An infinite God can give all of himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.        -A.W. Tozer

Over the last week I read through an amazing book called The Shack. I am not going to ruin what happens because I truly believe everyone should read this book. My favorite thing about the book, even though it is fiction, is that it paints what I believe to be the most accurate and true picture of God. I found myself crying and laughing unstoppable waterfalls of tears. Here are 2 of my favorite parts of the book (don't worry, I am not ruining it)!

1) On the topic of true submission, a fictional Jesus explains to the main character: "Genuine relationships are marked by submission even when your choices are not helpful or healthy. I am as much submitted to the Father as He is to me, and the Holy Spirit is to us as we are to the Holy Spirit." The last line here is what really got me, check it out: "In fact we (God) are submitted to every person the same way."

2) On the topic of religion and if all roads lead to Jesus, fictional Jesus says, " Christian, Mormon, Buddhist, Atheist, Democrat, Republican, whatever it is, only one road leads to the Father, but I will travel any road to find you."

Both of these thoughts just overwhelm me. Sometimes we get so lost in our own lives trying to please God that we forget we can't earn any more love. He loves us completely!! 100%

Please read this book! Whoever you are, wherever you are at in your life, I promise it will change your outlook on life forever!!!  

What Makes You?

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:2)

As I read this today, I could not help but think about how many people set their minds on earthly things, then, when and if there is extra time, they focus on Christ. Let's be honest here, what makes you? If you were to die this instant, what would you be known for? Not what would you hope to be known for or what sugarcoated comments would your friends and family say at your funeral, but what makes you? 

I'll go first. I believe I would be known for being too upfront and honest. I believe that people would say, "Wes put his passion in pursuing a life of ministry before Jesus himself." This is me being honest!! This would be my legacy!

What makes you? Are you sacrificing your dreams and goals to pay a monthly payment on your dream vehicle? If so, that is your legacy, you are the guy/girl with a cool vehicle.  Are you spending all your time focusing on your spouse or loved one and putting Jesus second? If so, that is your legacy!! Are you praying and reading scripture when you have nothing to do, but putting it on the back-burner when you have friends or girls/guys to hang out with? If so, this is your legacy!

Whether it's friends, drugs, money, music, or whatever, Jesus wants us to put him first then we will be blessed with our "other" passions!! Comment back, I would love to know your legacy!

 

Grace: To Me

I always understood the meaning of grace but never really "understood" the meaning of grace in it's true form. A couple of weeks ago, my friend Erik told me I needed to read this book called The Ragamuffin Gospel. It wasn't like a "you need to read this book" because it is good or well written, but more of a "you need to read this book" because you need to read it. As I started reading it, something flowed over me very heavily. I have been missing out!! Grace is something beautiful. If you know me, you know I love Jesus. Not the Jesus in movies, not a Jesus that is an imaginary friend, but I love the Jesus that I know and that completely loves me.

Over the past years I have been steered in a direction where I was trying to earn grace. I would wake up and think that I "needed" to pray or "needed" to read my Bible. The truth is I should want to do these and understand that Jesus needs none of this from me, He loves me completely, no matter what!! When my little brain wrapped around this, one gigantic tear making thought raced through my head, sprinted through my veins, and left my bones shaking.

This thought, or discovery, is something most people know but I somehow let it fly right over my head. The thought was that when we start trying to earn grace, Jesus' bloody sacrifice, his long drawn out flogging, his public embarrassment of being mocked and tortured, his sacrifice for us on the cross, is all in vain. I then pictured Jesus sitting with his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand, wondering if his sacrifice was for nothing. I pictured him watery eyed disappointed in me whispering, " Why Wes, why?" 

I then realized, or remembered, Jesus came to free us from the law, to break the thousands of year old chains of sin from our wrists. He came to bring us life. Why? He truly loves us. Listen to me! Yes you! HE LOVES YOU! No matter what you have done in the past, what you constantly struggle with now, when you fail in the future, HE LOVES YOU!! This is love, this is life, this is grace.  

Get Steppin!!

Have you ever had to walk home from a party, a broken down car, or just walked a really long distance and you were not happy about it? What if you had to walk, lets say 50 miles tomorrow, would you spend time packing a bag and preparing mentally for the strenuous journey? Would this negativity change if you had a mission that you were positive would change peoples lives for the better?

As I went through Acts chapter 8 this morning, I noticed a re-occurring theme. Walking!! In verse 14, Peter and John hear of Samaritans believing in the Word and travel there to help them receive the Spirit, preach a bit, and bounce back to Jerusalem (v.25). Here's the thing: We seem to get flustered when we get that spot that is at the end of the parking lot at the mall, Target, wherever it is we go. The shortest possible route to any Samaritan village is about 25 miles. Peter and John had a mission. They were excited to walk to hear about what Jesus had done in these Samaritans lives. 

Only 1 verse later (v.26), the Lord calls Philip to go south from Jerusalem to Gaza. Verse 27 says, He started out.... He did not wait, he did not pack, he did not prepare!! Through the next couple verses, Philip finds a Ethiopian man and preaches the gospel to him and baptizes him as well. All of this preaching and baptizing after a short 50 mile walk to Gaza. How amazing!!

When I was in the Army I walked 12 miles straight on numerous occasions, 32 miles on one occasion, and even 75 miles over 2 days. This was not fun because I wasn't walking for God's glory. God is more than sufficient. Whatever kind of rut you are stuck in right now whether it is depression, sexual immorality, loss of a loved one, or even walking a long distance when you'd rather be driving: Walk with God! He is everywhere you look! He wants to be your partner in your walk and make whatever it is you are going through something he can join you in. Isn't it better to go through struggles, happy times, or anything with a friend?

Lie and Die!

Have you ever given your word to someone or something and just could not come through? As I read through Acts chapter 5 yesterday, I found myself white knuckled (literally) from gripping on to my pants, shirt, or whatever was near. This was an all day thing. Here's a quick summary of Acts 5:1-10. The Holy Spirit is new and filling the hearts and minds of Christians. Everyone is selling their land and possessions to serve the poor, help widows, and further the ministry Jesus has left for the apostles to begin. A married couple, Ananias and Sapphira, sold their property and gave half the money to the ministry. Here's the issue: They lied and said they were giving all of it.  Peter says, "You have not lied to men, but to God." Earlier in verse 3, Peter says they lied to the Holy Spirit.

The reason I was wrestling with this all day was because I figured that for them to lie to the Holy Spirit, they had to have the Holy Spirit. So, they must have been saved right? Well, we lie, we sin, we are evil but we are not killed instantly because of little white lies. Why did they die? I first thought it was to make an example of how powerful and just the Holy Spirit is. Then I started to wonder, are Ananias and his wife in heaven? Maybe Peter said they were lying to the Spirit and they dropped dead because they did not actually have the Spirit. Who knows. Not me!

However, Philippians 2:12 says we should work out our salvation with fear and trembling. My good friend Geoff Francian always says that verse reminds him of me. I seem to have this fear of God when I read scripture. But if I truly feared Him, would I knowingly sin? Yes we might be sinful by nature, but fear can bring a discipline that I believe can keep us from knowingly sinning. All I know is that wrestling with God is good. I challenge everyone to question God. Question the things you do not understand. He wants to know. He wants to show you these things. Fear Him, Love Him.