible and praying, I was neglecting that to spend that time with Samuel before work. And then even when I did actually read my Bible and pray, my mind wasn’t focused on either the Scriptures or on who and/or what I needed to pray about. Instead, I was thinking about something I wanted to cook for Samuel, or something I needed to pick up at the store, or something Samuel had said. Even when we did our joint reading of the scriptures and prayer together, I found that my mind would wander while he was reading. At first, I didn’t feel guilty because I kept thinking to myself that I am called by God to be a good wife. I am called by God to serve my husband, love my husband, tend to my husband, so really there should be nothing wrong with me focusing so much of my attention on my husband. 

 EXCEPT Samuel isn’t God. Nor should Samuel be a god in my life. He is my husband, but that comes after God. God is always to be the first priority in all circumstances in life. Whether it be a job, a marriage, a baby, a house, a life crisis, a school decision – whatever – God is to always, always come first. I could easily use getting married as an excuse, but really there are NO excuses when it comes to God. God is not something we should ever think we can put on the shelf and just pick up when we need Him. No, He is meant to be the reason we get up in the morning. Our life is meant to be lived on a mission for Him. He is our creator, and He deserves nothing less than our life. He sacrificed his own son Jesus Christ’s life, so that we could have everlasting life. He is to be first and foremost our number one priority. We are to pattern our life around Him and for Him.   

In His Word, the Lord promises that if you seek Him, you will find Him. When I realized that I was not prioritizing my focus, I began praying and asking God to renew my heart for him. I didn’t want to lose Christ as my first love just because there was the physical love of my husband in front of me. But here’s the beautiful thing: by prioritizing my relationship with Christ, I can actually be a better wife to Samuel than I ever could by neglecting my relationship with Christ. When Christ comes first, I can love more. I can be kinder, gentler, patient, and practice more self-control. With Christ as my focus, I can better serve my husband than I ever could by neglecting Christ for him. 

I am still learning how to put this into practice. Through it all, I am learning one major lesson: regardless of the type of season I am experiencing, Christ should be the priority of the season.

City Views

Recently, I moved to a big city. Seattle of all places – almost the farthest point in the continental US that I could possibly get from my roots. I’m a southern lady whose closest neighbors were chickens, cows, and a donkey. Of course, I traveled often, studied, and always found myself in some other cultured part of the world, but my “home” home was always the rural town (maybe village is a better word) of East Bend, North Carolina where walking to the mailbox was in itself a feat. Population hovered just under 700 people. Population of Seattle? 608,000 give or take a few coffee lovers, art hoarders, and hipsters. There’s a big difference. In Seattle, I live in an apartment building that boasts a staff of around 35 people who keep the near thousand units in the four towers in top running order. More people live in this complex than in my hometown. To top if off, in East Bend everyone knows everybody, and even if you don’t, you act like you know them. That’s just the southern way to do things. Here I share walls with people I’ve never even spoken to. You don’t pretend like you know anyone. In fact, I was advised not to make eye contact with people in the elevator. Strange culture. 

Being suddenly thrust into this giant web of people, people, and more people, I’ve tried to have a better perspective of myself in relation to these people. I feel almost now that I have more responsibility. Give me a moment, and I will explain. Before when I visited big cities, it was usually only for a few days, a week at max, and I was gone and with my exit, my likelihood of seeing anyone I had encountered whilst I was there was next to zero. BUT now here I am in the big city, and despite it’s size, there are faces that I see regularly. The staff here at the apartments, my neighbors in the building, the people at the gym, the cashiers at the grocery store I frequent, the baristas and the wait staff at the coffee shops and restaurants I favor. There are familiar faces that make up my day to day ritualistic life. I see more people in an hour here than I would in a week in my hometown. 

This was a lurching realization for me as I started churning around the greatest calling on my life in my head. Well, it’s not just MY greatest calling, it’s all of Christians greatest calling. The call to “go forth and make disciples of all nations.” We are called to be missionaries wherever we are, and my mission field just grew enormously in size. Of course, I cannot accost everyone on the street, in my building, at the coffee shops, or in the grocery store and ask them if they know Jesus. I mean technically I could, but I doubt that would go over well considering most people here in the city prescribe to the “nothing” religion. And while some would probably be open to “religious” discussions others not so much. But how to go about sharing some of the Good News I’ve been entrusted with when I can barely get so much as a “hello” out of some people?  

It’s amazing how God can give you an answer through His word if you just take time to read it and pray through it. This week He brought two passages to my attention that apply directly to what my current life looks like.

Ephesians 5:15-21

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (ESV)

Matthew 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (ESV)

 God can speak through our actions. Our actions point toward our Father. A lot of times I think about my actions toward my Christian brothers and sisters, but I don’t think about my actions toward the many strangers that I encounter. I apply the fruits of the Spirit toward other believers in Christ, but I frequently forget about all the small run-ins I have with people on a day-to-day basis. This is obviously the wrong perspective. I should be reaching above and beyond to treat everyone I encounter with the love of Christ especially if they don’t love Jesus. Nonbelievers should be able to tell by my day to day living that I serve a different god. They should see that I serve the one true God. They should be able to tell in my speech, my conduct, my actions, my countenance. I am meant to be salt and light. I am meant to be thanking God for every little wonderful thing that happens. I am meant to be offering to pray for people. I am meant to be humble, patient, kind, gentle. I am meant to be joyful. Notice I didn’t say happy. Happiness is based on your happenings. Joy is based in Christ. We can exude with joy even when our heart is full of sorrow and grief. All of my encounters with people should directly point to Christ. They should point to the peace I have with Him, the joy I have with Him, the relationship I have with Him. My life should always point to Him. I am to act as His ambassador as I pass my life here. 

