Bridge in Progress

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21

     Our life is kind of like a wooden bridge in progress. God puts down one piece of wood at a time. We cannot take a step forward until he lays down that next piece, or we will fall into the raging waters of the world. It is so easy to take our great plans and run with them, but that is not God's plan. He wants us to give everything to him, and yes, I said everything. It seems so tough to just let go and let God. But once we do realize the magnificent blessings that God wants to pour on our lives it makes it so much easier to let God do His thing. 

     We may think our plan will work out for the best, but we cannot look into the future and tell what is going to happen like God can. He knows exactly what is going to happen and who is going to react to what, we don't! When things are going awesome, that is when I seem to go with my own plans and forget about God. I feel like I have it all together and I do not need God to help me. I seem to feel as if I can control my life on my own. And no matter how many times I feel like I can, I always fail. We need to look to God, for HIS plan! His plan prevails. He never fails. We seem to plan so many things in advance, but we are reminded in James 4:14-15 about how our lives are a mist. "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

     Friends, let's not forget whose plans prevail. We need to trust in the Holy One. We do not build our bridge, Jesus Christ does. He knows exactly which piece of wood is supposed to be laid down next. Do not worry about how quickly your bridge is being built or how long it is going to be. Be patient God is building you an incredible bridge. 

Hannah Hollis

Guarding Your Heart

Proverbs 4:20-23 NIV

"My son, pay attention to what I say;
turn your ear to my words.
Do not let them out of your sight,
keep them within your heart;
for they are life to those who find them
and health to one’s whole body.
Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it."

     The heart is vital to a human being. You cannot live without one. It is a muscle that pumps blood all throughout your body. But this is not the kind of heart that the writer was talking about in Proverbs 4. Even though we are talking about two different kinds of "hearts" both are essential for life. The heart I am talking about is the one where your deepest thoughts, feelings, and emotions are. The one that holds your values in life. 

     Our hearts are like a precious jewel. We should do all we can to keep that precious jewel from being harmed or even broken. Satan is the robber that is trying to come in and harm and break our jewel. If you cling to the Word of God, your sword, you can fight off the robber that is trying to steal your jewel. 

    It is important, as Christians, to keep our hearts in-tuned with God because, "everything you do flows from it." When we are following God's word, we will live out of the overflow of our hearts. We are told how to guard our hearts in Proverbs 4:25 which says, "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you." If we are walking around worrying about all the stresses in our lives, how can our gaze be directly before us? We need to focus on the scriptures instead of freaking out over stresses.

       Everything we do, say, think, and feel starts in the heart. That is why it is so important to stay in the Word. Guarding your heart can seem difficult, but it is simple. Turn your ear to the word, do not let the word out of your sight, and keep the word within your heart. 

"...keep your heart from doing hurt and getting hurt..." -Matthew Henry

Empty Worship

How many times do we sing empty words to a King worthy of praise? How many times do we pray a quick, heartless prayer to the Lord of lords?

Ouch! These questions hit me hard as I was singing a worship song while surfing on the Internet. How much do these songs really mean to me if I am just singing them all the time with my heart totally not tuned in to God? These songs have been created to worship a Holy Lord, and I am not singing them with the right attitude. Once I realized this, I began to really listen to the words of the song. I began to tear up and understand the depth of the words and what I was saying to God. The song that happen to be playing was called, "Less is More," by Relient K. It talks about laying yourself down, being humble. Let's just say the Lord humbled me!

Oh Father, forgive us for not letting Your Spirit indwell and overwhelm us in every aspect of worship. Let us be more aware of the Majestic Power of Your presence. Let our praises be true and filled with joy and thankfulness.

The song I heard is below along with the lyrics. Listen and read the words. May it be a prayer to the Lord.

Lyrics:

Jesus, I pray
Take all my mistakes
Throw them away
Destroy them for my sake

Jesus, I call out 'cause I'm sorry
Because I fall so short of your glory
To the best of my ability
I'm practicing humility
And I lay myself before
'Cause less is more

All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
Cause to you less is more
All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
Cause to you less is more

I pour out myself
All that I am
You love me so much
That you fill me again
And may these words on my heart, on my lips
Somehow mean so much more than this

Jesus, I pray
Know what I'm trying to say

All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
'Cause to you less is more
All that I have
I lay before
With my pride on the floor
Cause to you less is more

I pour out myself, before you were Lord
I hold nothing back, 'cause to you less is more
And may these words on my heart on my lips,
Somehow mean so much more than this

Jesus, I pray
Just know what I'm tryin' to say

Jesus, I plead
Please purify me
Make my heart clean
Drench me with your mercy
Jesus, I pray
I love you, I need you
For the rest of my days
I swear I will seek you
To the best of my ability
I'm practicing humility
And I lay myself before
'Cause less is more.

