A Lesson I Am Learning...

Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the father but is of the world. ~ 1 John 2:15-16

God has been showing me lately how many things in life can easily distract us from Him. Although those things might not be considered "evil", it is also important to consider whether it brings us closer to God or not. Does it glorify Him? Are we keeping our eyes fixed on the One who truly matters, or are our minds constantly reflecting on the things of this world? The truth is, many of us become so incredibly desensitized by the world that we fail to see the worldly things that consume us from day to day. Trust in God and never be afraid to give up anything for His sake. Remember that whoever trusts in Him will never be put to shame. :)

~Zoe

Revelation

Just a few minutes ago, I was reading "Enoch's Ghost," the 2nd book in Bryan Davis's "Oracles of Fire" series. I'm almost done with it, and it is so sad, but so...wonderful at the same time. Don't worry, I'm not going to give away the ending or anything. But I had a revelation--everyone in the story is making incredible sacrifices, which for the longest time I couldn't understand. Why would someone want to give up their greatest gifts, or their life, or their speech or hearing or anything? Why would someone want to endure such pain and torture, only to die? It made no sense to me. Until I realized.

God created us. Our sole purpose is to live for HIM, not for our own pleasure, not for someone's else's pleasure, not for riches or food or animals or anything else. Everything we do should be a reflection of God's glory, and ONLY His glory. When I finally grasped that, I realized why so many of the martyrs, if not all, in "Foxe's Book of Martyrs" were willing, sometimes HAPPY to die for Christ's cause. It doesn't matter what kinda of pain or suffering we have to endure. If we're doing it for God's glory, and only God's glory, it really doesn't matter. Our lives will be a witness for other believers, as well as unbelievers, and it will bring glory to our Maker. What better way to show our love and devotion, our gratitude, to Jesus for His incredible sacrifice than to die for His cause?

What I'm trying to say is, no matter what suffering, what torture, what pain, what outcome happens, we're doing it for God. Our SOLE purpose in life is to bring glory to God. So if we die for God, we're bringing Him glory.

Does that make sense? Sometimes these revelation things only work if you're the one experiencing them. And I'm not saying that we should all die for Christ this week. But if any of us are called to that extreme, I hope we can all realize why and be willing. After all, Jesus was. This doesn't just apply to dying, either. Whatever we do should be for God. I know that's hard for me, we all struggle with it one time or another. But I'm going to make a conscious effort to glorify God in whatever I do.

What about you?

Esther 4:14/Comfort Zones/Such a Time as This

"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" ~Esther 4:14

This verse is the response Mordecai gave Esther when she explained to him that the punishment for appearing before the king without being summoned was death. The only way she could live to see the next hour, was if the king were to hold out his golden scepter to her. That was when Mordecai explained to her that she could have been placed in that position at just that time for a purpose... the purpose of saving the Jews from complete annihilation.

Thoughts...

Can you imagine the courage it took to do something like that? What would have happened if she didn't do what God had called her to do? All the Jews (including herself) would have been killed.

I have been thinking a lot about having the courage to step out of your comfort zone. Do Hard Things by Brett and Alex Harris has a whole chapter on it titled, "That First Scary Step" (I mentioned this a couple posts back). Here are some things I highlighted:

"If we take that first scary step despite feeling uncomfortable, afraid, or inadequate, our comfort zones expand. We grow in strength and skill. What we consider normal changes, sometimes radically."

"Outside my comfort zone, I learned to lean on God for strength instead of leaning on the small pleasures of this world for comfort. Outside my comfort zone, I found that I could serve God more fully and use all of my talents unreservedly for Him."

"Until we make that first step in spite of our fears, none of us will ever truly be able to do hard things."

"The First Step is always the hardest"

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to an unknown God."

It is usually so hard to step out in courage and faith to do something out of your comfort zone. No matter what it is, big or small, it can still be difficult. Believe me, I know. It took me I don't know how long before I would step out of my comfort zone and sing for just one single person! lol! I am thinking that that would classify as a very small comfort zone step (In other words, it was in reality a small insignificant thing). Regardless to that, it wasn't easy at all.

The truth is, even small steps out of your comfort zone may lead to something much, much bigger. You may not even realize it at the time, but God may use one small thing you do for Him and turn it into something greater than you ever imagined! However, if you never make that first step... that one small step, you may miss something incredible that God has planned for your life.

