Out Of The Wilderness

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, Mark 4:10-11 I remember before I came to Christ reading the Bible and it not making sense. I was trying to make sense of it in my own human understanding. None of it made sense. I didn’t have the Holy Spirit to understand what Jesus was saying in the parables. After coming to Christ it didn’t all suddenly click, but as I sought Him in His word and in prayer, He began to reveal things to me. I was able to see the truth and see how it applied to my life. It isn’t always easy. And He uses the foolish things to confound the wise. I was very secure in my head knowledge and thought I could understand but without seeking Him and having a relationship with Him it meant nothing. Even now as a believer I have to walk carefully. Because it is so easy to find ...

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. I Peter 4:7 HE IS COMING BACK. WE GET TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH JESUS. WE’RE ALMOST HOME. I forget that I am living for more than this world. I forget that this isn’t my home. I forget that all my troubles will one day be no more. I forget that this too shall pass. So forgetting that this life isn’t all I have, causes me to live selfishly and to live self focused. I get stuck on the little things. I waste time and lack discipline by focusing on everything I’d rather be doing. It’s easy. It’s easy to make our faith be nothing. To let our relationship with God fall apart. And we let go, because we aren’t focused on Him. We lose sight of what we’re really living for. So we live for so many desires that aren’t Him. We live to look a certain way or act a certain way. And then we justify the way we’re living because we’re selfish. It’s really honestly sad. It’s sad that we live life so aimlessly w...

And Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” Then David said to Uriah, “Wait here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. II Samuel 11:11-13 David was trying to cover up his sin by having Uriah go sleep with his wife. Yet Uriah was disciplined in remaining faithful to what he had been called. He wouldn’t partake in the “ comfortability “ of being home. Because he knew he was set apart. He was called to more and this wasn’t it. It makes me think of going home. I am so excited. I am so re...

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Psalms 119:11 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. Mark 1:35 We must be disciplined in guarding our hearts with His word. The only way we get to know Him more is by spending time with Him in His word and meeting Him in prayer. When we take our eyes off of Him and fix them on ourselves we lose focus. It’s so easy to want the extra hour of sleep. Or the extra time to get ready. But when we compromise our time with Him. Or  the time of meeting with Him we start to compromise in our relationship. Because how can you know someone if you don’t talk or spend time together? In the same way sin comes in when we aren’t on guard with His word. We grow tired and weary because we stop seeking Him and seeking His strength and we rely on our own humanness to carry us though. When that’s not what we were created to do. Go...

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. I Corinthians 9:24-27 Running the race is hard. It’s easy to get discouraged or to start running in the wrong direction. Get off track or lose your way. Be too focused on the others running alongside you. Or fall and choose not to get back up. Or fall get back up but not be able to move past the fall. Which then causes for you to fall again. Or to be so self focused that you can’t run at full capacity because you’re too busy critiquing yourself. None of these things help you obtain the prize. Peopl...

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. I Timothy 4:8 Godliness is becoming more like God. As much as we can work with our physical body, if we spiritually are not maturing we lack everything. It’s in our relationship and growth with God that things change. It doesn’t matter what we do to pretty up our outward body of the inward man isn’t being matured and grown and built up. We have all things for life and godliness but nothing happens if we don’t receive them and apply them and grow in and through them. Because we have life and ministry now. We have places we’re called to now. People to pour into or places to serve in. We have a life now that He desires to use us in. So we must take on His godliness, take on His heart and live it now for the promise that we have for now. But we can also live in great expectancy for the promise of life in eternity. Because in the end ...

