We had a group of college students serving with us a while back at Club 180 and they all showed an amazing example of being the hands and feet of Jesus. They put their faith into action. Terry and I was asked to lead a Bible Study time with them and one of the students shared her heart and where she is in her relationship with Jesus. This is a young lady that has been raised in a Bible teaching church, got saved when she was seven years old, and serves in her church and college, planting seeds so others will know Christ. She is struggling with her faith. Is it real? Have I really accepted Jesus in my heart? This has taken over her thoughts so much, she has prayed the sinner's prayer more times than she can count. She wants to be secure in her faith, however, she is stuck and can't move past her salvation.
How many of us question our salvation? How many of us at some point in our walk with God question the validity of our faith? It seems too easy sometimes when we consider all He asks of us is to believe in His Son and confess with our mouth that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Too easy! But in reality, it's probably the hardest thing for our human instincts and desires to do. You see, we all are born into the world with a sinful nature. We want to be number one of everything. At an early age, parents instill in their children that they can be the best if they try hard and focus on the task. I'm guilty of that. We just want our kids to have a positive self-esteem and realize their potential. Then when they get older and begin to set out on their own we tend to give them advice on setting their goals high and working hard at what they do so they will have job security, money, and hopefully a nice retirement plan. These are all good things, don't get me wrong. But sometimes I think we miss the mark. We're questioning our faith and don't even realize it. If we're not instilling in our children first and foremost a passion and desire to trust God in everything, how will they grow and mature in a relationship where they give Him their whole heart. We are essentially telling our kids, to trust themselves and their skills before anything else. Even before God. Wow!!! I just stepped on my own toes. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says it all. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." These truths apply today just as they did thousands of years ago. God's word hasn't changed.
True salvation begins in your heart. Once you have established that, move on. God doesn't want you to be stuck in your faith. He wants you to grow and live out your faith. Once you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, love Him with all of your heart, your soul, and your strength. That's what authentic faith is all about. It all begins in the heart. Then it oozes out to every area of your life so you become so in tune with what's on God's heart that everything else becomes second fiddle. Remember, we are not placed on this earth for earthly pleasures. We are purposed for God's work and pleasure. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." The word delight means to "have joy" or "take great pleasure." When my thoughts and focus is on the joy and pleasure I have in my heart, knowing I am eternally secure and my relationship with Christ is built on the grace and mercy He has given this poor wrecthed soul, my life becomes more about the desires that is on His heart. Did you catch that? My desires become His desires! Wow! Shouldn't we be instilling that into our children and our children's children?
The young lady that was here questioning her salvation, is saved. There is no doubt. Her life is a testimony of her faith. Sometimes that seed of doubt is planted and if we are not careful, it will grow because our focus on Christ is muted by other things in our life. If our hearts desire becomes anything other than loving Him with all that we are, then Satan will find our weakness and begin to try to dig in. Listen, if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you are His. Period! John 10:28 says, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hands." When I feel discouraged in my faith, I love to read the Psalms. It is so encouraging and reminds me of how great our Father's love is for His children. It restores my focus and renews my passion.
There is a quote I have written in the front of my Bible that sums up what authentic faith is and how we should continually live out our faith. "Believing God is not for the weak at heart. It's only for those who want to discover the rich blessings of walking close enough to God to hear the constant drumming of His heartbeat. Thump-thump, Thump-thump, Thump-thump." - Lysa Terkurst. Authentic faith all starts with the heart. Loving the Lord with all of our heart, soul and strength IS my desire! I so desperately want to hear His heartbeat.
His Humble Servant,
Angie Burkeen
Club 180 Ministry
503 Main Street
Cumberland, KY 40823
http://www.club180ministry.com/
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Saturday, January 23, 2016
A Life to Live
Before I came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Before I knew and truly understood the promise He gives us in John 10:10 that says, " I have come to give you life that you may have it to the full." Until I really understood what this meant, I "lived to have life." You see, there is a huge difference between "living to have life" and having a "life to live."
God knew us before we were even formed in our mother's womb. He knew every hair on our head. He knew every imperfection of our fleshly body. He knew everything about us before we were even thought of by our biological parents. Knowing who we would be, knowing the bad parts of our life, knowing that throughout our lives we would disappoint, disobey, and even break His heart as we choose the ways of the world instead of His perfect plan for us, He chose to bring us into existence anyway. He loves us unconditionally and we are His greatest and most precious creation.
