Growing Pains

I don’t know about you, but during those periods of time where life gets tough, and challenging, I can only think of one quote: “it hurts so good.” It’s difficult to get through the challenges, and each step may be …

Love Came Down;

Amidst all the craziness going on in my life, God has just been showing me and reminding me how great His love is for me and just how gracious He is. I guess those are just two lessons I felt that I really wanted to share with you all.

The first quote I wanted to share with you is the definition of God’s relentless love.

“Relentless love is seeking the highest good for the other person without softening or yielding in determination.”

-Jeff Cherry & Isaiah Qualls | Listen to “Love is Relentless”

This definition of God’s love is so awesome to me. It reminds me of a statement I was always reminded of: God’s love for us is just as great and constant as it was when Jesus was on the cross. The cross to us is viewed as the apex of God’s love for us. The CRAZIEST most AWESOME display of Love. As humans, sometimes we see it as that is when God’s love and passion for us must have been the most… but it’s not… His love for us is JUST that CRAZY and AWESOME as it was on that day. I don’t know about you, but I forget that sometimes… and I need to be reminded of it daily. It seriously blows. My. Mind. God loves us so much.

A point that was made in the message that really hit me was how God’s love isn’t contractual, but it’s based on a covenant.  It doesn’t depend on how “good” we are, or require our “perfection” in order for Him to love us, but it is based solely on His grace. In the world, we are taught so much about how we “deserve” this or that, or how we must receive this or that in order to give this or that, or to love on someone else. But God doesn’t display that in any sense. Instead, while we were still sinners, God loved us and still sent His Son to die for us. We didn’t work for anything. We didn’t have to give Him anything for Him to display that love. (Of course this doesn’t disregard that we are called to be obedient and to pick up our crosses daily because really experiencing and knowing this love should cause a gratitude and transformation inside in which we are obedient out of our love for God).

Furthermore, Isaiah Qualls’ message on Love is Relentless posed a great question that I wanted to share with you all. “Who in your life are you telling a lie about God to?” If our lives are to be representations of God on this earth, who are we giving out love to that isn’t a proper representation for God’s love for us? This was a very eye opening question to me, because I realize that I fail to do this quite often.

I guess I just urge you all to reflect on His love this week and really pray to receive that love and grace and be able to pour it out onto others as well, as you live in light of it. His love for us is so great. He is our healer, our comforter, our Savior, and more. Let that sink in and give you comfort and revival if you are having a crazy month/week/day. 

Here is “Love Came Down” by Brian Johnson. God really blessed me with this song of worship this past Sunday. Thought I’d also share it. :)

Happy Monday!

Between You & God.

Lately, I have been convicted of how I have been treating and committing to doing things I have said I would do, and how faithful I am to follow through with my words. Of course, I understand that some days have unexpected twists and turns and while following through with something is greatly intended, circumstances may make it impossible, or cause things to be postponed or rescheduled. But I guess I have been convicted of not disciplining my time, and being purposefully intentional with the commitments I have made, or the things I said I would do faithfully.

First of all, I’d like to admit that this conviction came pretty harshly as I sat wrongfully judging someone in my mind because of the lack of commitment they were giving to things they said they’d do. In my mind, I turned my nose up and thought, “Well, you definitely need to work on following through with your commitments and really prioritize things, because you definitely suck at it!” It was pretty spiteful, and I’m not proud of that at all. I’m usually not that judgmental, but I guess I was caught off guard? (Or maybe, really, it was because usually we tend to be more judgmental over things we struggle with) And my following statement in my head  after that was, “But, that’s between you and God, I guess.” I thought this last statement pretty harshly (but it does still stand true). Immediately after I thought these horrible thoughts, however, I realized so clearly in my mind how I had been so judgmental over something that I also struggle with. Matthew 7:3-5 came to mind immediately, almost like it slapped me in the face.  Talk about being handed a piece of humble pie. I was speculating over sawdust in someone else’s eye while I still had a plank in my own.

God really convicted me of the verse 5:33-37:

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;  or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

We are simply supposed to hold true to the things we say. Throughout the entire Bible, we see how God rarely, well never blatantly says “I promise that I will…[fill in the blank].” However, He is always so faithful to fulfill His word. He commits to things 110%. How many times can we say that we do that–do every thing we say we will? How many times do we fail to do that? What about in our ministries? In our relationships? In our schooling? Etc.? I know that I, for one, fail sometimes to follow through completely with what I say I will do.

I’ve realized that sometimes I tell people I will do one thing, or I commit to doing something, yet the preparation, or the actual “doing,” might not happen with as much commitment as it should have. I realize how unfair it is to those who are expecting me to do it or those who are affected by my words that hold promise–it doesn’t hold me as a good witness to those around me. But ultimately, I have realized that these things I’m “involved” in, or these things I say I will do, are things I have said unto the Lord. It may go unnoticed to those around us when we don’t do the things we say we will, but that failure to do so is between us & God. Just as how your sin affects those around you, but ultimately you are sinning against God, your “yes”s and “no”s that are not fulfilled are not fulfilled unto the Lord.

