Monday Morning Perspective

We are only week 2 into this series Identity Crisis and I'm crazy in love with it.  My husband is building a great theological foundation that I believe is going to benefit us for years to come.
Yesterday was You Are Chosen from Ephesians 1:3-6.  After a great review we jumped right in to some deep waters which my man maneuvered with much grace and great insight.
I love how he referenced Deut 29:29 that the secrets belong to God and reminded us that there's no way an 8oz human brain can totally grasp the mind of God.  That tells me that if we think we know it all and we have a total grasp on the issue of predestination, we are fooling ourselves.  Bottom line is that God is the source of salvation and it only comes through belief in Christ.  How awesome the gospel was presented yesterday.  If you missed it you can hear it online.  On my home page there's a fairview link.

Monday Morning Perspective

I thought it would be a good time to get back to this since we started a new series yesterday at Fairview. I'm so excited about it because I think it can be life changing if we will let it.  We started a study in Ephesians under the title of Identity Crisis, Who Am I?  The reason I think this can be a life changer is because so many times the decisions we make in life boil down to how we see ourselves.  Our thought life revolves around how we see ourselves and most people act our of what they truly believe.  And I believe that if we see ourselves as Christ sees us, it will make all the difference in the world in how we treat others, how we make decisions, and how we live our life.  Ok, so that's my introduction.  Now for my husband's series introduction...
Identity always comes before activity.  We see that in Ephesians as the beginning deals with our identity in Christ and then we get to our activity.  Who does God say we are?  We allow others to identify us and oftentimes we don't even have an accurate view in our own minds of who we are.  Paul tells us that if we are in Christ, we are saints.  That has everything to do with our position not our morality.  I love how Eddie stressed that when we meet Jesus EVERYTHING CHANGES!!  Yes, He changes everything.  Forget the past and move on.  Noone has a past worse than Paul's yet Paul says forget what is behind and move on because Jesus is a life changer.
Too many of us have listened to the wrong voices for too long.  We've listened to what Satan and our peers have said about us and the only voice and opinion that truly matters is God's voice and He says that we are saints if we are in Christ.  It's time to tune all of the other voices out and press in to hear God's voice!!

1 year anniversary...God's call

Been a while since I had a 1 year anniversary for anything but this is a big one for me.  One year ago this month a lot of things started becoming very clear.  As I had wrestled with God for a while over some questions, the one big question being, what now?, He put something before me.  It was fuzzy then and still fuzzy on details even now but nonetheless He put it out there and after much praying and seeking and talking with family the bottom line was not whether I had all the details but whether I would be obedient.  I had many fears about saying yes however the biggest fear of all was saying no and being disobedient to Him.  I've learned that many answers don't come until we take that 1st step of faith.  Many answers have come, many still remain a mystery.  What is no longer a mystery is that He has told me to write.  My 1st response was I already do that.  I keep my own journal.  I blog.  But that didn't seem to be it.  My 2nd response was, I have nothing to write about.  Well, boy did He change that.  Soon He began giving me LOTS to write about.  Bottom line is I still don't know what form this will all take. All I know is that I'm writing what He has placed on my heart and how He is leading me through His Word.  Much of the call and the long story has been written which is why I'm not diving into many details here.  It may be a blog.  It may be a bible study for a small group or another type of group.  It may be a book.  It may be for noone to ever read but my family or it may be way out there one day.  Whatever God decides to do with it, is great by me. Like I said, my biggest fear is not where this goes but whether I obey Him or not. Everything else is up to Him.  He knows that I'm limited in every way.  But I know He has no limitations.  I also know Him to be the God of immeasurably more. I know the journey He has taken us on over the past several years but also the journey of our life together with Him.  I know that there's much to tell that can be used to encourage others whether in ministry or not.  I know He has purpose in everything He has brought us through and I know how much He has shown us and taught us.  I also believe that it's not just for us alone.  I know that if it can serve to help others then there's greater purpose and more glory for Him.  There's also much of life we have lived with Him as we have ministered and raised a family in the midst of it all.  So whatever He wants to do and however He wants to work, I'm just along for the ride.  I know it's been an incredible ride so far and He has proved Himself faithful over and over again.  I'm so thankful for my family's support and for many along the way who have encouraged us to share our story but also through the years the many who have encouraged me to write more.  If you're willing, I would love your prayers.  We can see together where all of this goes. I do know, I have to get back on the blog.  I've missed it but been busy writing in the notebook.  Just need to be better at multitasking!!