God's Masterpiece

Psalm 139
¹ O Lord, you have examined my heart
      and know everything about me.
 ² You know when I sit down or stand up.
      You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
 ³ You see me when I travel
      and when I rest at home.
      You know everything I do.
 ⁴ You know what I am going to say
      even before I say it, Lord.
 ⁵ You go before me and follow me.
      You place your hand of blessing on my head.
 ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
      too great for me to understand!
 ⁷ I can never escape from your Spirit!
      I can never get away from your presence!
 ⁸ If I go up to heaven, you are there;
      if I go down to the grave,^[a] you are there.
 ⁹ If I ride the wings of the morning,
      if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
 ¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
      and your strength will support me.
 ¹¹ I could ask the darkness to hide me
      and the light around me to become night—
    ¹² but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
   To you the night shines as bright as day.
      Darkness and light are the same to you.
 ¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
      and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
      Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
 ¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
      as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
 ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
      Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
   Every moment was laid out
      before a single day had passed.
 ¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me,^[b] O God.
      They cannot be numbered!
 ¹⁸ I can’t even count them;
      they outnumber the grains of sand!
   And when I wake up,
      you are still with me!
 ¹⁹ O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
      Get out of my life, you murderers!
 ²⁰ They blaspheme you;
      your enemies misuse your name.
 ²¹ O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
      Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
 ²² Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
      for your enemies are my enemies.
 ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart;
      test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 ²⁴ Point out anything in me that offends you,
      and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
I have heard or read this passage a hundred times but until I prayed for God to really open up my eyes and heart while reading it did I see its true meaning to me. Honestly I have been struggling trying to control my own life for quite some time now. I read this great illustration one time about imagining your life as a piece of art. The frame consisting of your personality, your physical characteristics, and your gifts and abilities. God has chosen a perfect frame that fits me, and who he created me to be. But I often find myself looking for a more appealing frame, and not until I try that frame on do I see that even that frame comes with problems. God made my frame for me he knew the plans for my life before I was even born, but yet sometimes I want to control and pick my own frame not embrace the one I was given.  George MacDonald C.S. Lewis's mentor wrote, "I would rather be what God chose to make me than the most glorious creature that I could think of; for to have been thought about born in God's thought, and then made by God, is the dearest, grandest, and mots precious thing in all thinking." Wow to have that prayer of contentment is amazing to me.  Back to our life as a piece of art. The art inside the frame represents a emerging picture of who you are becoming. God lays out the background, and then sweeps brushstrokes across the canvas of our lives. If we step back and let God do the work, and not try to control our own brushstrokes your picture can reflect a beautiful painting. If we try to control and not let God we could make some bad brushstrokes.I feel like this passage to me helps me see that God knows everything about me, God created everything about me and he does not make mistakes. I need to step back let him create the masterpiece and trust his skills.

Not my wisdom but his.

God has done and shown me some amazing things in the last month. Every single day I have learned a lesson or opened up the bible and had a aha moment. I have had a few people tell me how wise I am becoming, or how great I am doing. Don't get me wrong I love to hear those things, but when someone says that I say its not me its HIM! I am so blessed that God is working through me in ways I never could have imagined. Sometimes I'm like why did you choose me? I don't know if I'm ready for this. But I don't have to be anything because it all comes from him if I trust and believe in him. I was thinking about all this so this morning I remembered a verse I read a couple of weeks ago in 1 Corinthians 1:24-31 " But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God to those people God has called- Jews and Greeks. Even the foolishness of God is wiser than men. Even the weakness of God is stronger than men. Brothers, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you came from important families. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. And he chose what the world thinks is not important. He chose what the world hates and thinks is nothing. He chose these to destroy what the world thinks is important. God did this so that no man can brag before him. It is God who has made you part of Christ Jesus. Christ has become wisdom for us from God. Christ is the reason we are right with God and have freedom from sin; Christ is the reason we are holy. So as the Scripture says, "If a person brags, he should brag only about the Lord". I am so thankful he is my wisdom, I'm so thankful I have freedom from my old sinful self and can be holy because of him. I hope I never am tempted to brag on myself because it is his wisdom and his way not my own.

Rejoice!

I DID NOT want to get up this morning! I had maybe six hours of bad sleep last night, and have a ton of homework to finish before my class at 2. Driving to work I had the Christian station on and both the songs were really upbeat and just put a smile on my face. It made me think of the song we used to sing in my church at home "this is the day, this is the day that the lord has made, that the lord has made. I will rejoice, I will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it." I have so much to get up for, I have so much to look forward to today. I wake up and think of all the bad stuff I have to do that day and forget that this is the day the lord has made. He has a plan for today, and I look forward to spending it with him. Sometimes the world can get you down but again remember Psalms 118:24 "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." I am excited to be up because the things I have to get done for this world are such a small thing, I believe God has a bigger plan for today that involves his kingdom and that is something to jump out of bed for!

