Demons

I whole-heartedly believe in angels. There is not a fiber in my being that doesn't believe that God has angels surrounding me at all times. There are times in my life that I look back on where I can tell you that God sent me an angel that day to protect me. Nearly fatal car accidents, moments when I'm about to break and the perfect person comes along to comfort me, or other times where I know that an angel has been sent to give me the comfort or the protection that I need.

But what about the times when the bad gets to me? Those times where you feel like your heart feels like it's about to get ripped from your chest and you want to scream so loud but you know you can't...what about those times? Times when you are faced with a choice of choosing between doing the right thing or doing the wrong. Times when you feel like you can't get any lower that you feel like life isn't worth it. Times when you go against everything you believe in and take on the role of someone who you would never identify as yourself. Where are your angels then?

Right now I am sitting in my dorm room alone. But I know better than that. I'm not alone. First, I know God is looking down on me, keeping a protective eye on his little girl. Second, I know that the Holy Spirit is in me. Third, I know that angels are flooding my room. Finally, I know that the demons are right outside my door, seeping through the cracks trying to make there way into my mind. Whether you believe this or not, you are constantly surrounded by the good and the bad. Angels and Demons.

Church on Sunday night focused on the subject of demons. I got a whole new perspective on what demons looked like. The media plays demons off to be Satan's little helpers with horns and tales and sharp teeth who carry around pitch forks (or whatever you call those pointy things). But the truth is, we SEE demons daily. We FEEL demons daily. They are our thoughts. They are our temptations. They are the things that make us feel hatred, pride, lust, and all the negative things that we feel towards others. Demons come in all ways, shapes and forms, and it is our job to realize what they look like- to recognize the demon when they knock on our door.

Satan is smooth. He knows what makes us tick and what makes us give in. C.S. Lewis wrote a book called The Screwtape Letters. If you haven't read it, I highly suggest it. It's an easy read but it has such an intense message behind the story. It's a series of letters from a demon (Screwtape) to his nephew (Wormwood), giving him advice on how to stray a human from finding Christ. It's an ongoing process of little things that the demon does to slowly try to get the human away from where he needs to be. It's so interesting because we never look at demons from their perspective. There is an continuous battle between angels and demons in the world. Right now. As we speak. In the lives of every individual, demons do everything they can to get us as far away from God as possible. Through alcoholism, sex, drugs, gossip, hatred toward enemies, or things even like depressed thoughts, demons try to get us where it hurts. There's one thing we have to realize...these things don't come from God. No matter how bad we tend to blame God for putting us in these situations or letting bad things happen, these things do NOT come from him. Nothing bad comes from God for God is love. Obviously we live in a world full of demons, but our job is to find the light in this darkness.

Satan's goal is for us to define ourselves by our darkness. Recently for me, that's what I've been doing. I've focused on all the negative things going on in my life and how I feel about it that I get to a place where forget who I am. So who am I? Jesus didn't come down to let me to be continued to be defined by my sins and my sorrows. He came to save me..to wash me clean. Because of Him, I can now be defined by my REDEMPTION through Him. That's why God sends us angels. They whisper in our ears to give us the strength to go against the grain and against what the world is telling us to do. They carry us when we forget how to walk when we've become so weak by our internal thoughts and emotions. Our job is to let them carry us. It's a choice. We decide who we listen to, whether it be the angels or the demons.

We are all sinners and we all fall short. But the thing is that we have that redemption. If we believe that it's real, that there is a war going on inside of us and that we have Jesus on our side, and believe that whole heartedly, we will be cleansed white as snow. It is not impossible. We can get that healing through Him and ONLY through Him.

You're never alone. You just need to chose what surrounds you and what you let get inside of you.

You're never alone.

Snow

I love snow. As a kid, I always got excited at the thought of snow so that you could get out of school. When that lucky day came, you wake up to a white blanket of snow and you bundle up as quick as you can (or as quickly as mom would let you) and sprint outside so you can play for as long as you can. It wasn't everyday that you got to experience snow.

Snow angels were always my favorite and they still are. It was easy to do, and it gave me the chance to lay down in the fluffy snow and really feel it. It let me just take it all in as the snow falls on your face, because my face was looking up, and I would open my mouth to catch as many snowflakes in my mouth as possible. After I finished my snow angel, I would just lay there. I don't know why, but I felt so protected.

Today, my opinion on snow hasn't changed. The only difference now is the fact that I have to drive in the snow, and sometimes that's just a bit dangerous. But besides that, snow is something I truly love.

As I've grown up, snow has made less and less of an appearance in Tennessee, but recently, there has been a lot of snow. When it snows, I always feel like God is erasing all the bad in the world. It's almost like it lightens the mood, or makes all things fresh, but for me, it's a reminder.

Recently, I've been struggling because I've been going through something that no one ever wants to go through...a breakup. It's been about a month since it happened, and boy have I come a long way. Looking back to the moment when it happened, I felt like God had abandoned me. Why would God let me go through so much pain? I was so angry. I was so sad. I was so hurt. But God is an awesome God.

