Here's to Another New Chapter In a Beautiful Love Story

          Hello friends! I have big news . . . I MOVED! If you're looking for my latest blog post, pop on over to my WordPress. If you're here to read my earlier blog posts, look to your right! Thank you for reading, and God bless you.

A Christian's Guide to a Joyful Christmas

          This time of year is a time to gather your friends and family and hold them close and enjoy their company, but while some of us are really big on emphasizing "the reason for the season," we somehow find that our prayer life and our quiet time with God is sparse and less impressive than we'd like it to be during this time. 

          "Dry spells" in our walk with God can be frustrating and disheartening, and what we think we're doing to fix the problem is actually making it worse. Being so busy getting gifts and organizing parties and socializing with friends can drain your joy. You think you're having so much fun with your friends, but at the end of the day you realize that you've forgotten to make time for the Lord. You tell yourself you'll double your time tomorrow, but it never happens and guilt creeps in. You're a terrible Christian, God is angry with you, you'll have to work harder to "get right with God again." That's the voice of the enemy telling you these things. You know what God is saying to you? God is saying, "My child, I love you so much, and I'm so glad you're having so much fun, but I miss you. I miss spending time in prayer with you, I miss showing you more and more of Myself in my Word. I miss your joyful tears in worship and listening to your sweet voice when you sing to Me."

So how in the world to we get back our joy?

1. Our Testimony

          Revelation 12:11 says, "And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Your testimony is powerful, regardless of whether you've had a major "conversion" or you've been walking with the Lord since you were six, so use it! I've written down my testimony (which you can read here), and rereading the monumental things that Christ has done for me can be a powerful reminder of the reason for my thankfulness. Memory is great, but there's something about writing it down and rereading it to yourself that is so much more poignant and powerful. Write down your own testimony and keep it somewhere you can easily access it for when you need to remind yourself of the good that the Lord has done for you.

2. A Record of Blessings

          Being mindful of the abundant blessings we have is such an easy way to bring your heart back into a joyful place. I love quoting Scripture on my blog, but you need to go read Psalm 103:2-5 for yourselves. It gives such a good idea of what I'm trying to tell you (You can go do it now, I'll wait for you . . .) . . . With that, most of us have our phones in our hand at any given moment, so why not use it in a way to bring God glory? Starting today, December 22, I'm challenging each of you to join me in a social media revival! I'm going to keep a running list on the notepad on my phone of every blessing I can currently be thankful for, and every day until I go back to school, I'm going to post one of them on all of my social media accounts using #103Christmas . . . like, Psalm 103? And Christmas time? It's not lame, I promise. (Plus, your friends might ask you about it, and BOOM, evangelism time. You're welcome.) Let's fill our social platforms with joy this Christmas season, and we'll spread a spirit of gladness in the Lord. 

3. Just STOP.

          Lastly, remember that taking a break from the socializing will not be the end of your friendships. If you leave a party a half hour early to go spend some time alone with the Word and your friends get angry, maybe it's time to reevaluate the people you choose to spend time with. If they're friends you don't see very often, step out in faith and have a group Bible study! You never know how the Lord will bless your time together, but I guarantee you'll have deeper friendships because of it. Meditate on Psalm 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." God bless all of you and please remember that He loves you more than you could ever imagine. 

Just a little something for some extra holiday cheer!

Meet Nicole: A Survivor's Story

          So in my last post, I said that a young woman asked me if committing suicide would send her to hell. I'd like to introduce all of you to that young woman, Nicole Strong. Nicole is 18 years old, living in Byron, New York, finishing her senior year at Byron-Bergen High School. I asked her to write her testimony for all of you:

          I've recently found myself facing many struggles and tough situations in the flesh. Having been in the church my whole life, I've always had an understanding of who Christ is, and I'm in the church every chance I get. However, Christianity is much more than going to church, or simply believing in the Lord. Christianity is a lifestyle. You can't just admit there's a God and that He has a divine plan for your life. You have to live out this truth: God sets you free. You can't just say He's King of kings and Lord of Lords then have your actions speak otherwise. I've found this out and it hurts me knowing I've strayed away from my God, the Author and Perfecter of my faith, the ultimate healer of all my pain. As I went through struggles recently with depression and thoughts of suicide, I realized that instead of trying to get answers from the world, I needed to be getting them from the Creator of this world. I mean, it's good to seek wisdom from other believers, but it doesn't mean I need to seek answers from the world. When I would hear what I don't want to hear, I'd cry about it. But no! I need to accept the truth — I'm a child of God who is fearfully and wonderfully made. I need to stop worrying about my future, because God's got it in His hands! He has delivered me thus far from pain and struggles. He's saved me from killing myself three times in the past. Jesus has saved me! I, Nicole, am so unworthy of His love, yet he wants nothing more than to give it to me. He wants me and everyone else to realize that I need to just continue having faith and trusting in Him. He's never failed, so why would He start now?

