Well... What if?

As the school year is ending for me, there's a lot of things on my mind... "What if" is a question I find myself often pondering. There's this undertow in my thoughts that makes me feel anxious. The planner and organizer inside of this type A personality is ticking. What if I do something wrong? I have decisions to make... Where am I going to live this summer? What kind of job do I want to try and get? What do I want my focus to be? The "what if" sometimes feels like it can be a slow death... Especially when my imagination gets the best of me. Even just the idea that I'm almost half done with college makes my mind spin.


But I know that most of these thoughts come from a root of fear... That my anxious thoughts are not right. "What if" can be a blessing, but instead, I'm allowing it to become a monster.


Just the other day I was convicted with this question: "Why is it so inherently in our nature to try and understand the future?" Literally, all the Jesus has asked me to do is: have faith, trust Him, and take one step at a time. Why that is so hard, I have no idea. It's so simple, and yet so profound. For years I've tripped over the next stair in front of me because I was so busy trying to make it all the way up the staircase in one leap... As if somehow that would make my life better, or that I would somehow make Jesus proud. But what I really need is to just stay in step with the Spirit, because all the answers I need are ready and available in God's Word! Praise the Lord!


Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:6-8)

Ring of Promise

In our culture today, rings have meaning. A man and a woman exchange rings when they get married. People give expensive rings to people that are valuable to them. Etc, etc.

Beyond just the informal meaning of a ring, these precious circles hold a much deeper principle than a sign of whether someone is "taken" or not. Rings are a symbol of promise. When people get married, they are making a promise to one another. When a young girl wears a purity ring, it signifies a promise to stay sexually pure until marriage.

Wait now... if rings signify promise, then what exactly is a promise?
Well, I'm glad you asked.

Dictionary Definition:
prom·ise : noun/verb

1. A declaration that something will or will not be done, given, etc.

2. An express assurance on which expectation is to be based.

3. Something that has the effect of an express assurance; indication of what may be expected.

4. To commit oneself by a promise to do or give; pledge.

Notice anything interesting here? Well I do.

When I read these definitions, there is realistically only ONE person I can think of that fits ALL of these characteristics. Yeah, I know. I've promised people things (ie: to write on this blog more often=FAIL), I've been promised things many times... but in all reality people have let me down time and time again. Since I've never actually known a single human person who could actually keep their promises allllll the time (since it's literally impossible), I often find myself thinking that promises don't hold much meaning.

Sometimes the character of the promiser will make a difference, but ultimately a promise always seems flimsy to me. Something that, if broken, I'll need to just forgive and forget. Something that doesn't hold much weight. We use it as a simple word... a simple thought... we fling the word around as if it has become devoid of its original design. We have raped the word "promise" of its intended meaning by our culture's lightly held view of the word.

I know that's a strong thing to say... but think about it. If a promise meant something, we wouldn't have husbands cheating on their wives. We wouldn't have mothers deserting their children. We wouldn't have siblings, or parents, or spouses that ever walked away, let us down, or died unexpectedly. If the word "promise" meant something guaranteed, then people would never be able to break them.

Unfortunately, this whole promise problem has leaked into our churches as well. Not only are people not keeping their word, breaking promises left and right, but people are forgetting who DOES keep promises. Yeah, you heard me right... we (the church) are replacing God's perfect ability to follow-through with our own humanity. We think that somehow God is like us, and forgets to do what He said He would. Uh-uh. Not true.

The Bible has a LOT to say about promises. In fact, the word "promise" is found over 220 times in the NIV, with over 200 of them referring to God's promises. Take a look at just a few I pasted here:

God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?

Numbers 23:19

Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. Joshua 21:45

For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20



The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 
2 Peter 3:9

Wow! Convicting, right?

We need to start living a life that counts on the promises of God... not doubting, but trusting in the absolute assurance that His character is faithful!

Now the question is:
If we (you & me) are the bride of Christ...
What will you do with the ring of promise God has given you? Will you squander it? Will you disown it? ... Or will you RELY upon it, knowing that His PROMISES are TRUE?

MythBuster #1: Sinner Winners

Announcing...

MythBuster #1: Sinner Winners

Have you ever seen someone and thought 'man, they're such a loser', or maybe something like 'dude, they have some real issues'?

