Time and Time Again God is Faithful

About 2am Monday night/Tuesday morning when I was working some accounting problems--yes, I am very much a night owl--I was suddenly so overwhelmed with God's faithfulness. Crazy how the combination of so many small things can make a tremendous impact on you.


This week before spring break was pretty crazy, full of multiple things due for classes every day, assignments, papers, quizzes, exams. I had a group project/paper due Tuesday, a pretty big finance exam (7 chapters!) scheduled for Wednesday, and an accounting paper due Thursday. Planning out my schedule for the week, I had no idea when I was going to get that paper written. Already getting by on very little sleep, I literally did not know when I would have time to write that paper.


I was praying on my walk to accounting Tuesday morning, and I prayed that I could somehow get an extension on the paper due Thursday. At the end of class the professor said, "As you all know, the paper is due Thursday, but I've gotten some emails saying that somewhere online it says it is due March 24, and someplace else it says it's due the 15th. Since there's some confusion about this, just turn it in sometime before you leave for spring break. I guess that means if you're not leaving for spring break at all you have a really long extension" Wow! Hello, answered prayer! That extension was just what I needed! I was able to focus on studying for my finance exam the first half of the week and then wrote the paper after the exam.


Spring break was wonderful--a much needed breather from deadlines. I went home to Illinois for the week and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. The week definitely flew by much faster than I would have liked!


You might expect that the week after spring break wouldn't be too hectic after the prior week of midterms, and surely there wouldn't be too many exams... This was not the case for me. I had an auditing exam scheduled for Monday night, and an accounting assignment, paper, and exam Wednesday. I did do some studying over spring break, but I was feeling pretty overwhelmed Sunday afternoon on my drive back to Des Moines.


While I was studying Sunday night I got a text from my Mom, "Sending prayers to help you get through the week. You are smart, I love you, and I am proud of the lovely person you have become."


My mom also told me that my little sister Rachel had prayed for me before bed Saturday night.


I woke up Monday morning to a text from my friend Lindsay, "Praying for you this morning! I know how busy your Mondays are. Love you!!"


I went to my accounting class and my professor gave an extension on the paper. Instead of being due Wednesday, it was now due the following Monday!


I took my auditing exam in my night class, and by the grace of God, I had studied and retained the right material.


After Bible study, my friend Ellie gave me a note, expanding Galatians 2:20: My old self [of finding my identity in performance, of independence from God, of stress and anxiety!] has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by TRUSTING in the Son of God, who LOVED me and gave Himself for me.


Maybe all of those things seem small and insignificant, but to me they weren't insignificant at all. The perfect combination of them caused me to remember how deeply God cares for each of us and knows our specific needs, and how He shows us His love through His people. I am so thankful that God is continually teaching me how to trust in Him and rely on His strength! I am nowhere near perfect at this, but He isn't finished with me yet. He is faithful! Always!


2 Thessalonians 3:16 [NLT] ~  Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.

Your Love Is Strong

"So why do I worry? Why do I freak out? God knows what I need, You know what I need... Two things you told me: that You are strong and You love me. Yes, You love me..." 

I love this song a whole lot. Another essential reminder!

"Your Love is Strong" -- Jon Foreman

Matthew 6:25-34 [NLT]

²⁵ “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ²⁷ Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

²⁸ “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

³⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Hebrews 10:1-18

Hebrews 10:1-18 [The Message]

The Sacrifice of Jesus

 ^1-10The old plan was only a hint of the good things in the new plan. Since that old "law plan" wasn't complete in itself, it couldn't complete those who followed it. No matter how many sacrifices were offered year after year, they never added up to a complete solution. If they had, the worshipers would have gone merrily on their way, no longer dragged down by their sins. But instead of removing awareness of sin, when those animal sacrifices were repeated over and over they actually heightened awareness and guilt. The plain fact is that bull and goat blood can't get rid of sin. That is what is meant by this prophecy, put in the mouth of Christ: 

   You don't want sacrifices and offerings year after year; 
      you've prepared a body for me for a sacrifice. 
   It's not fragrance and smoke from the altar 
      that whet your appetite. 
   So I said, "I'm here to do it your way, O God, 
      the way it's described in your Book."
When he said, "You don't want sacrifices and offerings," he was referring to practices according to the old plan. When he added, "I'm here to do it your way," he set aside the first in order to enact the new plan—God's way—by which we are made fit for God by the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.

