Lesson 30: Grace and Obedience are a balancing act.
I have been hurting and struggling the past few days. I feel so weird starting this post out like this, but it's true and it's the reason I've learned this lesson. I feel like I've known it, but it was explained so clearly to me yesterday that I felt the need to share.
Yesterday, I approached my youth pastor about the current events that have been happening in my life. After a lot of discussion and insight, he said to me (paraphrased), "The Christian walk is a balancing act of grace and obedience."
He went on to explain that often times in our Christian walk we will focus so much on one and ignore the other. For example, a Christian who focuses to much on grace and not on obedience might think, "I think God is calling me to do this thing, but if I don't do it it's okay because He loves me!" or something along those lines. Then there's the Christian who focuses too much on obedience and might say, "I have to do this thing to please God or I won't receive His blessings, love, and forgiveness".
Both are clearly wrong ways of thinking of our walk with God. The obedience side takes verses from the Bible and over inflates them, which is what the Pharisees did and Jesus clearly opposed them (Matthew 23:23). On the other hand, Jesus also opposes those whose hearts are not willing to obey and do what He commands (Example in Matthew 7:24-27).
This thing we call life, I believe, is just one big balancing act of obeying but also not forgetting grace and love. Jesus never says that we have to do things to earn His love, and forgiveness (except confess and repent of course). But nowhere does He say that we have to earn it. Frankly, we can't earn His love. If we tried to earn our way to heaven, Christianity would be pointless since our acts are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and all have fallen short and no one is declared righteous through the law (Romans 3:20-24)
I know that have definitely been more on the Grace spectrum of this balancing beam. God taught me two years ago to obey in the big things and since then I have listened and obeyed very well for all the "big things" He has asked of me. However, I've come to realized that I have lacked in the little, everyday obediences (read my Bible, pray continually, etc.). I think God is much more pleased by obeying Him in the everyday things then He is with just the big things in life because if we can obey Him in those things, I would think there would be less "big things" to obey in the first place (if that makes any sense?).
God's not done with me and He's still teaching me things. He has shown me so much in just the past few days. He has comforted me and shown me that I have things I need to work on but I am His child and He loves me and has saved me from my sins. I'll never have to try and earn my way into heaven by doing x, y, and z. He finished that by dying on the Cross! I don't think I have ever felt so loved and supported by God and my friends and I'm so grateful. Thank you Abba for everything.
With Lots of Love,
~Alyssa
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Christ as the Center
Lesson 29: Make Christ the center of your life.
I know I've written about this one several times in past blogs, but I feel it's necessary to dedicate a whole lesson to this theme. This truly has been the focus of my summer and it will continue to be so for the rest of my life.
Making Christ the center of my life is my main goal.
Not the #1 priority (even thought that is important in some sense).
The center.
This summer I got the amazing opportunity to counsel kids from ages 7-18. But no matter the age or maturity level, God always put it on my heart to teach them about making Him the center of their lives (while also teaching me how to do so in the process). God doesn't want to be our #1 priority if we're just going to forget about Him in the other priorities that rule our lives. Following God doesn't work like that. We can't just check Him off on a nice little box and say, "Okay, I prayed, did my quiet time went to church, etc. and now I'm good."
God wants to be involved in our lives, not just be one little part of it. God wants to be included in everything. Your friendships. Relationships. Family. Hobbies. Everything!
So how does one make Christ their center? God is still teaching me how to do that. Part of the answer is obvious: Read your Bible, pray, fellowship, fill your thoughts with him. As cheesy as that sounds, it's so true. One thing God truly taught me this summer was that it truly doesn't matter how much time you spend privately with Him so long as you do it and still keep Him with you during the day.
I guess if I were really to sum up this whole lesson it would be this one word: Surrender. To make Christ the center means to relinquish control and realize you can't do it on your own. Surrender sometimes means giving up things that you like or are comfortable with. But if that's what it takes to truly be content in the Lord and make Him the center, it's so worth it.
"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?'" ~Mark 8:34-37
With Lots of Love,
~Alyssa
I know I've written about this one several times in past blogs, but I feel it's necessary to dedicate a whole lesson to this theme. This truly has been the focus of my summer and it will continue to be so for the rest of my life.
Making Christ the center of my life is my main goal.
Not the #1 priority (even thought that is important in some sense).
The center.
