Experiencing Grace

(It might be helpful to start reading at God's Holiness, then Embracing Brokenness, and then this post :)

Grace- Unmerited favor. Receiving something that we do not deserve.

The last study that we did under “Set Free” was Experiencing Grace. After taking a look at God’s Holiness, and embracing our brokenness, we have nothing left to do except experience His immeasurable and undeniable Grace.

We looked at Ephesians 2: 1-10

 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Through this study, the Lord continued to reveal more and more of His character to me.  In verse 1 it tells us who we were, or who we are, without Christ in our life; we were dead in our transgressions. We are sinful by nature, and our sinful condition keeps us separated from God because He is so Holy and can have no part in sin. Also, because of this sin, we deserve death. We deserve all of God’s wrath poured out on us, but because of God’s character, because of His great love and mercy, He sent his only son Jesus Christ to die that death for us so that we can know God, and that by His grace we can live with Him forever in Heaven. We are seated with Him in heaven. Even though we still sin after we accept Christ, because of Christ, our sin is 100% FORGIVEN- past, present, and future. When we accept Christ we are IN Christ, so when God looks on us he doesn’t see us and our sin, He sees Christ and His holiness and righteousness. Rest in that, friends.

In Micah chapter 7, verse 19, it says that God will have compassion on us, he will tread our sins under his foot, he will hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea. He forgives our sin and then forgets it the moment we commit it and admit that we did something wrong. By denying that we are forgiven, we deny the power of the cross. If we don’t believe we are forgiven, then he died for nothing. Rest in the fact that if you are in Christ, then you are a new creation. Your sin is 100% FORGIVEN.  

These last three studies gave me such an incredible look into the character of God. I am so thankful that He revealed Himself to me in the ways that He did and when He did.

I hope you can find encouragement and truth in these studies as I have.

Seek after Him and He will never leave you. He longs to know you and to show Himself to you, all you need to do is seek after Him.

Embracing Brokenness

       The second week after staff left project, the theme was embracing brokenness. With the first week being God’s Holiness, we began to look at our brokenness compared to God’s holiness. During the study that week we looked through quite a few passages from the Bible that talked about light and darkness.

The bulk of our study was in John 1:5-9.

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 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, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

According to this passage- God is light. That means that NO darkness can be found in him at all, EVER. This points back to how Holy He is. We are called to walk in this light. How can we walk in this light, though, if we are sinful (darkness) and God cannot have any part of darkness? It is because of the death of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross, cleansing you and me of ALL of our sin- past, present and future, so that we may be found IN him. If we are in Christ then we are seen as holy and blameless before God. If you are a follower of Jesus, then you are in him, and when God looks at you he doesn’t see your sin, he sees Jesus. This reveals that in order to have a relationship with him, we need Jesus, because God cannot be in the presence of darkness, but with Jesus we are children of light. The old has passed and the new has come. ALL of our sins are forgiven and we are called to live in that freedom.

        So, if you are a child of light, then what does it look like to walk in this light? Well, first, lets look at what it looks like to walk in darkness?

            -Believing lies, not surrendering to God, not abiding in the Spirit, not seeking after Him, denying that we have sin, denying that we need Jesus, and more.

Now, what does it look like to walk in the light?

            -Confessing sin, seeking after God, repentance, trusting in God, not looking for satisfaction in other things or people, and more.

            - Walking in the light is about being exposed, not just being a good Christian.

When we embrace our brokenness we can see God’s faithfulness, justice, love and so much more revealed in our own lives, and it shows our desperate need for a Savior. When we embrace our brokenness, truth is revealed to us.

The more we embrace our brokenness, we will begin to know more of God’s character and who He is in our own lives. He longs to reveal Himself to us; we just need to realize how bad we actually need Him.

God's Holiness

Holy (adj.)- exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.

In the last five weeks of project, the Lord really began to show me how Holy he is. I know I cannot fully comprehend it, and never will be able to because I am only human and He is, well, God, but what He did reveal to me was absolutely incredible.  In the midst of my doubt and unbelief He revealed Himself to me in a powerful and stunning light. Even when I was doubting the very being He was and who He was in my life, He looked on me and said “ I long to reveal myself to you. I will show you whatever I have to, to prove myself to you, no matter what you think of me. I love you that much. I will not let you go.” What incredible and never-ending love.

