I don't have to sin anymore!!

Romans 6, 7, and 8 are some of the most amazing chapters in all of Scripture. They speak of our horrid sin and then our freedom which is found in Christ. I heard a pastor give an example of these passages. He gave an illustration that has stuck with me years later.
Imagine someone you knew died. We’ll call him Dave. Dave died. Now Dave had been a pastor of a local church and impacted many hearts and lives. At Dave’s funeral there are many people who will miss him and his minister’s heart. But there are also others that come. One walks up to the coffin and spits in Dave’s lifeless face. Another says, “I never liked your preaching. The sermons were always way too long and boring. What do they teach in those schools anyway?” Are either of these things going to bother Dave? Absolutely not! Why? Because he’s DEAD! Dead people aren’t affected by what people say or do.
Now look at this as it relates to our spiritual lives. Romans 6 reckons believers dead to sin. We don’t have to be affected by sin or its powers because we are dead to them. We now have the power, through the Spirit, to say no to sin and yes to Christ.
It is such a beautiful and freeing thought; I DON’T HAVE TO SIN ANYMORE!!

Growing Up

“When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” 1 Corinthians 13:11

Growing old is such an inevitable part of life. You’re born, you live, you die. It’s the cycle we all must face. But while growing old comes naturally growing up is a different matter completely. Contrary to popular opinion maturity does not naturally come with age. I know plenty of teenagers who act like adults and adults that act like they were teenagers again.
As I near my 23rd birthday and I think about all that the Lord has blessed me with these past years I wonder how much maturity I have acquired. As I know I am growing older I also need to be aware that I should be growing up as well. As the apostle Paul said, in the before mentioned verse, I shouldn’t be living like a child anymore, but making good choices and live according to responsibility and conviction. Let’s all GROW UP in the name of the Lord.

Wartime Lifestyle

I am in the process of rereading Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. Chapter 7 is entitled Living to Prove that He is more Precious than Life. He (obviously referring to Christ) is to be treasured above all else. There are numerous verses recorded in scripture, and eluded to in this book, talking about treasuring nothing above Jesus and if there is anything you do to get rid of it.
This wartime lifestyle or mindset is a reminder of the reality we live in. We are in a constant war between Christ and Satan, truth and falsehood, belief and unbelief. Our weapons are not of this world but strong though Christ, namely the Gospel, prayer and love. It is much easier for us to slip into the less satisfying life of peace and simplicity instead of being on guard for the evil one.
May God help us to stay on the alert and to live to make Christ more precious than life.

Why God?

The question of why God is asked often in our society. Evil exists in the world today, and we are all affected by it. Death, disease, illness, loss of jobs, failed marriage, loss of child, the list goes on and on. These things lead us all to ask this question. Even non-believers can be heard in difficult situations asking God why. C.S. Lewis once said, “The problem of pain and suffering is the atheist’s greatest weapon.”
This is often the question Christians have the hardest time answering. Why do bad things happen to good people?
We may never understand the full reason but we can do three things. 1) trust in God believing that He is sovereign and in complete control of everything. 2)He has given us this “test” to help us to grow to be more like His Son (See Romans 8:29) 3) We are to comfort others through difficult times just as we have been comforted. (See 1 Corinthians 1: 3-4)
I don’t know what I would do in hard times without my complete trust in the sovereignty of God.

Fall Break

Why do we enjoy breaks so much? Why is “off time” something we often enjoy? Is it because we are lazy? For some this may be the reason but not for all. Rest is something our bodies need. God programmed them like that from the very beginning. In Genesis on the seventh day God rested. He told the children of Israel to keep the Sabbath day holy. Throughout other scriptures we are encouraged to stop or slowdown. But what is the purpose resting? The following verses should help to answer this question:

“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.”Psalm 46:10

“Listen to this, O Job, Stand and consider the wondrous works of God.” Job 37:14

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4

May we all take time to stop, rest and remember what God has done for us and how wonderful He is. Why don’t you take a minute right now just to thank Him for life.

There's no place like home

Dorothy knew what she was saying in the Wizard of Oz. There truly is no place like home. Tomorrow is the first day of North Greenville’s Fall Break. After math I don’t have any other classes until Wednesday morning. YAY!! So I’ll be driving about 6 hours to my wonderful hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. I get to spend the whole weekend (plus a few days) with my family. I also get to go to my home church that I’ve attended all my life and see some good friends. I’m so excited!!!
I am constantly overwhelmed by God’s blessings in my life. This is one I greatly treasure. Some of my friends live too far away or are too busy to go home for the break.

Mamma Mia!!

A friend and I started a diet on Friday the first of October. We aren’t eating starches or breads or sweets or fried foods. We are trying to eat more veggies and fruits and healthy meats. We are also exercising most everyday in the gym. My personal goal for all of this is to lose weight and to be healthier for the ministry the Lord has called me to. Seeing this as the third day I’m doing pretty well.
One of my hardest first steps took place at Cici’s pizza last night. Now you have to understand that pizza is one of my most favorite foods in the world and the best part is the crust. Of course this counts as bread in our diet so that is a big “no no.” I ate a small salad and was satisfied. But my friend was determined for me to scrape the topping off the pizza and eat it. I didn’t want to but after much coercion I scrapped the toppings off and ate it. It seemed like such a waste of perfectly good pizza crust. But it was worth it. I wonder what the next difficult, worth wild step will be?