To Further His Kingdom

I have been reading through Romans since I arrived at OBU, and I stumbled upon something that was extremely interesting to me.

First of all, I'm going to tell you, "Go read Romans 9."
"Yes, that would be now."
"Yeah, I want you to go into the other room (or across the room), pick up your Bible, sit down, and before you go back to Facebook and check to see if someone else commented on the same status that you did, read all of chapter 9." :)

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Yey... You read it!! It's interesting isn't it? Did verse 3 stick out to you in any particular way? Well, it did to me. I thought it was very interesting that Paul said that he wished that he were cut off from Christ so that others could know him genuinely.

Let me put it in more simple terms: He would have rather gone to Hell, if it meant that his brothers in the flesh (Jews and other nonbelievers) would be able to know Christ and establish a relationship with Him.

How crazy does that sound? As a Christ follower, doesn't that kind of scare you? Just a little bit? Paul was being completely selfless when he wrote that to the Christians in Rome. He was saying that if it would further His Kingdom, then he would be willing to take the blame and punishment for them and other nonbelievers.

To me that is extremely intimidating. I cannot picture being in a place without my Savior right beside me. I cannot imagine being in a dark place, feeling the dark flames burn me to the core, and a never ending heat singing my lungs, and smelling the sulfur and the decay of life. How hopeless would that be, knowing that you were so far away from Christ in every way?

But Paul says, if it is to further His Kingdom, then he would take that spot in Hell. I will say that Paul does know that that could never happen, but in this letter he is being completely selfless and showing the Followers in Rome how much he loves them and how he wants to carry their burdens with them. I am astounded at Paul's love for these people and his passionate drive to further Christ's Kingdom.

Lately, I have been reading and learning a lot of things that I actually already knew but did not understand. It is an incredible thing to really understand what you're reading and not just have the knowledge about the subject.

This week, I challenge you to go to a book in the Bible that you have read a billion times, but for the first time really try to understand it. Dig deep. Pray for wisdom as you read His Word. Ask Him, our Lord and Savior, to reveal Himself to you as you read.

Let Him Work

I'm going to tell you a little bit about what happened to me a couple of weeks ago, so to start off I am going to Oklahoma Baptist and this fall I will be a transfer junior. I had previously signed up for an apartment, but to my dismay I was assigned to a dorm (the one I wanted the least). For weeks, all I could think about was how crappy it would be if I got in that dorm and how I would not have my own kitchen, I would be stuck in a nasty community bathroom, I would have to buy extra dorm equipment (that I didn't have the money for) -all negative things, mind you.

For weeks my attitude was extremely negative and on top of the rooming situation, everything else seemed to be going wrong as well. My family and I didn't get on, I would get upset at small things. Everything was going terribly wrong.

One night, I was in my bed, thinking about what I was going to do. And I finally resigned myself to my fate in the dorms. I said, "Lord, if the dorm is where you want me, fine. I will go to a dorm. If you can be more glorified with me in Kerr then I will go."

A lot of you are probably thinking, "eh, a dorm isn't that bad."
And you are probably right. That was just the last place I wanted to be and I was stubborn and I wanted things to go my way; however, God helped me realize that it had nothing to do with me, but it had everything to do with Him. But anyways, I finally gave it over to Him and He took it completely. For the rest of the night, I didn't worry about it.

The next morning, I was out and about taking photos of my sisters and one of their boyfriends, when I got a call from OBU. They said that they had an apartment available for me to move into. I was extremely excited and couldn't believe that I had finally gotten in!

What amazed me most was the fact that God was saying, "Hey, I've been hoping that you would give it over to Me so I can bless you. For you to trust me enough, and know that I have an amazing plan for you, whether it's in an apartment or a dorm. Because, either way, I will be glorified."

I was completely humbled in that moment, thinking that all this time I could have just given it over to Him and it would have caused me less stress.

Keep in mind, I am NOT saying that if you give a certain situation over to God, He will do what you want Him to. I am NOT saying that AT ALL!!!! He will do whatever makes Him most glorified. I will give you a little piece of advice that I have learned over the years: 'Do not ask God a question [or give a situation over to Him], if you are not prepared for two completely different answers.'

And know that in those completely different answers that God will be glorified and that He will choose the one that glorifies Him the most. It doesn't matter about our comfort, our desires, our wants, our dreams; the only thing that matters is the glorification of Christ and Christ alone, not ourselves.