Shaky Places

Have you ever gone through a season in your life where you feel like everything is unstable or shaky? You may feel like a dried up leaf, in late November, that is about to be blown away by the chilling winds of stress. You may be in this season right now. You might think if one more wave of bad news heads your way, that you may crash. I think we have all gone through this stage of life. Some of you may feel like this has not been a stage of your life, but an ongoing process called "my life." When our life becomes shaky and we feel like things are slipping out of control, we tend to start going, "Uh hello, God? Where are you?" Friend, he is with you. These test and trials that seem to shake you to the core are producing in you a fruit of strength that will only be bore from certain circumstances.
I am not going to try to sit here and sprinkle fairy dust over all your problems, but I am going to tell you about a beautiful truth that I found in Hebrews 12 verse 28. I don't know if you realize this or not, but if you are a Child of God, you are a part of a kingdom. This is the Kingdom of Heaven! We are sons and daughters of the King in the Kingdom! If that doesn't make you want to shout, I don't know what will! Oh yea, and this kingdom? It's unshakable. Remember those shaky circumstances we were thinking about? Those will all fade away when Jesus comes back to take us home. We are "receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken." The King of this unshakeable kingdom deserves all our worship with reverence and awe. This King, our King, is a consuming fire. Let the King consume your shaky situations with his all-powerful flame.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,  for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29

Stand firm, Child of God. We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Love,
Hannah

Faithfulness

The only thing I can rest in is in the promises that God has given me through scripture. Nothing else is satisfying. Everything in the life is fleeting. Clothes, money, relationships, school, everything. My God and his Kingdom is forever, eternal, and is the only thing that will stand through the ages and NOT be shaken. Because of salvation, through the blood of Jesus, I now live IN those promises. I will not be shaken by the troubles of this world. I will not be shaken when Satan is prowling ready to attack. I will not be shaken when all my plans seem to crumble before me. My identity is in The God of this universe and he lifts me up. He gives me water in scorched lands. He heals my brokenness. He makes beauty out of my mess. He restores in me the joy of my salvation. If you are going through a difficult season in your life, this is for you:

God’s got this. He is in complete control of whatever you are going through. You may be thinking that God is in heaven with his fingers in his ears ignoring your prayers, but he is not. Friend, he hears you. Do not think that just because your prayers are not being answered right at this very moment that he does not hear you. This process of you crying out to God is causing you to be completely reliant on his timing. This time of surrendering all to him is making you lay down all of your pride and humbly come before him. He may be breaking you down so that he can pick the pieces up and make you into the beautiful masterpiece you were created to be. Just hold on. Our God is so faithful and he has not left you. He is closer than you think. Rest in the presence of our Almighty and Loving Father.

Mending Broken Hearts

Okay Ladies, 

I am tired of seeing broken hearts and teary eyes over boys. I have been there. I have cried many of nights. The Lord has picked up the pieces of my heart and put it back together many times. I have been there. You think you meet Prince Charming, (you just know he is the one you are going to marry) and you are completely infatuated with this soft flowing haired, dreamy eyed, cute faced boy. (Okay, you get my point.) Your eyes and your fleshly heart tells you, “give all you got to this guy.” 

When you give pieces of your heart away to a boy, you are seeking pleasure from that guy, instead of God. You begin to fish compliments from your “guy” so he will tell you that you look nice. Those compliments will boost your self confidence and the boy makes you feel beautiful. You think you are falling in love, then BAM it happens, “the breakup.” You seem to sink into sadness and the feeling of loneliness seems to haunt over you. Why, Hannah? WHY do I always come up empty and broken, EVERY stinking time?! Well I am glad you asked! 

When you begin to hang on to the words and promises spoken by guys, your identity begins to sneak away from the Lord. Your identity begins to be found in that guy. Jesus is the ONLY one who should captivate your heart, ladies! Fall in love with Jesus! When you fall in love with him, you will do whatever he ask of you. You will become satisfied with who you are IN CHRIST, not by who you are based on what a guy says about you. When you begin to daily go to God for your comfort and pleasure you will only want to please him. 