If you take a look in Isaiah 6 verses 1-3, it paints a beautiful picture of just how Holy our God is.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Right away in verse 1 it shows how big and worthy He is. He is high and exalted the train of his robe filled the temple. Then Isaiah mentions the seraphs. Seraphs are defined as- a member of the highest order of angels, often represented as a child's head with wings above, below, and on each side. If you look at verse 2 it says that the seraphs covered their faces. They are members of the highest order of angels and God is so holy that even they can’t look at Him. All the seraphs did was fly above His throne and sing out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” That is all they did, day and night, everyday, all the time. What would it look like for us to praise God day and night, everyday, all the time? He is so worthy of that kind of praise.

This is just a small glimpse into just how holy our God is. How crazy is that.

Through this study, the Lord revealed Himself so true in my life. He revealed so much of his character to me. He is my Rock, my Savior, Redeemer, Father, Comforter, Creator, the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End, and so much more. He is so powerful, just, merciful, gracious, loving, kind, gentle, strong, compassionate, and good. He only wants good for me. Even if it means taking me through the most difficult situations, it is a chance for him to reveal his power and sovereignty to me. It creates a more intimate relationship with him, and he does that for me. My God is a jealous God and He will do ANYTHING to keep me. I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around that. 

Lord, what are you doing?

      During the first five weeks of project, this was a question that I asked of the Lord daily. There were also other questions like “Where are you going with this? Why are you taking me through this? What purpose does this have in my life? How long are you going to leave me here? Are you even listening to me?” 

I was beginning to doubt God. I doubted who He was in my life. I doubted His very character and the promises that He had made to me. I was beginning to believe that He had abandoned me, left me, like He was holding out on me. There were prayers that he wasn’t answering, places in my life that he wasn’t satisfying, anxiety that he wasn’t taking away from me when I thought I was giving it up to Him.  Have you ever felt like this, or do you feel like this now? If you are, I have good news for you; there is hope.

     Through this period of doubt, unbelief, and all out wrestling with the Lord, He was there. As I reflect back on it now, He NEVER abandoned me, He didn’t leave me, and He definitely was not holding out on me. He put people in my life that just sat with me while I wrestled, friends that gave me cold hard truth when my stubborn heart didn’t want to hear it or believe it, they were the hands and feet of Jesus. He showed Himself so true through them. Of course it wasn’t an overnight switch that flipped and all of a sudden my feelings of doubt were gone. I still struggle with some of these questions and feelings, but one thing I do know is that God has not and will not leave me, He is there, and He is taking me through this so that He can reveal more of Himself to me. There are still prayers that I am waiting for Him to answer, anxiety that I am still trying to give to Him, and there are still characteristics of God that I am having a hard time believing. But by taking me through this hard time, the Lord was able to reveal Himself true and Holy, present and loving, close and compassionate. I will go through hard times, but friends, it is so worth it if I get to know my Creator more intimately. He longs to reveal Himself to us. This is the truth that I am resting in today, and the truth that I will continue to rest in because I know He is near.

VBSP 2012!

Hello Friends!

What an adventure these last couple of weeks have been! On June 2nd, I left from Cleveland and headed south to Virginia Beach where I will be spending my time until August 8^th. I am here with an organization called CRU. I have been involved with CRU for the past three years at Bowling Green State University and Cru offers this really cool opportunity for students called summer project. I am on summer project for the second year in a row here in Virginia Beach, but there are summer projects all over the U.S., and each summer project also has a different mission, or focus. Here in Virginia Beach I will grow in my faith, as well as, share my faith with others.

I am here with 63 other students and about 30 Cru staff. Each student on project has to get a full time job while we are down here. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to continue to work where I did last year, at a dog kennel called Shipp’s Corner Pet Spa and Resort. I am so excited to be there again and continue to get to know my co-workers! After every day of work, we have a different type of meeting. Monday nights are equipping times and men’s and women’s times. Then on Tuesdays we have bible study, Wednesdays we have prayer and praise, and Thursday is our weekly meeting called PAC AVE, where anyone can come and gain more knowledge about the bible and what Christianity is all about. Then on Friday, we have a free night, Saturday we have a community dinner followed by sharing and talking with people on the beach, and finally Sunday, we go to church and have separate team meetings.  Needless to say, our schedules are very busy, but we also have a lot of fun down here!