To be poor is to be rich.

With graduation coming up its been really hard for me not to think about what God's plan is for my life. I would love a job where I could be doing his work all day, such as working with youth. He has kinda cracked open a few doors in the last few weeks I am just waiting to see where those may take me. But when I think about doing that I can't help to think will I be able to provide for myself? Will I be able to make my house payment, or go out and eat once and awhile with friends without going over my budget? You know the first thing I cut down on is my tides. I say well God you know I have a tight budget now so I can't give as much. What am I doing? Can I not trust the God that has gotten me this far to take me the rest of the way? It is crazy the standards the world has now on being "rich". To be rich in God's eyes has nothing to do with money in fact if you are the worlds "rich" you are poor to our father. I read in James today this 1:9-11 " If a believer is poor, he should be proud because God has made him spiritually rich. If he is rich, he should be proud because God has shown him that he is spiritually poor. The rich person will die like a wild flower in the grass. The sun rises and becomes hotter and hotter. The heat makes the plants very dry, and the flower falls off. The flower was beautiful, but now it is dead. It is the same with the rich person. While he is still taking care of his business, he will die." In God's eyes the poor will be rich spiritually. I don't know about you but I would rather be rich spiritually than be rich to the world. The world will all fade away but God will still stand.

Our God is mighty to save!

Last night Courtney and I went running at Lake Hefner, it was raining but it felt amazing outside. We loved getting to look at God's creation it was just beautiful. But we were enjoying it a little to much and it ended up getting dark and we were no where near my car! We had already ran what we needed to so we were just walking and talking, well we noticed a car in the parking lot just sitting there not moving so we started running and praying for God's protection. I felt God's angel's surrounding us, but the car showed up again this time flashing their brights at us. I ran a little faster this time, and prayed a little harder.We made to to our car just fine, and I knew that God had been looking out for us. But it got me thinking about the battle that is going on around us between God and our enemy and how my God protects us at all times. I read this verse this morning in 2 Samuel 21:7 ( sorry its long but it was all great)
 ¹ David sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
² He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
 ³ my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
       my shield and the horn ^[a] of my salvation.
       He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
       from violent men you save me.
 ⁴ I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
       and I am saved from my enemies.
 ⁵ "The waves of death swirled about me;
       the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
 ⁶ The cords of the grave ^[b] coiled around me;
       the snares of death confronted me.
 ⁷ In my distress I called to the LORD;
       I called out to my God.
       From his temple he heard my voice;
       my cry came to his ears.
 ⁸ "The earth trembled and quaked,
       the foundations of the heavens ^[c] shook;
       they trembled because he was angry.
 ⁹ Smoke rose from his nostrils;
       consuming fire came from his mouth,
       burning coals blazed out of it.
 ¹⁰ He parted the heavens and came down;
       dark clouds were under his feet.
 ¹¹ He mounted the cherubim and flew;
       he soared ^[d] on the wings of the wind.
 ¹² He made darkness his canopy around him—
       the dark ^[e] rain clouds of the sky.
 ¹³ Out of the brightness of his presence
       bolts of lightning blazed forth.
 ¹⁴ The LORD thundered from heaven;
       the voice of the Most High resounded.
 ¹⁵ He shot arrows and scattered the enemies ,
       bolts of lightning and routed them.
 ¹⁶ The valleys of the sea were exposed
       and the foundations of the earth laid bare
       at the rebuke of the LORD,
       at the blast of breath from his nostrils.
 ¹⁷ "He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
       he drew me out of deep waters.
 ¹⁸ He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
       from my foes, who were too strong for me.
 ¹⁹ They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
       but the LORD was my support.
 ²⁰ He brought me out into a spacious place;
       he rescued me because he delighted in me.
 ²¹ "The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
       according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
 ²² For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
       I have not done evil by turning from my God.
 ²³ All his laws are before me;
       I have not turned away from his decrees.
 ²⁴ I have been blameless before him
       and have kept myself from sin.
 ²⁵ The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
       according to my cleanness ^[f] in his sight.
 ²⁶ "To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
       to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
 ²⁷ to the pure you show yourself pure,
       but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
 ²⁸ You save the humble,
       but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
 ²⁹ You are my lamp, O LORD;
       the LORD turns my darkness into light.
 ³⁰ With your help I can advance against a troop ^[g] ;
       with my God I can scale a wall.
 ³¹ "As for God, his way is perfect;
       the word of the LORD is flawless.
       He is a shield
       for all who take refuge in him.
 ³² For who is God besides the LORD ?
       And who is the Rock except our God?
 ³³ It is God who arms me with strength ^[h]
       and makes my way perfect.
 ³⁴ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
       he enables me to stand on the heights.
 ³⁵ He trains my hands for battle;
       my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
 ³⁶ You give me your shield of victory;
       you stoop down to make me great.
 ³⁷ You broaden the path beneath me,
       so that my ankles do not turn.
 ³⁸ "I pursued my enemies and crushed them;
       I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
 ³⁹ I crushed them completely, and they could not rise;
       they fell beneath my feet.
 ⁴⁰ You armed me with strength for battle;
       you made my adversaries bow at my feet.
 ⁴¹ You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
       and I destroyed my foes.
 ⁴² They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
       to the LORD, but he did not answer.
 ⁴³ I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth;
       I pounded and trampled them like mud in the streets.
 ⁴⁴ "You have delivered me from the attacks of my people;
       you have preserved me as the head of nations.
       People I did not know are subject to me,
 ⁴⁵ and foreigners come cringing to me;
       as soon as they hear me, they obey me.
 ⁴⁶ They all lose heart;
       they come trembling ^[i] from their strongholds.
 ⁴⁷ "The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
       Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!
 ⁴⁸ He is the God who avenges me,
       who puts the nations under me,
 ⁴⁹ who sets me free from my enemies.
       You exalted me above my foes;
       from violent men you rescued me.
 ⁵⁰ Therefore I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations;
       I will sing praises to your name.
 ⁵¹ He gives his king great victories;
       he shows unfailing kindness to his anointed,
       to David and his descendants forever."
To think about how quick our God is to protect us from our enemy's amazes me. He gives us the strength and the tools to fight against all things. He will protect us in our cry for help when we are following his way. He has saved, is saving, and will save me and you. Trust in him follow his ways and he'll protect and save you always!

