Death Sentence

Life is a vapor...I kinda hope I go sooner...

My When Will I Die Quiz results:

I have 58 years left to live.
I will die in 2067 at age 78.
I am beating the average lifespan for someone my age by 2 years.
To put it another way, I have the health of a 18 year old.
I have lived 26% of my life already.

Useful Vessel

I have seen more and more throughout my short life here that truly living and serving my Creator is a fight. I fight the world and all the lures it throws my way, my remaining sin that wants to run from my Savior and Satan who wants to devour me and make me useless for the kingdom. God promises me that I am secure in Christ, that nothing can take me out of His hands, not death, nor devils, nor sin, or any power can separate me from the love God has for me; but I am still called to STAND FIRM, to resist the devil and all his schemes. Satan knows God’s power and realizes that He can never ultimately kill me or send my soul to hell. He knows that Christ’s power is infinitely greater and there is nothing he can do to overcome it. So why does he still seek to destroy me? What is Satan trying to do with Christians who he already knows are covered by the blood of the Lamb?

Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Satan wants to make the slaves of the most high God useless to their Master-he wants to make you and me a vessel of dishonor not prepared for any good work! This verse from 2 Timothy 2:20-22 shows us how we are to de honorable vessels…flee youthful lusts! RUN FROM those idols your heart bows down to instead of God. Where do I find comfort? Where do I find peace or strength for the day? Where do I find security? Where do I find my satisfaction and pleasure? Oh God help me to find these things in You and You alone! I hate when I even consider the worthless, searching for some comfort or pleasure…help me to RUN TO your righteousness, your faith you give me, your surpassing love for me and the peace you give , sweet Jesus, and help me to do this with my brothers and sisters whom you have bought.
Cleanses my filthiness-make the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart pure, forgive me of my unbelief-give me faith that looks and clings to you alone Savior! Open my eyes to your love for me so that it over flows and I start to love You and others more and more. I give you all my anxieties and fears-replace them with a peace only you can give! Help me to RUN, not drag behind or stand still, with the redeemed you have put in my life. Shape me into a vessel of honor, useful for You my Master!

Resting on God

This is a prayer from "Valley of Vision," and I encourage all to own a copy of this book. This is my prayer for 2009:

"O GOD MOST HIGH, MOST GLORIOUS,

The thought of thine infinite serenity cheers me, 

For I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, 

but Thou art for ever at perfect peace.

They designs cause Thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, 

they stand fast as the eternal hills.

Thy power knows no bond, 

They goodness no stint.

Thou bringest order out of confusion 

and my defeats are they victories:

The LORD GOD omnipotent reigneth. 

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, 

to leave every concern entirely to Thee, 

every sin calling for Christ's precious blood;

Revive deep spirituality in my heart;

Let me live near to the great Shepherd,

hear His voice, know His tones, follow His calls. 

Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in your truth,

from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit.

Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, 

burning into me by experience the things I know;

Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, 

that I may hear its reproach,

vindicate it,

see Jesus as its essence,

know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am lukewarm and chill;

unbelief mars my confidence, 

sin makes me forget Thee.

Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their root;

Grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee,

that all else is trifling.

Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy.

Abide in me, gracious God....AMEN! 

ReFocus...

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart"~Hebrews 12:1-3

I need this right now! I hate how I get so distracted in this life either by my own sin or things that are not bad, but they take the place of my Savior! Jesus has a way of taking my wandering heart and putting it back on Him. I am so thankful for the brothers in my life that, with their lives and words, help me refocus! I don't need to say much, let the God's word speak to you! 

But if there is anything, there is this...RUN! Run from sin, Run from distractions, RUN TO CHRIST! Jesus set His eyes on the reward while enduring eternal pain and suffering...LOOK TO HEAVEN! Push me please. Hit me on the head and tell me to wake up! Let us not lose heart! 

...and more...

Memories...

God Wants Me To Be a "Wait Watcher"

"But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord;
I will WAIT for the God of my salvation.
My God WILL hear me."
Micah 7:7
One week ago today I did something very sudden and unexpected, I bought a plane ticket to come home. A little over a week ago I would have never thought I would be home right now. I was training for a half marathon and thought I wouldn't be able to make it home for another month...God had different plans.
This all happened because I used my back instead of my legs to try and lift this tree trunk. For a time after hurting my back I was a little angry. I was just getting over a shoulder injury and was getting into the swing of things then all of a sudden, "crack!" I couldn’t move...
I am so thankful to God that I hurt myself! He used this to allow me to come home and visit with my wonderful family and friends. Every single one of them are huge blessing God has put in my life

God also used this incident to teach me that I need to wait on Him. Many times I worry trying to figure out what the future holds, wondering what things are going to look like, what I should be doing now, worried that if I don't make a certain decision(like what in the world am I going to do after college,) I will be out of God's will.
I need to wait for the God of my salvation. He didn't save me for a confused life full of worry. He saved me for life fully dependant on Him. A life that watches and waits expectantly, trusting that God will hear my cries to Him. These different anxieties, from the small unexpected accidents to the big guys like where should I live, who should I marry, where am I going with my life... all these things that can easily cause anxiety in my heart, God wants me to wait for Him. Cast these on my Savior who will hear me, will answer me and will guide me!

"OH Savior, help me to wait on you! You are the God of my salvation, let me rest in this and may all my anxieties be turned to faithful, trusting obedience that watches and waits expectantly for you, for you are a great God who does great things!"