Passionate Pursuit

September 11, 2017 Philippians 3:8 ”Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”   Something I’ve heard a countless number of times while being here has been “die to self.” We die to self in order that Christ may manifest Himself in us. When I came to a relationship with Christ, I didn’t know how much I would have to lay down. Old friends, old habits, and desires were things I specifically had to lay down. However, I think the hardest thing for me was laying down my desires and plans for my life. My plan for my life was to finish university with an elementary education degree and then allow the Lord to use me wherever He pleased. I had a hard time laying that plan down because I didn’t think my life would be good unless I had my education. Had I not decided to lay those things down before the Lord, in order that I may know H

09/04/2017 John 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves me, My father will honor.” In the previous verses, Jesus begins to tell the disciples that His time had come to depart to the Father. In verse 24, Jesus states, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” Jesus is referring to His death and resurrection; His death would result in the salvation of many. By choosing to follow Jesus, we take on His death as well. We are to lose our lives in service in order that we may be witnesses for Him. When we serve others in the name of Jesus, we actually serve the Lord and God takes delight in that. Before coming here, I got involved with my church and we would serve in the community every other Saturday. We would be out by 8am and would spend the majority of our day doing the particular project for the day. I remember one Saturday being invite

08/21/2107 Ephesians 5:21 “Submitting to one another in the fear of God.” As the body of Christ and those that are led by His spirit, we are called to humbly submit to one another. As I’ve reflected on my walk with the Lord, I can’t say I can recall a time where I’ve consciously had to do that.   As I look forward to my time in Cambodia, the Lord has been telling me to walk in humility with my team members. It’s easy to want to take charge or want things to go my way without seeking approval from them. However, I know that as a group of five girls, it could mean that we would have to go the extra mile with submitting to one another. In our reading of On Being A Servant Of God last week, one quote stood out to me amongst the rest. “When other people don’t see things your way, trust God to show them what’s right. And be sure to ask God to show you if perhaps you may be wrong.” Truthfully, we aren’t always speaking out of a heart that is led by the spirit, but in our own flesh. It