Wellll... whether you'll admit it or not- I will at least. Actually, I have thought things like that more than once in my lifetime. I know once you see it on the screen, it really does look bad, but how often do we let those thoughts and ideas slip in?

Well, for MythBuster #1, I want to address this question:

Does God see some sins as worse than others? 

Growing up, I was always taught that the blood of Jesus covered all sins, and as a kid, that made sense. But then, as I began to get older, and I became more aware of society, legislature, and humankind, I began to notice that certain acts of "sin" (so to speak), often were treated differently based on human law or rules. For example: I learned quickly as a child that different acts of rebellion often came with different levels of punishment. Telling and lie would often cause a swift spanking on my rear-end, whereas "forgetting" to do a chore might only come with a scold or reprimand. When I was in school, and I began to learn about government and laws, I soon discovered that committing certain crimes came with larger and more severe punishments than others... For example: murderers and rapists often got years in jail, whereas a shoplifter might only have to do community service for a period of time.

Now, don't get me wrong- I think on a moral standpoint, these things are often very good... but it made me begin to wonder: In the church, how often do we "categorize" sin based on human standards?

When I really started thinking about this- it really got my mind rolling, because I realized that I, Jasmine, do this on a regular basis! I don't mean to, necessarily- but somehow the rules and basis on which humanity governs wrongdoing, often infiltrates my mind when I look at sin. I try to size it up- measure it out- explain it- but its really all the same: just plain old SIN. Its been around since the Eden Era, and there's nothing new about it. I think we often (out of pride) assume somehow "counting" or "measuring" sin is the right thing to do because it validates OUR righteousness- it make us feel better, or seem better because~ "ya know, well at least I'm not as bad as THAT guy over there..." We often create that mentality, and forget to see what God thinks about it...

This poses a second question, which is the main one I actually want to address: Does God see certain sins as worse than others? Seems like a logical question, right?

As I began to think about this- it (of course) pushed me to the Scriptures, as I was on a mission to solve my dilemma. Because the reality is and was: I realized that if God doesn't see sin with labels (the way I often do), then I really shouldn't be either!
Whoaaa... Can you hear the growing pains? ;)

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

This passage literally states that when Jesus shed His blood for us, ALL sin was taken care of... Meaning there's no sin currently residing in our lives if we've accepted Jesus, because its ALL been paid for! Wow!

"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (James 2:10)

This scripture is crazy because it makes you realize that God can't be a sin counter or measure-er because it says that ANYONE and EVERYONE has broken the WHOLE LAW! Can you believe that!? That goes against the grain of "categorizing" or "measuring" sin, because it means we can't!

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

If God is "not counting people's sins against them", then how on earth could he be measuring certain sins as worse than others? That doesn't even make sense!

As you can see- it's impossible for God to be "measuring"- or even counting sin for that matter! It would be against his NATURE to measure sin, because Scripture is clear that the New Covenant clears believers from ALL transgression. If that's the case, then: Why do we think that somehow our sin is better or lesser than anyone else's? Its all SIN!

Final Conclusion- MythBuster #1...
There are NO Sinner Winners in God's eyes, because God doesn't see certain sins as worse than others~ He actually doesn't SEE sin at all! (more about that in MythBuster #2... ;))

Myth Busters!

I have a new series to announce: MYTH BUSTERS!

Here on my blog, I am gonna address 5 myths commonly found in the Christian church*- they will each have their own post, as many of them will take awhile to work through...

*Note: based mainly on personal experience

You guys ready for this!?

Growing up in the church, I often found that I was told certain things over and over... many of them scriptural truths such as: "Love one another!", and others such as: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Well, if you're like me- you can see the truth in these statements- I mean after all, they are straight from the Bible! But then... there were always those ideas or teachings that wouldn't sit right with me- somehow I would accept them (because that was the "right" thing to do), but I would never feel totally comfortable with them either.

Since then, I have seen so many others (whether new or old to the Church) succumbing to these same ideas. Often times, I felt as though some of these things came from IMPRESSIONS I got in church society, rather than in direct teaching... So- then, that got me thinking: //If I'm struggling with some of these things- then maybe others are too!//

In these next posts- I want to do some sleuthing- some real searching in the scriptures... because I'm really tired of all these "taboo" words or cliche ideas we have circulating in the Christian church today. I don't know about you- but I, for one, want to really know: what's truth, and what's myth?