           I love her testimony of perseverance in the face of adversity. Like I said in my last post, the enemy wants nothing more than to tempt you back into your old ways and your old problems, but when we focus on who God is, all of those problems fade away. In Philippians 1:4-6, Paul tells the church at Philippi, "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." 

          I hope that Nicole's story has inspired you as much as it has inspired me that those who have accepted Christ as their savior and invited them to reign in their hearts can rest fully on His grace. For, "where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)"

If I Commit Suicide, Am I Going to Hell?

          This is such a delicate subject, and it needs to be treated with respect and gentleness that can only come from God's perfect love. I recently had a conversation with a young woman who asked me this question, and my heart was absolutely broken. She is active in the church, active in youth group, and she still has to ask this question. Has the church just failed here? Well yes, and no. The blame doesn't fall entirely on the church; there's only so much we can do, and the rest is the work that the Holy Spirit does on an intimate, individual basis that we can't really get to. So youth group leaders and pastors, it's okay -- we know you can't do it all! From what I've seen in my lifetime, however, churches are afraid to talk about these things in a straightforward and honest manner. We skirt the question, afraid to offend people, instead of tackling it head-on with Scripture and love. Well I am unashamed of the gospel, so I'm not afraid to jump in and find out what God has to say on this matter and to tell it to the world.

           There are three points to this discussion when we dig into the Scripture:

1. Suicide is a sin.
          1 John 3:4 says, "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness." Sin is anything apart from the law. In a New Testament world, the law is the moral law that God has written on our hearts and explained to us in the Bible. The moral law also includes God's perfect plan for our lives. So deviating from that plan is sinful. 
          God's plan for your life never includes suicide. Nothing inherently good comes from it; sure, God can use tragedy for His glory, but it brings pain and suffering to those around you, and it effectively ends your ministry that God has specifically given to you for your time on Earth. If the Lord wanted you dead, He'd strike you down Himself. Not once is it God's desire for you to commit suicide and take your life into your own hands, but rather it is always God's desire for you to always give your life completely to Him as a living sacrifice (Romans 12). 

2. God forgives sin.
          The moment that you allow Christ to rule in your heart, He takes your place in the judgement seat. At the end of your life, all of your sin will be accounted for, and it will be laid on Him in full. There is only one sin that the Bible mentions as being unforgivable. It occurs in Matthew 12 and Mark 3, and it's called blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. I have another post in the works on that subject, but for our purposes here, it's irrelevant; suicide is not an unforgivable sin. Suicide is, in effect, self-murder. David -- you know, the psalmist David? King David? -- he committed murder. And once he had repented of his sin, he had a restored relationship with God. David was favored by God and deeply loved, despite his sin, because our God is a God of forgiveness and mercy.

3. If a Christian commits suicide, we need to ask questions.
          This is the most delicate part of this whole discussion, but it needs to be addressed. Hebrews 6 gives one of the most beautiful pictures of the hope we have in Christ. Verses 13-20 read as such:

"When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled [for refuge] to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

          I'm going to be as ginger as I can here, and speak from my love for each and every person who reads this. A full understanding of the message of Christ gives us hope. It gives us hope to endure this life's hardships, and hope for what is yet to come. So to reach a point of despair so great that a person actually follows through with their plan of suicide begs us to ask the question of whether or not they actually had a relationship with the living God who dwells among and within His children. This hope that I'm talking about is not just an added bonus of Christianity; it's the bulk of the message! So for such a crucial factor to be missing, something has to be wrong. 

          I hope my love has shone through in this midst of this difficult discussion, because I know that those who have struggled with depression, or hopelessness, or suicidal thoughts before they came to Christ will not always be free from those temptations. The thoughts may come creeping back at the worst possible moments; the enemy is a seasoned veteran in the battle of discouraging God's children. But the beauty of being a Christ follower is being able to see through the antics of the enemy and live by our faith, and not by what we feel. My dear brothers and sisters, take heart in the unchanging truth of our God. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)" If the Lord dwells and reigns within you, your sins have been covered in full, and His hope will shine in and through you.

Why Wait to Have Sex?