God knows my heart. He knows exactly what to do to make a bad situation into something so good. The next morning after the break up, guess what I woke up to? ... SNOW. Wow. God is awesome. It continued snowing for the next three days. During those few days, I was so confused, I was so lost, but God let the snow keep falling. It was almost as if he was reminding me that he was right there beside me. Like when I was a kid laying in the snow and feeling that protection, God was reminding me of that exact feeling. He was holding me in his arms...I just had to let him.

Right now, I am watching the snow fall as I write this. God is doing some serious work on my heart right now. But if it wasn't because of my bad situation, I would have never gotten here. I need to let God decrease ME to nothing, so that he can build me up and remold my heart to be a heart that yearns for God and him alone. He is getting rid of the old me, so that I can be new again in him.

Snow is a funny thing. Even in its beauty, it kills all the life on the earth...the trees lose their leaves, the flowers wither away. Once the snow ends, however, the earth has a fresh start. The flowers bloom, the trees fill back in their original splendor, and a fresh feeling fills the air after the snow leaves. That's what God has to do to each one of us. He doesn't want us to go through pain, but when we do go through it, he saves us. He wipes us clean and gives us a new beginning. It takes time, but in the end, it turns out better than it ever could have been before the snow came. What an amazing God.

Thanks for the snow, God...it's beautiful.

Heaven's Grocery Store

As I was walking along "LIFE'S HIGHWAY" a long time ago

One day I saw a sign that read "Heaven's Grocery Store".
As I got a little closer the door came open wide.
There was a host of Angels, they were standing everywhere.
One handed me a basket and said, "MY CHILD SHOP WITH CARE".
Everything a Christian needed was in that grocery store,
and all you couldn't carry you could come back for more.
First, I got some Patience, Love that was in the same row.
Farther down was Understanding, something you need everywhere you go.
I got a box or two of Wisdom, and a bag or two of Faith.
I stopped for Strength and Courage to help me run this race.
Though my basket was nearly full, I remembered I needed Grace.
I didn't forget Salvation, for Salvation that was free.
So I tried to get enough for both you and me.
Then I started up the aisle, I saw Prayer and I just had to put it in.
For I knew when I stepped outside I would run right into sin.
Peace and Joy were plentiful, they were on the last shelf.
Songs of Praise were hanging near, so I just helped myself.
Then I said to the Angel "How much do I owe?"
He just smiled and said "JUST TAKE THEM EVERYWHERE YOU GO".
Again, I asked the Angel, "How much do I really owe?"
Still smiling he said "MY CHILD, JESUS PAID YOUR BILL LONG AGO."

Anchored

Trust is a touchy subject for a lot of people. Some have absolutely no problem with the concept until they have a reason to no longer have hope in trust. May it be in relationships, friendships, or even God, trust is something that can be hard to get back once it is lost.

When relationships go wrong, some people blame God. When you lose your job, some people blame God. When someone close to you dies, some people blame God. When something goes wrong...some people blame God. Why is it that we blame God when we know how much he loves us?

God has proven himself in situation after situation that we can fully put our trust in him. Examples lie in Noah and the Flood, and Abraham with Isaac. We are even reminded that God has made a promise to us...that we may spend eternity with him in heaven because he sent his One and Only Son to die for us. Everything happens for a reason, and no matter what happens, the final destination remains the same if we keep our trust in him. No matter how dangerous the storm may seem, if our trust stays with him, our souls, our hearts, will stay anchored to him. 

Life is full of storms. Some may be light, but others can really break down someone's soul. Hebrews 6:19 says:

"This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God's inner sanctuary."

Way back when, a curtain hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, which in reference to this verse is "God's inner sanctuary." Only the high priest was allowed to enter once a year and every other person was not permitted to enter...ever. Believers had no direct relationship with God until Christ came along. Christ is with us and with God in heaven always, interceding for us always. Through Christ, God's promise of eternal life and salvation is evident. Because of Christ, God's promises should bring hope to all believers, that he has anchored our souls and hearts to that salvation.

That's enough for me. 

Remember?

Today is Memorial Day. It's the day that we are to remember all of our troops who have served and are continuing to serve our country. Sons, daughters, dads, moms, friends, brothers, and sisters who all have dedicated their lives to protecting a country full of people that they don't even know. I am so thankful to these people who have sacrificed themselves for us. 

Doesn't this sound awfully familiar though? I woke up earlier than normal this morning to spend time with God. I watched the sunrise out my window and thought of how beautiful God's creation is. What a gift...he has given me another beautiful day. Why is it that God feels like he should bless me with such a perfect gift?

What is the perfect gift? Memorial Day always makes me think...why is it that we don't take to heart the precious gift that God has given us every single day? Not only does he give us a brand new day every morning when he tells the sun to rise, but he has given us something even more precious. Eternal life. He sent his One and Only Son to die on the cross for you. For me. He went through hell, a hell far worse than anything on earth could never even compare to, so that we don't have to. He sacrificed himself so save people that he didn't even know. People who he knew would betray him, hate him, crucify him. That's love. Remember that. 

