Living by Faith

 No More Wallowing Like A Pig

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the  new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

I can remember thinking as a teenager that I knew everything. I didn't need anyone telling me how to live my life, because I always (insert eye roll here) made good decisions. I can remember thinking my parents were too prehistoric to know anything, and apparently after you're a teenager you just become senile. Boy, oh boy, was I wrong. I can't even begin to list all the poor choices I made. I can't tell you how many situations I could have avoided if I had just listened to my parents when they tried to lead me from my poor choices.

But I can tell you that I don't have to wallow like a pig in my past poor choices. I don't have to walk in regret, shame, humiliation, or guilt. I can walk in freedom. Through Christ, I have been made new. I am a new creation. The old has gone, and the new has come! I don't have to let my past control me. Isn't that amazing?

Friend, I don't know what past poor choices you have made. I don't know if you are carrying around guilt, shame, regret, or humiliation. I don't know your story, but I do know the One who does know it and knows you. You don't have to wallow like a pig any longer. You can walk in freedom. The old can be gone, and the new can come. You can be a new creation today! There is no mistake, hang-up, screw-up, or poor choice that is too big for Jesus. He can and will make you new.

Grace and Peace, Jac

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Every Knee Will Bow

Yesterday during the worship service, the pastor quoted these verses. As I listened to the verse, my eyes couldn't help but well up with tears. So much power in these verses.

"Who, being in very nature God, did to consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 
                                                                                                                                                                 Philippians 2:6-11, NIV
* Bold print emphasis, by me.

Grace & Peace, Jac

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Spiritual Workout

We all know that working out (exercising) is good for our bodies. It helps to keep us healthy, boosts our metabolism, helps to burn fat, and strengthens and builds muscles. But what about a spiritual workout? Have we ever thought about how just as we need a physical workout for our bodies, we also need a spiritual workout for our souls? 

Listen to what scripture says, 

So then, just as you received Jesus Christ as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7, NIV

This passage of scripture says that we are to be "built up in him" and "strengthened in our faith." How do we become built up in Jesus and strengthened in our faith? I mean, we lift weights, run, jog, or do some cardio for our physical workouts. But what do we do for our spiritual workouts? We lift the spiritual weights. Yep, you heard me. There are spiritual weights that we can lift in order to build us up in Christ and strengthen our faith. 

1. The first spiritual weight that we must lift for our spiritual workout is prayer. Oh buddy, I can't stress how important this "weight" is. This weight is one that tends to get overlooked until we are faced with some sort of crisis, but it is one that needs to be lifted everyday, all day. Prayer is not just for panic times. Prayer is our communication with the One who created us. We can pray when we are happy, sad, in need, or for whatever reason we wish. Prayer is a powerful weight. It strengthens our connection with God, and helps us to see things in a better light. It can also help us see the needs of others.

2. The second spiritual weight that we must lift for our spiritual workout is reading and studying the Word of God. Yep, it's time to break out your Bible folks. It's not there as a decoration or a dust-collector. It's a book that is actually meant to be read, daily, folks. It is amazing to me how full of life the Word of God is. And no joke, you can read a passage of scripture at one time and read that same passage again at another time, and it can speak completely different to you each time. It never gets old. It never gets boring. It is always life enhancing! The Word of God helps us to see the heart of God. It keeps us connected to how God operates, and how He wants us to live our lives. It is an important spiritual weight that cannot be neglected in our daily spiritual workouts. 

3. The third spiritual weight for our spiritual workouts is fellowship with other believers. Now, I am not saying that you can only have fellow believers as your friends. It is ok to have friends that may not hold the same beliefs as you do, but you definitely need other believers in your life. Fellowship with other believers can come through attending church, Bible studies, small groups, and gatherings such as these listed. Having fellowship with other believers helps us to be held accountable in our daily walk. We can help encourage one another, pray for one another, share how God's working in and through our lives with one another. We can help to sharpen one another. I cannot stress enough of how important this spiritual weight is. As believers we need to fellowship with other believers. The Christian faith is not a lone ranger faith.

4. The fourth spiritual weight that we need to lift in our spiritual workouts is servanthood. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we must reach out to serve others. Helping those in need, feeding the hungry, reaching out to the poor and homeless, helping the single mother who is struggling to care for herself and her kids, helping the young teenage girl who just found out she is pregnant, helping the teenage boy who has fallen into the wrong crowd, helping the addict. All of these are ways of servanthood. Jesus came to serve, not be served. We should live our lives in such a way that we are always looking for ways to bless other people. 

All of these spiritual weights are important for our spiritual workout. Just as healthy sting habits and exercise go hand-in-hand for our physical bodies to be healthy, lifting these spiritual weights and living the Christian faith go hand-in-hand to keep our spiritual bodies healthy.

What are some other spiritual weights that we need to lift?

Grace & Peace, Jac

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Free. Full of life. Hope. No restraint. Liberating. Fun. Joyful. Untamed. Hopeful. Love. 

These are just a few words that come to mind when I look at this picture. And yesterday, I witnessed a couple of little girls doing the same thing during worship. In the middle of aisle, there they were. Cute little girls in their Sunday dresses. Holding hands as they both let loose and danced in the Presence of the King. They paid no attention to their surroundings. They just danced. They laughed. They smiled non-stop. The spun around. They jumped. The were so full of life and joy. I couldn't help but smile as I watched them. 

It got me thinking. What if we were just like these little girls? What if we paid no attention to what was around us while we were in the Presence of the King? What if we were full of life and joy just because of Jesus? What if? I mean, aren't we called to be like little children. Doesn't scripture say that? 

For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, “I’m telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you’re not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s kingdom. What’s more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it’s the same as receiving me. 

Matthew 18:2-5, The Message

The next time you see a little child dancing, spinning round and round, and laughing in the Presence of the King, join them. Ask God to make you like that child. Full of life. Full of hope. Full of joy. Full of love. And in complete awe and wonder of the Most High God. 

Grace & Peace, Jac