          Being at Liberty University, I've been exposed to so many more "types" of people than I thought I would be. I naively thought that everyone I met would be a passionate Christian Republican who loved the NRA and Ronald Reagan. Boy, was I wrong. I've met those kinds of people (like my boyfriend — praise the Lord), but I've also met people who aren't Christians at all. My best friend at Liberty (and my future roommate!) is a Christian, but tends to lean to the left sometimes. Being in a Christian environment, our discussions never escalate into yelling matches or ignorance. That's something I've grown far too comfortable with at Liberty -- rational, sensible people who are (for the most part) working toward one goal, and that is making much of Jesus Christ. 
          With this unexpected diversity, I've had multiple occasions to learn about different people's viewpoints on different topics, and when confronted with a view that is different than my own, I have an opportunity to question my own belief and either come out with a better understanding of God or a more firmly held one. One of these beliefs is abstinence from sex until marriage. I've ran into more than a few people who struggle with lust, and don't see a real reason for waiting until marriage to have sex with their significant others, especially if they have every intention of being married one day. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that lust isn't a struggle for every teenager or young adult, including myself. This isn't some crazy unusual thing that only the worst sinners deal with. God has built our bodies to be attracted to members of the opposite sex in a sexual way.
          He also designed us for marriage. Sure, there are those who are predestined to remain unmarried for the sake of their ministries (1 Corinthians 7:32), but look at the Garden of Eden. Adam was alone in the Garden, and the Lord took a look at what He had created and said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. (Gen. 2:18)" And Eve was Adam's partner for the rest of his life. So we're called into a lifelong, loving relationship with one member of the opposite sex, which includes having sex with that person. (Fun fact, the book Kama Sutra, which many claim to be the book on sex, was written between 400 BCE and 200 CE, but the Bible's longest passage about sex, Song of Solomon, was written some time between 971 and 931 BC. So take that, Kama Sutra.)
          So what's the difference between having sex with someone you're married to, and having sex with someone you know you're going to marry? The difference is in God's sovereignty. God specifically commands us to wait until we're married to have sex. While He doesn't specifically give us a reason for it, He has proven Himself to be good. And not just good but absolute goodness. God is the standard for perfect goodness. And Romans 8:28 tells us that He's always working for our good. So why would God command us to wait until we're married to have sex if it wasn't for our good? Science is slowly catching up, and more and more the scientific community is leaning towards monogamous relationships being the most healthy physically and sociologically, and one way to guarantee that you only have sex with one person is to make a covenant before God that this one person will be your only person.
          Regardless of scientific backing for God's design being the best design, the fact still stands that God is good, and His plan is always better than ours. I refer back to Isaiah 55:8-9 quite a bit when I come to something I don't quite understand, "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" And most importantly, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved." Ephesians 2:4-5 puts it all into perspective. God loves us above all. Everything that He does, everything that He's planned, it's all because of His love for us. God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good.

Are You Guilty of the Greatest Commandment?

               "If you were being accused of being a Christian, would they have enough evidence to convict you?"

          This is going to be short and sweet to some, but short and full of conviction for others. We're starting in John's Gospel, chapter 13, verse 34. The New Living Translation puts it very eloquently when it says, "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." So really, we are on trial every day. The world shines a harsh spotlight on Christians, and most Christians have probably already experienced this. It happens in school when you get angry and your tongue slips. "I thought Christians weren't supposed to say that." It happens at the office when you go in with the guys on a lottery ticket. "I thought Christians didn't gamble." They're waiting for us to mess up.
          So how do you respond to being on trial? Are you guilty of loving the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind? How do you plead? Do you take the stand and plead the fifth, ashamed of your Father? Do you stand, proudly guilty? Regardless of how you plead, this part of the case is in the hands of the jury. You don't get to defend your case, either. The only thing that determines your fate is what your actions speak for you. 

          Thankfully, we don't have to wonder what kinds of actions speak for us in a positive light. Right back in John he tells us that our love is what will prove our hearts. If we have love, we'll be noted as different. Think about the word "Christian." How do you think it got started? Acts 11 says that during Paul's first missionary journey, in the city of Antioch, a mass of people finally realized that God had made the way for Gentiles to enter heaven. This was a huge moment in the history of the church, and verse 26 says that the disciples were first called Christians, or "Christ followers," there. They didn't call themselves Christians, the people of the time noted their actions and knew what Christ had been all about, and the disciples' actions were so undeniably Christ-like that the people addressed them as Christ followers. 
          This is the bottom line: Do you act in a way that your actions alone speak to the fact that you follow Christ? Do you emulate the life of Christ so much that people would call you a Christian if you didn't claim the title yourself? "You may be the only Bible someone reads." That's a favorite saying of church-y people, but it's true. Do you really want to fulfill God's purpose for your life? If so, open up your Bibles, read about who Jesus was, and act like Him. That's it. That's the key to living a life of purpose. Live a life guilty of being a Christian.

