We really need Jesus

Sometimes I look at parts of our world and the only feeling I get is one of my heart breaking. Sometimes I look at parts of our world and the only thought I get is "Why?"
I will now go on to say a bit more about these first two ideas. Not to worry, this was only my captivating intro...

So I work in a part of town where I see people that look broken. This last year I feel like I do know in part some of what it means to be broken. I know that God often brings people to a place of brokenness so that we see how completely dependent we are on Him and nothing besides Him. Yes, this year I feel like God brought me to a place where I had to deal with some things that weren't fun to deal with but He showed me so much more of His heart through that which was awesome.

But then there are times where I see people and I think, "How could I even think I know what its like to be broken?" What's really on my heart now are the women who don't know any other way of life than waiting on the streets to be picked up by some man. It breaks my heart that they are there and it makes me angry that there are people who think that that is a fine way of treating another person. I don't understand why this has to be in our world, yet I can't ignore it either. I want people to see how valuable they are to Jesus. I want people to see how much they are loved. I want people to not hurt. And then there are other people that I want God to slap in the face and show them that they need to change! That they are to treat people with respect.

I want women to see that they are not objects made to be used. But this is a vicious cycle in our society. Women are being objectified in pretty much every commercial and in so many movies. Its starting to just become the mindset of so many girls that this is how they are to dress and this is how they are to act. And it becomes the mindset of boys that this is how they are to treat girls and this is how they can live. But it needs to change. This isn't how God wants the world to be. I want people to know that they are precious to their maker who loves them so unconditionally.

And then I wonder where I come in? Why was I born to parents that loved me and brought me up in a family that loves Jesus? Why do I have privilages that so much of our world doesn't have?

I don't have answers to these questions. But what I do have is the knowledge that Jesus knows what is on my heart. He also knows what is happening and I now that it breaks His heart even more than mine. I know that He is coming back and I know that He will make things right. I know there is hope and I know it is found in Jesus Christ alone. Also, I know that He wants to work through us and that He sometimes breaks our hearts for what breaks His for the reason that He wants to do something about it through us. So I want to be open to Him continuing to lead me in what I can do. For now I will continue to seek His face. Because He knows whats going on and He is where my hope is ground. The only one that has the right to rule is Jesus! And there is hope in His name! Praise God that there is hope.

"My Hope is Built on Nothing Less"
by Edward Mote, 1797-1874

1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Jehovah Study Project: Part 3

Luke 8: 26 - 39 v. 26-27, 29 "Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was posessed with demons; and who ahd not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house but in the tombs... For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the deom into the desert."

v. 35, 38-39 "The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened... But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, 'Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.' So he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him."

This is the story of when Jesus and His disciples sailed to the land of the Gerasenes ( I encourage you to read the whole thing. I love this story!). When they get off the boat, the man with many demons, wearing no clothes and who has been running around the tombs comes up to Him. He has been "living" among the dead. I think the idea of him being naked and being around dead people just really demonstrates how this man has no life in him and has been stripped of everything good. Also, the demon would drive him into the desert which again shows how his life is a wasteland or as Anne of Green Gables would say, "a perfect graveyard of buried hopes." I personally would be completely freaked out if this kind of man was coming up to me. Actually, even if he wasn't approaching me I'd still be frightened out of my mind. When Jesus commands the demons out of him, they cry out for him to rather send them into the pigs. As you know, when Jesus lets them, the whole herd of pigs goes off the cliff and drowns in the lake. This news all got around and everyone obviously wanted to see what had happened. I love how in v. 35, we see how the man who had the demons cast out is now sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind. This is so cool!

One, he's sitting at the feet of Jesus. This is often showing physically how people are higher and lower than each other in reputation. In Luke 7:38, the woman falls at Jesus' feet crying and perfuming His feet, this is another picture of what it means to sit at someone's feet. This man immediately shows that he knows Jesus' place and His right to rule. This man knew Jesus was His Savior.

