1 Corinthians 3:10-15

"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will recieve his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one exsaping through the flames."

{ NIV }

I really appreciate Paul's honesty and brutality when it comes to sharing God's word. I've never read anything where he seemed to sugar-coat the truth. I love that. So often I think that we're so wrapped up in bringing people to Christ {which is a very good thing}, that we forget to tell them the whole story. I know when I became a Christian, no one read to me Matthew 10:22 that says "All men will hate you because of me", which is followed by, "...but he who stands firm to the end will be saved". I didn't get that message. It was something that was learned through the process of seeking Christ in every aspect of my life- which I still haven't mastered.  What I'm saying is that it would have been nice.
I've had this conversation with people before, and their response always seems to be, "well, we don't want to scare people away from Christ". I get that, but my response is how much do they really want Christ if they're not willing to sacrifice for Him? It's a test of faith.  When we go through those hard times where everything is horrible and you haven't seen the sun really shine for days, weeks, months, or even years. This is where your foundation becomes even more important. Paul warns us that Christ is the only true foundation, and nothing is to be laid over him. Any carpenter will tell you that the foundation is the most important part of a structure. It keeps everything where it should be.  Think- the story of the three little pigs- and how that story ended. Shaky foundations equal tragedy. Paul informs us that the foundations of our lives will be tested- and it's quality will be brought to light through flames. If our foundation is anything but Christ, we'll suffer great loss. And here's my favorite part:

he himself will be saved, but only as one exsaping through the flames.\

WHOP! Did you catch that? Paul is saying, "Yeah, sure, you'll be saved, but only as one who just barely made it through the flames. You don't have anything to show for your work, because nothing you did was meaningful." Here's the Heaven analogy: Accepting but not serving Christ, and building your earthly foundation: basically just barely making it.

I can't speak for anyone else when I say I don't want to just barely get out of Hell. I want my life to so strongly reflect Christ that when He takes me home, he can fully say

well done, good and faithful servant!

1 Peter 13-18

{NIV}
13. Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear"; do not be frightened. 15But in your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17It is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
18For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous and the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.

This passage rock n' rolls. This is the passage of scripture that really opened my eyes to see exactly what Jesus calls us to do, how to do it, and the pain that will most likely accompany it. But Peter reassures us in verse fourteen that we'll be blessed for our suffering. Being blessed by God seems so greater than being cursed by any man. Which is part of the reason I have the hope Peter is talking about in verse fifteen. This verse smacked me in the face when I read it, because so often when people ask me, "why are you a Christian?" my answer is "I don't know..I just believe in Jesus". That's not witnessing. At least it's not in my book. And mostly, it's hard to put into words exactly why I'm a Christian. But Jesus doesn't accept that excuse, either.  And when you do give an answer, do so with gentleness and respect- that way when people turn on you, you have a clear conscience.  That was smart of Peter to say, because it's easy to be rude about Christianity- I'll be the first to admit it. Sometimes you just want to smack someone with the Word {which I don't urge anyone to do} and say, "why can't you believe this? what's so hard about it?!" And so often, this is the attitude that I see from 'Christians'.  You probably know who I'm talking about, or at least someone/a group like this. What worries me the most is that they genuinely think what they are doing is correct. Which is scary, because it's a misrepresentation of Christ. But just how they are not working towards what Peter said, we must be careful that we {Christians} are. Even towards the rare ones.

Romans 7:24

(prefaced starting with verse 21) {NIV}

21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
 
Poor Paul I thought.
Because Paul and I are in the exact same boat.
 
I find myself so frequently feeling this way. I was born into rebellion against God. And now I want to do good, but my sinful nature pulls me back in to my old habits, making me a prisoner of myself. I'm miserable, dispicable, hapless; pitiful. I'm dying in myself.
But through Christ and Christ alone, I can break the bonds that hold me.
 
This passage so clearly shows me that following and obeying the law of God is not easy. As long as I'm in this body of sin, this body of death, I will want to rebel. My mind and heart will be torn. It will be a daily struggle. But as Paul goes on to say in Rom 8:18, our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.Although some days feel like dying daily and taking up our crosses to follow Christ is too much to handle, knowing that the gain is greater than the pain makes it worthwhile.

The Beginning

This is the first post of the new blog, replacing my old one.
I just feel like it's time to start something new..so here we go.
The whole purpose of this site is going to be to share the things that God is teaching me every day, through sermons, verses, stories, or my favorite - other people.

Now to explain the title/theme of this site.
The sparrow is my favorite type of bird, and is spoken of in the scriptures. Jesus makes a reference to the sparrow in the book of Matthew. The context is that the lowly sparrow lives it's life, but doesn't find food, shelter or die apart from God's provision. How much more, then, will God take care of us?
God finds me so much more cherished than a sparrow, so therefore he must have great things in store for me.