Blog update and “Is Jesus enough for you?”

Hi, dear readers!  I’m so excited to be writing you today with some awesome news… “Compelled” is getting a new style!  Over the past few days especially, I have been thinking and praying about this blog, and I have some new ideas.  Hopefully they will all be ways in which, I pray, God will be glorified even more through the blog and reach more people!  Every day but Sunday, I will be posting, and each day will have a certain theme.  Please continue to visit the blog, especially now as it is getting ready to take greater shape and form! Without any further ado…

-Message Monday-

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for

righteousness,

for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6

 We all are hungry.  We all thirst for something.  Even though eating our favorite meal and drinking a cold glass of water may quench the hunger and thirst for a little while, eventually we will return to the table.  Hungry and thirsty, we will seek   to satisfy our growling stomachs, and we will be filled… but only for a little while…

But isn’t there another level of hunger for which we are seeking satisfaction?  Don’t we hunger and thirst, longing for something else to be completed in our lives… to make us feel full?  Often times, we go throughout the day seeking to be filled.  “If only I could just ___…” –you fill in the blank.

Yesterday when I went to church, I was fully aware that I was longing to have certain things fulfilled in my life.  As I sat in my seat, I anticipated with great expectations the sermon he would preach.  Shortly after beginning, he asked a question that shocked me.  Looking straight out into the mass of people yet as if he was looking directly at me, he asked this question: “Is Jesus enough for you?”

What a heart-stopping, breath-taking question!  You see, most days, I would be quick to say, “Yes! Jesus is MORE than enough,” but truthfully, my actions and desires would prove otherwise…

And this is the human condition: constantly hungry, constantly thirsty, constantly seeking.  But something amazing happens when man believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  He is filled with the Holy Spirit!  The same Spirit that filled Solomon’s temple, that raised Jesus from death in the grave, that rushed down at Pentecost comes to dwell inside of the one who confesses his sin and desperate need for Jesus as his Savior.

Think about this!  Whether you are a believer or non-believer, this is an incredible truth!  We were created to live in union with our great God, and the Spirit is the way through which we can now stand and belong in this prefect union, even here on earth.  Maybe the reason why we continue seeking fulfillment is because we have forgotten what satisfaction really is.  Either we have not been filled with the Holy Spirit through believing, or we need to be reminded of the powerful presence of God’s Spirit within us.

If the Spirit of the God who created heaven, earth, and everything in between resides within us, what else could we ever want or need?  So today, I ask you this question…

“Is Jesus enough for you?”

Ephesians 5:1-2

Happy Monday, everyone!  Here’s a special reminder for us as we start this week…

***

“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.  

And walk in love,

as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,

a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Ephesians 5:1-2

***

Praying your day is filled with SONshine,

Sarah 🙂

“But I will be with you…”

Do you ever find yourself in a situation that you don’t think you can handle?

I love the story of Moses for this very reason. When we hear Moses’ name, we probably picture a man walking through the desert with a big staff and a long, white beard. But Moses was much more than this. In his own judgement, Moses didn’t think he was qualified for the task God was calling him to do. But God did not go by human standards, and He chose Moses anyway…

Can’t you imagine it now? God tells Moses that He’s going to send him to Pharoh in order to free the people. Moses hesitates for a second and then says, “You know, God, thanks so much. I’m super flattered that you looked on all of creation and thought of me as the one to do this job, but let me tell you… I’m not qualified to do that.”

What’s God’s response? He says, “But I will be with you…”

—

Now that I am less than 4 weeks from graduating, this story has been on my mind… Well… Just about all the time. It’s easy to look at my backpack and think, “I have been carrying that thing for about 17 years now (kindergarten- college)… Now what?”

Yet God says, “But I will be with you…”

That’s His response to all of His children. No matter what you’re facing–searching for a job, trying to decide where to go to college, whether to finish college, learning to be a parent, mourning the loss of a loved one, etc–God is there.  Whenever we doubt ourselves, He doesn’t validate our own ability or usefulness based on our talent or skills.  Rather, God always guarantees our security with a statement of His supremacy. “But God…” we may begin to complain like Moses did, yet He says, “I AM WHO I AM, and I will be with you!” (Exodus 3:12-14)

“And if our God is for us

then who could ever stop us

And if our God is with us

then what could stand against?”

Chris Tomlin – “Our God is Greater”

Have a blessed day, dear reader!  Praying your day is filled with Sonshine,

Sarah

Picture above: “Moses with Radiant Face” (1638 painting by José de Ribera) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  On this day, let’s celebrate with great joy!  Our Savior did not only die to pay the price of sin for all eternity, but He defeated the grave; He rose again!  Just as Matt Maher sings in this song below, “Oh death, where is your sting?  Oh hell, where is your victory?… Our God is not dead–He’s alive!  He’s Alive!”

Matt Maher – “Christ is Risen”

May you have a blessed Easter celebration today, rejoicing in the great love of God the Father, the great obedience of the Son to go willingly to the cross, and the power of God the Holy Spirit as shown through Christ’s resurrection.  Praise be to God! Christ is risen!

Praying your day is filled with SONshine,

Sarah 🙂

“Life is but a Weaving”-Corrie Ten Boom

“Life is but a Weaving” (the Tapestry Poem)

Corrie Ten Boom

“My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.

Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.”