Innocence

It seems to me that the author was describing how children like structure in the sense that things go along unchanged and repetitive. Children love monotony whereas adults grow tired of the same object or action very quickly. G. K. Chesterton points out that God has a child-like delight and has kept the innocence of youth unlike us as adults have grown old and tired of repetition. We as a society have become so unappreciative of the beauty and greatness of the world around us. As we grow older we seem to lose the innocence we enjoyed as children. This world (sin) makes us jaded and unaware of the miracles which surround us. Perhaps because we are filled with the Holy Spirit we could retrieve some of the innocence that we once enjoyed. If God is in fact younger than us, then why could we not recover some of the incorruptibility we once had?

A Letter of Encouragement

Dear Stacie,

As I think about the similarities of our lives and even personalities, I realize how blessed I am to have you in my life. God is so providential in the way that he places specific people in our lives on this earth.

A passage that has recently been placed on my heart as I deal with diffucult situations in my life is Galatians 1:10:

'For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to
please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a
bond-servant of Christ.'

I have been struggling to try and please people and be liked by everyone. This verse was shared as a reminder from a friend to not give yourself over to the approval of men. It can become so discouraging when those people do not give you the acceptance you desire and long for. It is natural to want to belong to something and someone. The key is to daily remind yourself that no one on this earth will fulfill that desire. God has placed that desire in your heart and only he will be able to completely fill it.

As you go through your daily routines of life this week remember this verse and ask yourself who you are choosing to serve.

For the Beauty of the Earth

We were blessed on Saturday with a glorious day to spend time outside with God. The sun was shining brightly, there was a soft breeze and the temperature was just right. On the weekends, the campus seems almost vacant with students gone home for the weekend, but is rather peaceful.

This past week, life was quite busy and I really did not spend much time alone. My time alone is when I usually meditate and ponder on what God is doing in my life. Saturday I had a longing to go and be out in the beauty of creation with God. I needed my alone time with him. As I walked the campus, I was blessed to see others enjoying the day as well. As I walked, a hymn came to mind:

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the beauty of each hour
Of the day and of the night,
Hill and vale, and tree and flower,
Sun and moon and stars of light,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child,
Friends on earth, and friends above,
Pleasures pure and undefiled,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For each perfect gift of thine,
To our race so freely given,
Graces human and divine,
Flowers of earth and buds of heaven,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
This our grateful hymn of praise.

For thy Church which evermore
Lifteth holy hands above,
Offering up on every shore
Her pure sacrifice of love,
Lord of all, to thee we raise
Thisour grateful hymn of praise


It is such a beautiful song that worships God not only focusing on the beauty of the earth but also the Christ sacrifice. These words came to mind as I walked and I could not help but be joyful and appreciative of the extraordinary gift God has given me. I have the pleasure of not only receiving a life-saving gift, but He conitnues to bless me with his creation.

Responding to Our Environment

It is important to maintain respect for the authority that has been set in place. Just because we do not agree with certain points of view does not mean that we should have a negative attitude towards them. Our attitude and actions should reflect the Christian principles we claim. We must learn how to balance sharing our principles without getting caught into the game in which political leaders engage. Christians should approach political situations and act toward them with the values that we are given in the Bible.

Victory over the Oppressor

I believe that we daily face oppression by material things of this world and money is definately my strongest oppressor. It is not the paper or coins themselves but rather the things which it buys.

Reviewing my bank statement for this past month I noticed that it was pretty evenly distrubuted to the different needs in my life. Although, the area that always seems to lack is savings. This is not because I am trying to avoid storing my treasures on earth. My struggle is sticking closely to my budget so that my savings do not suffer.

My lack of savings does not line up with what I would like my priorities to be. My goal is to see my savings as untouchable. It is not to be used unless an unexpected need that I trully cannot live without arises.

Fifteen Minutes

As I prepared to complete the assignment to pray a passage for fifteen minutes for two days, I debated on what I would like to read. I finally chose Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our suffereings, knowing that produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produes hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

This passage has been very meaningful for me as I process my father's death. It has been so encouraging because so much good can come out of suffering.

As I read this passage my prayer became 'Lord, help me to rejoice in my loss so that it will produce endurance which builds character that produces hope i nthe reliance of your love. May I depend upon your love and the guidance of the Holy Spirit'.

I loved this exercise because it reminded me that praying God's Word can be so encouraging. God loves when we pray his words.

Taylor's Rules

God has really been challenging me in understanding humility for quite some time. As I read Taylor's rules I knew without yet reading the others that number one would be the one that comes most difficult to me. The following words from the devotion struck me the deepest, "Humility does not consist in critizing yourself, or wearing ragged clothes, or walking around submissively wherever you go. Humility consists in a realistic opinion of yourself, namely, that you are an unworthy person." So often in order to try to humble myself I will end up degrading myself. God never called us to think lesser of myself only to realize that I am a sinner. Knowledge and understanding of God's grace is what should bring humility.


The rule that comes most easily to me is to lift people up in encouragement. I don't want to tear people down with my words, but rather build them up especially their weaknesses.

