Isaiah 40:28-31

Sunday, February 17, 2008

New blogging location!

I've moved over to www.miraculousgod.wordpress.com

So go there to get all the new blogs! I like it much betta than blogga! woot!

-Kristy

posted by Kristy @ 3:36 PM 0 comments

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Just need to love Him

I have been struggling with something recently. I have been struggling to discern if God doesnt answer yes to a prayer, is it a "no now" or a "no forever" answer? I do understand that it is not something that I should be overly concerned with since God wants us to focus on the now rather then the later. So, if I will stop complaining, I could just simply take his no for what it is...a no.

But I've been struggling with how God could say no to something that was bringing me so much spiritual growth (please, try to stay with my ambiguity). Ah, but it is not my place to really decide what is best for me. That has been hard to understand as well.

When God called us to himself. When God called us to be his disciples he called every part of us.

He calls for our devotion of mind, heart, soul, and strength.

Mark 12:30 says

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Love takes discipline; it takes devotion, if you truely want to call it love.

Let's break it down.
(Disclaimer...these are Kristy's thoughts and not a Bible Commentary's thoughts.)

Heart:
To love our precious Lord with all of our heart means that we surrender our desires unto Him. If we truely love our Savior, if we truely recognize how much he loves us, then we should be willing to submit these desires and to allow His desires to be threaded into the very fabric of who we are. God's desires become our desires. Take notice that the opposite is not true, and should never be allowed to take root in our thinking. We should not think that our desires will become God's desires. God does not submit to us. We submit to God. But, also keep in mind that God loves you very much, and he will do what is good for you, so do not fear when he does say no to a desire of yours, because when the Lord takes away, he replaces with something greater.

Also do not think that I am saying that God will not grant you the desires of your heart. God will bless us, but sometimes what we want for ourselves isnt what is best for us, and this goes back to my dilemma above of who it is that really knows what is best for me, me? or God?

Soul:
To love God with all my soul...hmm, this is a hard one to understand. I see the soul as being the deepest part of us. It is the eternal part. Think of in those terms. Love the Lord your God with what is eternal.
He has saved my own soul from eternal damnation.
How could someone adequately express gratitude for that?

I think that this should push us to really consider the lost all around us. Those that are hurting deeply and those who we dont see as eternal beings. If we did, would it change how we think of them and how we interact with them? God loved your soul enough to die for you, and you are forever indepted to him. Now, can you take that same love and love God enough to care for his people in the same way? That is something to consider.

Mind:
Love the Lord your God with all of your mind. With all of your cognitive thinking. With all of your reason and with all of your knowledge and intelligence. Love God with your mind.

Think of the human race.
Think of the amazing capacity that God has given us for thought and reason.
Think of how we numb this amazing blessing.
We spend hours infront of the TV. We spend hours infront of a computer doing mindless things.
We spend hours infront of things that bring us no spiritual growth. Consider this verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

23 "I have the right to do anything," you say - but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right to do anything" - but not everything is constructive.

We have many rights as Christians. We have the right to numb this amazing chunk of grey matter between our ears, but where does that take us? What does that do for us? Take advantage of this blessing and dont take it for granted.

Read more.
Study more.
Observe more.

Strength:
Now this one is interesting. Love the Lord your God with all of your strength.

What has God blessed you with?

What are your strengths? Are you bold? Use it to God's glory. Are you creative? Use it to God's glory. Are you wealthy? Use it to God's glory. Are you hospitable? Use it to God's glory. Can you sing? Use it to God's glory. The list can go on and on.

Find your strengths that God has blessed you with, and use it to God's glory. Maximize your potential for His kingdom and I promise you that you will grow spiritually and your relationship with the Father above will deepen.

Consider for a moment your weaknesses? What are you addicted to? What sin is in your life? What past sin was in your life that God has saved you from? All these things can also bring God glory. Our weaknesses can become our strengths through God.

So there we have it. As usual, it was a "just go for it" post where I didn't exactly have a plan.

