Blessed Be the Name of the Lord

 Blessed be the name of the Lord, holy and lifted up. 

My God is a strong tower, a mighty fortress. 

Those who turn to Him for refuge will never be shaken. 

Even the mighty fall in the presence of the Most High God. 

With a word He commands the mountains into the sea and they jump to action.

With a breath He gives man life.

With a breath He takes it away.

The rocks cry out: "mighty is the Lord and worthy of praise is the Lamb who was slain!"

But man forgot the goodness of God.

Seeking his own elevation, he found it.

This heartwrenching separation is the cause of every sorrow.

Man has forgotten his purpose.

The whole earth mourns together with him.

In love and beautiful forgiveness our Savior suffered in our place.

Saving us from the wrath of the Father so that we may be restored!

Oh the riches of God's grace! Who can understand?

Hallelujah!

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Through faith I have been washed clean.

All my sins forgotten. 

I have finally found my purpose, to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever!

As I long for the day when I will see my Savior face to face.

Oh, how I crave to hear Him say: "well done my good and faithful servant."

Who am I that He would choose me to be His dearly loved daughter?

But that is the beauty of my God.

So until that day, I will obey every word from my Savior's mouth.

Lord, teach me to do Your will! 

Teach me to obey!

Don't let me stray from Your path.

Make me more like You day by day.

While I still have breath in my lungs I will sing: "holy are You Lord."

Let my life be a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You.

So that one day, before Your throne, I can look back and say:

"I have fought the good fight,

I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith."

Hallelujah!

Blessed the the name of the Lord from everlasting to everlasting!

I'm Gonna See a Victory

 "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help." Psalm 40:1

Sometimes we look at life through the wrong lens. We see it as centered around us and our joy. We think that just because we can't see it, God isn't working. If I have learned anything in the last two years it's that I am not the center of the universe. My joy is not of this world. God is working even in the midst of the deepest pain. Maybe I can't convince you that it's true, but I can share specific examples where I have seen God work impossible painful things into marveously beautiful paintings.

My mom has been sick for nearly eight months now. We have been in the States seeking answers for the past four. Today we celebrate five years living in Guatemala. It is incredibly difficult to be in the States while my heart is in Guate. It isn't easy to see my mom in such intense pain. It hurts to see my friends struggling. I want so badly to be back home. 

However, looking back on everything that has come from these trials, I wouldn't change a thing... seriously, nothing. Writing this, my heart is full of joy and my eyes of tears. I can't explain the intense joy and sadness I feel. But that's the beauty of God. The joy that I have in Him is much deeper than any happiness the world can offer. 

I know I've said it before, but the greatest blessing that God has given me (apart from salvation and my family) is the group of friends who have quickly become family. This past week I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Guate and spend the entire week with everyone there. I was able to have some deep conversations. Some ended in tears and others in laughter. Even after being apart for so long, in the middle of deep pain and sorrow, we trust that we can share our struggles honestly. I don't have to be someone I'm not with them. Anytime we debate different topics, we end by deciding to seek what God's word says about it. 

Last night with the Gringo team

Movie Time

Team day to Panajachel

We survived the movie!

Leaving this week was hard because I didn't know when I'd be back. But after much prayer, God helped me trust Him. Several times this week I found myself smiling for absolutely no reason. I couldn't stop it either! These friendships go deeper than just physical appearance or similar interests. Our friendships are based in a mutual love for Christ. However, with deep love also comes deep pain. I hurt when they hurt and they hurt when I hurt. That's the beauty of it. "If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Corinthians 12:26). 

Carrying one another's burdens never feels like work when deep love is involved. It just feels natural. 

In the last two weeks it feels like everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong. We had car problems, sicknesses, a dog bite, a water heater fall, delays and cancellations. Sometime during the week the song "See a Victory" seemed to become our anthem. The lyrics were fitting for the spiritual battle we were in. "I'm not backing down from any giant 'cause I know how this story ends... I'm gonna see a victory for the battle belongs to You Lord... You take what the enemy meant for evil and You turn it for good." We saw many victories this week. We saw fruit in a place that has not seen spiritual fruit in ten years. We saw medical care provided when we needed it. We saw our own hearts change. I praise the Lord that even though we are all facing our own personal issues at home, we can still praise the Lord because our God will never fail. He knows only how to triumph. 

I learned a lot this week. I can't explain it and I'm still processing. I saw God moving. It reminded me that even when I don't see it, He is moving. I just need to be still and know that He is God. Being molded into His image is a painful process. But one day I'll look back and praise Him for what He was doing when I felt alone. So, why wait? I can go ahead and praise Him in the storm for what I know He will do in the future. I'll praise Him in this storm.

Pressing On

 7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:7-14

I have recently been thinking a lot about this passage and I would like to encourage you through what the Lord has been teaching me. As I mentioned in my last post, my perspective has been changed radically. When I begin to fix my eyes on Christ, everything that I once thought valuable becomes worthless. Things of this world can feel so important, but they are temporary and, thus, worthless garbage when compared to the immense value of knowing Christ. That is when we realize that He is all we need. Christ is enough.

I have most definitely not reached my goal to know Christ, and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. But I live everyday seeking to know Christ more. Everyday is about Him, not me. As Christians we must always make every effort to press on toward our goal of eternal life with Christ. It hurts, and it requires dying with Christ but in the end it will all be worth it. 

The beauty of it is that we will never be alone. Verse 12 says that "I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me." If He has possessed us that means that we are His. 

I encourage you to fix your eyes on Christ no matter what you're going through. Don't look back. Instead, press on toward the goal that Christ is calling you to. The journey hurts but is nothing compared to the beauty of eternity with God. 