A Letter To My Daughter About Self-Worth

          One of the things I look forward to most in this life is knowing you. I love you, even when you're screaming and biting and covered in . . . who knows what. Seeing the smile of a toddler brings me so much joy, and I know it's going to increase tenfold when you are my own. I am going to finally understand for myself how it feels to love a child the way the Christ loves me. I am going to have your fragile little body sleeping on my chest, your wonder-filled eyes reflecting shining lights on Christmas morning, and your tiny fingers wrapped around my pinky finger, unwavering trust in my every step. You will steal my heart and I will gladly lay down my life for you.
          Your father and I will make a promise to God to do our best to raise you as a strong woman who loves the Lord and loves His people. We will teach you right from wrong, We will teach you to defend yourself, both physically and spiritually. We will teach you that you are more precious than gold, more cherished than any wealth. We will teach you that you will always have a place to lay your head next to us. We will teach you that your father and I love the Lord, and we will teach you what your marriage ought to look like. We will do our best to prepare you for what lies ahead, and when the time has come, we will try to hide our tears as you leave our home and begin your own life. We will rejoice when you rejoice, and we will cry when you cry.

          The truth is, I'm terrified to meet you. I am afraid of letting you down, and I'm even more afraid of this world hurting you. The majority of the men in this world do not love Jesus. The majority of the men in this world see you as something they'd like to have sex with, and nothing all that much more. There may be a point in your life where you will want the affirmation of these men. You may find yourself forgetting your worth and staking it all on how many compliments you receive, on whether you have a date to the homecoming dance, or on how many boys want to kiss you. My precious, precious daughter, look into the eyes of the girl staring back at you in the mirror. Look closely at the intricate details of your eyes; notice how the colors blend, how the texture reflects nature's beauty. See the magnificence that is undeniably woven into every fiber of your being.
          That beauty comes from the One who made you. The all-powerful, unchanging, everlasting God of the universe breathed you into existence in my womb. He began you, and He is sustaining you, and all of your worth is found in His glory. All the satisfaction you crave can be found in His unspeakable gift of love. When you think you want him to call you sexy, you really want Him to remind you of the beauty of being made in His image. When you think you want him to tell you that you're smart, you really want Him to assure you that He has equipped you for His plan for your life. When you think you want him to tell you that you're his world, you really want Him to remind you that He gave his everything for you.

          I hope and pray that you never forget how valuable you are. I hope and pray that every day you wake up with the intent to love the Lord more than you did yesterday. I hope and pray that you are filled with wonder at the magnificence of your existence and that not a day goes by that you are less than satisfied with what God has called his beautiful creation. I know that there is a very real possibility that this will not be the case. I know that the evils of the world will whisper in your ear when I am not around to hold you. I know that people that you trust will let you down, and I know that it's very possible that you will give your heart to a boy who only desires your touch. But hear me, dear child, when I say, with all the authority of God, that you are fearfully and wonderfully made with a purpose and a plan, and that you are loved more deeply than I could ever show you and more intensely than you could ever comprehend by the God who bends galaxies with His mind and crushes the enemy beneath his feet.

No Man Is An Island (A Tribute to My Parents)

Tenth Avenue North

          If you've never listened to the band Tenth Avenue North, you're missing out. They're a contemporary Christian band, and I absolutely love their music. They recently released an album titled "Cathedrals," and the first track on the album is "No Man Is An Island." The idea behind the song is a call to a revival of Christian community. I see it in my own life and in the Christian community at large. The church is supposed to be our family, our place of refuge and our support in this life. We're supposed to draw each other closer to the Lord and help each other endure this life. In the months before I left for college, I had close to no Christian friends. I made no effort to reach out and make real connections with any of my church family; I was a lone wolf. And I suffered greatly for it. When I got to Liberty, things changed. I found friends, I'm anxious to get settled into a church and start making connections, and I learned a lot about relying on Christians of all ages and dispositions. 
          One particular area that I had still yet to relinquish control of was my academics. I refused to reach out for help even though I was literally drowning in work for my honors Philosophy class. I was putting everything off because I just couldn't do it. So over Thanksgiving break, I had a total of 14 pages to begin and finish. And while that may not seem like much to some, it was very difficult reading and even more difficult analyzing to do, not to mention that writing for school is not my strong suit. It seemed insurmountable.

Tenth Avenue North's
most recent album, Cathedrals

          I began the work on Wednesday morning, and I got no more than three words written before I burst into tears. I was sobbing, feeling so utterly defeated by schoolwork, which I thought was my pride and joy, the one thing I could excel at. I may have written one paragraph in the span of two hours, sobbing and shaking the entire time. Eventually my parents heard my cries from the living room and came in to see what was wrong. I didn't want to tell them that they're little prodigy was being taken down by one class, but I had to empty myself of my pride and admit that I couldn't do it on my own.
          I'm not one to brag on myself, but I will brag on my God, because He deserves it. My God has provided through every moment of my life. This situation was no different. Once I humbled myself and reached out to allow my parents to step in and help me, God moved, and God moved powerfully. This Thanksgiving season, I am thankful for my father's compassion and his steady shoulder that holds my head and dries my tears. I am thankful for his strong arms that hold me tight, and I am thankful for his faith in me, even when my faith in myself falters. I am thankful for my mother's dedication to helping her children no matter what the cost. I am thankful that she will drop anything, that she will leave the dishes dirty and the laundry unwashed, to wipe my tears and walk hand in hand with me through my toughest battles. I am thankful for the intelligence that the Lord has blessed her with, and I am thankful for her willingness to exercise that intelligence to help me understand this subject material that I didn't think I would ever understand. 

