In Christ Alone

I've been sitting here doing some homework for the last few hours. Im at the dining room table with my laptop, Bible, Kindle, iPhone, and 3 different devotion books, as well as a spiral notebook and index cards for writing down Bible verses that I want to memorize.

When I sat down it was roughly 8pm. I hadn't been sitting long and I was distracted. But thats ok--Tobi had asked me to paint her fingernails and she has not done that in a while, so of course, I jumped on the chance. She picked 2 colors--Cinderella(blue) and Pink Forever. She loves to mix it up and use different colors--forget using just one!

I got finished with that, and sat back down. And....stopped again, and this time got up to blow dry her hair. Of course, when I said, "Tobi we need to dry your hair.", of course her response was, "No, we don't need to." And off she went to her room. I waited about 5 minutes and got up, and found her on her bed, watching t.v. (Yes I know, that 5 minutes shouldn't have happened) I told her to come on, that we WERE drying her hair.

How many times do we get on to our kids because they have not obeyed immediately? They say, "Ok, just a minute." Or, "Why do I have to do that right now?"(after all, its easier to procrastinate, isn't it?)

I know how I feel when my kids don't comply and obey immediately. Makes me upset, and when I really sit and think about it, just flat out makes me sad. And I can't help but ask, "Why? Why can't they just follow through and get up immediately?"

I stop and think, how about Christ? How does it make him feel when we don't obey Him? When we sit there and say, "Ok, but not right now." "Ill do it in a few minutes." And the classic, "Oh, I'll wait until tomorrow!" I can envision Him standing there, heart broken at the disrespect of ignoring Him.

Isaiah 26:3
Amplified Bible (AMP)
3You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.
This was one of the verses I read tonight as I was working on devotions.

Trusting in the Lord--its one of the things we as Christians are to do. Not just some of the time. Not when its convenient. Not when times are rough and tough. But ALL of the time. When we don't rely on Him and trust Him with everything, isn't that the same as disobeying?

He wants us to trust and obey Him. He wants us to put our faith and trust in Him alone--in EVERYTHING.

Im being reminded of this very thing lately. I gotta put all my faith and trust in my Jesus to get me through every single day--in all that I do. I want my focus every day to be on Christ.

Its now 12:15am. The rest of my family has been in bed for 2 1/2 hours. I had NO idea that much time had passed. I've been sitting here reading scripture and writing scripture, unaware of the minutes on the clock that were just tickin away.

I needed this. I needed to just sit and spend some time with my heavenly daddy. And what an awesome thing it is to be able to do just that.

As I started to put my things away so I can head to bed, "In Christ Alone..my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song....."
Im trusting in Christ Alone.....are you?

Surrender

Surrender: to give (oneself) up to some influence, course, emotion,etc.: He surrendered himself to a life of hardship.


Luke 14:33 33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.


One of our worship songs this morning in church was "I Surrender All" Its an old hymn I've heard and sang in church ever since I can remember. I love it. One of those songs that I almost don't want to sing, but instead I'd rather just stand there and listen. But I can't, I gotta sing it too! :)


I Surrender All by Judson W. Van DeVenter, 1896

All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
Refrain:
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.
All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!
Makes ya stop and think a little bit. At least it should. When you give your life to Christ, do you give it all to Him or just part of it? Not just some of the time, not just a day or two a week, but ALL the time. EVERYTHING. The way you dress, the way you act, the things you do and say should reflect Christ. I remember when the slogan WWJD was popular. What happened to it? Did it just phase out? And why? I find myself asking my kids a lot, when they are arguing with each other, or talking back, "What would Jesus think if He was standing there listening to you?" Guess what? HE IS!! That's reason enough for me to surrender all that I am and all that I have.
No, Im not perfect by any means. No one is. But imperfection is no excuse to just live partially for Christ. Luke 14:27 says And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
How about you?
I Surrender All by Clay Crosse(one of my all time fav)
I Surrender All by The Isaac's
Surrender by the Newsboys
Devotion on Surrender

What is WOF?

How many of you have seen the letters WOF in the last few days?  What do those letters mean?  Just what do they stand for?  Well, I'll tell you.  They stand for WOMEN OF FAITH. Women of Faith is a faith-based women's organization encouraging women of all ages and stages in life to grow in faith and spiritual maturity through a relationship with Jesus Christ and an understanding of God’s love and grace.