It's Not About Me!

God is so good and so beautiful. Lately He has been teaching me to fix my eyes on Him. One big struggle of mine has been insecurity. I realize now that my insecurity rears its ugly head most when I am thinking more about myself than anyone or anything else. So, as we have been in the States these last few weeks I have learned to fix my eyes squarely on the Lord. In doing so I have found a beautiful, weightless freedom. 

It changes my outlook on everything. I see myself more clearly the way God does. I can love others more freely because I remember His great love for me. 

When I finally realized that it's not about me, I learned that EVERYTHING is about Him. A few months ago it hit me while I was reading the Bible. While the Bible does teach many things that I need to do, it is first and foremost a book about God and His story, not about me.

Now every time I open the Bible I can't help but be excited to learn more about God. Everything else stems from this realization. By changing my view of the Bible and its purpose, God has done incredible things in my life to shape me more and more into His image. 

I pray that as you read this short post that you find the freeing joy that comes from losing yourself in God's greatness. I am constantly reminded that life is not easy. I struggle just like you do every single day. But when God is the center of your life, your perspective will change in ways you never thought possible. 

Fix your eyes on Jesus and your life with never be the same.

"Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12:1-2

The Back of the Tapestry

 

Elisabeth Elliot ~" If you dwell on your own feelings about things rather than dwelling on the faithfulness, the love, and the mercy of God, then you're likely to have a terrible, horrible,  no good, very bad day. Our feelings are very fleeting and ephemeral,  aren't they? We can't depend on them for five minutes at a time. But dwelling on the love, faithfulness, and mercy of God is always safe."

God has been working on my heart in many ways this last year. It would take at least fifty books to do it all justice. Don't worry, I'm not about to share all of it. I want to highlight something that I have been reflecting on this week. A few days ago during my personal time with Jesus, I found this verse: 

“The Lord said to Abram: Go from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:1 CSB

I know I’m called to missions. I just don’t know where. I’m probably going to go to college. But I don’t know when or where. I want to know the answers so badly. I want to have the future mapped out in front of me. But I know that, 

“A person’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I know that the Lord’s plans are perfect. It’s just hard to trust sometimes I was praying that God would give me peace. There’s a reason God doesn’t let me see the whole picture. I know that what I see is like the back of a tapestry. A tangled mess of string. But God sees the other side. A beautifully woven picture. So I’m asking God to give me faith like Ruth, Esther, Abigail, David, Mary etc. I don't have what I need for the future yet for a very simple reason, I don't need it now! God will work everything for my good (in the end) and His glory.

This year I have been blown away by God's beauty. He is beyond description. The very fact that I am allowed to sit in His presence every single day is astounding. His attention to details continually blows me away. So why am I still afraid of the future when God says,

““Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10:28-31 NLT

God does not promise that life will be easy. He promises... Well, the Bible says it better than I do.

“Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.””
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31:6‬ ‭CSB

With God's help, I will learn to be content with the tangled up mess and trust that one day I will look back and see the beautiful story God has woven. 

I pray that this encourages you and that God will help you see His beauty and power as He has helped me. God bless!

“Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:12-14‬ ‭CSB‬‬

No Excuses

    Hello again! I was not planning to write a post today, but I want to cover one of my neighbors in prayer today. Today some of my friends went into the harvest to share the Gospel and one decided to go share with one of his friends afterwards. I went on my walk thinking about that and about how I need to share the Gospel more in my neighborhood.

    I walked by a woman sitting on the sidewalk on her phone. Immediately, I felt a tug to go talk to her. I walked right past her. But the tug pulled me back. I stopped in the middle of the street and said to God, "I have 20 minutes and I need to get back, there's no time." But He kept tugging, so I turned around and introduced myself. 

     I shared the Gospel, praying the entire time. She says she is Christian but didn't directly answer my question about whether there was a day in her life when she repented and believed. She said that she couldn't tell me if she was close to God or not because she isn't sure that God can forgive her. I prayed for her and gave her my number. 

     Please pray for continued contact with her and that God will show her that she is not beyond His power to forgive. Pray that she sees God moving in her life today and that she would discover His love. Pray that all the hurt she has in her heart would be healed.

 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." ~1 John 1:9

The Great Commision

👑✝️ ➡️🌐≋📖❤️

Did you know that 98% of people who identify as Christians do not share the Gospel? Many do not see the point.  Is it really as irrelevant and unimportant as most people think?  

Matthew 28:18-20 clearly answers this question.  Jesus is speaking to His disciples.  He gives them (and us) two promises and several commands.  Jesus promises that He has all authority in heaven and on earth (v. 18) and that He will be with us until the end of the age (v. 20). 

The commands are so straightforward that one must completely exclude this passage in order to excuse themselves from sharing the Gospel.  Jesus commands us to go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (v. 19).  He goes on to say we must teach them to observe everything He has commanded us (v. 20). 

You may be thinking, "So what? No way that applies to me. He is talking to someone else."  Actually, this command is meant for all believers.  Although it is true that everyone has a personal calling, the bible clearly tells us that all believers must go and make disciples.  John 15:16 says, ".... I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain..."  A fruitful life will produce both physical (fruit of the spirit) and spiritual (disciples) fruit.  That is what He is calling us to. 

In John 14:15 Jesus says, "If you love Me, obey My commands."  When a believer chooses not to share the Gospel for whatever reason (no matter how valid the excuse), he is disobeying God.  This disobedience portrays a lack of love for God.  We must all strive to obey His every command.  We are called to love Him through obedience and not just through words.  Love is an action word.  If you truly love the Lord then you must ask Him to show you how to obey Him in your daily life.

What can you do in your daily life to obey Christ?