Sharing Faith

Today I'm filling in for a manager who went to the ER for possible premature labor. Since it's not my property, "filling in" can be BORING. I keep my self entertained well though with different things- and times like these are the only times I really blog! So I'm blogging and eating a grilled cheese sandwhich...with no ketchup :-/

I wanted to share a couple things though so this provided a good opportunity. On Friday Jason had some coworkers over to the house. When I got home they were in a big ole' conversation about Christianity and Buddhism. I was blown away as I was listening in the bathroom to Jason's boldness in sharing with them and was HUGELY encouraged by it since it's something I really struggle doing. Soon, I joined in on the conversation. Jason's coworkers were both Buddhists and were wanting to know what Christianity even was. Jason and I struggled as we tried to put our faith into words. They viewed Christians as weak because they feel Christ's sacrifice is an "excuse" and an "easy way out" of doing good. They see it as a cope-out. This in simple to understand in light of where they're coming from. Buddhists believe that, essentially, good works outweigh bad works- if you do enough good, it wipes out the bad, and you're well on your way to a great reincarnated life as.... a better Buddhist.

We learned a lot about what they believe but were also able to share the complete Gospel with them. A seed was planted. I would say that it was more of a "sharing faith" talk since neither of them (particularily one) were interested in putting their faith in Christ. They were trying, more or less, to point out what they believed to be "flaws" in the Gospel testimony- and we were trying to bring light to loop-holes in theirs, explaining what they felt were "flaws" in our faith. Fun times! It was a good conversation though and it's our prayer that the Holy Spirit stirs their hearts to question what they believe.

More than anything, though, I learned a lot from that conversation. And here it my list:
-Sharing my faith isn't that difficult -it's exciting!
-We realized it'd be a good idea to study other religions more so that when engaged in a conversation with someone, we know where they are coming from, and therefore, how to specifically share the Gospel with them. -This will also convey our respect for them.
-We need to "be prepared to have an answer for the hope that is in us." I take this literally, meaning I need to know Scripture well, and how to share the Gospel in a way others will understand. Preparation, preparation!
-Sometimes God gives opportunities to point-blank share the Gospel. The ideal seems to be "relational-witnessing," but God uses both.
-God has called me to share my faith with passion and love, despite how the other person may respond. Sometimes the Gospel may bring someone closer to Christ, for others it may push them farther away. I'm not to hide my faith and love for Jesus simply because I'm afraid of pushing them farther away. If God compels me to share I have to trust that His Holy Spirit is speaking through me.

But the best thing that I learned is, SHARING MY LOVE FOR JESUS IS EXCITING!!!!!!!

Unwavering Faith

I read this the other day from a book I'm reading by Arthur W. Pink:

"But if instead of bowing to the testimony of Holy Writ, if instead of walking by faith, we follow the evidence of our eyes, and reason therefrom, we shall fall into a quagmire of virtual atheism. Or, if we are regulated by the opinions and views of others, peace will be at an end. Granted that there is much in this world of sin and suffering which appeals and saddens us, granted there is much in the providential dealings of God which startle and stagger us; but that is no reason why we should unite with the unbelieving worldling who says, 'If I were God I would not allow this or tolerate that,' etc. Better far, in the presence of bewildering mystery, to say with one of old, 'I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because though didst it' (Psa. 39.9). Scripture tell us that God's judgements are 'unsearchable,' and His ways, 'past finding out' (Romans 11.33). It must be so if faith is to be tested, and confidence in His wisdom strengthened , and submission to His holy will fostered."

"Here is the findamental difference between the man of God and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world'; judges everything by worldly standards, views life from the standpoint of time and sense, and weighs everything in the balance of his own carnal thinking. But the man of faith brings in God; looks at everything from His standpoint, estimates values by spiritual standards, and views life in the light of eternity. Doing this, he recieves whatever comes from the hand of God. Doing this his heart is calm in the midst of the storm. Doing this he rejoices in hope of the glory of God."

I want to encourage everyone to remember this. This world elevates man's "intellectualism" above faith in God and I suppose this is natural for one without Christ. But much of the church is doing the same- and this is scary. Don't be afraid to stand up for righteousness, to be firm in Christ and in God's revelations given us through Scripture. Remember to commit each day to God Almighty. Remember that we are in this world, but we are not of it. And remember that if what "seems good," in our eyes contradicts with the Word of God, we must live by faith- knowing that God's wisdom far surpasses even our capability of knowing.

I'm realizing more and more the extent to which Christians are being decieved. -Dwelling on social injustices and pitying mankind, forgetting that according to Scripture there are absolute truths. God is not a beast in the sky- He desires that everyone comes to saving grace. And in all things we must remember that our righteous, loving Father is in control. We put our faith in this and march on as His humble amabassadors, living out of love for Him.

Do not equate righteousness to judgementalism, or allow your love for the lost to be warped by immoral perceptions of right and wrong. There is wickedness in the world. And we are called to be the light of Christ. America is on a downward slide, morally. Being "not of the world" we are called to stand firm; we are not to be affected because our adoring gaze is on our Father. Hold on to unwavering faith. Without it you cannot please your Lord God.

