The Love Dare

I was at the library looking in the religious section when I spotted the Love Dare. I decided to pick it up and work through the book. The first few days were really easy. But then it said "Love is not irritable." Oh... I have to work on that. It is really nice to be doing it. I think it will improve our marriage. It is a marriage saver type of deal. I don't think our marriage is in any danger but it is nice to do something that helps direct my focus back to God and the reasons why marriage exists.

On a Hill Stood a Cross

I often visit my grandparents on the weekends. On the drive to their house I go past this bare hill with a cross on it. During the night it is lit up with white lights. In the middle of a secular world there is this cross, reminding me of Jesus and the redemption story. It means a lot to me and I never miss it. Sometimes it is little things that help us to shift our focus back on Christ.

Merry Christmas

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

There Is Hope

There is hope in every sunset
For it signals the end of the day
And all the pain in it

There is hope in every sunrise
For it signals the start of a new day
And a new beginning for me.

There is hope because He lives
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow
And I can face anything

There is hope because Jesus
Is coming soon to take away
All of the pain of this life

There is hope because Jesus
Will make all things new

There is always hope

Jesus Did Way More Than Just Dying

I was thinking of the crucifixion of my Lord this morning. We all know that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. But I want us all to ponder what He really did.

1. He died physically. This was a very painful experience. He got whipped until there was no skin on His back and a crown of long thorns was stuck onto His head. He then had a nail driven through His feet and each hand. Then if that was not bad enough, He was lifted up to hang by those nails. That is more pain than most people have experienced. But during Jesus' time many people died this way. What makes Jesus' death different than others?

2. He took the sins of the world upon Himself. He didn't just die for our sins. He became sin for us. Hanging on that cross Jesus was a murderer, liar, rapist, cheater, thief, and every sin that we could possibly think of.

3. God turned His back on Him. Never has there been a human on earth that God has turned away from. Christ called out in anguish. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" This was the worst thing you can imagine. It was hell.

Jesus didn't just die on the cross, He did way more. Next time you think of the cross think about what Jesus did for you and for me.

I'm going to post scripture references up here to support my points.

Passion For The Cross And The One Who Died

During the past few months I have been learning about passion. Passion for Jesus who gave His all so that we might be saved. God has given me this passion for Him that is greater than anything I have ever experienced. This is a passion that is not kept hidden but instead bursts out through songs, dancing, shouting, and radiant joyful expressions on people's faces. Most of the people at my church have this passion. They can't keep from singing and dancing. They can't keep from shouting and jumping up and down.

Why are so many Christians passive when it comes to their relationship with Christ? They don't want to sing or speak about it. They think living moral lives is what God has required of them. I used to be one of those people. I wondered why I didn't get excited about anything. I would feel hollow and unsatisfied inside. It was not until I got really passionate about Jesus that I could really enjoy my life.

If the unbelievers can go wild over rock stars, why can't we go wild over Jesus? If the unbelievers can die for their false beliefs, why can't we die for the truth? If the unbeliever can sin boldly, why can't we declare God's love boldly? If people can be passionate about their spouses and partners, why can't we be even more passionate about the One who gave everything.

The time has come to stand up for what we believe in. We cannot hide in our prayer closets anymore. We must spread the Good News. People are out there dying and going to hell! We cannot be passive Christians anymore. Instead we must be passionate about what we believe in.

The lost are looking for something better so start acting like you possess something better. If we don't act like God is the best than why would anyone want Him?

Merry Christmas!

I wish a Merry Christmas to all of you. Christmas is my favorite holiday because of what it means to me. Jesus came to earth as a baby. God with us. It is an amazing thing that too often we as christians take for granted. God is with us and will always be.

My family makes a big deal of Christmas. We start celebrating as soon as Thanksgiving is over. We put up decorations and observe the four Sundays of Advent. On Christmas Eve we open our presents and have a fancy dinner. We tell the Christmas story and have a wonderful time of hanging out with family. We continue celebrating on Christmas Day by emptying our stockings and having another wonderful dinner. The time spent between Christmas and New Year's is usually filled with more sweets, family time, and celebration. We finally end our Christmas celebration on January 6th with the visit of the Magi. Then we take down all our decorations.

He is My Beloved

I was recently thinking about my purity ring again. When you wear something on your finger all the time it kind of stays in your mind. I wrote about my purity ring last year in October. You can find that post and read it if you want to. I was thinking a little deeper in the symbolism of my ring. I can look at my ring two different ways.