The greatest parents in the world,
featuring my dad's broken wrist.

          My mom sat in my room with me for hours upon hours on Wednesday afternoon, reading article after article after article and taking notes and helping me summarize what was being said so that I could grasp the concepts I needed to grasp. Even with my mother's help, the writing was grueling. I would venture downstairs to get yet another Diet Mountain Dew, and my dad would stop me, look me in the eyes with tears in his own, and tell me how proud he was of me for pushing through. My heart goes out to those who don't have the love and support that I have in my parents. 
          I think I speak on behalf of my parents, and my whole family for that matter, when I extend an offer to every one of you: we will treat you as our family, because you are. You need only to reach out your hand. The sense of community in the Church today is dying, and it's dying quickly. Let revival start with us. Let revival start with me. No man is an island. You are not alone, from a brief conversation to the nights when your world is falling down, you have a sister in me. You have a family in the Church. Don't forget that, and don't let it go to waste. You can't do life alone, no matter how hard you try. Thank you Mom, and thank you Dad, for showing me what it means to have a family. Here's to 25 years of marriage, 18 years of family, and 16 years of an annoying little brother whom I love so dearly.  

Here is the video for their song, "No Man Is An Island." Listen and be encouraged. 

Talking to a Wall and Other Interesting Euphemisms for Prayer

          How sweet is it to not just talk at God, but to talk with God? God doesn't want your prayers to be elaborate and beautifully articulated; cry out to Him, sob to Him, stutter to Him. He's your Father. And not your deadbeat dad, not your dad who beats you, not your dad who puts you down day in and day out. He is the perfect Father.

Let me stop here and challenge our Christian dads: your daughters, your sons, they have friends. And I will dare to say that with the state of the American family today, most of the kids that your kids bring into your home do not have the type of parental figures that point them to the loving truth of Jesus Christ. I challenge you right now, as you're reading these words, to be the salt and light of the world, to be a father-figure to those lost children, so that they have someone to look to and to say, "Maybe that's the kind of father that God is." Moms, this applies to you too, but to a lesser degree. All kinds of studies back up what the Bible makes common sense: when a man points a child to Christ, they are exponentially more likely to give their lives to Christ. So moms, are your husbands the kind of man who you trust to lead your children and the children of your friends to the Lord? And girls, are your boyfriends the kind of man who will lead your family and your friends to the Lord?

          Our father-figures are so crucial to helping people see the love of Christ. If Christians make the best fathers, it's going to attract people to the faith. For example, I have a friend who comes from a terrible home life. Her parents are domineering, rude, unloving . . . they're terrible parents. Hanging around my family made her open her mind to the idea of Christ being a good thing. She said to me, "Why are your parents so much kinder than mine?" I told her the truth: my parents are good parents because they follow Christ. Christ taught them how to love their children. 
          So when you're praying to this God guy, it goes from being an irrelevant, one-out-of-seven billion nothing-to-see-here human being shouting into the void at this tyrant all-powerful God to help him out to a one-on-one loving relationship where conversation is easy and relaxed and you're simply talking with God like you would talk to your dad. Except he's like the coolest dad ever and has saved you from eternal death. 
          I love the way our campus pastor, David Nasser, described intimacy in prayer. He said intimacy means into me, see. You're asking God and allowing God too look into your inmost being, you're allowing him to see the worst of you and you're asking him to move stuff around. You're making yourself vulnerable and trusting God to be good as He always has been and you're handing over control to this God. And who better to hand over your life to than the One who saved it? 
          So this is a two-part post. This is a call to action for our men (and our women) to have their households, their parenting style, and their lives reflect Christ. Remember that every single thing you do is being watched by little eyes (and grown-up eyes too!) who are looking for what makes you different. But this is also a reminder to us that our prayers are not our duty to God. We should never come into prayer with the attitude of, "Oh yeah, I have to pray today . . . great. I have so much I need to get done so I'll just do what I have to do and get on with my day." Prayer is so so sweet, you guys. You have direct access to the ear of the Almighty, the One who loves you more than anyone on this planet. Enjoy prayer. Open yourselves to Him and just rest in His loving comfort and his presence. Make time to rest, friends.