This is the first year since the conferences started, 16 years ago, that I've been able to attend.  And I hope that its not only the first, but the first of MANY that I am able to attend.   I saw the posters talking about it at church WEEKS ago and I wanted to go as soon as I saw the line up.  I was all set to sign up to go and it turned out that I was not going to be able to swing going.  I just couldn't do it financially b/c some various things came up.  Seems like that always happens to me.  I was very disappointed, but didn't dwell on it too long.  And then a couple of weeks ago, while I was taking a lunch break at work, I found out that I had been given the chance to go anyway.  That was a pure gift from the Lord!  In fact, I told my husband and my parents that "God knows I NEED to go, and He's provided the way."

I was so excited about going.  I'd heard several girls talking about Patsy Clairmont in the past and what an amazing and hilarious woman she was.  OMG--I have not laughed quite so hard in so long.  Thank you Jesus for the gift of laughter.  I've heard its one of the best medicines there is.   She has over come so much in her life, emotionally and its because of her faith in Christ.  As I listened to her speak this weekend, there were several times that I thought to myself, "Im not alone.  There really ARE people who understand." 
Anxiety and depression--they are very real.  They are not just made up.  They are not issues that can just be turned off with a switch.  They can be very very serious.  I know--I've dealt with both, and still do to some extent.  One comment she made this weekend was in regards to taking medication for it.  She basically stated, that if you have to take medication to help you deal with these kinds of issues, and to help you get through your day, then do it!  And dont let ANYONE make you feel badly for it--afterall, the good Lord is the one who gave someone else the ability and brains to become doctors to treat illness and diseases.

Brenda Warner:  Talk about an awesome testimony.  I was in awe of her as I listened to her. She gave her life to Christ when she was 12.  She joined the Marine's when she was 18.   She got married and had a baby boy.  His name was Zack.   When Zack was 3 1/2 months old, he had accidentally slipped from his birth father's hands and landed on his head in the bathtub. Brenda and her husband were told that the baby had suffered traumatic brain injuries and probably would not live through the night. And if Zack did live, Brenda was told, her son would be profoundly brain-damaged and most likely unable to live anything resembling a normal life.  The little boy did live. And although his brain had been badly damaged--he is nearly blind and his motor skills are minimal--Zack is also a happy and loved child. 
She said one day her mamma was trying to get her to get out of the house.  She'd been avoiding it basically.  She shared with us that, "I decided to tell God what it was that I wanted.  After all, isn't that what we all do?"  All of us women at the conference just laughed.  She went on to tell the rest of the story with how she met her husband, NFL's own Kurt Warner.   She met him one night and the very next day he showed up on her doorstep.  He wanted to meet her kids.  And that was it.  Their love story goes on from there.  He loved her kids immediately.   She said it gain:  "He loved and cared about my kids."  Her story didn't stop with Kurt.  She lost her parents to a tornado that destroyed their home.  She was only 25 when that happened.  She spoke about the phone call she recieved from her sister, letting her know about her folks.  She went through SO much between the ages of 18-25--how can you not be in awe of someone's faith through so much?   She never gave up.  She never lost her faith in the Lord.  Brenda and Kurt have 7 kids.  And the Lord continues to bless them each and every day. 

Lisa Welchel:  LOVE her!!  Loved the fact that she brought clips from The Facts Of Life with her to share with all of us at the conference.  I've always thought she was SO pretty!!  I kept thinking the entire weekend, 'wow, its Blair!!'   However, it was not Blair Warner....it was Lisa Welchel.   She became a Christian when she was 10.  She knew that how easy it is and can be to go down the wrong path in life like many do, but she chose to go down the path  that followed the Lord.  I don't know about anyone else, but when I was a kid, I never really thought about 'people on tv' being Christians.  It was humbling to me to watch her yesterday as we sang and praised our Heavenly Father.  It was cool to sit and listen to her speak of her faith.  She spoke about prayer, the importance of friendships and the power of prayer.

