You will encounter things that will confuse you, but rest assured the One who rules all those things is not confused. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? 13 Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord, or instruct the Lord as his counselor? 14 Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? When children are young and we refuse to let them do something, they don’t understand why, so they will begin to protest and question. What if their father got down on his knees so he could be face to face, and then talked with them? The conversation would go like this: “Then listen to what dad is going to say. I would like to tell you why I had to say ‘no’ to what you wanted to do, but I can’t. If I explained it to you, you wouldn’t understand anyway, so here’s what you need to do. You need to walk down the hallway and say to yourself, ‘I don’t know why dad said no to me, but I know my dad loves me and I’m going to trust my dad.’ I really do love you.” “I love you too.” There is so much that we don’t understand. There is so much that we are incapable of understanding. So rest is found in trusting the Father. He is not confused, and he surely does have your best interest in mind. We don't always like the “no's” in life that our Heavenly Father gives, but I am assured that he is unlike any earthly father we will ever have. He is gently reminding us that He cares for us and is fully in control (verse 11). Our Heavenly Father is the Creator of this earth (verse 12), He is our perfect counselor (verse 13), and He is the holder of all knowledge and understanding (verse 14). Let us seek Him so He can remind us that He does love us, we can trust Him, and He has our best interest in mind. Some Encouraging verses: Romans 8:31-32 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace
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by Page Austin I grew up in New Orleans in a broken home. Though our dad was still very involved in our lives, my younger sister and I lived with our mom. She wanted us to grow up in the church, because she thought that was the right thing to do. We attended a Christian school and were at church twice a week, but we were just going through the motions. I didn’t really grasp the concept of a relationship with my heavenly Father.
Because of God’s love for me, He pursued me and placed people in my life to point me to Him. On a youth trip when I was 13, I accepted Jesus as my Savior. For the first time, I repented of my sins and wanted to live a life that honored Christ. I made a public profession of my faith and was baptized. I spent the next few years being mentored by my youth leaders and learning the spiritual disciplines. Two Worlds In high school, our family moved out of our Christian bubble and into the suburbs, which meant going to a public school for the first time. Changing schools and churches shook my world. I didn’t know anyone and felt very alone. Instead of relying on God, I took control. I pushed God to the side and started trying to earn the approval of my peers. Using humor and sports to be popular, I became consumed with what others thought of me. I drank, lied to my parents, and constantly tore others down. I thought I would be OK as long as I didn’t do the “big” things, stayed just above the world’s standards, and continued to go to church on Sundays. I wanted to have the best of both worlds. My mom would always tell me that God was not going to give up on pursuing me, and that He would use a circumstance to get my attention if necessary. But I just let her words go in one ear and out the other. Balancing Act After high school, I went away to college with my best friend. We were finally free—no curfew or parents telling us what to do! Still walking the fence, I spent my freshman year partying it up on fraternity row and in Bible study with Campus Crusade. I thought I was doing a good job at balancing being a Christian and being accepted by the world. The summer after my freshman year was a defining moment in my walk with Christ and it’s when I lost all control. My mom went on vacation that summer and never came back. She was murdered in a third-world country. I was in total shock and completely devastated. It was like a dream world. My life forever changed that day. I immediately blamed myself for her death. I thought if I had been a better Christian, God wouldn’t have taken her from me. I carried that burden back to school my sophomore year. The Campus Crusade staff surrounded me and pointed me back to God’s truth. God showed up in a big way. The love and support of my Campus Crusade community helped me surrender it all to God and find joy in the midst of the storm. It was that year that I learned what it looked like to have a real relationship with Jesus and what it meant to abide in Him. Higher Authority After college, God opened a door for a job in Washington, D.C. When I moved there, I did not have a community to speak into my life and hold me accountable to God’s truth. So, I soon got caught up in my career and in the world. I had an all-consuming and high-powered job, and it defined me. In D.C., it’s all about who you know and who you work for, and that became my identity. It distracted me from focusing on God. But God is faithful. He kept pursing me despite myself. After moving to Dallas and getting plugged in at Watermark, I realized how much I was focusing on and relying on myself. Watermark and The Porch have taught me that I can’t do it on my own. I need constant community, and need people to push me towards Christ and hold me accountable. Left to myself, I will isolate and let the distractions of life steal God’s glory. God is continuing to work on my heart, and is showing me that He is all I need. Hi y'all-if we haven’t met, my name is Russell Marks. I wanted to take this time, share a little bit about myself, give some encouragement through the Gospel, and finish by challenging both you and I. First, a bit about myself if we haven’t met. I am 25, I am a brother to 3, I am employed by AT&T. I am a “crossfitter”. I am “paleo”. I am Watermarker, I am a regular porch attendee. I am a leader in the middle school, (with my group of soon to be 7th graders) All of those things are very true about me, and if we were to sit down and talk for the first time, they would definitely be things you learn about me… . But more than the church I go to, the young adult ministry I attend, or the place I serve…My identity, and my value is rooted in Christ alone. More than anything else, the most important thing about me is I AM in Christ. Jesus turned my world upside about 3 years ago. I didn’t grow up in the Church, and after graduating college and starting my career, I found my life was no where near what I wanted or thought it would be…and through looking for answers, I stumbled into a church (probably hungover) and heard and comprehended the full gospel for the first time. I was shocked and skeptical