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:5-8 NIV

Complacency is the Enemy of Progress, Success, Following Christ, etc.

          Success as a Christian does not look like the American Dream. Get that idea out of your head right now. Our goal should not be to have a nice house, a yard for the kids to play in, a golden retriever with his tail blowing proudly in the breeze. That's not us. We are the servants of this world. I cannot tell you how spoiled I've been because I live in so much comfort. I've never been hungry for more than 12 hours. (Except once we did a 24 hour fast for some charity but THAT was not fun and I complained the whole time.) I've never not had a warm, comfortable bed to fall asleep in. I've never had parents who don't believe in me and give me whatever I needed to succeed. I live a comfortable, luxurious life. And I'm sick of it. 

          Those goals, the American Dream, that's the ultimate satisfaction this world has to offer. And as Christians, we come to the realization that it's all pointless. It's all meaningless, and that's not our satisfaction. I found out through one of my classes this week that people think Paul was the true founder of Christianity.
After disproving that, I then looked deeper into who Paul really was. Paul was like . . . a Christian superhero. I'm not putting him anywhere near Christ, but he puts it perfectly when he says, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." And he could say that, because he actually followed Christ! He lived this thing out! So when we read in Philippians that Paul was overjoyed to be held in captivity for the simple fact of preaching the gospel, we can follow that. 

The story of Ananias and Sapphira in a convenient
Sunday-school approved illustration.

          I struggled so hard with Jesus saying, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." I was almost angry . . . why was having money such a bad thing? You could buy presents for people with it, you could give money to missions trips, you could do so much to help people with money. But then I came across Acts 5 in my Theology class this semester. Long story short, a man and his wife sold some of their property so they could help to pay Peter and his friends who were preaching. The problem is that they kept money for themselves. They lied to Peter and to the Holy Spirit, and God struck them dead. At this point, I'm tiptoeing away from my Bible in fear. Why in the world would God strike them down for keeping money from the apostles? I'm not going to answer that question, because only God in His sovereignty knows why he chose to take them from this world. But what I will say is that having money, having comfort, having safety, being complacent . . . those things work so hard against our faith.

          Can you have money and still follow Jesus? Can you live in a nice house? Can you have the comforts of this world?

          I can't definitively say no to these things. But time and time again, the Word tells us that we're in no way, shape, or form entitled to these things when we give our lives to Christ. We're called to go. Regardless of anything else, our very life's purpose is to go and make disciples. To tell people about Jesus Christ. To serve the people of this world. So whatever God calls you to, your daily goal ought to be to tell people about His son. If having a nice house, if having a lot of money, if the comforts of this world call you to be complacent and that hinders you from living out the task that you've been given, then give it up! Place it at the foot of the cross as a sacrifice to your King, and go and live the life that He's called you to live. 

          It's time for a revival of a complacent people. It's time to get out of our comfort zones and begin living where our feet can't touch the bottom. If you're singing Oceans by Hillsong but you're not going out into the depths where you actually have to rely on Christ, just stop singing the song! Stop telling God that you want to go where you have to rely on Him if you're not willing to actually do it! Don't ask God to direct your steps if you're not willing to move your feet. 
          "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." That's not me, that's James. You know, James, brother of Jesus? Inspired by the Holy Spirit? So don't take my word for it. Take His word for it. Serve Him in love, my dear friends. And all that is promised in 1 Corinthians 2:9 will be yours.

Can I Out-Sin God's Love?

          So after my first week at Liberty University, things have stayed good. Walking with Christ doesn't look one specific way for everybody, and life throws curve balls and you have good days and bad days, but when it's all said and done and you wake up after a night of crying and screaming out of frustration and confusion, you wake up to the realization that the Lord is good and His mercies truly are new every morning. Being a Christian doesn't mean that you won't ever sin, but it does mean that every time you turn away, the Lord walks with you and waits patiently and lovingly for you to turn back around and seek His face again. I seriously cannot tell you how many times I've thought that this one sin, this one specific thing, was the last straw for God. Let me put this idea to rest right now. 

Jesus doesn't rejoice in our pain,
but suffers with us.

          Psalm 23:6 NIV reads, "Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." A better and more accurate translation is in the New Living Translation, which reads, "Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever." God doesn't follow us around, loving us in a passive, lackluster way. God's love is something that we only get glimpses of in this world. The intensity and the passion with which our God loves us is literally beyond our comprehension. He chases us, He hunts us down with love. He will go into the darkest pits with us, just to show us that He loves us. Even when you're in the act of sinning, He is right there with you, heartbroken but still loving you. So stop that right now. Put to death this idea that you can out-sin God's love. That's what the enemy wants you to believe, and it's a lie straight from the pits of hell. Let the Lord pick you up, give up your sinful, selfish desires, and start over again. We've got a war to win.
          Galatians 5:13 and 1 Peter 2:16 both give us a clear challenge as Christians: the entirety of your sin has been forgiven through your faith in the finished work of Christ and you are now free from the bondage of sin . . . so what are you going to do with this freedom? You could use your freedom to satisfy yourself and live for yourself again, or you could live out God's commission for your life and win souls for His kingdom. God's love is going to pursue you no matter what, but whether or not you live a life that is pleasing to Him will reflect what's in your heart.

