faith

I have been trying so hard to center my relationships around Christ... that is good.

But my heart has yet to be centered.

I cannot keep living this lukewarm life. I cannot keep feeling jealous of the Christians around me who have so much life in them. I can have that life as well.

I need to act.

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
James 2:26

Faith without works is dead.
What have I been doing?
I have been stagnant, I have ceased to move.

Dare You to Move.

God wants me to do something.
I need to further His kingdom.
I can't keep sitting here,
listening, speaking, praying,
without action.

Faith without works is dead.

humbled.

Today is my first day of spring break. I am not going on vacation, but I'm turning this into a vacation for my soul.

God revealed something to me today: I have not been letting His spirit in.

I have been living in fear of not being accepted by others. I am different than the world, but it's hard for me to not be able to relate to people anymore. I feel as though I can barely carry on a conversation with anyone anymore. My mind drifts and I'm not sure as to what. Each time I felt alone, I blamed it on the people around me.

Why weren't they including me?

Because I had checked out.

Mentally, physically, and emotionally I've checked out of my friendships. People have been letting me down lately, but that's no reason to ignore them or not talk to them.

I need to take a step back.

Instead of trying to pick the pebble out of a friend's eye, I need to take the boulder out of mine. God has humbled me today. I have not been surrendering my friendships to Him.

"Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle.

Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up.

Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody.

Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it on you, get along with everybody."

Romans 12:9-18

Discover the beauty in everyone. I have been struggling hardcore with not loving the people who don't have the same values as I do. I have been judgmental. This is the exact opposite of what Christ calls me to be.

It's all about the love.

humanity

Last night, there was a crime to humanity committed: a young man killed in broad daylight, simply a couple blocks away. This young man was a brother and a friend. As we drove past, my knees buckled and I bit my lip to coerce the tears back into my eyes.

God gave me his precious eyes last night, for I felt compassion for a complete stranger.

How many of these acts of violence are committed daily in the world? How many fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters, daughters and sons are being killed? How can people turn a blind eye to the anguish of this world?

Open your eyes.

Surrounding us is so much hatred. I know this sounds tacky and cliche and I hate that I'm saying this but where is the love? I don't see enough of it.

Pain radiates all around me, so thick I can barely see the minuscule rays of love poking through.

God is screaming at me to open my eyes.

OPEN MY EYES.
OPEN YOUR EYES.

And not only that, but do something about it. If we watch the hatred and sin, but do not act, it is as though we are committing the same sin.

Open your eyes and act.

grace.

Grace (n.): the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God.

What is grace? God has given us His grace through His son, Jesus Christ. Grace is the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. Grace is freely given to any who ask for it. How beautiful is this gift from our Creator?

The eloquent words in the song, "Stand on Grace" by Jimmy Needham explain this concept. Jimmy says that he stands on Jesus's grace. We stand on the freely given love of God, for without His grace, we would surely fall into the habits of the world.

Lately, God has been revealing his emmaculate grace through His Word.

In the book of Genesis, God created the world. He also created Adam to take care of the Garden of Eden. The Lord decided that in order to spare Adam's solidarity, He would take a rib out of Adam and create woman, Eve, from man's flesh, so that eventually, two may become one. The Lord commanded that they may not eat out of the tree of knowledge, yet the serpent deceived Eve so that she may eat from the tree. Eve then gave the forbidden fruit to Adam, and he ate it as well.

"To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'"
Genesis 3:17

God was upset with Adam that he had listened to his wife, though God commanded him otherwise. How many times do we care for our significant other more than God? God wants our entire hearts and He gives us the most unconditional love.

When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they realized for the first time that they were naked. God had made them unashamed; He had not desired that they would even have to know about the existence of sin. Yet, they ate from the tree of knowledge and were forced to know right from wrong.

Adam and Eve had basically slapped God in the face, yet because they felt shame, He did this:

"The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them."
Genesis 3:21

God's grace is abundant and He showers us in His perfect grace daily. Though they disobeyed Him, He made them clothes. How much grace did the Lord show in this moment? He is painstakingly humble, wholly forgiving, and His love is steadfast.

Over the past few months, I had been living in sin. Internal sin can be much more arduous to rid than external sin, because it can be hidden. The way that the world sees sin is different than the way God sees sin. The world says that if your sins aren't as bad as someone else's sins then you are fine. But the Lord says that all sins are the same. The Lord examines our intentions.

My intentions haven't been Christ-centered but I am changing that around. I cannot stand idly by any longer. God has given me His grace and I need to appreciate His gift. He loves me and I need to spread that Love to others.

He has filled my heart with His grace, my soul yearns to be Christ-like.

Choose Hope.

Choose Joy.

Choose Grace.