Lazarus, COME Forth

"Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.”
Luke 11:17

Jesus had a friend who was very near and dear to him. His name was Lazarus, and he was the brother of Mary and Martha. Lazarus was very sick, on his death bed when the sisters sent for Jesus. Their only thought was that the Lord could heal him. But when the messenger ran to Jesus, Jesus delayed where he was for two days. Lazarus’ family and Jesus were tight. Like superbly great friends, and Jesus made it a point to visit in their home often, so I can see you asking already. WHY DID HE WAIT? If it was one of our friends we’d be there in minutes, but Jesus delayed his arrival for four days.

By the time Jesus reached Bethany, Martha ran to him. And she cried LORD, If you had been here He’d still be alive. The pain is clearly written on her face. She’s broken. The grief was still fresh in her eyes. Jesus tries to explain to her that her grief will soon fade, that her brother would rise again. But Martha was missing the picture, so she ran back home and told Mary that Jesus was in town.

Mary ran to Jesus and fell at his feet. Between sobs, Mary cried, LORD, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. And I love what the Bible says next. When Jesus saw her weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Jesus was upset about Lazarus’ death too, he was upset that Mary and Martha were upset. And then Jesus asked where Lazarus lay. Verse 35 depicts the shortest Bible verse. JESUS WEPT, and the crowd said Behold, how he loved him.

Jesus commanded Roll away the grave stone. And Martha said, BUT LORD. He’s been there four days. Jesus prayed out loud to his Holy Father. When he had finished, Jesus cried out in a loud voice. Lazarus, Come Forth! And Lazarus, the one who had been dead for four days, walked out in his grave clothes.

Imagine how exciting that moment would be. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing, but he still felt the grief that was caused by the things he had to let happen. Imagine how hard it was for him to wait those two days instead of running to Lazarus’ side.

You may be going through some rough spots right now, you may have cried out to the Lord, and he didn’t answer. But know this, when the time is right, he will come, roll away the stone and call out your name. Take comfort in knowing that even when the Perfect Healer is four days late, he’s still on time.

Surrounded by grace.
Emily.

Becoming A Hopeful Romantic- Interview!

Hey girls! (:

I recently sat down with Heather, the owner of the popular blog, Becoming a Hopeful Romantic. She was such a joy to interview, I decided to share the interview here with you guys. Here is an expert from her blog that will tell you guys what she is all about. =) Enjoy the interview!

"Welcome to A Hopeful Romantic! This "blog" is all about my convictions on everything from dating to marriage, and everything in between! I am very passionate to not only live out a life of purity as God calls us to, but also to help encourage others along the way. I do not and will not judge you no matter what you may have done in your past/are doing; that's between you and God, not me. However, I will challenge and encourage you to give up living your life your way, and to give it to God; the safest place to put it! I want to challenge and encourage you all--boys or girls(though I talk mainly to girls since I am one and understand where they are coming from better), to live a life sold-out for God, and to pursue a life of true purity; Purity of the body, mind, and soul."

Q. What stirred you to decide to create your blog, Becoming a Hopeful Romantic?

I created my blog, “Becoming a Hopeful Romantic”, during the time in my life when God was convicting me of my morals, where I stand on purity and how precious it is to Him.

The blog actually started off on the website for a Christian magazine (Susie Mag, whose editor is Susie Shellenberger; she use to be the editor for Brio Magazine before it was discontinued).

 On the online portion of the website, they had forums where teenage girls could ask each other questions.  Some of the most common and popular questions dealt with purity; “When is it okay to date?”, Should I save my first kiss?”, “How far is too far?”, etc. It was through these girls’ questions that I started “Becoming a Hopeful Romantic” through means of the websites blog application, and then I also moved it to blogger.com. I would pick a topic that I saw had a lot of confusion, and I would write about what God has personally convicted me of in that area, and shared it with them. I wanted to encourage girls to live out a complete lifestyle of purity for God, and to take the questions seriously and deeply to Him in prayer, and be willing to do what He convicted them of.

