Today I got an email saying that cholera outbreak has taken place in Haiti. 300 casualties and 3000 people ill. Pray for the people and the clean necessities that hopefully will be provided.
There was also a storm that was horrific and is devastating when so many are living in tents. Haiti is in need. Pray that we as the body of Christ will come together and reach out to our brothers and sisters. Pray for unity. Pray for grace. Jesus we praise you through the storm.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
supernatural grace
Discipleship is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. Grace is dynamic. Grace sanctifies, saves, empowers, strengthens. Titus 2:12 Trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age. Grace is not an excuse to sin, but something dynamic given to us to make possible everything God has called us to do.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "no" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Grace transforms. Do not admire me, but admire God's grace within me. Walk supernaturally in faith. Live in Lordship. Grace changes our reality. Be unaffected by these fleeting desires of the world. We are called to be perfect and holy each day.
We FAIL. By grace we can live with the Holy spirit within us.
1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
(notes from matt moore- conerstone church 8.8.10)
This concept of grace has been on my mind a lot this year and how we must trust in the Lord fully with every decision we have in our lives. It is hard for me to stop myself when I am caught up in the business of the world. I must surrender to God. Jesus has taught me time and time again that I just need to quit working up such an ordeal and just trust him. Mark Carter our chapel here at Point Loma had a sermon on practicing resurrection. Anytime I have a struggle I try to remember to repeat that in my mind. PRACTICE RESURRECTION. I was thinking more about 'practice crucifixion' and dying to myself. Dying to my sinful nature and attempting to bear my own cross each day. (Luke 9:23 If anyone desires to follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily) But it doesn't end there...ok if I am trying to die to my own self that leaves me dead. I need to recognize the power of the blood. The grace in Jesus' death. I need to practice crucifixion of my own-self but than let Jesus live within me through resurrection.
The holy spirit is the one who I encounter during worship and the one who whispers to us throughout the day. The holy spirit is vital to our existence and to our obedience to our God. In order to display Jesus and his love to others, we must invite the Holy Spirit into our lives daily; in our reading of scripture and our praying and worship and continuous communication with Jesus.
God is so good. I am going through struggles, as is everyone on the face of this planet whether we fail to recognize them or not. I am growing through my struggles. Romans 5 says it all, which is so funny because in class today my math teacher needed a volunteer to read scripture and this happened to be what it was... God is so good.
Romans 5
By faith we have access to grace. By grace we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We have glory through tribulations knowing tribulations produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Grace transforms. Be strong in grace.
Phil 1:6
He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Tim 2:11-13
For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
"Those who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next." - C.S Lewis
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "no" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Grace transforms. Do not admire me, but admire God's grace within me. Walk supernaturally in faith. Live in Lordship. Grace changes our reality. Be unaffected by these fleeting desires of the world. We are called to be perfect and holy each day.
We FAIL. By grace we can live with the Holy spirit within us.
1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
(notes from matt moore- conerstone church 8.8.10)
This concept of grace has been on my mind a lot this year and how we must trust in the Lord fully with every decision we have in our lives. It is hard for me to stop myself when I am caught up in the business of the world. I must surrender to God. Jesus has taught me time and time again that I just need to quit working up such an ordeal and just trust him. Mark Carter our chapel here at Point Loma had a sermon on practicing resurrection. Anytime I have a struggle I try to remember to repeat that in my mind. PRACTICE RESURRECTION. I was thinking more about 'practice crucifixion' and dying to myself. Dying to my sinful nature and attempting to bear my own cross each day. (Luke 9:23 If anyone desires to follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily) But it doesn't end there...ok if I am trying to die to my own self that leaves me dead. I need to recognize the power of the blood. The grace in Jesus' death. I need to practice crucifixion of my own-self but than let Jesus live within me through resurrection.
The holy spirit is the one who I encounter during worship and the one who whispers to us throughout the day. The holy spirit is vital to our existence and to our obedience to our God. In order to display Jesus and his love to others, we must invite the Holy Spirit into our lives daily; in our reading of scripture and our praying and worship and continuous communication with Jesus.
God is so good. I am going through struggles, as is everyone on the face of this planet whether we fail to recognize them or not. I am growing through my struggles. Romans 5 says it all, which is so funny because in class today my math teacher needed a volunteer to read scripture and this happened to be what it was... God is so good.
