"...God is not only sovereign but also sympathetic. It's not that 'He isn't sympathetic with us, has no idea what we're going through, but He's powerful so He can make it right!' It's not that 'He's not powerful can't do anything about what it is that we're going through, but He can feel our pain.' He is perfectly sovereign and perfectly sympathetic. The reality, according to Revelation 21, is that He will make this right. He will make what happened in Oregon, Connecticut, China and all the other tragedies that happened this week, he will make them right. He will bring with Him a new heaven and a new earth and He will make it right. As we walk through this and are confused and hurting, we have a sympathetic high priest who doesn't look back and say 'I bet that hurts, I don't know what that's like, I'm up here on my throne.' Instead, we have a sympathetic high priest who says 'I know. I know it's horrible, i know you've wept so much that there are no more tears to cry. I've done the same. I understand that you're so stressed out by this that you can't even eat, I've sweat blood before, I understand stress.'
You say 'God, I don't even want to wake-up, I'm fearful, I'm confused, I am completely overwhelmed.' and Jesus says 'I know what that's like. I'm not just standing up here on my high horse telling you to get over it. I've walked it. I know.' And so we have to make a choice to trust, to trust our perfectly sovereign savior, and our perfectly sympathetic high priest. We have to trust Him. Jesus once said in his ministry '...if you want to follow me you must eat my flesh and drink my blood.' At that point, a lot of people said "I'm out!" and just walked away. Jesus turned to his disciples and asked therm if they were going to leave too. Peter, one of the disciples, said "Where could we go? You hold the words of life."
You can run away from God in this, or any other tragedy in your life as an opportunity to run from God. But, where will you go? Only one holds the words of life. There is nothing that my sympathetic savior, nothing that my perfectly sovereign savior, can't get me through..."
-Grant Nixon [Excerpt from sermon "Love Came" (12/16/12)]
http://ccbartlett.org/media.php?pageID=35
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
I can't do anything without Him
"My biggest struggle with faith is not a lack of belief, God has shown himself trustworthy time and time again. No, my bigeest struggle is that my prideful, arrogant heart tends to say "don't trust God with this because you can handle it." I need to daily be reminded of how sinful my heart is and how desperately I depend on God. Friends, have you placed your trust in God today, even with the little things that you mistakenly believe you can handle on your own?"
This was a friend of mine's facebook status today and boy, did I need to hear that. I can't tell you how many times I tell myself "Fix whatever problem you have so ou can go to God later and say 'Look! I did this by myself! Aren't you proud of me?'" The reality is though, we can't fix everything on our own. We NEED God to help us with everything we do. I think it makes God happier when we ask for His help. It means that we know that we are totally dependant on Him, not just kind of dependant on Him. This truly is one of the biggest things that I struggle with and one of the things I really hope to change!! :)
Friday, November 30, 2012
November: I am Thankful for...
Day 30: For This Life I've been given
This is the super cheesy FaceBook "About Me" I wrote when I first got a FaceBook. Haha it makes me laugh but I won't change it because it really is a pretty good description of who I am. :)
This is the super cheesy FaceBook "About Me" I wrote when I first got a FaceBook. Haha it makes me laugh but I won't change it because it really is a pretty good description of who I am. :)
I'm Melissa =) I LOVE God ALOT!!! My church is amazing! I love spending my time there! I love love love hanging out with the kids! I love photography and writing! I'm on the High School Yearbook this year, and I ADORE it! I LOVE music! I don't care what kind, but without music I would get NOTHING done. I love to sing, but I don't think I'm very good. The phrase "Those who know me WISH I were quiet" describes me perfectly! Believe me, I may seem shy at first but once you get to know me I probably never shut up. Ever. =) I guess to sum it all up I love life! I love being around people, I love helping others, I love being with family and friends, I love snuggling up with a good book and I love my friends and family! I am so blessed and I thank God for the life He's given me everyday. ♥"I guess to sum it all up I love life! I love being around people, I love helping others, I love being with my family and friends, and I love snuggling up with a good book. I am so blessed and I thank God for the life He's given me everyday."
November: I am Thankful for...
