Living Presently Sitting at His Feet

1 Corinthians 12:14-15 “Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.” Wow. I am a jealous person who compares myself to every person I come across. I look at them and see how God created them. I see the good and bad things in them. I see the way they’re put together, and I look at myself. I look at how I’ve been put together, focus on my insecurities, and I question myself. I start to not like myself. I ask God, “Why am I not like them? Why did you create me this way? Why can’t I have the great qualities they have?” I get mad at God and doubt Him.  I know He created me the way I am for His kingdom. I know He loves me and He has a plan for me. But I’ll think to myself that I’ve messed up and God isn’t going to use me anymore.  I know that thinking is wrong, but I can’t win that battle, I give in and let my insecuriti...

Romans 15:1 “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.” That’s hard. To bear with the failings of the weak. To turn around and help someone up, help them with their struggles. We don’t ever want to do that, but when we are the one’s failing, we want help. We are to help the weak, and not just please ourselves. If we ignored them, then we would be only pleasing ourselves.   Why is it so hard to never want to lift someone up? We should treat others the way we want to be treated. Everyone goes through hard times; everyone becomes weak. We need each other.  We should put aside ourselves, and put Christ forward. Follow Him, get out in the dirt, and help those who need help. As Christians, we aren’t here to please ourselves. We are here to glorify God and bring others to glorify God as well. And if that means we need to help a friend whose struggling to get back up and continue to glorify God, then that’s what we’ll do....

Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” It’s so easy to serve ourselves before we even look at others. We are selfish creatures who want everything for us. We never think or want to serve others. We just want to lift up ourselves and have everyone live for us. If we don’t get what we want and if we aren’t being served, then we freak out. We desire for praise, attention, and having people do everything for us. We’re lazy. Yet, we call ourselves Christians. We say that we follow after Christ and we love Him. He says, “I didn’t come to be served but to serve.” Since we are Christians, we seek to be like Christ. We want to imitate Him, therefore we should serve others. And this is not easy. It’s laying down our wants and needs and putting others before ourselves.  Often times, though, many people will serve others, seeking for praise. They’ll put others ...

1 Corinthians 9:22 “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” Paul did everything he could to save as many people as he could. He didn’t fear, he had his strength placed in Christ. He knew how this life on earth is only a short time and knowing that, he wasn’t afraid of getting stoned or put in prison, he was still a man following God. He didn’t let anything or anyone draw him away from the Lord. He said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” while he was imprisoned in Rome. He wasn’t afraid, he had his trust and confidence in God. He knew God would provide whether it was with the words that would come out of his mouth or just with peace while he sat cuffed to two guards while waiting to be killed. Paul followed the words of the Lord despite the consequences.  I want to be like that. I trust God with my future and things, but for some reason, I don’t trust Him eno...

Ephesians 5:21 “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” We all like being the boss. Being the person leading all the others, taking charge, being in control of everything. Submitting to one another isn’t something we’d really like to do. We want the other person to submit to us.  Growing up, my younger brother Luke and I would always fight, and we could never resolve the issue because we were never willing to submit to each other. We both wanted to be the “alpha” and would do anything to succeed that. It caused everyone around us to be miserable and we always got in a lot of trouble for it. We could hardly do anything together without blowing up in a big fight. If we just had both submitted to each other, our relationship would have been so much smoother.  We never really think to submit to our peers, just to authority. And that’s the problem Luke and I had. We both would submit to my parents, but never to each other. It’s easier to submit to leaders ...

Hebrews 13:17 “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.” Every leader and authority figure I’ve had in my life have always been people who submit to God. They’ve always been right leaders, trying to lead me to do what is right. I’ve never had to question if they were leading me in the opposite direction of God. Yet, I always had a problem with obeying them, always trying to get out of what they say or rolling my eyes at the rules they put in place. I knew that what they were saying was going to be beneficial to me, but I didn’t care. I made their jobs burdensome.  As I grew, my views changed. I started to see these leaders differently; I learned how much they cared about me. God opened my eyes to see that the rules they put in place where to help me grow and be safe. They were watching ov...

Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Colossians 3:20 “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.” Obeying my parents has always been a roller coaster. There were days where I’d submit to their authority and obey then and there, and then there were days where I fought with them non stop. I didn’t care what they were saying to me, I wanted to do what I wanted to do. The rules that I was always to obey in my home were to benefit me and glorify God, but I acted out in flesh most of the time. I would wear things I shouldn’t, and would always get in trouble. I would argue about it, never winning, and would end up grounded. But I’m thankful my parents didn’t waiver with me. I would fight and say awful things to my brothers, and I’m thankful I would get in trouble for that too. I learned respect for myself, my family, and God.  Because I would always fight my parents growing up, I learned to fight God. I had t...

Romans 6:16 “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey-whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Everyone is a slave to something, and most of those things are sin. It’s so easy to become slaves to things too, and we don’t even realize it when we do become a slave to it. It can be anything; electronics, alcohol, drugs, anything and everything. We put those things above God, idolizing them, which is more sin. We become addicted to those things and they become priority in our life, making it difficult to live without them. We get so caught up in them and love living like that for a while that we don’t even realize we’ve been captured. We start to obey our need for them; oblivious to the fact that we’re in chains. And when we finally realize that we're gone, we don’t know how to get out. We’re stuck, and death is on it’s way.  But what if instead o...

Acts 5:29 “Peter and the other apostles replied:’We must obey God rather than human beings!’” It’s so easy to obey humans rather then God. They’re physically here with us, making it more intimidating if you don’t obey them in that moment. You don’t want the punishment of disobeying them, but if it doesn’t align with God’s word, then obeying them would do you and many more people no good. Disobeying God is so much worse. It’s much more intimidating in the long run. No one wants to be the person that has to say they deliberately disobeyed God. He says He has a great plan for us, we just have to obey Him and let Him, and the reward will be so much greater then anything a human could give us for obeying. No matter what, God’s plans will get done with or without us, and we can choose for Him to use us for His great Kingdom. Then we can say, “Yes, I obeyed God, and look what He did.”  To obey God isn’t the popular choice anymore. We get ridiculed for it, people look at us w...

IBS 21 Hebrews 5:8 “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered…” Growing up, you don’t think that suffering would ever teach you obedience. Your mom or dad would come in and punish you whether by spanking you or putting you in time out. Either way, each of those are a small form of suffering. And, most kids, are taught obedience through that. Some kids don’t care and will have to be in time out for a lot longer, but hopefully will eventually learn obedience.  I grew up with a mean mouth in what I said and the way I said it, and a sassy attitude towards my family. I didn’t listen to what they said and I was so harsh towards my brothers. As a result, I would get punished, suffering in a way. But I learned. It took years, and I still have to work on how I say things, but I learned. I’m more aware and careful.  Suffering doesn’t mean immediate obedience. Suffering might have to go on for a long time. Just like the potter and the clay; if the clay...

IBS 20 Psalm 17:15 “As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.” Be satisfied.  David went through a lot. Literally ran for his life. He could’ve gotten mad at God, “God why do I have to kill Goliath? Why is Saul trying to kill me? Why do I have to run? Why are you doing this?” David could’ve left God. But he didn’t. He stayed faithful, obeyed, and was content. He  killed Goliath and God made him fearless. He ran from Saul and God hid him. God provided for David and David learned he could trust God completely and be okay with the things God does.  It’s hard to be content with God’s plans for my life. Before I know what He has for me, I’m unsure and question a lot. Before I decided to come here, I was really questioning God if this was the path for me to take. I was pretty unhappy when God told me to go. I wanted to plan my life out instead of Him. Yet, I was obedient, and God has show...