Thank you to all the troops who are serving our country. Those who have fallen. Those who have given their lives for us.

Thank you, Jesus, for giving yourself so that we can live forever. Thank you for our second chance at life.

Thank you.

"Don't Be Ugly"

When I was around six (I really don't know how old I was, but for the sake of the story, I was six), I was playing with my older sister, seven and a half at the time, and her best friend, Kelley. I guess I was displaying my attitude to the world at this very moment, being a bossy little six year old. I really had no right to be bossy, especially since I was the youngest of the three of us. I didn't care. Kelley I guess had gotten fed up with little miss me and told me angrily, "YOU'RE BOSSY!" This comment would have most likely made the average little girl cry...but oh no. I came back with, "I'M NOT BOSSY...I'M BEAUTIFUL!" I had ruined Kelley's day because of my attitude. And in the end, my day was ruined as well because I got in trouble for my actions.

My mom always reminds me of this story. My attitude definitely isn't how it used to be, even though it could always use some help. I feel bad for Kelley because I showed her an attitude that didn't reflect who I was. Yes, I realize I was just a little girl and this is actually a very cute story. But think about it...how many people do you affect simply by your attitude?

Every time I have attitude around my mom, she always tells me, "Don't be ugly." She's not meaning physically, but she means internally. We live in a world where physical appearance is everything, or so the media says. But what about who we are? What about our personalities, our actions, or our attitudes? Shouldn't we try to make those things beautiful as well? Shouldn't that be more important that physical beauty? It seems to me that the world today is belittling the human, making appearance and materialism more important than the heart and soul of the person.

God doesn't care about what we look like or what we have. If he did, don't you think he would've sent Jesus as some high roller with the big bucks? Well let me tell you...he didn't. And I don't know what Jesus looked like, but he didn't even have an actual home during his earthly ministry. He was here and there and everywhere. He didn't have fancy clothes or nice things. All he had was the clothing on his back and the hospitality of people around him. 1 Peter 3:3-4 says:

"Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God."

Even though physical beauty attracts people's attention, it's the inner beauty that holds onto it. The most beautiful and wealthiest people in the world could be the loneliest if they have a bad attitude. It kills me when non-Christians refuse to go to church because they don't respect people around them who call themselves Christians. They say that they are hypocrites who don't live a Christian lifestyle. They don't have "the attitude that a Christian should have." You know why this kills me? Because in many cases, it's one hundred percent true. 

God didn't put us on this earth to turn people away from him. He put us here to draw people in, to draw people closer to him. How are we supposed to do this if we have a bad attitude. God isn't appealing if his followers don't reflect him. He didn't send us to be ugly. Not physically ugly, but like my mom said, I'm talking about the heart. We, as sons and daughters of God, are meant to have hearts for God. With these hearts, we are supposed to reflect the love of God to those around us. It's not a difficult thing to do. A simple smile. A friendly note. A wave. A phone call. Anything to let people know you care. 1 Peter 3:8 says: 

"Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted and keep a humble attitude."

Be who God meant for you to be. Have a heart for him and show that heart to others. Have a good attitude. Don't be ugly.

Scars

My past. Yuck. Hate it. It's funny how your life can make a one-eighty so quickly. I was thinking...why does God let you be stupid? Why does he let you make the worst possible decisions ever and sometimes even let you get away with them. This is part of a song called "Take Me As I Am" by the Sugarland. Sorry if country isn't your genre of choice, but I love it:

"They keep starin' at my tattoos.
We all live with the scars we choose.
They might hurt like hell
but they all make us stronger."

Do you ever feel like, even though you may be a different person than you were in the past, that people can see right through you? Like there's a huge tattoo on your forehead saying, "Sinner." In reality, your past is sort of like a tattoo. Like the song says, its something you choose to get, it may hurt really badly, but in the end you're a stronger person because of it. 

We all have a past. Good. Bad. Happy. Sad. There's no losing it. Sad to say, every bad thing that's ever happened, you most likely are going to remember it throughout your life. God has a reason for everything. We may not see it in the heat of a crapy situation, but God does.

There's a church called Ethos that I went to for the first time this past Sunday. Dave Clayton was speaking and he read from Genesis. He talked about the first four words of Genesis..."In the beginning God." Yeah we know that this is not the full sentence, but just think about these four words. In the beginning God. What does this mean? It means that when something horrible happens, like a loved one dying, or you flunked out of college, or you went bankrupt, God is the only one who understands you at that very moment. You may be surprised, but God isn't. He knew it would happen all along. 

I'm not saying that God wants us to suffer, because that is not the case. But He lets these kinds of things happen for a reason. He lets us choose to make stupid decisions so that we can live with them. We may not want to live with them, but maybe God wants us to do something with our scars. Maybe your scars can bring someone who just went through the same thing to God. Use your bad past for good. Rock the scars. Let your past make you stronger.