Now-- Who's with me? :)

Myth #1 is coming veryyyyy soon....

Temp Setter?

Do you know the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat?

Think about it- they're different, but how?

Before you get lost- think on this: What is the purpose of a thermometer? The dictionary defines it as: "an instrument for determining temperature". What is the purpose of a thermostat? The dictionary defines it as: "a device for controlling temperature".

How does this relate to our spiritual lives?

Well... as you might have guessed, I think this idea has some great insight that can relate to not only our physical temperature, but our spiritual temperature as well.

In the Bible, Jesus talks about being salt and light, and he also uses the analogy of being like a "city on a hill" (Matthew 5). If you're like me- I get this, but only to a certain extent considering that we don't have fortified cities on hills anymore, and salt isn't used for the same purposes like it was in Jesus' day. Don't get me wrong- Jesus had major word-analogy skills; if not the best ever! He was always using every-day, simple, understandable things to explain Heavenly principles. Like in Matthew 5 (salt, light, city, the whole gammit) he was talking about influence- and how believers should impact the world around them in a very strong way through: their words, actions, and lifestyle.

Well, in the same way, I think it makes sense that as Christians- called to change the world for Christ, we should learn to be thermostats and not thermometers! It's super easy to "go with the flow", but its much harder to go against it! If we are constantly just changing our temperature to match our surroundings- how much influence can we be having? From what I can see, it seems totally Biblical for us to not gauge the temperature around us, but instead learn to set the temperature! If we're temperature setters then immediately things have to change, right? I mean think about it- what if we were the ones that began to change things around us, rather than being changed by the things around us? Did you catch that? There's a huge difference!

"What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words." 1 Cor. 2:12-13

What if our homes, our neighborhoods, our cities, our states, our countries began to have a spiritual temperature set by followers of Christ? Do you know how radically things would have to change if that were the case?

Instead of having strip clubs on every corner, and bars at every stop light, we'd begin to have revival meetings everywhere- churches would be popping up all over the place, because there wouldn't be enough room to fit all the new converts. Really try to picture it- it would be the craziest revival of all time! Instead of shrinking back in fear, people would be spreading the name of Jesus everywhere they went. Demons would be cast out, the sick would be healed, spiritual gifts would abound- people would be on fire, transforming the atmosphere of our world with the message of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit.

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Rom. 12:2

Looking at your life TODAY, can you honestly say you're living as a temperature setter in the Spirit, or are you being influenced by the constantly changing seasons of this world?

It's NOT a JOKE

I'm sure you've seen many of these signs around- or at least heard enough about the May 21st prophecy for the end of the world. Well, obviously, we're still here!

Today at church I was very much convicted that I have taken the WRONG stance on this whole "Judgement Day" thing. I was of the mindset that the whole thing was rather funny, and I often joked about with fellow Christians that I knew didn't believe any of that "crap" either.

I look around on my Facebook News Feed (made up primarily of believers) the last few days, and I find myself finding and "liking" funny comments, or silly pictures about how "Judgement Day" is almost over, or how the billboards are dumb, etc., etc. The news is covered in it too- just take a look if you don't believe me:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2011/05/may-21-end-of-the-world-doomsday-harold-camping/1

... hahaha. Funny, right?
Nope.
Wrong.
Today I came to the realization that as a believer in Jesus, I should be 1) GRIEVED and 2) UPSET...


FREEZE! Now, right away- I know what you're thinking... "Oh, that's so sweet, she feels bad for them."
WRONG again.

So to preface my 2 points further, I'm gonna ask some questions that got ME thinking- hopefully they will for you too!
-Why is it our instinctive nature to NEED to be RIGHT?
-Why would pointing fingers EVER be Biblical?
-How can we GLOAT over another person's failure?

-When does GOD get the MOST GLORY?

When you begin to think about some of these questions- it begins to open your mind to new things.

