Get Excited!

So let me tell you about an awesome person that God allowed me to not only meet this summer...but blessed me with as an amazing friend as well! Sara (I KNOW!...what an AWESOME name!) is somebody that I instantly was able to connect with. We had really similar senses of humor, we liked a lot of the same movies, we both had a joy of being at camp, and- most importantly- we both had a love for Christ!

Now, as much as I love Sara, there is one thing that I absolutely admire about her: her excitement! It's not something that she goes out and flaunts for all to see- but, as her friend, it has been something that I have seen as prevalent and has been a great witness to myself.

I've seen this excitement on multiple occasions....but one in particular stands out.:

It was one of the last Staff devotions for the summer this past summer at camp, and the theme of it was simple: prayer. We each would go from station to station, and each station had something different set up and told you a specific thing to pray about. One station had a small can with a candle on the inside of it. The purpose of the station was to pray about any sin or anything that was holding you back, ask for forgiveness from it, write it on a piece of paper, and then throw it into the fire (signifying that you were getting rid of it).

That night, after the devotion was over, Sara and I went and sat outside the staff cabin to have one of our many "talks" from the summer. Sara shared with me what it was that she had been struggling with, and how excited she was about throwing it in the fire! I'll never forget how excited she was to be set free from that: it was something that I couldn't help but get excited about, just by hearing her talk about it!

Such an awesome story couldn't help but to make me wonder: What if non-believers felt this way about Christians? What if they could just tell in the way that we talked, the stories that we told, and the actions that we had, that we were SO excited about our relationships with Christ, that they couldn't help but to get excited about it, too!  

Psalm 100:3 says: "Know that the Lord is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture."

Our Lord is God! Maybe it's time that we realize how exciting that is and share that excitement with others! Let others get excited with you. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill you up so much, that you can't help but to allow it to overflow.

Allow that to be your prayer today.

Walk the Talk

In the DC Talk song "What If I Stumble?" the opening line says this:
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

Ouch. If you're like me, hearing such a brutal truth is pretty hard to hear. Not only is it hard to hear....it's heart-breaking to hear as well. It's amazing to think that the very people who have a belief in Jesus Christ being the Son of God could potentially be one of the biggest stumbling blocks for non-believers.

Such a line is very real because it is not afraid to step on any toes. It is just telling it like it is. And, if you don't think such a statement is true, think about any of the following scenarios!:

-A college student who claims to be a Christian, yet has no problem going to places they know they should not be and doing things they should not be doing on Friday or Saturday nights.
-An individual who claims to be a Christian, yet wishes to draw a thick line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
-An unmarried couple that claim to be Christians, yet they have no problem participating in acts of sexual immorality.
-A parent who claims to be a Christian, yet pushes their son or daughter to follow their will instead of the Father's.
-An individual who sings hymns on Sunday mornings, yet is willing to say ungodly words throughout the week.

....and, to be honest, this is just a few scenarios that are just the tip of the iceberg.

I cannot just point fingers and state that many other Christians I know have participated or not acknowledged Christ by their lifestyle: I am as guilty as anyone else. I have been at points in my life where I can honestly say that I was truly a hypocrite. I would tell people how much I loved Jesus, and go to church every Sunday morning and Wednesday night...yet I would allow the words and actions of my life throughout the week not show the love of Christ....but, rather, the love of worldly desires.

Colossians 3:5-10 says:
"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."

When we become a true believer, we have ALL been renewed in Christ. It's time that we start taking that more seriously. Whether you're a believer who is currently on a mountaintop, a believer that is caught up in a cycle of struggling sin, or a believer that knows in their heart they are claiming to believe one thing, yet living a lifestyle that appears to reveal another, we all need to realize that we are disciples for Christ. We are the one ones that have the hope that can save nations. We have the answer to all of life's problems.....and it's time we start living like it.

**Note: If you are not aware of what it means to be a believer and follower of Christ, I would be more than happy to share this great news with you! You can message me at: https://www.facebook.com/sara.marshall.75 or e-mail me at: saramarshall7@att.net.

Just Pray.

In the town of Statesville, the past week has been nothing short of absolutely tragic. My prayers go out to Dalton Edwards. And my prayers goes out to all of the victims and families of the Front Street Baptist bus incident. It's times like these that our number one resource and source of hope is prayer.

Psalm 50:15 says: "And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

I will have a regular blog post posted over the next couple of days. But, for right now, I just ask for your prayers. I am a strong believer in the power of prayer. And I am also a strong believer of prayer with numbers.