Music Monday: I Need You

This week's song is one of my all time favorites..."Lord, I Need You"

 by Matt Maher and Audrey Assad.

There are times when I'm overwhelmed. Times when I'm weak. Times when I can't see the light. In these times, all I can say is, "I need You, Lord." 

A cry out to God that centers my everything around Him, because He is my everything.

I feel like sometimes we can get wrapped up in the world and forget how badly we need God. 

When we are reminded how badly we need God, I believe our faith naturally becomes stronger. 

"Lord, I come, I confess
Bowing here I find my rest
Without You I fall apart
You're the One that guides my heart

Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

Teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You
Jesus, you're my hope and stay."

This whole song is meaningful to me, but I especially love this verse...

"Where sin runs deep Your grace is more

Where grace is found is where You are

And where You are, Lord, I am free

Holiness is Christ in me." 

It's such a wonderful realization of knowing that God's grace

 is more than my sin instead of vice versa. 

Also, understanding that when we focus on what Christ has done for us and what He is doing in us, it's very difficult to feel overwhelmed, weak, and hopeless. 

What speaks to you in this song?

"Life's messy. Clean it up!"

via

 

You know when you're cleaning the house and you just want to be done and relax, but there is this one stubborn spot of junk that just won't come off the counter or pan or whatever it is...

I hate that. Don't you?

 

You scrub and you scrub, and this piece of gunk just won't come up.

You soak it, you scrub up and down, side to side, and who knows, maybe you get so frustrated that you have to call out the big guy, Mr. Clean.

What looked like a small and menial task, became a seemingly unending and arduous effort.

How could something so small, grow to be something so challenging?

 

 Maybe it just had the right combination of crud to create a frustrating mess or maybe it's because we took too long to confront it.

I'm going to bet that it's most likely the latter or maybe a combination.

Instead of passing by and saying, "I'll do it later", it would make things easier to confront it quickly.

 

It reminds me of those moments in life where we know we should confront an issue, but we just put it off due to fear and uncertainty. Maybe we are facing difficulties in a relationship or maybe we are facing an issue within ourselves.

For me, I realize that my patience could use some working on, but to be honest, it's easier to push it aside rather than coming face to face with my issue.

The problem is, with every push, the gunk [issue] grows and hardens, making it even more difficult to get rid of.

 

Peter says in Acts 3:19, "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;" Repent in Greek is "metanoeo" which means "to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins." In order to change one's mind, he/she has to confront the issue first. I think confronting is the hardest part. Sometimes we may have to confront it often, in order for us to change and turn away from the sin.

 

Looking at that clump of gunk and saying "I'm gonna get rid of you!" can prevent us from getting deeper and deeper into a mess of problems. Sometimes persistence may be necessary. Sometimes looking at it from a different angle may help. Sometimes seeking help from others might be a good idea. Don't forget though, calling on the big guy, (not Mr. Clean) but God, can be the best thing we can do.

It may not be fun to scrub up gunk, but it's not worth it to ignore.

 Like the famous vacuum company, Bissell, says, "Life's messy. Clean it up!"

 

 This week our Bible reading is:

Lamentations 1-Ezekiel 15

 

 

 

"I am the worst..."

 

Do you ever beat yourself up? No, I don't mean do ever throw a punch at yourself, that would not be cool, but what I mean is, are you ever negative toward yourself? Maybe you feel like you can never do anything right or maybe you're constantly doubting your abilities. Maybe you simply just don't like who you are.

I've been there.
I think everyone has been there at some point in their lives.
Where negativity looms and doubt fills in- that's the place where Satan likes to creep in. He fills the spaces of our vulnerabilities with lies that only make ourselves question our existence and purpose.
It's not a good valley to be in.

So today in Sunday School, we were reading 1 Timothy and this passage (1 Timothy 12:16) stood out to me...

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life."

 

Here the apostle Paul is writing to Timothy to instruct him in church leadership. Notice that Paul calls himself "the worst sinner".