Romans 5
By faith we have access to grace. By grace we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We have glory through tribulations knowing tribulations produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Grace transforms. Be strong in grace.
Phil 1:6
He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Tim 2:11-13
For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
"Those who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next." - C.S Lewis
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
humanity's broken ability to love
My friend Doug in prayer group a couple weeks ago shared with us his readings and his interpretations of John. He is such an intelligent and unique person. He has a lot of wisdom and has a different perspective on life than I do and some of the rest of our group. This was a little section from his summary and what he took away from John 2:1-2.
"Jesus came to change our humanity into divine love. He brings his disciples to a wedding feast to reveal our deepest thirst; LOVE. Our desire to love and to be loved.
Love is the deepest desire boiling inside of us. It is deeper than our desire for power, wealth and reputation; the same things that we hold unto and keeps us from realising Gods identity for us. However, our thirst to be loved is all too often outsompted by a diversion. That diversion is our pursit to be admired. Our quests for acceptance, praise, popularity, and reputation are warped fantasies even perversions of our thirst for love.
We are all wounded from our failure to receive love because humanity has a broken ability to love. This leads to a humanity collectively seeking love from one another. Yet all the individuals are lonely and feel incapable of being loved. But Jesus leads us to a celebration of love just as he lead his disciples to the marriage feast. In changing the water to wine, Jesus shows he wants to change our broken humanity into divine love. Jesus needs our efforts to do this. The guests at the wedding feast consumed all of their wine early and were disappointed when they had to drink water at the feast. Humanity serves its version of love to one another, but ultimately it does not satisfy and leaves us disappointed and broken. (water) Jesus needed the trust and hard work of the servants to fill the jars to the brim with water. Then he changed it to the best wine. He needs our trust and work to put all of our broken humanity before him. Then he will change it into divine love. Only then can our desire for love be quenched and only then can we begin to share that love(wine) with other people.
Receiving that love is receiving God's life. This allows me to do things like see people how Jesus sees them. Forgive. Empathize with the poor. Be with the meek. Have compassion. I am less attracted to the idols of power, wealth, and reputation. I can love like God loves."
"Jesus came to change our humanity into divine love. He brings his disciples to a wedding feast to reveal our deepest thirst; LOVE. Our desire to love and to be loved.
Love is the deepest desire boiling inside of us. It is deeper than our desire for power, wealth and reputation; the same things that we hold unto and keeps us from realising Gods identity for us. However, our thirst to be loved is all too often outsompted by a diversion. That diversion is our pursit to be admired. Our quests for acceptance, praise, popularity, and reputation are warped fantasies even perversions of our thirst for love.
We are all wounded from our failure to receive love because humanity has a broken ability to love. This leads to a humanity collectively seeking love from one another. Yet all the individuals are lonely and feel incapable of being loved. But Jesus leads us to a celebration of love just as he lead his disciples to the marriage feast. In changing the water to wine, Jesus shows he wants to change our broken humanity into divine love. Jesus needs our efforts to do this. The guests at the wedding feast consumed all of their wine early and were disappointed when they had to drink water at the feast. Humanity serves its version of love to one another, but ultimately it does not satisfy and leaves us disappointed and broken. (water) Jesus needed the trust and hard work of the servants to fill the jars to the brim with water. Then he changed it to the best wine. He needs our trust and work to put all of our broken humanity before him. Then he will change it into divine love. Only then can our desire for love be quenched and only then can we begin to share that love(wine) with other people.
Receiving that love is receiving God's life. This allows me to do things like see people how Jesus sees them. Forgive. Empathize with the poor. Be with the meek. Have compassion. I am less attracted to the idols of power, wealth, and reputation. I can love like God loves."
Monday, October 18, 2010
hope for haiti:)
Today we presented on Haiti fundraising that we have been meeting for months about planning. Its excited because we actually have tangible items that we have to sell and represent our hope and hard work. We have been selling bracelets with " Childhope James 1:27" on them and giving out jars. The jars people have been signing up for pledging to raise or attempting to raise 50 dollars per jar. Our goal this semester is 1,000 dollars. We are praying that people on our campus are passionate and understand the hurt and pain that is in Haiti. We pray that we can try to help comfort them with the time and energy spent on this project. We want to make our campus and community aware of the needs of our family.
