Happy New Year!
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." II Corinthians 5:17
I know that this verse can be used for so many things and often times is taken out of context, but as 2009 is quickly approaching I have been meditating on this verse. This last Sunday, December 28, the Pastor was talking about reconciling or re-reconciling your life to Christ and making a commitment to turn on the sinful habits and ways of 2008 and commit 2009 to living a life of deep commitment to Christ. As you continue reading the passage Paul talks about what it means to live in Christ and be reconciled to Him. He has reconciled us to Himself by carrying all of our sins to the cross. He who was sinless took our sins upon Himself so that we could be in the presence of Himself.
As the new year comes I have been looking over the last year of my life. In some ways this year was very long and in other ways I feel like it just started yesterday. It is probably the hardest year I have had in my life thus far. But through it all the constant love and reconciliation to Christ has been there. God has never failed me, even though I fail him all the time. Even those times when I felt He was distant, He was still there.
2009 is going to be a year where I turn my back on the old habits, the luke warm times in Christ, and strive to live fully passionate and dedicated. Lord, please help me to live for you whole heartedly!
May this challenge you to live with the fire of the LORD burning in your soul.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Thank You!
Hello Everyone!
I deeply apologize. I have been very irresponsible with keeping up with my blog while I was in Israel, but I wanted to thank all of you who prayed for me while I was there. It was an experience that changed my life and the way which I read the word of God. It is almost like the Bible has become 3-D because I have visited these amazing places. I have had a difficult time summing up my trip in words. I would best describe it as a roller coaster. When I arrived I was on a high. I was simply in awe and amazement that I was waking up in the same place where David and Jesus and Paul and so many other people that I highly respect woke up themselves. But once I had been there for a while, and the school work began getting more intense, and we were going on trips every weekend, I had a very hard time and became very withdrawn. I never had anytime to rest or really spend any sufficient time to myself. I began feeling like my walk with the LORD was something on my checklist rather a growing relationship. This was very hard for me, but once I hit rock bottom things were great. I got my priorities in order again and put God #1 even at the expense of school and sleep and the Lord blessed above and beyond. I had unexplainable energy and God completely stretched my time and kept me healthy. But through out the entire time I never lost the thought that I was where Jesus was. I walked the streets that Jesus walked. I thought a lot about teens who idolize a movie star or rock star, and I felt a lot like that. I took pictures of stones that Jesus touched and got all giddy about going to Jericho where the walls fell down. I felt like a teen who had the privilege of experiencing a piece of their idols life. It was incredible.
Again, thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. Please do not hesitate to ask questions. I am much better at answering specific questions than I am at telling stories out of the blue.
I deeply apologize. I have been very irresponsible with keeping up with my blog while I was in Israel, but I wanted to thank all of you who prayed for me while I was there. It was an experience that changed my life and the way which I read the word of God. It is almost like the Bible has become 3-D because I have visited these amazing places. I have had a difficult time summing up my trip in words. I would best describe it as a roller coaster. When I arrived I was on a high. I was simply in awe and amazement that I was waking up in the same place where David and Jesus and Paul and so many other people that I highly respect woke up themselves. But once I had been there for a while, and the school work began getting more intense, and we were going on trips every weekend, I had a very hard time and became very withdrawn. I never had anytime to rest or really spend any sufficient time to myself. I began feeling like my walk with the LORD was something on my checklist rather a growing relationship. This was very hard for me, but once I hit rock bottom things were great. I got my priorities in order again and put God #1 even at the expense of school and sleep and the Lord blessed above and beyond. I had unexplainable energy and God completely stretched my time and kept me healthy. But through out the entire time I never lost the thought that I was where Jesus was. I walked the streets that Jesus walked. I thought a lot about teens who idolize a movie star or rock star, and I felt a lot like that. I took pictures of stones that Jesus touched and got all giddy about going to Jericho where the walls fell down. I felt like a teen who had the privilege of experiencing a piece of their idols life. It was incredible.
Again, thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. Please do not hesitate to ask questions. I am much better at answering specific questions than I am at telling stories out of the blue.
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