What a day!

That's all I can say thus far. But November 15th has turned out to be QUITE the memorable day.....

New blog post....

Like the title? It tells you something you didn't know, eh? :-D

Something new* that I love about Jesus.

His hospitality. The sermon at Church this morning was about hospitality. The pastor talked a lot about a lot of the different aspects of hospitality throughout the Bible, but the point that struck me the most was when he talked about Luke 14.

"Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

He just talked about the importance of being hospitable to those who cannot repay us because that is exactly what Jesus did for us. We were poor, crippled, lame, and blind and He walked up to us, healed us, and then shared all He had with us. Jesus shared his life with us. He died on the Cross for us, poor and wretched though we were. We had no way to repay Him and He knew that. He died for us anyway. May we show that portrait of grace to all who are around us, especially those who cannot repay.

Oh Precious Lord, thank You so much for sharing Your life with us. You left the comfort of Heaven to come down and rescue poor and wretched sinners like myself. You knew we could never repay You, yet You chose to sacrifice all You had for us anyway. I am so moved by Your sacrifice and pray that You move others in the same way. Lord, may we as a body paint this portrait of grace to all those around us. May others be moved by Your hospitality through our actions.

*new- meaning something new to me about Jesus. Jesus was before the beginning of time and is unchanging, yet every day I discover new* things about Him.

The Cross

So, lately I started a new journal of things that I love about the Cross and this is the latest entry. I hope it brings you as much joy as it does me!

"Jesus is the One to whom we cling past, present, and future.

When our past sins threaten to encompass us and to freeze us with guilt it is to His Cross we can run, hold on for dear life, lift up our feet, and truly leave those old sins on the ground where they can no longer touch us. Due to the Cross, they no longer have any hold over us. They are not our master and cannot hold us any longer.

Also, our present inadequacies hold no sway over us. The fact that we cannot be successful in any endeavor on our own is completely fine. It is no cause for shame, but rather boasting. There is no shame in having to thrust oneself upon the old rugged tree. It is in His strength alone that we can accomplish anything and we must abandon ourselves to that.

We also are not in control of the future. Our grapplings to understand or control what is ahead are completely inadequate. We hold no sway over what is to come. When the anxieties of that threaten to overwhelm us to the Cross we can cling. We can hold fast to the Truth that death and satan were conquered and now God has good plans for us.

I wrap my whole being around the solid rock that is the Cross. To allow myself to focus on anything else is to be overcome with anxiety. With reckless abandon I hold onto the One who has purchased all good things for me.

The inadequacies of the past, my incompetence to handle the present, and my inability to control the future all haunt me until on that hallowed ground I am able to surrender."

Death.

Seriously. What's the deal? SO many people that my friends and I are close to have passed away lately. Geesh.

All I can think of now is that death makes eternity so much more real.

Keep fighting because the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed in us when Jesus returns.

And He will return.

Please be on His side.

I REALLY should journal more...

It would probably help avoid break down nights, such as tonight.

The consensus of tonight?

-The things facing me right now are hard. They are big. They are challenging.

-The God I serve is bigger. He wants to show Himself bigger than even a VERY large compilation of big things.

This God loves defeating armies with fewer men. He loves waiting for the last moment to provide finances for people to go overseas. Mainly, He loves His glory and those things bring Him glory.

He wants to be glorified in my life now and for me to have faith in Him that He is bigger than everything facing me.