Partner's in Ministry

Looking through the BGCT website and the areas that it is involved in, I chose Patners in Ministry. This stood out to me, because I am interested in who the BGCT affiliates itself with. I was surprised to find the Baptist Church Loan Corporation on the list. It is nice to know that there is a corporation that is specifically designed to provide financial assistance to Baptist churches.

I also enjoyed reading more about the Texas Baptist Men (TBM) and the Women's Missionary Union of Texas (WMU of Texas). The men's ministry is designed to provide help in the wake of natural disasters such as clean-up after hurricaine Ike and transporting the buckets for Haiti. The WMU of Texas provides a large variety of ministries for missions not only in Texas, but everywhere around the world.

There is a Time for Birth and a Time for Death

I chose to reflect on an article which addresses the question of whether or not it is acceptable for church's to close there doors. The website is http://www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10781&Itemid=53

The thought of a church "dying" or closing its doors is not something I tend to think about very often. It is not exactly a happy thought to think about a church dying some day, but it is reality. A quote that I found interesting was "Churches are human institutions. Why shouldn't they complete the same cycle? It is not unheard of for a church to die. The article pointed out that the seven churches in the book of Revelation are no longer existent.

As changes come to the community and surrounding areas, the church must adapt and find new ways to serve that ever-changing culture. I believe this article is beneficial because it brings awareness of the fact that churches are not necessarily meant to last forever.

I found the closing sentence to be most encouraging. "Bodies die, but the body of Christ doesn't. It may wane in one place but will rise up in another."

Christians in Crisis

The website that I chose for this blog is www.christiansincrisis.net

Christians in Crisis ministry exists to spread the gospel to the Islamic people and advocate as a voice for Christians who are persecuted for their faith. Their primary mission statement is to bring an awareness to the body of Christ of the persecution of Christians. They do this by speaking at churches worldwide, selling audio, videos, newletters, flyers, etc.

It was interesting to read their mission statement. Since September 11, 2001 my guard seems to come up when I hear anything regarding Muslims. It is not my intention to judge, but it is now a relfex. As I read the following paragraph, my heart was softened for those who have no choice and who have never known any other beleif.

"Islam will not be shaken by attacks on the Quran or on the lifestyle of their Muslim believers, but it will be shaken as Muslims are won to Jesus, recognizing that He is God, that He did die on the cross and that He died for their sins as well as for the sin of all mankind. Let us love all non-believers, but most of all let us pray for their salvation. Let us spend more time in prayer for them than we do criticizing their belief system or lack there of."

Reading this ministries purpose has challenged me to look on muslims with love. I am reminded that the only reason I am not in their situation is because that was not God's will for my life. I am so blessed and this ministy calls on me to use those blessings to there fullest.

'The Church'

It seems like a lot of time we as the body of Christ will first resort in blaming our pastors and church leaders. We tend to lay all of the responsibility to grow the church on their shoulders. On the other hand, it is so easy to fall into the trap of blaming our brothers and sisters in Christ, because problems in the church stem from problems in our hearts. Unless we change our hearts and revive our relationship with God, nothing in the church will change.

At this moment I am failing to manage my time including not taking enough time to sleep. I cannot properly spend time with God and contribute as a member of the body of Christ unless I act on my realization that I need to spend time with God personally.

A Formless Prayer Life

Often times I allow my prayers to lose there form or purpose. I have recently become comfortable enough to just start conversations/prayers with God. This has caused me to become very personal with him, but also focus on myself and not enough on praising him.

I realize that I tend to have spiritual ADD and need to lay my requests before God, but I think it would be good for me to begin my prayers with an expression of Thanksgiving. I feel like I so easily get caught up in my own concerns or problems that I forget to praise the one who has given me life. God has been revealing to me how trully sovereign he is in ways that he has placed people/situations in my life. I need to improve my prayer life with him by praising him for how he has changed my heart to love him and how he is working in my life and in those around me.

Spiritual Gifts

Encouragement through listening.

As a leader to youth and college age girls, there will be an excessive amount of opportunities to use that gift. A primary part of my responsibility will be to listen to the struggles and the joys. Just because it is encouragement does not mean that it is necessary to speak. Many people find encouragement by just having a person who is willing to listen.

In the past month, I been tempted to feel unworthy to encourage others because of struggles I have been going through. So often I feel inadequate to carry their burdens because mine are weighing me down. I realize that this is only Satan trying to rob me of the opportunity to share in the joys and struggles of others. It is because of situations I face through my life that I am able to relate and encourage my brothers and sisters.

Time Efficiency

How interesting that this would be the blog topic. I was just thinking about how I tend to waste or procrastinate with my time.

The number one way I would like to use my time more effectively is in my relationship with others. I tend to get caught up in all of my responsibilities and forget to prioritize those things and accomplish my tasks so that in the end I do not have time to invest in others lives. The first priority is to have one-on-one time, but also to send little notes and really put forth the effort to keep up with their lives and go the extra mile.