1) The cross is in my heart. The cross symbolizes Jesus' love for me. It also stands for Jesus Himself. He is the dearest thing to me. I love Him more than anything else. I will follow Him anywhere and will never let go of Him. I can't bear to separated from Him. I am utterly miserable without Jesus.

2) The heart is not mine it is Jesus' heart. The heart symbolizes His love for me. He loves me so much that He died for me. He has been pursuing me since I was conceived. He is the ultimate intimate lover of my soul.

So there are two ways of looking at my ring. It stands not only for my love and promise to God, but for His love and promise to me. Now my ring seems so much greater.

Opa

Opa is German for grandfather. My Opa is one of the most amazing men I know. Today I went to to the church he pastors. He is 75 and still pastors a small church of around 30 people. I was struck by the realization of how much he loves God. He sang a solo which was the most beautiful thing. It was beautiful because I could see how much he loved Jesus. My Opa's eyes light up when he sings or talks about Jesus. I enjoyed seeing the joy in his eyes and on his face. I am so grateful to have christian grandparents. But I am even more thankful that I have grandparents who love Jesus so much.

My Soul Longs for Jesus

Yesterday I was hanging out with a classmate and a friend of his. My classmate and I were working on an assignment for class while his friend was sketching him for art class. I happened to mention that I was 21 and like most people they asked me if I got "wasted" on my birthday. I said that I hadn't drunk any alcohol since I turned 21. They laughed at that. I explained that I had tasted alcohol before, but that I hadn't drunk anything since. They said that I should get drunk. I said that I choose not to get drunk and of course they laughed at me. My classmate's friend said that I should experience being drunk. Life is too short. I should experience as much as possible. This, of course, didn't convince me the least bit.

This made me think of the hopeless situation that non-christians are in. They have no hope so they their goal in life is to "live life to the fullest" and "experience everything." I think it is the saddest thing.

Why do I have no desire to get drunk? Because I have something much better. I have a relationship with Jesus. I don't need to get drunk to escape from life, because life is not that bad when you know Jesus. I don't need to get drunk to have a good time, because I have a good time when I'm with Jesus. My soul longs for Jesus. Nothing else will do. Nothing else can satisfy me or make me happy. All I want is Jesus.

God's Grace

God's grace is amazing. One of the Pastors at my church preached a sermon. In fact he preached it three times. I heard it twice so I think God really wanted me to hear it. I thought I would share what I got from it. Look up the verses. I'm not going to write out the verses. So when you see a reference next to a sentence know that the sentence is what my pastor said, not what the verse says.

Don't Count Score

Matt 6:3
When you do something good, don't count score.

Luke 15:11-32 The Parable of the Lost Son
The older brother was keeping score.
He compared score with his brother.

Luke 18:9-14
The Pharisee was counting score.
The tax collector moves the heart of God, he depends on mercy alone.

Breakthrough depends on mercy and grace alone.
The secret to humility is to forget score and fix your eyes on God's grace.

How I do on judgment day depends on my understanding of grace.

Reasons it is dumb to keep score:

1. Keeping score keeps us from understanding grace.
If you count score you will fall from grace. Gal 5:4

2. Keeping score will leave us offended at God. Matthew 20:15-16
If we think God owes us we are keeping count.

3. Keeping score will keep you from being able to fully love God. 1 John 4:19

4. Keeping score leads to envy and strife. Rom 2:11, Eph 6:9, 1 Peter 1:17
We are on the same team. We are part of the body. All success, breakthroughs, and victories are yours, mine and Jesus'.

5. When you keep score you will no longer be motivated by God's love. 1 Cor 15:9-10

6. Keeping score is a waste of time and energy.

7. Keeps you from receiving from God.
We can receive from God if we have faith. People who have faith believe in God's grace.

Do we understand grace? If we want to know how we understand grace we can look at how we respond to offense. How do we respond when someone hurts us?

If we miss grace, we miss the gospel.

Jesus Freak

I changed the name of my blog in case you have not noticed. I decided that I didn't want to define myself as a mouse any longer. I am no longer timid. Also, "The Mouse" was a name I came up with because I couldn't think of anything else at the time I created my blog. I wanted a new name that described my new life. A lot of people party while they are in college. I am one of them. But I go to a different type of party. These parties are worship celebrations in honor of The King. I realized how crazy in love with Jesus I had become. So I named my blog "Jesus Freak."

I am a Jesus Freak. I am crazy in love with my Savior. He is amazing. I have changed a lot since my move down here. But I don't need to tell you that. I think you will be able to tell.