I challenge you as I am challenging myself: how does your daily walk look? Are you daily exuding with the fruits of the Spirit? Are you genuinely thankful for the life God has given you?  Are you treating others as Christ would? Are you acting as salt and light? If you’re a Christian, Christ has called you to be so. 

 As I sit now on the eleventh floor of my building in a city full of hurting and lost people, I am excited at the possibilities. I know it will be slow going, but I am excited that I have this opportunity to point to Christ in my daily life. 

The Keys of Keeping a Prayer List

Pray without ceasing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (ESV)

Everywhere you look in the world, people are hopeless, helpless, sad, depressed, distressed, sick, broke, desperate, heartbroken, and the list goes on and on. It seems that everyone is struggling with something or other all the time. There is a never-ending flow of bad news. Naturally when we see friends in need, we want to help them. We want to DO something; however, often there isn’t much we can do. Truthfully, we want to help; we want to do something for everyone in need; but sometimes and actually most of the time, circumstances are out of our hands.

My helplessness to help everyone and anyone consumed me. We only have so many funds, we only have so many hours in the day. It is impossible to help everyone. This burning desire in my heart to help people left me paralyzed at the realization that I really couldn’t help. Money isn’t enough; time isn’t enough; influence isn’t enough. In a world where everyone has a need, a desire, a problem, what can we do as individuals to help?

Pray.

It seems so simple and basic. In fact, we hear it so much that we almost don’t even register the meaning anymore. Someone asks us to pray for them, and we nod our heads and assure them that we will, but then we forget and carryon with our day. So badly we want to help, but we are neglecting the one way we really can help. When someone asks you to pray for them. Sincerely do it. Set aside a few minutes in the morning, midday, evening, or whenever is best for you and genuinely pray for them. Whenever they pop into your mind during the day, pray a ten second prayer for them.

Prayer is sometimes the only thing that can help someone, and yet prayer is often the one thing we lack in our doing.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayers and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints. – Ephesians 6:18 (ESV)

When we think about helping someone, we think about giving them money, giving them a place to stay, giving them guidance, direction, advice, whatever their need happens to be. But sometimes the one thing they really need is the one thing that we can actually give them – prayer.

No longer do we need to feel helpless and hopeless when it comes to helping the vast majority of people who are in need. We can genuinely fight for their cause in prayer.

I was guilty of telling people I would pray for them and then wouldn’t. Trust me, I meant to. I wanted to, I desired to, but then life would get in the way. I would still pray in the mornings and the evenings, but everyone’s request big or small seemed to slip from my mind and things closer to home seemed to float higher on my prayer list. I made a decision to stop the madness. I made a decision to make a list. I made a list of everyone who had been asking me to pray for them. I made a list of everything I knew I was supposed to be praying for. So now when I have my quiet time, I first pray for things that are on the forefront of my mind, but then I get out my list, and I start earnestly praying for everyone and everything on that list. I feel blessed to be able to pray for people. Sometimes prayer is the only way I can help people, so when I pray for them, I feel like I am truly helping them. I feel honored to go before the Creator of the Universe and beseech His help for friends of mine. It’s an honor. It’s a blessing. Praying for people blesses my heart and blesses my spirit. Prayer enriches my relationship with Christ.

Next time you really want to help someone, pray for them. Genuinely set aside time and pray for them. The Bible says to pray without ceasing. I’ll say that again. PRAY WITHOUT CEASING. We have a much more powerful tool than money, time, and influence. We have prayer. Praying to the Creator can bring about more help to a person in need than anything else on this world than our human hands could conjure up.

I urge you to also make a prayer list or even a prayer journal. When someone asks you to pray for them. Write it down. Keep a record of it. When God answers a prayer, write it down. You will be amazed at how God works through prayers.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6 (ESV)

Training in Godliness

Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe – 1 Timothy 4:7-10 (ESV, boldness added).

“Train yourself for godliness.” When is the last time someone actually said this to you? Or when was the last time that was on your list of things you needed to add to your self-discipline? We train for so many activities daily, but godliness rarely makes our lists. We train for our sport, we train in the gym, we train to cook, to teach, to speed read, to knit, to sew. We spend hours perfecting body formations, hand movements, feet positions, breathing rhythms, but do we actively train for godliness? Do many of us even know what it means to train for godliness anymore? Our speech, our conduct, our faith, our love, our purity – all are meant to reflect our Godly training, but too few of us even considering training for these a priority.

One by one our Christian ideals are slipping from our lives, slipping from our minds, and slipping from our hearts. Instead we are focusing on building our bodies, our minds, and our skills in earthly pastimes. Yes, bodily training is very important. The Bible calls us to be good stewards of our body. Having a good view toward our physical health, exercise, diet, sports, jobs, hobbies should remain a priority, but none of these are to trump our training in godliness.