Back in MN

We're back in MN. It was great being in the mountains and seeing my bro, his wife, and little Sophia- but back to reality. Back to work. Back to the ole grind. But thankful I am- YES thankful for my job and for the life God's given us. We will miss the mountains. We'll miss the hiking. We'll miss the beauty and the time off. But it's great to be back. The green popping up everywhere is beautiful :)

!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE MY HUSBAND AND HE'S DONE WITH SCHOOL IN 9 DAYS!!!!!

ARIZONA AND COLORADO!!!

Jason and I are ecstatic! We're goin on another trip. Another trip to AZ. Even though no one probably cares, I want to share what our trip will be like. We just finished planning and putting it all together this past weekend so it's fresh on my mind. In 3 weeks, the first week of May, we're heading into Pheonix, AZ. We'll fly into Pheonix on the 1st and my brother, his wife, and our new little neice will meet us at the airport. We'll drive to Flagstaff, AZ (which is where they live) and spend the weekend with them. Since my brother can't afford to take work off, we're renting a car in Flagstaff for the whole week and on Monday we're heading out in our rental car and making the 8 hour drive to Colorado Springs, where we have a hotel booked for 4 days. We're going to explore the mountains! We're going to spend Tuesday at Pikes Peak and either Wed. or Thurs. take the 2 hour drive to Rocky Mountain National Park to explore some more. I loooove the mountains. Something about them overwhelms me with awe for God..... On either Thursday or Friday we're driving back to Flagstaff. We'll spend the weekend with my brother and sis-in-law again and hopefully climb Mt. Humphrey (the tallest Mt. in AZ). Then Sunday we'll fly back to MN. We're excited :)

Jason will then be done with school (except for 1 summer class) and will hopefully get a full-time job, God-willing. Then we'll work work work to pay off our student loans. Prayerfully, within 2 years, we'll be free of debt! Then we'll seriously pray and think about moving.

God is great :) This past Easter we stayed home and didn't go see any family. It was amazing. More than ever I was able to meditate on what Christ did. Friday night was incredible and Jason and I had a candle-lit time of prayer and reading on the crucifixion. Sunday was so joyous and for the first real time I was able to praise Him on Easter Sunday without Easter holiday distractions. It was amazing. Every Easter as I grow closer to Jesus Christ, Easter becomes more and more meaningful. It's easily become my favorite holiday. God is amazing :)

Flower Metaphor

Okay so I HAVE to share this because God showed me something simple this morning- simple but to me an amazing realization. On Valentine's Day (like forever ago) Jason bought me 2 gardenia plants in little pots. When I got them they looked ready to bloom into flowers- they had buds and everything. They're high-maintenance plants (require watering every day, direct sunlight, and they need water to be sprayed on them daily). I've been trying and trying to get the buds to bloom. But they continually fall off. It's been aggravating! Latey I've been closely watching a particular bud because it's gotten larger than any buds before it. Well, this morning I woke up and after certain morning routines I went to water the plants again. I reached to pick up one of the pots and nearly fell over- A gorgeous white flower had bloomed overnight! I know it sounds stupid, but you don't even understand how excited that made me! I kept repeating to myself, "It's beautiful, it's beautiful, it's beautiful...." After realizing how ridiculously happy it made me. God spoke to my heart. "Spring, maybe now you can understand how ecstatic I get when you bloom... when you produce fruit for me." There's a reason God uses the "fruit producing" metaphor in His Gospels, and today God enabled me to understand how perfect and beautiful that metaphor is. He tries and tries to prune me and too often I fail and fail to bloom. I want to produce flowers for my Savior!

Some may think this is cheesy, but I don't think so. God speaks to us, and sometimes in silly ways :)

God PLEASE guide our future....

For the first time, we're having to think about where God actually wants us. For so long Jason was in school and we were simply waiting for him to finish. Now we can actually see the finish line, but once we pass it we're not sure where to venture from there. Where do you want us God? We don't want to be anywhere but where You want us... Can you PLEASE write something on this wall I'm staring at? That'd be nice. Make it obvious to us, and we'll go where You're calling us to go, we'll do what You want us to do.

I have this fear....I have this fear of not living my life to it's fullest for the One who gave His life for me. I have this fear of entering Heaven, knowing I failed to manifest the depth of my love for my Savior and God. Life on earth is my opportunity. It's my chance to show God my adoration of Him through the life that I live. It's my chance to do my part in leading others into His Amazing Kingdom.

What if I fail? What if I die and most of my life I lived for myself? I shudder at that thought. I shudder not because I fear God will strike me down, but at the thought that I never fully gave Him my heart. Fully giving Him my heart means fully giving Him my life- every part of my life. Lord, teach me to give everything to You. As I grow older, PLEASE hold me closer and closer. Allow me to understand more of who You are.

We want to live our lives for Christ. And so we're asking, "Lord, where do You want us?" I see so many believers lose sight of faith as they get older. People get tied up in life, tied up in their jobs, tied up in accumulating possessions, tied up in the "American dream," tied up in their families. Their passion for Christ is lost. Their passion for the lost...is lost. And so Jason and I have this fear....that life and time and money and jobs will fog our vision of eternity, as it has for so many. So, Lord, plan our futures for us. Show us where to go. Show us what to do. And enable us to put our selfish desires aside. We love You.