A Surrender

I heard a worship song that goes, "I'm coming back to the heart of worship. It's all about you. It's all about you, Jesus." It's not about us. It's not about what we want or what we think we want. Nor is it about what we think God will provide us. It's simply about what God does for us. He gives us life, opportunity, love, compassion, will, and everything else that makes us human. He has given us everything. What can we possibly do to return the favor? Give Him everything in return.

How many songs are there about surrender? So many! One of my favorite lines is, "All to Jesus, I surrender. I surrender all." All - everything, completely, totally surrendered to Him. Another line in the same song says, "All to Him I freely give." Freely. God doesn't make us do anything. God doesn't dictate that we worship Him. He doesn't turn us into slaves, nor does He want to. There was a woman and a man once who were having issues in their marriage. The wife wanted to go to a dinner thing, and the husband did not want to join her. Finally, after days of talking about it, the husband finally said, "Okay. Fine, I'll go." The wife said, "You don't have to." The husband, confused, looks at his wife and says, "I thought you wanted me to go." To which the wife replies, "I want you to want to go." I realize there's some faulty logic in there, but that's how God feels about us. He wants us to want to worship Him. He wants us to want to surrender to Him. He realizes, that if we we forced to surrender to Him, it would only be done to win some glory or favor in His eye. Now, don't mistake me, surrendering everything you have to the Lord will win favor in His eye. But, that's not what it's about. Our desires are what make us human - and they differ, greatly, for each person. But, it takes strong faith to surrender our entire will to God. And, it's not a simple one time act. It's a lifetime of recommitting to God. This may happen fifty or even a hundred times throughout the day. That's the dedication it takes. 

Think about the most prime example of surrendering your life to the Lord. Jesus. See, Jesus spent his life constantly recommitting his life. This may not have seemed hard for Him in our eyes. But, this was incredibly difficult - to the extent that Jesus actually sweat blood because of it. And even in his final moments on this earth he asked God if there may be another way. But, he didn't ask to be withdrawn from God's plan. He asked God,if it be possible to let this cup pass him by without his drinking from it, yet not as he willed, but as God willed. As God willed. God's will is almighty, sovereign, good, pleasing, and ultimately overwhelmingly great that we cannot simply deny it's existence. But, to think that there's another way, and actively pursue it, is a denial of God's will. To try and take another way, is a denial of his plan.

I don't sit here as someone who feels like they have done everything in their power to actively surrender and relent to the Lord. On the contrary, I think I need to do SO much more. How miraculous it might be to one day see God's plan actively working through my life. But, I can only truly see that when I separate myself from the glory that man wants. From the praise that embodies our present lives. I must seek God's will for myself. I must surrender everything I have for his glory.

There will be a time when I will no longer be present on this earth. When everything I have gathered in my lifetime will no longer be around me. A lifetime of greed, want, and other material things, will not die with me. When I parish, I will be born into a new life. A life, that hopefully has a treasure waiting on me. But, I cannot even begin to hope for that treasure without first surrendering my life to the Lord. The Bible says, wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So, if I plan on acquiring success and riches in this life, my treasure will be here, on earth. I will spend eternity poor, baron. But, if I put my entire life in God's hands. If I surrender everything I am, everything I do, everything I have to work toward His great purpose - then, maybe I will have a chance at even having a morsel of treasure after I leave this earth. Man is greedy, he wants riches. Our greed should allow us to surrender our lives, in hopes of acquiring that bountiful, beautiful treasure God has so richly promised us. 

I hope that I can inherit even a morsel of what God has in store for me. I hope that my life will be filled with his glory, and his work. I pray that I can surrender my life, every moment, toward His purpose. I'm coming back to the heart of worship - surrender.

A Worship

What do you think of when you hear 'worship'? Do you think of music - maybe a specific kind? Or do you think about a particularly vivid sermon? Maybe you think of prayer, missionary work, or another act of charity?

What if I said it was time for you to think of worship as all of that and so much more? See, to God, worship is any act that glorifies Him! And you can make any act glorifying to Him!

I once heard a quote that says, "If you catch on fire with enough enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn!" This is how we should worship the Lord - with enough enthusiasm to come for miles! Now, we often make the mistake of thinking that worship is about them - it's not. Worship is about God - and any worship that glorifies Him is pleasing to Him.

I have heard fights about what worship 'should' or what is or isn't Christian music - but, ultimately, the only things that makes something worship is the lyrics. God created all types of music, and we return thanks by worshipping Him using them!

So, when you go to work this morning, don't think about going to work for money, for your boss, for routine, for for your family. When you go to work, think that you are going to glorify God! In EVERY act you perform today, do it for God!

In His name I pray!

