all truth is relative? false.

Some folks say, "all truth is relative--it just depends on what you believe"

"ya know, any man ain't really know for sure who God is or whats really true"

...but that means you believe your own statement.
that "there is no way to really know what is true"
you're sayin that that statement is true
you're killin yourself!

If what's true for you is true for you,
And what's true for me is true for me,
WHAT IF MY TRUTH SAYS YOURS IS A LIE?

...is it still true?
c'mon.

{Truth by Lecrae}

Statistically... I am a rebel?

Statistically, an average 20 year old woman in America is expected to be a part of the following:

• Nearly 50% of 15-19 year olds in the US have had sex at least once
• By age nineteen, 7 in 10 teens have engaged in sexual intercourse
• Past month alcohol use was reported by 62.0 percent of full-time college students compared to 50.8 percent of their counterparts who were not currently enrolled full-time
• About 9.7 million persons aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to the survey interview in 2000
• Among youths who were heavy drinkers in 2000, 65.5 percent were also current illicit drug users.
• Approximately 2.1 million youths aged 12 to 17 had used inhalants at some time in their lives as of 2000

Statistically I would be considered a "conformist" to participate in underage drinking, illegal drug use, sexual activity...

but... I haven't conformed, so what am I?

a non-conformist? a rebel?
doesn't the word "rebel" have a negative connotation?

sure.

yet here it applies.

• I haven't had sex
• I don't get drunk... I don't even drink
• I don't smoke anything illegal
• I don't inject myself with any kind of illegal substance

Therefore, I am considered a REBEL {(n): one who resists or rises against some authority, control, or tradition} by definition.

"Pat me on the back. I beat the odds. Good for me! I am a good person! A sheltered, non-adventurous, safe girl! Way to be Sara--have a cookie."

False.

What is it that drives my rebellion? Restate that: Who is it that drives my rebellion?

Jesus Christ.

Apart from Him I am a hopeless case. He is more valuable to me than what mainstream American culture pitches as "valuable." He is more satisfying to me than sex, drugs, or getting wasted after a soccer game.

I long for consistency--He never changes.
I long for enjoyment--He is the source of joy.
I long to be in awe over something greater than myself--He is Creator.

Why settle for temporary pleasures when I can enjoy an eternal all-satisfying relationship with the Creator of the universe?

How can this be?

Jesus Christ died on the cross so that anyone who believes in Him, will not perish but have eternal life. In our sinfulness, we are separated from God--Jesus is our ONLY remedy--who makes it possible for us to know God.

"Rebel" by Lecrae
"Man they swear they so gangsta but everyone's the same
everybody do the same stuff: tattoos, piercings
smokin' up and drinking; money and sex--
plus them extravagant weekends,
if that's the high life, I'll puff puff pass that--
you leave evaporated like you missing a gas cap,
I guess I'm passed that, cause I am in rebellion--
I'd rather have a dollar in my pocket than a mill-ion.
I'm scared to worship money, and my wants over Elyon,
I'll remain a rebel while the rest of them just carry on.
this is what I live fo, this the hill I'm buried on--
if Jesus is the truth
that means one of us is VERY wrong
think about it."


That is the ONLY reason I am a "rebel"--because of God's grace in Christ towards me and Him working in me.

Not anything I had to do with.

So join the rebellion---not without a cause.

But go to the root--recognize that the Bible is true, and it says, "all have sinned and fall short of God's glory" (Romans 3:23).

So many Americans consider themselves "Christian" yet we look at the statistical information of "most" of these same Americans... it doesn't add up. The Bible says "faith without works is dead." Therefore, if your actions don't align with your words... think about this and ask yourself if you truly treasure Christ above everything else in your life.

Then, we are invited to turn from evil, and trust in Christ who has taken your punishment on the cross--then His righteousness can be counted as yours.

And enjoy God forever. it's that simple.

Christ is the focus. God gets the glory.

Romans 3: 21 - 26
21But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

SGS

joy in sadness

i'm pissed. i'm frustrated. i'm sad about soccer... the weekend was rough.

YET... God remains good. God remains faithful. and through sadness... i see the importance of moving on and recognizing that Joy is deeper than an emotion... it is underneath... not affected by circumstances... based solely on the fact that Christ is for me---so who can be against me?

there is no greater joy than knowing and treasuring Jesus Christ, who died to pay for my sin. He is more valuable than soccer. he is more valuable than outcomes or performance. He is good.

His mercy is new every morning, what a good God!

Keep me.

"If believers are lost, God loses more than they do, for he loses his honour, he loses his
character for truthfulness, and the glory of his name is tarnished". 1429.468

"If anybody said he had eternal life and lost it, he would be flatly contradicting
himself. It could not be eternal, or else he must still have it". 2120.691
"Further, if Christ had intended to cast us away because of our sins, why did he ever
take us on?" 2720.147

"True, we are unworthy, but we always were, and if thou didst want a reason for
leaving us thou hast had ten thousand reasons long ago". 2923.87

C.H. Spurgeon.

