Coming alive, yet unworthy

iv been listening to a song by jeremy camp. it is called beyond measure, and it is beautiful. there is a line that he sings that says this,

"i come alive, when i've broken down and given You control"

this hit me this time listening. he also says this.

"but i know i wont find any worth apart from You"

think about that. he is not talking about another human, a person in his life here on earth. he is speaking of someone much greater than all this around us. the one true God. i have come to a recent conclusion that God is in the process of once again breaking me down and showing me that i am nothing without Him.

and here, one of my favorite songs plays when i need it most. pointing a truth out to me i have in the past failed to recognize. on my own, i am truly dead. but when i break, when i give this life up to the One who created it i come alive. i find purpose. a purpose that was given to me before i was shaped within my mother's womb.

another song plays where he sings,

"i am nothing without Your love"

how true, and what a reminder. i am nothing apart from Christ. and His death completes me, should i accept it. and i have. now, i must live it out.

Weeping Truth

a thought hit me this morning. it is simple i think, yet profound. i was siting in one of my classes this morning, and we were talking about issues that are facing our world today. abortion, social justice, etc......and we were asked to rank them by importance. we talked about the complexity and simplicity of issues. and Jesus.

and a thought hit me.

would i weep at a simple truth told to me by Jesus?

if Jesus were to look at me and speak a word of simple truth, would i break?

or would i go "huh, good point" and move on with my life as if i already knew it and just forgot until He said something? i realized this morning this is the attitude i often times have. and at the thought of the Lord of all that ever was, is and will be, telling me a simple truth my stomach turned. i pictured myself weeping like i never have in my life.

so i have to wonder, do we really know the truth about the issues? the simple truths? or do we make it all complex and then act like we have it all figured out, when really we are way off the mark?

would you weep at a simple truth?

Joy in the Toil

i stumbled upon a passage of Scripture this afternoon that has not let me go. the reason for this is simply because of the practicality of it in my life. today began a new school year, and as most people know about me, school is not my idea of enjoyment. sitting in classes all day, doing endless work for a letter ranging from an A to an F.....like i said, not my idea of fun. and thus, i am hooked on a passage of Ecclesiastes.

please, dont stop here.

grab a Bible and go read it yourself. start in chapter two, verse 17 and read through the end of the chapter. throughout this passage the writer, Solomon, speaks of toil, work, and how pointless it is. i have to admit, this is often the attitude i take with schooling. i love to learn, but i hate the work of school. but there is something Solomon points out towards the end, that i think we all need to be reminded of.

joy will only be found when we please God.

not just your normal, buy a new car joy, but a joy that is lasting and fulfilling.

see, one of the reasons Solomon began to despair over his toil was that he was more focused on himself. he was more concerned with what would happen to all of his efforts after he was gone, that they would all be taken by those who did nothing to gain them. this i believe is often the same mentality we have, more concerned with ourselves and our achievements. more concerned with those around us, and what they might do with our achievements. more concerned with the relevancy of what we study to what we will do in life.

here is our down fall.

and then, Solomon speaks some light. he points out in verse 25 that without God man cannot find enjoyment. that, without God, man will never find true joy. for it is, as he points out in the following verse, only found by pleasing God.

ah, the key.

joy is not found in the work itself, but in pleasing God by being faithful in our work.

after all, we are all going to die one day. it will all be forgotten here on the earth. but God remembers our faithfulness. God gives joy to those who please Him.

let us keep working with the true goal in mind.