Sandy Patty:  What I knew about her, was that my mother and sister have always loved to listen to her music.  I knew she had an amazing singing voice, but I have never gotten to hear it in person until this weekend.  She wanted to work at Disney Land, singing and dancing.  She auditioned when she was 18.  She got out there, sung her heart out and noticed that one of the judges dog-eared her papers.  She said she thought to herself, that had to be a good sign.  They told her they'd be calling to let her know something.  She waited, and waited and waited.  She finally decided to call and see what was going on.  They told her they loved her voice and that her singing was fabulous.  But that she hand't danced the way they had hoped she would.  The next words that would be spoken, were crushing.  "Im sorry, but your carrying a little bit too much weight."  But she didn't let that stop her from pursuing her dreams of singing.  She headed to Indiana and studied music there.  She eventually started traveling with Bill and Gloria Gaither and her singing career took off from there.  One thing she stated yesterday was that she can look back now at various things she's dealt with over the  years and instead of seeing them as disappointments, she clearly sees the Lord's hand in everything. 

Marilyn Meberg: When I first saw the poster at church for Women Of Faith, I'll admit that upon seeing her picture and even when we got to the arena yesterday, that I thought to myself, "She looks so serious.  She'll be the 'boring' one to listen to."  Quite the opposite.  She was as fun and spunky as Patsy Clairmont.   Its clear that she's a genuine dear friend to the rest of the girls on the Women Of Faith 'porch.'  She's become like a mom to a couple of the girls.  She reminds me of my grandma actually--probably because she's tall and thin.   She's got a book called, What To Do When the Roof Caves In that talks about what to do emotioinally in tough hard times.  I can't wait to get my hands on it to read.  Oh...and she loves chocolate! :)
Who doesn't?

Mandisa: What a wonderful voice!  I love to hear her sing.  She's gone from singing in her bathroom using her curling iron as a microphone, to being a finalist on American Idol, and overcoming mountains, with the Lord's help.  She's genuine and real and lets everyone know that you don't have to wear a mask.  Just be yourself.  Don't try to hide or cover anything up.  Just because your a christian doesnt mean that you don't have problems.  If your struggling, let someone know.  If you need prayers, ask!  Don't hide your feelings and emotions.  If you need to cry, CRY. Don't keep it locked up inside.  Whatever we are dealing with, God will bring us out of it and use it for His Glory.

And....Andy Andrews.  I may be mentioning him last, but he is certainly not least.  He's hailed as New York Times best selling author, a modern day Will Rogers, he has been asked to speak at the White House by 4 different US Presidents.  He lost both of his parents when he was just 19.  That in itself broke my heart to hear.  He took that bad situation and made it worse, and he eventually became homeless.  He asked himself the question, “Is life just a lottery ticket, or are there choices one can make to direct his future?”  He headed to the library and began to read various biographies.  The rest is history.  His bio can be read here:
http://www.andyandrews.com/pages/about-andy-andrews/biography/

What do all of these people have in common, other than the fact that they were all at WOF?  They are people.  And they are human.  Just like you, just like me, just like everyone.  They have good days, and they have bad days.  They go through trials and have mountains they must climb.  They have triumphs and they have disappointments.  And through each and every one of their lives, God has remained in the center. 
Each of them has a testimony of what the Lord has done in their lives, and they shared those testimonies this weekend.  All of us laughed and we cried, and we laughed some more. 
Just because someone is famous, doesn't mean that they don't have a story to share.  And it might be a story worth listening to, because it just might help someone else to know that they are never alone...because Jesus is ALWAYS there. 

OH!! I almost forgot.  We also had the privilige of hearing the fabulous Amy Grant!  No, sorry, Vince didn't make an appearance with her.  But she shared her heart through some wonderful songs. 

Good Friday

For the last several years, our church has a Good Friday service for those who want to attend it. What happens is the church is set up with different 'stations' and those who choose to take part in this go from station to station and to reflect on those last days of Christ.  This year, was the first year for me and my family to do this.  


