"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead." {NEW YEAR}

For some 2014 was wonderful, yet for others 2014 may be a year that you hope to never relive.

2015 is a new year. 

It is a time to realize that you can focus on the new year. You can forget the past. 

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things." Philippians 3:13-15

I know how it feels to live in the tension of what you have been and what you want to be. We have all done things for which we are ashamed. However, Christ allows us and wants us to let go of past guilt. Do not go into 2015 dwelling on your past. Like Paul, we must forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. 

"Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you." Proverbs 4:25

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Ask the Lord to forgive you of whatever you are ashamed of and then know that you are forgiven.  Conviction is from God but shame is from Satan. Embrace God's grace and throw away the shame. Take a deep breath in knowing that you are forgiven and that there is hope in 2015 because of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Taking Your Thoughts CAPTIVE

I want to be genuine on this blog. I want you to know that I struggle daily, and I struggle with many things. I am in a battle daily, but I know you are as well. My hope is that you would read this and know that there is someone learning and growing with you. I fail daily but together we can strive to be more like Jesus Christ. I enjoy sharing what I am learning- what God is teaching me. Like I said, things that I am learning, not things I have always succeeded at or have down pat. 

With that being said:

Are you controlling your thoughts or are your thoughts controlling you?

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

1 Corinthians 10:5

We are told to take every thought captive and to make it obedient to Christ. Thoughts can most certainly control you. There is a reason we are told to make them obedient to Christ. They can lead to wrongful actions and/or words that we later regret. And if that is the case, they are simply dishonoring to the Lord. When thoughts enter our mind we have the choice to dwell on them or turn away from them. Jesus followers MUST capture every thought and yield it to Christ. 

Our thoughts should not pull us around like a dog on a leash. We have the authority, with Christ in us, to push our thoughts around. We have the authority to push out thoughts if they are not God honoring and pull in thoughts that go with Philippians 4:8.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things."

Philippians 4:8

Spend time with me reading through these verses. Ask God to give you the spirit of discernment to keep your thoughts focused on Him and His truths. When thoughts come into your mind that you know you shouldn't dwell on [negative thoughts about someone,  negative thoughts about yourself, lustful thoughts, the what-if thoughts that are untrue because they have never happened and may never even happen, even thoughts of delicious food that leads to overeating] PUSH THEM OUT. Sometimes I even have to start saying truths out loud: "She is a daughter of the King. I must view her as His child and a sister in Christ." "I am beautiful because I am made in the image of Christ." "The Lord has called me to think and do things that are pure and glorifying to Him." "God, 'My times are in Your hands.' You love me and You have me in the palm of Your hand." "My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and I must take care of it by what I am putting into my body." 

Taking our thoughts captive and thinking of things that are "excellent and praiseworthy" allows us to be more like The Lord. We can control our thoughts with the power of the Holy Spirit within us. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in us as believers. Wow. How cool. 

You Have An Assignment

"Sometimes God will send you a storm to reroute you back to your assignment. If He hadn't of sent the storm you would of ended up in the wrong place." Pastor Steven Furtick said this during one of his recent sermons in the How to be Brave series. You were created for a purpose. You were not made to aimlessly wonder through life without reason. If you are living, there is a purpose for you being here on Earth. God has a plan for your life.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

When we seek the Lord He will make our paths straight. We will be living in the purpose He created us for. We will be living for His glory. The Lord knows the plans He has for you. His plans are not to harm you but to give you a hope and a future. His purposes are for your good and His glory. However, sometimes we tend to take detours. These detours come about as a result of our own sin. As Pastor Steven said, sometimes God will send a storm to reroute you back to your assignment. Sometimes it takes "storms" in our lives to make us miserable enough to turn back to Christ.

It is in these times that we fall to our knees before the Lord and seek His face.

It is in these times that we return back to Him.

It is in these times that we are rerouted back to our assignment that the Lord has put before us. 

And if God had not sent the storm, we would of ended up in the wrong place and missing the purpose we were created for. If you have been on a detour that has left you weary and exhausted without Him, turn back to Christ. Allow Him to reroute you back to your assignment. Stay close to Him, friends. He is so good.

Thank you Lord for bringing us storms and rerouting us back to our assignments. Thank You for loving us enough to bring us back to You. There is beauty in the brokenness. 

Stop Hurting Yourself

I recently heard Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church, say "Any time Jesus is not 1st in our lives, we will always do things that hurt us." At first I was confused by his statement because I never intend to hurt myself. As a human, I am looking out for my best interest and never intentionally trying to do things that hurt me. That's the problem though. Many times I make decisions because I think I know what I need/want in the moment. However, I have realized that if I am not seeking the Lord through my decisions, I tend to make choices that cause myself pain.

Jesus' commands us not to do certain things:

• "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits is outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body." 1 Corinthians 6:18
• "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry," Colossians 3:5
• "You shall have no other gods before me." Deuteronomy 5:7 [No idols]
• "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24

These are just to list a few. But now if you aren't a Christ follower I understand that you read that and think "Yea, a list of rules and things I can't do."
Can I please tell you that I have been there.
Can I please openly tell you that I have gone against those commandments listed above.
I may have been satisfied in the moment; however, at the end of the day I was left broken. Sometimes not even at the end of the day, sometimes it was the end of the week, or even month.

I have learned that the Lord wants what is best for us. He did not give these commands so that we would have a boring life. He gave us these commands so that we would experience life to the fullest. 

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

The Lord's commandments are guardrails for us. They are to protect us. He created us and knows what's best for us. Instead of being left broken and empty, He fills us and offers us joy, hope, peace, and love. He offers us eternity with Him in Heaven. Life is so much better with Jesus. It may not get easier but it is so much better living under His commandments. So much joy comes from obeying Christ. If you are reading this, I am praying that you follow the Lord and experience this truth for yourself. 

Anchored

I started this blog in high school and as you can see below, I have not touched it since 2011. I have felt compelled to get it back up and running. However, I kept putting the thought away because I am not a writer. I am not wise enough. I am not theological enough and no one wants to hear what I have to say. (These were the lies I believed from the Enemy at least.) God is not letting me go another day without putting my pride aside and restarting this blog.

I have recently opened my eyes to some of the hurt that is going on in the world and all around us. This has much to do with the fact I was experiencing some of the things I only ever heard of people experiencing. This deep hurt I've heard of people experiencing became real to me. If you are going through a tough trial right now can I please ask you to turn to Jesus? If life is great for you right now can I please ask you to turn to Jesus? Life tends to have its highs and lows. Our souls tend to get overwhelmed and our hearts tend to get broken. But Jesus is there and He is so good. He is the only One that can satisfy and give rest to our souls.

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." Hebrews 6:19

As Christians our hope is firm and secured in Jesus Christ. We have hope when life gets hard. When everything around us seems to be a whirlwind, our soul does not have to be. 

{We can be anchored.} 

We can have a relationship with Christ and a hope that is secure and immovable in God. We can be anchored in the Kings of Kings, the Lord of Lords. 

My prayer is that someone would find hope, love, and encouragement here. And if someone does not know Jesus, that through this blog they would have the desire to start an intimate relationship with our wonderful Lord. Turn your thoughts and your heart to God today. He loves you and He cares for you deeply. There is HOPE. Do not give up. Be anchored.