#1- Don't you think this whole thing is rather grieving to the Holy Spirit? I mean, think about it... do you know how many people are led astray by the false teaching, and how many Christians will question the power of God, because they were taught to believe lies? Shouldn't we (as believers) be saddened that this whole campaign has literally ruined some people's lives, and that the enemy is using it to instill false teachings in our churches? WOW. How then, could we EVER mock? We're working against ourselves- people don't know the difference between "those" Christians and "real" Christians... If we are advocates of TRUTH, why would we EVER pass judgement, trying to make ourselves look more "holy"? It's utterly disgusting.

#2- I'm pretty sure that if the Holy Spirit is grieved, we should be too. Doesn't it upset you that people on NATIONAL television are floating fake people up in helium balloons to mock the "May 21st Rapture"? Doesn't it bother you that people are mocking God, and his Almighty power? Can't there be a RIGHTEOUS ANGER and SADNESS that we are pointing our wrath at people, rather than the deceiver, thief, and liar who brought this all about? Doesn't it make you MAD that the devil is leading people astray? Doesn't it upset your heart and make you sick to see people perishing because they are MOCKING the King of Kings? May we not be a generation who laughs on the sidelines, but rather invest our knowledge of transformational power into those who are drowning in the lies!

Helloooooo.... We need to WAKE UP!
This isn't a JOKE- it's not even the slightest bit FUNNY.
Why then, is it so easy to LAUGH, or to turn it into a "Who's RIGHT"?

I feel sick. Who are we? By what authority do we pass judgement on the people of God?

We are laughing when our brothers and sisters are falling down- when our DUTY is to help pick them back up and be partners committed to seeing the BRIDE of CHRIST glorious.

If the the heart of God is so saddened- why would I ever feel differently?

"Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice."
Proverbs 24:17

"And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it."
1 Thess. 14-24

_________________________________________________
Lord-
I am grieved, because YOU are grieved. My spirit is touched and saddened by the lost-ness of humankind, and how many of us are willing to point fingers. Show us, Lord, how to build these people up- to partner as advocates of truth.

Let us be a people and a generation committed to bringing the body of Christ together- to aim in faith for a glorious bride that would give You glory and honor.

Rise up in the American church a righteous anger towards the enemy- and all of his plans for destruction. We declare that his plans for evil will be turned for good by the power of the Holy Spirit!
~Amen

Keyhole Christianity?

Every day, I have so many things I want to write--
this is literally becoming my place to journal my revelations as they happen!

So anyways- I was having a conversation with one of my friends yesterday, and as we were talking I had this awesome vision, more like a picture in reality... so I'm gonna share it with you- hopefully you can follow!

First I have to start with a preface to the actual vision itself:

God has really been teaching me many, many things- especially things regarding the Holy Spirit. He has been opening doors for the Spirit to do new things in my life, and has been renewing my passion to walk in the fullness of the Spiritual giftings, and to heal the sick, cast out demons, etc. etc. (see some of my previous posts). For most of my life, I have been spiritually more mature than most people I know- but recently the Lord has been re-integrating to me that I need to stop comparing my progress with everyone else's, and run ahead- hungry for more of God. Through all of this, He has been teaching me that I have only begun to see a tiny sliver, not even an iota of the power that is available. This is where the story starts:

I was standing at the edge of heaven, and before me I could see 7 doors. At each door, there was a person: they owned the door they stood at. Beyond the doors there was all glory and majesty as heaven was in the distance. Then as I walked closer- I could see what each of the people were doing.

At the first door, there was a girl- and she was leaning against the door frame listening to music, totally oblivious of what was on the other side of the door. She didn't seem concerned that she was missing out... only that she was living life to the fullest in the NOW.

At the second door there was a man pacing back and forth in front of the door because he wasn't sure if he wanted to open it or not- he couldn't seem to make up his mind. Every time he went to open it, he would grab his hand back, and begin pacing again.

At the third, fourth, and fifth doors there were people of different ages- one was a young woman, another was a very old man, and another was middle aged. They were all bent over- almost as if the position was comfortable, and they had stayed that way a long time. All three of them were looking through the keyhole in the door- and could just see the tiniest bit of light from the other side. They were all very content, it seemed as if they were happy with just looking through the keyhole.

The sixth door there was a child. The child was actually in an open door, and beyond that- there was a brilliant light. But as I stood there and watched, the child aged and became an adult. As the child grew years older before my very eyes- the door slowly, but surely continued to close until the child was all grown-up and the door had shut. The child seemed neither upset, nor aware that the door had closed.

