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! 

Quick PSA

          So for any of you who have read my blog from beginning to end, you'll notice that I began this blog as less of a personal journal of my life and more of an opportunity to teach and to explore the different aspects of God's truth amidst challenges that we all face. I'd like to get back to that. I personally don't find journal-type blogs all that interesting. So if the last post and this next post or two don't interest you, don't worry, I'm coming back to the heart of my blog slowly but surely. (Next post coming out in T-minus about 24 hours!)
          "Grace and peace be yours in abundance."

Long Time No See, Friends!

          Woah. I have been MIA for almost seven months now. Nobody has emailed me complaining about my lack of upkeep, so I don't think anyone missed this blog too terribly much. Regardless, I've been feeling God tugging on my heart lately to return to this ministry that he called me to when I first gave my heart to Him. To quote one of my absolute favorite graduation cards, "I'm one of God's crock pots, we're a little slower than others."
          With that, let's just start with what I spent that long 7 months doing. First of all, I GRADUATED! Let me just say that public speaking has been a huge fear of mine, so being asked to give a speech in front of the entire graduating class was very intimidating. I was going through a period of my life marked by a hardened heart due to some issues with the school district and my little brother, so time after time my dad turned down my graduation speech. I couldn't make anything work for me. A few weeks before graduation, I turned my frustrated into prayers and gave my speech over to God. I wanted to speak Biblical truth to my classmates without hitting them over the head with it. God led me to Micah 6:8 through one of my favorite songs at the time, Courageous by Casting Crowns, which I may or may not have referenced in this post . . .  

Getting emotional talking about Jesus . . .
for a very quiet minute!

          Anyway, by the time I finished writing the sixth draft of my graduation speech, I knew I had a winner. I had abandoned my selfish pride and softened my heart to those who I had been angry with, and with my dad's blessing, I submitted it to my school's administration. With no questions asked, I was given the okay to tell my friends and peers a little bit about Jesus. Although the beginning of my speech started off rough -- I get teary-eyed thinking about the fact that Jesus Christ saved my life, what can I say -- I finished my speech with a heart full of love and compassion for the young adults I was speaking to, and a hope for the future of our class. A few minutes later, I had my diploma in my hands and I was officially done with high school! I'll admit I didn't feel any different at all, but I was definitely ready to enjoy my last summer before college! 
          Realizing how long this post has gotten, I'm going to section these last seven months up a little to avoid stimuli overload for y'all, so keep your eye on my blog! I promise not to leave you all like this again!
          (P.S., if you would like to read my graduation speech, you can read it here!)