I pray that God teaches me through my own words. It was not I who spoke, but I know that the Holy Spirit was speaking through me. I need not worry and I need not fret. God is in control.

God has given us today. Let us glorify Him with it.

In Christ,
Kristy

posted by Kristy @ 10:21 PM 2 comments

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Which way?

Sometimes it is hard discerning where God wants you in life.

This has been one of my biggest struggles for such a long time. I graduated High School in 2005 and went off to Boise State University for college. While I was there I really began to have this fire start up within my soul. I began to understand the life of a Christian. I was going to so many Bible studies and I had a hunger, I just didn't have the knowledge. So after just one year I went to a small Bible School here in the valley called Boise Bible College. I spent a year there. I learned so much about God's precious Word, I had many things hindering my walk. One thing that I did not let go of was my depression.

I had dealt with depression for so long. I had always thought that I really didnt' have much of a testimony because I've never really done anything bad as far as drugs, sex, alcohol, parties, and the like. I dont fight with my parents and there's just alot that I've been protected from. Due to all this, like I said, I felt like I didn't have much of a testimony, yet, there was always depression. It was a huge part of my life, but I just didn't think about it as a bind. I was never suicidal but I had (what I believe) was Dysthymia. It's a low-grade depression that is more a long-term day in day out type of depression. Just the lack of motivation and passion for life, yet doesnt exactly affect every single part of your existance. I still functioned and I still had friends, but when I got on a low, I could stay there for quite some time.

I learned while I was at the Bible college that you cannot try to fill your mind with knowledge of God's Word unless you have a desire for it. I learned so much, yet my relationship with God didn't exactly grow deeper. I was still depressed.

To make a long story short, this summer I have been released of that bondage. Praise God. God has ignited within me this fire that is burning and he has given me people to help guide me and set me straight and love on me and encourage me and really show me what it means to be refined by fire. It is a hard process, but you experience such growth through it.

(that depression bit was pretty much a tangent)

What I want to get at with this post is that I have been so undecided throughout my life since highschool. Like I said, I spent a year at Boise State, and I spent a year at Boise Bible, and now, I'm in my 3rd year of college, and I'm back at Boise State again. For a while I wanted to go into teaching secondary education in english, but that fire quickly faded. I thought I wanted to do counseling, but that fire faded as well. This summer, I decided I wanted to do something that involved helping people, and so I thought I could go into non-profit organizations, and then I was told by an academic advisor that I should go into sociology if I were to pursue that feild. I got into a soc. class, and discovered its not my thing, so that fire died too.

It's tough to be in that spot again of having no idea where you are in life.

Then...I began to hear a still small voice. Has God ever spoken to you through your own words? He brings to your attention things that you've said, and through that, opens your eyes to his will?

"For a while I wanted", "I thought I wanted", "I decided I wanted"

Then I got it. Though my intentions were good, they weren't good enough. I thought "Hey God, see, I think you could really use me in counseling! Yeah, people need Jesus there, God, and I could really open their eyes to alot of truths that you have for them."

"Hey God, those highschool students really need you and I could really shine light into their lives for you and ya know, show them Jesus through my love for them. I could be a good role model for those highschool students, God, you could surely use me there!"

"Hey God, you can use me in non-profit organizations! That is a huge need, and I could be helping out so many hungry children or hurting mothers, God, and through you I could show them who you are through Jesus!"

I tried to think of a career that I thought God could use me in, instead of just quieting my spirit and listening for his voice. He never allowed a fire to burn for any of those careers because, I feel, he knew that my pride would overcome me.

God has a plan for me. I will do ministry in some way. I dont know where I'll end up, or what I'll be doing, but my work will be for his kingdom.

Its amazing how God can speak to those we hold dear to us. lol. I am told "God has a plan for you Kristy" and its almost as though they know something I dont. There is such assurance there, and it ignites within me that assurance that, yes, God does have a specific plan for me and he will use me and maximize my abilities to advance the kingdom, that is, if I am a willing vessel to be used.

So where am I going? I dont know. My parents want me to get a degree here at Boise State. My heart is not to get some career that earns me alot of money. I have seen money destroy lives. I do not want to bring that upon myself, nor my own family someday.

