Searching for the City

Hebrews 11 is one of my favorite chapters...

10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God... 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland... 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for has prepared a city for them. 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26... for he looked to the reward.

Our reward is growing closer and closer as our surprisingly small lifespans keep flying by. Thinking about my lifespan on earth versus my lifespan in eternity completely confirms my heart to be living of the things of heaven. I find that keeping my gaze on the city will never fail to bring me peace. It also causes pain, temptation and distractions to be eased, in knowing that they are only in exsistence in this life.

Moses had a choice to suffer affliction or to parttake in the passing pleasures of sin. The only way he was able to choose to suffer is because he saw past the present and had faith in the unseen; because he looked to the reward.

I want to grow in faith, so that when I am face with suffering I will not compromise or give in because I will have my focus so firmly placed on the things above. This kind of faith does not happen over night, so we must pursue the city diligently. We need to stay in the Word daily, so we can develop a deep relationship with Christ, as a person. The deeper we go in Christ the lighter we will become, and the more our faith will grow. He promises to be found by the heart that searches for Him.

"You will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you," says the Lord

Learning to Love

Something I truly desire in this life is to know the love of Christ, and be able to love to the supernatural degree that He loves. I want to love in all circumstances, even the undeserving, those who persecute me, the drug addicts, the prostitutes, the murders, the disabled. I want to learn how to love in the deepest way, that those who never have felt loved would feel the love of Christ through me.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment... Philippians 1:9

The only way that we can learn to love the way Jesus loved is if we understand how much He loves us, and allow our hearts to open up in that place of vulnerability and trust that His love is unfailing. Without trusting in His love, we will never be satisfied. When we arn't satisfied our hearts begin searching for that thing which will satisfy, and until we realize He is our only hope we will remain empty.

...but have not love, I am nothing... love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails... 1 Corinthians 13:2-8

My cute little brother Forrest and I on my 20th birthday :)

Finding Rest in Him

For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:10-11)

And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. (Hebrews 5:9)

As I was meditating on these passages yesterday I realized how necessary it is to have rest in the Lord...

The only way to enter into rest in Jesus is if we allow our busy schedules (works) to be mellow, so we can commune with God. We must be focused on having rest in Him or it will never become part of daily lives. And the lack of diligence in having that rest is, in God's eyes, disobedience. So obeying Him will naturally bring us into a place of rest with the Lord. Oh Lord, how I long for rest in You, Your presence is all I need.

And as it says eternal salvation is for those who obey... leading me to believe that eternal salvation is for those who have rest in Him, because they obey. Isn't that just beautiful, Jesus doesn't want to compete with our schedules, even if it is ministry. He just wants our time, our love, our affection towards Him. I want to experience all there is to know about this man, I am hungry to engage in a deep relationship and fall more in love with Him. I know that there will never be an end to this precious love and rest I find in Him. And simply by obeying Him, I have unlimited access straight to His heart.

I pray that my heart would abound in love, and that I will always be diligent to find my rest in Him. Amen. I love You Jesus with all of me.

Sara

Silence in heaven

Wow I just love when i gain a new understanding of something I have read several of times!

Revelation 8:1
When He opened the seventh seal, there was a silence in heaven for about a half an hour.
I realized that the silence in heaven is not only a silence of awe and for what will happen next, but it is God showing John how important the prayers of the saints are in the second coming of Christ. Prayers of longing for the return of Christ from the last 2,000 years have been rising like incense and filling the bowls in heaven. Not one prayer lost.

It is during this silence in heaven that the smoke of the incense is passed from the angel's hand and ascends before the Father. The silence is specifically for the saints to be heard. All the prayers ever prayed to usher in the King have now been released to God to then bring forth righteous judgement. The noises that break the silence are thunderings, lightnings and an earthquake. Which shows how much power the prayers of the saints truly have. Our prayers will destroy darkness and usher in the light of our King Jesus.

It is amazing to me to think about the people who have been praying faithfully for the return of Jesus and have not given up for fear that their prayers will not be heard. To the world it seems crazy for someone to devote their life to praying for the return of Jesus, but God gives them power over darkness. It is the saints prayers that help write the end of the story. And at the end of the story a new story begins. Only the new story will be in the beautiful city of the new Jerusalem; with Jesus, the perfect leader sitting on the throne.

Lord let Your Kingdom come!

Darkness cannot understand Light

"And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:5 When I was really thinking about this verse it made me think of all the joy I receive from the Light. There is an overflow of joy. To think that there are some who will never experience that same joy makes me sad. Those who do not receive the eternal crown will never see the beauty of Christ. The world did not know Him because the world became dark. It is the darkness within us that makes us not understand who He is. There are times when we become offended by His ways, and that is simply the darkness that is confused by the Light of truth.

When we strive to stay in His presence we will continue to receive more and more understanding through His Light. And when we do receive His Light, He gives us the right to become children of God, born of the Living God and not of flesh. The true Light gives light to every man coming into the world. I want to understand Christ to fullest measure.


"...I lifted my eyes toward heaven and my understanding returned to me..."
Daniel 4:34

Sowing into the Spirit

I'm noticing more and more my tenancies to get wrapped up in things of little meaning, which disconnects me from what has meaning, and that is Christ. I find that if I dwell on things, they soon consume me. I want Jesus to be my dwelling place that consumes me always. There is no better feeling than to draw near to Him, and likewise there is no worse feeling than being disconnected from Him. "Sow into the Spirit or sow into the flesh," in Justin Rizzo's song. We are always doing one or the other.

When I can set all things of this world aside and simply worship my creator, it makes me realize how little of value the things of this world are compared with the promise of eternity. Through Him I can overcome my fleshly desires. I long to reap the benefit of eternity, it is written on my heart.
JESUS CONSUME ME!!!

"He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son." Revelation 21:7