Training in godliness should be our first priority, not last behind our physical training, our interests, our hobbies, our jobs. Our lives should revolve around becoming more like Christ. As Christians, we are to set the example to the world. We are to be the light. How can we if we have slacked off in our training? How can we lead others to Christ if we ourselves have not been diligently following Him?

Training in godliness requires discipline just like training for anything else does. It involves spending time in the Bible, it involves setting aside time to pray, it involves denying yourself some of the distractions this world would offer. If we are to be the examples, we must train. Our training should become part of our daily routine not something that is set aside for Sunday morning and forgotten until the next weekend rolls around.

Our commission from Christ was to be a light to the world. If we are truly going to be a Christian, if we are truly going to take his commission seriously, then we must train in godliness. You would never join a sports team and not practice before your games. You would never start taking piano and not practice before a recital. You would never start a job and not train for your position. Likewise, we should not take the Lord’s Word lightly. We are to train in godliness. We are to discipline ourselves.

We worry so much about our present physical body, but forget that this shell in which we live will pass away. All the sports we trained for, all the music we practiced, all the diets we tried will all be worthless if we do not train ourselves in godliness while we are on this earth. All of our earthly training is worthless on Judgement Day. Training in godliness is the only training that will matter both here on earth and in heaven.

Command and teach these things. Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. - 1 Timothy 4: 11-16 (ESV, boldness added).

Why it’s so Tempting to NOT Trust God

Admit it. We all sometimes slack when it comes to fully trusting God. Things go our way a few times, and we suddenly think we are experts when it comes to steering through this volatile life. We make one right decision, and we assume we know more than our Lord Jesus Christ does. We rev up our self will, and our faith meter drops below full trust. On life’s journey, we forget that God can see all of the unseen variables and hazards in life. We forget that He knows what’s coming months in advance when we only get life updates as they happen.

 

Today’s egotistical, individualistic society doesn’t help much either. Making our own way, our own decisions, our own directions is today’s standard. We are viewed as weak if we rely on God instead of our own will. Many people make very bold and arrogant statements that they don’t need God or anything God can do for them. They’ve taken all of their trust from God and placed it onto themselves. They are completely lost in their pride, engrossed in their fully self-reliant and self-sufficient lifestyle. This is a very short-sighted view of life. Self-reliance is a one way street to total damnation. You might be thinking that this is nothing like you. You might think you do trust God, but when God says to trust Him, He means for you to put everything in His hands not just the things here and there. Once you stop putting your trust in God in the little things, it’s a slippery slope to taking all of your trust off of God.

 

Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In ALL your ways acknowledge him, and He will make straight your paths. - Proverbs 3:5-6

 

 

So easily we are whipped around by pressures of the world, our own whims, and any form of distraction that comes our way. So easily we shift out of full trust mode and switch into self-reliance cruise. Within us, there is a sinful nature that almost always thinks it knows what’s best for us. We like to evaluate our own situations, make our own decisions. The selfish nature inside of us wants to run from the will of God and seek our own well-being. We want to be in charge.

 

Other times, God’s plans for our life are not to our liking. He may call us to be humble servants not arrogant, selfish control fanatics. He might call us to a ministry that we aren’t too excited about in the beginning. He might call us to a city or a town away from loved ones and family. He might call us out of our comfort zone. When these callings or new directions occur, we think for sure that we know what’s better for our life than God does. But God sees a bigger picture. He can see farther down the road. His concern isn’t for our human comfort, but rather the furthering of the gospel. He wants us to love Him, to serve Him, to trust. And sometimes those actions call us out of our comfort zone.

 

When we come across a rough patch in life, we naturally want to bolt and run. But the book of James tells us to count all trials as a joy.

 

Count it all joys, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. – James 1:2-4

 

 

At times, it takes more strength to trust God than it does to make our own decisions especially when things are not going the way we think they should go. When desires spring up inside of us to follow the ways of the world, to fall into the temptations that are handed to us daily on a platter, to take the less treaded path, we have to dig deep within us for the strength to turn away from the easy choices and turn toward the harder path of following Christ. Christ expects us and wants us to put all of our trust in Him. Not trusting Him is a guaranteed path to hurt, pain, and misery.

 

Think back to Abram and Sarai (Genesis 16). God promised Abram a son through his wife Sarai, but years passed and a son didn’t come. Sarai decided to take matters into her own hands and decided to shift her full trust from God to her self. She gave her handmaid Hagar to Abram, so that she could conceive a son for him.

 

Most of you who know the Bible or Israel’s history know what ensued. Abram did have a son by Hagar, and later Sarai did conceive a son. Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael is the father of the Arab people. Isaac is the father of the Israelites. To this day, the nations still war against each other.

 

Sarai thought she knew what was best. She thought by taking matters into her own hands, she was fixing things. It was so easy for her to shift her trust from God to herself because she didn’t see results. God wasn’t working on her timeline, so she figured she would do what was best, and she shifted the plans. But God doesn’t ever work on our timelines. God works on His timeline because He knows what’s best.

 

It’s easy. So easy to shift our full trust away from God. The world offers countless solutions to all of our problems. There seems to be a quick fix for everything in this world. But there is no real solution except for Jesus Christ. The solution to all of our problems is putting full trust in Him. Following His wisdom and guidance is the only way to live this life. We have a daily choice to make.

 

Where will your put your trust today?

