"And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore"
This is the final verse to Matt Redman's "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)". This is one of my favorite songs. Although I have sung this song many times, it didn't hit me until tonight that I get to spend the rest of ETERNITY praising and worshiping the creator of the entire universe. And then it began to truly sink in. Not everyone of God's precious creations gets to do that. This is why Jesus has called us to follow Him. But this doesn't start with a decision. It starts with a commitment to trust Him with everything that we have. Trust that He created us for this very moment in our lives.
In Luke 14, Jesus calls those wanting to become His disciples to measure the cost of this commitment. He knew that this wasn't a one time deal; once you started to truly follow Him, there was no turning back. We are called to carry our own crosses and follow God. He new that there would be hardships, ridicule, scorn; we could be mocked, tortured, or even put to death for His name. And He wanted to make sure that those wanting to be disciples knew that up front. As it says in verse 28-30 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'"
Next, Jesus wants us to renounce all we have: our time, earthly possessions, our identity, even our family and friends. When you really think about it, nothing we have (our clothing, food, houses, cars, etc) really belong to us in the first place. Everything we have is a gift straight from our heavenly Father. "But what would I do without my_________?" Insert what ever you feel dependent upon whether it be your car, phone, friends, job, the list goes on and on. This is something I find myself struggling with. I sometimes feel (unfortunately) dependent upon my comfort. I find myself doing/not doing things based upon how I feel instead of what God is nudging me to do. "Go talk to that person" "But God, that person looks weird. What if they think I'm weird for approaching them" "I created the entire universe and put everything into motion. Just trust me." "Nope. Not feeling it today God. Maybe if I see them tomorrow I will talk to them." I have passed hundreds of thousands of people in my life. People that may not have the privilege of being able to go to heaven when I die. People that may never hear the gospel all because of my selfish little comfort zone.
This relationship that God calls us to is unique. We have one of the most powerful tools for communicating with God: prayer. We, and Christians, get to speak to the one and only creator of every living, inanimate, indifferent object on the planet as well as in the entire universe. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows what you have been through, what you are going through, and even what will happen to you. He is amazing and awe-inspiring and we basically have him on speed dial. This continues to blow my mind. But its a relationship, so some communication needs to be had. Sometimes I start praying like I am talking to a wall and don't give God a chance. Or I will send up little "emergency" prayers. You know, those prayers that you think you need answered right then and there because you are "counting on God". "Hey, God. You know, you're pretty awesome. By the way I have this test coming up in my class and I sure would appreciate it if you would help me out. Thanks, I guess I will catch you later. Good talk." Imagine if one of your friends did this to you. Your wouldn't be friends for much longer. Maintaining a relationship is a two way street.
And finally, let Jesus fill EVERY part of your life. To say that we trust God to be in control of everything, and then we try to micromanage our lives is just plain dumb. I have tried it. My sinful nature still gets the better of me and I fail miserably. Give every aspect of your life to Jesus Christ and the outcome will be better. This is not to say that life itself will get easier. On the contrary, life will brings its trials and try to knock you out of God's hands. But just remember that He has control of your life and that All things work together for his plan and purpose.
What do you struggle with? What are some areas in your life that you need to surrender to God? Are there any Bible versus that help you in difficult times? I would love to hear from you in the comment section below. : )
The rest of this song can be watched here.
Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore"
This is the final verse to Matt Redman's "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)". This is one of my favorite songs. Although I have sung this song many times, it didn't hit me until tonight that I get to spend the rest of ETERNITY praising and worshiping the creator of the entire universe. And then it began to truly sink in. Not everyone of God's precious creations gets to do that. This is why Jesus has called us to follow Him. But this doesn't start with a decision. It starts with a commitment to trust Him with everything that we have. Trust that He created us for this very moment in our lives.
In Luke 14, Jesus calls those wanting to become His disciples to measure the cost of this commitment. He knew that this wasn't a one time deal; once you started to truly follow Him, there was no turning back. We are called to carry our own crosses and follow God. He new that there would be hardships, ridicule, scorn; we could be mocked, tortured, or even put to death for His name. And He wanted to make sure that those wanting to be disciples knew that up front. As it says in verse 28-30 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'"
Next, Jesus wants us to renounce all we have: our time, earthly possessions, our identity, even our family and friends. When you really think about it, nothing we have (our clothing, food, houses, cars, etc) really belong to us in the first place. Everything we have is a gift straight from our heavenly Father. "But what would I do without my_________?" Insert what ever you feel dependent upon whether it be your car, phone, friends, job, the list goes on and on. This is something I find myself struggling with. I sometimes feel (unfortunately) dependent upon my comfort. I find myself doing/not doing things based upon how I feel instead of what God is nudging me to do. "Go talk to that person" "But God, that person looks weird. What if they think I'm weird for approaching them" "I created the entire universe and put everything into motion. Just trust me." "Nope. Not feeling it today God. Maybe if I see them tomorrow I will talk to them." I have passed hundreds of thousands of people in my life. People that may not have the privilege of being able to go to heaven when I die. People that may never hear the gospel all because of my selfish little comfort zone.
This relationship that God calls us to is unique. We have one of the most powerful tools for communicating with God: prayer. We, and Christians, get to speak to the one and only creator of every living, inanimate, indifferent object on the planet as well as in the entire universe. He knows how many hairs are on your head. He knows what you have been through, what you are going through, and even what will happen to you. He is amazing and awe-inspiring and we basically have him on speed dial. This continues to blow my mind. But its a relationship, so some communication needs to be had. Sometimes I start praying like I am talking to a wall and don't give God a chance. Or I will send up little "emergency" prayers. You know, those prayers that you think you need answered right then and there because you are "counting on God". "Hey, God. You know, you're pretty awesome. By the way I have this test coming up in my class and I sure would appreciate it if you would help me out. Thanks, I guess I will catch you later. Good talk." Imagine if one of your friends did this to you. Your wouldn't be friends for much longer. Maintaining a relationship is a two way street.
And finally, let Jesus fill EVERY part of your life. To say that we trust God to be in control of everything, and then we try to micromanage our lives is just plain dumb. I have tried it. My sinful nature still gets the better of me and I fail miserably. Give every aspect of your life to Jesus Christ and the outcome will be better. This is not to say that life itself will get easier. On the contrary, life will brings its trials and try to knock you out of God's hands. But just remember that He has control of your life and that All things work together for his plan and purpose.
What do you struggle with? What are some areas in your life that you need to surrender to God? Are there any Bible versus that help you in difficult times? I would love to hear from you in the comment section below. : )
The rest of this song can be watched here.
Fly with Christ!
Rachel : )