Two, he's clothed and an added bonus, he's in his right mind. So I'm guessing he's not taking anymore vacations to the desert. I think clothing on him really vividly shows he now has life symbolically too. When we are baptized into Christ, we are now clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27). I think its amazing the contrast here of light and darkness and Life and death. Jesus has given this man life. He now has peace with God (Rom. 5:1) and this must have been such a great feeling of release for him! No wonder he wanted to go with Jesus. Jesus is Life and He has given Himself for this man, so this guy now has abundant life. So when Jesus told him to tell his house about what Jesus had done for him, no wonder he instead spread it through the entire city!

I think we see here how being a witness of Jesus' life is so important. We need to allow people to see this difference in our lives too; the contrast between life we have now and the darkness we were in before. We need to be real, this man didn't pretend nothing had every been wrong with him, he spread the truth about Jesus' Life. Jesus transforms lives by becoming Life and this shouldn't be something we need to do, but rather somthing we're excited to do because Jesus is our Life! Christ is in us, our hope of glory! Jesus transforms lives. This is exciting and we should allow Him to share through us His Life. I know this year, Jesus has showed Himself to me by how He has carried me through some dark times. But this time before Christmas compared to now really does seem like a drastic change between Life and death, darkness and life. But this time was so very important for me to understand both myself better and this made me see my complete dependancy of Jesus which is what we always need to be coming back to; Jesus! Life because of Jesus, how exciting! This is our Jehovah!

This year I've often had the question of what is the meaning of life? Or, why did God make me? But I don't even have to get hung up on these questions. The point is, Jesus made me and He is my Life! He is my Jehovah and He can be my capital L-O-R-D of my life. So why don't I rather realize that I'm here and He has given me Life to share with others. Praise Him!!

Jehovah Study Project: Part 2

Psalm 16 v. 1-3 "Preserve me, O God, for I take reguge in You. I said to the LORD, 'You are my Lord; I have no good besides You.' As for the saints who are in the earth, They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight."

v. 10-11 "For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever."

This Psalm to me has been full of God revealing Himself as Life in many different ways. The very first verse David asks God to preserve his life and he asks God because God is the giver and sustainer of life because He is Life. In v. 2, David says to God that he has no good besides God. He has no good and he is no good apart from God. This is because God is Life and as we see in John 15:5, apart from God we can do nothing. Then in v. 3, David refers to the saints, which are us who believe in Him. And our God who is Life, we are His majestic ones and He delights in us because He is Life in us when we allow Him. It makes Him overjoyed when we allow Him to give us Life to the fullest (John 10:10). In v.4 it says that people who seek out other gods will have many sorrows and God will not take their names on His lips. I think this just solidifies that when we look to God, we can be satisfied because He gives us and is real, fulfilling life in us. So it makes sense that if we look anywhere else we will not find what we are looking for. This is becuase Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

In v. 6, David says his heritage is beautiful and because God is Life, He can make beautiful any situation. We know that David was chased by Saul, was in many battles, he killed his 10 000s and he was called a man after God's own heart. We see that in every way David was open to God, God was Life through him by all his victories.

In v. 7, it is God's Life that instructs David in the day and it says his mind instructs him by night. I imagine God being the life-giving fluid that is going through David's brain even at night. I remember a night this year that afterwards when I woke up, I just somehow felt like God made it make more sense why Jesus died for us. This was a really awesome feeling and it came at a time that I really needed to see God tangibly work in my life.

In v. 8-9, we see because God is life in us, we never need to be shaken and we are always secure and we can rejoice and be glad in this (Php. 4:11-13). In any and every circumstance, Christ is our life; the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

I love v.10 when David says God does not abandon our souls to Sheol and we won't undergo decay. This so clearly shows His Life with that eternal quality in us; our souls are not in jeopardy. As 1 Thess. 5:9-10 says that whether we live or die physically, we are always alive in Jesus. 1 Cor. 15:22 says that we all die in Adam (our sinful nature and flesh) but we are made alive in Christ. 2 Cor. 5:4 talks about Jesus' life completely covering us; what is mortal will be swallowed up by His life.