A Day

Today is the day! The day to start to remove the barriers in your life as you try to trust the Lord. The day to exemplify His glory in everything you do. The day to be glad simply because He woke you up (and maybe even on time to get to work). A lot of people (including me) have this problem with seeing the storms in our lives and wondering "Why would God allow this to happen?" We think that because we go to church, or we pray, or we tithe, or we are good that everything should be okay. Why? The bible doesn't say that there is a formula to your relationship with the Lord - there is no clever addition or subtraction that you can see to weigh our struggles.

Joseph was beaten and sold by His brothers. Then enslaved for a crime he didn't commit. It was then that the Lord started to make Himself apparent to Joseph, and started using him.Why is it, when we have storms in our life, we start to ask, "Why would God allow this to happen?" What distinction do we have to say that this is not something important that is incredibly necessary for out spiritual growth?

In Mark 4, Jesus and the Apostles were out on the sea. All of a sudden a raging storm hit. Some of the men went and found Jesus asleep and woke Him up saying, "Jesus do you not care that we are going to die?" Jesus walked out of the room and onto the ship and rebuked the storm saying, "Peace! Be still!" And the storm stopped.

Why do we encounter storms and go straight to asking, "Do you not care that I am [dying, suffering, bleeding, in agony, in pain]?" Have we not learned that He will not take care of it? And why do we put ourselves at the center of the universe in our trials? Well, simply, we're human. We can't really help it. Even Jesus, even in this parable, fell to His human side. We see Him sleeping in a room as the storm rages on.

Through this we can see also, His faith in God. As the storm was raging - He was SLEEPING. Now, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. I can sleep through many things - even thunderstorms. But, I can't imagine being on the sea, in the midst of a turbulent storm - the ship being tossed this way and that way - and not waking up. That must be pretty powerful faith. Faith that I strive for.

After Jesus calmed the storm He looked at the and said, "Why were you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Wow. Deep, Jesus.

Do you not have any faith? Do we not have the faith to say that we are okay? I long for a day when a storm comes into my life and instead of asking, "Why would you allow this to happen, God?" I ask, "How are you going to use this storm in my life, God?"

Today is the day when I strive to allow my faith to go far beyond what is has in the past. To allow myself to see a storm in my life and wonder how God is going to use it, instead of wondering why God allowed it to happen. I long for the day when I can see problems in my life, and instead of feeling burdened by them, allow myself to feel happy knowing that God is using me in His plans. How great that must be.

A Fall

So, I forgot to update this bog yesterday. Or, rather, I ended up falling asleep before I got a chance to update it.

We all fall short of our promises to God. He understands this. But that doesn't mean we should be okay with it, but it does happen. God is merciful and forgiving, and wants us to keep our promises as He keeps all the promises He has for us.

A Trust

Job lost everything he had. Abraham was asked to kill his son, Isaac. We see it all through the Bible: Joseph, Esther, Daniel, even Jesus. God gives us tests throughout our entire lives. After all, this life is a temporary assignment to prepare us for a much richer existence. Sometimes we fail these tests and sometimes we pass them. Look at Adam and Eve, they were given a task not to eat the fruit from the knowledge of good and evil. And that's just what they did.

Now, I know you're saying that Satan tempted them. The serpent talked them into it - now, first of all, how common was it for serpents to talk then? Didn't Eve say, "Hold on - that's talking, that's not right!" Anyway, our lives will be filled with Satan lurking around the corner - the Bible tells us that! It's these moments that we must remember our lives - instead of lives lets say 'training.' It's these moments when we must remember our training will have tests throughout it - and Satan wants nothing more than to deter us from our mission.

Now I don't say all this simply to warn you - I say this to remind you that if we put our trust in the Lord, if we lay all of our faith in God, these tests will be simple. It is our trust in the Lord that we need to strengthen.

I know I do! Certainly, I want to control of every bit of my life. And there are certainly moments when I should take control, but I need to relinquish so much more! I've often said, "Maybe if I stop looking at this. Maybe is I stop reading that. Maybe if I stop doing this. Maybe if I get this." Well, you know what? Maybe if I stop making excuses. Maybe if I just drop everything and say I'll try. I won't justify anymore. I won't postpone anymore. I find it easier to trust that God has control when everything is going great in my life, but when I start to loose the great feeling in my life I want to immediately try and grab the reigns of my life. When it's not even my life.

God trusted me with this life - I can equally return that trust and give back the life He gave me.


Sorry for the stringent seriousness, and lack of comedy. I just felt this is something I needed to say - and something I needed to hear.

Hope you have a great day!