I think I will get my associates degree here, and then pursue ministry. God is my light. He will make my paths clear and I will serve him.

I want to thank those of you who kept up with this random post. I really had no plan of what to write...i just..wrote. But this is me, and this is what God has laid on my heart.

Seek God always. (so i was just sitting here thinking of a verse somewhere in the Bible that talks about making our paths straight, and I really didn't know where it would be. I grabbed my Bible and thought "Proverbs would be a good place to start looking for it." Second page I turn to and BAM: -->)

Proverbs 3:5,6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Thanks for spending this time with me inside my heart and head :)
May you be blessed today.

In Christ,
Kristy

Labels: direction, life, proverbs 3

posted by Kristy @ 12:08 AM 1 comments

Monday, September 17, 2007

The Little Man

This is my second post for the day, but I just thought of something that I really want to tell you about. It may seem pretty pointless, but I find great joy in this.

To begin with, I have my first job since high school (and even then, I only had that job [Chinese gourmet express...like panda express] for 3 months). This is my 3rd week at my new job. I work in a little convenience store with a little food court on campus. I am a cashier. I work Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12-3ish. It varies. But its a job in which I'm constantly interacting with people.

Well, there is this particular man that comes in and gets a hamburger, a drink, and chips. I think he is the cutest little man ever. I get so giddy when I see him and I hope that he comes through my line. He looks like a little Buddha. He's oriental and has this nice little part in his hair and has a beard and has this cute chubby belly with suspenders on. He is so gentle and has a meek voice. His wallet is packed with all sorts of cards. You can tell he holds on to things for a while.

Why am I saying all this? I don't know. For some reason I praise God for this little man. So gentle and seemingly humble. Very considerate and comes in frequently. Sometimes I just get such joy at seeing the diverse people God has made us to be.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to walk a mile in a stranger's shoes. I wonder where this little old man has come from before he stops in the store for lunch. I wonder where he goes when he leaves.

I pray that God gives you an appreciation for others. We are so different, yes, but maybe we should look at our similarities. We are all broken and need mending.

Don't just focus on someone else's cracked paint.
Don't focus on the rips and tears.
See them how God sees them.
See them how God sees you.
Love them and appreciate God's creation.

Over and Out..again
-Kristy

Labels: different, little man, same, stranger, work

posted by Kristy @ 3:28 PM 1 comments

Temptations

Today I was reading My Utmost for His Highest (link to book is on the sidebar under "Recommended Readings"). Today's was about temptations. Oswald Chambers made a good point when he said,

"A person's inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature."

I thought this was rather interesting. What we surround ourselves by is what we will be affected by, if that makes sense. What goes in will come out.
How much of our temptations come from where we put ourselves? Hypothetically speaking, think of someone who pledges abstinence until marriage, and believes this with their whole heart. What would happen if this person began hanging around the opposite sex every day and got a significant other and spent every moment with this person. How long would it take for a few barriers to come down? What about the person who plegdes never to drink yet attends college parties every weekend. The senarios are endless.

The point being is not necessarily that we will fail when we go into such circumstances (someone who is set on abstinence isn't bound to lose that just by having a significant other), but that if we have standards on something, yet continueally surround ourselves with what is contradictory to those standards, Satan will start to tempt you and try to break you of your beliefs and standards so that you will lower them little by little. He changes what is on the inside to affect what is on the outside.

Evaluate yourself. What is it that brings you down? What is it that trips you up over and over again? What are you a slave to? Jesus does indeed bring freedom, but He calls for sacrifices on our part as well. Luke 9:23 states that for anyone to be His disciple they must "deny themselves, pick up their cross daily, and follow me." We must deny ourselves. If we want to break free from the temptations that lead to failure, we have to remove ourselves from particular surroundings and/or people.

Now evaluate where God wants you.