 ^11-18Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. The Holy Spirit confirms this:

   This new plan I'm making with Israel
      isn't going to be written on paper,
      isn't going to be chiseled in stone;
   This time "I'm writing out the plan in them,
      carving it on the lining of their hearts."
He concludes,
   I'll forever wipe the slate clean of their sins.
Once sins are taken care of for good, there's no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I had read this passage before, but this was the first time I had read it in The Message translation. I just like how it speaks so clearly. 

For example, "Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it!" 

Sin problem. Yep. That pretty much describes it. I have a huge sin problem, sin debt, that needs to be taken care of, solved, reconciled. My "sacrifices" aren't what take away my sin. But Jesus' sacrifice on the cross does take away my sin! My "good works" can't make me whole again. But Jesus can restore me! My salvation isn't Jesus plus good works, or Jesus plus trying really hard to be good, or Jesus plus ____________. It's simply Jesus.

And then, I love this part...

"It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process."

It's not just me with this sin problem. It's every single person who has ever lived. We certainly are "some very imperfect people." It just blows my mind that Jesus would choose to die for such imperfect people. He willingly died for the very people who spat upon Him, turned their backs to Him, ridiculed Him, as He hung upon a cross, taking their sin upon Himself. While I was still completely buried in my sin, Jesus showed His great love for me by dying for me so I could one day live forever with God.

Romans 5:6-8 [The Message] ~ "Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him."

Love, love, love that. Jesus paid it all. Period.

Psalm 121 ~ My Help Comes From The Lord

Sometimes after I read something, I paraphrase what it's saying in my own words. It helps me to actually think about what I'm reading, rather than just glaze over it. I hadn't done this in quite a long time, but I did this morning after I read Psalm 121.


In the ESV...

"Psalm 121
My Help Comes from the LORD

 ¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills.
   From where does my help come? 

² My help comes from the LORD,
   who made heaven and earth.

 ³ He will not let your foot be moved;
   he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

 ⁵ The LORD is your keeper;
   the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

 ⁷ The LORD will keep you from all evil;
   he will keep your life.
⁸ The LORD will keep
   your going out and your coming in
   from this time forth and forevermore."

My paraphrase...

 ^[1] I look all around me and ask, "Where does my help come from?" ^[2] Then I remember--my help comes from the Lord God! He will help me! God created everything around me on Earth and in Heaven. Surely He who created everything can help me with whatever I am facing! ^[3&4] God will not let me stumble, fall, or fail. God is my guardian! He won't sleep on the job. Indeed, God who watches over His people will not doze off or take a break from His guardian post. ^[5&6] Jesus is my guardian, my keeper, my healer, my protector, my rescuer, my hero. He is right next to me, and He is with me wherever I go. He never leaves my side! By day and by night, He is with me. Nothing can harm me with such a steadfast guardian beside me! ^[7] God will protect me from evil. My life is in His hands. ^[8] God will watch over me and protect me no matter where I am or where I am going. He will always protect me. He will never abandon me. Ever. And that's a promise. He is with me today and every day.

And then I thought of this song...

"My Help Comes From The Lord" ~ The Museum

...And how true the lyrics are!

"When sorrows come and hope seems gone
You’re the Rock I rest upon
When waters rise and I can’t breathe
You’re the love that rescues me

Out of the darkness
I lift up my eyes
Unto the hills
I feel my faith rise

Maker of heaven, giver of life
You are my strength, my song in the night
My refuge, my shelter
Now and forevermore
My help comes from the Lord

When I’m broken, scarred by sin
Death gives way to life again
When I suffer, when I’m bound
In You I’m free, in You I’m found

Out of the darkness
I lift up my eyes
Unto the hills
I feel my faith rise

Maker of heaven, giver of life
You are my strength
You’re my refuge
Now and forevermore

My help comes from the Lord
My help comes from the Lord"

//Amen.

Usefulness or Relationship? -- Oswald Chambers

I was reading My Utmost For His Highest this morning and came across this devotion by Oswald Chambers:

Usefulness or Relationship?

"Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven —Luke 10:20"

"Jesus Christ is saying here, “Don’t rejoice in your successful service for Me, but rejoice because of your right relationship with Me.” The trap you may fall into in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service— rejoicing in the fact that God has used you. Yet you will never be able to measure fully what God will do through you if you have a right-standing relationship with Jesus Christ. If you keep your relationship right with Him, then regardless of your circumstances or whoever you encounter each day, He will continue to pour “rivers of living water” through you (John 7:38). And it is actually by His mercy that He does not let you know it. Once you have the right relationship with God through salvation and sanctification, remember that whatever your circumstances may be, you have been placed in them by God. And God uses the reaction of your life to your circumstances to fulfill His purpose, as long as you continue to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7).

Our tendency today is to put the emphasis on service. Beware of the people who make their request for help on the basis of someone’s usefulness. If you make usefulness the test, then Jesus Christ was the greatest failure who ever lived. For the saint, direction and guidance come from God Himself, not some measure of that saint’s usefulness. It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. All that our Lord gives His attention to in a person’s life is that person’s relationship with God— something of great value to His Father. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory . . .” (Hebrews 2:10)."

I thought this was a really good reminder that my worth before God is not found in what I can do for Him. It's a dangerous mindset to get into when I begin to measure my "performance" as a Christian. I begin to make it about me and what I'm doing. I wrongly take the glory for myself, when it clearly belongs to God. I start relying on myself, rather than God. And then when I mess up, when I can't do all that's demanded of me, I feel that I have failed. I feel like God is shaking His head in disappointment at me.

What. A. Lie. That's not how God sees me at all! I am His daughter, and He loves me so incredibly much!

1 John 3:1 [NIV1984]: "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

 Romans 8:16-17 [NIV1984]: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

One of my favorite passages is Hebrews 4:14-16 [NIV1984]: "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

God isn't mad at me when I mess up. He wants me to turn to Him for strength, for comfort, for everything.

 Psalm 116:5 [CEB]: "The LORD is mericful and righteous; our God is compassionate."

Look To You

Love finding sweet OT stuff :) I really like King Jehoshaphat's prayer in 2 Chronicles 20...

2 Chronicles 20:6-12 [NLT] ~ He [King Jehoshaphat] prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. They said, ‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’
 “And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them. Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance. O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”

What a sweet, honest prayer, "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." [ESV]. Totally trusting that God has a plan and God will deliver them... Where is my focus, especially when there are problems in my life and I don't know what to do? Is it on me, thinking my own strength will be the solution? Is my focus on the ground, on what's in front of me right now, instead of on God--who He is, what He has done, His promises? Do I believe the lie that my problems are too big for God? Too big for a God who created everything, who loves me beyond anything I can imagine? When my focus is on myself, rather than trusting God, this essentially is what I am saying.

This reminds me of one of my favorite passages... Hebrews 12:1-3 [NIV] ~ "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." 


2 Corinthians 4:18 [NIV] ~ "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."


Back to 2 Chronicles 15-17 [ESV] ~ Thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel.  You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you."


"See the salvation of the Lord on your behalf." I love this... In this passage, it is talking about the specific battle that Judah was fighting, but I think it also applies when thinking about the salvation we have through Christ Jesus. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross paid it all. He paid the price I could never pay. My assurance in Christ is not about what I have done, it is solely about what Christ did for me. On my behalf.


Hebrews 7:25 [NLT] ~ "Therefore He [Jesus] is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through Him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf."

Beautiful Ending

“Beautiful Ending” by BarlowGirl 


"Oh, tragedy,
Has taken so many.
Love lost 'cause they all
Forgot who You were.
And it scares me to think
That I would choose
My life over You.
Oh, my selfish heart
Divides me from You,
It tears us apart.


So tell me,
What is our ending?
Will it be beautiful,
So beautiful?


Oh, why do I
Let myself let go
Of Hands that painted the stars
And hold tears that fall?
And the pride of my heart
Makes me forget
It's not me but You
Who makes the heart beat.
I'm lost without You
And dying from me


So tell me,
What is our ending?
Will it be beautiful,
So beautiful?


