walking in holiness

Words of thankfulness, gratitude, and praise do not even begin to cover the love and appreciation I have for my Jesus. This Summer (and as always) He has shown me so many things I've needed to see. Some hard, some beautiful... it's been a growing process that I am ever so thankful for. I continually desire that He would work in my heart daily to do the work He needs to, in order for me to grow into a woman of the word, prayer and to grow more like Christ every day. He is precious, and able :)

There are two verses the LORD has shown me this Summer that have truly taught me a lot, and continue to. As I look into the future with whatever God has for me, I'm excited, nervous, fearful, and curious as to where or what He wants of me. It's hard in this world to maintain happy and carefree when it comes to the things we are facing daily. This world is fleeting away, and it's getting worse by the day. Yet we have our hope and confidence in JESUS that no one and nothing else can fill. The LORD has shown me 1 Timothy 6:6 where it says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." Something so simple, yet hard to live by. Being content in ALL things, with Godliness. When we are hand in hand with Christ, loving Him, serving Him, seeking after Him, we need to be content in just that...Him. It's hard as this world throws things at us that temporarily satisfy yet it's a vicious cycle because we are always wanting more and more of something else. Why is that? God knows our frame, He remembers that we are dust, yet our hearts and minds shouldn't desire anything other than HIM most of all. Our eyes should daily be looking upward instead of here to see what else we can fill the void with. It's something He's been teaching me all Summer, and I've been blessed beyond reason. My prayer is that I would continually see and learn more of this from Him as I embark on my senior year of college.

One other verse that the LORD has graciously burdened on my heart is 1 Peter 2:9. It says, "We are a CHOSEN GENERATION, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light." Guys, listen up. WHY are we sitting around and fitting in?!?! This world IS NOT OUR HOME. We are called to be sore thumbs, to stick out, to be unusual. There is NO such thing (or should there be) as a NORMAL Christian. We are called to be RADICAL for Jesus!!!!! No more sitting around, being lazy, complacent and alright with the norms of this world. We are not supposed to be partakers of darkness but rather EXPOSE IT because we need to be lights in Christ and for Christ! My heart is so heavy and burdened about this generation and the lack of care for what's TRUE and JUST. We are called to walk in holiness and purity and that goes way beyond what you might think. It's everything! It's spiritually, in our minds, in our hearts, with our bodies, our spirits... it's everything we are! We are of GOD and we need to begin acting like it. Jesus was given as the most precious sacrifice on the Cross for OUR mistakes, our screw ups, our failures.... and He wanted to pay that price for us so that we can have eternal life. Man, there's no greater love than that.

It's time for Christ's church (and our generation) to stand radical and strong for Jesus. No more sitting around and fitting in. 1 Peter 2:9 could not state it more clearly. God has CHOSEN US as His special people. We need to start acting like it.

We are God's, and He is ours. Shine as lights in this dark and passing world. This is not our home, we are created for the eternal.