Encouragement

‎"The purpose of prayer is that we get ahold of God, not of the answer." - Oswald Chambers

I came across this quote today and it really made me think:  do I pray more for myself than I do for the purpose of getting closer to God? Do I pray so that I can receive the blessings that I think I need?  The answer should be obvious.  However, we have a sinful, self centered nature.  We want things when we want them and we expect God to give us the things that we "need", and on our time. I think that sometimes we get so caught up in the end result of our prayers instead of focusing on the reason that we pray:  getting closer to God and trusting His plan, even when we don't know all of the answers. (This is usually easier said than done, though!) 

Luke 5:16 says, "...Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed".  Jesus had to withdraw from the crowds to pray to God.  Jesus IS God!  He doesn't seek answer to prayer, He seeks time with His father.  If Jesus needed to take time out of His busy day to seek God's presence, how much more do we need this?  I have learned something really obvious the past couple of weeks: the more I pray, the more I feel closer to God, and the less my requests seem like the most important part of my prayers.  God might not give us all of the answers that we seek in these desperate times of prayer, but I do know that He will give a peace that surpasses all understanding, and that peace is far greater than knowing that we will have money to be able to buy a car, or knowing our future career, or any other request that seems way too big for God to handle.  My challenge for myself today is when I pray, not to pray for answers, but to pray to get closer to God and understand His heart. 

Perfect Love 

(in honor of Valentine's Day)

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹ Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." -1 Peter 4:8-9


What a great verse. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, right? Loving each other is awesome... Except when you find that person that is IMPOSSIBLE to love, and probably even impossible to like.  Ouch. It's easy to love those who are lovable, but what do we do when they aren't? And what about verse 9: "offer hospitality to one another without grumbling".  How often to we offer hospitality to one another while in our heads we think "I hate this, this stinks!"? I know I'm guilty of it.  I wish I could say that I have conquered this, but I struggle on a daily basis with loving the unlovable and offering insincere hospitality to people.  The bible also says that  perfect love casts out all fear. So as I understand it, love covers our sins and casts out fear (and much more). Pretty powerful stuff, don'tcha think? I do. I am praying for God's perfect love to overwhelm me so that I can give it as freely as I receive it.
I don't know about you, but I want to be fearless.  I want God's love to cover a multitude of sins, and I want my life and love to reflect His. If I was truly living out this life of giving and receiving perfect love, how much more effective would I be to reaching those around me for God?  How much more effective would you be?  

It Would Be a Lie to Run Away

Jon Foreman: The Cure for the Pain

You know how sometimes you can listen to a song a thousand times before you really notice the lyrics? That was this song for me, so I thought I would share my thoughts about it.  These lyrics are such a powerful expression of God and how undeniable He is.  I have known so many broken people that are too hurt or ashamed of their pasts to confront God, so they run as far away as they can.  I've been there.  There have been times where I've been too ashamed of my sins that I let it separate me from God.  It's a terrible spot to be, you feel alone and unworthy, and it can eat away at you if you let it.  The song talks about "trying to find a cure for the pain".  We all have pain, we all want to run away sometimes, but He is the only one that can really "cure" our pain.  Here's the good news:  Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins.  He took them for us so that can be saved and redeemed!  Our sins are never too bad to be forgiven, and we can rest in the fact that God desires so intensely for us to pursue Him regardless of our pasts, our pain, or our shame.  Let Him take it from you. 

^"6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

-Romans 5:6-8