Sometimes our words, and commitments we say we will make, can be easily presented or hidden away as being “finished,” but are we truly fulfilling these words and commitments as if they were unto the Lord? Are we praying for all those that we say we will pray for? Are we really preparing for those bible studies ahead of time? Are we cleaning the kitchen when we say we will? Are we really purposefully keeping someone accountable when we told them we would help them? Are we really doing ____ when we say we will do ____? With some things we can do things last minute or just fake it to make it seem like we are fulfilling our word, but I feel like even that is like an empty promise. Even our half-hearted, or hidden “best,” I feel, can be held up to this test and given a “no.” I will be the first to say that I do things half-heartedly sometimes just to say that I did it. I won’t do things properly as they should be done.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
-Colossians 3:17

Think of it this way: The things we say we will do, thought it may be to another human, are ultimately things we say we will do for God and unto Him. He is the real one who “holds us to our words.” It pains me to think that while I can hide and do things last minute or not even at all and go unnoticed by the human eye, I am visibly failing to do these things unto the Lord. It makes me feel so ashamed to think that I can be so unfaithful to fulfill my words to God while He is so faithful to fulfill His Word to me. Doing things we say we will, and how we get it done, is under His watchful eye.

I am so thankful that God is gracious, because I know I fail so much, and that I will fail even more in the future at fulfilling my word, though I will try and aspire not to. I need to really be weary of the words that come out of my mouth, and really work on making the “yes”s and “no”s and commitments I make truly and fully be completed. I must really discipline myself, and prioritize my time to accomplish things that are needed to be done, so that I can be a good witness and a good example of God’s faithfulness in all the things that require me to be faithful to fulfill. & It’s important that I remember that these things that I say I will do, I have committed to doing in front of the Lord.

My personal challenge, and what I challenge you all to do also is to really watch the words that come from your mouth, and be weary of the promises you make, or the things you say you will do. Are you truly fulfilling them? Are you doing them unto the Lord?

In all, ultimately, what you do and don’t do is between you & God.

Happy windy Monday!

Grace & Peace,
Margarette

‘Tis So Sweet!

Happy day-after Resurrection Sunday! It’s a beautiful thing that we can still rejoice and reflect on the goodness of God’s grace and the fact that Christ has overcome the world–that He has been raised and that we can be raised with Him! :)

In light of the hope we have in Christ, I just wanted to share with you all the hymn, ‘Tis So Sweet! I heard this rendition for the first time yesterday by Jadon Lavik and really really loved the melody paired up with the awesome reminder found in it’s lyrics. I hope that where ever you are in life and with your walks with the Lord, you will just be blessed and reminded again of the resurrection of Christ and the hope we have in Him! :)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

1 Peter 1:3-5

 

‘Tis So Sweet – Jadon Lavik

‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to take Him at His Word
Just to rest upon His promise
Just to know Thus sayeth the Lord

O how sweet to trust in Jesus
Just to trust His cleansing blood
And in simple faith to plunge me
Neath the healing cleansing flood

Jesus Jesus how I trust him
How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er
Jesus Jesus precious Jesus
O for grace to trust him more

Yes, ’tis sweet to trust in Jesus
Just from sin and self to cease
Just from Jesus simply taking
Life and rest, and joy and peace

 

Happy Monday!

Grace & Peace,
Margarette

“To Be” Verbs

“To Be” verbs are main verbs that define a role.

In Exodus 3, God sends Moses to the Israelites, but Moses asks God what he should say if the Israelites ask him who has sent him, and God gives him the response:

“I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”

In the English language, “I am,” is considered to be a “to be” verb.

This past Sunday, I was so blessed to hear a message that touched base on how God’s name is “I AM.” Crazy thing about a name like “I AM” is that His name is a “verb to be.” The pastor shared with us how much of a blessing it is to know that God’s name is I AM because it reminds him of how, just like a verb is an action word, God is active in what we need.

I AM your God.

I AM your savior.

I AM your rock.

I AM your redeemer.

I AM your healer.

I AM your comfort.

I AM your shelter.

I AM your helper.

I AM your strength.

I AM your friend.

I AM your ______.

It is such a comfort to know that God never changes. He is holy, righteous, loving, gracious, patient, good, faithful in all His ways. And as our lives change and we experience and go through different things, God never fails to be what we need when we need Him (which is all the time).

Whatever you might be going through, cling to God, for He is the great I AM.

He is our great I AM.

Grace & Peace,
Margarette