My Strength and my Song

Something I think I take for granted too often is the relevancy of the Bible to my life. It was written thousands of years ago, and yet, its words are never dated. The messages are clear, and never cease to apply to every single aspect of my life. I'm reminded of God's unfaithful love when I read it. I stand in awe when I find a verse that I know was written for me. I found one of these yesterday and I would like to share it with you.

² See, God has come to save me.

I will trust in him and not be afraid.

The Lord God is my strength and my song;

he has given me victory.”

Isaiah 12:2

"My strength and my song". Oh! If only everyone knew how much this means to me! God is the REASON for my success in everything I do. (Especially singing!) The fact that he rolls everything I needed to hear in one verse is truly amazing.

What an awesome God we serve!!

By your love

Great. Another tough message to listen to at our church. You know what? I've decided that I really hate it when God gives me a kick in the pants. I think I'm doing just fine and then BOOSH.

Kick in the pants.

One of our youth pastors was talking about how to love. Wow, right? And that wasn't even what really caught my attention. Sure, I know how to love. I love people everyday! I love my friends, family... No. Not that loving all those people doesn't count, but by showing the love that I have to just my friends and family... is that really imitating God's love for us? Did God just love on his disciples? Of course not! God loves every single human being on this planet unconditionally. Now can I do that? Obviously not. But, I can show love to all those kids I normally ignore at swim practice, or the poor guy that has to bag my tampons at Kroger!

What I really remember from Todd's message was a verse from John:

"Our love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

Basically what this says is that by loving people we are showing the whole world that we are followers of Christ! No pressure or anything! It is by his love that we are alive and breathing today, why not shout it from the roof tops are share it with the rest of the world?

by his love,

lindsey

It's here!

2011 is here! And it seems I've had a change in character since it has arrived. Yep, I guess you could say that my whole outlook on tackling the future has changed.

Today at church, I was reminded that a true Christian lives out their faith based on what is written in the Bible. That's what it was written for-- for us to have a base of knowledge that is applicable to every day life.

In Deuteronomy 31:6 (the message) it says,

"Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you."

Why should I live my life in fear of the future when God specifically says not to? I find myself ignoring the Bible's advice more and more simply because I don't believe it applies to my life at all times. HA! That is exactly like turning my back on God because I don't think he understands what I'm going through. But that's exactly why he sent his son Jesus to live a normal, human life. So he could say that he knows exactly what we're going through. God, himself, has felt physical and mental pain. He knows what I'm feeling and that's why he wrote the bible, so he could tell us that!

Although it's hard to process and embrace right away, I am trying my best to live a life without fear or worry. Because God goes before me, I have nothing to fear. It's as simple as that.

The whole college process seems very intimidating and stressful to me right now, but I know that God has a future and a plan for me. To quote the Big Guy himself, "...plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and hope."

till the words are lived out,

lindsey