          This is where the book of James comes in with the idea of faith without works being dead. Throughout the book, James isn't saying that you have to do all these great awesome things and be perfectly obedient to God in order to deserve salvation. Rather, he offers us the idea that genuine faith that infiltrates every aspect of our being will be evident in our behaviors. When Jesus comes into your heart to rule over your life, he doesn't just make you a "good person." Jesus comes to make you a radically different creation in every area of your life. Can you resist the Holy Spirit's urging in your conscience? Sure. You can still sin as a true believer. But true, genuine faith will be lived out in submission to God's will. This is where a lot of people will get the idea that you can lose your salvation once you have it.
          I really want to go into some detail and be very, very clear about what the Bible says about salvation and how or if you can lose your salvation, so I'm going to save this for a separate post. A lot of this stuff can get scary for those people who don't know for sure whether they're saved for good or if they've out-sinned God's love and forgiveness and can't get into heaven anymore, so let me leave you with this. 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. - 2 Timothy 1:7-9

Growth Is Not Always Pretty, But It's Always Worth It (My First Week at Liberty University)

We're always missing someone...in this case, David.

And in this case, Zac.

          My first week at Liberty was a week of the most intense spiritual growth I've had since the first week I gave my heart to Christ. First, I surrounded myself with the most amazing group of friends I've ever had. Growing up, I didn't really have many friends period, and I certainly never had a group of close friends who loved Jesus and wanted to help me in my walk. The closest I ever got to that was after I gave my life to Christ and really got serious about going to youth group. I can't even express how grateful I am to have had the girls in our small group, especially the leadership. Special shout out to Angela and Allie for leading our small group, and MarLana for being our awesome youth pastor's awesome wife. You guys provided examples for me that I am having a hard time replacing, and you'll always have a special place in my heart. 

          So when I got to Liberty and suddenly all of my friends were talking about how God had moved in their lives and how He had worked to bring them here, and I watched them worshiping with passion and with their whole hearts and it was mind-blowing. We were encouraging one another with Scripture and praying for each other on a daily basis. I've never been particularly good at making friends, so the fact that these people wanted to be around me and I wanted to spend time with them was awesome but also incredibly intimidating. Social anxiety crept in and threatened to tear everything apart, but through multiple reassurances, that became less and less of a barrier. We went to football games together, ate dinner together, went to church together . . . we were a little family. Eventually, we figured out how to have our own lives while still being friends, and it has been such a rewarding experience.

        The first week we were on campus, they had their annual Spiritual Emphasis Week. At 7 pm, tons and tons of students gathered at Thomas Road Baptist Church to worship the Lord and to hear Clayton King bring the Word. We did this every day, Monday through Thursday. I was so worried about getting my homework done (typical nerdy Danielle) that I considered not going the first day, but after my first day I was hooked. It was passionate worship like I'd only experienced a few times before. I was in tears, thanking the Lord for His goodness and for being who He is, I was lifting my hands and hitting my knees without even thinking twice about who would see me; it was just me and God. Then Clayton taught about the parable of the Prodigal Son, and I didn't think I could learn anymore about that story, but my understanding of God and His love for me was deepened and I was so blessed by that week. 

Baptismal Service on Friday Night
Photo courtesy of Justin Kintzel's Instagram

          I realized on Wednesday that I had given my life to the Lord almost a year ago but had yet to be baptized after that. The last day of Spiritual Emphasis Week is a time of worship while students who've given their lives to Christ get baptized. I gathered with over 100 other students before the service on Friday and we walked out on stage one by one to be baptized by either Clayton King or one of the campus pastors. I was mildly nervous to be going out in front of people, but then I realized that every single person in the crowd was there to support me in my decision to follow Christ. No one was forced to be there, and everyone knew what the service was about. It was a powerful time of absolute joy and thanksgiving watching all of my brothers and sisters in Christ proclaim their faith in boldness and in gladness. 
          As these things were happening, God began to show me the areas of my life that I wasn't giving Him control in. I was holding on to selfish desires and sinful ways that I tried to keep separate from His love and His will. It wasn't pretty; it was painful and it was slow and people got hurt in the process. I didn't let go with the same gladness and submission that I had worshiped with; I let God pry these things out of my hand, but not without putting up a fight of "good intentions." One of these things was my relationship. The details are between he and I and Christ, but I had to let go of that relationship I had put before God. I love the saying that goes, "God only takes things from you to give you something better." So often I'll cling to something I think is best for me when God is asking me to let it go because He has something even more amazing in store for me. This was precisely the case here. Once I had my painful goodbye, God opened up the floodgates of heaven and I was being so richly poured into by my friends, by my student leadership, by our convocations, by every moment I spent with God. 
 