This summer I got the amazing opportunity to counsel kids from ages 7-18. But no matter the age or maturity level, God always put it on my heart to teach them about making Him the center of their lives (while also teaching me how to do so in the process). God doesn't want to be our #1 priority if we're just going to forget about Him in the other priorities that rule our lives. Following God doesn't work like that. We can't just check Him off on a nice little box and say, "Okay, I prayed, did my quiet time went to church, etc. and now I'm good."
God wants to be involved in our lives, not just be one little part of it. God wants to be included in everything. Your friendships. Relationships. Family. Hobbies. Everything!
So how does one make Christ their center? God is still teaching me how to do that. Part of the answer is obvious: Read your Bible, pray, fellowship, fill your thoughts with him. As cheesy as that sounds, it's so true. One thing God truly taught me this summer was that it truly doesn't matter how much time you spend privately with Him so long as you do it and still keep Him with you during the day.
I guess if I were really to sum up this whole lesson it would be this one word: Surrender. To make Christ the center means to relinquish control and realize you can't do it on your own. Surrender sometimes means giving up things that you like or are comfortable with. But if that's what it takes to truly be content in the Lord and make Him the center, it's so worth it.
"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?'" ~Mark 8:34-37
With Lots of Love,
~Alyssa
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
I lost my Religion
Lesson 28: Lose your religion, that's not what God wanted anyways.
So I'm not sure why, but I feel like I really need to write this. I feel like God has really put this on my heart and he's really working on me. I hate it when people who are Christians say that they are "religious people". Or even people who say "I'm just not religious anymore" or "religion just never worked for me".
First of all, the word "religion" or "religious" is mentioned less than 10 times in the entire Bible. Don't you see? Christianity has never been about being religion, it's about being in a relationship with Jesus. There are people in my life (even family members) who have fallen away from God. They say, "I felt like I couldn't be myself when I was a Christian" or "I felt like it was holding me back".
My question is how and why did you feel that way? This person might answer "Well, because I wanted to please God and be perfect for him and He put those expectations on me. I just could never live up to those perfect standards. It was God who made me feel that way."
With me still? Now, this is where I may step on some people's toes. But I have to be honest. You. Are. Wrong. God never wants His children to feel that way. He loves us unconditionally, flaws and everything. He just wants us to be with Him and love Him too.
The correct answer is this: the devil. "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." -1 Peter 5:8 I talked about this in my past blogs before, but I believe with my whole heart that the devil is the biggest liar and accuser. It's him who makes us feel guilty and like we can never live up to God's expectations. He's the reason people feel this way. He's that little voice in our head that says, "You are not good enough. You are worthless. You must be perfect to please your God."
That's the biggest lie ever and over half the world believes it!! I guess the overall message is this:
If you "lost" your religion. Good. But, come back to God! He wants you! Begin that relationship with Him again, He's right behind you waiting for you to turn around! He knows you're not perfect and He loves you no matter what. It may take time, but that's the wonderful thing about having a Lord, Savior, and Dad who is patient with us and wants us to succeed.
Now, this part is for myself and other "religious" people. We need to let it go. God does not want to be part of our check list. He doesn't even want to be the top priority in our lives. He wants to be the center. He wants to be involved in everything! So please, include Him in your daily lives and not just part of your day or week. He doesn't need us to do this, but, like anyone, He wants it because He wants to be loved.
Lose the religion, and start a relationship.
With lots of Love,
~Alyssa
So I'm not sure why, but I feel like I really need to write this. I feel like God has really put this on my heart and he's really working on me. I hate it when people who are Christians say that they are "religious people". Or even people who say "I'm just not religious anymore" or "religion just never worked for me".
First of all, the word "religion" or "religious" is mentioned less than 10 times in the entire Bible. Don't you see? Christianity has never been about being religion, it's about being in a relationship with Jesus. There are people in my life (even family members) who have fallen away from God. They say, "I felt like I couldn't be myself when I was a Christian" or "I felt like it was holding me back".
My question is how and why did you feel that way? This person might answer "Well, because I wanted to please God and be perfect for him and He put those expectations on me. I just could never live up to those perfect standards. It was God who made me feel that way."
With me still? Now, this is where I may step on some people's toes. But I have to be honest. You. Are. Wrong. God never wants His children to feel that way. He loves us unconditionally, flaws and everything. He just wants us to be with Him and love Him too.
The correct answer is this: the devil. "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." -1 Peter 5:8 I talked about this in my past blogs before, but I believe with my whole heart that the devil is the biggest liar and accuser. It's him who makes us feel guilty and like we can never live up to God's expectations. He's the reason people feel this way. He's that little voice in our head that says, "You are not good enough. You are worthless. You must be perfect to please your God."