Stop looking for a boy to make you happy. You will never be happy with a guy until you are completely satisfied and content with your relationship with God, and God alone. Stop searching for that special someone and start seeking your Sovereign Savior. Once you find your identity in Christ, the tears you cry and the aches of your heart will come from the longing for the lost to be found. Your motives will change. You will dress to honor God and not to accentuate your body. You will long to please God, your Abba Father, not a boyfriend. 

Love,

Hannah Hollis

Keep on Running

Have you ever been running, exercising, or working and after you are just worn out? You feel as though, if you do not get something to drink you are going to just fall over! Think about this concerning your relationship with Christ. Do you ever feel just worn out and empty in your walk with Christ? Do you feel like you need a "water break" to get refreshed and rejuvenated? I know I have felt this way many of times.  

I think I may have found a solution to our problem friends! Read Hebrews twelve, verses one and two with me...

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

We are all in a race; yep, a marathon, really. I am not much of a runner, but I do know that when I set goals to run further than I did the day before it can become tough. Your mind is telling you, "You can't do this," but your body is totally capable of running further. That is what I think happens in our spiritual race. We want so badly to run toward the goal, but then the devil tells us, "You can't do this." We give up. We give into temptation. We lose sight of Jesus; our goal.  

Satan uses many devices to slow us down and to keep us from running the race. Some of the schemes he uses are not necessarily "bad," but if they are hindering you from being all that God has called for you to be, kick them out! First, Satan uses the obvious, sin. Sin separates us from God. This is a simple truth. If you have sin in your life, it will weigh you down and slow you down. Repent! Run from sin! He will also use relationships to hold you back from running. Relationships can be a wonderful God-given gift, if it is used for his glory. Relationships become a bad thing when your "guy" or "gal" becomes your idol. God has THE best plan for you. It is so stinkin' easy to give your heart away to a boyfriend or girlfriend. DON'T do it! You are God's until marriage! Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus because he is the only one that will satisfy your desires. No guy or girl can ever or will ever love you more than God does. Keep your body pure for the Lord. It is HIS temple. He wants you; all of you.

Business can also be a way of the devil keeping you from running the God given race. If you are caught up in every event, school, work, and even church and you are not spending quality time with God you need to reevaluated your motives. Spending alone time with your Creator is the most important part of your walk with Christ. That alone time will train you to be the runner that you need to be for this race.  

How do we not get burned out while running? How do we endure this race? Do not sprint! Keep a good pace. I see too many people who think they have to go to every church event and bible study to be a "good Christian." They will get burned out and overextend themselves. (2 Corinthians 10:13-14) Sometimes, they end up replacing intimate Jesus time with church events. We need to go to church! We need to stay in fellowship, but don't let it hinder your intimate time with God. If you want to be more like Jesus, spend more time with Jesus!

When you are running, you drink water to stay hydrated and refueled. We do the same thing, by drinking Living Water! We must pray and study the scriptures to keep running this race. He is the only water that will quench your thirst.  

While we are running, we are not running aimlessly. We are running looking at Jesus! What are your eyes looking at? Are your letting your eyes be filtered through God's Word so that you will obey him? Or are you taking shortcuts in the race? By trying to look "spiritual" on the outside.  

You can look like a runner; have all the gear of a runner. You can go join a running club. You can tell everyone how much you have run, but are you really running? God knows if you are really running the race or if you are bending over, breathless, because the sins of the flesh are sucking the life out of you. Let God refuel you. Lay aside the weight of the world and sin. Run the race, looking at Jesus.

Love, 

Hannah Hollis

To my Brothers and Sisters in Christ

This is a challenge to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I would encourage you to read and reevaluate your walk with God. This is not something I would take lightly. Think on it and, more importantly, pray on it.

When you decide to lay everything aside for the sake of Christ your life becomes more simplistic. The little things don’t matter anymore. You begin to see the big picture; the eternal picture. Knowing that this world will pass away and that you will be stepping into the eternal presence of The One and only Almighty God makes everything else seem so futile. Magnifying the urgent reality that your friends and families will go to hell unless you tell them about the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ becomes top priority. Your concerns will become less about yourself and more about the everlasting destination of the ones around you. This, my friends is life; giving up yourself and your life, and serving the Lord in words, deeds, and actions for His sake. Let’s put on the full armor of God and stand firm in Him.

