Sunday, January 14, 2007

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin"- 1 John 1:7.

This verse just says it so clearly. When we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another. When we hide in the shadows, well... there is no fellowship there. A follower of Christ cannot survive that way for long. Will our hearts still keep beating? Of course. Will we still enjoy ourselves? Probably for a little while.... But not for long. The Holy Spirit has this way of making us miserable when we're walking in sin. Especially in secret sin. And when our Lifeline is Jesus, we reap life from the Source. If we sow into sin and the flesh... we only reap death.

I have to be honest here for a minute. I am nowhere near perfect. I know that. So please don't take what I'm about to say as my own claim to perfection and godliness. I just struggle sometimes (and perhaps it is my ExTrEmE personality) with the extent to which the church is in compromise. If we say that we're going for it, LET'S GO FOR IT. You know what I mean? If I am a citizen of Heaven, I want to LIVE like a citizen of Heaven lives. Certainly, there are things on this earth, in this life that we are meant to experience and enjoy. But that is not why we're put here. Let us not live for comfort or ambition-- or even happiness. All of these things will be added. But let us seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. Do we trust Him to provide the friends, the relationships, the work, the money, the fun? Then let us demonstrate that trust in Him with the way that we live our lives. If I believe in His promises to protect me, to give me a hope and a future- why am I living in such a way that says I don't? Why do we bury ourselves in our work or school? Chase meaningless, ego-boosting relationships? Spend obscene amounts of money on clothes or shoes, or entertainment? Where is our treasure? There also lies our heart.

Going back to that verse in 1 John... none of us is perfect. So let us not pretend we are. Let us walk in the light--in fellowship with Jesus and with one another, confessing our sins and being sanctified.

posted by Jules @ Sunday, January 14, 2007 2 comments

Thursday, January 04, 2007

A person may go for months without actively pursuing God, really seeking His voice. And then a person may one day find him/herself at a crossroads, in a crisis-- or a lull, suddenly demanding His guidance- instant gratification. I find myself wishing I had a "direct line" to Jesus. Ambiguity doesn't cut it right now; I need tangible direction and intervention. But then... who am I to decide what it is I need when I've been out of close touch with my Lifeline- my Source for so long? And who am I to deserve that sort of treatment when I cannot even seem to give Him a minute of my time while everything is going "smoothly", according to my own agenda?

Perhaps this view is a little harsh, considering that the very notion of being undeserving implies the possibility of becoming deserving, and that sort of defeats the purpose of grace; I will never deserve Him, no matter how "good" I am. I guess I just wish my character was a little stronger. I want to seek Him ardently and rabidly in every season. I would like to be aware of my need for Him all the time- even when my days are "happy".

I just pray that my life will testify as I walk this season out. It's strange when you get to the place where you say, "No God. No more. I have reached my limit." As if we can choose the degree to which we will accept conflict. Perhaps we can choose, but then it's like Peter, saying, "Where else will we go? You alone have the words of eternal life".

Character-building experiences. Hallelujah. That's life, you know? It's where I want to be. After all He has done for me, I want to embrace His sovreign plan. Without seeing a fraction in front of myself, I want to say, "Yes Lord. Have Your way."

posted by Jules @ Thursday, January 04, 2007 0 comments

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

A New Year

Wow, was 2006 was an eventful year! Chock-full of wonderful and complicated occurrences (as I suppose every year is)... and I am ready to move on.

Thanks to all of you who drop by this blog from time to time. I do still intend to update it, but the frequency with which I do that can vary based on factors of busy-ness, ponderous and write-worthy thoughts, share-ability of those thoughts, etc...

How y'all doing? Happy New Year. I had a day off today, and took the opportunity to do some laundry, talk on the phone, veg out with a movie, play with my dog... Here he is- exploding out of his Christmas T-shirt (It's a cell phone pic, so not terribly clear):

He has really gotten into the Christmas spirit this year- even going so far as to nibble on the Christmas tree! Even now, his breath smells like pine branches. (We are keeping the tree up until at least January 06th, as this is the 12th day of Christmas- the ephinany- and therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to continue the celebration.)


Anywho, I am excited for 2007- a new year filled with opportunities to exercise my faith in a loving and sovreign King. May your heart seek Him eagerly, and may He be found by you.

posted by Jules @ Tuesday, January 02, 2007 0 comments