...for everything!
I've been finding myself more and more overwhelmed with God's grace towards me. I know this is something that should happen every minute, but I realize that I have never experienced it so deeply before now. I am grateful for His grand redemption. "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from from your forefathers...with the precious blood of Christ." 1 Peter 1:18-19
The walk to the dorm from dinner has become a precious time of reflection for me. I am grateful for the stars and the solitude and for the ever-present feeling of God's care. "For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand." Isaiah 41:13
College is a scary time--because of the stress, because of discovering truths you hadn't realized before, because of decisions that will last the rest of your life, because of the independence which sometimes feels oddly like loneliness. I am grateful that God will always direct my steps. "This God--His way is perfect." Psalm 18:30
Sometimes I get homesick. It's unlike any loneliness I've ever experienced before--but God continues to show Himself strong on my behalf. I am grateful that I never will be truly alone. "Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me." John 16:32
It's such an awesome privilege to be a vessel of God's love to the lost world. Sometimes I am overwhelmed that God would use me. I am grateful for the gospel, and for the opportunities I have to share it. "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls." 2 Corinthians 12:16
This list could go on and on and on...I have so many spiritual and earthly blessings! Who am I to merit this affection? All I can do is give glory to my generous God. He alone is worthy of all our praise!
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
"I'm tired of American priorities! Who ever said your children would be safe in the call of God?"
A sermon has never made me cry...before. But John Piper's "Doing Missions When Dying is Gain" changed that. A friend told me it was the best sermon she had ever heard, and I might have to agree. The first time I listened, it was a Sunday night and I decided to alleviate my boredom by listening to this sermon while cleaning my room and writing a letter and doing other little tasks. But soon I found myself sucked in, sitting on my floor, paying rapt attention to my blank computer screen. And I ended up in tears.
Tonight we listened to it again, in small group. This time I took two pages of notes, but I missed so many other things I wanted to write down! It's good you guys, so good! It's been too long since I seriously considered the cost of following Christ, something each of us ought to often do. Amy Carmicheal said, "To any whom the Hand Divine is beckoning: count the cost, for He tells us too, but take your slate to the foot of the Cross and add up the figures there." The cost seems impossible--until you count it in the light of the cross. Than, for some reason, the suffering and danger pales in comparison. And oh! it makes me long for that deeper life, closer with Him, "further up and further in" as C.S. Lewis put it. Counting the cost never scares me away, but pulls me into deeper love for my Savior. For, as Piper put it in his three main points, "the promise is sure, the price (and the means) is suffering, and the prize is satisfying."
I can't tell you all that was said in the sermon, and, even if I could, you couldn't hear the pauses and inflection that bring the message to life. So, I'm pleading with you here, listen to it! Take some time, find a moment, sit down, and follow this link: (http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/desiring_god/) ...listen! OK?
"This mission is gonna be done--you can get on board or cop out and waste your life." -Piper
A sermon has never made me cry...before. But John Piper's "Doing Missions When Dying is Gain" changed that. A friend told me it was the best sermon she had ever heard, and I might have to agree. The first time I listened, it was a Sunday night and I decided to alleviate my boredom by listening to this sermon while cleaning my room and writing a letter and doing other little tasks. But soon I found myself sucked in, sitting on my floor, paying rapt attention to my blank computer screen. And I ended up in tears.
Tonight we listened to it again, in small group. This time I took two pages of notes, but I missed so many other things I wanted to write down! It's good you guys, so good! It's been too long since I seriously considered the cost of following Christ, something each of us ought to often do. Amy Carmicheal said, "To any whom the Hand Divine is beckoning: count the cost, for He tells us too, but take your slate to the foot of the Cross and add up the figures there." The cost seems impossible--until you count it in the light of the cross. Than, for some reason, the suffering and danger pales in comparison. And oh! it makes me long for that deeper life, closer with Him, "further up and further in" as C.S. Lewis put it. Counting the cost never scares me away, but pulls me into deeper love for my Savior. For, as Piper put it in his three main points, "the promise is sure, the price (and the means) is suffering, and the prize is satisfying."
I can't tell you all that was said in the sermon, and, even if I could, you couldn't hear the pauses and inflection that bring the message to life. So, I'm pleading with you here, listen to it! Take some time, find a moment, sit down, and follow this link: (http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/desiring_god/) ...listen! OK?
"This mission is gonna be done--you can get on board or cop out and waste your life." -Piper
Abandon your small ambitions...
DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE!!
DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE!!
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Monday, November 07, 2005
Why...
...am I more comfortable on the hard streets of Skid Row than the plush suburbs of the Santa Clarita Valley?
...am I so scared of being alone the rest of my life?
...do I so easily neglect my good resolutions?
...does my heart fear the future?
...don't I trust God more?
...am I so scared of being alone the rest of my life?
...do I so easily neglect my good resolutions?
...does my heart fear the future?
...don't I trust God more?
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