A Sacrifice...."Father, not my will, but yours be done"

What is it to realize the sacrifice that was made for you and me on the cross? Jesus, fully human, and fully divine, felt all of the same feelings that we feel, everyday. He smiled, he laughed, he cried, he was crushed, physically and emotionally. His friends, in the garden could not even stay awake one hour while Jesus went and prayed. The son asked the Father, 

Luke 22:42, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."  

Do we realize what the means to say, not MY will, but YOURS be done. God called us out of death by paying the price for our souls on the cross with his son. Imagine the agony, the torture, of Jesus on the cross, the blood. I cannot fathom the anguish that Jesus felt on the cross, yet His anguish brings me joy! It brings me joy to know that I am saved by the blood of the Lamb, the one who fulfilled centuries of prophecy, who was nailed to a tree, for my very life. I tremble to think, I wonder how I take for granted this blood shed for me everyday, and pray for mercy to the God who cared enough to save me from an eternity of sin and hell. 

I am justified through the Cross, by grace, through faith, and He beckons me from the Cross to my knees, so that I may be at a loss for words, and humbled in surrender to His will. I am continually amazed as the multitude of Jesus' sacrifice for me is revealed. I am sweetly broken for the man who saved my life, my first love. The truth is, I want you to know this as well. I want you to rejoice in your salvation through Jesus Christ, and repent of the sinfulness which we all take part in. We are empowered by the Spirit and we have victory in ALL things. Victory through Jesus Christ. And in this knowledge, I am invited to rejoice, in ALL things. I rejoice in my salvation through Jesus Christ and his death on the cross, for me, and for YOU. My prayer is that we would ALL know Him, for he is merciful, righteous, he loves justice, and and He is faithful, unyielding, and above all, loving. I see the work of the Lord in my life, in the woman I've become, how he's blessed me with community, and 2 churches who love me and support me. Come to Christ, investigate Him, find Him. His love is unfailing, He created you, He wants to know you, intimately. Come to your Creator. Fall in love once again. Know that I love you, and that this is my prayer for your life. 

"The World Rewards Sin"

     Recently, I was privileged to be a member of staff for the VA YMCA's Model General Assembly. The basic gist of the program is that the kids get to come to Virginia's capitol for 3 days and do everything that the actual Virginia Assembly does. Beforehand, the high school kids are supposed to patron different bills to support their ideas and positions. As staff, my particular job was to track the student's bills from house to house, recording the decisions made in committee and in chambers. As we (staff) watched the debate going on between these students, over issues such as the legalization of marijuana, abortion, the legalization of civil unions, and even a bill that would have stricken our most recent decision (as a state) to ban gay marriage, one of the other staff persons looked over and said during our discussion, "the world rewards sin". 

To be honest, that phrase hit me hard. It was something I had never thought out before, let alone heard straight from the mouth of a friend. To me, it was profound, in every sense. As I thought on that particular phrase, my mind wandered particularly to those bills that regarded civil union, HOMOSEXUALITY, something that the Bible gives speaks clearly and explicitly about, saying that it is unnatural for men to have relations with men and women with women. But, as our society "modernizes" itself with what everyone would call "civil rights", my heart continues to break at the belief that homosexuality is just "how some people are". My heart continues to break that our society believes that it is a woman's "right" to take the life of her unborn child should she wish to (I do believe, however, that the Lord can and will use these decisions to touch a person's heart, even amidst the consequences).  

As I read the news and see Vermont and Iowa legalizing marriage between same-sex couples, I become increasingly broken over this issue of how the world rewards sin. We are a broken people, so much so that even CHRISTIANS reward the sin in this world as we vote for "civil rights" which go against the very word of God, supporting sinful actions. How is the church ever able to stand up for what they believe in if we can't live out what we're called to support in casting a ballot. I have seen people brought out of homosexuality, out of the lust which I believe causes this unnatural occurrence. It is our turn to pray without ceasing, to PRAY, speak to God, interceding on all our behalves, that we may not yield to sin in our midst. My prayer is that God would speak to our lawmakers, to our President, to us, and that He would give us boldness to proclaim the Good News, and the strength to stand up for the law of the Lord, not the law of the world.

 To end,  the world rewards sin, and the majority of the time, the sad truth is that we do nothing to stop it.