Remember Philippains 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Over and Out
-Kristy

posted by Kristy @ 3:18 PM 0 comments

Thursday, July 13, 2006

The Color of my Demons by me

My demons sit and whisper and ponder of ways to show me beauty. Beauty like angel cake. Wonderful. Beautiful. Tasty. Unfulfilling. Unhealthy. Beauty that takes my eyes by surprise, and my will captive. To bind me in chains and throw me into the abyss. That is their plot.

The colorful spectrum of beauty that shines from Gods glory is stripped away to shades of grey.

Grey as my surroundings in night. As the Son leaves, so does color. Yes, Son as in my Jesus, and yes, sun as in that which warms our earth, both one in concept and purpose-to bring light and understanding, and without, darkness and shades of grey. The color of my demons.

They see God painting my portrait in pastels of heavenly colors. They come with their buckets of grey and the splash that they create turns Gods creation into a sordid mess. What a mess. Gods faithful dedication to composing my beauty is wasted, it seems. The painting is still there, but now it is covered in grey. The color of my demons.

I sit amongst the pines and wild flowers. Admiring Gods natural creation that man has yet to dominate. The sounds. The smells. The textures. And most of all, the colors. My senses delight in all that God gives. As night falls, the colors fade. Now the blues, the greens, the pinks, and yellows are all shades of grey. What can have the power to strip a flower of its bright pastels? What can have the power to cause the flower to fade into nothingness of the landscape, into shades of grey?

The departure of the Son takes beauty with it.

Oh, but think of the morning. As the demons dance in the absence of light they are struck with their adversary. The Son breaks over the horizon and the flowers and the trees awaken with the color they bear, and moment-by-moment they show off their beauty, as the Son grows stronger in the sky. Higher and higher he bears his strength and the land below erupts in an orchestra of colorful harmonies. The demons are gone. The shades of grey are gone.

In the morning I am glad. It means that I have the Son to guide me. The Son draws out my beauty more than anything else can. My heart despairs when the day is overcast because I cannot see the Son, and my colors are not as bright. But I know the Son is there, higher than the clouds that overshadow me. The Son is greater than the clouds, and I am reassured to know that the clouds will never consume the glorious Son.

But then comes night. The Son seems distant and gone. Of course the Son is still there, shining in the lives of other people. Their Sonshine times seem like half a world away compared to my night when my shades of grey appear. A little bit of light of the Son reflects off of the moon, so I know that the Son is still there. Some nights the reflection off of the moon is strong, and I can see some color amongst the grey. But usually I feel alone with my demons. No Son to guide me in my shades of grey.

But hope is still there. For I can still see the moon. If the moon shines, then my Son is still there. Clouds may cover my moon, but I know the moon is still there, higher than the clouds that add to my shades of grey. The moon is greater than the clouds, and I am reassured to know that in a little while, the color of my demons will fade into the orchestra of my God. The colors of the Son will overcome the color of my demons.

Your demons will whisper and plot against you. But reassured that the Son brings heavenly colors, and that your shades of grey will not last forever. Look to the skies for my Son. For where the Son is, shades of grey are gone.

-Kristy

posted by Kristy @ 4:11 AM 1 comments

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

P.U.S.H.

Pray

Until

Something

Happens

Why should a Christian pray if God already knows what we are going to say?

Here's a story:

-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-

Once upon a time there was this man who lived in a cabin in the woods. Next to his home was a big boulder. One day the Lord came to the man and said to him "I want you to push this rock everyday". The man loved God very much and his desire was to obey him.

So everyday the man went outside and leaned his shoulder against the boulder and pushed against it. Although he did it everyday the boulder didnt move even a centimeter.

One day Satan came to the man and said to him "Man, why do you push this rock every single day...it isnt even moving. Arent you wasting time and energy doing this?"

This instilled in the man's heart doubt and he began to question God. God came to him and the man asked him why he needed to push the rock when it wasnt even doing anything.

God said to him "Did I ever once say to move the rock?"
"No..." the man replied.
"Has pushing the rock made you stronger?" God asked.
"Well, yes it has." said the man.
"That is why I asked you to push the rock, because it has made you stronger, now let me move the rock...that's my job."

Praying brings growth and strength...but it is God who makes things move.

