"The Lord directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?"

Proverbs 20:24 (NLT)

A friend gave me this verse about 2 months ago and told me that this IS my life verse. I laughed but when I read it, it was so true...I am a planner, I like to be in control, I like to KNOW what comes next. I like people to tell me what I'm in for so that I can make the BEST choice...This "walking by Faith" thing sucks for people like me...I NEED the "sight" so that I know where I am going and can plan accordingly.


But you see this way of living as I have been doing causes me to analyze and over analyze and analyze to death decisions that need to be made, things people say to me or do to me and even the way I conduct my own self...I get anxious and worry and quite frankly I get exhausted...


The last few weeks I have been in prayer over this. I asked the Lord to teach me what it means to trust Him and not to worry...because I do. I worry about EVERYTHING! And that is NOT a characteristic of a woman who fears the Lord. 


Its funny when we ask the Lord to do something, He REALLY does it. He has been placing me in situations where I NEED to trust Him, He has allowed circumstances in my life to make me live out this "trusting in Him". Quite often this Hymn comes to mind:

"Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey..."

It has been a sort of anthem in my heart. 

So I am learning to trust in my Savior. Not just with the BIG things (like my salvation and life) but also the little things in my daily life. It so goes against my controlling, analytical nature but that is the beauty oof walking with Christ. I am no longer a slave to who I have been...I am NEW! The Holy Spirit living inside me daily molding me into the image of Christ, God is doing a mighty work in my life. Sometimes it is painful, sometimes it is really hard (going against the grain of my very being...) but it is a marvelous work!!! 

I end saying:

"Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word, just to rest upon His promise; just to know, thus saith the Lord. Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him! How I've proved Him o'er and o'er! Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh, for GRACE to trust HIM more!!" 

May this be the NEW anthem of my life!

Reach the LOST!!!

I posted this about a year ago, but this was song was brought to my attention again and I am again burdoned for this earth... My heart aches...God SEND ME!!!

"We are the world

We are the children

We are the ones who make a brighter day

So let's start giving

There's a choice we're making

We're saving our own lives

It's true we'll make a better day

Just you and me"

This is the chorus to "We Are the World", a song originally made famous 25 years ago. Written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and performed by dozens of A-list stars at the time for World Famine and now re-recorded with over 80 new A-list artists to raise support for Haiti.


This song was brought to my attention by my roommate and she was surprised I never heard it before...
As I sat there listening to the song at first totally caught up in the wonderful melodies and harmonies, amazing artists voices then I remembered that there were lyrics to the song! As I listened to these words my heart broke. These people were singing about how the only hope they had was each other! They are the one's saving their own lives! I just started weeping thinking about how they are blinded by this lie.


We CANNOT save ourselves! Only Jesus can!


It is so sad because they are doing this for a wonderful cause, trying to help the beautiful people of Haiti and they want to bond in this effort with "human brotherhood" a "global village"...my heart breaks for these blinded people.


Im not much of a "blogger" but I felt the need to share this, we need to share Christ with this lost and dying world! I am so sick of "Christians" doing nothing! THIS WORLD IS LOST!!! THEY ARE BLIND!!! Believers in Christ listen up! This is WHY we are here! THIS IS OUR CALLING!!! I pray for REVIVAL! I pray for a BURDEN for the LOST! I pray for LABORERS to be SENT OUT! We are COMMANDED by GOD to reach the lost with the Gospel! That Jesus Christ is SAVIOR for ALL!
HE is our Savior not us!


We have HOPE in Christ! Not people...These people who are bonding together right now over this tragedy will soon be at each others throats. It is sad but true...Jesus will never forsake us or turn His back on us! He is Our Rock, Our Stronghold, Our Savior! He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH!!, The LIGHT in this Dark World!


GOD IS ALIVE!
Through all this tragedy, and heartache and wars and famine and genocide it seems as though He has forgotten us or that He is dead or never even existed but HE IS ALIVE!!!
AND HE CARES!!!


