Sacrifices and Purity

Sacrifices. They have to be made in order to achieve anything above and beyond the call of the average man. But it is interesting what some people aren't willing to give up, even if it is directly getting in the way of the goal they are trying to reach or the person they want to be. Some things can be life altering, while others are minor and take practice to avert their ways. For me, lust is a big hurdle that keeps me from being who I want to be. It is a sacrifice that I will need to make in order to become the godly person that I want to aspire to. I was reading Proverbs this morning, over 100 verses talk about avoiding lust and running from it. Maybe Solomon was trying to say something.. It's obvious that this is a pitfall for many men. But that is no excuse to follow in the footsteps of an unwise and ungodly man. I want to change who I am. I am tired of being pulled in two different directions, trying to satisfy my fleshly desires and maintain some amount of spiritual likeness. It just doesn't work like that. 

Luke 11:24-26 When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, “I will return to the house I left.” When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.

This is how I feel most times when I try to change my ways. I sweep my house clean, but I do not fill it with the holy spirit, and I do not fully invite Jesus into my heart. This leaves room for evil spirits to come back in, and even worse than they were previously. But that will not happen to me anymore, I am letting Jesus come in and take control. He will direct my paths, and I will let him take the throne of my life. If I am in charge of my body, I will lead it to sin and death. But if God is in control, then I will prosper and His plan will be done through me. Thank you Lord!

I recently attended a purity conference this past weekend (http://www.purelifeministries.org/). Two major points were shown to me The first is that, just because you are victorious, doesn't mean there isn't still a battle to fight. Just because I can avoid lust for a week, doesn't mean that I can just expect it all to go away. It will always be there, it is up to me to battle and prepare for it everyday. The second, is that lust will take you places you never thought you would go. Think of all of the political scandals, or Tiger Woods, or Jerry Sandusky. Do you think they just woke up one day and thought that they were going to disgrace all they have worked for? No, lust took them there. Gradually, but surely, as all sin leads to death. 

Thank you Lord for your help through these times. I ask that you would come into my heart and continue to take control. I don't want to be in charge of my thoughts, I want your thoughts for me. Thank you for your wisdom that you provide to me daily. Today I put on the full armor of God to fight the enemy and any of his schemes to destroy me. I love you and I praise you Jesus.

Jordan

Plans

I like to think of myself as a pretty organized person (I don’t know if my mom would agree with this). I am not really that spontaneous. Once in a while but not often. This is not to say that spontaneity is wrong, just not for me. For the most part I think this is a good thing. God is organized he is not a God of confusion. Except sometimes I get so organized I plan my day out exactly how I want it to go. When it doesn't go as planned I can get really upset (just ask Jordan, he has firsthand experience with this). So how do I change this? it is actually something that I have struggled with for a long time. Now it may seem silly to some people but that’s just how I am. I like to be in control. That is ultimately what it is. So I figure that in order to change how I react I need to give up control to God. This is not to say I cannot plan my day out. I still need to have some organization in my life. I need to learn not to get upset when things don’t go my way. God has a perfect plan in all things. Even the little things in my life. I also think this is somewhat to do with pride. I need to humble myself before God. In 1 Peter chapter 5 verses 6 and 7 it says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

So these are just my thoughts. Things I have to work on. God is in control of everything. He cares very deeply for me and I can trust Him with my day and every day.

-Hannah

Lately God has been showing me how important it is to set aside time to spend with Him. It is so easy to get caught up with life and not spend time with our Savior. The devil can easily make me feel bad about spending time with God. I start thinking about everything else I could be doing. Or it is as simple and not wanting to stay up a little later to talk to God. Or not getting up a little bit earlier to talk to Him. This is essential to our lives though. I know when I do set aside time to spend with God I feel great. It is awesome being able to talk to Him and set aside all my worry that I have. I feel like when I don't spend time with God it is so much harder not to give into my flesh as well. Like I said spending time with God everyday is essential to the Christian walk.
Submit ourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James 4:7-8 ESV
God bless,
Hannah

Doing some morning reading! Matthew 5 - 7 for today. Such wise teachings, I always have to find time to apply these to my life.

Back Again

Well, I'm back. I changed the title and a little bit of the mission statement. I think I can definitely use this as a tool to stay focused on God daily. I haven't been too keen on doing that every day, but I want to. I hope that this can be a new beginning for me, and that I can get in a habit of doing this every day.

I have been getting up at 5 a.m. lately. It's kinda cool. I like to think of it as getting up before the sunrise. Its a peaceful thing to watch in the morning. I think at times in the past, I have tried to get in a regimen of getting up early, and always had an agenda or something I had to pursue in the morning. This time, it's more about getting up early and getting my day off to a good start and not so much worrying about getting a bunch of stuff done. I might start to incorporate more things into it as time goes on. I plan on reading my Bible and talking about some of the things that I learn every day.

I hope to get on tomorrow with some good words.

God bless,

Jordan