Friday Christian

Well, the Lord gave me an answer and I am on the team that will be traveling to Jakarta, Indonesia and the Central African Republic. The Lord made it pretty clear as I prayed over the choices, so I'm really excited to see what He has for me there. Another answer to prayer: my team is awesome! I have a few good friends that also chose this trip, which will be really nice. Thank you to all of you who interceded on my behalf for my decision. I couldn't have gotten a clearer answer. Over the next 4 weeks I will need to raise $3,665.48. I'm beginning the process of asking the Lord what I need to do to raise this money. I have no idea where it will come from but I am confident in His supreme ability to bring in every last penny. We have seen so many miracles here on base, where people have received specific amounts from random people. God definitely knows what He is doing. Would you pray and ask the Lord if this is something He would like you to invest in? Each "no" or "yes" I get from someone is just more confirmation of the plan the Lord has for my finances.

God has really been refining me over the last few weeks. Bringing the dross to the surface clearing it off and making me pure. Last week's lectures were on Lordship and I had some serious business to do. "Either God is Lord of all or not Lord at all"...cheesy, I know, but something I really needed to realize. I like to pick and choose the things that rule my life, and God is sometimes in the mix and sometimes not. The things that rule my life aren't necessarily bad in and of themselves but when they take a place higher than I give the Lord, it's no bueno. I realized I'm a Friday Christian (someone who lives in the day Jesus died on the cross and not on the day He rose). They say, "Jesus died on the cross, I'm forgiven", but they never move on. A Friday Christian is characterized by these things: fearful for the future, anxiety, difficulty hearing God's voice, doubtful, filled with unbelief, weak when temptation comes, ruled by their feelings, continually fighting internally, and are ultimately unfit to receive Spiritual truth. These kind of Christians continually nail Jesus to the cross with their attitudes, thought life, and actions. I fulfil almost all of these characteristics. I had to make the decision to lay down a lot of areas in my life. My appearance is one. I realized that when I'm stressed, or feeling unloved or need to feel accepted I change something about my appearance. I will go shopping or cut my hair or dye it. Instead of running to the Lord, I turn inwardly and try to fix the problem myself. As a result, I'm never satisfied, always looking for a change, always looking for acceptance in others. The Lord spoke and asked me to lay down this area of my life. For the next year I am not going to cut or dye my hair or go shopping. It's not so hard while I'm still here in Australia but I have a feeling Satan will attack as soon as I get home. I would challenge you to search your own heart if you're reading this...are you a Friday Christian? Do you continually live in the fact that Jesus has forgiven you without moving on to the fact that He is risen and calling you to righteousness? The Lord is so ready take you to Sunday! He has already begun this work in me and it has been so awesome to lay stuff down and finally find full satisfaction in Him alone.