How do we prepare ourselves for such a self-abandoning lifestyle? By shedding off our flesh and living by the Spirit. Do not pervade your mind with ungodly music, television, and movies. Keep a tight rein on your tongue. Purify yourselves before God. Stew your heart and mind in the Word of God and let it change your mindset.  Lie in the warmth of his embrace and cry out to Him for his will. Pray with thanksgiving and praise. Pray with an open spirit so He can pour His passion into you. Devote specific times to Him. Do not try to just fit Him in your schedule. Tell Him you will do whatever it takes for His glory to be known and His Kingdom to expand. It is all about Him. Let’s live like it.

 I am not telling you all of this to say that I am perfectly where I need to be in my walk with Christ. No, I press of towards the goal. I am always straining ahead; I say this to challenge you. I tell you this to let you see the hand of God direct your life like never before. I am in the midst of learning more about my Heavenly Father and I want you to experience this renewal and refreshment of the soul.

Do not accept this challenge and make this commitment to God unless you are ready to makes changes in your life for Him.

Refresh• Renew •Revive

Much Love,

Hannah Hollis


References: (Philippians 3:7-11) (Colossians 3:17) (Ephesians 6:10-17) (Romans 8:1-17) (Ephesians 4:29, James 1:26) (James 4:7-10) (Ephesians 5:3-11) (Philippians 3:13-15)

Living or Dying?

"To live is Christ and to die is gain."  (Philippians 1:21) Can we truly say this, and mean it? Close your eyes and focus your attention on God, and ask yourself, "is this what my heart says?’To live is Christ and to die is gain'?" If we are honest, most of us would say no. Let's break down this verse. What Paul is saying is that if I go on living, it will be for Christ. I will spread his name; I will show people his love. If I die, I gain the glorious gift of heaven and the presence of my Almighty God. It is a win-win situation for us as Christians! But do we look at it this way? I think the reason some of us do not feel like they could state this verse with no hesitation is because we have too many earthly things hindering us. We value the things and even people in this world too much. Christians, I do not think we realize how radically God has called us to live. Let's look at Luke 14:26-27.
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Okay, so let's not sugar coat this passage. Let's look at the stark truth of this. Jesus says to hate your father, mother, children, brothers, sisters, and his own life! Wow, now that is intense living. Can we say that we hate our family and friends and even our own life compared to the passion we have for following Christ? Jesus clearly says if not, you cannot be my disciple. He does not stop there though; he goes on to say we must carry our cross to be a disciple. Who in their right mind would want to hate everyone and their life, and carry a huge cross? Sounds pretty crazy, huh? Guess what? We are called to do this! Our life is a complete LOSS for the sake of Christ.
Too many times, in our fleshly eyes, we desire the world's pleasures instead of the pleasures of picking up our cross. Too many times we tweet a bible verse instead of meditating on scripture. Too many times we tell someone we are praying for them instead of spending hours in your prayer closet. Too many times we talk about how lost someone is, instead of weeping over the reality that they are going to burn in hell for eternity. Too many times we complain about someone not coming to church, when we are not showing them the love of Jesus in the first place. Guys, what are we doing? Our faith is shallow. We need to take a look at our spiritual lives. Are you truly seeking God? Are you daily soaking up the Word? Are you praying and fasting? Or are you just going through the motions; go to church, tweet a bible verse, pray at church, go on church trips. Don’t get me wrong, all those things are awesome, but that is not the type of devotion God has called us to.  Let's get real. Can you honestly say that you are being a disciple of Jesus Christ like he is describing in these verses above? Because if not, he says "he cannot be my disciple."  

Radically following,

Hannah

"Because You Say So"

