In my personal Bible reading, I've been going through the gospel of Matthew, which is enriched with detail about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I actually started reading Matthew this semester because my Bible professor told us we were to read it for the class, so I began to read it on my own. He never followed up on our reading (I now think it was just recommended, but not required), but I decided to stay in it anyway, since I hadn't read Matthew recently. I've come to the conclusion that I have really taken the gospels for granted. Just think about it- we are given four whole books focused entirely on the ministry and Words of Christ. So incredible.
So, as I've gone deeper and farther into the book of Matthew, I was caught a little off guard by Christ's boldness in speaking parables to the Pharisees and chief priests that were obviously revealing to them His recognition of and disdain for their sin. One thing that really stuck out to me in Matthew 21 was the Pharisees awareness to Jesus reference to them. Instead of responding to the criticism of the God of the creation with repentance, they seek to kill him. When I read this, all I could think was "Are you serious? Are they really that blind and ignorant?" Then it got me thinking.
How do I respond when I'm confronted about sin? Do I immediately put up my defenses, shut my ears, and yell over the conviction while pretending I'm not hearing it?
So, as I've gone deeper and farther into the book of Matthew, I was caught a little off guard by Christ's boldness in speaking parables to the Pharisees and chief priests that were obviously revealing to them His recognition of and disdain for their sin. One thing that really stuck out to me in Matthew 21 was the Pharisees awareness to Jesus reference to them. Instead of responding to the criticism of the God of the creation with repentance, they seek to kill him. When I read this, all I could think was "Are you serious? Are they really that blind and ignorant?" Then it got me thinking.
How do I respond when I'm confronted about sin? Do I immediately put up my defenses, shut my ears, and yell over the conviction while pretending I'm not hearing it?
On a completely different note, this whole summer camp thing has gotten me scared silly. Last night every panicky thought that could possibly come to mind did and I was left asking every single "what if" question possible. Being away from home for another two months, not knowing what to expect, being responsible for 8-10 girls a week, making friends with the staff, being in the wilderness of camp life. All of it. I found myself struggling with the question, "What if I can't do it? What if I'm not ready?" Thankfully, God knows what we need when we need it. One of my friends, Andrew, posted an interesting blog today that really told me what I needed to hear.
"We can’t just ask God to use us and tell Him that we’re ready to serve, and then go about our daily lives and forget about it. Don’t get me wrong, God can and will use us in His master plan when and how He chooses, but He also doesn’t force us to do things (freewill). We can’t earn our salvation or anything else by works or service, but we also can’t just sit around saying, “ok God, I’ll just be over here doing my own thing, let me know if you need me.” We have to allow our changed heart and mind (desiring to serve God daily) to influence our actions.
"We can’t just ask God to use us and tell Him that we’re ready to serve, and then go about our daily lives and forget about it. Don’t get me wrong, God can and will use us in His master plan when and how He chooses, but He also doesn’t force us to do things (freewill). We can’t earn our salvation or anything else by works or service, but we also can’t just sit around saying, “ok God, I’ll just be over here doing my own thing, let me know if you need me.” We have to allow our changed heart and mind (desiring to serve God daily) to influence our actions.
God didn’t call us to live in our own comfortable places of life, where nothing is dangerous, awkward, or difficult. This relates immensely because we ask God to use us, but we never make any advances out of our comfort zone to follow where He’s leading! How can our faith grow if we’re never in any situations where we’re forced to trust God for direction, for strength, or even for our physical well being?"
So, all I have to say is, thank you, God.
Thank you, God, for forcing me to go out of my comfort zone.
Thank you, God, for making me trust you.
Thank you, God, for allowing me to be used in a way that may be scary and new, but will be a blessing.
Thank you, God, for pushing me to do hard things.
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