I would rather die for him then live for nothing.

I was sitting in class yesterday (not paying attention) and started to think that I have found so much joy and peace out of dying to my old self and living for him. More than I could ever get for living for nothing, or the things of this world. When I died to myself he blessed me so much more than I could have ever imagined. His ways are better! It is an everyday process to die to my old ways, and have my thoughts and actions be pleasing to him but its exciting! Its exciting to see him working in my life and so many people around me as well. Dying for him and his ways is so much better than living for nothing! This is a verse I read this morning.

Isaiah 57:1-2, 10-21 Those right with God may die, but no one pays attention. Good people are taken away, but no one understands. The people who do right are being taken away because of evil. But they are given peace. The people who live the way God wants then to find rest in death. 10 You have worked hard to do these things. But you never gave up. You found new strength. So you did no quit. Who were you so afraid of that you lied to me? You have no remembered me or even thought about me. I have been quiet for a long time. Is that why you are no afraid of me? I will tell you about your 'goodness' and what you do. And those things will do you no good. When you cry out for help, let the false gods you have gathered help you. The wind will blow them all away. Just of puff of wind will take them away. but the person who depends on me will receive the land. He will have my hold mountain. The Lord says. "Build a road! Build a road! Prepare the way! make the way clear for my people." God lives forever and is hold. he is high and lifted up, and he says, " I live in a high and holy place. But I also live with people who are sad and humble. I give new life to those whose hearts are broken. I will not accuse forever. I will not always be angry. If I continued to be angry, man's life would grow weak. Man, whom I created, would die. I was angry because they were dishonest in order to make money. I punished them and turned away from them in anger. But they continued to do evil. I have seen what they have done, but I will heal them. I will guide them and comfort them. And those who were sad will praise me. I will give peace, real peace, to those far and near. And I will heal them, says the Lord. But evil people are like the angry sea. It cannot rest. Its waves toss waste and mud. There is no peace fir evil people," says my God.
I love the ending to this because God is saying how bad the people are but than he says " I have seen what they have done, but I will heal them." WOW! How loving, and forgiving our father is!

NO MATTER WHAT

I’m running back to your promises one more time, Lord that’s all I can hold on to, I gotta say this has taken me by surprise, but nothing surprises you. Before a heartache can ever touch my life, it has to go through Your hands, and even though I keep asking why, I keep asking why,
No matter what, I’m gonna love You, no matter what I’m gonna need You, I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain but if not, I’ll trust you, no matter what, no matter what.
When I’m stuck and there’s nothing else by myself, I’m just sitting in silence, there’s no way I can make it without Your help, I wont even try it. I know You have Your reasons for everything, so I will keep believing, whatever I might be feeling, God you are my hope, and you will be my strength,
No matter what, I’m gonna love You, no matter what I’m gonna need You, I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain but if not, I’ll trust you, no matter what, no matter what.
Anything I don’t have You can give it to me, but it’s ok if You don’t, I’m not here for those things, the touch of Your love is enough on its own, no matter what I still love You and I’m gona need You
No matter what I’m gonna love you, no matter what I’m gonna need you, I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain but if not , I’ll trust You, no matter what, no matter what. I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain, but if not, I’ll trust you, no matter what no matter what no matter no matter what

I stole this song from Kerrie Roberts I just think its lyrics are so powerful. I love the part that says before a heartache can ever touch my life it has to go through your hands. I get so caught up in whats wrong, or what I don't have and forget that I already have all I need. GOD! So no matter what he takes me through, no matter what he as me do I will love and trust his plan NO MATTER WHAT!