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” It’s so reassuring that God will never leave me. He is everywhere I go; in Indiana, Montana, Costa Rica. God is with me. Growing up in different places, I learned really quickly that God is the same God everywhere, He doesn’t change. It wasn’t until after I got to Whitefish, though, that I understood that in my heart. The God I knew from Louisiana, Kentucky, and Indiana is the same God here too.  I was honestly kind of worried to come here to Potter’s Field where everything was going to be new. I wasn’t going to know anyone, I had never heard of Whitefish before, and I really had no clue what Ignite was all about. I was scared to go somewhere all on my own all new. And then I got here, and God said “I’m with you, I’m not foreign. You know me and I’m not changing.” It has been such a comforting thought and ...

Luke 3:14 “Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” It’s so hard to not desire money and want more then what you have. This world has always had a problem with money. Fighting for it, stealing it, living miserable lives to gain as much as possible. So many people live their whole lives to just get paid a little bit more, just to reach the next level without actually living. Money is such a controlling object and learning to not let it control you is a difficult task.  I’ve always compared how much I’d get paid to how much my friends would get paid. I worked so much to make so much, living only for the dollar sign. I’ve always hated spending money, but I’ve always tried to make as much as I could. I was never content with my pay. I always wanted more, thinking if I could make money I wouldn’t have to rely on God. Then I had to raise support, and that was something I...

1 Timothy 6:6-8 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” Being content brings great gain. It’s so hard to be content in this world. We look around and see new iPhones coming out all the time, new movies, clothes, shoes, everything. This world has done a great job at making us desire everything we don’t have and it makes us jealous. We are constantly observing others and if they have something we don’t have we pout.  Growing up, I never had the new, cool things, and I got made fun of for it. I was pretty insecure and it made me become materialistic. I hated shopping at thrift stores and such, everything I wanted had to be brand new. I turned into a selfish girl who cared more about the things she had then the people she had. I thought having these items would make me happy and would make me fit in. But I was very wrong and struggl...

Hebrews 6:12 “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” It’s so easy to become lazy. I’m a very lazy person. Growing up, my mom would always say, “If you can watch an episode of The Office then you can open your Bible and read.” But for some reason, opening my Bible was just to much work. I never really enjoyed reading or praying. I didn’t understand how people could just sit there fully focused on the word or praying. I never got how they had patience and time taken out of their busy days to read. I had a teacher several years ago that told me he woke up at four in the morning every day to spend some solid time with Christ before going in to work. I thought that was ludicrous. Getting up, extra early, to spend time with a being that you can’t see? No thank you.  Throughout time, I began to realize the importance of spending time with Christ. Not being lazy about opening my Bible to read what ...

Revelation 1:9 “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” John, a companion in the suffering. He suffered before us for the kingdom of God. He wasn’t suffering and said he couldn’t do this anymore. He suffered patiently with endurance. He suffered knowing that he would be rewarded. He kept his eyes on Christ.  I want to be like that. When I go through tribulations I want to go through them patiently  knowing that I’ll be rewarded in Heaven. Whenever troubles would come my way, I used to complain and be that annoying girl. I always thought poor me, I’m going through struggles, boo hoo. I never took it patiently. I didn’t endure through it like a Godly woman, I was selfish, feeling sorry for myself.  I had friends who told me multiple times to stop complaining. They hate complaining and would snap at me every ...

Colossians 1:11 “Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.” I can’t be patient without God. I can’t do anything without God. I was not born a patient person. I was actually born a month early because I’m so impatient. I used to get mad when I would get impatient, and I’d get in a lot of trouble for it. Patience is something I’ve had to work on my whole life.  For me, it isn’t just waiting your turn or something, it’s living in the moment you have. I get impatient for the future. Wherever I’m at in the present, I become restless and I can’t wait for what’s to come. That’s not good. I focus so much on my future that I’m not living in the present. God has shown me so many times that I don’t need to think about life ahead, I need to be patient for that, and live completely in the time God’s provided for me now. I look back to when I was younger and I see this little girl dreaming of the day she’d ...

