yupp. he's real.

   On the search for great literature yesterday, I searched the library for every book under the name C.S. Lewis, and I finally got my hands on The Screwtape Letters. It contains the correspondence of Screwtape, a high-ranking demon, to his young nephew Wormwood. It is hilarious and sobering all at the same time.
   See, Lewis' satire is a reminder of something God iterated over and over in the Bible: the devil is real.
   There are some things that we as Christians like to gloss over. This is one of them. I mean, who wants to talk about someone whose entire existence revolves around ruining - and taking - our lives? Some would consider that inappropriate discussion for the dinner table.
   The reality though, is that we need to discuss the devil and his minions. As Lewis said in the preface to The Screwtape Letters, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors."
   Satan was kicked out of Heaven because he imagine himself higher and better than God, and he is still operating under this ridiculous pretense. If you read the list of goals taped to his mirror you'll see the opposites of everything God plans to do. God has plans to give us "a hope and a future." The devil wants to steal everything that might give us joy. Jesus came to give "life... and more abundantly." The devil comes "to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." God loves us unconditionally. Satan hates our guts.
   The devil's main weapon is lies. John 8:44 says, "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." He takes the Bible's truth and twists it around. He deceives us by influencing those around us. He toys with our emotions. Anything to steal us away from Father God.
   But here's the thing: he can't. Jesus himself said in John 10:29, "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand." For any temptation offered us, Jesus promises a way out. He cast out demons, and he gave us authority to do the same. All authority in Heaven and on Earth! He has given everything we need to kick Satan's butt. Just check out Ephesians 6:10-18. The Bible says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." And always remember that there is power in the name of Jesus. Satan has no chance against the power of God that is in you!
   So yes, the devil is real. Yes, he is alive. Yes, he "prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 
   But. He also sucks. And he's a loser. And a coward. So bam.

more scriptures about the devil's poopy-ness:

1 John 3:8

Matt 4:1-11

James 4:7

1 Peter 5:8

John 10:10

Was Jesus For Real?

            I just want to know if Jesus was being serious. I mean, sure, we all believe the parts that say that He came to save the world, not to condemn it, that His yoke is easy and His burden is light, that nothing can separate us from His love. What about the rest of it?

            We as the church embrace the parts of the gospel that we like and plaster them on our signs, posters, wristbands, t-shirts, and memory verse cards, and we ditch the rest. We take to heart the parts that save us and ignore the parts that convict us. Is it really OK for us to pick and choose? Are we really worshipping Jesus, or some idol of our own creation that vaguely resembles Him?

            What if Jesus visited our churches? Just imagine. Would He be impressed by the really cool worship band, or the conferences and classes and programs, or the brand-spanking-new building, or the number of people in the sanctuary? I don’t think so. I think He would be appalled. I think He would be appalled at our selfishness, our focus on material things, and our lack of love.

            You see, the same Jesus who calls us to come to Him said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, follow me.” The same Jesus who was moved with compassion commanded us to love our neighbor as ourselves. The same Jesus who went to prepare a place for us had no place to lay His head. He said, “If you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Have we broadened the straight and narrow? He told us to turn the other cheek, to love our enemies and bless those who curse us. We are commanded to take care of orphans and widows. He said, “If any man take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.”

            Was Jesus being serious?

            We are supposed to be like a Man who never did anything wrong, yet was hated; who was a King, yet came to serve. We are supposed to love like He loved. We are supposed to live like a Man who died.

            So I just want to know: What if we took that seriously?

I Want More

   I love Peter's attitude in John 13:9.  He was appalled when Jesus first started to serve him, saying that Jesus would never wash his feet.  Jesus' replies, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."  Immediately Peter is all in.  He begs Jesus to wash his hands and his head too, desperate to have a part with Him.  Peter wants every part of him to be consumed by God, his feet, hands, and head to be taken by the Spirit.
   Peter and I have so much in common (I seriously can't wait to meet him in Heaven).  We both mess up, we both break promises, we both deny Him, we both cry over our mistakes.  At the end of the day, we just want more of Jesus.  Our hearts' desire is to become more like Him.  We long to use our hands, our feet, and our heads to serve Him. 
   I want more of God's love and power every day.  Good thing He never runs out!  I don't want to just dip my toes in the water, I want Him to open the floodgates of Heaven and overflow my life.  I want Holy Spirit to take over, to direct my every step, word, action and thought.  I want Him to rain down on me.  I want to encounter Jesus.

"Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down!"

(Isaiah 64:1. My heart cry.)