Love your enemies.

Todays post is going to come from Matthew 5:38-48 " You have heard that it was said,'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, don't stand up against an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, then turn and let him slap the other cheek too. If someone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, then let him have your coat too. If a soldier forces you to go with him one mile, then go with him two miles. If a person asks you for something, then give it to him. Don't refuse to give a person who wants to borrow from you." I'm gonna stop here and talk a little bit about what we are being asked to do. He is asking us to instead of turning from those who are evil we are called to love them. When I read this in my mind I was thinking ok God do you understand what you are asking me to do? If someone hates me I still need to love them and give them more than they deserve? WHO WOULD EVER DO THAT? But isn't that what Jesus did for us? I remember back to my past when so many times I slapped God right across the face, and he offered me the other cheek. Or when I hated him so much but yet he still gave and gave to me. We are supposed to love like Christ although it isn't easy when the world hates us at times Jesus said " If the world hates you keep in mind they hated me first" John 15:18 Which goes great into continuing in Matthew 5 starting at 43 " You have heard that it was said, ' Love your neighbor and hate your enemies. But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, then you will be true sons of your Father in heaven. Your father causes the sun to rise on good people and on bad people. Your father sends rain to those who do good and to those who do wrong. If you love only the people who love you, then you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, then you are no better than other people. Even people without God are nice to their friends. So you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." This really made me step back and think, I am a Christ follower but am I loving my enemies like I should? This scripture says even people without God are nice to their friends. I am with God and I still don't step out of my comfort zone to love those that maybe sometimes arent the easiest to love. But God calls us to do just that, and your reward will be great if you start to love your enemies like christ loves.

He turns sorrow into joy.

This post is form yesterday 9-16-2010 it just didnt post for some reason.The last week I have had some huge moments with God. I thought it would be great to be able to record those, and share some things that he is teaching me. This morning I was reading my bible and came across some wonderful verses in 2 Corinthians. The first being We have small trouble for awhile now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory. That glory is much greater than the troubles. So set your eyes not on what we see but on what we can not see. What we see will last only a short time. But what we cannot see will fast forever. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18. The small troubles of the world to me seem so huge at the time, I forget who God is and what he is doing in my life. He has plans to prosper us not harm. I get so caught up in the sorrows of the world and forget that he uses all my pain for good. I also read 2 Corinthians 7:8-11, 15  I am no longer sorry that I sent that letter to you, though I was sorry for a time, for I know that it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you but because the pain cause you to have remorse and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death. Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indigation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such readiness to punish the wrongdoer. Now he cares for you more than ever when he remembers the way you listened to him and welcomed him with such respect and deep concern. This made me see that all the trials we go through are always for God's good. We can not see the big picture like our heavenly father, he has already see what is ahead but we can not. He knows what is best for us and sometimes that means going through some pain. So praise him during sorrow and hard times because all things work together for his good. Sorrow for me caused me to trust him more, love him more, and follow him more.There is joy coming in the morning.

Go help. 9-17-2010

This morning while reading my bible I felt like I want to read Romans so I flipped there and saw this verse right away. " We who are strong in faith should help them with their weaknesses, and not please only ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, and to help him be stronger in faith. Even Christ did not live to please himself." Romans 15:1-3 This really spoke to me because I have been thinking about what I can do for others. I have been so selfish with my time and with my life. I did what I thought would make me happy, and a few things along the way for God. The problem with that was my earthly pleasures faded away, and I was left with very little. Romans 15:17-19 says " So I am proud of what I have done for God in Christ Jesus. I will not talk about anything I did myself. I will talk only about what Christ has done through me in leading the non-Jewish people to obey God. They have obeyed God because of what i have said and done. And they have obeyed God because of the power of miracles and the great things they saw, and the power of the Holy Spirit." This really is the cry of my heart to tell of his work everywhere I go, to be proud not because of what I did but because what he did through me. I have a passion for children, and reaching those who do not really know my savior. I forget sometimes how blessed we are to even have running water something I take for granted everyday. Or that I can serve my God openly and not be punished. Go help no matter what it may be that the Lord is leading you to do. Me it is mission work in another country, and children, for you it could be reaching out to someone at work or school. Whatever God is calling you to do don't wait GO HELP! :)