The Importance of the Gospel

Life has been pretty busy.  I work 20-25 hours a week, go to school 15 hours (plus tons of papers, test, and projects)...  I was getting caught up in neglecting the Word of God and neglecting glorifying the Lord at work and in my studies.  


It wasn't until Wednesday September 28 that I had a wake up call that I was NOT expecting.  My dad called on my way after fellowship groups and had told me that my cousin, Gavin, at the age of 30 had passed away earlier that day.  Upset and confused I began to process that this is life on Earth is not our home.  I was getting caught up in going through the motions of my everyday life.  I was selfish.  I was keeping the Lord to myself, but WHY?


WHY not share what the Lord has done for you and ME??  
"Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."" John 11:21-27


Praise God that we could celebrate my cousin's life on Earth because he was a believer!  But I don't want to let any day pass by where the Lord is not proclaimed in my daily life.  Life with Christ is Eternal.  These days on Earth will pass away, but life with the Lord will last FOREVER.  


Last week for my fall break I spent a couple of days in Lawrence, Kansas for the funeral then spent the last few days in Dallas, Texas with my sister.  The break was very nice, but I found myself getting caught back up in living my life getting frustrated with Earthly things.  It wasn't til this morning reading Elisabeth Elliot's Devotional that I found myself once again reminded of the importance of the Gospel.  


Here was my slap in the face this morning:
Several Ways to Make Yourself Miserable
Author: Elisabeth Elliot


1. Count your troubles, name them one by one--at the breakfast table, if anybody will listen, or as soon as possible thereafter.
2. Worry every day about something. Don't let yourself get out of practice. It won't add a cubit to your stature but it might burn a few calories.
3. Pity yourself. If you do enough of this, nobody else will have to do it for you.
4. Devise clever but decent ways to serve God and mammon. After all, a man's gotta live.
5. Make it your business to find out what the Joneses are buying this year and where they're going. Try to do them at least one better even if you have to take out another loan to do it.
6. Stay away from absolutes. It's what's right for you that matters. Be your own person and don't allow yourself to get hung up on what others expect of you.
7. Make sure you get your rights. Never mind other people's. You have your life to live, they have theirs.
8. Don't fall into any compassion traps--the sort of situation where people can walk all over you. If you get too involved in other people's troubles, you may neglect your own.
9. Don't let Bible reading and prayer get in the way of what's really relevant--things like TV and newspapers. Invisible things are eternal. You want to stick with the visible ones--they're where it's at now.
  
Wake up call...I think so! Praise God.  


God sent his son to die on the cross for my sins and yours.  Today I ask myself...Am I going to live my life proclaiming the Gospel or Neglecting the Gospel?  

Joy.

Well I can't believe this, but I am a senior in college and I am ENGAGED!! I am engaged to my best friend and love of my life.  Praise God!  He is truly a blessing in my life.  So here's the story...

I had been a little skeptical all week because Derrick had been home the weekend before, not sure if he was getting the ring or not, but clearly he did.  So Thursday night he had said we were going on a date.  A date...YAY!  I was really excited because we were going to the restaurant where we went on our very first date, its called "You and Me".  So anyways I was praying all week that I would be content if it didn't happen, so I went into the date expecting nothing to happen.

So now this brings us to Thursday...

He picks me up at 6:30 and we get in the car. (Side note: I get in the car and check the back seat for any specific ShaneCo. boxes or bags-haha) He apologizes if he is acting weird because he SUPPOSEDLY had coffee which made him really jittery. (Lies)  So we get to You and Me for dinner and there is not one person eating there.  I had decided it wasn't going to happen tonight...too cliche' for engagement.  (Derrick hates being cliche')  So we had fun at dinner, just chatted about our day, reminisced about our first date and  it was a beautiful night.  After dinner we got in the car and we still had an hour or so before CRU and I wanted to go to this new ice cream shop in Bowling Green.  I was a little bummed because I really wanted to go, but instead we went to the walking bridge where we had gone after dinner on our first date.  As we are standing there looking at the water Derrick is rubbing my shoulders and asked me "So what were you thinking on our first date??"  I said," I mean I thought it was fun and I was nervous, I mean I don't really remember."  So then I asked him what he thought. And he says..."I was thinking this is cool, I haven't dated anyone in a while so this is really fun" He proceeds to say..."And then we dated a while And then we found a church together and I got to see your heart and how you love the Lord.  And I knew that you would love the Lord more than me.  And then I told you I loved you. And then we talked about engagement and marriage...And now that brings us to Now."  I turned around and kissed him.  He then is like "Ah! What's this poking me??" (At this point I knew)  He pulls out this little tissue paper and starts unwrapping the ring.  He then gets down on one knee and says, "Alyssa Smith, Will you marry me??"  I said, " Well YEAH!!"  So I kiss him and hug him and he's like "Well do you want to try this thing on??"  So as he is putting it on my finger I scream so loud...He was like "Oh no, is this the wrong finger??!!"  I was like NO...It's BEAUTIFUL!! I have never seen a ring like this.  Then after I calmed down a little he shared this passage with me. "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up, But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

  

A Beautiful Exchange

This is my new favorite song. It is such a beautiful depiction of the gospel.

Should not be an Excuse

My head is about to explode of everything that the Lord just revealed to me through a friend. Let's just say the conversation was completely the Lord opening my eyes to see things I had never thought about.  As we all do, we all have pasts.  And we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, but it is by God's grace that we can have a new start.  It's not to say that through your time of being renewed and living your daily walk that you won't encounter hardships.  You will encounter struggles of those past memories that will be hard, but you have to deal with them.  You can't let Satan take ahold of those struggles, God is there to work through them with you.

