03/31/11: IN THIS I WILL BE CONFIDENT

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though and army encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident." - Psalm 27:1-3

Ever felt like you were at war with the world? Ever felt like people were watching you, ready to pounce and take you down the minute you showed any weakness? Ever felt like you were alone? That's why this is one of my favorite Scriptures in the Bible. David was feeling all of those things and more. Saul was literally hunting David down to kill him because God had anointed David to be king of Israel, which meant that Saul no longer was anointed to be king and Saul knew it. He hated David and wanted him dead because David had what Saul didn't: God's blessing. When David wrote this Psalm, he was in the midst of being hunted. He knew that if Saul ever found him, he would kill him, yet David trusted God to protect him and keep His Word to make him king.

I know at school and even at work, there are people who love to make your life miserable. It's almost like they get enjoyment out of making you suffer or making you angry. But I venture to say that no one has ever been hunting you down to kill you... just a guess. We've got to learn from David's example. He trusted God in the middle of a life-threatening situation that probably weighed on him terribly. But David knew that if he put His trust in God, he could be confident that he had the victory. He always trusted God, all throughout the Bible and through some pretty stinking rough situations, and you know what? God ALWAYS honored David and never failed him. I want to challenge you. Make this Scripture your confession every day. Begin to see God as your confidence through anything, and I promise, He won't let you down.

***Jess

03/30/11: LOVE

No reading today. But please, enjoy a Scripture Snack courtesy of Beckah Shae!! Watch it all for the entire song!



***Jess

03/29/11: THE FLINTSTONES?

"The Almighty Lord helps me. That is why I will not be ashamed. I have set my face like a flint. I know that I will not be put to shame." - Isaiah 50:7 (The Message)

Talk about being hard-headed! This Scripture literally talks about not only making our head hard, but our face. The difference between being hard-headed and setting your face like flint is that one is out of selfish motives, and one is out of thinking of others. When we are hard-headed about something, we are saying our way or our opinion is the only right one. On the other hand, setting our face like flint is choosing to trust God and do what He wants no matter what anyone does or says. Jesus set His face like flint when He went to the Cross. He chose to do the right thing that would benefit us all more than choosing to do what would benefit Him personally, and NOTHING was going to stop him from accomplishing that goal for the good of us all.

We need to set our faces like flint in our own lives. Become so determined that you are going to live for God that nothing is going to stop you and no one is going to convince you otherwise. One of the cool things about flint is that if you strike it against another rock or against metal it will produce a spark. Back in the day it was used in starting fires. Think about that... if you set your face like flint, you are literally making yourself a fire-starter! I don't mean in the negative sense that you go around starting drama and setting fires between people. You're a fire-starter in the sense that you go around setting those ablaze with the passion and the love of God! You get to be the thing that sparks others into their walk with the Lord. What an opportunity we have!

So I want to encourage you, SET YOUR FACE LIKE FLINT. Be so determined to be exactly who God's created you to be that you set those around you on fire for Him. Today, be a fire-starter. :)

***Jess

03/28/2011: GUARD YOUR HEART (REPRISE)

I posted this one a little over a year ago and I felt like it bears repeating. Have a great day, and welcome back to the XS blog!:

"Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts."
-Proverbs 4:23-26 (The Message)

To start, let's look at this scientifically. Your heart is such an important organ. Not only does it pump blood to every little nook and cranny of your body, but it works harder than you might think. Check this out:

*Your heart beats 100,000 times per day, 35 million times per year, & will beat over 2.5 billion times in your life!
*Your heart is so strong, that when it is AT REST (that means in between beats), it's muscles work twice as hard as someone's leg muscles in mid sprint!
*The Aorta which is the largest artery in your body is about the same diameter as a garden hose.
*The heart pumps about 1 million BARRELS of blood in an average lifetime. That's enough blood to fill 3 super tankers!

No wonder the Bible says, "that's where life starts"! Your heart is literally a machine, pumping blood throughout your body to keep you alive day in, day out, while you're sleeping, ALL the time. We are fearfully and wonderfully made! But even more than that, your heart is what drives you. Your heart is where your passion lies. Your heart is what tells you to keep going even when you don't feel like it. It's a VERY important part of you.

So why give it away to every schmo that walks down the pike? Why let every guy or girl you meet and think is cute, take your heart and abuse it however they want? Why do we let ourselves get so desperate that we give our heart away to whomever, wherever, whenever, for no real reason at all? GUARD YOUR HEART. The best One to watch over it for you is Jesus. He's got your heart's best interest in mind, and He will NEVER break your heart. Only He can hold it and not damage it. Only He can carry it through things that it could never live through on its own. Only He can keep it forever, and only HE can protect it from anyone who would try to break it. Above all else, guard your heart. Bury your heart so deeply in the heart of the Lord that the man or woman of God who is the right one for you will have to search the Lord's heart to find it. It's an important thing. GUARD YOUR HEART.


***Jess