Talk about beating yourself up! I'm sure he didn't know every single person along with every single sin committed, but he really believed he was the worst.

Guess what?

Although he committed many evil sins, including killing Christians, God still used him.

 

Instead of listening to Satan and all the lies he had up his sleeve,

Paul chose to listen to God and His call on his life.

For someone to believe he was the worst of sinners and was later transformed into one of God's most faithful servant, proves that God can use anyone for His glory.

In order to live out God's call in our lives, we must find our identity in Christ.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

 

In the sermon, he broke it down into parts and here are my notes:

 

"God made him who had no sin,,,

-Jesus was sinless, yet tempted in every way just like you and me.

-God isn't surprised when we sin. That's why He sent Jesus.

-Jesus was the "friend of sinners". Sin didn't keep Jesus from loving the sinner.

 

to be sin for us...

-All other religions are about what people must "do" to get to heaven, but Christianity says it's already "done". Eternal life is a gift through grace by faith.

-When Jesus died on the cross, He said "It is finished". He was the ransom for our sin.

 

so that in Him...

-John 14:6, "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

-Jesus creates the way for us to spend eternity in Heaven.

 

We might become the righteousness of God."

- We gain forgiveness of sins, even though we do not deserve it, but it is because God loves us.

-God views us through Jesus.

 

With that being said, we need to find our identity in Christ.

It is because of what Jesus has done for us that we shouldn't beat ourselves up.

Beating ourselves up over our sins and letting Satan's lies penetrate our lives can be offensive to what Jesus died for us.

 

He didn't die for us to bury our head in our pillow everytime we mess up, but He died so that we would be able to pick ourselves up after we mess up and seek God's help to live the way He wants us to live without the dark cloud of guilt hovering over us.

 

Find your identity in Jesus Christ. Let Him be the center.

Check out this awesome video!

 

 

 

This week's reading plan:

Monday - Numbers 28-30

Tuesday - Numbers 31-32

Wednesday - Numbers 33-34

Thursday - Numbers 35-36

Friday - Deuteronomy 1-2

Saturday - Deuteronomy 3-4 

 

 

A whole lot of offerings

So today's reading was Leviticus 5-7. Once again, a passage that would normally bore me was actually another eye opener. Yesterday I talked about the construction instructions for the tabernacle and today I read about many different offerings.

In this passage, God is telling Moses what the people should do when they sin. As I was reading, I was getting a little overwhelmed by all of the rules. It's basically a long to-do list. I was thinking that if I lived back then, there would be no way that I would be able to follow all those rules, much less remember them! I mean that's a lot of work to do when you mess up.

For instance...

"So it shall be when he becomes guilty in one of these, that he shall confess that in which he has sinned. He shall also bring his guilt offering to the Lord for his sin which he has committed, a female from he flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin. But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord his guilt offering for that in which he has sinned, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering..." Leviticus 5:5-7. 

Did you catch all that? 

Yeah, lets just say I was a little lost. 

From the sin offering to the burnt offering to the guilt offering to the grain offering...

that's a lot of different offerings to keep up with! Not to mention all the different animals.

While reading this long to-do list, a sense of thankfulness came over me.

Do you know why?

Because when I mess up, I don't have to go find two young pigeons and bring them to an altar and  wait for a priest to make atonement on my sin! 

Thank goodness because I don't know how I'd catch two pigeons! It sounds like a lot of work if you ask me.

Do you know why I don't have to do that?!

JESUS!

God sent His son, Jesus to be my sin offering.

I think God realized that it's hard for people to keep up with all these rules. Some of them probably didn't follow them or maybe they couldn't remember them,  like me. 

God was so gracious and merciful to send His son as a sacrifice.

We don't have to offer up different things like animals and grain to be forgiven of our sins, Jesus already took care of that on the cross.

Of course, when we sin we should confess to God and repent, but there's nothing else we can do that will make up for what we've done. 

Jesus is the answer. 