Obedience. Why is it so difficult to be obedient sometimes? Why is it that when God calls us to do something we don't just say, "OK Lord!" Oh wait, I'll get you on this one..."I just need to pray about it a little more, Lord." This makes you feel a little more spiritual when you say this, since you are "praying about it." You know you've said it before, or at least thought it! We are all guilty of being disobedient to God's calling and commands. By me saying we are all guilty of being disobedient does not mean it is acceptable, as a disciple of Christ. It is actually opposite of what the disciples in Luke 5:1-11 did. I would encourage you to read it now, if you have access to the scripture. In this passage we see some unlucky, sleepy, soon-to-be disciples calling it quits on the day. Then, Jesus comes along and tells Simon to put the boat out in deeper water. What a request! These men had tirelessly worked all night and had not caught a single fish, and now Jesus was asking him to put out into the water again? Try to put yourself in Simon's shoes, how would you respond to Jesus' request? Would you say, "Are you kidding me?! We just fished all night and caught nothing!" Maybe your response would be, "Let me pray about it for a while, Jesus." Or would it be similar to Simon's response. Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Wow. Now that is obedience. Did you notice what he said? He did not ask questions, he did not say maybe later, he did not say, "Let me pray about it more." No, he said, "But because you say so." What more of a reason do we need to be completely obedient to God than that he says so.  When he says so, do it. When we feel the conviction or confirmation of the Holy Spirit pressing our hearts, obey. 
God is calling us all to live a life that is out of the ordinary. God is wanting to press each of his children toward holiness. The only way we can take steps towards holiness is by being obedient, whatever the cost; which brings me to verse 11. So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. These men just saw Jesus perform a miracle. They caught TONS of fish! Then Jesus told them from now on they would be "fishers of men." Notice Jesus did not ask Simon if he wanted to be a fisher of men, but told him he would be. When you are God's child, his calling and plan for your life is a command, not a request. He is calling you to obey him, and to obey him promptly. The disciples'  response? Total abandonment to their family, job, friends, and home to follow Jesus. Our response? The same, follow Him; leaving everything else behind. I know what you're thinking, "Come on Hannah, I can't leave everything and follow Christ." Why not? You say you are a Christian and you love God, but would you give up everything to follow him? That is what the disciples did here, and are we not disciples? I am not just talking about giving up "bad things." It may be a person or an item, that isn't necessarily bad, that is hindering you from running after Christ with a passionate drive that will push you to holiness; that will push you to fresh discovery of His Word. When you cut the strings that attach you to this world and your fleshly desires you will begin to see God's plan for your life in a whole different light. His plan may be a little blurry to you right now and it may seem hard to take that step of obedience, but friend it is so worth it. The result of being obedient to God is seeing the sweet reward of His presence and peace. I pray that your heart would turn to obedience. I also pray your eyes are opened to the seriousness of obedience. God is calling you to obey him, to follow him, to give up everything for him. Are you being obedient?

Much Love,

Hannah Hollis

Fear of the Unknown

There is a slight moment of terrorizing and paralyzing fear when you take a step out on faith, not knowing for sure the direction God is calling you. There is a feeling of vulnerability, where you know the battle of your flesh and your Spirit is raging inside. It's a season of make or break. Who is going to lead you? Satan, or the Lord? Your flesh, or your Spirit? The devil wants nothing more than for you to believe his lies. He wants to viciously attack you and to suck the life out of you, one little whisper at a time. Don't believe the lies! Receive the truth and the promises of God's Word! When the failing feelings emerge hold on, Beloved. Your God is not going to ask you to take a step on ground that he has not already placed underfoot. Even though at times you may not can see the ground, by faith, you confidently and courageously take that step of faith. Knowing and DECLARING His ways are better than your ways.

Being Sick: An Answered Prayer

You want to know how CRAZY and INCREDIBLE my God is? Well good, because you are about to find out. This week has been one of the worst, and best weeks of my life. Physically, I feel absolutely terrible! All I have done is sat around getting "rested up." Everyone knows being sick is NO fun! Spiritually, though, I feel so energized and renewed! God has a way of using our weaknesses to make us strong in Him. This made me think of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 when he had a "thorn in his flesh." We see that Paul is in distress over this "thorn." Whether is is a literal thorn or not, we do not know. But we do see the renewing of Paul's spirit during this weakness.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
When I read this, I was like, "this is SO me!" Even though I have been so stinkin' sick, I have felt the strength and presence of my God more than ever before. It is not by my power though, it is only through my weakness of being sick that God has revealed himself to me. I want to boast in my weakness, because I know that my Heavenly Father is speaking to me through this.
Ironically, I believe my sickness is an answered prayer! Crazy, huh? "How in the world can being sick be an answered prayer?" This is why...I have been praying for God to move in my life to show me direction in some future decisions; he has opened my eyes to scripture this week that have answered those prayers. I have had to be reliant on him, and only him, for my satisfaction; not my friends, family, or a guy. Only HIM. This pure reliance on Christ is essential, not only through our weaknesses, but at ALL times. God does not just want all of Hannah when she is sick. He wants all of me all the time. He wants the same for you!