Day 29: KLove Radio
Today on my way home from school KLove was playing and "For Unto Us" sung by Point of Grace was on. I hummed along as I drove through the crazy parking lot traffic and it ended by the time I got home. A few hours I left the house to go babysit and sure enough "For Unto Us" was on again but this time it was an arrangement by Casting Crowns I think. I was singing as I drove and suddenly a certain line of the song really caught my attention. It's a very repetitive song that goes like this:
For unto us a Child is born,
For unto us a Son is given,
and the government
Shall be upon His shoulder;
And he shall reign over all,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful, counsellor,
the Almighty God, the everlasting father
the prince of peace
After hearing this twice in one day, "For unto us a Son is given" really stuck out to me. I started to think about how God really did give us His only son. Jesus came to earth to die for our sins so that we can have eternal life with God in heaven. :) It was just a cool way God used something like a radio station (not to mention a song that was originally written a very long time ago!) to remind me of how awesome He is.
Today on my way home from school KLove was playing and "For Unto Us" sung by Point of Grace was on. I hummed along as I drove through the crazy parking lot traffic and it ended by the time I got home. A few hours I left the house to go babysit and sure enough "For Unto Us" was on again but this time it was an arrangement by Casting Crowns I think. I was singing as I drove and suddenly a certain line of the song really caught my attention. It's a very repetitive song that goes like this:
For unto us a Child is born,
For unto us a Son is given,
and the government
Shall be upon His shoulder;
And he shall reign over all,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful, counsellor,
the Almighty God, the everlasting father
the prince of peace
After hearing this twice in one day, "For unto us a Son is given" really stuck out to me. I started to think about how God really did give us His only son. Jesus came to earth to die for our sins so that we can have eternal life with God in heaven. :) It was just a cool way God used something like a radio station (not to mention a song that was originally written a very long time ago!) to remind me of how awesome He is.
November: I am Thankful for...
Day 24: Geocaching on Black Friday
Two of my closest friends and I decided to go geo-caching on Black Friday. Traffic wasn't completely insane but it was definitely a bit crowded :) We learned to never trust Melissa with a GPS/giving directions because she WILL send you in the wrong direction. On Accident!!! We went for a walk by the Wolf River in an attempt to find one of the geo-caching things but gave up halfway through. Drove around for a while and just spent time together. I am incredibly thankful for both Kamryn S and Brandon M! Kamryn has been my best friend all throughout high school and I truly do not know what I would do without her. Brandon and I met because we were both counselors on a 5th and 6th grader trip at our church. He was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes only a week or two before I was diagnosed with Type II and over the past few years we've gotten really close. I love spending time with the two of them and I'm thankful to have them in my life. I've been blessed with some absolutely amazing friends and I thank God for them everyday!
Two of my closest friends and I decided to go geo-caching on Black Friday. Traffic wasn't completely insane but it was definitely a bit crowded :) We learned to never trust Melissa with a GPS/giving directions because she WILL send you in the wrong direction. On Accident!!! We went for a walk by the Wolf River in an attempt to find one of the geo-caching things but gave up halfway through. Drove around for a while and just spent time together. I am incredibly thankful for both Kamryn S and Brandon M! Kamryn has been my best friend all throughout high school and I truly do not know what I would do without her. Brandon and I met because we were both counselors on a 5th and 6th grader trip at our church. He was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes only a week or two before I was diagnosed with Type II and over the past few years we've gotten really close. I love spending time with the two of them and I'm thankful to have them in my life. I've been blessed with some absolutely amazing friends and I thank God for them everyday!
This is litterally the only picture I have of the two of them by themself. Haha sorry? :)
November: I am Thankful for...
Day 23: Thanksgiving!
Family, Football, Parades on TV, Food, and more :) I'm thankful for the atmosphere that Thanksgiving creates and I'm thankful for the people to share it with.
Haha I'm also thankful to have experienced my first Black Friday shopping excursion with my mom, brother, and best friend. Probably one of the craziest things I've ever done but I had a blast! :D
Family, Football, Parades on TV, Food, and more :) I'm thankful for the atmosphere that Thanksgiving creates and I'm thankful for the people to share it with.
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