A Direction

I have often heard a saying that goes 'Direction Determines Destination.' Now, what that means is where you're going is where you'll end up. It doesn't matter where you intend to go - if you're not headed in that direction you'll never get there. Say you're in Dallas, and you want to get to Houston. First you have to decide how you'll get there - the quickest way being 45. But, if you get on 45 going North - you'll never get there, no matter how far you go or how fast.

It's the same with our journey with God. Regardless of where we want to end up with God, we will never end up there if you don't make active choices that lead you there.

So, think about the spiritual journey you want to take - then think about the direction you're going. Does your direction equate to your destination?

A Beginning Quest

So, I must admit, resolving to write everyday is kinda hard! I mean, coming up with something to say - everyday - is a bit of a challenge. Luckily, the Lord, once again, popped into my head with something to say!

So, I was making dinner tonight for me and a friend. She went to get a glass from my cabinet. She opened a cabinet and I said, "It's in the last one." She opened the last one, and I said, "The other last one." She finally got a glass (hooray!) and went to sit down to eat. I looked up and said, "If you turn the switch on the lamp toward the wall, it'll turn on." So, she turned the switch a couple of times and she said, "The other towards the wall." She finally got the light on.

I learned something from this - be specific! This is when God jumped in, "It's the same with me!" God is so specific about His plans for us. Down to our last breathe - His plans are laid for us with such specificity that we cannot deny it! Even more, we need to be specific about what we ask the Lord! Of course, He knows what we seek, but we need to have the courage to ask for specifics of whatever it is we are seeking!

However brief this is, God wanted me to say this (or maybe He wants you to hear it (or maybe both)). Let's be open to receiving and giving more specifics in the future. And, remember, everything that applies to our spiritual lives can be applied to our earthly lives. They should be so in tune, that what effects one, should effect the other.

Have a great day!

A Connection

So, I had a hard time thinking of what to write tonight in the blog. After a serious bout of the lazies, followed by a severe case of nap time, I almost didn't want to write anything. But, I made a promise to myself - and to YOU! I can't not write a blog entry - I just can't! Luckily, I have the app - and I, once again, am updating from my phone (love this app)!

So, I was thinking about something I had often thought over Christmas! As some of you know (and by some, I mean the one person who actually reads this) I have quite a beautiful view of the stars from my backyard. I have often sat under the stars and just reveled in the vastness, the complexity, and the pure beauty of God! That's what stars are to me, a portrait of the Lord - beautiful to think about, isn't it?

Well, over Christmas, I did the same thing once again. Then, I started thinking about the wise men, going to see Jesus at his birth. Those are the same stars! Think about that for a minute - we walk, sit, ponder, think, love, murder, anything done at night, is done underneath these same stars.

How often have you felt distant from God? How often has the Lord seemed too far away from you? Well, as I sat under the stars, I thought of how connected I felt to the Lord in that moment! The stars - I has never really thought about it before. I have sat under those stars and felt a sense of who the Lord is, but, suddenly, I felt a strong connection with who He is!

My connection didn't stop when I couldn't see the stars - on the contrary, it was enhanced! Knowing the stars where there made me feel God's presence around me. Sitting under the stars I see how distant they seem, but when I can no longer see them - I can imagine that they're much closer!

So, if you feel a sense of distance from the Lord - remember, the stars. The same stars the wise men followed to to find Jesus. Search under those stars, and you can find Him too!

A Silent Repose

So, it's day two of this year - and I almost forgot to write a blog post! However, I found a blogger app - so I can now blog from my phone (easily)! Yay!!

Anyway, I was just reminded of John 3:16 - and I thought, what a remarkable thing for Jesus to have known exactly what was meant for His life and what was expected of Him. Whether he liked what it was, or anything, it must have been remarkable to have that clarity about His life.

I can only pray that one day, I will see that clarity for my life - hopefully, by the end of the year, I will be close to that clarity. Not clarity about what I want with my life - but what is meant for my life! How remarkable that would! Amen :-D

Good night, catch ya tomorrow!

An Introduction

So, I am, by no means, a newcomer to blogging. Though, in many ways, I could be considered so. I have a few blogs (some of which were just assignments for classes) and I really don't update them that much.

I have a few New Year's resolutions this year: 1) Write more. This means updating this blog everyday. As well as writing in a private journal I now have! 2) Live this year not for me - but for God! At least, do my best to create a closer relationship with God - focus on this one before others. and 3) Have to make no resolutions in 2013!

Yes, you (all 2 of you who read this (one of them being me)) heard me - I want to spend 2012 becoming someone that I have absolutely no qualms about - nor do I want to have to worry about making drastic changes by the end of the year.

This is not a very long post, but if you join me on my journey, I hope that you can bear with me. Pray for me. And simply take your own journey.

I will see you soon!