Light in the Depths

“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” ‭‭John‬ ‭15:15‬ ‭ESV‬‬ John 15:13 ESV “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus showed the ultimate example of love when he died on the cross for our sins. He literally laid down his life for all of us, so that we may one day come to be with God in Heaven. And not only did he lay down his life in death, but throughout his time of ministry he laid down his life for others by using his life to serve those who needed to be served and put the needs of others above his wants and desires. And this is exactly what Christ calls us to do. He calls us to serve others and, like him, set aside our wants and desires to minister to those who need to be ministered to. There is no hidden meaning to this message. There is no other secret that Christ wants us to fi...

“It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭20:26-28‬ ‭ESV‬‬ So many times in my life I wish I could be a leader when I can't be. Constantly throughout my life I've wanted to be in charge of those around me, and felt that I could've done a pretty good job as the leader. It's honestly kind of funny, aside from maybe in sports or doing projects with people I've never truly been a leader before. Even with those few instances I've never had a complete position of authority over someone and if put in a leadership role I honestly don't know how I'd do, even if I think I'd do well. Being that I've never truly lead anyone how could I know without having any personal experience right? For example, I had played soccer all my life un...

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”‭ Luke‬ ‭17:7-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬ So often in life we look for rewards for the ways in which we serve. We look to get paid, to be commended, we tend to just want something. We often don't want to perform a task if there aren't any benefits for us at the end of it all. We feel that if we are serving we deserve something for our service. But that isn't true service. True service is serving even when there is no self-gain in what you are doing. It is where you are laying your wants...

“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” ‭‭John‬ ‭12:26‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Matthew‬ ‭11:27‬ ‭ESV‬‬ “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Jesus is our only gateway of coming to know God. It is through his life that we are able to understand what God's character is truly like and it is by following his example that we can come to know how God truly wants us to act. Without understanding how and why Jesus acted the way he did, out of love, we can never understand how God wants us to live this life. Personally I've found it very difficult throughout my time here to truly examine and ask myself if the way I've served has been a way in which the Lord would want me to serve. I honestly find it hard to determine whether or not my heart is in t...

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12:14-15‬ ‭ESV‬‬ There are many times throughout my walk where I've wished I had abilities that I don't have. There are so many things I wish I was better at, but unfortunately that's just not how God created me. Lately, the hardest thing that I've been facing is that I wish I had more courage. That I wouldn't be so afraid of this life that God has for created for me. That I didn't have to be so terrified of this world. I know that having a fear of God is different than Earthly fear but I wish I could be more afraid of God and less afraid of this world. I mean I have the faith in everything that God is doing in my life, but even while having that faith, I'm always filled with such a fear. Whether it's fear of the unknown, fear of the w...

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭15:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Everyone has their weaknesses in life. I know what mine are and because I know what mine are it humbles me in the sense that I can relate to people when they are too weak to go through something, to weak to be around certain things, or just need help getting through certain situations. Weakness comes in many forms and is something that all believers have to deal with while traveling through life. However, there are definitely believers that are stronger than others. Whether they are just stronger because they have been walking with the Lord longer, they haven't had to deal with certain issues in their lifetime, or they've just overcome most of their weaknesses already in their life. The stronger one is the more they tend to not be stumbled by the same weaknesses that the weak are stumbled by. They are able to be around all different types of thin...

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:13‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Every day, no matter where we are in our walks or what season of life we are in, we can always fall into a dark place. Whether that place is sin, anger, depression, whatever place it may be it is a place that we don't want to be in. We all have rough moments, rough days, and rough patches of life. Coming home yesterday I was in one of those rough moments. I don't even know how I got myself in it, but I felt like I was back down in the pit, lost to my thoughts and not knowing how to overcome feelings that I thought I had already overcome in my past. I thought I was past this. Why am I so upset right now? I can't even really explain why I'm so frustrated. Do you see me God? What do I do about this? How do I get past this? What am I supposed to do right now? I'm so done with this Lord. What do you w...