Why?  Why now?  Why not over the last few year when we've had the chance and time to experience it?  I myself know that at one point I found myself saying, "I dont want to go by myseslf!"(b/c Kyle was working)  I made up my mind early in the week that we were going this year.  1) Because I WANTED to 2) Kyle was off.    I am glad we went.  I mentioned leaving Tobi at my folks while we went, but Kyle said, "Why?  She can go, and see what its like?"  So, she went.  I must admit, that even though she didnt understand that she needed to be quiet she didnt do too badly.  The 'problem' we encountered was with Colton.  Kyle asked him to read about each of the stations to Tobi, since she can't read just yet.


You would have thought that he'd have said, "Sure, no problem."  But no, instead it was, "What??? Why do I have to read it to her?"  And it didnt stop with that.  I was not thrilled at all and in fact, I was mad.  All he had to do was to sit down next to his sister and tell her about each section we stopped at.  Thats it.  But instead, he was selfish, and only thinking of himself in what he wanted to do.  He finally ceded in doing what he was asked, but it was not immediate and by the time that he did, I was so upset--all I could think of was "why is he so selfish!"


Was he going to get anything out of what we were walking through?  Was he going to just read and walk through and get nothing out of it?  IDK  and I do not know exactly what he thought about it all.


I myself--it was an amazing experience.  And Im glad that we did go through it.  I actually wished I'd have gone back through it by myself.  To just sit and look at each and every thing, and know that each thing represented something from Christ's last days/hours/minutes/seconds.  Im going to take a moment and describe what we went through--taking information out of our guide that we had as we entered into the service.


First we read that in Old Testament times, God used the tabernacle  to teach the people how to approach Him, a holy God.  Priests were completely washed and consecrated to God only once, but every day when they approached God, they were required to wash their hands in the laver of the courtyard of the Tabernacle before they came before Him.


In our New Testament times, we who have accepted Christ are completely washed once and consecrated to God, by Jesus' sacrifice.  Thats our salvation, something HE alone can do for us.  Every day we can come to him symbolically, just as the priests did, washing our hands as an act of cleansing and fellowship.  Ephesians 5:26


Stop 1: pieces of silver--The Bible tells us in Matthew 26:14-16 that one of the twelve called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?"  They counted out 30 pieces of silver.  Afterwards, Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Christ over.
In the OLD TESTAMENT times, the price of a slave was 30 pieces of silver.  Thats all the people were willing to pay Zachariah for his prophetic message--an insult to the living God whose words he brought.  That exact price is all it took for Judas to agree to hand Christ over to his enemies.  


As I sat and reflected on those pieces of silver, that last sentence above is exactly what I thought.  "30 coins.  30 coins is all it took.  One small simple bag of coins. Have I been willing to trade Christ away because I wanted something more than Him?  We all do this, every single day.  Its easy to do.  And every single time we do this, what we are saying is "God, I know you want something different from me, but not this time.  I want my own way, not yours"  What we have to stop and realize is that whatever the trade is your making, its not worth it.  Not for 30 pieces of silver.  Nothing--no amount of money, popularity, or other deals that make turning/running away from Jesus worth it.  What is worth it?  Your soul's healing and peace of mind is more precious than that.  HE certainly is.


Stop 2: His Cross
John 19:16-18 tells us of Pilate handing Christ over to be crucified.  The soldiers took charge of Jesus.  He carried his own cross, as he went out to the place of the skull--in Aramaic is called Golgotha.  There, they crucified him.
John 10:11, 18: I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep..No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
1 Peter 2:24: He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree....


A tree.  A simple tree.  The wood from a tree can take on many forms and functions.  Wood formed the cross.  The place where Jesus was crucified.  The wood of this cross is also an alter.  Alters are where sacrifices are offered, where and ugly death makes ugly sin gruesomely apparent.   Stop and think about Christ's body that was mangled and bloody, hanging on that cross.  It was real then and its just as real now.
The wood of this cross is also a wall.  Back in the Old Testament, at the time of exodus, the children of Israel put blood on the door posts to their homes, so that the angel of death would pass over them.  That blood soaked wood protected them from righteous judgement.  The blood soaked wood of the cross also protects us from that same righteous judgement.   And the wood of this cross is a door frame.  The sacrifice that Christ made upon the cross opens eternity to you.  The forgiveness it provides brings you to heaven, and opens the doorway to a relationship with God while we are here on earth.