 

Delighting Myself in the Lord

I honestly don’t know why I’m shocked, and yet I am. Time and time again, God amazes me. You would think that after years of watching it happen, I wouldn’t be so shocked anymore. You would think I would almost start to expect it, but sure enough every time, God works things out the way they are supposed to be, I am still standing with my mouth gaping open, eyes wide with shock. Many times over my life, God has saved me from disastrous decisions. Decisions that would have most definitely taken me down a treacherous, destructive path, but God stepped in just at the precise moment of no-turning-back. There have been other times when I have just been waiting and waiting and waiting for something to come through, and nothing happens until the LAST minute. Talk about extreme patience and trust building. Lately, God has been revealing to me the importance of different seasons in life. He sends us through different storms, different mountains, different valleys, all to equip us and prepare us for what He has planned for us. It’s amazing to me how many times this keeps coming to my attention at church, through friends (like Gloria who actually just wrote something similar this week), through His word. Time and time again, the Lord shows me that He uses seasons, time, and different places to equip us and prepare us for what’s ahead. More than anything, He has shown me how important it is to delight myself in Him.

Over the last year in my life, God has changed my direction countless times. One minute I was heading towards something, and then the next moment, I just wasn’t with no explanation other than God. This has applied to every area of my life: health, relationships, work, living arrangements, volunteer work, writing career – you name it, and it’s probably happened. I was diagnosed with a crazy hormone deficiency on top of a severe immune deficiency last fall, which completely changed my routine. Suddenly in my early 20’s, I had to go get IV’s in my arm two to three times a week for four months. I was sitting there with people in their 60’s and 70’s getting cancer treatments who kept constantly (and very sweetly I might add) asking why I was back there with them. “Who knows,” I said. It was news to me that a hormone imbalance could send your body into such a downward health spin.

For a solid year I was moving to Nashville, TN, and then within one weekend, I wasn’t. I was packed and ready to move. I had going-away presents packed into boxes along with my clothes and my cooking utensils. I had my newly covered couch, side chairs, side tables, vases, and bed all ready to go. My move had been held off because of a flood, yes, a flood, and delayed renovations due to stubborn insurance adjusters. Finally, when the weekend came when I could move, I had dinner plans that completely changed my path. One minute, I was applying for a job, and praying desperately for it, then I got the email for the meeting where I was told that I got it, and then because of a miraculous movement of God, I had to turn it down. Another job practically dropped into my inbox right around the same time. One I didn’t even look for. God was looking for me. And then to top it all off, the biggest surprise yet was ignited because of a picture of myself and my best friend. Samuel, a man whom I had never met, but knew only by name through Gloria, saw my picture on her facebook page and thought he should tell her that her friend had interesting facial expressions and eyes. Gloria jokingly told him that he should just tell me himself.

So he did.

And now we are getting married.

Yes, I’m serious.

I’m telling you: this year has taken the cake on the things God will do to completely shock me.

So I’m learning. I’m learning to embrace each season. I’m learning to take my hands completely off circumstances. I’m learning that the best way to plan is through prayer. I’m learning that I can make plans, but God makes bigger plans. I’m learning to just relax when God does change my plans. A year ago, I would have had a panic attack if you told me that I wouldn’t be moving to music city, I wouldn’t be taking the job that I really wanted, and I wouldn’t be single. What…what…and what. None of the above sounded good to me a year ago. But God was preparing my heart and working through me, showing me, changing me, teaching me.

Sometimes we have the tendency to whine and complain when we don’t get what we’ve been praying for. Perhaps we feel like God isn’t listening, or we feel like He is taking His time. It’s human nature. However, God always knows better. God’s overall plan IS always better. Trust me.

The last year has completely proved that to me. Here is the biggest example. I was in the midst of planning and packing for Nashville, TN when someone asked me about my plans. I made a very truthful passing comment. I said something along the lines that I was moving to Nashville, but if I could move anywhere, I would be moving to Seattle, Washington. In my heart I had been wanting to move to Seattle for two years, but I knew there was no way. I had just quietly said to God that I would love if I could move there one day, but I hadn’t given it much thought. I had set my eyes on Nashville, and I was content and excited about that.

Where do you think Samuel was living and working when we started dating?

Seattle.

I know. He’s from North Carolina only 35 minutes from where I live. But he, like me, wanted to be in Seattle. He only came back to be near me. After he proposed, the first coherent thing he said to me was that we were moving to Seattle after the wedding.

Talk about an unexpected blessing.

God knew what I wanted. He knew the deepest desire of my heart. I had no intentions of trying to move to Seattle, but instead God prepared a Godly man who had the same desires who could move us to Seattle. Talk about a blessing. God blessed me with the man that I had been praying for for years. Everyone who knows us, knows it’s God’s doing. Samuel and I fit each other better than I could ever even dream someone fitting me. We are male and female versions of one another. We have similar temperaments, identical personalities, complementary interests, and deep-rooted Christian values. I could never imagine being with someone else.

The times when God surprises us are the best in the world. God knows what’s best for His children. We have a very limited view of our circumstances, but God can see the overall picture. He knows what’s going to happen a month from now, a year from now. It is up to us to trust Him when things come our way.

Truly begin to delight yourself in Him. Put your trust in the Lord. Seek His will for your life. Be patience. And don’t be shocked when He shows up and surprises you with things you haven’t even dreamed of.