What's even better is that God didn't say, 

"Okay, I'm going to send my son, Jesus, only if you do this for me." 

There were no if's or but's about it.

He sent His son, Jesus, as a gift.

Meaning, He freely gives the gift not because we deserve it, but because He loves us.

Amazing.

 This passage full of laws reminded me how blessed I am to have received the gift of salvation through Jesus.

I didn't do anything to deserve it, but since I believe in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I have received the gift of eternal life. 

It's not about works, unlike so many other religions, it's all about faith.

Ephesians 2:8-9 - For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

All I can say (and I hope you agree and will say with me)...

Thank you God, for sending your Son as a sacrifice for my sins. You didn't have to, but You did and I am so thankful. 

If you have questions about this precious gift or if you have any prayer requests, please email me!

Just a doubtin mind

Well I'm back as I promised I would be! Another crazy week is over. I'm hoping it will start getting back to normal so that I'll be able to come chat with you more like I used to!

 

 

Well after this crazy week, I woke up this morning in a lot of pain so I wasn't able to make it to church today, however, I watched a sermon on TV and on webcast. I figured I'd share with you what I learned!

 

Do you ever catch yourself doubting? Maybe you doubt yourself or maybe you doubt God? I'm not afraid to say that I'm guilty of both. I'm human and I face trials...I think it's safe to saay that you can agree. Doubt can creep into my mind and create a distance between me and God. That's not a good thing, but it can be overcome.

 

In the first sermon I heard, the pastor explained that we can be held responsible for that doubt for 3 reasons.

 

1. When we are unfaithful and are separated from the light (God). We place ourselves in darkness. For instance, we find ourselves in sin and don't do anything about it, except stay in it. Sin can create doubt because it can separate us from God. Now we will never be sinless (because we are human and imperfect...only Jesus is perfect), but we should try our best to stray from sin.
2. When we respond negatively to situations. It's always ideal to find the positive in everything. This may be easier for some people and harder for others. The situation may make it extremely hard to respond positively, but when we let negativity rule, doubt in God is sure to follow.
3. When we need tangible proof. Thomas, one of the apostles, desperately wanted tangible proof of Jesus' resurrection. When the other apostles had told them that Jesus had been resurrected, Thomas responded, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). A few days later, Thomas and Jesus were reunited and Jesus said to him, "Reach here with your finger and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; and do not be unbelieving, but believing" (John 20:27). Thomas replied ,"My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). Jesus then said, "Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed" (John 20:29). When we need tangible proof, doubt can creep in, when really faith should creep in. Paul says, "while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). Don't demand sensual truth. Be obedient in faith.

So when you are start doubting, don't beat yourself up, but turn to the truth. Ask God to remove that doubt, increase your faithfulness, and respond with positivity.

Since I haven't been consistently posting, I figured I'd let you know where we are in the year long reading plan. We should be caught up to Exodus 18. I'm sorry that I haven't been reminding you of the plan, but I'm going to try harder to be more consistent!

 

 

Day 18 In Him we find...

 

If you don't know, my whole motto behind my blog is about being transformed and renewed, especially during hard times. If you don't know my story, check it out here and my post everything happens for a reason . I think there are times in our lives where restoration is needed. It may take a trial to shake us and to wake us up or maybe we just need a new day to realize that we need a change. We can try a new diet or exercise plan in attempt to transform our bodies, but can they even come close to touching our souls? When a new year rolls around, we are so quick to change our outer bodies, but what about what's inside? We can try setting new goals or making a career change or go to counseling, but even when we do that, are we really being transformed as people?

It's when we realize that we aren't god and truly in need of a savior, when our lives can be transformed. Like I said, sometimes it may take a lot to get to that point and even then, the transformation is not over. You see, God is in the transformation business. When we come to that point of throwing our hands up, God is ready to take all that we are dealing with. It can be some messy stuff, but that won't stop God from using it for His glory. He likes to make BIG statements. During this act of trusting God, He can open our eyes to much more than we ever could imagine. Instead of letting the bad stuff get you down, let God transform you through it. The transformation doesn't stop either. After the initial transformation, God continues to transform and refine as His servants.

