Living Presently Sitting at His Feet

Mark 4:40 “He said to His disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’” Ouch. Imagine Jesus saying this to you. Except, He probably does all the time… well to me at least.  Jesus was on a boat sleeping, probably exhausted, while His disciples led the boat to it’s next location. While He was resting, a huge storm came by, rocking the boat back and forth. I’m not someone who likes bodies of waters and can’t even imagine being in the middle of a storm in a boat on the sea. I would have been terrified, just as these young disciples probably were. They go to wake Jesus up, and He immediately calms the storm. Then He goes to ask the disciples why they were so afraid, and why they still have no faith. Jesus was with them. How many times in my life do I go through a “storm” and instead of trusting God, I freak out and go into panic mode. God has always been with me, always providing, always being faithful, yet I still find myself afraid sometimes. I don’t full

Luke 1:37-38 “‘For no word from God will ever fail’. ‘I am the Lord’s servant’, Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’” Trust trust trust. God is faithful and true. He keeps his promises. He will not fail. I never have to doubt or wonder if he will come through. He is constantly showing throughout the Bible how he never fails. Daniel and the Lion’s Den. David and Goliath. God giving Noah the rainbow after the great flood. And there are many many more. God is also constantly showing me his faithfulness in my life. Providing the funds for Ignite, providing food and water, a place to rest, protection, and many many more things. Every day there is always something new that God shows me of how his word never fails. He will guide me and provide my essential needs wherever he will lead me.  Mary knew that God’s word never fails. That’s one of the reasons why God chose her to be the mother of Jesus. The angel Gabriel even greets her by saying, “Greetings, you who are hig

Isaiah 7:9 “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” How true is this verse. It’s so easy to put on that ‘christian filter’ and pretend to be strong in your faith. It’s so easy to fool people with where you are with Christ. It’s so easy to fool yourself with where you are with Christ. I am very good at fooling myself. All my life, I thought my relationship with Christ was rock solid. I always knew that there is room to grow, but I thought I was going strong. “One of Satan’s most dangerous deceptions is making you believe you are good with Christ when you’re actually not.”   I was far from Christ, I was not firm in my faith at all. I truly believed that I was good with Him though. My faith was not my own, I didn’t stand firm, and I could feel myself falling. I began to drift far away, desiring things of the world, my heart became hardened, and I stopped seeking the Lord.  Then, the Lord sparked my heart. He brought me to place where I had to lea

Jeremiah 17:7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.” I am someone who likes to do things myself. I like to trust what’s seen. I like to rely on on strength that’s visible. I have found that I normally trust in man more then I do God. But I have also found, that the more I do that, the more of a distance builds with Christ and I. The more I do that the more I realize how much man fails, how often people leave. Verse 5 of Jeremiah 17 says, “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns was from the Lord.”  I say I’m a Christian. Therefore, I need to put my confidence in Him. Christian means little Christ. I’m supposed to act like Christ, and I can’t do that if I don’t have confidence in Him. If I don’t trust Him the way I should. I say I trust Him, but it’s not just head response, it’s heart response ( The Making of a Man of God). To trust in Him is a wonderful thing. Having complete confiden

Ecclesiastes 5:4 “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools: fulfill your vow.” How often and how easy it is for me to say to God that I’ll do something. And then, as time goes on, I never actually do it. I second guess it, doubt myself, question God if that is actually what he wanted me to do, and so on. I put up so many excuses so that I don’t have to follow through with what I said I would. When God tells me to do something or go somewhere, I try to put it off. I tell him ok, and then doubt. “What if that’s really not God’s plan for my life. What if I just made that up? But, my plans are so much better.” How sad is that? As if my plans for my life could be better then God’s plans for my life.  In Proverbs 19:21 it says, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” I always take my plans to God and say ok Lord, this is what I want for my life. But that is not his purpose. His purpose for my

Ecclesiastes 6:2 “God gives some people wealth, possessions, and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.” It’s so easy to be jealous of people of the world. To look at their wealth, their possessions, and see that they have all their hearts desires. It’s so easy for me to look at that and then get frustrated because I don’t have any of that. Sometimes I’ll wonder why God gave them their desires and not give me my desires. Whenever I think that way, I’m not thinking rationally. The worldly people, who have all their desires, can’t truly enjoy their wealth. God hasn’t given them the ability too. That’s why they keep searching for more wealth, more lovers, and that’s when they get into bad things like drugs and alcohol. Their ending is not an ending I’d ever want.   As I’ve grown this year, I’ve realized that I don’t want what my flesh wan