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:4

 

King of the Mind

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. – Isaiah 26:3

As a kid, did you ever play king of the hill? It had the tendency to get extremely violet depending on who you were playing with. Pushing, shoving, kicking, or pillow fighting made the game intense, exhausting, and exhilarating all at the same time. The one thing you had to be in the game was completely alert. If you weren’t, you were doomed for failure. Completely focused on am onslaught in front of you, you could be whacked in the back of the head by another player if you didn’t stay alert. Holding your position was no easy task, but possible.

Remember that – possible.

There’s always a winner in king of the hill. Strength, will, and pure determination keep you on top. You don’t win this game by relaxing. You win this game by staying on your toes, you win this game by focusing, you win this game by enduring hit after hit.

Believe it or not, the game king of the hill is prevalent in your spiritual life. In fact, in your life, you are in a constant very similar battle: the battle of who will be the King of your mind.  In your daily life, your mind is bombarded by thoughts, images, and ideas that you must battle. Some thoughts are uplifting, others are detrimental. As a Christian, we are in a spiritual battle with Satan. Our mind is a battlefield, and we must stay diligent, alert, and strong in order to keep Jesus Christ and His ways on the forefront of our minds. Whoever has control of your mind is going to have control of your life.

Many times in the Bible, Paul admonishes us to guard our minds. In this ongoing battle, we cannot control the thoughts that we are attacked with, but we are responsible with what we do with those thoughts. If we allow ourselves to dwell on things that are not holy and uplifting toward God, our actions, manners, and relationships with God and others will be affected. To win this battle, you must be prepared, you must keep your guard up, you must stay alert at all times. Just like in the game of king of the hill, you can be completely focused on something in front of you, winning the game, knocking down the competition, and suddenly out of nowhere, you can be hit with a bomb from a direction you weren’t even aware of. It is during these attacks, that we have to remain alert. You must guard your mind, you must protect it. Whatever you allow yourself to mull over is what your life will become. If you want your life to be fruitful in the ways of Christ then you must keep His likeness upon your mind at all time. We must consistently filter our thoughts through God’s word.

For to set the mind of the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace – Romans 8:6

Being a Christian or becoming a Christian is not a “walk in park.” You don’t become a Christian and everything in your life suddenly becomes perfect. Being a Christian is a constant battle over ownership of our hearts and minds. You enter a battlefield between your flesh and your spirit. Between Satan and Christ. Between the things of the world and the things of Christ. The only way to conquer this battle and the only way for Christ to be King of your mind is to guard your mind, filter every thought through the word of God, and to continually set your thoughts on the things of Christ.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.- Colossians 3:1-2

Continually setting your mind to the ways of Christ is the only way to win this battle of the flesh while we are here on this earth. Our minds are gift from God to us, and it is our job to be good stewards of them. We are to guard them and protect them from context that could harm us and send us down paths that are not fruitful.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.- Romans 12:2

Who is the King of your mind? Who is winning your battles?

24

Last Sunday night, I spoke twice. First to a youth group about the importance of valuing yourself in this sex-crazed society, and second, to a church congregation about the importance of cherishing life. I emphasized how short our life was here on earth, and how if we wait to cherish our lives, our hearts, and our bodies, it might be too late. I emphasized that we must cherish our lives NOW…waiting might be too late. Ironic.

Just 24 hours later, I found myself lying in a bed in the emergency room.

Monday morning, I woke up with an absolutely fantastic plan. I had a creative vision that I was going to execute, and I did quite beautifully. So that rules out the questions raised about my stress levels. Stress didn’t even cross my mind that day.

Around noon on Monday, I started feeling strange. I use the word strange because strange is the only way I can describe it. You know when you’re getting sick. Your body signals it. Your temperature rises, your hands begin shaking, your throat dries up. All of the alarms in your body go off.

But this…this was different. This was a strange feeling…This was a dagger in my stomach swift and without warning. I continued working figuring it would go away. I ate lunch, sent my emails, talked to my best friend on the phone, continued editing…I mean life can’t stop over a stomach ache. As the saying goes, “The show must go on.”

However, by 3 o’ clock, my show couldn’t go on. I was in so much pain that sitting at my desk was no longer an option. I decided to lie down for twenty minutes just to see how that would go…the pain only intensified.

I hate admitting to pain. I hate it. I would rather suck it up and go on with life, so the fact that I was lying down and admitting to this pain solidified that it was serious pain.

Lying there, it grew painful to breathe. No matter what way I laid on the bed, the pain wouldn’t ease off. I tried my back, both my sides, but the sharp daggers continued stabbing relentlessly.

Finally, I called my mom and asked her when she would be home. This was admitting defeat. This was raising the white flag in surrender. I waited in agony for her return. No matter how old you are, there is something about having your mother around when you’re sick. Whether they do or not, in a child’s mind, a mother has all of the answers.

ALL of the answers.

Mom walked in, took one look at my discolored face and unfocused eyes and told me that I had no choice but to go to the doctor. I begged her through my tears to let me lay there for thirty more minutes. I silently hoped that in 30 more minutes it would go away. My mind raced with reasons why this pain could be happening. I thought about my activities over the last 24 hours. I thought about my food intake. I thought about everything…and nothing, nothing could have triggered it. I had done nothing out of the ordinary except for speak to a church group about cherishing your life. All I could think was, “Dear God, I do cherish my life! I do! Why am I having this cherishing my life intervention?”