The seventh (and final) door was my door; Jasmine's spiritual life and in that moment I came face to face with my reality. My face was pushed up against the door, and there was a small crack opened up to heaven. The crack was small, but I was pushing it open a little more each day.

It was then I felt the Lord speak to me: "Jasmine, you've only discovered a centimeter's worth of the power in my Spirit. You have yet to see the true vastness and power I hold. Don't be like the others... you may think, at times, that you have opened it all the way, but I am showing you today that my Promise is bigger than your mind can even conceive."

Wow! It was SO convicting to realize that God isn't finished- that even though I may feel stretched now, God's power is only a centimenter in my life. This has caused me to explore scripture, and right away this is what I found:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21)

According to that verse- we can't even begin to understand all the things God want to bring into our lives, and do trhough us...

All of this begs the questions:

~Which door is YOUR door?
Are you open to the Spirit of God in your life, or are you content and comfortable to look through the keyhole to the Kingdom?~

Embrace

Today I had the awesome privilege of speaking at my church for Mother's Day. My mom talked about releasing your children to the Lord, and I talked about being the child who will embrace the things of God.

In no way do I claim to be a great preacher, or do I claim that this message will impact you, or even impress you in the slightest. In fact, the main reason I share this audio recording is because I want you (all my blog friends) to celebrate with me as I begin to explore the new calling God is beginning to bring into my life. I'm not sure what it (the new calling) will look like in the future, but I am trusting that as God opens doors, I want to be right there to walk through them.

Take a listen (its about 20 mins.), and feel free to leave comments! :)

Frontrunners

Frontrunners are the people that live all-out,
they're the ones that challenge,
they're the ones who walk in their calling,
not afraid of what people say or think.

Frontrunners are those that push ahead,
they're the ones that never slack,
they're the ones that never hold back,
slow down for no-one.

Frontrunners are those that aren't tangled up by society,
they're the ones that push ahead,
they're the ones that walk in boldness,
die to self, live for truth.

Frontrunners are those who live in FORWARD position;
they live with wisdom as the guide, and discernment as the path.

My calling is to be a- Frontrunner for Christ.
Yours is too.

LUST is an EPIDEMIC

My previous post was about the presence of demons...

And this post comes in a similar light because I am MORE and MORE convinced that the enemy is wiping out our generation by undermining our purity through an overwhelming spirit of:
LUST.

Yep, you heard me right. Revelation moment for me.

Now before you get all worried-

Don't see what I'm not saying. I'm not here to preach doom and gloom--

BUT... please DO hear what I AM saying- The Bible tells us about lust and how wrong it is (Matthew 5:28). In fact, the word "lust" is found over 30 times in the NIV.

And yet, if you ask almost any young person, they have struggled or still struggle with some form of lust. Whether it be: idolatry of a celebrity, lusting after someones body, or checking out "hot guys", the lie is STILL the SAME.

Ladies and gentlemen- I hate to break it to you, but unfortunately we've all struggled with this at some level or another...

We've identified the problem. IS there a solution?

Here's where the revelation comes in! :)

We often rationalize lust: we assume its just "because we're young" and because we have "new hormones" or its "that time of life", etc, etc, etc. I've heard them all-- many from young people, bu even more from adults with (apparently) low expectations of young people in the church. I could go on forever with the utter EXCUSES we make in order to KEEP our lust. But here's the TRUTH: LUST is LIE!

If we're going to live up to God's best, we have to stop making excuses and rationalizing the things that the enemy wants to bring into our lives. The reason pornography is such an epidemic in the church and society today is because we haven't put a STOP to the lies of lust.

Don't you see? When we (you or I or anyone else for that matter) allow lustful thoughts to enter our mind, or we look at sexual images, or we allow ourselves to dwell on "romantic" thoughts, or we are constantly remarking on girls/guys bodies we are GIVING VICTORY TO THE ENEMY!

Whew. That's some crazy business.

I don't know about you... but that's just the beginning for me. It's the beginning of something new... new thoughts, new words, a new focus.

Who's gonna rise up? Who's gonna go beyond status quo? Who's gonna change this generation one pure thought at a time?