When I Don't Accept His Gift

"And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous..."

1 John 2:1

I was reading 1 John this morning and came across the above gem. Advocate. I wanted to know the full meaning of that word, so I looked up the Greek definition. This is where anyone who's followed my blog for awhile can shake their head and say, "There she goes again." Yes. I love words. And definitions. And particularly words with rich, deep definitions. It's like searching for buried treasure. So, let's go digging! :)

Parakletos - advocate, helper, aid, assistant, comforter, pleader, counsel for defense, intercessor, called to one's aid

Isn't that rich?! And let me tell you a secret. You probably already knew that Greek word. John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, was the only one who used that word in the New Testament, both in John and in 1 John. In John, he uses it to describe the Holy Spirit. What are some of the most common names of the Holy Spirit? The Helper. The Comforter. You've heard that, right? Well then, you already knew the word. Yes, you have my full permission to go do a celebratory dance. We need to celebrate the little things, right? So, go. Dance it up. 

You back? See. That was fun, wasn't it? Now, even though you're super smart and already knew a Greek word, I want you to look at that definition again. But this time, read it like you've never heard it before. Allow the Lord to amaze you by what He's promised to be for us.

Jesus is your Parakletos.

Your advocate.

Your helper.

Your intercessor.

Your comforter.

Your assistance and aid.

Your counselor.

I was struck by what a gift I've been given in Jesus. And how little I expect Him to be what He's promised.

You see, this word "parakletos" is just one title of our God. Think of the hundreds of other names in Scripture. Bread of Life. All-Sufficient One. Beloved. Captain and King. Good Shepherd. Righteousness. Everlasting Father. The list goes on and on. All this in Christ. 

But how often do I run to Him to be my Helper when I'm struggling? Or seek my Counselor when I don't know His will in a decision? Or keep my eyes on the Shepherd when plodding through a day?

Oftentimes, I don't need a Helper, because I've already gushed my problem to my closest friends.

I don't seek the Counselor, because I've sought the latest self-help books and websites. 

I can't keep my eyes on the Shepherd, because I'm too busy running my own life.

It's sad, but true. How has my thinking become so backward?

I want to be a wife someday. (I know it seems like I've jumped ship and abandoned any thought flow I had. Just stick with me and I promise this will make sense in thirty seconds.) I want to be the best wife ever. (Go ahead and roll your eyes. I don't mind.) I want to be my hubby's eager helpmate, passionate lover, best friend, greatest encourager, and closest confidante. 

But what if six months into marriage, he started spending most of his free time with his buddies instead of me? And what if he no longer asked my advice, but depended on his boss? What if - what if he no longer found delight in my body, but turned to the fake reality of pornographic images?

Is my marriage analogy starting to make sense now?

"Sure," my husband could say, "I might not be the perfect guy, but I wake up and kiss my wife every morning, provide for her financially, and spend fifteen minutes or so of quality time with her, explaining the errands I need her to run and the chores that need taken care of. Oh, and I say 'please' and 'thank you', like, all the time. I don't see what her issue is." 

Ugh, this hurts. How do I slip back into that mindset so often, when it's SO ugly? I've been given the greatest Gift this world has ever known - and I'm disinterested? 

Oh friends, do you see Him? 

• The One who joyfully agreed to go through one of the cruelest forms of torture and endure the full penalty of His Father's wrath for you, before an atom had ever been created. 
• The One who single-handedly defeated all the powers of hell and sin and death combined and is right now Lord. Over. All.
• The One who watched your entrance onto the grand stage of life, seeking you out in love, as you turned your back on Him. 
• The One who's heart has been beating with this consuming, unconditional love for you, even in your moments of deepest rebellion and darkest shame.
• The One who found you at the worst, led you to the cross, and showed you His adoption papers. 
• The One who bids you to run confidently, boldly, excitedly into His throne room, because you're covered in His very righteousness.
• The One who knows all the lies the Enemy keeps whispering, all the shame he keeps replaying in your head and bellows over it all, "That child is Mine." 
• The One who provided His very life and power to you, so that you don't have to "stick out" this holiness thing yourself. 
• The One who is now waiting for you and looks with anticipation for the day He gets to enjoy uninterrupted communion with you forever. 
• The One whose name is Jesus. 