Luke 21:19 “Stand firm, and you will win life.” How often do I forget to stand firm in Christ? I’m one of those people who thinks they can control everything. Clearly, I can’t. I’ll start off running with Christ next to me. Then I jump off the cliff and I’m flying. I have Him leading me and showing me how to fly. For some reason, I always think, “Let me try this by myself!” I start flying ahead of Christ; when that happens, I start to fall and eventually crash and end up broken. I then realize I messed up. I need Christ to be in control. I apologize and He puts me back together and we start again. It becomes a cycle. I tell myself I can go alone, I can control everything, but God reminds me daily that I can’t do this life thing alone, I need Him. I’m tired of crashing. I have to stand firm in Him.  I used to take my friends to church with me every time I went. I would take them to church because they didn’t go to church. I wanted them to know God and his love for us. I...

Luke 8:11-15 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are chocked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” I’ve been all of these. I’ve had times in my life where I heard, and then the devil came and took away the word from my heart. I didn’t believe and was fully living in the world. I heard the word, but it went in one ear and out the other. I didn’t ever think about ...

Ephesians 5:15-17 “Be very careful , then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.  I always sit there thinking, “If I can just make it through (whatever it is that’s going on), then I’ll be okay. I just have to get to that point, where I want to be, and I’ll be okay.” If I was in church, it’d be to make it till the sermon is over; at school it’d be till lunch, then till school’s over. I’ve always been waiting, saying just make it to the next point. “Just wait till I graduate. Till I leave for Potter’s Field. Till the Field. Till Re-entry. Till I go home. I’ve never sat there actually being present. As Tessia’s last Inductive Bible Study says, she’s been asleep. Well, me too. I’ve been living my life like a zombie, I’ve been dead. Waiting for the next thing to come along. Not ever paying attention. Dead asleep.  I’m tired of ...

2 Corinthians 1:12 “Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.” I am someone who used to rely on worldly wisdom. I forgot to rely on God’s grace. I would think I needed approval from people. I would compare myself to my friends all the time. If they got better grades then me when we were in school, I would get upset with myself and told myself I wasn’t good enough. If they were anything better then me I would get upset and say to myself “why can’t I be more like them? Why can’t I be better?” I was very insecure and I really put myself down constantly worrying about how others saw me.  Proving myself to people did nothing for me. It just made me feel worse about myself. All the while, God was telling me, “My grace is sufficient for you! I’m here! Focus on me, you don’t need to wor...

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” I’ve grown up hearing “if you want something just ask God for it and it might be given to you!” So that’s what I’ve always done. I remember when I was really young, probably five, and I wanted a tutu so badly. I kept saying, “Ok God, please please please give me a tutu. When I turn around, let it just appear!” And I did that over and over again and it never appeared. It made me mad because I didn’t understand. I would think, “If God can do all things, then why isn’t this tutu appearing?” I guess I had some growing to do.  As I got older, I kept that in the back of my head. I would ask God for things, but they changed from a tutu to legitimate things, like, “God give me patience, compassion, and wisdom. I never really believed that God would answer those types of prayers though, and He didn’t. I thought He wouldn’t because I was bad...

Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” I always forget that. That fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I always think of wisdom as being smart and knowing what to say. Being older and having lived. It’s always been told to me that wisdom comes with gray hair. But there are plenty of people in my life who don’t have gray hair and are plenty wise. They fear the Lord. I forget that it starts with fearing Him.  Fearing the Lord doesn’t mean to run from him, to be actually afraid of Him. It means to love Him. Chase after Him. Hate evil. Recognizing that he has all power, he created us from nothing. Power like that should be feared. He did create us and He loves us and wants us. Fearing the Lord is submitting to him, obeying him, following him, listening to Him. That’s the beginning of wisdom.  I’ve never had a problem with not fearing the Lord. I’ve ...

James 3:13-17 “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such ‘wisdom’ does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” Wisdom is such a wanted thing. People go out and study for years upon years to gain wisdom. It’s so desirable. But they never really get it. They just become knowledgable. The have earthly wisdom. There is such a want for wisdom, but it’s so hard for people of the flesh to grab a hold of it. Like the verse says, wisdom of the world is unspiritual and demonic. Has selfish ambition and envy. There i...