No relief.

My mom came back up with my doctor on the phone. I agonized as I listened to my mom and her go back and forth over what could be wrong and why I was in so much pain that I could barely walk, stand, or breathe. My doctor agreed with my mom that everything pointed to appendicitis. My doctor in all her wonderfulness told my mother to take me straight to the hospital where she would have two surgeons on standby. For that I love her.

On the way to the hospital, I called my best friend and admitted to her what was going on. She quickly gathered her posse and began lifting prayers to heaven.

I arrived and they began checking me and prepping me. I told the Dr. first things first: do whatever it takes to get rid of this pain because I couldn’t take it anymore. It had been six straight hours of constant stabbing in my stomach, and I was beginning to question my sanity. He gave me vicodin and a relaxant hoping to ease up whatever was going on inside of me. Kind man. They ordered a CT and blood work just to make sure that it was my appendix before they opened me. The results confused me as well as everyone else. They were clean. According to the CT, my insides couldn’t be healthier. According to the bloodwork, I was in perfect health. My regular doctor even pulled my charts which were only done two weeks earlier and said that everything was perfect. There was no remote reason why I should be having these stomach pains. Someone threw out the word gallbladder. My charts and the scan cleared that one. According to my doctor, my gallbladder numbers were higher than normal. Basically, there wasn’t a healthier gallbladder on the planet. My appendix was clean. My temperature had dropped down to 97F. Yes, that’s below the normal body temperature at 98.6F. My blood pressure was perfect. Every test they ran indicated that I couldn’t possibly be healthier. I received this news through squinting eyes. WHAT!? What!? I knew for a fact that I wasn’t ok. By now the pain killers had kicked in and a bit of delirium settled in. All I could think about was why I was lying in a hospital bed after having gone through countless procedures as I writhed in pain and there wasn’t an explanation. Worse, the doctors, didn’t have a clue what was wrong with me.

I kept asking God over and over again why this was happening. I didn’t get it. I mean I didn’t want my appendix taken out, but at the same time there would be relief in knowing why I was in so much pain instead of lying clueless in total agony.

Had God answered all of my friend’s prayers that quickly? I had asked her to pray that they wouldn’t have to operate, and the doctors just told me they saw no need because everything looked great.

Was this a practice what you preach moment? Was God challenging me to really focus on cherishing my life? Was God showing me to put my actions where my mouth was? Was this an attack in an attempt to discourage me after the success of the previous evening?

 

WHAT WAS IT!?

I don’t know…I still don’t know a week later. But I can tell you this:

The doctors discharged me, and except for weakness and nausea the next day, I am fine. So God DID answer mine and all my friend’s prayers. I did put into action what I had “preached” on the night before. As I laid there wondering what was happening to my body, I was actually content with the thought of “going.” I knew in my heart that I had done what I could in my short time on earth for God’s kingdom. I was content with the name I would leave behind. I was content with how I would be remembered. I was prepared to meet God if this situation called for it.

I was able to witness to my doctor. We had the chance to talk about “my religious convictions,” and so within minutes this doctor knew I was a Christian. If it was meant for discouragement…well, then I’m still writing. I’m writing now to share and to tell you that if you stand for Christ, you will be challenged, but with every challenge, we can and will get up stronger if we fight our battles with Christ by our side. Christ is for us. Not against us. Satan hates us. He wants us to fall. He wants us to question everything we do for God’s kingdom, but He has already lost the battle. God has already defeated him.

 

So don’t lose heart when struggles come your way  because I guarantee you struggles will come your way. If you are a Christian and you are standing up for Christ, Satan hates you. He hates you. Don’t take that lightly. BUT even better Christ loves you, and is there for you. He is the One to fight your battles. He is there for you every step of the way. We will never understand why some things happen, but we know that all things do work together for the good of those who love Him.

Can you trust Him in every situation even when absolutely NONE of it makes sense?

Can you?

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in HIM. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. – Jeremiah 17:7-8

 

What do you Cherish? (notes from the service)

Hey everybody! This past Sunday, I had my first speaking engagement in front of an ENTIRE congregation. Well, I survived, and promised to post my outline and notes. This is not the best grammar nor is it the best sentence structure. Our speech is never quite as pretty and orderly as a well written post, but here it is in all its “unedited” speech ready form. Enjoy…it’s a bit long. I always have too much to say.

Cherish – Faith Baptist Church, Rockingham, North Carolina

March 13, 2011

God says to treat your body like a TEMPLE.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 – Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy and you are that temple.

I’m going to start out this evening with a definition…

Cherish

- protect and care for something or someone lovingly

- Hold (something) dear.

- To think of a hope, idea, or memory longingly or lovingly

I doubt many of you fear being thrown into a lion’s den for cherishing your life.

I doubt many of you fear being beheaded for praying to God

And honestly I doubt many of you fear being crucified for cherishing your life in the name of Christ.

And yet…and yet…many of us don’t cherish our lives. Many of us do not submit our bodies, our hearts, our minds to the ways of Christ.

Instead many of us treat our bodies, our hearts, our minds as if there are an endless amount of do-overs. We live our lives as if we are going to get a new body, a new heart, a new mind. We live for today and today alone. We don’t even think about tomorrow. Instead we live for today’s pleasures.