Let's not seek lesser things, friends. Let's not allow other things to satisfy and tear us away from the Best. Let's not walk around like spiritual paupers, when we're filthy, filthy rich.

Let's accept the Gift.

Arise, O Man of God

I'm treading on dangerous ground with this post.

Lust is not often discussed, much less by a young woman. It is brushed under the rug, ignored, and even accepted by far too many churches. Christian men, leaders, pastors - all have given in to this sin,but many are suffocating under it. Hardly anyone seems to believe that true victory can be found. Why do the headlines ring with the scandals of Christian leaders? Abuse. Pornography. Affairs.

It breaks my heart and angers me to see the way Satan has such a strong hold on my brothers in Christ! I've written the following as an encouragement to you. I know I don't understand the struggle that you deal with in lust, but I know the power of the God who lives inside of you. This battle is a hard one. The world you live in does not make purity easy. But, there is hope. There is freedom to be found in Christ.

I know. Women are plagued by their own temptations and are susceptible to lust as well. But, I am addressing this to Christian men because you are the ones chosen to lead the Bride of Christ. You are the ones with the weight and privilege of leading your family in righteousness. You are here to display Christ, my brother. He can and will do amazing things through a life surrendered to Him! I'm passionate about biblical manhood, and I long to see the mighty man of God rise up and show the world the power of the cross. So this, my brother, is for you. I do not post this with a heart of condemnation or hatred. It's quite the opposite really. Whoever and wherever you might be in this struggle, I love you as a sister in Christ and am praying that this will spur you on to fight the good fight, robed in the righteous purity of Almighty God.

O weak and weary brother,

Bound and shackled by your sin.

The hounds of lust have pestered

And you’ve given in again.

The world cries, ‘Just accept it!

That’s how you’re meant to be!’

 But don’t listen to those lies;

God’s man lives mightily.

Where are you men of honor?

Have the faithful disappeared?

Fierce lions roam the land unchecked,

While the world sits back and sneers.

Victory is possible,

There’s One Who paved the way.

Your Savior bled to bring you life;

There’s freedom in His wake.

Resolutions will prove futile,

Your strength will only fail.

But look to Him and plead His grace,

The Lord will soon prevail.

I know that I am just a girl.

What right have I to speak?

But brother, He has burdened me;

I long to see you free.

It breaks my heart to see the church

Enshackled by her sin.

O God, arise and cleanse Your bride!

Bring purity once again!

Raise up a mighty army,

Restore the godly man!

With eyes and hearts for You alone,

May they vanquish Satan’s stand.

Awake, O slumbering soldier,

Don’t you hear the Captain’s call?

With the cross of Christ before you,

Live to prove that He is All!

~MJ

When Plans Fail

"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps."

Proverbs 16:9

When I came back from Ellerslie in April, I longed to go back for the Advanced Ellerslie Training course. It was about 10 months long, which seemed like a perfect time. Still pretty long but not too long. The course sounded absolutely wonderful and I believed the Lord was leading me to pursue it for the Spring of 2014.

So, I began working as a part-time nanny and raising money for Advanced. I had my plans (which I truly thought were from the Lord), but all of that has suddenly changed.

I just found out recently that Ellerslie is changing their Advanced program. Because of all the changes (they're wonderful changes, just different than what my plans were), I don't know if the Lord is calling me to go back to Ellerslie. I don't know where the Lord has me next year (He certainly could lead me to Ellerslie), but essentially, I'm back to square one: the unknown.

If you know my family's story (the Lord's leading in all of our moves), then you know how often we were faced with the unknown of where to live, what the future held, etc. And because the Lord had led us through those situations so often, there was a part of me that believed I had the whole "trusting in the Lord" lesson learned. Oh, how prideful! How foolish!

And praise Jesus, He has taken the blinders off my eyes! By removing all my former plans for next year, I was faced with the unknown again. With all my neat, little ideas gone, would I gladly trust and follow Him? What if He chose not to show me what next year holds...until next year?