This is something I have to remember a lot because I have a hard time stepping out of my comfort zone at times.

One more thing...

Below is my paper on Esther. If you read it, please tell me what you think! :)

For Such a Time as This...

At the time I knew not why. I also knew not how. However, there was one thing I did know - that my life would never be the same again. I was placed in a position I never imagined I would have. Little did I know, God had chosen me to occupy that position at just the right time for a purpose. Yes, He chose me, Esther, just an ordinary girl, to save the lives of many people... Read more

~Zoe

Sanctus Real

Hey check out this song!

Whatever You're Doing ~ Sanctus Real

Lyrics:
It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender

(Chorus)
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly

Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...

(Chorus)

Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly

Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This *is* something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly

It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time *to* breathe in and let everything out


I really like it! What do you guys think?

Dana's Valley

Hi I am Addie for those who do not know. But I had a comment I wanted to make and it was taking a while on the comments and I thought i ought to post it. I am going to talk about this book I read and I will others later but I have company coming over soon and may not even have time for this. Well anyway.... I read a book in 7th grade called Dana's Valley. I was looking in the library for a book and I couldn't find one I wanted to read. (I am kind of picky) The librarian came up to me and suggested a book. The library at that time went and still goes to my church and had know me for a while. It was in the corner in the back of the library. I got it and fell in love with it. It starts out kind of slow but after it got going I couldn't stop reading it. It was about a girl named Dana who had a sister about a year younger than her (Erin who narrated the story) and older brother Brett I think, and a young brother named Corey. It starts out when Dana is about 11 or 12 I think. She starts feeling bad so her parents take her to the doctor and they find out that she is sick. I am not going to give too much of it away but it was probably the saddest book I have ever read. It spreads out over 3 or 4 years I think. One thing that makes it really sad it that it is narrated by her sister so you see that side of it and the trouble that they all are going though. Erin has trouble with her faith, Brett starts having some problems, and Corey feels neglected. They all have a struggle but the get through it really with the help of Dana keeping her faith and even growing in her faith. It sort of reminds me of a video we watched in Bible Class once. I don't have the time to really explain the who thing but the lesson was that God picks you up when you are in times of trouble and carries you through the storm. He doesn't make it go away immediately but he helps you and carries you and in the end you grow stronger in your faith. All you have to do is trust in him.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths strait."
Proverbs 3:5-6
Addie

Flywheel

Last night we watched "Flywheel". It was a great movie. It is about a man, "Jay Auston", who sells used cars for unfair prices and cheats on his customers. When he gives his heart to the Lord, he realizes all the mistakes he has made in his life and tries to fix them, but not everyone liked these changes. He goes through many struggles, but in the end everything is even better than before because he trusted God.
It has a great lesson in having faith in god and trusting him no matter what, and, like I said yesterday, "When God says do something... DO IT!"

Thanks, Zoe!

Zoe (and anybody else reading this),
That was really encouraging. I hope you don't mind me answering on a post either! But I just have so much to say!
For one, I just wanted to tell anyone reading this, life isn't easy, especially if you are a Christian. I myself have questioned God many times...one of those biggest times being last December, the week before the spelling bee that my mom had entered me in. I was frustrated and didn't want anything to do with anybody or anything. One day, two days before the spelling bee, I picked up my Bible, hoping that I would find somewhere that said that parents should treat their kids nicely. (I was in a really foul mood, as you might have gathered.) Instead, I found a verse that calmed me beyond words. I was crying angry tears in my room, and could barely see the words on the page. Suddenly, a short verse jumped out at me. It was Psalms 18:29--"With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall."
You see, I was nervous about the spelling bee. But when I read this verse, an indescribable calm descended on me. God had spoken to me through that little short verse. That one verse just spoke volumes to me. And what really hit me was that God was trying to tell me that I was going to be okay, and that being in a spelling bee isn't the end of the world. And loe and behold, when this year's spelling bee rolled around, I used that verse to calm my fears. (And Zoe, boy am I gonna need it come February!)
Anyway, I hope that someday that a little verse will speak volumes to you, like Psalms 18:29 did for me.
-Ellie