Day 21 In Him we find...

Tomorrow is the big, Thanksgiving day where we will spend hours in the kitchen (if we haven't already), run around like mad women (or men) with multiple tasks, eat, watch football, eat, sleep, clean, eat, more football and sleep. That's a lot of eating, a lot of football, and a lot of sleep. An abundance of good things, if you ask me.

I'll talk about this a little bit tomorrow, but it seems to me that our God is abundant. Like I've said before, He is a BIG God, so of course, He would give abundantly, because He is able. Most of the time, however, we don't realize it. I'll talk about material things another time, but let's think about what we've found so far during this 30 day series.

God doesn't just give us a little love, He gives it abundantly. God doesn't just give us a little grace, He gives it abundantly. God doesn't just give us a little freedom, He gives it abundantly. I could go on, but you get the point. He gives us the things we need, in abundance. In fact, we don't need or for that matter deserve those things in abundance, but He gives it to us anyway. I would be happy if I just recieved a percentage of His love, but He loves me to His full capacity just like He loves you.

Ephesians 3:20-21 says, "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,  to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Did you catch that? It says , "far more abundantly beyond". Woa. Far more. Abundantly. Beyond. I don't know what else to say. That's how much He loves...forgives...protects...and so on. John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Praise God!

In Him we find abundance.

Today's scripture was Acts 6-7.



Chicken Nuggets vs. Salvation

So if you don't know, today was a day to either support or boycott the Chick-fil-A CEO's belief in traditional same sex marriage. Usually, I don't get involved in things like this, but as I laid on the couch today looking at Facebook on my phone, I read many posts about Chick-fil-A and all of a sudden I got this HUGE craving for waffle fries and Chick-fil-A sauce! So I jumped in my truck around 1:45 and headed over there. I soon realized that a lot of people are joining in on Chick-fil-a Appreciation Day or they just might want some chicken. Anyway, the picture above was taken in my truck (don't worry, I wasn't moving) and it took me probably 10 minutes to get into a packed Kroger/Chick-fil-A parking lot. I would have stayed in my truck for the drive-thru, except that my AC isn't cooling like it should and I was low on gas and there was no telling how long I'd be there. After I finally found a free parking spot in the back, I headed into the restaurant. It was packed! The line was all the way to the door. It was so packed people could hardly move. Usually people get pretty agitated in confined spaces and in long lines especially when they're hungry, but as I scanned the room, there was nothing but smiling faces....no joke! As I'm waiting for my waffle fries, diet lemonade and of course, Chick-fil-A sauce, I had an epiphany and felt compelled to share it with you. My next blog was supposed to be about God's will, but I couldn't pass this opportunity up. Now don't worry I'm not going to talk about gay/lesbian marriage or the freedom of speech. This rally of supporters made me think. So think about this....why can't Christ followers make a statement like these Chick-fil-A lovers (me included)? I mean, yeah you get chicken nuggets and waffle fries (yum!), but you get salvation and eternal life from Christ! PLUS, unlike the chicken nuggets, you don't have to pay to be saved! It's free! It's a gift! All you have to do is believe. So I don't know about you, but I think salvation is a lot more important than chicken nuggets. So why aren't we, as believers, rallying together about what Jesus Christ has done for us? The CEO made a statement about his beliefs on marriage, but Jesus (a perfect man) died on the cross for you and all your mess ups! Talk about a statement! He didn't grill you up a chicken sandwich, He gave you more! He gave you grace and forgiveness all because He LOVES you! All the CEO has done has provided us some good food and he gets all this support? I don't get why we can't get excited about Jesus like this. We should have a Jesus Appreciation Day everyday! That's how we should live. We should be bold. We should take action. I heard a mother saying she had been to that Chick-fil-A twice that day and each time she brought more people with her. Why can't we invite people to church like that? In fact, this "appreciation day" was such a big deal that it made it on the news. Can you imagine if there was more of Jesus on the news? I saw on the news that a man and his family were going there for each meal today. Why can't we be that devoted? Now I'm not going to say that I am bold, because I'm not. I'm guilty of sitting back and letting the world pass me by. So I'm writing to myself, too. I'm guilty and trying to change that. I think this world would be a much nicer place if Christ followers were this devoted, excited and bold. So think about how you can be more bold about your faith or beliefs (whatever you may believe). How can you make a statement? How can you show your appreciation to God for all that He has done for you? I didn't think driving 10 minutes and waiting for 30 minutes at Chick-fil-A would make such an impact on me, but it did. It really made me think. I'm sorry if this entry seemed jumbled or negative. My goal was to just make you think about and how you can make a statement of appreciation for what Christ has done for you. If you're heading out to Chick-fil-A today, maybe take advantage of the wait and talk to people about your beliefs. 2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. I Corinthians 16:13 - Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. Peace! :)

Flying with Intention

So this morning I was sitting on the deck and something caught my eye...a butterfly. I know you are probably thinking, "Gosh, she keeps on talking about butterflies!" I don't know why, but maybe I'm supposed to learn a thing or two from butterflies. So I'm watching this one big, orange butterfly and I notice it keeps flying back to the same flower. It would fly to others, but it would consistently come back to this same pink flower. Obviously butterflies don't have much to do, other than fly and collect nectar. Sounds kind of boring, if you ask me, but anyway, I'm digressing. In order for a butterfly to live, they must eat (just like us) nectar from flowers, pollen, and other different things. Therefore, the source of their life is nectar. They have to go back to it to keep living. We as humans also live off of food, however, there is a deeper source of life...God. Yes, food keeps me noursihed, but I really believe that I have life because of Jesus Christ. In the Bible, John 14:6 says, "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." So my nectar is God. (I really hope this makes sense.) In order to live I must always go back to God, just like the butterfly kept going back to that one flower. Do I always go to God? No, I don't. I try my hardest and I will fail at times, but I should always remember that He is the source of my life. My intention should always be to turn to God. It may not be easy, but that should always be our intention. I also realized that not only was the nectar that butterfly's lifeline, it was also the lifeline for many other insects and plants. That butterfly was getting the nectar/pollen from that one flower and then spreading that pollen to other flowers. Through this process of pollination, flowers grow and insects feed on them in order to stay alive. So how does that relate to us? When we go back to God, He nourishes us so that we may be able to spread His love, grace and forgiveness to others. The trick is always going back to Him just like the butterfly was flying with intention. So think about it....who is your source of life? What are your intentions with life? Are you flying with intention or are you just flying for the sake of it? I hope this made sense to you. My explanation might have been a little flawed, but I thought it was a good analogy. This "aha" moment was just a good reminder of what I'm supposed to do and it made me realize how intricately God made this world. Desperation Band sings a great song called "Rescue". It talks about God being the source of life. I love it! Be blessed!