These are questions the Lord has been bringing to the surface over the past couple days. And He has been so faithful to lead me back to Himself! Yes, is it easier to have the next year figured out, but there is such joy and beauty in learning to let go of "my desires and plans". For in the unknown, I am pushed to learn a greater dependence on Him. Praise the Lord for the precious, little ways that He continues to break us of ourself and turn our eyes to Him! 

I also love the timing of all of this. The Lord so perfectly chose to remove all of my plans, right before my family's vacation back to Michigan. Even though I hadn't blatantly said this, I was excited by the idea of knowing exactly what to say when all of my old friends and family ask me what my plans are. How self-reliant I still am! Jesus, save me from myself! I wanted to have a pretty "normal" answer to give to everyone, not the "I don't know, I'm just waiting on the Lord" answer that I've always had. But, why? Why would I want to remove the ability to proclaim my absolute need of and dependence on Him? To make myself look better? The Lord knows I need to be broken of that mindset as well! How gracious He is!

So friends, if any of you are wondering, I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing in the next year. And I am so excited about that! Today, I am looking to Jesus. In His perfect time, He will show me the next step. What a sweet Savior we have!

The Fullness of Christ

Did any of you read yesterday's morning devotion from Charles Spurgeon? Oh, it was such a blessing to my soul! I hope it's an encouragement to you as well. It summarizes a lot of what I wrote about in my last post, so I guess this is somewhat of a Part 2. :)

"In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him." 

Colossians 2:9

"All the attributes of Christ, as God and man, are at our disposal. All the fullness of the Godhead, whatever that marvelous term may comprehend, is ours to make us complete. His omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, immutability and infallibility, are all combined for our defense. 

Arise, believer, and behold the Lord Jesus yoking the whole of His divine Godhead to the chariot of salvation. The fathomless love of the Savior's heart is every drop of it ours; every sinew in the arm of might, every jewel in the crown of majesty, the immensity of divine knowledge, and the sternness of divine justice, all are ours, and shall be employed for us. His wisdom is our direction, His knowledge our surety, His love our comfort, His mercy our solace, and His immutability our trust. 

He makes no reserve, but opens the recesses of the Mount of God and bids us dig in its mines for the hidden treasures. 'All, all, all are yours,' saith He, 'be ye satisfied with favour and full of the goodness of the Lord.' Oh! how sweet thus to behold Jesus, and to call upon Him with the certain confidence that in seeking the interposition of His love or power, we are but asking for that which He has already faithfully promised."

Isn't that absolutely beautiful?! And yet, how many times do I live as if these truths were simply nice poetry? No, it is a promise! Do you see it?

Again, Colossians 2:9 says, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete." Paul states this inconceivable truth as a simple reality, not even a promise to be wished for. Oh, how I struggle with unbelief in this area. I look at myself: my sin, feelings, emotions and get discouraged at the lack of His life being lived in me. 

But, how has the Lord called us to accept His Word? With the faith of a child. Mark 10:15 says, "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." 

Like a child. How does a child receive something? With simplicity, gratefulness, and eagerness. How do they believe that which has only been promised them? With expectant confidence and complete assurance that what has been promised will be accomplished. They don't measure the probability or weigh the promise against their past experience. They simply trust and receive the promise with joy, knowing that it will be done.

Furthermore, what's the relationship of a child to his/her parents? It is one of utter trust and dependence; without their parents, the child will have nothing. It is only the goodness of the parents that provide the needs of the child. And yet, the child is not plagued with worry or anxiety, continually wringing their hands in questioning the parent's provision. No, there is complete peace and rest, because the child knows the love of their parents. Their parents have always provided for them in the past; why doubt them to do otherwise now?

Oh friends, may we not do our Father such a disservice as doubting His Word. Has He ever proved Himself unfaithful? What ground do you have to doubt Him then? Like I stated in the last post, your God has promised and He will fulfill His Word. 

So, do you believe that the Lord has made the fullness of the Godhead available to you in Christ? If so, is it simply head knowledge or have you reckoned it for yourself, taking that promise and making it your own? Do you believe, as the little child, that the Lord has made you complete in Himself? Have you presented and yielded your life over to Him, so that He might reign as Lord and come fill you, the empty vessel? He is worthy of it, friend.