God I PRAISE you for my weaknesses! "When I am weak, then I am strong."

Love,
Hannah Hollis

Love love love.

...then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interest of others. 
Philippians 2:2-4
As Christians, we have one ultimate goal, one purpose: to share God's love through the Gospel to others.  Whether it be through evangelism, through singing, through coaching, through teaching, through just being a lover of people; God wants to use each one of us. Love is the key here. I am not much of the person to write all "lovey dovey" about God, but we are called to love. After all, that is the second greatest commandment; love others. The first being to love the Lord you God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. (Luke 10:27) So sharing the love of God with others is our purpose. That is our one purpose. 
When we share this love with others we shouldn't do it out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, as we see in verse 3. Ambition in itself is not negative; you can have a godly ambition to win others to Christ. Paul here brings up selfish ambition, which is negative. It means that someone is self absorbed and only worried about his or her own destiny or desires. Vain conceit is simply being conceited about yourself. These words, to me, seem to be synonyms. Just know that neither of these terms are something you want in your spiritual life when it comes to serving Christ through love.
We need to serve out of humility. A servant-like attitude. Why should we lower ourself to such a impoverish standard of living? Because Jesus did. We see in the gospel of John that Jesus stooped down to the disciples' feet and washed them. (John 13:1-17) The lowest our, ironically, Heavenly King, could get. The humility of the cross in itself should be enough for us to never complain about being a servant of Christ Jesus. Who are we to complain when it comes to serving? Any body else's toes getting stomped on? Mine sure are.
Make people ask you, "Why are you doing this? Why are you showing me love?" Your answer: "Jesus loves me and he loves you and I want to share His love with you." I want people to question my motives of why I love the unloveable. I want to be asked why I do (in some people's eyes, crazy) things I do to just to show love.  It is not like the world to look to the interest of others, but we are called to do so. We are not called to fit in as a status quo American. We are to be aliens and strangers in this world...( 1 Peter 2:11)
When people realize you genuinely care about them, they will being to open up to you. When people open up with each other, a bond beings to connect. Then, that connection can cause a friendship to flourish. Building a friendship is a beautiful way to let the Holy Spirit pour love into another person's life. Through a friendship, someone can see the display of Christ's love on the cross. He died for everyone, so why shouldn't we love everyone? Simple. When the time is right, God will set up a divine appointment to share the gospel with, who now, is your friend.
This is just an example of what can happen when we put Philippians 4:2-4 into action. Yes, three jam-packed verses. It can change the way you view people for the rest of your life. It can also change the eternal destiny of your future friends, and family members.

Uh Oh. The Bad Stuff.

Repentance is to turn away from sin. Repentance is not something that you tell God and automatically assume you are not going to struggle with that one sin you repented from. Sin is sin. You were born into sin, and your flesh desires sin. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Psalm 51:5 That is how it goes. Sin will lie to you. We see in the first book of the bible that the devil will lie to us to make sin seem "okay." When the serpent talks Eve into eating of the tree, in Genesis 3. Sin is sweet for a season. Sin is directly from the devil, himself. The devil is seeking someone to devour, we see that in 1 Peter 5:8.  

The reason I start off like this is because I want you to see that sin is real and it is the artillery that the devil and his demons use to attack us and pull us away from our Loving and Gracious Heavenly Father. The enemy wants to destroy every blessing and piece of joy that God has given you. The devil will do this, usually, in a very sly way. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. Romans 7:11 God has an abundant life he wants to give to you, but if we are entangled by the lies of the devil, how are we to receive this gift of abundant life? ...let us throw off everything that hiders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1b. You cannot and will not receive the full inheritance of a joyful life in Christ until you flee from your sinful desires and pursue righteousness.  Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22.
I am not asking for you to be perfect and neither is God, but He has called us to live righteous.  