And v. 11 is also great. God is Life and makes known the choices He wants for su. Because of who He is, in His presence is fullness of joy. He is life abundant and He's holding onto us. This verse really helps me a lot for thinking about the future and plans. He makes known the path of life and He lives in me. So I believe if I keep seeking Him and being completely open to Him, I don't have to worry because He will guide my decisions. And as we heard in Nehemiah classes this week; God puts ideas in our minds and hearts and He is perfectly able to affirm His plans for us in our hearts. Praise Jehovah!

My Final Study Project - Names of God - Jehovah: Part One

Hey guys,
So at Capernwray this last year, from time to time we would do Study projects. This was when we were given a passage of scripture to read and ask God to show us what He wanted us to share with our home group. For the names of God study project, there were 4 names that different people in the home group got. Either Jehovah, Elohim, El Shaddai and Adonai. I got the name Jehovah. For the project we were also to find a story in the first 5 books, on from psalms and one from the gospels that shows God in that character to you. So here is how God showed Himself to me as my Jehovah: as my LIFE.

Genesis 39
v. 1-6 "Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. The LORD was with Joeseph, so he became a succcessful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.
It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, The LORD blessed the Egyptian's house on account of Joseph; thus the LORD's blessing was upong all that he owned, in the house and in the field. So he left everything he owned in Joseph's charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate."

This chapter shows where Jospeph ends up after being sold by his brothers. Now if I had been sold, I'm pretty sure I would be kind of bitter, and it would take me quite a while to get over my hurt and move on. However, none of that hurt is even mentioned here. No bitterness or hurt are even talked of once. THis really stuck out to me as the first sign that God's life must be present here with Joseph.

What I think is so awesome then is that in my eyes it's almost like Joseph lost his life because He's in a whole new place. But in v. 2, it says "The LORD was with Joseph , so he became as successful man." I think the connector between those two ideas is so important. It doesn't say the LORD was with Joseph AND he became successful, it says SO. This means that the LORD's life in Joseph was thriving and so this made him successful. If it hadn't have been God's life in Joseph, things would have happened very differently.

God's Life and presence in Joseph was so evident outwardly also. Potipher, his master noticed by how everything that Joseph did prospered. It's just natural that people will usually have some things they do go well and other things not so well. But i says in v. 3 that ALL he did prospered. This would be very easily apparent.

Later on in theis chapter, Joseph is put in prison because God's life in him caused him to resist his master's wife. But he still got blamed for attacking her. But again, God appears clearly as his life because nothing is mentioned of him complaining. In v. 21 we see Joseph prospered even in prison by how God with him made the chief jailer favor him and have some freedom even in prison.

Some side principles I see in this account have to do with how we allow God to take complete control of our lives. One was at the beginning of the story when Joseph from what we know had just been sold into slavery and to me it seemed like he lost his life because he lost his life with his family. But God's life in Jospeh is apparent whereever he goes. And actually maybe by Joseph being aweay from "home", God's Life could be even more apparent. When we allow God to take control and allow Him to live in us, He is with us no matter where we go. As it says in Prov. 18:24, He is closer than a brother, especially Joseph's brothers. In Matt. 28:20, God tells us He is always with us, even to the end of the age. At all times He is perent in us.

Also, in Matt. 12:48-50, Jesus refers to His followers as His mother and brothers. So really, when God is Life in us, whoever He puts around us that are also following Him is our family. We should not let our earthly family be what we depend on for life, because Jesus is our life and the only true source of it. This is definitely something I've been learning this year. Before Christmas, I was pretty much feeling anxious, heavy hearted and gross asll the time and this was a chage for me, because at my house I was pretty much energetic and "happy" all the time. I really thought going home at Christmas would being be back to "normal". But I didn't find fulfillment there like I wanted to. I was only when I came back to Capernwray that Jesus started restoring and rebuilding me. I'm beginning to learn that He is my Life and to see that He is all I need because He, Himself IS Life. I think this is how Joseph opened himself and allowed God to live in his stead.

Another way that we can allow God to live in us and have control, is by not complaining but rather, giving thanks and trusting Him in all circumstances. Joseph never complained as far as we know and God prospered him. 1 Thess. 5:16-18 "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." In Col. 3:23 we see that we are to do our work, whatever it may be, heartily and as unto the Lord.

To end this section Gen. 45:5 "Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve LIFE."