 May you trust Him as a little child, looking into your Father's face with joy at who He is and what He is doing in you. Remember...don't look inward at your sin, your inabilities, and past failures. We have been clothed in the righteousness of Christ; look unto Him, where there is all perfection and loveliness. Praise the Lord...we are being transformed into His precious likeness! Look unto Him and praise Him for the fullness that has been given us in Him! For when you walk in joyful trust and obedience, you will begin seeing His life being radiated through you more and more! How precious is His work of sanctification!

Home Again!

Sunrise at Ellerslie

Hello again, friends! How have you all been over the past three months?

It feels strange to be posting on my blog, after such a long time away. I'm excited to begin writing on a regular basis again, and look forward to what the Lord has planned for this little blog. He is so worthy!

Ah, my dear reader, how do I begin to explain my time at Ellerslie? I've been home for nearly a month now (which is incredibly hard to believe!) and still find it difficult to answer people who ask about it.

The hardest question of all is probably, "So, what did you learn?" What did I learn in nine weeks? How am I supposed to answer that in a couple sentences? I'm still trying to figure that out...  =)

But, for now, this would be my answer.

I am absolutely overwhelmed by everything the Lord convicted me of, uncovered, and taught me during my nine weeks at Ellerslie. Like Ephesians 3:20 talks about, my precious Savior did so much more than I had asked or imagined. Being surrounded by men and women seeking hard after Jesus Christ and immersed in the Truth of His Word day in and day out were both such incredible blessings! It was truly a piece of heaven on earth.

But, the thing that was the most precious of all was time spent alone with my Savior. Being able to bask in His presence without interruption. Learning to wait upon Him and walk with Him throughout the day. Understanding that my life is nothing, but His is everything. Beginning to grasp the reality of what it means to be "in Christ". Sitting at His feet and gazing on my Beloved's face! Oh, words cannot describe what a remarkable blessing those nine weeks were...what a remarkable blessing they were because of the One who was there. Words simply fall short.

Though there were many truths the Lord implanted into my heart, the main, over-arching theme of those nine weeks was His All-Sufficiency. It seems simple, doesn't it? But do you understand how inclusive the word all is? I didn't until the Lord began opening my eyes to this. Even though the Lord had given 2 Corinthians 12:9 as my theme verse for the year, He truly impressed those four powerful words upon my soul, as He started teaching me what it means to depend upon Him for everything.

"My grace is sufficient.."

Do you see Him, friends? Do you realize that at every moment of the day, in every temptation, every difficult moment, every trial, He is sufficient? It's easy to say, but it's another thing to live by.

We live in a culture with a cure for everything. Are you tired? Try caffeine. Weighed down with the cares of life? Go relax with a movie. Struggling to get out of bed in the morning? Take anti-depressants.

Is this the way we've been called to live, as followers of Jesus Christ? Are we to look to Jesus just during devotions in the morning, but then depend upon something else for everything you need during the rest of the day? If He is the Sufficient One, shouldn't He be the One we lean on for...everything?

Now, I'm not saying that caffeine, movies, or medicine is bad in itself. But, what is your first turn? Is it to the natural, earthly realm or the All-Sufficient One?

Friends, this is something that I am learning and struggling through daily. The Lord is constantly opening my eyes to different areas of my life where I haven't been depending on Him fully.

A question that was posed at Ellerslie was this: If Jesus Christ were removed, how much of your life would stay the same? Are you so dependent upon Him that your life would completely fall apart...or...would your life look exactly the same?

You see, the fully dependent life is the life of Christ. In John 5:19, Jesus says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." And again, several verses later, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me." (John 5:30)

Jesus did nothing of Himself; He was completely dependent upon His Father. And if that's the case, why do we (as sinful human beings) think that we can spiritually survive by spending 15 minutes with Him in the morning? Oh my friends, may He teach us to walk in a state of utter dependence upon Him! He is our only source of life; without Him, we perish. And remember, we know that when we trust in Him, He will not fail us. He has promised and cannot lie. Therefore, have complete confidence in your God, knowing that the One you depend upon is the Faithful, All-Powerful Creator and Sustainer of the Universe! What a precious Savior we have!

