The Perfect Gift

The latest Apple product. The hottest fashion trend. A shiny new car. These are all fun gifts that pop up on wish lists yet all of them come to an end. There will soon be a new Apple product on high demand and trends change in the blink of an eye and before you know it, that new car smell will be exchanged with dents and scratches.

But there is one gift that is everlasting, bringing a sense of fulfillment and peace. That gift is the gift of baby Jesus, our Savior. 

My favorite part about this gift is how it came upon us. Not wrapped up in holiday wrapping paper with huge bows and tags, but humbly. Quietly. Winter Snow, my favorite Christmas song by Chris Tomlin and Audrey Assad is a perfect song to display his humble birth: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/christomlin/wintersnow.html

A king. A Savior. He could've come on a throne with a crown exhibiting his mighty power surrounded by trumpets and horses, born in a clean hospital, but he didn't. He came as a small baby, as simply as "Winter Snow," born in a manger surrounded by stinky dirty animals. It amazes me this gift, the gift of all gifts, the perfect gift, was given to us in the least extravagant way.

This gift is so perfect because it's for everyone. For the abused, broken, addicted, neglected, angry, confused, adulterer, lier, drunkard,  prostitute, anyone. "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6). He was sent to each and every one of us and he never fails and never ends. 

When our heart breaks, his heart breaks. He cares about us deeply.  I pray that you see that "the reason for the season" is not about the presents that will eventually lose their wonder, but the perfect gift of a Savior, a baby swaddled in cloth in a manger to serve as a hope for everyone.

Have a safe Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

God can use you!

I'd like to say that my prayers of comfort go out to the Wagner family and friends at this time.

I believe that God used her as such an amazing example of faith and just how he can use anyone to glorify his name.

No matter what you have done or what you are going through, God can still use you. How crazy is that? I serve a God that loves me even when I fail and even when I mess up or even when I am weak and frail. 

Drugs. Divorce. Sex. ADD. Alcohol. Depression. Bi-Polar Disorder. Self-Worth. Partying. Lying. Cussing. Confusion. Cancer.

Whatever you struggle with. Whatever makes you weak. Whatever sins you commit.

God forgives you and he loves you unconditionally.

He has a purpose and a plan for you and it is always in your best interest even if it's not exactly how you wanted it to turn out. 

God used the least of the least and He can still use you.

In Matthew 28:19, 20 God says to "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

God is always by our side, always an ever present help in our troubles an fears.

Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

Katie will always be remembered as a beautiful young lady who's faith and kindness touched so many. Just like Katie shared her story and her faith, go out and share yours. God can use you, he's waiting for you, just open the door.

RIP to the loving and faithful Katie Wagner.

He will never leave you

About three weeks ago, I saw the Jonas Brothers in concert with my best friend Hannah. This was a huge deal for us. They were our childhood band.

They fit all the marks: Catchy, meaningful song lyrics, funny, attractive, and expressed their faith in Christ. 

The concert was amazing. It brought back all the childhood memories and their new songs got us so excited and pumped for their new album.

Leaving Comerica Theatre was so bittersweet. We just experienced one of the greatest comeback concerts ever and now we had to leave, but we'd never forget how great it was. 

Yet now, three weeks later, the emotion we felt isn't as intense as it was that night. Does that mean that we didn't ever go to the concert? Of course not! It just goes to show that our feelings often come and go based on current experience.

Asking Jesus Christ into your life is far better than any concert. You've begun a lifelong relationship with the God who created everything!

In John 14:23, Jesus says, "All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them." God wants to come into your life and make something extraordinary out of it. God has begun a process of molding your character to become more like that of Jesus Christ. Within this lifelong process will be some good feelings, but more often we won't have -- or want -- a continual, intense excitement.

The wonder of getting to know someone as loving and forgiving as Jesus Christ has similarities to the other relationships that we enjoy. There is the initial experience of meeting a person, followed by months and years of growing to appreciate his or her friendship and influence. 

