Its been a great morning. I love days off. (I can say that now that I officially have a job. PTL) Let me just start off with a little update to let you all know that things have been going well since I have been home. Yes, God provided me with a job in His perfect timing and Ryan has also started his reading course so he is staying REALLY busy as well. We had been praying about a church to get involved with and it seemed like God already had plans for us. Calvary Chapel of Salem has been my 'home' church since I started attending with my family in the 7th grade and while it was never really the church that I came home looking forward to going to, as soon as we got back here I knew that God was putting it on my heart to get involved there. The perfect opportunity came along and Ryan and I will be leading the young adults there. Did you hear that LEADING...ahhh i am a little bit nervous to say the least. That means we have complete control to share what we want to share, focus on what we want to focus on with being lead by the Holy Spirit of course. This is such an amazing opportunity and I dont even really feel qualified for it to tell you the truth. I do realize that as I open myself up to God and the ways that He wants to work in and through me, anything can happen. I feel like again I am really being challenged to know God's word (even though I just got done studying it for the last 9 months), I am being challenged to have a servant attitude that really pushes me to trust God to use me in other peoples lives and I am being challenge in learning what it means to start leading young adults (not just those who are my friends), speaking truth and being a person that other turn to. I am learning how to do all of this with an amazing teammate.
The last couple of dates I have opened up to the book of Romans and I have really been thinking about this young adults group. Romans, one of my favorite books of the bible is one that tends to smack you right in the face with your own sinfulness and just how much you truly need Jesus. I am realizing even today that I need my Savior more and more each day. I am realizing that everything works in this weird cycle that righteousness only comes through Christ but that we are called to be righteous. I am realizing that now that I am home, I am back in what some may call 'real life', I am really challenged with my response to how I am going to share the gospel, live the gospel, speak the gospel.
'For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believers, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the rightousness of God is revealed FROM FAITH FOR FAITH, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith.'' (1:16-17)
Wow!!! is all I can really say in response to that. Its only by Christ that I can walk in righteousness. Its only by Christ that I can walk by faith. Faith that He gives me to have Faith in Him. Simple right. It is when you are just willing to walk with a surrendered heart knowing that this God that we serve is the MOST AMAZING. He is completely GOOD. We are the broken, dirty, sinners. We in our own selfish nature are unrighteous. HE MAKES US RIGHTEOUS. I am challenged to have Faith in God for this group. I am challenged to have faith in God for visas, plans, a paycheck, for everything that may seem of this world. Its all guided and directed by the Creator of the Universe. WOW. I see that it is so easy to think that I can do it all on my own. That I would make myself into my own God or that I would be the one to guide what happens in my life.
'For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God, or give thanks to him, but they became futile (or empty and vain) in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened...because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen!' (1:21-25)
At the end of it all, I realize that I do not want to be like one that honors myself and the things of this world above God. He is my Creator. He is my EVERYTHING. May all the honor and glory and praise be to Him. Its all by his sovereignty, grace and mercy that I can sit here today and have the heart and the life that I have.
OHHH He is GOOD.
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