-Kristy

posted by Kristy @ 1:10 AM 0 comments

Monday, June 19, 2006

So what's the story about God and Jesus?

"So Kristy, tell me the story of God and being a Christian."
"Ok!"

God created the human race as perfect beings to begin with. Adam and Eve lived in Eden, which was a paradise. They had a blessed and complete relationship with God and lived in total peace without any worries because every need of theirs was provided for.

But one day in the garden a serpent came along and started talking to Eve. He instilled doubt in her heart and led her to believe that life would be much greater if she did as the serpent suggested, which was to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This of course, would be disobeying God's only command. The snake led Eve to believe that she could do things on her own and it would bring her much greater happiness.

From that point on all of mankind has been given the curse of sinful desires, which is doing things against the will of God, and dealing with the consequences.

In the beginning God provided everything to Adam and Eve and the only thing they did was love Him and obey him. We constantly walk in Eve's footprints thinking that we can achieve true happiness by doing things our own way and listening to the serpent telling us that we don't really need to obey God. From that first sin committed, God has made a way possible for us to still have communion with Him. He required a blood sacrifice to wipe away the sin that was committed so that the person could come before God blameless. He laid out the laws for his people to follow so that they could avoid sin and be in a relationship with Him instead. But their sinful natures always came through and a blood sacrifice was always due for sin.

God promised his people that someday he would send a man that would take care of sin once and for good and that faith is what saved them then. God provided prophets that foretold of Jesus' first coming. Very specific prophecies were made. These Major Prophets included Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah, which are found in the last half of the Old Testament.

God became a man named Jesus. To rephrase that: Jesus was fully God, yet fully man at the same time. (As a side note, many people claim that this is just not possible because it does not fit into our finite understanding of things. A quote I really like says "if God were small enough for us to understand, then he wouldn’t be big enough for us to worship". The fact that we can’t comprehend fully of something doesn't falsify it)

The reason why Jesus had to come as a baby and live the life as a man rather than just appearing old enough to start his ministry was to give himself the authority to give commands for us to follow...for example...Say you have a boss who demands you around and tells you what to do and how to live, yet he himself is a lazy bum or has never done anything he demands that you do. How much credit does his words deserve. How likely are you going to desire to obey him? Not much...So that is why Jesus had to go through everything as a man. So that he would have the authority and experience so that we could trust his words.

He taught love and forgiveness. He fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies that described him which also gave him credit. He lived a perfect life because we could not. He couldn’t sin because he was God. God himself endured a cruel and inhumane torture and died on a cross as was predicted. That was the ultimate blood sacrifice that was required for sins.

Now, all we have to do is believe in Jesus and trust that what he did was because he loved us so much (this goes back to the John 3:16 verse). God demands obedience still as he always have. We will always be sinful creatures, but now that sin is bought and paid for for those who trust in God and follow Jesus' teachings.

In John 10:10 it says, "The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that you may have life and have it to the fullest."

When we die we will be restored to perfection just as God intended in the first place when he created Adam and Eve.

Anyhow, HA, there's a more in depth explanation of becoming a Christian! For me, if I was truly searching...id want to know why. What was the significance of following Christ and being a Christian and why did Jesus have to come as he did and all that. I have been a Christian for a long time but actually understanding these points took a while, so i just want to spare people of what I had to go through with putting all the facts together to make sense. Anyhow...GOD BLESS!!!

-Kristy

PS. If anything I’ve said is questionable to doctrine and the Bible...let me know!

posted by Kristy @ 8:12 PM 0 comments

From simple things to complex things. From a teaching mentality to a learning one. From strength to brokeneness.

About Me

Name: Kristy
Home: Boise, Idaho, United States
About Me: I'm just a seeker. I seek God and each day is full of lessons that he gives. He reveals His grace to me and when I fall he picks me up to my feet. When I can't see I know He'll clear my vision. I am simply seeking God's will and my hope is that this corner of the internet becomes a place where I can share the random things that go through my mind, and hopefully make a few friends. Thanks for stopping by :)
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