It was hard for me today in the beginning of the presentation when we showed part of the CNN video. I started to tear up a bit. I was emotional while speaking in front of the department. I had written out notes and tried to plan out what I would say but when it came time I just spoke what was on my heart. God spoke through me, because I really can't remember too much of what I said or how it flowed together. We had a good number of people buy bracelets directly after chapel and many of them signed up for jars. The jars have been going throughout the day as people ask me what I am carrying around. I pray that each person that has a jar feels the responsibility of what they have chosen to take on. I pray that people will pour out into this ministry and help Haiti. Jesus loves us and we are indebted to love everyone and serve everyone for what he has done. One of my favorite all time verses is 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul said " I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His."
After our presentation in chapel..which was crammed for time there was a speaker Tim Hall and he delivered an incredible message. He touched on the story of Saul and how he was the one executing people for the gospel of Jesus and than during his journey he changed his name to Paul and became the executed. He was put in jail for the very reason that he had once persecuted the gentiles. God had changed him and he found the glory and mercy of Jesus and now found himself so indebted to Jesus that he deticated his life to preaching the gospel. He was loved. That love changed him.
It was hard for me today in the beginning of the presentation when we showed part of the CNN video. I started to tear up a bit. I was emotional while speaking in front of the department. I had written out notes and tried to plan out what I would say but when it came time I just spoke what was on my heart. God spoke through me, because I really can't remember too much of what I said or how it flowed together. We had a good number of people buy bracelets directly after chapel and many of them signed up for jars. The jars have been going throughout the day as people ask me what I am carrying around. I pray that each person that has a jar feels the responsibility of what they have chosen to take on. I pray that people will pour out into this ministry and help Haiti. Jesus loves us and we are indebted to love everyone and serve everyone for what he has done. One of my favorite all time verses is 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul said " I am a debtor to everyone on the face of the earth because of the gospel of Jesus; I am free only that I may be an absolute bondservant of His."
After our presentation in chapel..which was crammed for time there was a speaker Tim Hall and he delivered an incredible message. He touched on the story of Saul and how he was the one executing people for the gospel of Jesus and than during his journey he changed his name to Paul and became the executed. He was put in jail for the very reason that he had once persecuted the gentiles. God had changed him and he found the glory and mercy of Jesus and now found himself so indebted to Jesus that he deticated his life to preaching the gospel. He was loved. That love changed him.
Friday, October 15, 2010
silence
Today I woke up and decided that I should practice silence. Its something that has really taught me a lot this summer and I feel like it should be practiced more in our society. We all get so rushed in everyday life. Even if we actually do have time to sit down and "have quiet time", if our mind is racing and we can't quiet our thoughts, there was no real silence practiced. The time it takes to sit and be still is undefined. Each moment is unique. The time it takes for a person to become still and have quietness in their spirit is independent of the situation in life, the person and the moment. It may take 5 minutes to become still for me one day, and 3 full days the next time. There are so many seasons in our life that sometimes the meaning of silence and stillness may not be obtainable.
Anyways, while in Haiti this summer I learned a little. (understatement)
I accepted and received a lot. I grew in understanding and in patience. I recognized the importance of peace in Jesus. Jesus within me and Jesus expressed to others is the same Jesus I had experienced in 8th grade youth group. This Jesus, this holy and sanctified righteous Lord of Lords, thrives within me. We must acknowledge him within us. We must recognize him in us as individuals and live out his callings in our life.
He is worthy. He is worthy. He is worthy of our praise. Forever and today. Jesus you are so much more than we can even begin to fathom. "His heart is the most sensitive and tender of all. No act goes unnoticed no matter how insignifican or small. A cup of cold water is enough to put tears in the eyes of God....God celebrates our feeble expressions of gratitiude."-ABBA's Child by Brennan Manning
Anyways, while in Haiti this summer I learned a little. (understatement)
I accepted and received a lot. I grew in understanding and in patience. I recognized the importance of peace in Jesus. Jesus within me and Jesus expressed to others is the same Jesus I had experienced in 8th grade youth group. This Jesus, this holy and sanctified righteous Lord of Lords, thrives within me. We must acknowledge him within us. We must recognize him in us as individuals and live out his callings in our life.
He is worthy. He is worthy. He is worthy of our praise. Forever and today. Jesus you are so much more than we can even begin to fathom. "His heart is the most sensitive and tender of all. No act goes unnoticed no matter how insignifican or small. A cup of cold water is enough to put tears in the eyes of God....God celebrates our feeble expressions of gratitiude."-ABBA's Child by Brennan Manning
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