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, Philippians 3:12-13 I have been called to die to my rights and live in Him. This isn’t something that will be obtained this side of heaven. But I’ve also been called to keep going forward because I can’t lay hold of it for myself but Christ has attained it for us. And I lack understanding but I know I must seek Him and look at what He has for me in this moment right in front of me. Because I haven’t been called to worry. I haven’t been called to do it on my own. But to die to my desires that lead me to think that’s the right thing. I won’t attain perfection here. That’s my biggest struggle at times. Because I feel that I should already be there. I should be perfec...

if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:11 I am no longer dead.  If I count things as loss, suffering loss for Christ, that I may know Him and be found in Him, having no righteousness of my own but receiving His by faith and not by the Law, so that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection to then fellowship in His suffering being conformed to His death. But if conformed to His death.. He rose again. He lived again. He overcame death. So as Christ has risen so do I. Because I overcome because He overcame. So because of Him, I attain resurrection from death. Not because I deserve it. But because He loves me. The thing is, I need to die every day. I must die to my rights. I must die to my opinions. I must die to my need to be loved and accepted. I must die to my pride. But knowing in dying to all those there will be freedom. And there will be new life. Because He raises me up to a new life of rejoicing in the sufferings. Beca...

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, Philippians 3:10   I must die and live in Him. It’s easy to live life in the flesh. I have found myself before thinking I was dying to myself and my desires when really that’s all I was walking in. When I’ve been called to conform to His death. Because in that, in dying to sin, I live in Him. Jesus rising again on the third day changed everything. Not only did He predict His death and resurrection but He actually did it. Christ hung on a cross for me. He was beaten beyond recognition. He endured suffering an persecution. People made in of Him, spat on Him. Left Him bloody and bruised and dead. When He said “ it is finished “ it was done. He then rose on the third day. Ascended into heaven and is now preparing a place for me. So now I am called to follow Him. And He promised sufferings, He let me know it wasn’t going to be easy, He said to know I would...

and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; Philippians 3:9 Identity. I have begun to learn what it means to forsake all my preconceived ideas of who I am and am supposed to be. Because I have gained Christ and the knowledge of His saving grace. So now I am found in Him. Because He is enough. He came in the flesh, fulfilled the Law. And now He is my righteousness because i am not enough. The thing is I seem to forget that. I seem to forget that it’s not me or my works or the rules I set for myself. But that He is enough and He sacrificed and He overcame it all on the cross. I don’t have to work my way into His love. It is by faith in Christ and there my righteousness is from God by faith. So I must believe in Him. I must believe His word. I must believe He is who He says He is. Because I don’t have to work for my righteousness. My righteousness is found in H...

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ Philippians 3:8 I must let go of all that is no longer a part of my life in Him and grab on to Him. To count it all as loss is huge, and it’s hard to do. I find myself holding onto whatever I find comfortable even if it’s not Jesus. And it’s in those “ little “ compromises that then we can find ourselves on a path we’d rather not go down. So if I choose to not count all things loss, and I choose not to suffer the loss and count them as rubbish.. I gain nothing. But if for the excellence of the knowledge of my Jesus, I count the cost, I choose the hard and to suffer the loss. I gain everything. Everything. Because I know I will never lack in Him. He is sufficient for every need. Yet this is hard for me. Because I can know all this in my head. I can connect the truth as knowledge i...

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? Amos 3:3 Basically, no. I believe you could try, in your own strength and believe you are making progress and walking together but really you can’t. That’s double mindedness. To want to walk together someplace but walking in disunity by not agreeing. In learning from our class project it’s not always easy. Even just two people can with to very different ideas on how to get to the same place. But if there isn’t compromise and meeting each other in the middle. A lot of the time it won’t get done. And if it does, it won’t be to what it could have been. It’s easy to believe we’re walking in unity when really we’re not. I have had to learn in this week what it means to die to myself in not always sharing my opinion. Because between the 16 of us there are a lot. But God in all His sovereignty has brought us together for a greater purpose than ourselves. So I believe as a whole we have learned what it means to want to get somewhere togeth...

Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. Matthew 18:15 I don’t like conflict. I don’t like telling people when I feel that I’ve been wronged. It makes me afraid. I have a hard to time with people pleasing. So making someone upset isn’t something I enjoy. So going to someone if I feel I’ve been wronged is hard. For what seems like years, God has been growing me in this area. I have had a fun time in a lot of different relationships and having to deal with resolving conflict. Which hasn’t been easy. Because I know He desires for His body to live in unity. But fear cripples me from saying anything. Yet here we’ve been called to go, seek out our brother or sister, and resolve it. It’s love. That is something that has taken me a while to start grasping. Because I have to love them more than I love my self to seek out restoration. Me not doing that is me loving myself more. It’s me n...

Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. II Corinthians 13:11 He was encouraging them in what they should continue in. He knew that in and of themselves they could do none of this but he also knew they had of the Lord. I think this is something that has been lived out here even though it hasn’t always been easy. When he talks about them being complete I believe it is talking about being complete in Him as the Body. Because in Him we lack no good thing. And in Him we are totally and completely found. Then in that way being brought together as His people, who are complete in Him. And in that unity of being complete we are able to comfort one another. In the oneness of being restored and complete we are able to be there for one another and comfort each other. Which is a beautiful and joy filled privilege. And because of that we are able to fellowship in one mind and have peace. ...

And having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith; Romans 12:6 The body wouldn’t be the body if it was missing a leg or an arm. As much as those parts of us are essential to our daily lives. In the same way, each is needed for the Body to move. We all have received grace because of Jesus. And we have all been gifted with different things because of His grace. It is easy to look at your brother or sister and see what they have or to see a different maturity in the similar giftings you have and be jealous. For me that was difficult. I could seen those around me growing or being given opportunities to grow and I was struggling with being jealous. I wanted to grow and be used. But my eyes were on the wrong thing. I was seeking acceptance, I was seeking to be fulfilled my calling. I was seeking to be recognized and applauded when really the gift and the calling as beautiful as they were,...

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7   This was the message that they heard from Him. And now he is sharing it with us. I’ve been walking in bitterness. I was hurt and I struggled with letting it go. A person I loved dearly and whether it was intentional or not I felt rejected. It went from being one of my closest relationships to someone that felt like a stranger. And that was hard, I was deceiving myself for a while thinking I was okay. Thinking I wasn’t upset. When really bitterness and disunity were taking root in my heart. I can look back and see how God has been working on that everyday since I’ve been here. This verse, well really ...

Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Luke 12:37-40    We are called to serve in all aspects. Being ready in all moments. It is so easy to think with comfort. We get stuck and become comfortable. We become lazy. It’s easy to get stuck in that mindset, and then be put in a position and “ fail “ because of laziness. We become focused on self. He has called us to be good stewards of what we have. We are called to different seasons but in all to be faithful to the little things waiting and expecting His...

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. John 15:15 He has redeemed me. This is all I see. I get to partake in what God is doing. I get to be used for His glory and His purpose. I am called by name. I am His daughter and He loves me. I see it in His word, getting to see the way He used not only the Apostles but Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. There was a way, there was a purpose. And now I get to partake. I get to partake in the sharing of His gospel, I get to extend His love to others. I can share the way He redeemed my life and continues to make me more like Him. How the story doesn’t end there but the process continues. How He is faithful to be with me to the end. That I am not forsaken but loved. That He calls me friend. Because He desires to have a relationship with me. And not just with me but with all. That His love is so deep and so w...

It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:26-28 Jesus was the greatest example of a servant. He cane 100% man and 100% God but He humbled Himself and dwelt with the lowly. To be able to lead you must know how to follow. Jesus knew how to lead because He followed the Father. It’s hard to do that at times. Follow when we desire to lead. But God in all His sovereignty knows we must learn. Because He will lift us up in due time. But if we aren’t first humbled we will very easily fall into pride. We must give our lives as Jesus did. To be great leaders we must be great servants. Servants who are willing to lay it all down at the foot of the cross for Jesus. Laying aside all desire to be “ above “ and first learn what He has in the “ low “. It is all a learning process...

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" Luke 17:7-10 We don’t deserve anything. We don’t deserve to be carried to the table. This is what this showed me. We deserve nothing in our sin we are dead and have freely been given life. It is a faith thing to trust that He sees. At least for myself I know I like to be told “ Good Job “. I like getting the pat on the back. I like that feeling of knowing someone saw. But it isn’t always like that. It is easy to live for acknowledgement but really anything I do in an...