BeautyFULL.

there was a man who walked the earth who was too liberal for the conservatives; too conservative for the liberals. He was loved by the sinners; &he was hated by the sinners.
But he always LOVED.
That man was Jesus.  

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” 

Apart from Him we can’t live the Christian life. It’s Jesus who can live the Christian life through us. 
We have been enriched in Him.

Listening to a podcast on 1 Corinthians 1:1 from Solid Rock, in Portland, I just found out a lot about who I am; and a lot of what I have to change in my life. Sometimes I find myself just going through the routines and motions of being what most people today call a “believer”. Go to church. Read my Bible. Etc.etc. But what God really calls us to be is followers of Jesus! Not just “Christians”; not just “believers”, but FOLLOWERS of His Son. People who follow the teachings of the One who came to earth; was persecuted and tortured and died a brutal death. We have to stop being Christians who are merely Christians in order that we have the assurance of heaven. But we need to come face-to-face with Jesus.

John Mark Comer, the pastor of Solid Rock – A Jesus Church, spoke that there are two different ways of practicing faith, and living it out. (1) is to try to pull God into your life. Like above, this is just the routine “Christianity”: going to church; reading the Bible; doing good ‘deeds’, etc. It is pulling God into your life by asking Him to speak to you, to bless you, and to make you happy. But another way to really practice and live out our faith would be (2) to try to pull your life into God’s. To GIVE your life to bless God, and not the other way around. To get your life to contribute to the mission of God, and find your life outside of your plans, your agendas, your goals and dreams and desires. This is to really know God and to join His Son in the mission to redeem and restore all things new. This way means to lose sight of your own plans and ambitions and to simply follow Jesus by dragging your life into His. “I want more of my life in God – not more of God in my life” (John Mark Comer)

The first of these ways of living is narcissism; the other is THE WAY to Jesus.

We are ALL called by God. But coming to this calling takes time. When Paul was first called by God to go and speak to the Gentiles it took up to TWO decades for the time to actually come about when he finally reached the Gentiles. But he continued to trust and wait upon the Lord. He didn’t walk away. He didn’t doubt. He was persecuted; and tormented. But he had surrendered his life to God, knowing that God had a better plan. This message taught me that I can’t just sit back and enjoy the ride necessarily, and at the same time not to take matters into my own hands. But to bring MY life to God – surrendering it fully to Him, and saying “HERE.I.AM. Send me.”

If we do this – He will really be able to transform us from the inside out. Not to OUR advantage – but to HIS.
I hope that I can take this message and become a follower of my Jesus. I hope I can stop asking Him to come into MY life, but to give my life to Him to bless HIM and HIS mission. I hope that as followers of Jesus Christ, we can all begin to do this together.

kb. 

summer has begun. 

Today it actually felt like it what with it being so beautiful and warm outside! But the worst part is that I have to find a job VERY soon, which also means I’m probably going to be cooped up most days for the next four months. Ah what a joy-kill. 

It’s weird to be home though - I didn’t really expect the transition to be as hard as it is. Not that I don’t love to just sit back and relax finally, but I already feel the difference in not having my solid group of friends all around me, all the time. I think my biggest prayer for this summer - and the coming year since I won’t be back in Waterloo :( - is that God will provide me with a really solid group of new young people who I can depend on for the support and love I normally have from my bff’s! (Which I obviously will still have, only a little further away!)
For starters I need to find a really sweet church somewhere near me. shopping time!
SO if your prayer list is looking rather small right now, feel free to add any of the above to it! ;)  
kb.  

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” 

He has cheated
Hell and seated
Us above the fall
In desperate places
He paid our wages
One time once and for all

- death in His grave 
 John Mark McMillan. 

My KING, Father, Rock & Redeemer sent His only son to die a brutal death on a cross, on this day, thousands of years ago. so that we can have eternal life with Him in His heavenly realm for eternity. 

my soul is getting restless for the place where I belong.