More Than Conquerors

I started my senior year of college a few weeks ago. I've been thinking and reflecting a lot about what I want this school year to be and have had so many thoughts tumbling around in my head ...

I want to stand boldly for Christ and be a light for Him. 

I want to seek His kingdom first before anything else. 

I want to ask myself at the end of the day, "Did I love Him well today?" 

We've been studying the book of Romans on Sunday mornings for the last 18 months or so and it has been so good! Yesterday we finished up chapter eight and I think this is my favorite chapter so far. 

This morning, I was re-reading the chapter and looking back over my sermon notes from yesterday. I started with verse 28 and even though I've heard these verses so many times growing up, they struck me anew this morning.

        "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew,   He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called, and these whom He called, He also justified, and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, 'For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

This made me think about who I am in Christ and the confidence that my standing brings. I am nothing without Christ. I am filthy, broken, and have nothing to offer. But in His grace and mercy Christ justified me, He gave me His righteousness, so that I stand before Him blameless and clean. I am so much more than a conqueror because of what He has done in me. It's not about me anymore, my life is a reflection of Him.

I have no reason to be afraid to stand for Christ. He is already victorious.The battle is already won.  My destiny is secure and nothing will change that, even if someone laughs in my face because of what I stand for.

There is no effective opposition against me because of who I am in Christ. God already has the victory and therefore so do I! Satan doesn't want me to realize this though, so he constantly reminds me of my past failures.

There is no potential deprivation for me as a child of God. He isn't going to withhold good things from me because of what I've done in the past. In verse 32, He even says, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"

There is no viable accusation against me. No one can accuse me. No one! God has already removed those things and forgiven me. I'm clean in His sight and Satan can't truly use those things to paralyze me unless I let him.

There is no feasible condemnation. I am no longer condemned. I'm healed and no longer broken in His sight. Condemning myself for anything I've done in the past only makes me miserable and takes my focus off of Christ and puts it onto myself.

There is no imaginable separation from God. Nothing I've done or ever will do can separate me from God. Nothing. I am eternally secure.

 I love Psalm 139: 7-12: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,' Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day, Darkness and light are alike to You."

 We are so much more than conquerors ... love Him well today!

2013 = Surrender

I've been struggling with my resolutions for the new year. Towards the end of December and the beginning of January, I always say I'm going to read through the Bible and stick to a consistent quiet time. But I never finish it. 

It works for a few months, but by February or March I'm stuck in the pots and pans section of the Old Testament and I usually quit. I have good intentions, but almost never fulfill them. 

I was thinking about this today as I decided that it would be really neat to read through the Bible chronologically this year. I almost didn't want to do it; to even make the commitment because I figured I would just break it again this year. But then it began to dawn on me that nothing else could matter more than my time with the Lord. Absolutely nothing. 

I was put on this earth for exactly that purpose: 

to glorify God with my life.

And that is done by spending time in His word every day. 

I read the passage from "My Utmost for His Highest" for today and it really jumped out at me in relation to what I'd been thinking about. 

"'My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest - my best for His glory.' To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point ... Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only - my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone."

If I'm truly honest, would I say that this is true of my life? Am I living for Him and Him alone? I think God is beginning to show me that 2013 is going to be a year of surrender. 

Surrender of myself and my desires.  

Surrender to His will no matter what. 

Surrender to the plans that He has for my life regardless of where they may lead me. 

Webster's defines surrender as: 

a : to yield to the power, control, or possession of another 

b : to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another

a : to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner

b : to give (oneself) over to something (as an influence) 

 

I always think of surrender as being a negative thing or something I really don't want to do. But I'm beginning to realize that it doesn't have to be. Surrender can be a very good thing.

I need to surrender in order to learn, to grow, to change. 

It's like the verse in John 3 that says, "He must increase, but I must decrease." 

That's a wonderful and beautiful thing! 

Scary at times? Yes, absolutely. But, oh so good, too! 

I'm excited to see where the year 2013 takes me! I have a feeling God is going to do some great things!    

   

Whispers to the Soul

I woke up this morning to the sweet sound of "Be Still My Soul" playing on my mom's Pandora in the kitchen. It was exactly what I needed to hear this morning. I love when God uses something as simple as a song to speak to your heart about something. It isn't always like fireworks or a thunderstorm, sometimes He whispers quietly to your soul.

  Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

  

Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.

Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

~Catharina von Schlegel

I also heard this song by Ana Laura this morning.  

Thank You for the Cross

"Once Again" by Matt Redman

Jesus Christ, I think upon Your sacrifice
You became nothing, poured out to death
Many times I've wondered at Your gift of life
And I'm in that place once again
I'm in that place once again


And once again I look upon the cross where You died
I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside
Once again I thank You
Once again I pour out my life


Now You are exalted to the highest place
King of the heavens, where one day I'll bow
But for now, I marvel at Your saving grace
And I'm full of praise once again
I'm full of praise once again

Thank You for the cross
Thank You for the cross
Thank You for the cross, my Lord

Saying Goodbye to Dear Friends

I've been sewing like crazy the last few weeks for Easter! One of the wonderful things that has kept me sane during these long days has been Librivox. Volunteers record each chapter of an old book that no longer has a copyright and you can listen online for free! Last week I listened to Wives and Daughters. 'Tis quite a lovely invention!

Yes, I finished all sixty-two chapters! I loved when a new reader would come on and they had a particularly delicious British accent! It somehow made the story even sweeter! 

I absolutely adore the movie version of this book and couldn't help but be aggravated when the readers didn't say the lines the way the actors did in the movie! 

A few of my favorite lines: 

Squire Hamley: I'm not saying she was very silly, but one of us was silly and it wasn't me. 

 

Mr. Gibson: Women are queer, unreasoning creatures and just as likely as not to love a man who's been throwing his affection away.
Roger Hamley : Thank you sir, I see you mean to give me encouragement.
Mr. Gibson : My encouragement is neither here nor there, for if she can stomach ya, I dare say I can.

Cynthia Kirkpatrick: In short, Mama, the one man may steal a horse -
  the other musn't look over the hedge?
Claire Gibson: Oh, do be quiet child! All proverbs are vulgar, and I
  do believe that is the vulgarist of them all! I really think you're
  catching Roger Hamley's coarseness, Cynthia.

Squire Hamley:  “Did I ever say an engagement was an elephant, madam?” 

By the time I finish a book, I feel that I'm friends with the characters and I look forward to discovering more about them each day! I somehow feel that I'm saying goodbye to dear friends when I finish the final chapters of a lovely novel!