Excellence not Perfection

Excellence is working like everything depends on you, but praying like everything depends on God!

Some thoughts:
We have the free will to do whatever we want to do, but if God sees our hard work I think He gives us more to work with (Luke 16:10 ""Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."). God isn't asking us for perfection. He is asking us to try. To give it our all and to rely on Him. Secondly, we must pray hard, not to receive blessings but to receive life. Everything in our life depends on that relationship. Nothing we do will succeed if it is not God's will so we must pray so that the hard work we do will line up with God will. Through this excellence (NOT PERFECTION) can be reached. Perfection is not something that we should even strive for because the only person that was and every will be perfect was Jesus, but we can reach excellence in our lives. So strive to live a life of excellence not perfection by making an effort to work like it is all on you but pray like it is all on God!

Faith to Believe

Give me the faith to believe You
When I'm stuck here in my fear
Give me the strength to trust You
When my vision's blurred by tears
Give me a hope for tomorrow
Cause today has gone so wrong
I'm on my knees
Give me the faith to believe

Even when I cannot see You
You're still shining, You're still shining
Even when I cannot hear You
You're still calling out my name
Even when I cannot feel You
Your arms are open
Always holding on to me
Give me the faith to believe

You say You'll never leave me
That Your love will conquer fear
You say Your day is coming
When You'll wipe away my tears
Give me a hope for tomorrow
Cause today has gone so wrong
I'm on my knees
Give me the faith to believe

Even when I cannot see You
You're still shining, You're still shining
Even when I cannot hear You
You're still calling out my name
Even when I cannot feel You
Your arms are open
Always holding on to me

-Faith to Believe by Shane and Shane

I stumbled upon a new playlist on Spotify and heard this song. So good right? Sometimes are faith just needs a little boosting. God never leaves us, and He has never left us. Even while we were still sinners He was seeking after us. Before we were even born, He gave up his only son so that we could be with him forever and always. But there are those moments when He seems distant or it seems like He was never there. In those moment we need to work on a few things.

The first is how we see what is going on/our perspective. If your staring at something close up you cannot see the entirety of it. Like our problems when they are right in our face we can't see past them they are right  and they are blocking everything. Yet if we back away we can see things better. We see how we will be able to deal and how our problem isn't going to be the end of the world. This change in perspective can change our faith.

Another thing we need to work on to lift our faith is to start focusing on believing in the little things and growing to the belief that nothing is impossible. If you want your faith to go from "I guess God can" to "God already has" you need to first believe him for the little things. For example going to bed believing that God will wake you up the next day. Or believing that you will have safe travels. etc. Maybe you are already past this step but wherever you are figure out what level of faith you are at. From that point continue to grow from there. Seek to reach that faith where you truly believe anything is possible. 

          - Do you believe God has never left you?

          - Do you believe you were created for a purpose?

          - Do you believe you could pray and heal a paralyzed person?

I ask these questions to help you determine where your faith stands.

Lastly, you need to recognize and see that God is moving. God takes problems out at the root, so you may not always see that God is working because He works below the surface, deep at the roots of the problem. You need to realize that God is working in your life EVERYDAY. He is leading you, guiding you, and helping you. If you can't see that He is working everyday it is extremely difficult to notice that He is working from one day to another. Furthermore, your not going to see how God has worked out your entire life for your purpose if you are not noticing how He is working in each day. 

We all could use our faith to grow. Our faith can never top out. There will always be room to grow in it. Faith is what we need to make it through the rough days and situations. God can use a little faith to do big things but when our faith is exponential imagine all that God can do with us.

"He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Mathew 17:20

 Our problems become smaller as our God becomes bigger!

Insecurities

Insecurities stem from an obsession of oneself in order to please others and a lack of focusing on the handiwork of God.

 It is so easy for me to tell you a hundred things I don't like about myself, but a million times harder to come up with 5 things I like about myself. Insecurities like these have not been drilled in us by our own thoughts, but through the enemy. He is a liar and a good one at that. He is so good at what he does that he can even convince you that his thoughts are actually your thoughts. And even more to the point where you believe people think those same thoughts about you as well. So it gets to the point where you get scared that people think the worse of you and you end up not liking yourself. Then you focus on trying to "fix" yourself. That never works though, because satisfactory is never fully reached. Satan always tries to give you a standard to meet and shoes to fill, but as you almost reach them, he makes the shoes bigger and the bar higher. So you fall right into the belief that you will never be good enough.

That may seems like one of those Allstate slippery slope fallacy commercials, but honestly it is simply a slope that about everyone goes down in one way or another. Those ideas become what we perceive as the truth, and so they turn into an obsession of either having to cover them up or fix them.

