Unlikely

Who am I? I have done so much wrong in my life. I have been prideful, and selfish, and a hypocrite. I'm insecure and I value attention more than I should. Why do I dream and aspire to be great and to change the world? I am so weak and pathetic. It's a miracle I have gotten this far.

Ah, but there's the thing. It truly is a miracle of God's grace that I am where I am today. The human in me is powerless to do any good in this world and spread hope. When I let myself be defined by the world and its standards, I will not amount to anything. No part of me will count for something greater. I am, at best, unlikely.

Hosanna, we are found after all! Jesus has redeemed us! We are free from the fame of this world. Redeemed. Rejoicing. Redefined.

So often the things of the Kingdom seem like nonsense to the outsiders. Jesus has a tendency to use those this world deems "Unlikely". Through Moses the stutter-er, God spoke the words that freed a nation. Through Sarah and Abraham the barren, God brought forth a people that outnumber the stars. Through David the small, God took down a giant. Through the army of three hundred, God overwhelmed. Through Saul the persecutor, God united the persecuted.

Who would have thought?

Our problem is our perspective. We are deemed unlikely because we are looking at everything from a worldly point of view. What if we instead focused on how Jesus sees things? What a truly heavenly perspective that would be!

We would see people for who they are. We could love like He does. We would be humbled and see that nothing we have done has brought us this far, but simply the grace of God. (After all, dry bones cannot make themselves come alive!) We would become strong and courageous, seeing that God has a purpose and a plan for all, and He is there in the midst of the calm and the chaos. Whatever we lack, He fills. Whatever we crave, He satisfies.

We would be unmistakably different.

{1 Corinthians 1:27-29} But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

 

{2 Corinthians 12:9-10} But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

Embrace Grace. Embrace "unlikely". Soli Deo Gloria! For God and His glory, and the Kingdom to come!

Katie

Jesus Goes To Beaches Too... Part Two?

Hey guys! I'm back! Aaand pretty excited. Here's why.

 

So last year I went to Operation Good News in San Diego with 19 other team members from my church. It was by far the most incredible week of my existence, and I miss it terribly. When we were flying back home, I was already planning this summer and how I was so coming back!

 

Somewhere along the line, I learned that our church will be going to OGN every other year... whiiich means that I wouldn't be going back. At least, not this summer.

 

So now what?

 

There were several times where I was positive my summer was set in stone... and yeah, that didn't work out too well. I should know that by now. My plans change. God's don't.

 

So now that I'm officially signed up for everything, here's the end result. And it's not exactly what I had planned.

 

In San Diego, we had mission classes in the mornings to prep us to talk on the beaches. Then we would actually walk the walk and talk to people on the California coastline in the afternoon.

 

Turns out, there's a leadership camp I'm going to for a week in June... a week of evangelism, leadership, and apologetics classes. The missions trip I'm joining? It's a week in late June and early July... in Laguna Beach, Florida. A week of beach evangelism.

 

To top it all off, I was recently connected with a new ministry, AllForHim. (Should be a link at the top of the page... check it out!) It started with a teenager, Ryan Wesley Smith, and Winterjam. AllForHim is an organization with a purpose to bring teens to live all for Jesus and share Him with those around them. Evangelism. And you'll never guess where this started.

 

A town near the coastline. In Florida.

 

How good is our God?!