Jesus Died For Me

     So, last night I led worship for the high school group and after I was finished, Jason(the youth Pastor) gave an awesome message and also lead some worship at the end. In that worship time at the end, I felt like the Lord spoke something very specific to my heart. What I heard was "Christ died for us individually, not collectively". At first glance this probably looks really strange, in fact I'm still thinking and praying through it myself. What I got is this, Christ died for everyone, from history to future in one ultimate sacrifice. Hebrews 10:12-14 says:
"But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."
     Jesus died for all, and the gift of salvation is available to anyone who will receive Christ and the work of the cross. I guess I realized that I have always acknowledged and worship God as the Savior and Creator of everyone and everything(which He is of course) but I never thought to worship Him for saving me. The fact that Christ died for all doesn't take away from the uniqueness of each individual person's salvation.
     I was thinking about when we receive a gift, maybe from work, or maybe from a family member, wherever it is from, we feel special when we receive it. After we find out that the whole office, or the whole family received the same thing, it might take away from that special feeling a little bit. I don't believe that Jesus bought us in "bulk" so to speak, I believe that if we look at our Salvation as a gift, He would have picked out each one by hand, mindful of each recipiant when purchasing it with His blood.
     When the Lord spoke that into my heart, I immediately entered into a new place in my worshiping. This place was so sweet and intimate, and I knew that it was just between Jesus and me. In that moment there was no room for anything else, and I believe that is where my heart is supposed to be in worship. Every time I open my mouth to sing to the Lord, I want to remember that He saved me from eternal damnation and that now I am able to practice worshiping my Savior forever.

Critical Thinking

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well." -Psalm 139:14

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     We as the children of God, individually, and collectively are the works of the Almighty God's hand. His Word is full of reassuring statements about His love for us individually. In verses 17-18 the Psalmist writes:

"How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You."

     This should be a great reminder to us all of how vast the Love of Christ is. I feel sometimes though like we can take these verses and act like they are meant for us only, like the Lord has some kind of special treatment for us alone. In some sense this is true in that the Lord's thoughts for EACH ONE of US are unique and I believe that no "calling" in life is exactly duplicated. But in the grand scheme of things, just because we are all called to different things in life doesn't mean that God plays favorites. The heart of Jesus leaves no room for partiality, this was perfectly displayed by Christ's response whilst on the cross. "... Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do..." is what Jesus had to say while He carried all of OUR sin and burden. Even when He was being mocked and killed He went out of His way to make a blanket statement to show that the work of the cross is for anyone who will receive it!

     God loves us ALL so much and it has been on my heart lately that we are all created equally. That doesn't mean that we can blame our sinful ways or contrary lifestyles on how we were created. That simply means that in the beginning we were created in the likeness of God and we are the ones who continue to "fall far from the tree" so to speak. I can't help but think that the Lord, when He looks at any one of us sees the child that He created to worship Him. Our sin must grieve Him so much because at any time we have the opportunity to leave them at the cross.

     I have been think about how much in my own heart and mind I tend to pick people apart sometimes. Unfortunately I am not always the first person to take those thoughts captive when they arise. There is so much negativity when we sit there and criticize how people look or act, and I am certain that some of this comes from insecurity. What if instead of proceeding these critical thoughts with negative actions, we checked our own hearts to see where the root of this superiority complex comes from. If we could tare out the root of our heart's problems it might allow the Lord to truly work in our lives.

     Lord, search my heart for inconstancies and remove the root of my wicked ways!

Run!

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; 
A good understanding have all those who do His 
commandments. His praise endures forever." 
Psalm 111:10

I am challenging myself today to have that fear of the

Lord at the forefront of my mind. I'd like to encourage

you as well, brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember

that our Father who is in heaven reigning in every

aspect of every dimension of life lives inside your chest,

so long as you are willing. So today be faithful to your

calling, honor, respect, be obedient to, and FEAR the

Lord of hosts. He will bless you, exalting you in this

journey we refer to as life. Run on with relentless

endurance, for the race slows down for nobody.