Purpose

I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.

His purpose is to give me a rich and satisfying life. He has placed me where I am for the very purpose of displaying his power in me and to spread his fame throughout the earth. My ultimate purpose is to please God, not people. So I run with purpose in every step.

Taken from John 10:10, Romans 9:17, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, Romans 8:28, Psalm 57:2, and 1 Corinthians 9:26.

God's Passions

"Do you believe God gave you your gifts and talents? Do you believe God gave you a passion for those things you're passionate about? If so, who is hurt by you not using those gifts?"

I believe that God is passionate about the gifts he's given us. It's like God is saying "Here Alex, here's the gift of encouragement. Here's your musical abilities. Here's your heart for the outcast. Here's a desire to serve me." And then me saying "Okay, thanks God. That's nice and all, but I think I'd rather sit here in this pew." Or "Thanks for this passion, Lord, but other people do it better than me, so I'm just going to let them do it."

Uh, no. God gave you those gifts, those talents, those desires... He wants you to use them. And when you ask, he's going to give you opportunities to use them. Just be willing to go with it.

I believe with every piece of me that God put me where I am for a reason. Because I could never have done it on my own. Thus, he has me where he wants me. And he's doing something amazing with it. I can't let myself ever think that I'm not worth it, that God has given up on me. Because he hasn't. And even if it feels like I don't fit in, God's still here and he has a role for me to fill right here.

Are you doing what God's called you to do where he's placed you?

One Hundred Billion Trillion

I love learning about science. Granted, typically I'm a very "artsy" kind of person. I'd rather take a picture of a flower than learn about the pollination of the flower. I'd rather write a poem about the moon than study the craters on its surface.

However, in Scientific Literacy yesterday, my professor was teaching about the cosmos. Mid-way through his lecture, he thought of something and ran out of the room to get his his Bible from his office. When he returned, he read from Isaiah chapter 40, verse 26:

Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.

Then, referring to some calculations on the whiteboard, he indicated that modern scientists roughly estimate that there are about one hundred billion trillion stars in the known universe.

Okay, catch that: God knows and calls the name of each star in the universe, and there are more than a hundred billion trillion of them! God calls each star out one by one to light the night sky and fill the darkness of nighttime. No star is missed. Psalm 147:4 says, "[God] counts the stars and calls them all by name."

The only thing that was running through my head as my professor was saying this was a line from Matthew West's song, More: "I love you more than the sun and the stars that I taught how to shine...". And if God, this vast, omnipotent, omnipresent God, loves me more than the stars he hand-placed in the sky, I truly am loved!

The Bible is not silent about science, as some might assume. In fact, since science is basically the study of God's creation, the Bible is filled with discussion about it. Job 9:9 says, "[God] made all the stars—the Bear and Orion,the Pleiades and the constellations of the southern sky." The awesome thing about creation is that it shows God's presence and majesty (Romans 1:20), because creation has to have a creator. While we can't physically see God, we can see his creation, which gives us a glimpse of how amazing God really is.

Go outside and watch the sunset, watch God bring the stars out one by one, watch the moon light up the night. And praise him. For every great star that appears in the night sky, we catch a reminder of God's love for us.

God is more glorious than the moon; he shines brighter than the stars.

Job 25:5

The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.

Psalm 33:6

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—

the moon and the stars you set in place—

what are mere mortals that you should think about them,

human beings that you should care for them?

Psalm 8:3-4

Whisper

And the word of the LORD came to me: "What are you doing here, Alex?". So I told him. And he said, "Go stand over there, because I am about to pass by."

Then a great wind tore through the room, but the LORD was not in the wind. Then an earthquake shook the very ground I was standing on, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire that raged out of control, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

When I heard the whisper, I pulled my jacket closer around me and covered my face with my hands and stepped out from the shadows.

And God, in a voice gentler than anything I had ever heard, asked me again, "What are you doing here, Alex?"

I swallowed and took a breath and dared to answer him. What am I doing here?

I realized that the answer was still the same. I was doing the same thing now as I was before the wind and the earthquake and the fire. But this time it was different. Somehow. This time my heart had changed.

