I'm not just a man lost in a sea of faces

Life can be the most confusing thing... ups and downs. There are happy times, sad times, normal times. Times when everyone seems against you, or times when everyone loves you. In the middle of this, there is one rock- one thing that stands and stays constant... Christ. "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid which is Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:11

God is not only our redeemer, He is the ultimate love of our lives. "How great is the love the father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" 1 John 3:1. Think about it. We are children of God in heaven. Many times we will define ourselves by our relations to other people. Such as Mike's roomate, or Tyler's friend, Pete's son... but Christians have the privalege to call themselves children of the king of the universe. I'm not just anouther fish in the sea, or a man lost in a sea of faces. I am a child of the king of the universe. YOU are a child of the king of the universe.

After this, everything else seems to fade away. The worries, the expectations, the constant hustle of this life is nothing. There is someone who truely and deeply loves you and me. Enough to call an imperfect sinner one of his children.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Romans 8:16-17

Hannah's Request

In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head."

1 Samuel 10-11

I've been reading through 1 Samuel lately, and this prayer really struck me. Hannah was distressed. She was one of two wives of a man named Elkanah. Elkanah's other wife Peninnah had children, but Hannah's womb was closed and she had none. Hannah under went a lot of ridicule from Peninnah. In the midst of this, Hannah's prayer to God was that she would have a son, but that wasn't the end of it. Hannah didn't just say she want this for herself. She gave what she requested to the Lord. She forfeited her right to it. The Lord blessed her and gave her a son, and she gave her son Samuel to the Lord. Samuel was raised under the priest Eli, and became a godly man.

I think that my prayer requests before the Lord should be more like Hannah's. She was not just interested in this child for herself. I think she knew that what she had received from God was not really her's at all. It was a gift, and she intended to take that gift and use it for God's service. Its easy to get into a selfish way of thinking: to say God... I want a pet cow, a bicycle, and a cute girlfriend, but that is not the right way of thinking. I should be more focused on... will this thing help me further your ministry here on earth. Or how can I use what you give me to serve you, Lord?

In "The Pursuit of God"... A. W. Tozer remarks this
We are often hindered from giving up our treasures to the Lord out of fear for their safety; this is especially true when those treasures are loved relatives and friends. But we need have no such fears. Our Lord came not to destroy but to save. Everything is safe which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.

Our gifts and talents should also be turned over to Him. They should be recognized for what they are, God’s loan to us, and should never be considered in any sense our own.


Thank you Lord for loaning me everything I have on this earth.

The Great Intercession

If a man sins against another man, God may mdiate for him but if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?. 1 Samuel 2:25

The greatest gift God has offered man is the solution to this great problem. Christ offered his life as a sacrifice to be our interscessor. It is impossible for me to comprehend God's relational love for us. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. 1 John 4:10 Wait, there is more...

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phillipians 4:6-7

The creator of the universe who has power over everything loves me enough to rid me of my anxiety. If I present my problems before him and give God authority over them. God's will will be done. God works for the good of all those who believe in him. Knowing that, nothing in this life should be able to make me worry. The whole purpose of life is to fear God with a holy and revrent fear, and to obey His commandments. Everything else stacks up from there. My life should endeavor to glorfy Christ Jesus.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither heights nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

God of the bad

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has
made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything
about his future. Ecclesiastes 7:14

God is God of the good times in life and the bad times in life. Its easy to believe in an almighty supreme creator when everything is going well. God is still the almighty supreme creator when there is a rough spot in life.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philipians 4:6

Let's face it, life gets tough, but God is tougher than life. Don't worry about the bad times that are comming up, give them to God and He will watch over your soul. Give your heart to God, there you will find unconditional true love through both the good times and the bad.

God Carries Us

There was a man who walked with God. All his life he would be able to look back at his footsteps, and he would be able to see two sets: his and God's footprints. There was one problem; whenever something bad happened or life got tough, he would look back and only see one set of footprints. Finally, he demanded an answer from God, "Why didn't you walk with me through the rough times in life?" God replied to him, "Didn't you know I was carrying you?"

I heard this while I was working at bible camp this summer. I changed it a little, but it still has the same idea.

Friends

Forging friendships is important.

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three
strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12

Our relationship with God is important. By ourselves we stand no chance against this world, one can be overpowered. With God we can defend ourselves from the attacks worldly life has against us. The coolest promise of all though is that a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Once we take God and put him at the forefront of our relationships with friends then that is when he really begins working. Those friendships are not quickly broken.

Live the Life

"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:6

Over the summation of my summer, the one thing I have come to realize is that Christinity is not a belief. It's an action. It's taking what you believe about Christ and putting it into practice; sharing his love with the world around us. Faith is not by works, but love does not merely consist of words or feelings in our hearts. Love is proven by the actions we take and the words we speak.

Claiming to love someone is not the same as showing love to that person. Claiming to love Jesus, is not the same as showing our love for Jesus. Basing faith on going to church and proclaiming God through worship services is not what Christ has called us to do. As a Christian I am to be a living example of Christ.

God is Here Today

By His love and grace Christ has rescued me from the depths of sin and given me the ability to be one of his followers

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1 John 4:10

Jesus Christ is a real man that walked upon this earth, who is the Son of God, and died and rose again for our sins. He existed and continues to exist today. This has been displayed by God through the overwhelming evidence of Christ in the Bible and other sources. Four Gospels written by four different authors convey a single message without fault: the life of the Messiah and His victory over sin. He healed the sick, raised the dead, forgave sins, and did an uncountable number of other things. The Gospels not only agree with each other, they agree with the prophecy of the Old Testament. Our Bible is not the only reference of Him. There have been numerous other historians that recorded Jesus as a great teacher who preformed unexplicable wonders.

Not only that, but Christ is here, He is visible in our time and generation. All we have to do is, like doubting Thomas, look for this evidence of our Lord Jesus.