When we do sin, we sin against the Holy and Magnificent God of this universe. That is how we should think about it every time we sin. Every time we give in to that temptation of the enemy we are putting another bruise on Jesus' back; we are whipping him one more time before he is taken to the cross. But he was pierced for OUR transgressions, he was crushed for OUR iniquities; the punishment that brought US peace was upon HIM, and by HIS wounds WE are healed. Isaiah 53:5. We are the one's that brought the punishment of Jesus upon him. Our sins nailed him to the cross, at Calvary.  

We need to realize the serious of sin. One day, we will stand before the Lord and he will judge us for every sin we ever committed. We need to take a realistic look at the damage we are not only doing to our own Spiritual life, but to other people's life, when it comes to our sin. We may not realize the retaliation of our sin when we are in the midst of committing it, but YOUR sin may cause others to stumble. And we see in Luke what Jesus thinks of this...Jesus said to he is disciples: "Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause on of these little ones to stumble. Luke 17:1-2.  

Obviously, as Christians, we know that our enemy is the devil and that he wants to do everything he can to cause us to stumble into sin. Sin separates us from God. If we are not constantly renewing our minds in God's steadfast love, we will become an easy target for our enemy to hit. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devils attacks (Ephesians 6:10-20). You are not in this alone. Every Christian goes through Spiritual warfare, it is an on going battle against our flesh and our spirit. The only way the spirit will win, is through commitment to God's word and prayer.

Thankfully, God is a merciful and a gracious God. He is kind and loving to all who are willing to repent and turn from their sins and wicked ways. Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? Romans 2:4 Beloved, if you are struggling with a certain sin in your life, give it up to Christ. Do not maximize the struggle of this one sin, just place it in God's hands. Daily ask God to help you fight against the temptation of that certain sin. We are in battle, but remember, eternally, God has the victory.

 If you have never accepted, believed and repented of your sins, you are destined for an eternal fiery hell. But friend, that is not how the story ends, if you want to accept this gift of salvation, you can! If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:9-10

TODAY, turn from your sin. Run to Jesus. He is willing and ready to forgive.  

Jesus, Oh Jesus, 

Do you know him today?

Do not turn him away

Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus, 

Without him how lost I would be

-Without Him, Gaither Vocal Band

Love,
Hannah Hollis

What is God's Will for YOUR Life?

You want to know what God's will is for your life? I have the answer to this million dollar question, but I am going to let you read the scripture for yourself and let's see if you can find the answer.

3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit. 9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.     1 Thessalonians 4:3-12

     Did you find the answer? Look again, at the very first statement, "It is God's will that you should be sanctified..." There is the answer plain and simple. We are called to be sanctified. Sanctification means to be holy or to have the qualities of holiness. In other words, to become more like Jesus. Jesus was dedicated and set apart for God's purpose. We should live the same way; dedicated and set apart. Sanctification is a twofold term, let me explain. When you accept the gift of eternal life, the Holy Spirit comes and takes control of your life, which makes you holy and righteous.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21

"...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Hebrews 10:10)

     I see this first part of sanctification as an instant, miraculous work of the Holy Spirit. Once you accept the gift of salvation you are sanctified. Sanctification doesn't stop there, though. The second part of sanctification is an ongoing process of becoming holy. That is where verses 3b-12 of 1 Thessalonians 4 from above comes in. Paul gives us three ways to be sanctified. These are not just an option, but a command from God.  

     First we see that we are to be sexually pure. Look back to verses 3b-7. I know these days "sex" is a word that is everywhere in the world, but not talked enough about between Christians. By the Christians dodging   "awkward" lessons or talks on sex, teens and young adults are turning to the world's view of sexuality. Honestly, why should we blame the world for sexual sin? We should be pointing our fingers at ourselves, as Christians. Instead of young people hearing the lies of the world that tell them it is cool to have sex before your married, let's tell them the truth of living pure lives! Someone in my college group said, "People use the excuse, 'telling people about Jesus can be awkward,' but awkwardness never killed anybody." The same is true for the subject of sex. Yes, it may be a tad awkward, but it is an essential part of being sanctified. We are to be sexually pure until we are married. Paul also talks about lust. Have you ever committed adultery? When we lust after and man or woman Jesus said we have already committed adultery in our hearts. (Matthew 5:27-28). Now have you ever committed adultery? Now we see God's seriousness about sexual purity. We are a temple of the living God and we should not damage it by sexual impurity. Let me add this, if you have fallen into temptation and have been sexually impure, God will forgive you. God can renew purity if you are willing to turn away from your sin and trust him.  