There are countless men and women who suffered the above because they cherished their life so much. They cherished their life so much that they were willing to give it up for the name of Christ. We don’t have any of these threats and yet we toss the thought of cherish out like it’s nothing.

I have a secret to tell you. Honestly…this is huge. No one thinks about this!

Today turns into tomorrow.

Tomorrow turns into next week.

Next week turns into next month.

And before you know it – your entire life has passed by and you haven’t cherished a second of it.

Today’s society doesn’t endorse cherishing. Rather it endorses quite the opposite. Today’s society lives more along the philosophy that emphasizes the NOW. What can we do NOW to make us happy? What can we do NOW to numb our pain? What can we do NOW to look cool, pretty, handsome, hot…whatever adjective you want to use… What can we do NOW to be popular? What can we do NOW to be loved? What can we do NOW to satisfy our cravings?

Today, we are run by an instantaneous generation. Everyone is in the “loop” with everyone.  From instant messaging, to skyping, to youtube, to facebook – everything is done NOW!  I mean think about the cell phone in your pocket. Think about that tiny device and what it can now connect you with.

On my Iphone I’ve got a camera, a video camera, my skype account, twitter, facebook, my calendar, four email accounts, my youtube account, my blogs…etc. It’s all very instantaneous. If you send me an email…I get it a few seconds afterwards….if you tweet me, facebook me, text me, etc…I know immediately.

IMMEDIATELY…

In the 21st century everything is about the NOW…with the internet, fast food restaurants, online bill paying, drive through coffee shops…everything is designed to get people what they want with something in the quickest way possible.

I didn’t realize how addicted to technology I was until I was at a friend’s house a few weekends ago. She lives in the middle of nowhere. I mean I live in the middle of nowhere, but I have service in the middle of my nowhere. This girl has no cell phone service. Nothing. Nada. Zippo. I was going to spend the night at this girls house, and as soon as I got into her house I knew it was going to be an interesting fifteen hours because I looked at my Iphone and it said: no service. My heart did a little flip…no cell phone service?!?!?

For someone who runs her life by her phone this was NOT good…at all. It made me realize just how much I relied on this little piece of technology, and how much I needed everything right then…chalk it up to being spoiled with the modernity of the 21st century…chalk it up to being nosey…curious…whatever…either way I could feel this odd feeling overcome me. All i could think about was that I was going to be disconnected! Disconnected! the horror! What was I going to do without my cell service!

It was funny because our other friend drove in from Wilmington a little bit later, and when she came in she was frustrated. When we asked her what was wrong, she huffed, “MY PHONE DIED!”

So it’s not just me…it’s the era I think….

I’m sure many of have thought that.

I tell you this because it made me think about something else. This made me think about my patient levels. Without realizing it, our cell phones have spoiled our patient levels.

I mean how hard was it for me to wait until the next day to check my emails? Or to return all of my messages? I mean what was more important at that moment? Seeing if I had a comment on my facebook status or cherishing those moments with my friends?

Now apply that to other parts of our lives.

How patient are you with the things God has for you?

How patient are you with sexual gratification? If you are single or dating someone are you waiting to have sex or are you being impatient and having it NOW?

How patient are you with others around you? Can you wait for them in the checkout lines or do you suddenly get angry or frustrated because things aren’t happening now?

How patient are you with people at work?

How patient are you with people at school?

Impatience plays into our sin cravings. We think that we need something right then and there so we lie, we cheat, we go and buy drugs to get an instant high, we go out and drink so we can numb ourselves from the pain and our problems because we think that is what we need right then in THAT moment.

Everything today is on the now with little regard for the future. When we focus on the now, we aren’t focused on what God wants for our life and we aren’t cherishing what He gave us which is a life on this earth to love, respect, and glorify Him.

Why is it important to cherish your body?

Well first of all Christ calls us to be holy. Christ calls us to cherish ourselves.

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy for I am holy.”

Cherishing your life is equivalent to obeying God. God called you to treat your body like a temple, His temple. And many times that involves going completely against today’s society norm.

Society’s norm celebrates disrespecting our bodies. We idolize lavish living, drunkenness, swearing, prostitution, homosexuality, promiscuity, sexual immorality, drug addiction, food addictions, even exercise addictions. Most of this is not only accepted but pushed for by the trendsetters of our day.

Turn on any reality television show and it glorifies immoral living. So easily we get caught up in watching these things on tv, and slowly we accept it. We accept it to be ok. We find ourselves accepting things that go directly against God’s word.

We’ve grown to accept homosexuality, alcoholism, sexual promiscuity, pornography… We’ve grown to accept them because they’ve become the “norm” of society. Celebrities endorse them. The govenment permits them even writing some of it off as psychological imbalances.

Yet truth is truth. Just because celebrities endorse it or the government allows it, doesn’t mean that it’s right. If God’s word speaks against it, if God’s word doesn’t approve of it, if God declares it sin then there’s no excuse. We cannot argue with God. Committing any of these is not cherishing your body, nor is it cherishing your life. We are to cherish our lives because our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.

How do you treat your body like a temple?

You submit your lives to the ways of Christ. You filter your heart and your mind through his word. The battle over your body is a battle between your spirit and your flesh. You must feed the spirit rather than the flesh.