Are You Worth it?

It is tough to look in the mirror and think positive thoughts, we always seem to point out the negative first. Why is that? Television, magazines, and even friends and family have impacted the way we look at ourselves. God's view of us has been distorted by the world's eyes. We are seeking the approval of others rather than seeking the approval of the Lord Almighty. This brings me to the scripture Galatians 1:10. "Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."
Paul's obedience was not for men's approval, but for God's. Because God is the one who had brought Paul to leadership as an apostle. Paul wanted to teach men to gainGod's approval, not men's. Paul could careless what people thought because his goal was to, "approve himself to God." Paul was telling the Galatians this because a group of Jewish Christians called the, "Judiazers," were teaching the Galatians to combine "works with faith and the Law with the Gospel." This was just a way for the Galatians to keep the Jews happy and to keep the Galatians from being persecuted.

Whose Approval am I Seeking in Life?
If we get tied up in trying to seek the approval of our peers, co-workers, or friends and family then our first priority is not Christ. When we are serving him, whole-heartedly, we will not worry about the approval of men.

How do I Feel about my Self-worth?
When we are following Christ, our self-worth and identity is in Christ. When we try to "fix" ourselves, it can get ugly. Look to your creator and there is where you find your self-worth.

Am I Someone Worth Dying for?
Stop trying to prove yourself to people! They did not and will not die a grueling death on a cross and rise again in your place. Man did not save you from an eternal Hell. Jesus Christ did. You are someone worth dying for.

Obeying God's Calling

You know that feeling of fear you get when you know God is calling you to do something that might not be in your plans? Well I do. I always seem to try to make up godly/righteous excuses, "Well, God I am doing a lot  to serve you and I just don't think I have the time right now to go pray with that girl." It might not be the exact thoughts in your mind, but if we are in anyway putting off what God is trying to work through us, we are being disobedient. We are sinning. Yes, that is right, sinning. Even though we might be serving on every committee that the church has to offer, even though we come to church every time the doors are open, even though we lead a small group bible study, we are ultimately disobeying God if we are not doing even the small things to further the Kingdom.

This reminded me of a study led by my youth pastor a couple years ago called, "The Little Guys." The scripture was Acts 9:1-19. In these verses, Saul is converted and becomes a Christian. But this could not have happened if it was not for a "little guy" named Ananias who was ultimately obedient to the Lord. Saul was stricken blind by God because of the persecution that he was doing. Ananias then had a vision and the Lord spoke to him. He told Ananias to go to Saul and to restore his sight. When Ananias heard this, he did what most of us would do, he brought up all the terrible things that could happen. Ananias was afraid, just like we are when God ask us to do some things. Big or small. The Lord responded to him by saying that Saul is going to be used as an "instrument to carry my name." Ananias ends up obeying and going to Saul. "Something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he could see again." What if the Lord is calling you to simply pray with a lady in line at a grocery store and that prayer ends up being a prayer of salvation and the lady comes to know the Lord? By you obeying God's call, scales have been removed from this lady's eyes. Wow. What if we deny a small calling like that? It may be small at the time, when your heart is pounding out of your chest and your palms are sweaty because you are nervous. In the end though, God gets the glory!! Let us realize the importance and urgency of obeying God's call, whether it be big or small to us, it is all going towards a greater glory in the Kingdom of God.

A Life of Divine Purpose

As I was doing my quiet time this morning the Lord began to press on my heart about how I share my faith with people around me. Questions began to arise in my head, "Hannah, why are you not sharing what the Father has put on your heart?' "Why are you being content with the 'norm' Christian standards?" I want people to see me and glorify my Father in heaven. It is not about me on this earth, it is about sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am humbled today.
Through seeking the Lord's face and listening to his voice, I have started this blog. My prayer for my blog spot is Psalms 19:14, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." I pray that this can be a place of encouragement and that the scriptures that are spoken will reside in readers hearts.