Spiritual Emphasis Week 2014
Photo courtesy of LU Student Matt Ozburn

        Through it all,  I kept realizing I was humming the same part of a refrain that comes straight from Psalm 30, "There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning." I was having to deal with heartache, with shame, with guilt, and all the while my friends were pointing me back to Christ, and I was clinging to Him for dear life. There were dark moments when I was scared and afraid, and the enemy whispered in my ear that I wasn't going to make it, but when you're surrounded by 13,000 students proclaiming victory in Christ three times a week at convocation, it's hard to forget who wins in the end. 
          By the end of the first day of Spiritual Emphasis Week, I was absolutely assured that Liberty University was the place that God had so graciously brought me as a training ground for this lifetime. By the end of my first week at Liberty, I wondered how I had survived the first 18 years of my life without being at Liberty. The difference is this: communion with Christ, and communion with the body of Christ. We're not called to have Sunday morning relationships with a domineering God who doesn't care about our short lives on Earth. We're called to a sweet, sweet friendship with the Creator of heaven and earth, the very One who sustains us and loves us with a fierceness none can fathom. And we're not called to put up with the people who fill in our pews or walk by us on the sidewalk. We're called to a fellowship, literally a oneness with every person who has put their faith in the finished work of Christ, and a radical love for those who are still lost, a love that defies all earthly sense; a love that would gladly give up His life for the very people who murdered Him. If I've learned nothing else at Liberty, I've learned this:

          Genuine Christianity is not always comfortable. Genuine Christianity is a daily uphill battle. But the beautiful thing is that the hill we're battling up is Calvary, and we're battling toward the foot of the cross and the outstretched arms of Jesus Christ.

The only picture we have of everyone . . . featuring Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife!

Lessons Learned in the Sweet Heart of Summer

Chicago with Isabella

          Let me start off by saying that this summer is one I will most certainly never forget. I lived this summer like it would be my last. Looking back on it, this summer was an Ecclesiastes summer. I was King Solomon in the female flesh, testing all the pleasures of the world to see what would satisfy. Sorry to ruin it for you if you've never read the book before, but nothing does satisfy except Jesus Christ himself. 

          I went on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Chicago with my beautiful grandma and my best friend in the entire world. I learned a lot about the people of Chicago, how easy it is to blow through $300 if you're not careful, and how much I love those two ladies. Chicago was a few days of carefree fun and relaxation with three wide-eyed girls exploring a concrete jungle. We talked boys, we talked clothes, we walked EVERYWHERE, and we had the time of our lives. 

Chicago Aquarium with Grandma

          I visited Liberty University again with my dear momma, and before we left the area, we stopped in Washington, D.C. to see the sights and sounds of the nation's capitol. First, visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Holocaust history has always fascinated me and broken my heart all in the same time, so I was in a nerd's paradise, but my heart was heavy with the pain in the eyes of the old men in the room. 

Being a hooligan in D.C.

          We sat and watched survivors' stories for longer than either of us ever imagined we would, but those stories will stick with me for the rest of my life. It was a come-to-Jesus moment, or would have been if my heart had been in the right place. We walked around the center of D.C. and saw all the buildings, tried our luck with the metro, and even saw a military wedding photo shoot in the middle of a 90 degree day. We took our time sightseeing and just having fun together. I took this time for granted and I so desperately wish I could have it back. 

Edgar J. Hoover Building
with Mom

          The last aspect of this summer is a touchy subject. A relationship isn't just one person's story to tell, and you don't automatically get rights to the story just because you lived it. I was in a relationship this summer that brought a lot of fun and smiles into my life. The problem came when I let this relationship overshadow my relationship with Christ. We started dating in early June, and things were going great. As time went on, I fell in love with his family. Nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents. It was so much fun. It was a lot to take in, especially for a girl with social anxiety, but I was living it up. As the summer months came and went, I walked away from God. I abandoned my first love for this new love. I didn't mean to, but does anyone really mean to? The road that leads away from Christ is deceptively charming and you don't really noticed how far you've walked until you turn around. 

          That turning around happened for me in my first week at Liberty University. I hate to leave you all on a cliff hanger like this, but I really want to dedicate a whole post to my first week at Liberty! I promise this story has a happy ending!