Being Changed By Him ♥

Today we had Chapel....and it changed my life. A man came and spoke about his mission work in Indonesia with the Dao Tribe. These people had been waiting to be told a "great message" and when they were told the Good News about Jesus Christ they were changed. They were willing to do anything to learn to read so they could read for themselves this great Word and tell others about it. They cling to the Word of God because they know that it is the very words of our Creator. I have been here at Word Of Life for a whole semester now.....I've been taking 5 hours of classes for about 3 months now. Countless hours in the Word and yes I have been changed, but I don't cherish His Words like the people of the Dao Tribe. Why? I realized today how numb we  have become to the Word of God...how numb I've become. I've grown up in church, constantly hearing Bible story after Bible story. I thought I knew everything......then I came here and found out  I knew nothing. After being here for a few months I felt like I had changed a lot, but after today I feel like i'm not being changed enough. I started thinking what is the difference between me and these people? Why don't I cling to the Word like they do? I realized that I have so many "things" in my life that there is hardly ever any room for God. These people have nothing, they only have God and His Word. Sure I read the Word....but do I cherish it?! Do I cling to it? If I know that His Word is all sufficient than why do I search for fulfillment in other things? How do I even go one day without reading it, meditating on it, praying through it? Psalm 19:7-11 says this about God's Word  
^{" 7} The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
      reviving the soul.
   The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
      making wise the simple.
 ⁸ The commandments of the Lord are right,
      bringing joy to the heart.
   The commands of the Lord are clear,
      giving insight for living.
 ⁹ Reverence for the Lord is pure,
      lasting forever.
   The laws of the Lord are true;
      each one is fair.
 ¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold,
      even the finest gold.
   They are sweeter than honey,
      even honey dripping from the comb.
 ¹¹ They are a warning to your servant,
      a great reward for those who obey them."

God's Word is more desirable than gold! In today's Quiet Time we read in 1 Peter 1:23 that we have "...been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." The Word is alive and active! Why do we not cling to it and take it seriously?! I want to read His words and be radically changed by them. I don't ever want to get to the point that I read His word as just a book. These are the words of our very Creator! They are from the One who holds our very breath in His hands! 2 Timothy 3:16-18 says "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." I feel ashamed today as I sit here at my desk with 4 Bibles in front of me. So many of us have grown up in church with Bibles readily available to us and yet we act as if we only need God on Sundays. Our Bibles collect dust and so do our consciences. I am convicted today about my attitude towards God's word. How much do I value it? How much do you?

GOD IS SO GOOD!

Man! I don't even know where to start! God is so good! SO many souls have been saved at the Christmas productions these past cpl weeks! I don't have a lot of time to tell everything i want to... but can i just say that we serve an AWESOME God who is worthy of all praise and honor and glory? Sorry I havent written in a while.....once the productions started we have all been working so much and when i'm not working i'm sleeping. LOL But I am just overwhelmed at God's goodness right now....He is just breathtaking in everyway. I just love Him so much and I want everyone to know Him like I know Him. He is the very reason I'm living and breathing. He brings joy to my life and gives me strength to overcome anything that is going on. He blesses me beyond belief and He cares about every little detail of my life! He is crazy about me and can't stop thinking about me! HE DIED FOR ME! I'm just speechless.....His grace and love overwhelm me and leave me humbly at His feet. I  pray it does the same for you today. ♥ John 3:16

Journal Entry

This is a journal entry from February this year. I had just decided that I was going to come to Word Of Life and God was doing amazing things in my heart. It is so humbling to me to read this and see how scared I was to embrace all the new things that were being thrown at me and now to see how God has been along aside me the whole time! God is so good! Anyway, this is pretty hilarious to read but God revealed a lot to me that night. I hope some of it encourages you in your walk with the Lord.

"I watched a DVD called "Indescribable" and I don't think I’ve ever been so humbled in all my life! God is so big....He is so magnificent that my mind can't even fathom! I'm nowhere close to where I should be in my walk with Him, but I'm not where I used to be and I praise Him for that. I can't put into words how excited I am about school! I have no idea how everything is going to play out. I don't know how I’m going to pay for it, or what I’m going to do about school after WOL. I'm completely terrified about school, but I’m excited to go on this adventure with Him at the same time. I know it's going to be rough, because I know He is going to stretch me......and stretching hurts, it's uncomfortable. But I've never wanted something so bad in my life. All I want is to be transformed into the woman of God that He created me to be. I want to learn how to love people like I should and I want to learn to be selfless and servant hearted like Him. But most of all I want to learn how to tell people about Him. I want to care for people so deeply that I won't let the fear of rejection keep me from telling them about the only thing that matters in this life. I dream about being someone strong like Esther or Elisabeth Elliot and I get encouraged. But then I am so quick to buy into the lies of the devil that I could never be good enough to do something great for God. Part of that statement is true...I never can be good enough. I'll never be perfect, but praise God that He uses broken vessels like you and me to tell people about Him. What a privilege that He uses people like me to teach His little children and sing praises unto His name??! 