   

For me...It has been alcohol.  I have never seen anything good come from it.  I have had family that abuses it and can be completely irresponsible when they are consuming it. I myself have abused it in the past, but have made the decision to not drink or be around those irresponsible situations.  I lost trust from many people who have abused it.  So for me whenever I hear the word alcohol, it causes me to feel a little uneasy and often lose trust in others when they are drinking casually.  

  

But... what my friend made clear to me was that this struggle is something that Satan uses against me.  He takes hold of that situation and causes my mind to wander.  I must not judge others, but care for them and trust them.  I say care because there might be someone that the Lord places in my life that will be going through the same thing that I went through and I need to love them, not judge them.  And I say trust because there will be people in my life who can  be around alcohol or have the occasional drink responsibly and I shouldn't judge them.  I don't need to make my past an excuse, but something that the Lord will help me work on when dealing with different circumstances.  I don't need to run and hide from it, but I need to deal with it head on.  And I don't need to hinder others and cause them to struggle what I struggle with.  

  

I praise God that I have him to help me along the way.  Many trials will come along, but taking it to the Lord should become my first instinct instead of my heart and feelings.  

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12

Set-Apart

"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me." Luke 9:23

Wednesdays have been the highlight of my weeks this summer.  As you have heard me mention before, I have had the delight in leading a high school girls bible study this summer.  These are my girls and I love them so so much.  We read the book Set-Apart Femininity By: Leslie Ludy, but I didn't want this to become a book club.  The Lord really placed it on my heart to each week give glory to Him and make it all about the Gospel.  I was so encouraged last night as it was our last bible study to see how much God worked in these girl's lives.  The girls each wrote me a sweet note of how much God taught them this summer and one girl wrote  "I spend so much more time in the Word, I have a passion for God like I never had before and I understand so much more about the Bible and what God wants for my life..."  Praise God.  I do not tell you this to give credit to myself because I was just the vessel that God used to get through to these girls.  It is because God that these girls and myself grew closer to Him this summer. 

As young women seeking to glorify God we recognized that our focus needs to be on Jesus Christ everyday.  I got these rings for the girls so that they will have something to look at each day and remember who we are supposed to be living for.  Our lives as Christians are supposed to be like Christ.  He is the one that God sent to Die on the Cross for OUR sins and because of this we must follow him.  

These girls have brought so much joy to my life and I praise God for them to be a part of my life.  I pray that these girls cling to the cross daily and don't get caught up in what this world tells us.  It is about Jesus and no one else, the rest will fall into place.  

I love you- Mandi, Taylor, Elizabeth, Allison, Lauren, and Lianna

Hebrews 12:1-3 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

For Derrick.

"Time and distance quench a small love, but make a great love grow stronger."

Today I read this quote after reading a story about a couple.  Their story goes a little something like this...

Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand had the most romantic real-life love story I've ever heard of.  But ironically their marriage was nothing like the "white picket fence" scenario that most us dream about.  Their life together was marked by intense persecution, torture, imprisonment, poverty, and over ten years of separation from each other.  When Richard sat in the pastor's convention listening to the name of Christ being blasphemed, Sabina had a choice to make.  She could either cling to her desire to keep her husband by her side and her family protected, or she could make Jesus Christ her highest priority.  She chose to honor the name of Christ, even though it meant giving up everything in life that she held dear.

Richard was thrown in prison, and she spent ten years not knowing whether he was dead or alive.  Was the beauty of their love story dimmed by such dismal circumstances?  Just the opposite.  After years of praying and agonizing for her husband, Sabina received a note scrawled in Richard's unmistakable handwriting.  He was only allowed to write a few words, which would be censored by prison guards.  His words were : "Time and distance quench a small love, but make a great love grow stronger"

(From Set-Apart Femininity By: Leslie Ludy)

God placed me in Louisville for the summer.  He placed Derrick in Bowling Green.  He is using us in the same way and that is to serve him better.  I would much rather be closer to Derrick, but that was not the Lord's plan this summer.  The time apart has been difficult at times, but small frustrations are always a result of selfishness. I am sinful.  Derrick is sinful.  That is why we must cling to the cross daily.  After reading this today I realized that Christ should be my main focus all of the time, whether in a relationship or not in a relationship, Christ should be my life.  

As I grow in my love for Derrick day after day, it isn't because of his good looks, great sense of humor, or ability to fart 50 times in one day (these are all added Bonuses... haha) BUT it is his love for the Lord.  I know that Christ is way more important to Derrick than me and I praise God for that.  I praise God to be dating an amazing Godly man who is all about serving the Lord.  In this season while we are apart...I seek to grow more with the Lord as well.

"We Love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19       

This past week in my high school girls bible study we talked about building walls against Satan's attack.  Before preparing for study I had never taken a look at the book of Nehemiah...Ever! Nehemiah is in preparation to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after the exile. In his despair he sits down and prays to the Lord.  His prayer is so beautiful...

"And I said, "O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,  let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.  Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,  but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.'  They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man."
    Now I was cupbearer to the king." 
Nehemiah 1:5-11

I read this prayer and think of how watered down my prayers are.  Last summer when I was in Africa, the Ghanaian's valued praying to the Lord.  They confessed everything before him and held nothing back.  They trusted and loved him completely.  I long to have prayers like this.   Through this scripture I am completely and utterly amazed at how the Lord continues to teach me things about myself.