One day, hopefully someday soon, He will judge! All of this that is happening is to bring GLORY TO GOD! He is a JUST God, a HOLY God, a MIGHTY and AWESOME God!


And it is time as believers in Christ that we step up to the task that we have been called and share the TRUTH with the World! My life has been changed because of what Christ did for me! He gave EVERYTHING for us! How can we not share this with these people! THEY NEED HIM! Christ humbled Himself and took our punishment, that we deserved! Because of His LOVE for us! The song mentions that "we are all a part of God's great big family" but this is not true. We are all CREATED by God and He loves us all more than we could ever possibly imagine, but until we accept the gift of salvation and we are "adopted" we are NOT part of His FAMILY, we are separated from Him by our sin. BUT...


God desires that "none should perish"!


I dont think I can say this enough, we need to share the TRUTH, they need to know the Love of God and the saving power of His grace! This song speaks one line of truth: "the truth, you know love is all we need" They NEED Jesus' love, but they also need to know that sin separates them from this! The Truth WILL set them Free! The TRUTH: Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead according to the Scriptures and "whoever BELIEVES in HIM will NOT perish but have EVERLASTING Life!!!!!" (John 3:16) I pray the "blinders" will be lifted from their eyes.

Christians, its time to STEP UP! People NEED Jesus!

"You're the light in this darkness

You're the hope to the hopeless

You're the peace to the restless...

...You're the strength in our weakness

You're the love to the broken

You're the joy in the sadness...

...For there is no one like our God

There is no one like You God."

(God of this City by Chris Tomlin)

Be Bold! Obey Our Lord!

     Last Night I had a dream. I dreamt that I was with my best friend from highschool and she started asking me questions about God, I knew what she wanted to hear, but I was afraid that she would criticize me. So I kept talking in circles...She said "NO, Rae,tell me." and I did. I shared the beautiful saving Gospel of Jesus Christ with her from Creation to the Empty tomb! And she believed. It was beautiful! So BEAUTIFUL!

Then I woke up.


     My heart is so burdened...my heart hurts so much for the world around me. My heart CRIES for them, I love them without knowing them because Christ loves them! The young people of today are seeking the Truth, they want ABSOLUTE Truth, but the fact is when they hear the truth of God's Word which is the ONLY Truth, they became cinical and judgmental because its not radical enough for them, WHY? I know, because I was there not to long ago and I was so turned off by the Hypocrites and the stodginess of church-people...I praise the Lord for Him saving me when He did! I thank God for Him using different people in my life to reach me! If they didnt tell me about Jesus' LOVE for me maybe I never would have accepted the Truth! I would have spent an eternity in Hell, yes I said HELL. (Because that IS where you go when you do not accept God's FREE GIFT of Salvation.)
Here I am living on the Grace of God, His salvation from myself and just overwhelmed by His infinte LOVE FOR ME! And I dont share it with anyone?! WHat is my problem? Am I too afraid? Ashamed? How dare I not share the single GREATEST thing in my life with those I love and the rest of the World?!


          Paul Said;
          "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to
          everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16


     Gospel means "good news"! I dont know about you but whenever I have good news, (ie a baby being born, a friends new relationship, someones new car, someone getting married, etc...) I want to share it with EVERYONE! Right away!!! So WHY do we not share Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ? This thought comes to me often and I ask the Lord to be my strength and courage and boldness. He is teaching me and continuing to burden my heart, more and more I seize the opportunity to talk to a stranger to share what I have with them (food, money, etc.) He is changing me and I feel it.

Stand up with me Christian! We live in a lost and dying World that doesnt even believe in Hell anymore! We have to let them know the Love of Christ or they will be lost...Do NOT Judge them, Love them by sharing the truth! Live "Radical" lives according to God's Word so that they can see that we ARE different and we really believe what we say. CHRISTIANITY IS NOT ABOUT RELIGION IT IS ABOUT A RELATIONSHIP!  A personal relationship with God, the CREATOR of the Universe through His Son, Jesus! (How AWESOME is that?!! Pretty cool I think!)