That's the biggest lie ever and over half the world believes it!! I guess the overall message is this:
If you "lost" your religion. Good. But, come back to God! He wants you! Begin that relationship with Him again, He's right behind you waiting for you to turn around! He knows you're not perfect and He loves you no matter what. It may take time, but that's the wonderful thing about having a Lord, Savior, and Dad who is patient with us and wants us to succeed.
Now, this part is for myself and other "religious" people. We need to let it go. God does not want to be part of our check list. He doesn't even want to be the top priority in our lives. He wants to be the center. He wants to be involved in everything! So please, include Him in your daily lives and not just part of your day or week. He doesn't need us to do this, but, like anyone, He wants it because He wants to be loved.
Lose the religion, and start a relationship.
With lots of Love,
~Alyssa
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Follow Your Heart
Lesson 27: Yeah... don't do that.
Society these days has fallen hard for the "follow your heart" idea. And why wouldn't we? Doesn't it just sound so great? Just do what your heart wants and things will turn out great! Well, many of us know (or should know but have no realized) that the heart can be selfish and wicked. "Yeah, but doesn't the Holy Spirit live in our hearts? Shouldn't we follow what the Holy Spirit is telling our hearts?"
There is only one verse in the entire Bible that says the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts (And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Galatians 4:6 ESV). Everywhere else, it says that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Not just in our hearts. It dwells in our mind, our soul, our mouth, our hands, everywhere! So considering that there's only one verse that says the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, there are at least 100 Bible verses that discuss how the heart is wicked and selfish.
I'd like to think of myself as a rational person, and most people seem to agree with things. I'm not usually quick to act or speak, I take my time and carefully analyze the situation before acting. I will be the first to admit that sometimes it's not always a good thing, but for about 90-95% of the time it saves me a lot of trouble. I feel that it would do the same for many of my friends if they just did the same, but it doesn't always happen. The heart can often overpower the mind and rationalism, and make us do crazy, stupid things. The heart can get us into a lot of trouble and heartbreak. Huh. How I ironic, the heart causing heartbreak.
I think the reason heartbreak occurs so often is because we listen to our heart and our selfish desires without thinking it through. Sure, our heart can be right about a lot of things, but people fail to realize that it can be wrong. Simple truth. The heart doesn't know what it wants often times and it can create a lot of chaos inside ourselves.
I guess we should just walk away with this: Listen to your heart, it can give you some great advice and insight. BUT, think it through. Don't follow through on this want of the heart without checking with your head first.
~Alyssa
Society these days has fallen hard for the "follow your heart" idea. And why wouldn't we? Doesn't it just sound so great? Just do what your heart wants and things will turn out great! Well, many of us know (or should know but have no realized) that the heart can be selfish and wicked. "Yeah, but doesn't the Holy Spirit live in our hearts? Shouldn't we follow what the Holy Spirit is telling our hearts?"
There is only one verse in the entire Bible that says the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts (And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Galatians 4:6 ESV). Everywhere else, it says that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Not just in our hearts. It dwells in our mind, our soul, our mouth, our hands, everywhere! So considering that there's only one verse that says the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, there are at least 100 Bible verses that discuss how the heart is wicked and selfish.
I'd like to think of myself as a rational person, and most people seem to agree with things. I'm not usually quick to act or speak, I take my time and carefully analyze the situation before acting. I will be the first to admit that sometimes it's not always a good thing, but for about 90-95% of the time it saves me a lot of trouble. I feel that it would do the same for many of my friends if they just did the same, but it doesn't always happen. The heart can often overpower the mind and rationalism, and make us do crazy, stupid things. The heart can get us into a lot of trouble and heartbreak. Huh. How I ironic, the heart causing heartbreak.
I think the reason heartbreak occurs so often is because we listen to our heart and our selfish desires without thinking it through. Sure, our heart can be right about a lot of things, but people fail to realize that it can be wrong. Simple truth. The heart doesn't know what it wants often times and it can create a lot of chaos inside ourselves.
I guess we should just walk away with this: Listen to your heart, it can give you some great advice and insight. BUT, think it through. Don't follow through on this want of the heart without checking with your head first.