   I’ve been reading a book called “Crazy Love”  and this last chapter I read was about giving your leftovers to God. I can’t tell you how painful it is for me to admit that I do this on a regular basis. Every morning that I refuse to get up early to have my devotions before my day starts, and instead I mumble a 3 minute prayer before I go to bed and say   “ Tomorrow I really will get up! I promise, I promise I’ll spend time with you.” I guess I’m writing this because I just want you guys to try and understand something with me if you haven’t already. We are so small, we are so insignificant on this earth. This life is not about us! It’s not about me! It’s about Him! It’s all about Him, every breath I take is about Him. And I have to get it into my mind that I’m not the star here. But the cool thing that humbles me so much, is that even though we are so small and insignificant….He wants, He longs, He waits for us to accept His love and enter into a relationship with Him. The God of the universe!!! The God who sent His only Son to be nailed to a cross for my sin! He longs for me to talk to Him, to love Him and to love His people enough to tell them about Him. He is jealous for me. He can’t take His eyes off of me. He loves me so much I can’t even fathom it. Unconditional love, love that I’ve never experienced and never will experience in my lifetime. None can compare to His great love and mercy. "

John Paper

This is a paper I had to write for school when we went through the book of John. We just had to write a short essay on a chapter out of the book that we wanted to learn more about. I picked ch. 16 because it talked about the Holy Spirit. I was blown away when I was reading through this chapter and the commentary on it! I did not realize what a privilege it is to have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us! Anyway here is a brief summary of what I learned, I thought I would share it with you guys ( especially my mom & dad ) lol. :)

    In the book of John, chapter sixteen discusses a few different topics. The first half discusses the coming rejection that the disciples are going to face because they are followers of Jesus Christ. It also tells of Jesus’ promise that a Helper will be sent to them, the Holy Spirit, and the advantages that would come with it. Several verses talk about the Holy Spirit’s job and how it works differently in relation to the world, the believers, and Christ.
   The second half of the book discusses the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as His ascension into Heaven. It talks about the emotions that these events would produce within the disciples vs. the emotions they would produce within the world. It ends with Jesus telling His disciples plainly what is to come and offering them peace with the assurance that He has overcome the world.
   Tenney titles his summary for this chapter the “Conference of Revelation.” He talks about Jesus revealing to the disciples the hatred they should expect from the world, the advantages they would receive from His going away and the Holy Spirit coming, and the purpose and power behind His resurrection. I like how Tenney talks about how Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection did not end with just Him making a way for people to receive eternal life, but with  Him gone the Holy Spirit could come and enlarge His ministry of telling everybody about His gift of salvation!
   Tenney points out three aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit, he will convict, guide and glorify.  He convicts the world of it’s sin, he guides us as believers into truth, and he glorifies Christ. Tenney points out that the Holy Spirit does not speak of things from Himself, but He only speaks of what is given to Him. The fact that the Holy Spirit  declares things to come, states that He knows the future, which is only true of God alone. This fact gives us the evidence of the deity of the Holy Spirit!
   This chapter has given me a better understanding of the Holy Spirit and the part it plays in my life. It helped me realize what Jesus meant when He said it was better for Him to go than to stay. I never thought about His limitations as a human being and how by sending the Holy Spirit to believers was necessary for the progress of the work He began on the cross. Realizing the reason behind why we have the Holy Spirit and knowing how He works in my life encourages me so much.
   One of my favorite verses in this chapter is verse thirteen, which says “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.” Tenney writes, “ ’Guide’ implies leadership for a person who is interested in traveling on the right path, but who needs help in finding it.”  I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit!
Thanks for read:)ing!

Hi :)

So this is all new to me and I have no idea what I'm doing. I wanted a way to share with my family and friends all that the Lord is teaching me...and anyone else who would like to know. I am almost done finishing my 1st Semester here at Word Of Life and I can't even begin to explain everything that I have learned!!! The Lord has brought me so far just since the beginning of this year. Psalm 107 says to give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and that is what I intend to do with this blog. So for starters I am just going to let you guys read Psalm 103 because this is pretty much my life. :)

Psalm 103

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ Bless the LORD, O my soul;
         And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
 ² Bless the LORD, O my soul,
         And forget not all His benefits:
 ³ Who forgives all your iniquities,
         Who heals all your diseases,
 ⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction,
         Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,
 ⁵ Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
         So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 
         
 ⁶ The LORD executes righteousness
         And justice for all who are oppressed.
 ⁷ He made known His ways to Moses,
         His acts to the children of Israel.
 ⁸ The LORD is merciful and gracious,
         Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
 ⁹ He will not always strive with us,
         Nor will He keep His anger forever.
 ¹⁰ He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
         Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 
         
 ¹¹ For as the heavens are high above the earth,
         So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
 ¹² As far as the east is from the west,
         So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
 ¹³ As a father pities his children,
         So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
 ¹⁴ For He knows our frame;
         He remembers that we are dust. 
         
 ¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass;
         As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
 ¹⁶ For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
         And its place remembers it no more.
 ¹⁷ But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
         On those who fear Him, 
         And His righteousness to children’s children,
 ¹⁸ To such as keep His covenant,
         And to those who remember His commandments to do them. 
         
 ¹⁹ The LORD has established His throne in heaven,
         And His kingdom rules over all. 
         
 ²⁰ Bless the LORD, you His angels,
         Who excel in strength, who do His word, 
         Heeding the voice of His word.
 ²¹ Bless the LORD, all you His hosts,
         You ministers of His, who do His pleasure.
 ²² Bless the LORD, all His works,
         In all places of His dominion. 
         
         Bless the LORD, O my soul!

The Lord is so good to me & I can't even begin to tell you how great He is....but I would like to try. So keep up with me! :) I'll try to write as often as I can. Thank you all for reading, I hope it encourages you in some way and sheds some light on how truly AWESOME our God is!