Abundant Life

In leu of this blog's title, I have a confession to make. I am the champion of starting projects and never finishing them. Journaling has never been a strength of mine, despite all my good intentions to be a faithful writer. I think I can now add blogging to the list. My last post was over a year ago...awesome.

Since it would be next to impossible to cover all the wonderful things God has revealed to me in the past 15 months, I will not attempt to. However, because 2010 was the most transformational year of my life to date, I feel like it would be foolish to not write about some of the lessons I have learned.

John 10:10 says"The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full." This verse jumped out at me in the midst of a particularly dark time period last year, and I have clung to the hope it offers ever since. After reading it, I came to a rather stunning conclusion. Jesus is not against me.

I don't know why, or for how long, I subconciously believed this lie, but John 10:10 brought me face to face with the consequences of my twisted thinking.

Now, to others, this conclusion may not be as earth-shattering as it was for me. You see, I am a people pleaser, and this forces me to feel like I must prove myself to others time and again. This has further lead me to a place where I feel like people are against me. It's a hard concept to wrap your head around if you're not a people pleaser yourself. Because this has dominated the way I do relationships for as far back as I can remember, it has also become a huge factor in the way I relate to my Heavenly Father. It has encouraged me slip into an unbiblical mindset that says I must prove myself to God, and therefore he is against me.

But He isn't. That's Satan we're talking about.

According to that verse in John, Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. People pleasing steals, kills, and destroys. It steals your hope, kills your joy, and destroys your identity in Christ. Jesus has come to bring life...abundant life. He isn't against me.

I cannot accurately describe what a liberating feeling that has been for me. In the midst of much pain this past year, Jesus has revealed that abundant life to me. It has never been sweeter.

God is good. All the time. Don't ever forget it.

Ellie V.

Pride is Like Coffee...

It stunts your growth. Now, that old myth may not be altogether true. If you Google it, you'll find that there is very little evidence to support it. However, for the sake of this post, we'll pretend that it's Scientific Law.

I was reading in one of my favorite New Testament books this morning, and a couple verses really stuck out to me. Here they are in the New Living Translation:

"...As Scriptures say:

'God opposes the proud
but favors the humble.'

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor."
(James 4:6-10)


In addition to this passage I checked out Obadiah 1:3, which uses the phrase "the pride of your heart has deceived you." I got to thinking...how does pride deceive us? I believe it trips us up in a number of ways.


1.) It quietly takes the focus off God. This is rather obvious point because pride is selfish. However, I rarely find myself in the middle of an arrogant moment thinking, "Man, I'm totally focusing on myself right now." Pride is so tricky in that way.

It is my prayer that I can be like the apostle Paul in his resolve to know nothing but Christ and him crucified. (See 1 Corinthians 2:2.) The word 'know' used in this sense refers to Paul making Christ his only boast. Pride ever so sneakily takes our eyes off Christ and puts them on ourselves, making Christ less than our only boast.

2.) It convinces us that we really do have reason to boast. I was confronted with a rather simple question while thinking on this. "What do I have to be proud about?" I started trying to list all the bullet points in my head, but failed to come up with anything worth bragging about in the eyes of God. However, isn't it strange how easily we can be trapped into thinking that we do?

So often I must remind myself that I a deserve nothing. Actually, that is not altogether true...I deserve something, and that something is hell. By the grace of God I am who I am. Even if I were capable of living my life perfectly from now on, I would still have nothing to boast about.

3.) It is easily disguised. Have you ever heard of the phrase "self-esteem?" Or what about "positive self-image?" Pride so readily hides behind these things. By using certain terms just so, we can justify our sinful behavior.

[And on a complete side note, we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27.) With that truth in mind, low self-image should not have a foothold in our lives. The world is loud and full of lies about our appearance and worth. It has never been more important to distinguish what is false from what is true, and to realize who the author of lies is, and how he pales in comparision to the mighty Truth we serve. (John 8:44, "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.")]

4.) It ties us to this world. Pride is not of God, and it never will be.

1 John 2:16, "For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world."

Satan is the prince of this world, so in a way, one could say that pride comes from him. It makes sense then, why the James passage would read, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

And that brings me to my final question. How can I extinguish pride in my life so my relationship with God is not hindered? If I refer back to the James passage once more, humility is clearly emphasized. With humility comes God's blessing, (as seen in the Beattitudes in Matthew 5: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit...'). Another verse I just recently discovered is Psalm 138:6, 'Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar." This verse also paints a clear picture of how pride affects our relationship with God and stunts our spiritual growth.

Secondly, resisting the devil (and his lies about pride) is very key. One way to resist the devil is simply to draw nearer to God, whether that be through prayer, Bible reading, fellowship with other believers, or simply quiet time with Him.

And finally, an attitude of mourning over pride will magnify its sinfulness and decrease its attractiveness. Note the words in verse 9: sorrow, deep grief, sadness, and gloom. Those who mourn are also listed as blessed in Matthew 5, "for they shall be comforted." God honors brokeness and humility. When we mourn over our sins and the sins of others, we are truly showing our desire to live set apart.


To God Be the Glory,
Ellie V.