~Alyssa
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Forgetting God
Lesson 26: Remember God
I know it's been a very long time since I've written, but I feel really compelled to write this. I'm writing this almost as a letter to myself and one of my good friends who probably doesn't even know it's for her. This year I decided to commit to reading the Bible in one year. It seems like a cheesy New Years resolution, but for me it's very serious. I started off very bad. Like, nine days behind bad. I didn't feel 'motivated' to read my Bible and keep my promise to myself. It took talking to my boyfriend on Skype to really wake me up. We decided to do this together and I got a slap in the face from God for not taking this seriously (He used Ryan's words to slap me). This isn't about me. It's about my relationship with God and keeping it strong. God constantly told the Israelites, "Don't forget me and what I have done for you." And what do they do? They forget! Every. Single. Time.
I often find myself in their same situation, just as I know a lot of you do. God shows up in spectacular ways, we praise Him for it (sometimes), and we forget. When times are going good and bad I often find myself forgetting God. When things are good, it's like an out of sight out of mind thing. When things are going bad, I'm scared to remember Him. I'm scared that if I remember Him, I'm going to feel guilty for forgetting Him in the first place. I seem to recall a friend indirectly telling me that she was scared to go back to God because she was afraid of falling again. It took me really up until recently how this person could feel this way, but I understand now. Sometimes I'd rather stay in a rut than admit that I need help, especially to God who probably 'has better things to do and bigger issues to deal with'. But the truth is this: we need God. God cares for us more than we know and we shouldn't be ashamed to go back to Him when we do remember.
This is my plea to my friend(s) and to myself: Do not forget God. Don't neglect Him, because He has never neglected you. I know you've fallen away, but it's never to late to come back. You may think you don't need to. Sure, you've gotten by. But, what has it gotten you? Desires you can't fulfill and a whole in your heart that can't be satisfied. I will stop here before this turns into a rant... (this was originally much longer).
Anyways, my point being is that we need God. When it comes down to it, we need Him. Don't be like the Israelites and forget God. The best way to remember Him, is to read His love letter to us. I challenge you, read your Bible, everyday for one month. Even if that means just one Bible verse a day. I guarantee that God will speak to you. Whether you're open to what He has to say, well, that's up to you. Even if you've given up on God, know that God has never given up on you.
Remember God and all He has done.
With Lots of Love,
~Alyssa
P.S: Read Luke 15:11-32
I know it's been a very long time since I've written, but I feel really compelled to write this. I'm writing this almost as a letter to myself and one of my good friends who probably doesn't even know it's for her. This year I decided to commit to reading the Bible in one year. It seems like a cheesy New Years resolution, but for me it's very serious. I started off very bad. Like, nine days behind bad. I didn't feel 'motivated' to read my Bible and keep my promise to myself. It took talking to my boyfriend on Skype to really wake me up. We decided to do this together and I got a slap in the face from God for not taking this seriously (He used Ryan's words to slap me). This isn't about me. It's about my relationship with God and keeping it strong. God constantly told the Israelites, "Don't forget me and what I have done for you." And what do they do? They forget! Every. Single. Time.
I often find myself in their same situation, just as I know a lot of you do. God shows up in spectacular ways, we praise Him for it (sometimes), and we forget. When times are going good and bad I often find myself forgetting God. When things are good, it's like an out of sight out of mind thing. When things are going bad, I'm scared to remember Him. I'm scared that if I remember Him, I'm going to feel guilty for forgetting Him in the first place. I seem to recall a friend indirectly telling me that she was scared to go back to God because she was afraid of falling again. It took me really up until recently how this person could feel this way, but I understand now. Sometimes I'd rather stay in a rut than admit that I need help, especially to God who probably 'has better things to do and bigger issues to deal with'. But the truth is this: we need God. God cares for us more than we know and we shouldn't be ashamed to go back to Him when we do remember.
This is my plea to my friend(s) and to myself: Do not forget God. Don't neglect Him, because He has never neglected you. I know you've fallen away, but it's never to late to come back. You may think you don't need to. Sure, you've gotten by. But, what has it gotten you? Desires you can't fulfill and a whole in your heart that can't be satisfied. I will stop here before this turns into a rant... (this was originally much longer).
Anyways, my point being is that we need God. When it comes down to it, we need Him. Don't be like the Israelites and forget God. The best way to remember Him, is to read His love letter to us. I challenge you, read your Bible, everyday for one month. Even if that means just one Bible verse a day. I guarantee that God will speak to you. Whether you're open to what He has to say, well, that's up to you. Even if you've given up on God, know that God has never given up on you.
Remember God and all He has done.
With Lots of Love,
~Alyssa
P.S: Read Luke 15:11-32
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