2nd Corinthians 6

Verse 4
But in every way we show we are servants of God: in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems.

Verse 6
We show we are servants of God by our pure lives, our understanding, patience, and kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by true love, by speaking the truth, and by God's power. We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything.

Verse 9-10
We are not known, but we are well known. We seem to be dying, but we continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed. We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich in faith. We have nothing, but really we have everything.

We have nothing, but really we have everything. I love that. 

People are always surrounding us; everywhere we go with everything we do. Especially knowing we are Christians, people will watch how we handle ourselves in situations. Are we calm? Are we going to blow up? Are we going to worry? Paul makes it clear in 2nd Corinthians 6 that we show we are true followers of Christ by how we handle ourselves. Yes, many hard things come our way, but it is God's Spirit in us that breeds strength, power, and peace to carry on in a storm. Accept the hard troubles... take on the huge problems... You have a God who is bigger and will tell you numerous times to fear not for He has overcome the world! Greater is he in you than that in the world! It may seem hopeless and like nothing is left, but really you have everything when you have Christ.

2nd Corinthians 12:9-10 Paul says, "But he said to me, 'My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, my power is made perfect in you.' So I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ's power can live in me. For this reason I am happy when I have weaknesses, insults, hard times, sufferings, and all kinds of troubles for Christ. Because when I am weak, then I am truly strong."

When you are weak, you are truly strong because Christ's power is being made perfect in you! Fear not in the storm for Christ's power is thriving within you. He is in control and it is his glory that will be made known when you rest in him. Respond to situations, circumstances, and storms in such a way that reflects a Christ mindset. I understand it's hard sometimes not to have a small freak out moment or a small second of worrying, but it's a matter of that fear overtaking you. Who is your hope really in when that fear has conquered your mind?

People are always watching. Show them you are planted in Christ during midst of the storm. Don't give them the power over you to speak, "Where is your God now?" Seek your strength in Christ and let him have his way. Don't give fear permission to overtake you. People will see Jesus when you show them your reliance on Him through the insanity of your storm.

Something Supernatural, Something Spiritual

Have you ever prayed for the healing of somebody? You prayed Jesus would touch their body and heal them. Or what about praying for a job? You wanted that job, and so you prayed to God for it. How about praying for the salvation of a friend? I have a wonderful friend who I have been praying for a while now. I've prayed about it many times, I constantly love on her, spend time with her, and be there for her in anyway I can. So what is common about all these things? I'll tell you... Something had to be done before any results could happen. And the desired result was always something supernatural. You pray, God moves. You seek help, and Jesus is the heals.

Anything involving God is supernatural. He is supernatural. He's almighty God of the entire universe. When I bring my prayers to God, I can count on a supernatural ending. Even in circumstances that may not seem so supernatural are in fact supernatural. If I'm praying for an opportunity, I'm betting on God being the one to orchestrate everything happening; and that is still the same whether I get the opportunity or not.

1st Corinthians 15:46
The spiritual did not come first, but the physical and then the spiritual. 

When Christ lived here on earth, everything about him was physical. He was 100% human and did human things. When He died on the cross, He went through tremendous pain and suffering. It all lead up to the spiritual. After His death, He went to hell and retrieved the keys for God's children to have eternal life with him. A supernatural event happened within those 3 days of hell and have continued ever since. (And please don't think of supernatural as something magic-related or questionable. I felt that way at first thinking of supernatural as a word used to describe Christ. It simply means "being above and beyond natural." Makes perfect sense for God!)

 But if Christ had not went through all those things in the natural to lead up to His death, what transpired in the supernatural would of never happened. I love the verse in 1st Corinthians because it is so true for many events in life. The physical must always come before the spiritual to happen. For something to happen in the supernatural, there is always a motion being made first in the natural.

Be encouraged in this moment to continue persisting in the natural, even when it seems like nothing is happening! God is always in action, and many times he is working on things which can not even be seen in the natural. Something in the physical realm must always be done first for something the the supernatural realm to transpire! All your hard work is not for nothing. God has great plans ahead, and you making physical effort in the natural can only lead to great spiritual blessings! It's so cool how God works everything out, and he loves when you are obedient to the work he has placed before you. Be encouraged to work diligently at whatever he has placed before you, because you can count on it that he wants to do something supernatural in your life only to benefit you through it!

