Stepping Out of Our "Caves"

This is followed off my last post, "Arise and Shine."


In order to arise and shine, we need to look at ourselves and how we're living. Are we going to church and worshiping, then going home and yelling at our family and listening to music we shouldn't? Or watching things we shouldn't be? We need to be living our lives for Christ. He wants all of us. Not just a part of us. He's a jealous God. He doesn't want us living for Him in just certain times of the year. He wants us to be living for Him 24/7. 365 days a year. If we say we have a relationship with Him but don't spend time with Him or time in His Word, we're just kidding ourselves; we're continuing on in spiritual darkness. God wants to use us to help others find the light, to find Him. But we need to be one the right track ourselves.

This is another excerpt from the book Arise and Shine by Sarah Wehrli.

"You could be in a type of a cave. The cave could symbolize fear, depression, complacency, shame, or bitterness. The awesome thing is that Jesus has already paid the price for you to free from the chains of the enemy. God has called you out of darkness and into His glorious light! He desires you to help others come out of darkness and into the light of Christ Jesus.


There are so many distractions that will try to keep you from fulfilling your God-given purpose. You see, the enemy knows the potential that resides on the inside of you and he will do anything he can to keep you in fear of stepping our into something greater. But you must wake up and realize you have been brought to the Kingdom for "such a time as this." God has a purpose, an assignment, for you to fulfill. It is time to get out of your "cave" and be a light in the world."


That's seriously some powerful stuff right there. But it's so very true. We all have our own "caves." I've gone through depression. I could've given up. I could've been mad at God. But instead I handed it over to God, asked Him to help me. And guess what? He did! I'm no longer in that depression. I have the joy of God inside of me! Wanna know why God would do that? Because He loves His creation! My family's gone through a lot. I could let it get to me. I could fear that it's gonna happen the rest of my life, no matter what. But I CANNOT let the enemy win! I can't let Him steal my joy! NO ONE said living for Christ was going to be easy. In fact, it says in 1 Peter 2:21, "For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in His steps." And in James 1:12 it says, "God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."

With that being said, it won't be easy to follow God, but it will be so worth it in the end! God will bless you for being patient through testing and temptation. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."

My own example for that is my depression. God helped me get out of it and now I'm able to help others because of it. Another thing is, I used to hate the way I looked, until I encountered God's love for me. After that, I wrote a poem. I felt I was supposed to put it up on our fridge. I know that sounds like such a little kid thing to do but I did it. Well, my mom ended up reading it and it blessed her. She ended up in tears. That poem was meant for her, even though I didn't know it at the time I wrote it. She needed to know how much God loved her.

Sometimes getting out of our "caves" is hard. But God will help us. All we have to do is surrender ourselves over to Him and be willing to step out and get out of our comfort zones. God has a plan and a purpose for each and everyone one of us. You and only you can fulfill yours.

Arise and Shine

This blog is going to be a little different than my others.

About two years ago, I went to visit some family. My aunt and uncle gave me a book called Arise and Shine by Sarah Wehrli. I didn't read it. I put it with all my other books. It didn't catch my interest back then.

Yesterday I was cleaning my room and found it. It immediately caught my attention. Today I started reading it. It took me about 20 minutes to read nine pages because I'm not just reading what it says, I'm really taking in what it means. I'm also writing down most of the Bible verses included in those pages.

I just wanted to share a little excerpt from chapter one because I think it's something we, as Christians, need to hear. So here it is:


"Jesus said in Matthew 10:8 '...Freely you have received, freely give.' We need to arise out of selfishness and begin to give out on a regular basis.


One example of this principle was illustrated to me when I was in Israel. It is found in the picture of two main bodies of water there: the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is Israel's largest freshwater lake and is fed by the Jordan River, which flows through it from north to south. Galilee's shore has rich soil which enables plants to flourish, and many types of fish live in the Sea of Galilee, providing fishermen with great sustenance. 


On the other hand, nothing lives in the Dead Sea. There are no plants or seaweed of any kind in or around the water. The Dead Sea is continually fed water from rivers and streams coming off the mountains that surround it, but no rivers drain out of the Dead Sea. The difference in the two is that the Sea of Galilee has water flowing into it and water flowing out of it, so it stays fresh; the Dead Sea has water coming in, but there is not any water flowing out of it.


This is a picture of many people if they don't get out of their comfort zone and give out of themselves on a regular basis. They can receive a lot of head knowledge from the Bible, but if they don't give it out, they become stagnant. God has called us to be a river, not a reservoir. He has called us not only to receive from His Word on a daily basis, but also to give out His love and message to others. When we do this we stay fresh, full of life and joy as God has designed us to live."


All I can say is wow, that's some powerful stuff right there. It really made me think about how I'm living my life. We waste so much time watching tv and movies, playing video games, sitting on the internet, the list goes on and on. I'll be honest with you, I'm guilty of those things. If you know me, I like to be on my computer. I like to do things with my photos and talk with my friends on facebook. But we need to get out there and step out of our comfort zone. We need to start living our lives to make a difference for God! We very well might be in the end times.