 

No Fear of Death

For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. ~Romans 14:8 (KJV)

Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ~Philippians 1:20-21 (KJV)

Everything happening to me in this jail only serves to make Christ more accurately known, regardless of whether I live or die. They didn’t shut me up; they gave me a pulpit! Alive, I’m Christ’s messenger; dead, I’m his bounty. Life versus even more life! I can’t lose. ~Philippians 1:20-21 (The Message)

   When we have Christ, death is no londer a foreboding uncertainty.  Because of Christ, we know that though our bodies die, we have eternal life with Him.  We are no longer scared.  Death has lost its sting.  We have no fear.
   When there is no fear of death, life is so much fuller.  We can concentrate on Jesus instead of trying to delaying our deaths at all costs.  Our focus is on Him, instead of ourselves.  Sharing the love of God suddenly has infinitely more value than our own lives.
   When we know the love of God, we look forward to seeing Him face-to-face.  We focus on building up treasure in Heaven instead of treasure here on Earth.  We cannot wait to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.  And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. ~Philippians 1:24-26 (KJV)

Hope

   Hope.  We search for it, we crave it, we need it.  Without hope, we never change, we never grow, we never live.  We never smile.  Hope is what keeps us going.  Hope gives us strength.  Hope is our sustenance.

   We must hope for more.  If we hope for what we are already sure of we truly have no hope.  We must hope for above and beyond.  We must hope for more than anyone else will dare to hope for.  We must hope for so much that we surprise even ourselves, but we must hope anyway.

   When we feel everyone is against us, we will hope.  When we have nothing else left, we will hope.  When it seems impossible, we will hope.  Against all odds, we will cling to hope, and we will be victorious.

 



Hope is what we crave, and that will never change.
It's written on my soul:
Hope's what we crave.

~For King and Country

 

 In this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

~Romans 8:24-25

 

A Penny For Your Thoughts

   What are you thinking?  No, forrealz (<< just pretend that's a word).  Tell me what's been on your brain.  The homework due tomorrow that you forgot about?  That certain person who may or may not like you back?  What you're gonna wear?  Sports?  Food?  God?
   Do you spend your thougths on things worthwhile?  Our thinking should be focused on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable.  The Creator of all good things knows your thoughts.  Is He pleased?  Keep Him always on your mind.  Put your thoughts to good use.

So I Was At FCA Camp

   I got back from FCA Leadership camp four hours ago.  I'm still waay up there on that camp high, and it feels a little wierd to be home, but I am so excited to break the huddle and play the game.  Camp was such an amazing experience that I have to tell you about it. So.  After attending North Missouri FCA Leadership Camp 2012, I can officially say that:

• ArgoMania is way better than plain ole Rock Paper Scissors.
• God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.
• I adore water.  The frozen stage is awesome, too.
• Surrender is more than performance.
• I have been taken hold of by Christ.
• Attitudes are contagious.
• I have gone TP raiding.  (bucket list!)
• You can make impact by just living your life.
• Inside jokes are great.
• God passionately pursues ME.
• I have met someone with almost thee same testimony as me.
• Worship is more than nice songs.
• Andrew was a phenomenal evangelist.
• Power = dunamus (Greek) = dynamite.
• You can't make the club if you're sitting in the tub.
• fcaresources.com is a website I have to utilize.
• I love competition.
• God renews.
• I took 9 pages of notes.
• The best way to lead is to serve.
• It makes me smile when people hold the door open.
• People know me know me cause they know my coachin' daddy.
• Purity is more than a list of don'ts.
• Christian pick-up lines are hysterical.
• I have made life-long friends.
• I am more than a conqueror.  Crazy, but totally true.
• Aleah got me hooked on bandanas.
• I am unstoppable.
• Late night hallway parties are the best.  Especially with junk food.
• Absolutely nothing can change the way He loves me.
• Laughing is an intense ab workout.  I'm sore.
• The word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words.  En = in.  Theos = God.
• I am in the zone.

A Different Kind of Faith

   You know that feeling when a crazy idea pops into your head and you say to your brain, “Where did that come from?  It’ll never happen.”  And then you forget about it.

   Except… sometimes you don’t forget.  That crazy idea keeps finding its way to the front of your brain.  And that’s when you kindly say to yourself, “OK, what is up with this idea?  It’s crazy!  Never going to work.  No way could I get it done… Oh.  God?  Is that you?  I mean, surely this isn’t Your idea.  It’s too much, too big.  You’ll never put more on me than I can bear, right?  Well, trust me; this is more than I can handle… Trust You?  Oh.  Yeah, well, I mean, I don’t think I can do this.  I just…like…I can’t.”

   So now you have a choice to make.  You trust God, or you don't.  You do this, or you do nothing.  You have faith, or you choose not to.

   But maybe this is a different kind of faith for you.  Maybe you're not used to to this.  You see, this isn't an "Ahhhh!  This hardship is too hard.  Help me get through this, God" type of faith.  This is more like an "Ahhhh!  You told me to do this, and I'm trying, but it's too hard for me to do on my own.  Help me do this, God"  kind of faith.  It's not something you're forced to go through.  It's something you make a choice to do.

   But there shouldn't be so much difference.  This shouldn't be so much harder.  Faith is being certain of what we do not see, and when you don't see how we can accomplish His plans, you have to turn to God and let Him to the accomplishing.  