 

Whatever you've done or gone through, He can make you new. That might sound familiar...yep, it's at the top of my blog. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come." Nothing is too big for Him. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Even when you give it up to God, things may not make sense, but hold on, things will come together. I've said it before and I'll say it again...no matter where you've been or what you've done, God can make you new. He is a forgiving God and He wants you to trust Him with your life. When we trust Him, we become vessels to show His glory.

In Him we find transformation.

Please, please, pretty please check out this song by Tenth Avenue North, "You Do All Things Well" You won't regret it.

If you are journeying through the Bible in a year with me, we start the book of Acts tomorrow!

Day 11 In Him we find...

 

You know how in school, teachers would often give test reviews? Don't worry, I'm not going to give you a test, however, I could ;) Just kidding. Anyway, even though we're not taking a test, I think it would be good to review the past 10 days of "In Him we find..." By the way, thank you for joining me in this series!! Okay, lets break it down:

In Him we find...

Faithfulness

Healing

Freedom

Holiness

Grace

Confidence

Endurance

Heavenly Father

Sacrifice

Rest

That's good stuff, if you ask me! The best part is that we're only 11 days in!

 

So today we were watching church on the computer, (since the stomach bug is still visiting) and let me tell you, God gave me a few days of posts for this series. Lots of lightbulbs turned on during the sermon (I love when that happens!). Don't you love it when things become clear to you? What about when bad things become clear to you? Like when your pastor is talking about coveting and you feel like you've been stabbed in the stomach with a spotlight on you and everyone watching, because you know you've been in the business of coveting lately. Not a good feeling, huh? What about when you are going to do something that you know probably isn't the right thing to do and you get this yucky, gut feeling and you realize,

"Hm maybe I shouldn't do this." 

That my friend, is called conviction.

 Maybe it's just me, but the word even sounds scary.

 

Out of God's goodness, He convicts us of being guilty of doing wrong. Now you may be thinking, how is that a good thing? I'll explain more about that in upcoming posts. Although being convicted can sting and hurt, good can come out of it. We should be thankful for these moments of conviction or "wake up calls" because it shows us that God sees what goes on in our lives. It's like He's waving His red flag, hoping that we will take notice and turn around before our sin multiplies. He doesn't have to convict us, but He does. How awesome is that?!

 

"Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses the conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God." ~Oswald Chambers

 

"When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment." ~John 16:8

 

So what is God convicting you of today?

 

Happy Sunday & if you're reading along with me, today is a catch up day! Read until John 6 :) See ya tomorrow for another day of "In Him we find..."! (It has to do with today's post so you won't want to miss out!)

Day 5 In Him we find...

Grace. What a beautiful thing. Getting something you don't deserve. Many people have shown grace to me, but the person who shows the most grace to me is God.

 

I don't deserve to be saved. I deserve walking up that hill with the cross on my back and being nailed to the cross, BUT I have been saved from that. I don't deserve eternal life, BUT (don't you just love those BUTs) I have received it. You can find a lot of BUTs in the Bible, mainly because God is so gracious towards us. You would think that there would be a certain point where God's grace ends, BUT (ha there's another one!) it doesn't! That's crazy to me! I did nothing to deserve that. Romans 5:20 says, "The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more..." Wait...let me get this straight...no matter how much we sin, He is going to top us with His grace. That's a lot of grace if you ask me! Then it continues in verse 21, "so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." What can get better than grace?! I mean, seriously! Jesus brought grace which gives us eternal life when we believe in Him. Ephesians 2:4-5 says, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."

 

So what does this mean to us? Well yeah, we are saved by grace through faith, but what should we do with it? We should praise God and let it change us. Just like Tenth Avenue North's song, "Grace" says, "Grace, only grace, can move us to a rhythm that will change our ways." I know, another Tenth Avenue North song, but I just love their album...such great lyrics!