The Lord has already taught me so much in the past two weeks here, and I am so eager to see what He has in store for the rest of my summer!

I hope this gives you a better look into what I am doing this summer, and I hope to update you all again soon!

Waiting...

      Over this past semester at school, after coming back from project and reaching new perspectives on life, the latest thing that I feel the Lord has been teaching me is to just wait. Wait and trust in His plan and His timing for my life. There is a lot that I really don’t want to wait for right now: my summer project application, the building and renewing of friendships, to move out of the box that I call my dorm room, the day where I finally get to see my dad again, and the list goes on. But through all of this I continuously hear a whisper from the Lord saying, “My child, trust me and wait.” I hear people telling me to, “Just live where you are in the moment” or, “You are where you are for a reason.” and I believe that what they are saying is true, but I also think that you need to rejoice in where you are, instead of just merely live and get by. You are where you are because that is where the Lord has you in this time of your life. I find comfort in that. I find comfort in knowing that I am not done here. There is still life to be shared within my dorm, there is A LOT more to learn in the friendships that I have and the friendships that I long to have, there is more reliance on the Lord to trust him and where he puts me this summer and in my future.  So, I must wait.

       WAIT. What does it mean to wait? To just sit idly by and see what comes of it? I don’t think so. I believe that waiting includes active trust in the Lord, and glorifying him with where you are right now. Take Abraham in Romans 4:18-21 for example.

¹⁸ Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. ²⁰ Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹ being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

       God promised Abraham that he would become a father of many nations. Now, Abraham was really old, and Sarah was at the point in her life where she could no longer reproduce so you would think that Abraham would be defeated and not believe that he would be a father of many. But the Lord promised that he would, so Abraham believed it, he just had to wait for it. And as these verses say, Abraham did NOT waver through unbelief, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God because of God’s promise and power. You see, Abraham did not dwell on his own weakness, but instead focused on, and gained strength from, the promise that the Lord had given him, and continued to give God glory amidst his waiting. That is what we are called to do.

        This story of Abraham has been a reminder to me that even though I am waiting for the Lord in certain areas of my life, God is still there and his promises are still true. Promises of a perfect plan, of perfect timing, and all for my good. His promises are true, and I will give glory to the Lord and my faith will be strengthened through my waiting. It isn’t going to be easy, but with the power of the Lord I can overcome any obstacle. Continuously I am reminded to not dwell on what I am waiting for, but give thanks and glory to the One I am waiting for, and trusting that he will provide and fulfill his promises when I have learned everything I can about his character and my own as a result, and because he knows what is best for me. Some things I will have to wait for longer than others, and that is okay. Through them I will continue to learn about the character of the Lord and learn to rely on him more and more as a result.

        Where are you finding it hard to wait right now, and how could you give glory to the Lord instead of dwell on what you are waiting for?

How Deep a Father's Love for Us

All throughout project, I definitely had my highs and lows. But to be honest I feel like I felt the Lord’s love the most through my lowest points on project. I felt His love through dear friends of mine, through nights spent on the beach just soaking in His beauty, through His Word, through learning patience, and through prayer. The Lord is so good and so powerful. He shows Himself in the most unexpected ways at the most unexpected times. Through the lows during project, I realized that the God of this universe, the One who created every star in the sky and everything on Earth, wants to have an intimate relationship with me. He is pursuing a specific, loving and caring relationship with His daughter. He wants to show me how much He loves me in any way He can. It is such an incredible feeling, I felt known, cared for, safe, loved.

I know that this is common scripture used at weddings and other events, but this is the love of Our Father, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8a.

He also have so much love for us, that He gave His one and only son, to die on a cross, so that we may have an intimate relationship with Him. Let that sink in for a second.

This is the love that Our Heavenly Father wants to show us. He wants to give us protection, hope, perseverance, patience, and kindness. His love is a love that never fails. Can you fathom that? Our Father’s love is a love that I cannot comprehend. But I know that I have felt it, and friends, it is so sweet. Let Our Creator love you, and let Him delight in you.