From the moment we are born, we become selfish. Early life is a selfishness built into us for survival. The only way to communicate with our caregiver is by crying. As soon as we realize this gets us what we want, "Katie bar the door!" It's on! Then as we grow older our selfishness is rooted in believing the lies of Satan. We think we somehow deserve everything we can get. Whether it's the best clothes, the best cars, the best paying jobs, the best relationships. We begin to do whatever it takes to make that happen. We end up "living to have a life." Don't get me wrong. Goals are great to have. But when the goals of our life begin to super-cede the life that our Creator has planned for us, we become that toddler in the sandbox who refuses to share the toys that he thinks are his. We become self centered and self absorbed, thinking we need "things" in our life to make us satisfied, so we do whatever we need to do in order to make that happen. What a hamster wheel that can become! God never intended His greatest creation to live this way. If He takes such detail in making sure the birds of the air have food to eat. The amazing fact that if He gives us beautiful flowers that put off fragrances that are so enjoyable to our senses it brings a smile to brighten any day. If He does that, don't you think He has plans for our lives that we cannot even begin to fathom. Wow! Chew on that for a while.
So why do we continue to be so defiant in our lives? Why do we continue to search so hard for things that we think will satisfy us, only to leave us searching for more? I read a book recently written by Lacey Sturm, lead singer for the band Flyleaf. She had a life changing, life saving encounter with God and when that happened, she said her eyes were open to a life she never knew could exist. She began to see people through the eyes of Jesus. This absolutely changed her dying life where she thought, if this is all there is, I don't want it - to a life worth living! A life where every one she saw, she saw them the way Jesus sees them, beautiful! Where every sunrise and sunset, every snowflake that falls, every colorful leaf on the trees, every part of creation is a part of His beautiful Masterpiece.
That's the difference between "living a life" and a "life to live." I want a life to live, not by my own selfish desires, but I want that encounter with God every day, so my life reflects His loving grace and the beauty of His creation shines brightly in everyone that crosses my path and everything I see . I want to live with the love that overflows from the life He has given and given in abundance. I want to live in such a way that my heartbeat is in tune with His heartbeat. Life is beautiful and the plans God has for our lives is an amazing tapestry weaved together to become this beautiful life He intends for us to enjoy. A deep rooted joy and peace for life that can only come through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. When we fully surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, we become full of life and love!
You can choose to "live a life" or have a "life to live!" The choice is yours!
Much Joy,
Angie Burkeen
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
God knew us before we were even formed in our mother's womb. He knew every hair on our head. He knew every imperfection of our fleshly body. He knew everything about us before we were even thought of by our biological parents. Knowing who we would be, knowing the bad parts of our life, knowing that throughout our lives we would disappoint, disobey, and even break His heart as we choose the ways of the world instead of His perfect plan for us, He chose to bring us into existence anyway. He loves us unconditionally and we are His greatest and most precious creation.
From the moment we are born, we become selfish. Early life is a selfishness built into us for survival. The only way to communicate with our caregiver is by crying. As soon as we realize this gets us what we want, "Katie bar the door!" It's on! Then as we grow older our selfishness is rooted in believing the lies of Satan. We think we somehow deserve everything we can get. Whether it's the best clothes, the best cars, the best paying jobs, the best relationships. We begin to do whatever it takes to make that happen. We end up "living to have a life." Don't get me wrong. Goals are great to have. But when the goals of our life begin to super-cede the life that our Creator has planned for us, we become that toddler in the sandbox who refuses to share the toys that he thinks are his. We become self centered and self absorbed, thinking we need "things" in our life to make us satisfied, so we do whatever we need to do in order to make that happen. What a hamster wheel that can become! God never intended His greatest creation to live this way. If He takes such detail in making sure the birds of the air have food to eat. The amazing fact that if He gives us beautiful flowers that put off fragrances that are so enjoyable to our senses it brings a smile to brighten any day. If He does that, don't you think He has plans for our lives that we cannot even begin to fathom. Wow! Chew on that for a while.
So why do we continue to be so defiant in our lives? Why do we continue to search so hard for things that we think will satisfy us, only to leave us searching for more? I read a book recently written by Lacey Sturm, lead singer for the band Flyleaf. She had a life changing, life saving encounter with God and when that happened, she said her eyes were open to a life she never knew could exist. She began to see people through the eyes of Jesus. This absolutely changed her dying life where she thought, if this is all there is, I don't want it - to a life worth living! A life where every one she saw, she saw them the way Jesus sees them, beautiful! Where every sunrise and sunset, every snowflake that falls, every colorful leaf on the trees, every part of creation is a part of His beautiful Masterpiece.
That's the difference between "living a life" and a "life to live." I want a life to live, not by my own selfish desires, but I want that encounter with God every day, so my life reflects His loving grace and the beauty of His creation shines brightly in everyone that crosses my path and everything I see . I want to live with the love that overflows from the life He has given and given in abundance. I want to live in such a way that my heartbeat is in tune with His heartbeat. Life is beautiful and the plans God has for our lives is an amazing tapestry weaved together to become this beautiful life He intends for us to enjoy. A deep rooted joy and peace for life that can only come through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. When we fully surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, we become full of life and love!
You can choose to "live a life" or have a "life to live!" The choice is yours!
Much Joy,
Angie Burkeen
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
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