I wanted to be a tool used by God; He was changing me so dramatically in this area, and I found myself becoming so passion for true purity, that I decided to share with others what God was laying on my own heart. I wanted to help girls realize that purity is so much more then simply not having sex until marriage. This is how “Becoming a Hopeful Romantic” took off.
Q. What made you decide to live a life in purity?

When I was 15 years old, God started to really hit me hard and heavy on the topic of purity. I found it laying so heavy on my heart that I thirsted for real, challenging, God-convicting answers. I had known of purity rings, and that they represented a girl saving sex for marriage, yet it all seemed a little off to me. I knew God commanded us to save sex for marriage, and I told Him I knew that, but I still felt unsatisfied; I felt like I was missing the big picture or the whole key to real purity. I received a devotional book as a gift called “Pure: Body, Mind, and Soul” by Rebecca St. James. The title captured me—purity? It goes beyond your body? I devoured the book. It was meant to be a 90 day devotional, but that didn’t happen. I couldn’t get enough of it. I had never once heard anyone talk about purity applying to so much more then just being a virgin on your wedding day. This was the beginning of my passion for purity; this was what I had been searching for, longing for. The true, real, complete, God called lifestyle of purity. I then began reading a variety of different books such as “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” by Joshua Harris and “Wait for Me” by Rebecca St. James. I felt God teaching me and talking to me through these books—I did not simply accept what the books were talking about; I took all areas to God, and really felt myself being convicted by God to apply what I was learning to my life. I learned that God calls us to live out a complete lifestyle of purity—body, mind, and soul—and not simply wait for marriage. I became so passion for purity, and I found myself exploring more books, Bible verses, and then deep conversations and thoughts with God. It was a truly life changing time in my life, and I have been passionately striving to live out a lifestyle of purity ever since.

Q. What would you say to Christian teens that are striving to live life in purity but feel bogged down by the weight of the world?

I would tell you to run to God, and allow Him to help you each and every step of the way. God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” God will help you—He wants to help you! Pray and pour everything out to Him, and then have faith and the willingness to do what He calls you to do!

Living a lifestyle of true, God called purity is not always easy, but it is always worth it! I would also encourage you to find an accountability partner who is older and wiser then you—that way, even when you are feeling the pressure of the world, you can go to this person and talk to them, get advice, have them pray for/with you, and encourage you to continue on your path of purity! James 5:16 encourages Christians to do this when it says “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Q. Can you tell us the story of how you came to know Christ as your Lord and Savior?

I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was 7 years old.

It was after my family had gone to a Carman concert that I over heard my two older sisters worrying about how none of us kids had gone forward during the alter call at the concert. It was then that I realized that I had never asked Jesus into my life, and that therefore my life was missing Someone very important. I decided to ask my brother how to go about asking Jesus into my life. He told me that I had to pray to Jesus, admit to Him that I was a sinner, repent from my sin and believe that He not only died on the cross for my sins, but also rose again the third day from the dead.

So that same day, I crawled into my bed alone, and asked Jesus to come into my life.

Since then, I have been learning more and more about Him, and falling more and more in love with Him every day! I have learned that it is not just some religion, but a relationship with the King of Kings!

I pray that I will never be ignorant enough to believe that I will ever reach a point in my life where I am done growing in Him’ not until I close my eyes for the last time and awake in Heaven!

 

Q. What is your biggest temptation or struggle when striving to live a pure life for God?

My biggest temptation or struggle in striving to live a pure life for God is to guard, monitor and purify my thoughts. A thought can happen so quickly, and can sometimes seemingly come out of nowhere, that I find it the hardest aspect for me personally when it comes to purity. However, God has been teaching me to closely monitor what I take in (movies, books, television, people’s opinions, etc) and to see if it matches up to Philippians 4:8. I remember praying to God, and literally asking Him to help install a “filter” in my mind, that would help propel anything bad or inappropriate out, and not allow me to dwell on it. It worked!

Q. How do you keep coming up with fresh content for your blog?

Anything that I blog about comes from something I had recently gone through, something I felt laid on my heart, something God recently taught me, or something that a reader asks me about, that I feel may apply to more girls out there.