But all those things are lies! All those terrible thoughts you believe about yourself are lies. (You're not smart or too smart. Fat. Ugly. Dumb. Stupid. A failure. A burden. Worthless. A mistake. Broken. Messed up. Not good enough. Flawed. etc.) See God made you, and everything God makes is perfect. He knitted you together in your mother's womb and after He made you He stood in awe of how wonderful you were. When He made you, He gave you certain personality traits and features that he designed to help you fulfill your purpose. He made you look like you do, so certain people would be drawn to you. He gave you certain hobbies, so that through that you could be his light in those areas. He made you unique to reach people others cannot. And finally, He gave you a story so that through your story lives will be saved.

God spoke the world into creation, but He took time to make his people. You are a masterpiece of God. Every piece of you was made perfect. When God thinks about you, He has so many good thoughts that they outnumber the grains of sand on the Earth! Try to fathom that! So stop covering up what you see as imperfect and instead view it as the perfection God created it as. Embrace every little thing about yourself because the Almighty God,  the creator of everything, and the all knowing God made you like that for a reason! Don't get lost in worrying about what others think of you, because the one who knows EVERYTHING about you thinks the best of you!

Puzzled to Amazed

Today I had lunch with a friend I went through 252 with. I haven't talked to her in a while besides some small talk so it was awesome to actually get to sit and catch up. I love hearing how God is working in people's lives. It is probably my favorite thing. It is cool to have God work in me but to see and hear him work in others I find it even more amazing.  She is working in the Hispanic community to help bring them into a closer relationship with God and to hopefully lead enough people into a real relationship that they will be able to start a Spanish LIFE group for them. I think it is awesome how she is using her gifts of being bilingual to help reach people that not everyone can reach.

When I got home from lunch I started building this puzzle. While I was building it I was thinking about what all I was going to say in my devotional that I am giving tonight. I knew what I was going to discuss, staying amazed by God,  but I was just thinking about the little details. I then proceeded to have a moment of amazement with God. I realized our life is like a giant puzzle, except we only get to see it piece by piece. Sometimes we pick up a piece and think how dull and dark it is because it is just an all black piece. This could be like a dark time in our life. Then there are the pieces that seem to have be filled with so much like those crazy times in our lives when everything is going on. There are also those pieces where you can actually see objects or you can tell what it is. Those would be the times of clarity in our lives. This metaphor could go on and on, but the point is in our life we only see it piece by piece. God has all the pieces though and He knows how they are go together. When our life is in his hands, all the pieces of our life fit together, and in the end the dark, the bright, and the crazy pieces all come together to form a masterpiece, His masterpiece.

God's Voice

Church last night was wonderful. Worship was on point and the message was even better. Hearing God's voice was the topic for the night. I think it is awesome how God made it possible to be able to speak to everyone at the same time. He created the Holy Spirit, so that he could be with all of this. If we have accepted Jesus into our hearts than we can be sure that God is speaking to us because He is within us. He is a part of us. God doesn't always have an audible voice that comes through the clouds or out of a burning bush, but instead it is that nudge from within that simply won't leave you alone.

If you feel like you can't hear that voice anymore think back to the last thing God told you to do. Did you do it? Maybe he is waiting on you to do that first. Or Maybe you feel like God has never spoken to you before. Then the first question would be is He apart of you. Have you accepted God into your heart? If so are you listening? We must stay focused on the door above us rather than the ones in front of us. Yeah, it is awesome when God opens the doors in our path but if we close the door above us and shut out God the other doors do not matter. We have to always keep that connection with God open so that we can hear from Him.

Last night it was almost like old times, a spiritual high. I left just feeling so pumped up for God. I was not able to focus on anything but Him. I haven't felt like that in a while, well since 252 actually. Every time I would leave chapel and core I would leave so on fire that I couldn't do anything because I was so fired up and in awe of God. That is the best feeling in the world, being unable to focus on the unimportant but fully able to focus on the most important.

I also noticed last night how I am in a routine with my faith. I go to church same time every week, park in the same spot, sit in the same seat, go to the same coffee cart, the list goes on and on. Maybe I plateaued in my faith because I made it a cycle instead on remembering to stay in awe. I don't think it is bad to get settled in my ways but I think when I settle in my ways I forget to walk in God's way. I am not being open to what He has for me. I settle for the things I believe are good instead of staying with God and receiving things that are even better. I need to focus my eyes on seeing the things He wants me to see, focus my ears on hearing from Him, and focus my life on walking right beside God. I may not always know where He is taking me, because He only gives enough light for each step of the journey. However, I do know that if I stay in step with God the destination will always be worth while, but the journey will be even better!