to say the least. My identity was found in my ability to get a job done at work, being the life of the party, and making sure people knew who I was, and what I thought. But Jesus was so faithful. After research and skepticism, prayer and worship, I realized I am not my own, but was bought at a price, the price of Christ’s blood on the Cross. And through His death and His resurrection, I have found freedom in the fact that my future was no longer tied to my past, that my life’s success isn’t dependent on my own abilities, and the story I get to be a part of is now way bigger than any merger or data analytics project at work. The book of Ephesians told me this. So I want to share a couple truths from it with you: The book mentions being In Christ 27 times, some of these are: We are redeemed in Christ We are forgiven in Christ We are Sealed with the Holy Spirit in Christ We are strengthened in Christ We are raised up and seated in the heavenly realm with Christ We have inheritance in Christ We have hope in Christ We have life in Christ We are blameless in Christ We are made whole in Christ… And through seeing myself through that lense, I realized that… If, before any reaction or interaction I think about who I am in Jesus, and that I am first loved, I am redeemed, I am renewed and I am made fully complete into the person God want’s me to be, how different would my conversations, actions, and relationships look like? I can now go from previously trying to walk away with the feeling that winning argument, or that a better deal, to now being in a position to serve. The truth is, when you have everything, how infinitely more generous can you be? And I still struggle with looking for approval in others, and lust, and putting things before God as idols, but I want to come before you today, and say Christ is enough for me. The Cross was Enough, and I am going to agree with God on who He says I am. So with that I want to end with a challenge, then a prayer out of Ephesians. First, to my friends who are the skeptics, on the fence, living with a foot in both worlds…pursue Jesus with all you have, lean in to him, and He will lean into you. You won’t ask a question that hasn’t already been asked. Do the research, ask the questions…but don’t live in two worlds. He demands everything, and He is worth everything. To my friends who know Jesus, and are walking with him. Hold me accountable. As a brother in Christ, I absolutely need you all, because with out the community, encouragement, and admonishment, I will leave so much of what God has for me on the table. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. --Ephesians 3:17-21 Hebrews 12:1-2 ”Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” See also: 2 Cor. 5:17 (new creation); Colossians 3:1-10 (things above); Ephesians 4:24 (new self); Hebrews 12:1-2 (fix eyes on); Matthew 6:33 (seek) “Worship is first your identity before it is ever your activity. You ARE a worshiper. What that means is you will attach your identity, your meaning and purpose your inner sense of well-being to something. And so there is a way in which everything I do, everything I say, every choice, decision, action, reaction I make is rooted in worship. What controls my heart, will determine how I respond to the things around me. One of the great words that scripture uses is ‘Treasure’. Treasure is something that is intrinsically valuable to me. And the Bible says that we are all after treasure. And there is a way that everything I do and everything I say is my attempt to get what is valuable to me….” “The question is: what kind of treasure are you after?” “The treasure you seek will produce the character that you experience…” Transforming Truths that help to place Identity in Jesus “The Bible says, Jesus came so that those who live would no longer live for themselves. Sin causes me to turn into myself. Sin makes my wants, my needs, my feelings more important than anything else. Sin, in its fundamental form, is anti-social. Sin causes me to love me more than I love anything else. And I don’t actually love you. I’m attracted to you because I think that you love me as much as I do.” (Ouch!) "Everything I need I already have--In Christ! So I don't need to work to find new things...I need to work to have a greater understanding of what I already possess in Christ." "Real slavery is living your life trying to gain favor....real freedom is living like I already Have favor!!!" man, I love that! "MAKE PEOPLE WISH THE GOSPEL WAS TRUE AND THEN SHOW THEM THAT IT IS!!!" One of things I've been trying to change in my internal conversations with myself is not asking "What should you be doing?" but rather, "Do you know who you are (in Christ)? Do you know what you've been given...what you've been forgiven?" I've been noticing how much I really do focus on the "do's and don’ts" and forget about what He has done and who I am (and who others are) in Christ. It's amazing how that changes things! "Most people's definition of the good life does not include Christ. When you say you've had a great week...why was it a good week? Because of the gospel?" I love this question for myself but also for other people. I think it's very revealing!! "Grace isn't intended to be comfortable it's intended to be transforming." Whoa! "The law does not have the power to sanctify me. The law has the power to reveal but not to remove. It cannot change a human heart! The law tells us what to do...the gospel tells us what He's done! The power comes from HIM! Grace, Grace, Grace!!" “There is only one place where stable and reliable hope can be found. There is only one place of rest for your heart and surety for your soul (in Christ).” (P. Tripp: a shelter in the time of storm) “When your hope is in the Lord, when you are getting your inner sense of well- being and security from him, when he is the reason you continue even when things are hard, then you are building your life on something that is reliable and sure..” (P.Tripp:-a shelter in the time of storm) "Peace is a person not a thing!" Christians become ineffective and unfruitful when they forget who they are and what they've been given in Christ 2 Peter 1:5-9 “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. “ (2 Peter 1:8-9) Because we're human beings with souls, we naturally need to find identity somewhere, in something, or in someone. So, when we forget that our identity is found "in Christ", we're going to default to a substitute identity. Encouraging take a ways1. Pray for others (especially those that have things that you WANT-Pray for them!=) 2. Serve others- Look for ways to serve! Opportunities aren’t always going to FALL IN YOUR LAP. - So look for ways!!! At work- at the grocery store- at the gas station- nails salon- gym…It truly becomes more of a blessing for YOU and it’s what Jesus came to model for us! Devotional Song- LeCrae: Identity written by Charlotte Rickert
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