“Are you resting and trusting in the sufficiency of Christ? Is Christ everything to you? If so, thank Him for his fullness. If not, perhaps you’ve been trusting in failing, deceptive, inept human wisdom; meaningless religious rituals; or some kind of mystical experience formed in your own mind and unrelated to reality. Maybe you’ve been thinking that your own self-denial or self-imposed pain will somehow gain favor with God. If that’s the case, put it all aside and in simple childlike faith embrace the risen Christ as your Lord and Savior. He will give you complete salvation, complete forgiveness, and complete victory. All you need in the spiritual dimension for time and eternity is found in Him. Repent of your sin and submit your life to Him.”

- John MacArthur

A Sermon and A Quote

This past weekend, I listened to a beautiful sermon called "The Five Arts of Intimacy" from Eric Ludy. For those of you who are leery of this sermon because of the title, I'll let the sermon description speak for itself:

"This message is a catalyst of change for both your intimate walk with Christ and an intimate marriage to a spouse. It brings the concepts of intimacy down out of the clouds into the realm of practical and real. For the crucified, risen, and exalted Jesus Christ is truly knowable, and life in His Kingdom is not a theory or a theology, but a very real and practical life-altering experience."

Yes, this sermon is for everyone, single and married people alike. It serves as a powerful reminder of the way we should seek to intimately love our Lord and Bridegroom, as well as our future (or current) spouse. The illustration Mr. Ludy uses is simply beautiful, yet incredibly challenging. I would strongly recommend this sermon to any disciple of Christ. Click on the link below to watch "The Five Arts of Intimacy".

http://www.ellerslie.com/sermons/eric-ludy/10-21-12/the-five-arts-of-intimacy

On a side-note, a friend of mine shared this quote a couple weeks ago. It blessed me so much and has since been a great challenge to me. May we continue to look and place our trust in Christ alone, not focusing on our feelings, but on Christ the Solid Rock.

"We should battle through our moods, feelings, and emotions into absolute devotion to the Lord Jesus. We must break out of our own little world of experience into abandoned devotion to Him. Think who the New Testament says Jesus Christ is, and then think of the despicable meagerness of the miserable faith we exhibit by saying, “I haven’t had this experience or that experience”! Think what faith in Jesus Christ claims and provides— He can present us faultless before the throne of God, inexpressibly pure, absolutely righteous, and profoundly justified. Stand in absolute adoring faith “in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God— and righteousness and sanctification and redemption . . .” (1 Corinthians 1:30). How dare we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! We are saved from hell and total destruction, and then we talk about making sacrifices!

We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.

It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief."

-Oswald Chambers

Resting on His Promise

I know. I know. It's been a dreadfully long time since I last wrote, hasn't it?

Well, life has been full...and the Lord is SO good...and next week is Thanksgiving and...where is this year going?

Lately, the Lord has been leading me through a time of disciplinary refinement, for lack of a better term.

You know those times where you think to yourself, "Boy, I haven't struggled with many "big" sins lately...I guess the Lord is really working on my sanctification,"? And then, because you feel so high and spiritual, you pray (even though you know you don't really need to), "Lord, if there are any unknown areas of sin in my life, show them to me. Open my eyes to any area that I haven't given completely over to You." You finish your prayer, feeling content that you are both an obedient and surrendered servant of the Lord.

A week or two goes by and suddenly, things change. The Lord starts revealing sins in your life that you never saw or had simply grown calloused to. To make it "worse," it's not the "safe reputation" kind of discipline. It's the kind where the Lord uses your parents, siblings, and friends to bring those sins to light. It's painful and it's hard. You ask the Lord why all of this is being thrust upon you and He gently reminds you of that proud prayer you spoke, asking Him to refine you.

Mhhmm...can anyone else relate? This is where I've been the past couple days, working through ungodly habits, confessing previously unrealized sins, and re-discovering the boundless grace and mercy of my Savior.

No, it's not fun....but truly, this is where sanctification begins, isn't it?! In brokenness. In repentance. In learning to lay myself and all my failures at the nail-pierced feet of Jesus.

I can claim that I've surrendered myself by prayerfully "giving" all I am to Christ. It sounds good. It feels spiritual. But if I plead for Christ to take all of me and then refuse when He comes to claim His possession, how is that true surrender? If surrender is merely lip action, I've only deceived myself.