Anything worthwhile takes time.

1 John 5:12, comforts us in saying that "Whoever has the Son, has life." Once you have genuinely chosen to follow Jesus, you can never lose him. As Jesus once said, "No one can snatch them away from me." (John 10:28) 

Them includes you. He will always be there to guide you and love you even during times of struggle and strife. Knowing this truth should outweigh your tendency to base your relationship with God on your up-and-down feelings. If you feel angry or happy or sad or confused, God is always with you, always by your side.

Contentment

What does it take to be content?

What do you find your contentment in? Do we truly NEED the things we think we need? In all truth, we only need one thing.

In a recent trip to the craft store, Hobby Lobby, I came across something interesting.

Depicting two different views: Through the lens of this world and through the lens of Jesus Christ. This world is all about me, me, me, take, take, take, while Jesus gave us a different view.

Let's take a look at the things we have: a home, clothes, food, some way to read this very blog right now, etc. God gave us these things, "Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. "  1 Timothy 6:6-7

The things we have come from God and he is sovereign. As easily as we got these things, God can also easily take these things away.

This world we live in is in constant motion, always changing. This iPhone I hold in my hand was replaced by the iPhone 5 in what seemed like only weeks after I got it. Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is constant and never failing and has a 100% success rate! We don't have to constantly upgrade to something better because He is the greatest.

This world is so deceiving, Satan lurking in every corner. Commercials and ads air 24/7 about "taking time for yourself." I think this is such a crime that we, even as Christians have started to believe that this is okay. God didn't say to serve yourself? He said to serve others! Especially without expecting anything in return because we should be rich enough in our passion and love for Jesus that we are content with that! He promised that as long as we trust in Him, He will give us everything we need.

True contentment lies in how rich we are in Jesus, and that's worth more than anything this world can and will offer.

“If they listen and obey God, they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives. All their years will be pleasant." Job 36:11 NLT

A Message in the Dirt

The story in John 8:1-11 is where the title of my blog is from. In these eleven verses, there is a woman that you and I can relate to and the message she received from Jesus, we can also receive.

Jesus is on the Mount of Olives and as always a crowd appears to hear His teachings. All of a sudden ruckus  strikes near them. The Pharisees bring a woman caught in the act of adultery out for the crowd to see.

Now at this time the law of Moses said that anyone caught in adultery were to be stoned to death.

Let's take a moment and think about how insane stoning really is. I mean its a brutal way of dying: getting hit repeatedly by a bunch of stones until you die... pretty harsh.

Anyways, the Pharisees try and trap Jesus by asking Him what they should do to the woman. Now, to the Pharisees, Jesus has only two options...let her be murdered, and break the commandments he has taught about, or break the law of Moses, and let her go?

Now this is the interesting part. Without a word, Jesus stoops down to the ground and starts to write a message in the dirt.

Can you imagine being a part of the crowd and this intense scene is going on and you're on the tip of your toes waiting for an answer to come out of His mouth... and He just bends down and marks in the dirt?

Well the Pharisees become impatient at this and demand an answer. So Jesus gives them the greatest comeback of all time,  “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then He stooped down again and wrote in the dirt.

The accusers hear this and one by one they slip away from oldest to youngest.

This next part is important. He says to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

As Jesus saved this woman from the brutal death of stoning...He can also save us. From depression, doubt, self-harm, anger, adultery...from sin.

This is why I am starting this blog. I was that woman. We are all like her in a sense. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I hope to show people that just because they have made mistakes doesn't mean that Jesus wont accept them. We are all His creations and He wants each and every one of us to run away from our sinful and dirty lives into His pure and comforting arms!

No one  knows what the message in the dirt said but it's powerful because it wasn't a huge show... just a simple message in the dirt. Despite what it was, the message saved the woman's life, and Jesus forgave her of her past life of sins just like He can do for us.

I feel like I've been called to write this blog to show people that Jesus can send them forgiveness too... even in a message in the dirt.