When the Devil Gets You Down….. No, Wait! Don't Let Him!

           Let's face it. We all know that one person that always seems to do a good job at dampening our spirits when we're excited about something. It's not a good feeling, and we usually want to get away from that person, because we don't want to have the same pessimistic outlook on the situation as they do. Whether we realize it or not, many times our spiritual life is a lot like the picture I just described. Last year, I went to The Wilds, a Christian camp in North Carolina. The whole week I was soaked in the Word and was surrounded by people who wanted to get to know God more. By the end of the week I was super excited, ready to share Christ's love and do whatever He desired of me. The rest of my youth group that I went with shared my eagerness to follow God with all my heart. We all saw each other again that next wednesday in youth group and shared testimonies with each other and the rest of the group. Our youth pastor reminded us that although we made some commitments and had even dedicated our lives to God the past week, it doesn't mean that we can go back to the way we were before and expect those commitments to be carried through on their own. We had made certain decisions that were going to help us grow closer to God, and there's nothing that Satan hates more than a bunch of young people, ready to go out and serve the Lord. That meant that he was going to throw darts and arrows at us, and try to sneak lies and temptations into our hearts. He would do anything to keep us from giving the first part of our day to God. We all considered this truth and took it very seriously. We, as fellow believers HAD to be there for each other, encouraging and lifting each other up when we stumble. The Devil will stop at nothing to dampen our joy that we find in trusting and following God. And I think that very few of us are actually aware of that. We realize we're drifting away from what's good, but we don't recognize the little steps that end up leading us so far from the truth. That's why I believe a daily surrendering of ourselves to God is necessary. It goes back to yielding our every thought and desire to the will of God. Knowing what the Devil wants to accomplish will help make us more alert about our spiritual welfare. I Peter 5:8 says:

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

Wow! The Devil isn't just someone who doesn't like you very much and would like to trip you up every once in a while. No! The Bible describes him as a lion, an angry lion, just waiting for someone to stumble, so he can take him completely. So, if we wanted to use a plastic example, we could compare what the Devil does to someone really wanting to ruin your joy with their pessimism. But it's really much more serious and has much worse consequences if you decide to give into the temptation. Going back to what I said about my youth group, and how we needed to be there for each other. That's also mentioned in the Scriptures. Ephesians 6:17-18 commands:

"and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints." 

Like I said in my last post, though. We can't and aren't supposed to do this on our own. Yes, we are responsible to put our armor on, but who provides the armor? Our Savior. He is the commander of the army. You're not in this fight alone, and neither am I. Don't let the Devil and his workers get you far enough away from God so that you're vulnerable to their evil tactics. Stay close to your loving Shepherd and He will always protect you from the roaring lion. I really love Laura Story's song, "Grace". It's a great picture of how we can't do anything on our own, but need God's grace to lead us all the way. Just take a few minutes and click on the video below, and trust me, you'll be encouraged beyond words.

It's A Constant Battle

          "Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God." 2 Corinthians 7:1

            This verse is really powerful. First of all, it's not exactly one of those feel-good, really encouraging types of verse. It's a command verse. Paul is telling the church he is writing to that now that they have confessed their sins and excepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are to put away everything that they used do that was not pleasing to God. Notice that Paul never, not even later in the passage, says that this task is going to be easy. Cause it's not supposed to be. If being a follower of Christ was just as easy, or extremely similar to being a non-believer, there would be no point in being a Christian. This process that we call "sanctification" is a constant battle that Christ gives us the grace and strength to fight. If you're following God with all your heart, you've probably noticed how hard it can be when you're confronted with different temptations, especially sins that you used to preform regularly, before you got saved. Well, if you're finding it a struggle, you're doing things right:) Following Christ is never easy. We're constantly having to say no to things. But, like I said in an earlier post about yielding ourselves to God and His will, the battle is well worth it. Living as an unbeliever may be fun for the time being, but is there a lasting reward? Are you benefiting anything or anyone but yourself? Paul says that we have to "run the race" with diligence and patience. There is a goal, an eternal goal. And, when we finally get to heaven, holiness will finally be perfected!!! What an awesome thought! This "purifying of ourselves" doesn't happen on it's own, though. In order to move forward in the sanctification process, we have to constantly be in God's Word and prayer. There are Sunday Christians, and there are REAL Christians. This might sound harsh, but it's the truth. You can't just give God a couple of hours once a week and expect miracles. I have been learning this truth lately. I go to church on Wednesday and Sunday, and I do my devotions every morning, but I'm realizing that God wants more than that. He wants all of me. All of my attention and devotion. Does this mean that I can't do anything else except read the Bible and pray all day? No. But, if I'm in the Word enough, and have time with God first thing everyday, all my actions and thoughts will be filtered through what He's been teaching me. This really goes into a whole new topic, though. Abiding in Christ. I'll save that for another day:) The bottom line is that Paul isn't asking us to purify ourselves of unclean things ON OUR OWN. It's only by the grace of God that we can ever do things that are good in His eyes. Also, we are commanded to live pure and blameless in the sight of God, not just on Sundays and in front of strangers, but EVERYWHERE and ALWAYS.

