Love your enemies

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5: 43-47

I think out of all scripture this passage is the hardest for me to take and do for that matter. The Lord has really been showing me a lot lately and this one in particular keeps coming up "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you!" even last night my 3 year old son in his prayers prayed for a lot of peoples hearts he just kept naming he would say and " God thank you for mamas heart and for daddy's heart and for his friends hearts and grandmas and grandpas and teachers(each one individually of course)" in the course of this what seemed like 10 min prayer mentioned some people that is not often on my prayer list. people who have wronged me or who have hurt me somehow and so yet again God uses my precious child to continue to teach me things. Lord please continue to teach me and mold me and help me to love everyone and pray for everyone even when i think they dont deserve it.

Press On!

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained. " Philippians 3:7-16

I would hope this letter from the apostle Paul written so long ago would encourage us today to have hope and find joy even in our sufferings, to count all that we have rubbish that we may gain Christ. That our goal, hope, and treasure may be to fellowship with Christ in his sufferings. Life doesnt always go the way we think it should but it always goes the way God would have it. Rest in God's sovereignty.

My New Favorite Song!!!

Here are the lyrics to my new favorite song! This just soothes my soul to listen. Its by 10th Ave North and its called "By your side".
Why are you striving these days
Why are you trying to earn grace
Why are you crying
Let me lift up your faceJ
ust don't turn away
Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run
And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night Whenever you call
And please don't fightThese hands that are holding youMy hands are holding you
Look at these hands and my side
They swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you lifeI want to give you life
(Chorus 2x)
Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

Be Holy!

"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

"But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy." 1Peter 1:15-16

I'm currently reading a book called "The pursuit of Holiness" by Jeff Bridges. Its definitely convicting. I'm learning that we (even as christians) have lost sight of the Holiness of God. God tells us to Be Holy. but what do we do we look around at the world and compare our thoughts and actions to ungodly men and say ' you know i'm doing pretty good'. we think because we dont do this or dont do that or we do this or do that we are living lives that honor God. Our comparison should be to Jesus. He should be the standard we compare our lives too. He was the only one to walk a sinless blameless life. We look over so many sins and we dont evaluate our thoughts to the thoughts of God. So many times we sit idely by and listen to our hearts but Jeremiah tells us the "heart is wicked above all things." We need to talk to our hearts and pour in the Word of God. I think matter of fact I know we all take God's grace for granted. We think oh God wont mind if i do this i can confess later and he will forgive me. or we live our lives and lie to ourselves and think God isnt watching. God knows our thoughts before we think them. Alot of people are all jazzed up about loosing weight and getting fit and making new years resolutions for their physical bodies but what about your spiritual self. How fit are you spiritually? I know i'm no where close to where God wants me to be. But I pray that God would give me the strength to press on to yearn and want to be holy. And no we cant do this in our own strength we have to ask God to help us. I encourage you to "be killing sin or it will be killing you" --John Owen