just some thoughts I pondered...

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." - John 10:10

Life to the full. Such an unknown for almost everyone. Life that really means something- truly lived. I used to think this meant that with Jesus in my life I would experience the happiest life. Now, I have discovered that there is an epic difference between happiness and joy.

I used to think that if I followed Christ it would lead me into the most wonderful earthly blessings. That those who loved the Lord he would bless and they would be wealthy, happy, healthy, and prosperous. But the prosperity gospel is a new idea, and one that is so void of biblical legitimacy that it is actually ridiculous that anyone could preach it from the pulpit without a riot scene. Instead, biblically, we see that those who choose to follow the Lord must daily take up their cross. The load is not a light one, but a heavy one- filled with trials of many kinds. Pursuing the Lord requires a realization that your end goal is not to obtain more for yourself- but your prize is HIM. In 1st Peter it talks about the goal of our faith being the salvation of our souls. HE IS OUR PRIZE, not his blessings. He is what we run the race to achieve- not money, not fame, not a Christian record deal or a self-help book. It's true that many times in the bible, those who pursued the Lord faced trials like I can honestly say I have never seen. Following Christ does not = blessings. At least, not earthly ones. And the belief that it will always leads us to attempt to manipulate God by doing what we think he wants of us in order to obligate him to give what we want from him. Give it up, we can't trick God... he's God.

Then how are we supposed to walk in fullness of life when all around us the world is trying to tear us down? I think that's the hardest part for me. Being raised in the "Bible belt" I always subconsciously believed that if I stayed away from the cardinal sins, "sex, drugs, alcohol, adultery..." not to mention making sure to always vote republican-then I was a good Christian. Someone please biblically define for me a "good Christian."

Then, in comparison to all those other "bad christians" out there, man I felt pretty good about myself! I was such a good Christian- elect me to Youth Group President, cuz I've got it all together, and I really need to reach out to the rest of you sinners.- right? It was this crazy mentality that stole my joy. I know it sounds crazy to feel like such a good Christian but still walk around without joy- but I definitely was. Why? Because JOY comes from a heart that appreciates Grace. And grace saves us from the sins we don't even realize we commit. I was walking around feeling like I'd earned something. Like in the womb I had been the one to decide that I would have a good family, good friends, and the gifts and talents I have. "Hey thanks God for the whole 'designing me' bit, but I'll take it from here..." And all of a sudden I had lost the joy of my salvation.

The problem with the Bible belt is that we all feel like we're pretty good. We are the good ones who really just need to get those bad Christians on our bandwagon. When you feel like you're pretty good, somehow a Savior seems less than mediocre. Savior from what? From my occasional white lie and my sin that really isn't as bad as my next door neighbor's? We think, well yeah, God helped out, but we really had a pretty good handle on it before he came along. We don't realize what wretched people we are before grace. Grace that covers a multitude of sins. And the fact is, if we could grasp our own depravity, suddenly a savior would become a necessity. Knowing him, the one who took all our sins upon himself- it would be the ultimate reward. Suddenly those trials- the ones that seem so big and looming- they don't steal our joy. Because our joy isn't rooted in our stuff, friends, family, good christian reputation, health, etc. Suddenly we begin to realize that the only important thing is that we KNOW HIM, that we are claimed as HIS, and that NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING- not sickness or death or fire or attacks can strip us out of his hands. And if this does not bring JOY to your heart- knowing that the God of all creation sent his son to purify our filth and garbage filled hearts and lives- well then honestly, you don't really understand how filthy and garbage filled your life was before him.

PRAISE GOD, I thank him for cleaning out the junk pile that was me- that continues to be me without his grace. And if we all walked around really grasping this, and REALLY understanding what we were saved from, we would look a lot more like people living the life abundant. Life to the full wouldn't be just a nice saying- it would be our attitudes. And then, well maybe those who don't know Jesus would actually want what we have. Maybe they would actually see a difference in the way we lived. Maybe our lives would speak testimony to what a work the Lord had done! Don't forget to be thankful for your salvation! At the end of this life we will receive our reward if we do not give up- and our reward is HIM!

"Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim his SALVATION day after day."-1 Chronicles 16:23

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."- Psalm 13:5

"Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation."- Psalm 35:9

"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail."- Isaiah 51:6

"But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet."- 1 Thessalonians 5:8

=)