Some of you might say "Oh, I'm just a shy person. What can God do with me?" You know what? I'm pretty shy and God's using me. If you just step out into boldness it gets a little easier each time. God has used me to reach out to other people who are shy. Don't let satan feed you lies that God can't use you because you're too shy, or for any other reason. God wants to use you! He has a plan and a purpose for your life!

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you" says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

That right there tells me that God loves me and wants to use me for His Kingdom! God has given you gifts and abilities in you and He has a plan to use those for His Kingdom in ways that no one else can! All you have to do is hand those over to God, they're His anyway, and ask Him to use you! Trust me, He will!

While writing this, this song came to mind.

Copy and Paste:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B1Lv8k5pEc

Whenever I hear this song, I'm always in the car...alone. So I blast it and I just scream out this song. My favorite line is, "Oh, I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else to do what God has called me to do myself." So when you ask God to use you, when you pray to Him, take the time to actually listen to Him as well. He'll let you know what you're supposed to do.


You're all loved and valuable! Don't settle for the "normal" life or the "American Dream". Live for God. It won't be easy, I'll be honest. But it will be for the best, and God will take care of you.

Sacrifice

To You I give my life, not just the parts I want to. To You I sacrifice these dreams that I hold on to.


Jason Upton is an amazing writer! I've got a few songs of his that I want to write about. So I'm starting with No Sacrifice. Those lyrics up there are just amazing. I listen to this song and I think about my relationship with God. When you have a relationship with Him, there are sacrifices you have to make to grow with Him. Yes, it's hard at times but it's always best! Give Him your life and it'll be so much better than what you could ever do with it on your own! And that lyric about sacrificing dreams that we hold on to, God put dreams in our hearts. He keeps our best interests at heart. There's a reason those dreams are there, but we can't put our focus on just our dreams. Our focus has to be on Him. God wants to help us fulfill our dreams. God wants to use our dreams for His Kingdom. 




Your thoughts are higher than mine. Your words are deeper than mine. Your love is stronger than mine. This is no sacrifice, here's my life.


That part right there is my favorite! God's thoughts are higher. His words are deeper. And His love is stronger than ours. God wants to use us. He wants to use us to speak to other people and to show other people His love. 




To you I give the gifts Your love has given me. How can I hoard the treasures that You've designed for free?


God has given us all our own gifts, talents, and abilities. That lyric right there makes me think, "Why keep it to ourselves? That's selfish." God wants us to use our gifts and abilities for Him. We just have to let Him have control. He loved us enough to put them in us. It's the least we can do for Him.


God sent His one and only Son to die for us. He desires a relationship with us. Not just go to church on a Sunday morning or a Wednesday night. But to spend time with Him throughout the whole week. To talk to Him. Not just through the bad, but also the good. To talk to Him about what's going on in your life, even though He already knows. He gave us the greatest gift. Why not thank Him by living your life for Him?

Lovey Love

He is jealous for me. Love's like a hurricane, I am a tree. Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great your affections are for me.

I heard this song for the first time about 2 years ago. I was in Tulsa visiting some family. My aunt had my cousin and I listen to it. She told us to close our eyes and to just really listen to this song and what it means. So there we were sitting on the living room floor, eyes closed listening to this song. By the end of the song we were all crying. I was there for 2 weeks. After that day, all we listened to was this song, no matter what we were doing. It started something in me. I started realizing how much God loves me. Started to understand it more. 

I've listened to this so much since then. Many different versions as well...but Kim Walker is my favorite! I would always put it on while I was doing something and wanted some music to listen to just because I love it so much! And every once in a while it would hit me again. 

We did this song in church this morning. It hit me again. I think that the more I grow in my relationship with God, I hear this song in a whole new light and it happens all over again! I love it! 

We are His portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking. So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest. I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us. 

That might be my favorite part of the song. Ephesians 2:8 and 9 say "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast."

Just thinking about that gives me goosebumps. Seriously, God created us and we sinned against Him but He still loves us. He loves us even though we still sin and even though we're imperfect. He gives us His love with no strings attached. He loves us even if we don't love Him back. He doesn't say He'll love us if we do this and that. He just simply love us. He loves us enough that He sent His ONE and ONLY Son to die a horrible death so that we can spend an eternity with Him. How many people do you know who would do that for you? 

He also loves us enough to help us through this crazy thing called life. He's helped me through so much in my life. No matter how crazy life gets I know He'll always be there. His arms are always open for me to come into for an embrace. To just sit with Him. Talk with Him. He loves us enough to help us with big things and small things as well. He wants us to have a relationship with Him. To come to Him with EVERYTHING. Not just when things are bad or when we need/want something. His love and His friendship are greater than anyone else's. His love is unconditional. 

One more thing. Let's show each other this kind of love. The kind of love that doesn't judge a person based on looks, money, what kind of car they drive, etc. I honestly believe God wants to use us. We can love on people with His love and they'll know something is different. Showing someone His love could change their life! You don't have to shove the Bible in someone's face to reach them. Just love them. 

Sorry that this was a little long and that I kind of went on a little rant. But it's something that's in my heart. I wanna see this generation just so full of God's love. To see people showing each other God's love. 

Yup.

I love you all.  :)