Turn to Galatians 5:16-21

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. BUT if you are lead by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkeness, orgies, and things like these…I warn you as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

How many of us boast about some of the things above? How many of us regularly will joke with our friends about participating in some of the above actions? We justify being angry with someone because they wronged us. Or we relish in our rivalries with people, and we pout when we lose, or we gloat when we win. How many of us gossip to encourage dissensions between friends? How many of you boast about your own personal sexual immorality? How many of you live a life of impurity? Impurity in the heart or impurity of the mind?

Impurity is a big one…and it seems to be the one that I hound on the most because I feel that you won’t be able to conquer the above list until you deal with the impurity in your life. Impurity starts in the mind and in the heart.

The definition for impure is – mixed with foreign matter, adulterated, contaminated, polluted, tainted, unwholesome.

The things that we do and the things that we say all start in our heart or in our mind.

Our desires are what fuel our actions. Either good or bad. What we desire in our heart determines our actions, so if our hearts desires are IMPURE…what do you think your actions are going to be in life?

If your thoughts are impure, what do you think your actions are going to be?

If you entertain gossip and negativity if that is the constant stream that plays through your head, then what do you think is going to happen when someone around you starts gossiping about someone? If you are married and entertain having an affair with someone you work with or one of your friends…what do you think is going to happen if you two are alone one night? If you sit all day and long to go home and drink your problems away…what do you think is going to happen when you get home?

These are not the marks of a cherished life.

But let’s look at what is…the flipside of the life further down in Galatians…But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such thing there is no law…and those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it’s passion and desires – 5:22-24

This is what our lives should be marked by – the fruit of the spirit. Our lives should be painted by these things. Not just when we are in public, but when we are in the privacy of our own homes…

Philippians 1:27

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.

This is Paul…challenging you to have your conduct worthy at all times.

God does not want us to live in an impure way. Instead, he wants us to live as his heirs.

And we are meant to conduct our lives like his heirs, but too few of us actually live like we are his heirs.

Romans 8:13-17

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die (God again says it quite clearly – if you live outside of the spirit and live according to the flesh – you will die. There is no if, maybe, or well we will see how it goes. This is a WILL) But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirits of God are sons (or daughters) of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery (to the flesh and things of this world) to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, “Abba, Father!” The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children then HEIRS…(heirs. that just makes me feel giddy) heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided that we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

You might be thinking this isn’t a big deal and you can just wait around and finally decide to turn your life around later, but what if tomorrow was your last day? What if even today is your last day?

So many of us only think of today…we think that we can live today, relish today, enjoy today…but…we aren’t guaranteed our tomorrows…our tomorrows might never come. we live like we’ll get another shot at 30, 40, 50, 60, but we aren’t guaranteed that. And we don’t get a new life then…the body we’ve been abusing all through the years will still be dealing with the consequences we do today.

Because of the sacrifice God made, we should be zealous about treasuring our lives. We should be eager to treasure this beautiful life God gave us. God sent HIS son…

Many of you are parents. Could you imagine sending your child to die so that another person’s child might live? Can you imagine? Are we really going to slap God in the face and tell Him that we don’t want this life He sent his son and died over?

We focus so much on the earthly now, but the Bible tells us to focus on very different things now.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also – Matthew 6:19-21

So let me ask you.

What are you seeking? What are you putting your time, your money, your energy into? Whatever you are investing into tells a lot about who you are. Whatever you invest in is going to make your future. Whatever you are investing into shows what you truly cherish.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. – Matthew 6:33

Really analyze what’s in your heart. Really go over what’s in your mind. If you had to lay the contents of your heart out before everyone right now, would you be proud of its contents? Would you be proud of your thoughts? Would you be proud of your feelings toward God, others, etc.

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. – James4:8

So let me ask you again…what are you cherishing?

Devofest…ignite a generation!

Ignite your creative spirit with DevoFest! This powerful three-day conference will encourage youth ages 7-17 to discover and develop their interest and talents in Film, Music and Print. Held on the grounds of the LifeWay conference center nestled in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this sprawling 1,300 acre campus offers hiking trails, scenic brooks and ample opportunities to spend with God in His Creation. Hiking, nature walks, laser tag, science experiments and skits are just a few of the activities include in the curriculum. We’ll also enjoy a “wennie” roast and a late night marshmallow melt, along with FunFight night where EVERYONE gets messy.

Beginning Friday afternoon attendees will mingle with and learn from professional actors, musicians and best-selling authors in an intimate classroom setting. Light the fuse that will ignite your passion for novel writing, acting, film production, script-writing, story telling, musical videos, creative cooking, drama, science, and nature.

Parents will learn the importance of teaching and encouraging their children to create within a Christian World View.

DevoFest has a program fee of only $85 per student, which includes all sessions and breaks. A meal package is also available for on campus dining covering all meals from Saturday morning, through Sunday lunch. Convenient, on-campus lodging is available at Ridgecrest at special conference rates. Deluxe Room Rate: $85 per night, per room.

It’s time to call our children to action! Join us June 17-19 as we rock the mountain… and the world!

For more information email Terri Kelly at terri@devokids.com. Check out the website atwww.devokids.com.

 

If you know anyone one who is a creative teen, spread the word, and let their creativity change the world!