I read the words above and then I stood in front of the table that two pieces of wood were on.  These pieces of wood--symbolize the cross.  We were encouraged to touch it--and to feel the texture of it.  To take in and realize just how much and how deep Christ's love was for me.  His love was SO deep--that this wood that I stood there and ran my hand over, that wood became my sacrifice, protection and passageway.  I stood there for a few moments actually.  I reached out and I slowly ran my hand along it.  As I stood there, tears ran down my cheek.  


Stop 3: spike and mallet
Ps. 22:16: They have pierced my hands and my feet.
Isaiah 53:5: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 49:16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..
The IRONY of the Christian life is that new life comes out of Jesus' death; that suffering is somehow not the end; that whatever hell and human treachery thrown at God, He somehow absorbs it and makes a new beginning out of raw evil.  Thats how your new life was bought.  All of the events of that Friday..called "GOOD".  The scars on His hands from the nails--an engraving of love.


A mallet and a spike lay on the table.  A mallet and a spike just like what was used to put Christ on the cross.  What was meant, was for us to pick those up and imagine what it would have been like to be the one who drove the nails into Christ's hands.  In a way, thats what happened, because ALL of our sin sent Him there.  But one of the miracles of that day was that Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them."  He did not want any of that guilt to stick.   Not only were we to pick up each of those two items, but we were to also imagine what it would have been like to have been there and heard those words--if we were to have been His executioners.  And then hearing those words, feel what it was like to be released from guilt and shame.  
I picked up each item--the mallet was made out of wood.  Not too heavy--fairly light weight actually.  But the spike, it was heavy and it was rusty.  And it was 3 spikes, just like that, that held Christ to the cross.  And again, tears ran down my face.


Stop 4: lord's supper
Luke 22:19-21: And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.  In the same way after the supper, he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant of my blood, which is poured out for you."
GOD'S LOVE for us is sealed by His covenant.  In this binding agreement, He pledges His love.  He doesn't just write His name on the contract: He spills His blood to make its seriousness--and permanency--unmistakable.  This is forgiveness we can count on, a relationship that will not be terminated on a whim, No escape clause--its for keeps.
God gave those of us who have given our lives to Him and accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior a very special way to remember His sacrifice for us. That way of remembrance is by taking the Lord's Supper elements. Not only to remember what He did but so that those elements become a part of us. The bread quite literally binds to the very cells of our body. This process contains a wonderful symbolic truth, b/c God nourishes our spirits in the deepest places through his covenant with us.  The union between God and us is mystical.  We are joined by  God through WHAT Jesus did.  Grace connects His body and blood being the price paid through history, powerfully symbolized here.  


At this stop, it is a true privilege to take part in this.  When I was about 9, I accepted Christ as my Savior. But, I didn't get baptized right away either.  Why?  Isnt that what most people do?  They accept Christ and then follow in believer's baptism?  Yes, thats the order that most do those two things in.  But I didn't.  A LOT of the reason, was that I have a huge fear of water--or anything--being in my eyes.  All I could think of was, "I am not going to be dunked in that baptistry and freak out b/c of the water in my face."  And so, I never got baptized.  The next several years as I went through each school year, the guilt of not having done that weighed heavy on my heart.  And everyone, or so it seemed, knew that I had not followed through with believer's baptism.  Finally, at D-Now my SR year, I made the decision to follow through.  Only the kids in our host home knew I was to make that public on Sunday morning.   When Brother Bill was done with the sermon, and we got ready for the invitation I knew what I must do.  I had not spoken to my parents yet either--so they had no idea what they would see at the end of the invitation.  Taking that step of faith was one of the most important ones in my life I would ever make.  And it was NOT until I made that very important step, that I would be able to sit and take part in the Lord's supper.  I think back to all of those years that I never made that decision and took my relationship with the Lord just that much further, and I know the heartache my parents felt as they watched and waited for me to make that decision.  And I know that heartache because thats where Kyle and I are with Colton.  He has never taken that first step and made a profession of faith.  He has never been able to participate in the Lord's Supper.
And that, as a parent, is hard for me, as his mom, to know.  I have to continue to pray every single day that the Lord will speak to him and just break his heart so completely, that he is finally willing to give his life to Christ.
And at this stop, knowing all of this, it was hard to hold back even more tears.


