A Call To Spiritual Growth

Most days I don't need a reminder to be actively working on creating a deeper sense of faith and purpose.  As Ann pointed out in a reply to my first post, I am a new Christian (meaning I haven't been one for but three and a half months).  I still have a sense of wonderment, and an intensity for pursuing and developing my faith.  All too often in life, we start something new and get really excited.  How many of us have started a new hobby, only to find that a month or two later all of the supplies are slowly collecting dust!  Have you ever set a New Year's resolution to lose weight, and are stuck with a year long gym membership that you've used twice? (I know I have!)  There are numerous examples that we could apply to each area of our life.  But what makes a pursuit of faith, particularly a deeper understanding of God and his son Jesus, different?  For me, it is because unlike a hobby, or a diet, or the newest "craze," my faith in God defines who I am. 

How many of us know someone who has been married for 30, 40, 50 years or more?  How do they make it work?  What has kept them together for all of those years?  I feel it really boils down to one thing...a desire to understand their partner (and maybe, for the guys, saying "yes dear" to everything ;).  This doesn't mean a couple will never have a struggle, or difficult times, but it does mean that they are open to working through these problems.  God, is open to working with us on our struggles.  We are constantly tested, day in and day out, but as Jeremiah 1:5-8 states:

 ⁵ "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
       before you were born I set you apart;
       I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
 ⁶ "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
 ⁷ But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

God is telling us that no matter what challenges we face, He will always be there to rescue us.  We will always succeed, as long as we have our faith.  Shortly after I became a Christian my father had a massive heart-attack, and my aunt was hospitalized for an ongoing condition.  It would have been easy for me to give up my faith, and proclaim, "Why me?"  Instead, I chose to dive deeper into my relationship with God, and things have only grown stronger.  You too have that choice available to you.  Are you going to find the Godliness in things?  Or are you going to choose to believe that God has abandoned you, or doesn't favor you any longer. 

I hope that you and I continue to choose to grow deeper in our faith and understanding every day, and not let ourselves become one of those mentioned  in Hebrews 5:11-14  "¹¹We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. ¹²In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." 

A close friend of mine says it best: "Being a Christian is one of the hardest callings in life."  And I would like to add to that, that it is also the most rewarding!  Are you going to see yourself as a "child" or "infant" in the eyes of God?  Or are you going to choose something greater?  I know what my choice is!

~God Bless 

Prayer

A mentor of mine, Dr. Barrett uses a phrase, "My knees hit the ground before my feet," suggesting that every morning the first thing he does is wake up and pray before God.  How many of us have that kind of commitment in our lives?  Are we truly honoring the blessing that we have received in life? 

Genesis 12:1-3 says, " The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family, and go to the land that I will show you.  I will make you into a great nation, I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.  I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who treat you with contempt.  All the families on earth will be blessed through you."

This blessing spoken of is fulfilled when Christ dies for us on the Cross.  Numerous times in the New Testament, particularly in Galatians, you will find references this fact.  Louie Giglio pointed out the other night in his sermon that in the New Testament the only time the words "bless," "blessing," or "blessed" are used is in reference to the Blessing we have all already received.  WE ARE BLESSED!   But are we blessing HIM?  It is so easy for us to ask for blessings in our everyday life, and be focused on the things we want.  The other night I was having a discussion with a close friend of mine, and she asked me, "how can we bless God?  What does a blessing really mean?"  Merriam-Webster defines bless as, "to praise or glorify," .  Are we offering praise and glorification to the one true God, who has sent his Son to bear the weight of our sins?  

My challenge to you is that throughout this next week, be conscious of your inner discussions and prayer with God.  Are you truly glorifying God, and trusting in the fact that He will provide everything you need in life?  Or are we continually asking for blessings in our life, as if we don't trust in the fact that we are already blessed?  God will give us what we ask for, but why should we have to ask for things, if He has already provided everything we need?

What does a Life:Remixed look like?

Thank you for finding your way to Life:Remixed!  I am by no means a "blogger" by trade, but I do feel it is important for everyone to discover who they are, and once they find out what it is, to share that with the world.  For me, accepting Christ as my personal savior on November 20, 2009 changed my life forever.  For eleven years I had been searching for "something."  I never felt complete; always yearning.  God moved so many pieces in my life, and it just took putting my complete, unwavering faith in his Son, Jesus Christ to know God.  This has profoundly changed my life.  I hope as I grow, and this blog grows, you too come along for the journey.  While we all have different paths in life, there is only one true destination.  It is my intent, that as I share stories, scripture, and personal information about myself, it prompts you to question things in your own life, and if appropriate, take action and grow.  I welcome any and all comments, and look forward to having an open dialogue with you, my brothers and sisters. 

A man who I admire greatly, Dr. Pete Sulak, opens all of his discussions with the following: "My brother's and sisters.  Tonight, I may offend some of you.  In fact, I may have already offended you.  Just know that I have offended you with the truth."  Like Dr. Sulak, enclosed in these pages will be "my truth."  I am not asking for you to agree with it, or adopt it as your own.  We are all a piece of something much greater than ourselves.  My hope is that while we acknowledge and respect eachothers' stories and lives, we come to the realization that we are all a part of the same cloth.

Galatians 5:13-15 tells us, "¹³You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." ¹⁵If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."  I hope that you find this a safe forum to voice your opinion and have your Life:Remixed.