Wait For The Rain To Stop

             Yesterday in Sunday school, we had a guest speaker substitute for our regular teacher. He spoke about the assurance of salvation. But, a small portion of his lesson really stuck out to me, and I was able to apply it to my own life. He was talking about trusting God through the thick and the thin. And, even though we ask God for things sometimes that we think are good, if they're not in His plans for us, He will not allow them in our lives, FOR OUR OWN GOOD. This past year I've been learning and experiencing first hand how to REALLY trust God. And you know, it wasn't easy, but looking back, I wouldn't of had it any other way. While I was battling the raging winds and cold rain of the storm, I thought everything was going wrong, and God didn't care about what was going on in my life. But, eventually, the rain stopped and slowly but surely the sun began to come out, ray by hopeful ray. And, it was only at the end of last year that I was able to see why God put me through what He did. First of all, circumstances ended up being even better than before, and, my trust and faith in God had been boosted by like 500%. And, even though it still hurt for a while, and the memories were still there, I have this experience to look back on that will always remind me, "Rachel, remember? Everything turned out ok. Just trust God and stay close to Him throughout the entire storm". God is the Master Planner. He can't do anything wrong. He NEVER makes mistakes. If we love Him and pray that He will help us trust Him more, He will allow faith-building circumstances in our lives. Problem is, we sometimes forget what we've asked Him for, when we're in the thick of the storm. And then, we end up blaming God for things that go "wrong" in our lives. When, if we maybe turned the picture around, we'd be able to see things right side up. God's way. This doesn't mean bad things will never happen to us. But, it's the way we look at them. A tragic event in your life can end up being a bigger testimony than you could ever have had when just being an "ordinary" person. Even if you impact the life of ONE person with your story, it's been worth it. Every Christian has a story, and they can either use it for God's glory, or try to forget it so that the pain doesn't come back. And, if you really want to stay in God's will, just pray, stay in His Word, and know that He's standing right beside you throughout every trial that may come your way. One great example of trusting God through a storm is Laura Story. If you don't know her full story, I'd encourage you to look it up. She has gone through a lot, and she's used her touching story to write music and reach thousands of people. One song in particular, "Blessings", really encouraged me throughout my tough year. It really shows how if you just wait out the storm and then look back, you'll find blessings hidden in places you never expected to find them.

A couple of my favorite Christian Contemporary songs

        Last Wednesday in youth group we were singing "Glorious Day". I don't know, there's just something about that song that gives me goosebumps, especially if it's sung with a big group. It's probably up there somewhere with my list of top 10 favorite songs. If I had a list:) No, I have too many favorites to ever actually narrow it down to a list!

                                                                                             

       On my unmade list of favorite songs is probably "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin. It's super calming and encouraging at the same time. It's a great song to listen to when you're having a bad day!

A Good End, To a Long Week

       Hey guys! So, I was doing my devotions this morning and I'm working through a daily devotional this year called "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. It's an older devotional that has been edited and revised to fit our language today. It's really in-depth, and God uses it to point things out in my life almost everyday. Today, it was talking about yielding to God and not to myself and my own desires. It referred to Romans 6:16. I went to Romans and read all the way to the end of the chapter. Romans 6:15-23 read:

       "What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
     
        Reading the entire passage kind of added on to what the devotional had already said, and helped me get the big picture. Being a slave to sin is destructive and doesn't do me any good. I don't ever produce any fruit, but simply roll around in the filth and stench of my sin. But, as the Scriptures say, to be a slave to righteousness is very different from our idea of being a slave. The things I do, and living in obedience to God now benefits me and I produce fruit that I can look back upon. I now have purpose to my life, and I don't ever have to feel lost or useless again. Yielding to my selfish desires and different temptations might feel good for a moment, but it amounts to nothing at the end of the day. I want to have purpose to my life, so that when I'm at the end of my life, I will know that I didn't waste my life on myself, but allowed God to use me and the abilities He's given me to benefit His kingdom.