   Like Paul told the Galatians, it's really not that you know God, it's that He knows you.  And besides the exact number of hairs on your head, He know just what you can handle.  He knows that through Him, we are more than conquerors.  He knows that we can do what He is asking.  He knows that when He gives us strength, we can do anything.

   Trust me Trust Him.  With God, all things are possible.

Take God Seriously

   Do you take God seriously?  Now, stop and think.  Hold in your indignation and your questions and your confusion and your outrage that I should even ask such a question.  Before you decide never to read anything of mine ever again... stop.  Take a moment.  Really contemplate the question. Do you take God seriously?
   Now, I know what you're thinking.  "I'm a Christian.  Of course I take God seriously!  I love Him.  I do my best to please Him.  Michaela, what in the world are you trying to say??"  But here's another question: What are you willing to give up to follow God?
   You see, "whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it."  To follow Christ you must pick your cross daily and die to yourself.  To follow Christ you have to make sacrifices.  To follow Christ you have to make Him #1 and let nothing get in the way of your utter devotion to Him.
   Jesus might ask you to sell everything you own and give away the profit.  God might tell you to pick up and move to another country to spread His love.  Jesus may want you to do things that you're friends think are completely crazy.  Christ may tell you that your father's funeral doesn't really matter.  He might ask you to abandon your home, your business, your family, and your reputation.  He might ask you to give your life.  Truth is, Jesus might -no, scratch that.  Jesus absolutely will ask you to do something that you really won't want to do.
   But this is the moment of truth.  This is what Christianity really means.  This is truly following Christ.  How far are you going to follow Him?  You've gone to a certain point with Jesus, but when will you cross the line?  When will you realize that following Him means sacrifice?
   Jesus has said, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”  He promised us that we will be persecuted, killed, and hated because of Him.  He specifically commanded us to "go."  We -you, me, and every believer- are the church, and we are meant to be teaching, loving, baptizing, and making "disciples of all nations."  We are to proclaim the good news, heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and "freely give."  Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things [!!] than these."  What will you do for Christ?
   We, as the American church need to make a change.  We need to examine our own hearts and lives and seek the will of God.  We need to take the advice of David Platt and "take an honest look at the Jesus of the Bible and dare to ask what the consequences might be if we really believed him and really obeyed him."  We need to dare to take the words of Christ seriously.

Romans 8 (New Michaela Version)

Romans 8 has been a great comfort this week.  The last part always fills me with overwhelming wonder.  Here are verses 23-39 translated to Michaela's words.  You can read the full chapter in the NKJV here.  Be blessed! ♥

 

   Even we ourselves groan in the birth of this new thing, eagerly waiting for the adoption, for our redemption.  We were saved in this hope, but hope for what has already come isn't truly hope at all.  Why would you hope for something you already have?  But if we are hoping for something we can't yet see, then we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 
   Holy Spirit also helps us when we are weak.  When there are no words left and we don't know what to pray, the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sounds and groanings that we can't understand.  But the God who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, because Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God.
   We know that everything works out for good for those who love God, and are called for His purpose.  Those whom He foreknew, He predestined to be like His Son, so that we could be His family.  But wait, there's more!  The people whom He predestined, He also called.  Those He called, He also justified.  And those whom He justified, He also glorified.
   So what are we gonna say when life comes at us with pain, hate, and suffering?  I know what I'll say.  If God is for us, then who could ever stand against us?  God didn't even spare His own Son, but sacrificed Him for us, so how could He not freely give us everything we need?  Who can bring charges against those God has hand-picked?  It is He who brigs justice.  Who decides the eternal fate of everyone?  It is Christ who died - and rose again.  The same Christ who sits at the right hand of the Father and interceded for us.
   So.  What can separate us from the love of Christ?  Can trials and tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or a lack of clothes, or a bad hair day, or suffering, or war?  Even Psalm 44 says, "For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."  But no.  Even in all of these things we are more than conquerors.  Not in our own strength, but through Him who loved us.
   I am thoroughly convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor demons, nor principalities, nor powers, nor the present, nor the future, nor height, nor depth, nor anything in all creation could ever, never, ever separate us from God's crazy love, which is through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here and Now

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  

~Esther 4:14

   I doubt, I struggle.  After every move, every school switch , every friend made or lost, I wonder.  What is His plan?  Where is God taking me?  What will I do for Him?

   But I'm here.  He has something for me now.  I don't have to wait, I don't have to wonder.  Only He knows where I'll be next, but He put me here.  He wants me to make an impact now.

   So I'll trust Him.  I'll hold nothing back - "and if I perish, I perish!"  I will follow Him.  I'll use this place, this moment, to make a difference.  I will show the world Him.  I'll do whatever He asks, whatever it takes.  And, through Him, I will be victorious.

   Right here.  Right now.

"I'm gonna take a stand, gonna make an echo

I'm gonna make some history with His story, writing the pages of today

Cuz I know I was made for such a time as this." 

~Beckah Shae