50 minutes of words that changed my life.

October 9th, 2005. Minneapolis, MN. Sunday morning. Convention center.

A few months after my eyes had been opened to recognize my sinfulness, and desire Jesus as my savior... I listened to these words... which caused me to recognize the "goal of creation"...or why we, or anything else exists.

VIDEO: The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God

From eternity past God had a plan. That Jesus Christ, the Lamb, would be slaughtered to ransom the Church: His "bride"...to display the greatness of the glory of the grace of God.

After asking myself, "what is my purpose"?

I heard a resounding answer coming from the Bible...

"Even as he chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved...so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory." (See first Chapter of Ephesians)

So why do we exist? "We exist to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."

Welcome back music library...

Hello, iTunes music library...nice to hear you again. Specifically, Tenth Avenue North. It's been a few weeks...

Never have I encountered a whole CD that has captured my attention for so long. I am a sporadic song listener--usually cannot listen to a whole song without changing it. Yet when it comes to "Over and Underneath" by Tenth Avenue North... I can't get enough. For 3 reasons.

1. Truth. 10th Ave's lyrics are first and foremost Bible-saturated and Christ-centered. There is nothing better.

"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 life//I want to give you life"
(By Your Side)

2. Spirit. The Bible tells us to worship in Spirit and in Truth. So not only in truth...but also in spirit... with emotion, with passion, with delight, with joy. The lyrics are so honest... expressing fears, failures, and dependence on Jesus Christ. Not with stiff, emotionless law or words...but sincere emotion-packed charismatic spirit...

"One tear in the dropping rain//One voice in the sea of pain//Could the maker of the stars//Hear the sound of my breakin' heart? //One light, that's all I am//Right now I can barely stand//If You're everything You say You are//Won't You come close and hold my heart"
(Hold My Heart)

3. Good music. These guys are actually talented... and their songs are enjoyable to listen to. Again, and again, and again!

We have a mind that comprehends words so that we might know the Truth. We have emotions so that we might delight in things--and the ultimate, all-satisfying delight is knowing God through Jesus Christ. This CD is breaking me down, building me up, and spurring me to know...to really know my Lord...and encouraging me to take delight in seeing others come to see and savour Christ for the first time as He ought to be valued.

"Well you've been a mistress, my wife//Chasing lovers it won't satisfy//Won't you let me make you my bride//You will drink of my lips //And you'll taste new life
"Cause you're my beloved//Lover I'm yours//Death shall not part us//It's you I died for
For better or worse//Forever we'll be//Our Love it unites us//and it binds you to me"
(Beloved)

God keeps his covenants. He made a covenant through His son's blood...and no power is able to divorce Christ from His bride--the Church. Not because of our power, but His power...that Christ may receive all the glory because He, who was without sin, became Sin for His sheep. God is good!

Moral of the post, enjoy 10th Ave because through their music...we can worship God in spirit and in Truth...for His glory because of the Lamb who was slain.

Gaming at Parkside

"Let's get a bear hug," my captain says to the team at the end of practice. We've spent two weeks training hard, practicing, competing amongst ourselves, working on formation, and sprinting...lots and lots of sprinting.

Today we come together as a team to win a game. No longer competing in a practice against each other, but we come together to compete as a whole against the other team. We are confident in each other's strengths. Ignorant of our weaknesses. Fearless of our opponent's strengths.

"We're not the team that can just show up and win games," my coach says. "We have to out work every team--that is how we will win." Patience with the ball, always looking for opportunities to get a goal.

So how is this like life? Can a sport translate to somehow relate to my relationship with an all-powerful, supreme, sovereign God--who ultimately has control over even this, soccer?

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-26, Paul says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air."

The opponent is real. The competition is tough. Yet with Christ, victory over sin is sure--and the prize, Paul says...is imperishable.

So in competing on the soccer field it is a joy to remember that to win is great. To win is good. To win is exciting. But even this, a victory and its praises are perishable. Yet I know a man, Jesus Christ who purchased a sinful people with His blood on the cross--conquering sin and death...and whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

This is the imperishable victory. Looking to Jesus Christ for a righteousness we can never obtain. He is our mediator that makes it possible to actually know God, by the Holy Spirit revealing things to us in the Bible.

Today I step onto a field to compete to win a game against Parkside, to the praise of God's glorious grace. Recognizing that competition points me to Jesus...above all else. Because He conquered the greatest battle of all, the sin of the nations.

May Christ be made much of in and through this soccer game with this mindset. To know that it is good to receive the perishable wreath, but far better and satisfying to receive the imperishable prize in Christ Jesus.