This is the reason why my blog posts aren’t all that often like a typical blog tends to be; I only write when one of the above occur. I suppose you could say it’s like an open journal, because I am sharing what God has convicted me of, with other girls, and I encourage and challenge them to talk it over deeply with God, and listen to what He is telling them. For some topics—such as whether to save your first kiss for your wedding day or not—it is especially important for girls to talk to God, and look to Him for an answer, because it will not be the same for every girl. He convicted me to save my first kiss for my wedding day, yet for other girls, He may call them to wait for engagement, or for someone extremely special. In these such cases, it is so important to look to God, and not to me, to find out what He wants for you. For other topics, such as having a pure mind, body, and guarding your heart, God does make it clear what He wants us to strive for, and in that case, I encourage and challenge girls to strive to live it out in their daily lives, yet I always want them to walk away from what they read, and to turn to God, and simply talk it over with Him. This is the key to absolute purity—allowing God to mold you, convict you, and to lead you!

Q. If you could tell other teens who are also striving to live a life of purity one thing, what would that be?

I would encourage them to make sure that they are completely sold out to God and His will, and that they are fully living out the pure lifestyle He is calling them to live. So many girls who sport “True Love Waits” rings are only saving themselves sexually for marriage, but God calls us to live out true purity; purity of the body, mind, and soul! God is with you, He loves you, and you aren’t walking this road of purity alone!

Despite the lies you may hear from your peers or the media, it does pay off beyond your wildest imagination to allow God to take not only the pen of your love story, but also the pen of your life story!

 If you guys want to check out her blog, follow this link. (: Becoming a Hopeful Romantic Blog

Searching

Are you looking for something? Are you wanting proof of God’s existence or maybe love? Are you searching for more than this life has to offer? Maybe you’re searching for a solution to your pain and depression….


Let’s go with this first… everyone is searching for more than what this life has to offer, we was fashioned that way. Usually we look for someone to accept us and love us. Then the question of God comes in with that. Christians claim that God has all the answers and everything that we need. This is true. For Matthew 6:33 says: But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Also in Psalms 37:4 says: Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 


Now let’s go with this next…. Does God exist? A lot of people will argue that he doesn’t and wants proof. Proof is all around you. I mean think about it. Who else could design such a world that it all works together. How do you know God’s there? You can’t see him true, but if you talk to him and trust in your heart that he’s there, you will feel him and hear him. Remember you can’t see the wind, but you can feel and hear it as well as see the effects of it. Just like God you can see the effects of him. In fact you’re fashioned in his likeness. For in Genesis 1:26 says: And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

Now another subject to deal with…. What do I do about my depression and longing for love and acceptance among people? Ok, first of all God is love. For 1 John 4:8 says: He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. You accept God you will have love not only love but peace and help through those depressing times. God has given you the authority over those feelings, for those feelings come from God’s enemy as well as our enemy, the devil. For Luke 10:19 says: Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Also in James chapter 4 verses 7 and 8 says: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh unto you…. Fear is another emotion that you may be dealing with. That’s also of the devil resist him for God also gave you authority of this, but you say how do you know that is from the devil? Well 2 Timothy 1:7 says: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of sound mind.

Just surrender it all to God, you will find peace in hard times, and you will have love. No he never did promise that the cross wouldn’t get heavy or that the hill wouldn’t be hard to climb, but he did promise to be there for you, for he said he’d stick closer to you than a brother. For the joy of the Lord will be your strength. Remember this in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says: Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, love never faileth. Remember God is love so if you replace love in this it says: God suffereth long, and is kind; God envieth not; God vaunteth not his self, is not puffed up, doth not behave his self unseemly, seeketh not his own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, God never faileth. 

Remember these things in your daily life and when you get down and out, and if doubt enters your mind. Doubt your doubt. 

On the Way to the Cross: the betrayal

In the process of this website, God has been teaching me the most heartbreakingly beautiful things. I want you to take a little journey with me. It won’t take very long. A couple of weeks at the most. I want you to be able to experience these things that I am experiencing right now. So, come with me as we take a journey in a new light, On the Way to the Cross.

Let’s start in the Garden, the place that Jesus is so earnestly praying. A place where His heart is breaking, a place where He is crying out to His Father. I think we often overlook a crucial part in the garden scene. I think we overlook something that we shouldn’t.

