God is faithfull!

We're studying Genesis now and its amazing to see God's faithfulness to people despite their unbelief. I've had a pretty sweet opportunity to see God's faithfulness this week with the Awaken tickets we need for the Gathering in September. We have prayed about it and felt God said we're suppose to go and really get involved which is exciting! As a group we've also prayed and felt God say that money shouldn't be an issue, if he says you're going then he'll make a way. It's really easy to say you trust in God's faithfulness when things are easy, but when you look online and tickets are up past 1,800USD, money becomes an issue. I was really struggling with the idea of spending so much money when we're living off of support right now. The Awaken group meets two times a week to pray and people kept getting reminded what God said about not letting money be an issue. Well we've talked to one of our translators to look up prices on some Chinese websites and she found some for under 900USD! PRAISE THE LORD! Seriously, half the price, God is so good. He really challenged me in my lack of faith and was asking me how can I trust him with my whole future if I can't trust him for a few thousand dollars and one event? What a good question!
God, forgive me for my unbelief. You are so big! In the midst of writing timeless truths about God's faithfulness he was challening me if I believed they were true- I fell short. But another timeless truth came in play- God's faithfulness isn't dependent on us, he is faithful because... he is, its part of his character.
God, thank you for your faithfulness and for building my faith in the small things so that my faith can stand the big things.

Love Has Action

The Lord has really been hitting me hard with this recently - not just saying that I love God, that I love people - but letting my actions prove it - letting my love be seen.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
I claim that I love God, that I have given him my life, that he is my Lord - but if my daily walk is not overflowing with my love being evident and portrayed to others than do I really even love God? The description of love in 1 Cor 13 are words that have action associated with them:
patience, kindness, rejoicing with the truth, bears endures all things...etc. Action words

Lord, let my actions not cause the words of love I profess for you and for others to be a lie.

Revelation from Revelation

We are working through Revelation now- what an amazing book! We received an additional assignment for this book, to write a letter to ourselves, from God. The structure is to mimic that of the letters to the seven churches in chapters 2-3. This was a pretty hard assignment because we had to ask God how he would introduce himself to us, how he would encourage us, how he would rebuke/reprove us, and what promise he would give us.
The hardest part is that this is going to be seen by other people. The interesting thing about the letters in Revelation is that they each were going to be read by the other six churches- all their dirty laundry was going to be exposed. So, I felt challenged to share the letter God put on my heart for me...

My daughter,

The words of him who knows all things and holds all things in his hands:

I know your heart and your desire to walk in my will. Keep pursuing me and you will find the way to go. Step out in faith and you will grow. Even if you fall, I will catch you and you will fly. I delight in our journey. Press in deeper.

D not fear man, but only fear me. I know your doubts- remember I hold all things in my hand, all things. You say that you trust me, but you still worry- this is not trust. Have I ever let you down? How can you call others to trust me and follow me when you still doubt? Trust me.

Remember- those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. (Psalm 125.1) You are like Mount Zion, in me you cannot be moved by fear or doubt, you are mine.

Love,

Your Father

The Gospel of John

John was the hardest book so far for me, and by far my most favorite. There was so much I needed to wrestle through- who is Jesus really, if I were alive in Jesus' time would I have believed who he said he was, or would I have thought he was crazy like so many others. This answer, if I honestly thought about it, scared me and led me to question why I believe what I believe. It is because it's what I grew up with? Is my faith really my own? Prayerfully, I considered these questions and feel I got some answers. In Debi's lecture (our teacher for John), for chapter 13 she said, if you don't understand something, go back to what you know: God loves us; God is good; God is for us, not against us. What a relief this is! Seriously, praise God that no matter what I don't understand about him, he is good! So many times his response to people's questions or comments just don't make sense to me. I kept thinking- Jesus why the heck did you say that, it was such a good question?! From this point on I felt Jesus asking me, what I knew to be true about him... and to really allow that to influence the way I interpreted my charts. I also felt him telling me to dig in to the things I didn't understand. He didn't want me to interpret things that would be easy for me to work through, but things that I would have to chew on, and really seek him in understanding. I think this is why this is my favorite book, despite the fact that for the amount of hours I put into it I should have had three times as much work for it, God is so good! He showed me that I don't and can't fully understand him, but this pursuit, this journey I am on with him- that is what he delights in. And the same way that I may not understand everything in the Bible, I don't understand everything he is telling me now. But that doesn't change his character and it doesn't change the fact that I need to step out in faith in both of these areas.