I know it might seem to methodical, but I need to set up alarm reminders. Not in the sense to remind myself to talk to specific people, but to remind myself to encourage those I encounter throughout the day or send a simple text message. Also, to plan my days more strategically and think through things I would like to accomplish at the beginning of the day and follow through with those goals.

The Enemies Fear

After reading the text, I believe the enemy's one fear is the Holy Spirit moving in the hearts of God's people. I have noticed that the ways I have been trying to be proactive against the enemy is through constant prayer and daily reading the bible. I realize that these are things that I should be doing anyways, but it has grown to a whole new level within the past month.

I have also noticed Satan regularly attacking those efforts. It is becoming more and more obvious when I am not filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to instill a great fear in Satan's through being continuously filled with God's power.

Desires of the Heart

As I begin to examine my heart I came to realize that at this point in my life the three desires of my heart are a burden, wisdom, and passion.

First, I know that I cannot care for others until I am burdened by our hopelessness without God. So I pray for him to burden my heart to love them as he does.

Second, I need wisdom with how to handle such a burden. A burden would be cumbersome without the direction of God.

Third, I ask for passion and perseverance to care for others selflessly.

Focused Mind and Open Heart

I found this morning's prayer hour both rewarding and challenging. I spent that hour lifting up the church I have been attending since the beginning of this semester. At this time they are without a senior pastor. This experience can either be a very good growth time for a church or set it behind in its spiritual growth. The challenging part had to be keeping my focus on the church's needs and not my own.

I noticed the difference it made on my heart in being receptive to what God wanted me to hear. I really enjoyed arriving at church early rather than rushing inside to sit down for the service. I believe that it is a process that I will repeat in the future even if it is only for fifteen minutes before the service.

A Taste of Jesus

As I read www.crletitrain.blogspot.com blog called Follow one sentence stuck out at me. She had been talking about the uniqueness of salt and how you can taste it in everything. Then she said, "In our lives it should be easy for other to have a taste of Jesus in us."

This spoke such a word of truth to my heart. It should be obvious to everyone around me that I have Jesus. So many times that is not the case. I want to radiate his glory. I want to portray Christ in such a way that he is irresistable to them. Lord that I would stop complicating things and make it easy for others to see past me and my faults and only see you.

Humility

So many times when I beg the Lord for more of him and he fills me with his spirit I can become prideful. It is so ironic because my intentions are to be like him and once he gives me a glimpse I revert back to my flesh. It is amazing how willingly we let Satan decieve us into thinking that we can match up to God.

It is my constant desire that God would remind me how low I really am and how much I trully depend on him to be Christ to others. It is so interesting that we must bring ourselves down in order to be lifted higher and closer to him.

His Love

God is the ultimate example of love. Without God, we do not have a true concept of what it really means to love. When my heart does not feel like loving others he is the constant reminder to me that everyone on this earth is just as worthy of his love as I am. No one is higher or lower on the playing field. We are all even. Ultimately, we are all unworthy of the love he chooses to give.

As I travel through this specific season in my life I realize that I am in need of his love for my sake. If I were not filled with God's unfailing love I could never making it through the struggles this life throws my way. Because of the love he is showing me, the selfishness that preceded it begins to wash away. Instead it is filled with the desire to give away his love to others by sharing in their joy and pain.

Relfect God's Light

As believer's we are a reflection of God's light. When we allow our sin to distinguish his light we are taking away love that he is wanting to share. Allowing God's light to shine through us glorifies him and spreads his good works.

Enemies

Oh how it is so natural to love those who love you, but loving those who have wronged you can be near impossible. We are called as believers in Christ to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. I have a tendency to want to write someone off once they have hurt me to the point of no turning back. This command is such an important reminder to me that Christ had every reason to write me off, but chose not too.

Christ points out that it is more rewarding to love our enemies than to love those who already love us. So many times we have enemies due to specific circumstances in our lives and those around us. They could possibly only be our enemies because of those circumstances. When we love them, we are providing an opportunity for them to learn love.

Twelve Commands

Twelve Commands to follow:

1. Rejoice and be glad in the Lord
2. Be the salt of the earth
3. Be the light of the earth
4. Fulfill the Law
5. Encourage others to keep these commands
6. Spread the commands to others
7. Do not commit murder
8. Do not commit adultery
9. Do not make false vows
10. Do not resist an evil person
11. Love your enemies
12. Pray for those who persecute you

How my church is helping make 'little Christs'

Back home I go to Northway Baptist Church. Recently, one of the men's Sunday school classes began to grow rapidly. The two teachers had begun to reach out to men and hold events outside of the class. A lot of times they will have a large meal for the members and their families at one of the teacher's house. THe teachers recognized the need to build relationships with the members without it directly relating to the church. These men have bonded like a family and continue to lift each other up.

What I find most difficult about giving all to God.

I find it most difficult to let go of my desire to control my time. So many times throughout the day there are interruptions that I don't plan or allow for. It is in those times that I am missing out on building relationships with others. I need to become flexible to how God wants to use my time.