Yes, it's a struggle, a constant struggle. It's all too easy for me to look at myself, see a host of previously unrecognized sins bogging me down, and become overwhelmed by my failures.

"It's too hard."
"I can never be victorious."
"I'm only good at failing; I'll never succeed!"

And it's true. Being victorious over sin is too hard on my own. I won't ever be victorious in my own strength. When I look at my resume, it's only a list of repeated failures and losses. But that's not where my eyes should be. Because I am "in Christ", there is now no condemnation and He has set me free from the law of sin and death! Hallelujah, what a Savior!

My eyes must continually be focused on Christ!

There's a beautiful example of this in 2 Chronicles 20. It says in verses 2, "Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, 'A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).'"

Can't you just imagine this scenario?! It's a normal day in the palace of the king. Everyone is going about their business, when suddenly a messenger bursts into the throne room with terror written across his face. He stumbles before the king and announces that a great enemy has come against Judah and is already in the land, ready to attack. Panic fills the throne room, yet each voice is hushed to hear what the king's decision will be. The pale-faced king sits in silence for a moment, pondering the overwhelmingly grave news.

In verse 3, we find out his response. "Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah."

I love how that was Jehoshaphat's first reaction. He was afraid, so what did he do? Turned his attention to seek the Lord.

In verse 6, he begins a prayer to the Lord in the presence of all the people. Notice the way that he approaches Him. "'O Lord  the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You." Jehoshaphat reminds himself and all the people of the character and power of  the God they serve.

And then, if you continue to verse 12, you arrive at the last sentence of his prayer... and one of my favorite verses.

"For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You."

Isn't that just beautiful?! Oh, I have used this verse so many times, when I find myself overwhelmed by my sin. Just like Jehoshaphat, our spiritual enemy is seeking to devour us. And when we are fighting in our own strength, there is nothing we can do to stop him.

We have to come to the end of ourselves and cease striving in our own strength. Only Christ and His power through us will be victorious over sin. We must look to Christ and remind ourselves, like Jehoshaphat, who our God is and what He has promised to do on our behalf. And then, as we'll see from our story in 2 Chronicles, we must trust our God and praise Him that He will do what He has promised.

Let's pick up where we left off with Jehoshaphat. In verses 15-17, we read the Lord's response to His people's cry for help. "'Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's...You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.'"

This is such an encouragement, isn't it?! To know and be able to stand on the promise that our God is with us and He will be our salvation!

One more quick point. After the Lord spoke to the people, observe their reaction (verses 18-19). "..All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord...[they] stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice." They praised and worshiped their God before He had done anything. Their enemy was still marching toward them. No victory had been wrought. They had every earthly reason to continue wallowing in fear. And yet, they didn't. Why? Because they stood on the promise of God, knowing that He would do all that He had said.

Oh, this is so convicting! How much more should we, who have been given the very Word of God and have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us, take the Lord at His Word and charge confidently into battle, relying on His Word and the strength of His might?

O Lord, bring us to the end of ourselves. Show us our utter helplessness apart from You. Grow our faith in You and teach us to praise You, despite the circumstances of our life. Thank you for all of the promises that You've given us in Your Word. How blessed we are to be Your children! We look to You now and trust that You will do more than we could ask or imagine. Praise Your glorious name!

"Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord.

Lord, hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, 

and in His word do I hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

more than the watchmen for the morning;

indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;

for with the Lord there is lovingkindness, 

and with Him is abundant redemption.

And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities."

Psalm 130

Looking Unto Jesus

"Looking unto Jesus." -Hebrews 12:2

It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus." All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all." Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument--it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.

 "My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name."

~Charles Spurgeon

Morning and Evening Devotional, June 28

This reading encouraged me so much this morning! This is what I am learning and struggling through right now....learning to trust Christ, not based on my experience or feelings, but on His faithfulness and unchanging Word. May you be encouraged to take your eyes off of yourself and your inabilities and look to your Savior today.

And remember, the battle that you fight against the flesh is not your battle, but the Lord's. Only He can give you the strength you need; you are powerless against the enemy, so cling to Him and find rest for your soul.

"For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

~2 Chronicles 20:12b