Thanksgiving is almost here! Get pumped.
❤ Ariel Christine

November.

November has been flying by. Everything from homework and exams to birthday parties and celebrations have filled my weeks! Basically, life has been happening! Life. That's as detailed as I can get for now. I'm so excited to soon be visiting Ohio again for Thanksgiving break and to take time away from the chaos.

Can I brag on God for a moment? I don't need to go into detail about all the wonderful things he's been up to, but simply to bring notice to the fact he has been doing wonderful things! I keep finding his goodness all around; everywhere I look and every word I hear, I can find God's goodness.

I am defiantly in a season that is on a mountain top. But being up here, I will not forget God. How could I forget him? It is by his grace that I am here. Proverbs 3:6 keeps coming to my mind, "Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success."

If I succeed in anything I do, it is surely and only because of God.

If I could leave you with this one thought, it would be this...

1st Corinthians 14:33a

God is not a God of confusion, but a God of peace. 

The word "confusion" does not even apply to God. Confusion is not a part of his character or who he is. The fact of this sentence is that God is the God of peace. In the chaos, confusion, pain, hurt, etc. his peace will transcend all of that.

But why does it seem so hard to grasp at times or that peace is far off? We can be really upset by a situation and complaining to God, "Father... where are you in this??" But have we honestly asked for peace? Yes, we've complained and begged God to show his face, but that is not asking for peace. My great pastor back in Ohio once spoke on God being a motion-activated God; that he is sensitive to movement. Sometimes we need to act for God to work. Of course he loves to help his children, but we can't simply sit back and expect God to take care of everything and give us all that we want. We simply must ask.

How much a father loves his child that he would do anything for the child. If you ask for peace, God will give it to you. BECAUSE... He is the God of peace. He has it and will freely give it to those who ask. Some of my most favorite verses are found in Philippians. Chapter 4 verse 6 and 7 claim, "Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Ask and then the peace comes. Call upon God and then he moves.

Goodnight readers!
❤ Ariel Christine

Missionary Mindset

Recently at our JRLC Chapel, we had a missionary from the middle east come speak to us. He was everything I'd think of a missionary to be: inspirational, radical, passionate, enthusiastic, and loud. What I love about missionaries is that each one seems to have a mindset that time is short and the gospel is to prevail above everything else in life. I agree with both of those things, absolutely, but I feel like in my life it tends to be not as evident as my everyday mission. I personally do not feel called to be a missionary, but I can't help to want a missionary's mindset. I want to treat every day and every moment as short and that the time to act is now; not to waste one bit of this life I've been given and to put effort into every encounter with people. The world is a big place which leaves for a big job to be done. But God has equipped us to do so. When Christ came to the earth he was 100% man and 100% God. Christ limited Himself to be with us by being in human form, however, the power of God through Him enabled many miraculous things to happen. Matthew 10:7-8 says, "When you go, preach this: 'The kingdom of God is near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead to life again, heal those who have skin diseases, and force demons out of people. I give you these powers freely, so help other people freely." As followers of Jesus, we are called to radically change the world through these circumstances. This also means that the power of Jesus is available to us to use for these things to happen. Jesus even says in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, whoever believes in me will do the same things that I do. Those who believe will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

I view the life of Jesus as extravagant. He is all-powerful. It is a prayer of mine to go further in my relationship with Jesus and tap into this power He has given to us as a resource to change the world. Yes, He died on the cross to cover our sins and praise Him for that! Also, through His death we can heal the sick, bring the dead to life, cast out demons, and even greater according to John 14. Let us not waste all that Jesus has enabled us to do through His death on the cross! Let us have the mindset of missionaries as if each moment is crucial for eternity because it truly is. People matter; souls matter.

Photos taken at Ozark Watershed Center

And as I wrap up this post today let me leave with a verse. Lately, it has been my prayer to live life greater and more extreme in Jesus Christ. I want to walk everyday in abundant life with Jesus boldly proclaiming His name and demonstrating His gospel.

Philippians 3:10-11
I want to know Christ and the power that raised him from the dead. I want to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death. Then I have hope that I myself will be raised from the dead.

Happy November 1st!
❤ Ariel Christine