    In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ, the Holy Son of God, was a BROKEN man.

You see, He knew what the next day held for Him. He knew what the night held for Him, and He knew that it would be painful, that it would be a struggle to continue on, and here He was praying to Holy Abba God to let this cup pass from Him. There came a point where Jesus, as much man as He was God, wanted to give up. There was a time when He was ready to toss in the towel. But I love the words He uttered next. Not my will, but thine. Something switched on inside of Jesus. I honestly believe that He looked at the individual faces of each person who would come to know Him. Who would love Him. I believe that He saw me. And suddenly He was ready again, and He stood, awaiting Judas’ entrance.

Now for just 30 silver coins, Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss. That stuns me still. Judas, the disciple of Jesus, the man who has witnessed countless miracles, and faithful, devoted, friendship, sold Jesus out. And He did so with a kiss. And you know what I think is so crazy overflowing in love? Even as Judas betrayed the only man who loved him dearly, in the midst of this ever so personal attack. Jesus does something remarkable. And if you’re not carefully reading, you’ll miss it. I did so many times. In the very midst of this attack,

                                       Jesus calls Judas FRIEND.

That makes my heart skip beats frantically. Because Jesus, the SON of MAN overlooked this betrayal. He overlooked all of this, and addressed His friend. Jesus still looked at Judas as a friend. How many of us would have been chewing Judas out? I know I would have.  How many times do we betray Jesus with a kiss? How many times do we pause between right and wrong and still choose wrong anyway? But Jesus still looks at us, and sees us not as an enemy, but as a friend.

Relish in the joy of that Holy friendship you have today (:

Honored to be His Friend,

Emily

*ps. Next time, we’ll be continuing our journey with.

          On the Way to the Cross: The Centurion’s Ear

An Introduction to Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual Gifts. For some, you might have no idea what this two-part word means. For others, you might have already discovered your spiritual gifts. For those of you who have been lucky enough to find your spiritual gifts, I will be writing to those who have not found them yet or who have no idea what I am talking about. But do keep in mind, you might have many more that you have not found. :) Okay so I am going to answer a few common questions about spiritual gifts.

What is a Spiritual Gift? A spiritual gift is a set of gifts or abilities that are given to people by God to help further the kingdom of God.

How many different kinds of Spiritual Gifts are there? Although I am not aware of an exact number, there are many different gifts that you can receive.

What are some different gifts, to give an example? Some different kinds of spiritual gifts are Giving, Service, Wisdom, Tongues, Mercy and Leadership just to name a few of the many.

Okay, so now that you have a few answers about the basics of Spiritual gifts, you might be wondering if I'm just a tad bit crazy. Don't worry, that's normal. ;) Here is a bible verse that talks about spiritual gifts.

"For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness". (Romans 12:4-8)

Although there are many different kinds of spiritual gifts, you might not just wake up one morning and say, "Oh guess what? I figured out what my spiritual gift is!" No, I don't think it will happen like that. Personally, I think that if you wait on God and spend some time asking him what your spiritual gifts could be, he will answer in his time. Sometimes, like all things, they just take time to be brought out. As you grow up and get older you will start to see evidence of your spiritual gift and learn to identify it as a gift from God. Another common way to give you an idea of some of your spiritual gifts, is taking a Spiritual Gifts assessment. There are many online you can take but for your convenience, I have listed a few at the bottom of this blog. If you take one of these Spiritual Gifts assessments, remember they are not 100% accurate and are just there to give you a possible list of gifts you could have. Spiritual gifts can come in many different ways and forms. Sometimes they will come unexpected and as a pleasant surprise and other times you will slowly see evidence of them. Wait on God, and talk to him about this. He loves talking to you. After all, he died for you and all he asks in return is for us to love him and tell others about him. If you have any questions or comments, or would like to share what your suggested spiritual gifts are then please feel free to email me! My email is found to the right of the blog. :) Hope to hear from you soon!


Spiritual Gifts Assessments

http://www.kodachrome.org/spiritgiftyouth/

http://www.churchgrowth.org/cgi-cg/gifts.cgi?intro=1

http://www.christianet.com/bible/spiritualgiftstest.htm