And God said, "Here's my task for you. Go and do it. Now you're ready."

[Based off of 1 Kings 19:10-18]

Too Many Burdens

Have you heard someone talk about a burden they had for someone? A desire that a non-Believer meet Jesus or that a strayed Christian would return to the Faith?

It is wonderful that fellow Christians would be so concerned about not only each other, but also about friends and family members who don't know the Lord. It's often a very genuine, honest, God-honoring concern.

But sometimes we fall into the trap of taking the word "burden" a little too seriously. You see, God has not created us to bear the whole weight of one person's salvation upon ourselves. We were not made to be responsible for leading people through every step and realization of coming to Christ or even coming back to Christ. Granted, God may be using you, even right now, to do something amazing in a life of someone near you. But it is not your sole responsibility to draw them into Christ. That is the Holy Spirit's job.

Likewise, I often find myself carrying too many burdens. Last week, I found a guy I attended middle school with on Facebook through one of those "mutual friends" things. He had a skimpily dressed girlfriend and several of his pictures included alcoholic beverages. Knowing that this kid is no older than me, I was obviously offended and asked God how this could happen. I became concerned about his apparent wandering from Christianity. And suddenly I was carrying a burden. Another burden to my list.

I'm carrying similar burdens concerned about the salvation and hearts of members of my stepfamilies as well as friends, families of friends, and others who don't know the Lord. In addition, my heart is burdened with thoughts and worries about friends and acquaintances who have seemingly abandoned God. More burdens.

And yes, as a Christian, I am to carry the burdens of my fellow believers (Galatians 6:2). I am to mourn when they mourn, laugh when they laugh, and care about what they are concerned about. However, there is a line between genuinely caring and becoming a nervous wreck.

When things come up, like a friend whose heart is the wrong place, or someone shares a prayer request for an unsaved family member, I urge you to care. I urge you to pray alongside and support them however you can.

And then, this is the hard part, give it God. Stop trying to convert your atheist friend on your own agenda in your own power. Let go. Give it up. Allow God to use you to do his work; don't force your plan on his purposes. Let go of the burdens you're carrying and obey the Holy Spirit's voice.

Now I will take the load from your shoulders; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks. You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah.

Psalm 81:6-7

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:29

God is Pursuing You...

...Even when your busyness is overwhelming.

I've got some things on my heart right now that I really need to express. For one, this is the third week of the Spring semester of my Freshman year of college. Literally, it feels like I just got here. I'm so impressed with how quickly everything seems to be passing by.

In addition, this semester has marked the beginning of my participation in several activities, including my first Student Ministry (semester-long community or campus service). For my student ministry, I'm working with my new church in the youth and children's ministries. I am also leading a Bible Study for the girls in my dorm on the book of Esther (we had our second meeting today) and co-leading a group here on campus that is studying the movie "To Save a Life". In addition, I'm working 15 hours a week (3 more than last semester) and slowly assuming the responsibilities as Secretary in a club that was created to spread awareness and prevent sex trafficking of minors. And, last but not least, I'm taking 15 credit hours, which is 5 classes.

Surviving this semester in one piece will be a miracle. But you know what the cool thing is? God still works miracles. :)

And the fact of the matter is that God is still pursuing me. He's showing me amazing things. On Monday, I was beginning to worry about not having the right lesson plans for Bible study today. I had a theme I wanted to talk about, but I couldn't find a good story to tie Esther's experiences to modern day. In my 11am class on Monday, a missionary couple was invited to speak, and the wife told us the story of how they became missionaries and how God was calling them into the field. It was so beautiful, and I knew it was perfect for relating to God calling Esther to the King's Palace.

God is still pursuing me. Even when things get crazy, God's ridiculously in love with me. And you! And he would love for you to take a break from the hectic-ness of life and just spend some moments with him. Spend some time focused on him, his love for you, the amazing gift of his son whom he sent for you. And after being romanced by your Savior, go love someone. Christ has shown us what it means to love so we can go and be love for those around us.

Be still and know that he is God and let him recharge you to go out and love others.