     God says Hell is real. God says if He does not know you, you will not spend ETERNITY with Him but apart from Him in Hell. Jesus who is the Son of God says "That no man comes to the Father (God) except THROUGH me"! Jesus IS our Salvation!


     I've often thought this: if we (Christians) are wrong about Hell, ok no big deal! We either die to nothingness or whatever, but if we are RIGHT then BILLIONS of people will spend eternity in Fire and darkness...Think about it...


     Even if they DONT LISTEN we have been commanded to "Go and preach the Gospel (Good News) to ALL Creation!"


     Maybe Im too late to share it with some of my friends and loved ones, maybe they won't listen but I still have to try. I love them! I pray that God will be my strength and that when opportunities arise I will obey. Come, Christian, stand with me, OBEY our Lord and share the GREATEST Gift we have EVER recieved with a hurting World!

“Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.

Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved.

But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned."

-Jesus Christ

The Gospel of St. Mark 16:15,16 (NLT)

Walking Blind...

     So I have been reading through my journals the last week or so and I am amazed and shocked that I wrote some of those entries over a year or two ago! What AMAZING things God has done!!

"And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them."

Isaiah 42:16

     I was given this verse last summer by a dear friend and it has slowly but surely become "my" verse. When my friend shared this with me I had no idea where my life was headed, no plans, no ideas, nothing, I felt "blind". The only thing I knew I wanted was to do what GOD wanted me to do! I wanted  to serve Him wherever and however He wanted. I clung to this promise of God's for dear life, He promised me He would lead me and guide me, make my darkness into light! In Him I am no longer blind.

     I continued walking in blind faith for months and there seemed to be open doors here and there but they always shut at the last possible moment. I look back to October 2010, when God so clearly shut the door to go to a college I had really wanted to go to, I sat in my car and wept bitterly and quite honestly got angry with God. "Why?!" was all I could say, "I thought that is what You wanted for me." I felt utterly blind and left in the dark, the only thing I could do was feel God's presence right there with me...His response was "Wait..." and this verse popped into my head. "I will lead you, Rachel. I will make you see. I will make your darkness light, I will NOT forsake you." Ok, God, I choose to trust you and wait...Little did I know how clearly He would make me see...

     A few months pass by and an opportunity opened up for me to work with a organization that I dearly loved, but thought my time there was done. This job would take me 1,700 miles away from my closest friends and family... I did not apply for this job, I did not ask for it. It was offered to me, wow!! After much prayer, searching God's Word and asking for Godly counsel, I accepted the position. I struggled with questions like "God, are you SURE this is where you want me?" "I  cant move that far away, why would you ask me to do this?" I struggled with thinking that maybe my motives were wrong for accepting this position and whether or not I would be accepted there...the normal human fears...and God's promise in Isaiah kept coming up in my heart and mind, God continued to reassure me to trust Him through passages such as Psalm 37, Proverbs 3:5,6, Matthew 6, and Luke 14 (verse 26 was HUGE to me!)...He continued leading in this direction and I followed. 

(I have to say it was the scariest yet most exhilarating decision of my life!!!) 

     So here I am in Hudson, Florida working for a wonderful ministry! God is teaching me so much but I can honestly say that He has been preparing me for THIS moment in time! Daily I see how the lessons he has taught me in the last couple of years (since I began my relationship with Him) were preparing me for THIS "job"! God is faithful, so faithful to us even when we are not! I am excited to stand on the cusp of this journey with my Lord...O what exciting things He has in store for those who follow Him.... I am reminded of lyrics to a song, "...the greatest treasure reamins for those who gladly choose You (God) now!"

I WILL follow, wherever He leads me, El Chaiyai, The God of my Life!