His grace should push us to live our life to the fullest...make Him proud.

In Him we find grace.

 

Another great song is "Grace" by Caleb Chapman-I couldn't NOT mention this song, check it out too!

 

Today's scripture is Luke 19-20 of the year-long-Bible-reading plan!

Day 2- In Him we find...

Thanks for stopping by for day 2 of "In Him we find..."! Through my journey through the Bible in a year, I've learned so much and I'm only 2 months in! Yep, that's God for ya. One of the reoccurring themes has been healing.

 

Throughout my life and especially the past year, I have experienced so much healing. Physical healing, mental healing, spiritual healing...you name it. Our God is the ultimate Healer. When we hand over our cuts, bruises, and pain to God, He is sure to bandage us up. It may not be the way we want Him to bandage us up, but He will one way or the other. He is capable of taking all the hurt that we feel away. He doesn't want us to be bound by pain whether it be physical, mental or spiritual. He wants to free us from it especially from our sin. He can heal us from the inside out.

We just need to come to Him.

 

In Him we find healing.

 

What has God healed you from?

Check out one of my favorite songs by Kari Jobe!

 

Today's scripture is Luke 14-16 if you are joining me in the year long Bible reading plan!

 

 

 

Living in a birdcage

If you could be an animal, what would you be? Okay...think about it & we'll get back to that in a bit... So I don't know if Labor Day kicked my butt or what, but I have been totally beat the past few days. However, I've been a good patient...trust me! I didn't even need anyone to tell me to stop and take a break! In fact, I did a small craft project this morning and took quite a few breaks! Yay me!

So my project today is designed to match this project (below-sorry it's a little blurry) I did a couple of weeks ago for my mom's kitchen.

With that in mind, this was today's project.

Did you pick out the theme of both projects? Birds...freedom...you might say? Ding ding ding, you're correct...for both! I picked the first verse (2 Corinthians 3:17) because I like it and I'll be honest..I saw it on Pinterest. It was perfect for our kitchen because the theme is birds. Then, I saw something like today's project on Pinterest and I thought "that would be perfect for the kitchen!" So I did it. It was a lot of fun and I may do something like it again!

Back to my question...what animal would you be? This probably sounds silly, but stick with me. There is a point to this question, I promise. If you asked me this question yesterday, I would probably answer with a "horse," of course, but after I finished this project, my answer changed to a bird. You might say, "why?"Yeah I know some birds are locked up in cages in homes or at the zoo, so trust me, I wouldn't want to be one of those. I would want to be the bird that can fly anywhere at anytime! They are truly free. I guess you could say, "Well, Chelsea, wild horses are free." I would answer with, "But wouldn't the view from a birds viewpoint be much better than a horse??? I think so!" 

Good news though, you won't be seeing me with feathers trying to fly (thank goodness!). I don't need to be a bird because Jesus has set me free. Galations 5:1 (The Message) says, "Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you." Because we are saved by Christ, we have all the possibilities right at our feet. He wants us to soar and reach new heights.  Isaiah 40:31 says, "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength,. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." With Him all things are possible (Matthew 19:26) , so we should never let fear or anything get in the way of what God wants us to do with our lives. Pray about it, seek God's guidance & then fly!

A lot of times sin can keep us locked up, just like a bird in a birdcage. Everywhere the bird turns, it sees bars and can't escape. God doesn't want us to feel like a bird in a birdcage. He wants us to feel like a free bird without rules and chains. In fact, He wants that for us so badly that He sent His only son, Jesus, to be crucified and resurrected. Romans 8:2 says, "because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." Just like Jesus was free from death because of His resurrection, we are free from our sins. When we give our lives to God and confess that we've messed up, striving for a new start, He gives us freedom! So let's live like free birds rather than caged birds (I don't know about you, but I'm claustrophobic anyway).

Oh yeah, the words "I sing because I'm happy....I sing because I'm free" is from Audrey Assad's song, "Sparrow" (love it)! Check it out if you'd like!