Stop 5 the curtain
Matt. 27:50-51 When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The earth shook and the rocks split.
GOD IS HOLY, and if sinful people were to wonder unprotected into His presence, they would die.  One solution would be for God to compromise His holiness, wink at sin, make no demands, become corrupted.
In other words, become like us.  
But then there would be no hope for goodness and truth to prevail.  Where would ultimate justice come from?  Thankfully God's holiness has never diminished.  Yet He provided a way for us to be with him. That way is Jesus Christ.
In the Temple, a curtain separated people from His presence.  Only the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies and then, only once a year.  But something happened the day that Jesus died.  His frayed flesh opened a "new and living way" to God.  The curtain barrier was taken away, ripped from top to bottom--thus unmistakably indicating who did the ripping! Flesh torn by human hands..a curtain torn by God's.


To stand in front of what was to depict the Temple and see the curtain ripped--jagged and torn...wow!  As I stood there, I could imagine as if I was there that day, and I could almost feel the ground as it shook.  Course, it helped too that Ive seen "The Passion" and it portrayed a pretty good pic of how things unfolded on the day that Christ died.  


Stop 6: oil and spices
John 19:39 Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 75 pounds. Taking Jesus' body, they two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen.
SOON AFTER JESUS was born, He was visited by Wise Men from the East.  They brought him gifts of gold, incense and myrrh.  And at the end of his life, he again received those gifts: a tomb, burial clothes, and (as before)myrrh.
The amount of spices brought to embalm Jesus is significant--SEVENTY FIVE POUNDS--was as large quanity, on a par with royal burials.  This was a lavish display of love.  Like the Maji who gave gifts at Jesus' birth, those who prepared Jesus' body for burial were doing so out of deep affection and respect.
If we were to be honest, we would have to admit sometimes we dont bring Jesus our best. We give left over time, a few dollars that dont impact our lifestyles, a heart that is present but not passionate.  But He gave His all for us.  How can we do any less?


We sat and we read again, the words above.  Then we were able to see all of the things that were mentioned above, that were used when Christ's body was prepared for His burial.  The incense was burning, there was a huge jar of oils and salts and there were strips of cloth.  Smelling those scents and touching those cloths--He paid a price and remembering the price He paid on that day...those who buried Him so honorably.
The most precious, most valuable thing and most desired by Him, is your heart.  All you have to do is surrender your heart solely to God. 


Stop 7 our cross
Luke 9:23-24: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
1Peter 2:20-23: But if yo suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.  To this you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps...When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
FOLLOWING JESUS is not about better, faster, stronger higher.  Its about daily doing what is required of us.  We must surrender to Him daily.  When we do that, we find ourselves led to a more fulfilling life.  He showed us things that are upside down in His Kingdom: the first are the last--the greatest are the servants--we give and find that we're receiving.  The paradox outshines them all is one He most graphically demonstrated--we take up our cross daily, and live.


What does that look like in your life? What self directed activities and personal preoccupations are keeping you from living fully for Him? What sins are you holding on to?  Whatever they are, let them go--b/c they are holding you back.


The Cross.  Christ died for us--to take all of our sins away.  He went through every single thing on that day, because He loved us enough to do this.  He knew full well exactly what was going to happen, and yet He was obedient.  He was made fun of, and mocked and bruised and broken for YOU AND ME.  He endured all of the pain of being whipped and beaten and bruised and a crown of thorns being placed on his head for US.  What does that mean to you?


It means eternal life for me.  It means that this world that we live in right now is only temporary.  It means that one day, I will be able to run to Jesus and give him the biggest hug that I can give him.  It means that I will see my grandparents and other family members again.  It means that I KNOW that He will never leave me or forsake me.  I am here and I have life because of Him.  All you have to do is trust Him as your personal Lord and Savior and you too, can have confidence in knowing Christ's unfailing love.
Its pretty amazing.  My love for Christ is why I can't sing and worship on Sunday mornings, without being so overcome with emotion.  And there have been too many times that I have been in the car, listening to the radio and at just the right moment, a song came on and I knew it was a gift from Him, to me, reminding me that He's always there.  
You can have that too...all you have to do is ask Him into your heart.