Will my life
Find me by Your side?
Your love is beautiful,
So beautiful


At the end of it all,
I wanna be in Your arms.
At the end of it all,
I wanna be in Your arms.
At the end of it all,
I wanna be in Your arms.
At the end of it all,
I wanna be in Your arms.


So tell me,
What is our ending?
Will it be beautiful,
So beautiful?
Will my life
Find me by Your side?
'Cause Your love is beautiful,
So beautiful"

BarlowGirl's reason for writing this song goes along so well with what I’ve been reading lately, 2 Chronicles. This scenario seems to play out again and again—the leaders and kings of Judah seem to be so on track with following the Lord, He has blessed them with great ministries… but then, something happens and they turn away. They become distracted. Something else seems to become greater than God. Here is the story that sticks out to me the most right now.

King Asa’s Story:

Chapters 14 to 16 of Second Chronicles talk about King Asa’s reign in Judah. 2 Chronicles 14:2 says, “And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” He “commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment” (14:4).

King of Judah, Asa, and his army of 300,000 men are about to fight the Ethiopians’ army of a million men (14:9). “And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you" (14:11). And the Lord gave victory to Judah.

“And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him with their whole desire, and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around (15:15). King Asa must have hated sin and idolatry because he destroyed an idolatrous image that his own mother had (15:16). 2 Chronicles 15:17 says “The heart of Asa was wholly true all his days.” For the first 35 years of his ruling as King of Judah, Asa had followed the Lord.

The 36^th year is where Asa falls into trouble. “But in the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha king of Israel attacked. He started it by building a fort at Ramah and closing the border between Israel and Judah to keep Asa king of Judah from leaving or entering” (16:1 [The Message]). Instead of crying out to the Lord for help, he took matters into his own hands. He sent gold and silver from The Temple of God to send to Ben-hadad, king of Syria to make a treaty with him.

2 Chronicles 16:7-9 of The Message says, "Just after that, Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said, "Because you went for help to the king of Aram and didn't ask God for help, you've lost a victory over the army of the king of Aram. Didn't the Ethiopians and Libyans come against you with superior forces, completely outclassing you with their chariots and cavalry? But you asked God for help and he gave you the victory. God is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him. You were foolish to go for human help when you could have had God's help. Now you're in trouble—one round of war after another."" King Asa had forgotten what the Lord had done for him in the past. He had forgotten how the Lord had delivered him.

And what was Asa’s response to this rebuke? Asa’s heart hardened toward the Lord. He threw the seer in prison and was cruel to some of the people (16:10). In the 39^th year of his reign, King Asa got a terrible foot disease. “Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but sought help from physicians” (16:12). King Asa, who had started out following the Lord so strongly in the beginning, lost sight of who God is, how BIG He is, how He alone is able to SAVE.

How easily I can forget who God is and how much He loves me. How easily my focus shifts from the Lord and onto myself.

How essential it is to trust in God’s character and His promises. God's character doesn't change with our circumstances. No matter what I am facing or how I am feeling, His love remains.


"Though our feelings come and go, God's love for us does not." -- C.S. Lewis


Romans 8:37-39: "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Made For More

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says, "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

We were made for more than this world in its broken, sinful state. We were made to be in perfect relationship with God, our creator. As humans, we ruined this relationship because we chose to sin. But God loved us so much that He sent His only son to die in our place. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." He paid the price we could not pay. His love for us is SO BIG!


I really like the C.S. Lewis Song by Brooke Fraser, and the truth it speaks... Especially the Bridge.

C.S. Lewis Song, by Brooke Fraser

"If I find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy,
I can only conclude that I was not made for here
If the flesh that I fight is at best only light and momentary,
then of course I'll feel nude when to where I'm destined I'm compared

[CHORUS]
Speak to me in the light of the dawn
Mercy comes with the morning
I will sigh and with all creation groan as I wait for hope to come for me

Am I lost or just less found? On the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
Is this a soul that stirs in me, is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?
'Cause my comfort would prefer for me to be numb
And avoid the impending birth of who I was born to become

[CHORUS]

[BRIDGE]
For we, we are not long here
Our time is but a breath, so we better breathe it
And I, I was made to live, I was made to love, I was made to know you
Hope is coming for me
Hope, He's coming"