"Well I will walk by faith
Even when I cannot see
Well because this broken road
Prepares Your will for me"

"Walk by Faith" by Jeremy Camp

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Jeremiah 33:3

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."

John 10:27

  ^"I will exalt you, my God the King;
    I will praise your name for ever and ever. 

 Every day I will praise you
    and extol your name for ever and ever.

  Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
    his greatness no one can fathom. 

 One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts. 

 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works. 

 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
    and I will proclaim your great deeds. 

 They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
    slow to anger and rich in love.

The Lord is good to all;
    he has compassion on all he has made.

  All your works praise you, Lord;
    your faithful people extol you.

They tell of the glory of your kingdom
    and speak of your might, 

 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
    and faithful in all he does. 

 The Lord upholds all who fall
    and lifts up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you,
    and you give them their food at the proper time. 

 You open your hand
    and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

  The Lord is righteous in all his ways
    and faithful in all he does. 

 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
    to all who call on him in truth. 

 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
    he hears their cry and saves them. 

 The Lord watches over all who love him,
    but all the wicked he will destroy.

 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
    Let every creature praise his holy name
    for ever and ever."

Psalm 145:1-21 

An awe of God is meant to rule every domain of my existence, and when we lose that awe of God we turn it in to an awe of this world or an awe to ourselves. If we stay in his awe, it pulls us out of our discouraging moments, our bad days, our sinful thoughts, our times of trouble or weakness and it places our hopes on high, gives us encouragement, fills us up, gives us purpose, and reminds us of our safety and victory through Him. Stay in awe and stay amazed. He is always there, always moving, and always speaking!

All Victory

Earlier this month I decided to write a song. It is about how we have victory over everything we come across, because Jesus has already overcome it for us. He overcame temptation in the desert, death on a cross, a grave, and ultimately the world. Because Jesus defeated it all we are able to have victory over our temptations, our flesh, and the lies Satan throws at us. We can stand firm knowing that whatever comes at us we will be able to stand victorious in the end. I think this is amazing. We don't have to worry, stress, or be afraid, because we already know what the outcome is going to be. 

Romans 8:37

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

So here is my song and props to Jaytay for singing it beautifully!

I've got this

Daily Devotional

by Larry Stockstill
Israel's blessings started with the word may. As Jacob laid his hands upon the heads of Ephraim and Manasseh, he uttered the word and invoked a blessing with it three times.

The psalmist blessed Israel with equal force: "May the Lord respond to your cry. May the God of Israel keep you safe. . . . May he send you help. . . . May he remember all your gifts. . . . May he grant your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory. . . . May the Lord answer all your prayers" (Psalm 20:1-5).

The word may could be translated "allow." In other words, allow God to do what He wants to do for you. You must settle in your mind forever that God wants to bless you. Any doubt will always result in questioning His desire to answer your prayers or to increase, deliver, and help you.

God's Word has the same power to bless you, as did Jacob's words for his grandsons. "Pay attention, my child, to what I say. Listen carefully. Don't lose sight of my words. Let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning" (Proverbs 4:20-22).

May the Lord bless you today!

Proverbs 4:20-27

²⁰ My son, pay attention to what I say;

turn your ear to my words.

²¹ Do not let them out of your sight,

keep them within your heart;

²² for they are life to those who find them

and health to one’s whole body.

²³ Above all else, guard your heart,

for everything you do flows from it.

²⁴ Keep your mouth free of perversity;

keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead;

fix your gaze directly before you.

²⁶ Give careful thought to the paths for your feet

and be steadfast in all your ways.

²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left;

keep your foot from evil.

Psalm 20:1-9

¹ May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;

may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

² May he send you help from the sanctuary

and grant you support from Zion.

³ May he remember all your sacrifices

and accept your burnt offerings.

⁴ May he give you the desire of your heart

and make all your plans succeed.

⁵ May we shout for joy over your victory

and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests.

⁶ Now this I know:

The Lord gives victory to his anointed.

He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary

with the victorious power of his right hand.

⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

⁸ They are brought to their knees and fall,

but we rise up and stand firm.

⁹ Lord, give victory to the king!

Answer us when we call!

 I had the best conversation with God last night. Like a real conversation. I heard his voice so clear and with each word He eased the pain and filled me with peace. I don't know why I let doubt even slip into my mind because things like this happen and I am just like "WOW, God is good." 

"Do you have this God?"

"Yeah, I got this."

"But what if.."

"I've got this."

"But"

"Don't worry, I have got her."