     The second way we are to be sanctified is by loving others. How many times have we heard this one? It is so easy to say, "I love everyone," but it is another thing to SHOW it. Love is an action. I totally believe that. Let's just take the "good news" or the Gospel for example. We can tell people over and over about the Gospel and share it with people, but if we are not living out the love of Christ in our own lives what would make a lost person want salvation? I am not saying people are not going to get saved by hearing the gospel, because people do! What I am saying, is that when we show the love of God through our actions, people will respond because they see we are different from the world.  

Which brings me to Paul's last way to be sanctified; orderly living. We see in verses 11 and 12 that we are called to live quiet and orderly lives. Paul says that if we do, we will when the respect for outsiders. I am not saying that all lost people are going to like you for being a Christian, because they are not. I am saying that more people will have a respect for you when you do so.

     These are just three points, but they are packed with a challenge. I know God has spoken to me through this passage and I pray He does the same for you.  

This is God's will for you...to be sanctified.  

Love,

Hannah 

Ready for a Radical Change?

Would I really be the strong Christian I think I am if I lived in a different country, where Christians are persecuted? Or would I even be a Christian in the first place? Is my faith true? Is my trust in God greater than all my fears that I have now or could ever have? If I am a so called “disciple of Christ” I need to check myself. My spiritual muscles need to get into training. I need to be pushed to my limits, so I can truly know the power of God. I am living in pure luxury with anything I could ever possibly need or want. Who am I to ever complain or want anything? I need to get off my comfy church pew, and get on the mission field. I want to experience, Jehovah Jireh, “My Provider” like never before. My strength and hope needs to only come from the Lord. He is my Rock. No one or no thing needs to get in the way of the radical movement God wants to make in my life and your life. I want to keep pushing forward in the things of GOD. He is ready to move in me, I just have to take that step of faith. What is holding you back from letting Christ rule over your WHOLE life? Fear? A relationship? Family? Let go of things that ultimately do not matter. We are here to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whatever the cost. Are you ready for God to do some amazing things in your life? Let Him.

Love,

Hannah

God Hears You

  

   You ever feel like you pray the same thing over and over and over again? I know I do. It is tough sometimes to ask for God to reveal something to you in your life and he does not do it, at the exact time you want him to. Our feeble human minds cannot understand, sometimes, that God has a perfect timing for everything. I have learned to become patient in my trials and joyful during mountain top times. We too often think that God is some genie that is going to grant the wishes we desire. No. God lives in you so that HE may be glorified. Why do we have this concept that it is about US on this earth? We were created to worship the God of this universe; not to worry, stress or complain over prayers that we half-heartedly prayed. If you truly want to seek God's face and want to know "his will for your life," there are a couple concepts you have to understand and apply to your life.

     Die to self, and live for him. God has called us to be humble servants, not boastful religious people. I know in my own life there have been times where I just thought, "but Lord, I am better than them." Do not try to lie and say you have never done that. We need to stop pointing out peoples flaws and fix ourselves. Mathew 7:3-5 says, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 you hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." Every time I read the piece of scripture it steps on my toes! I have to daily remind myself that no sin is greater than another. We are ALL sinners and have ALL fallen short of the glory of God. It is by grace and grace alone, that I have been saved. So since we have been given the gift of eternal life, we should be sharing that with others, by serving, with a humble heart. It seems to be that the most humble people I know are, usually, some of the wisest, as well. If Jesus stooped down to wash the disciples’ feet, why shouldn't we do the same thing?

     We also  need to have a satisfied heart. Being where God wants you to be has to be one of the most exhilarating feelings. When I am following Christ with my whole heart, my "problems" begin to slip away. Don't get me wrong there are still trials that I go through even when I am following faithfully; because God said you will have trouble in this life. John 16:33 says. 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” If you are always trying to look for the perfect guy or the perfect girl, or if you are just trying to find pleasure and happiness, stop trying. You will never find sustaining fulfillment until you have surrendered to the calling God has on your life. I am not just talking about "getting saved" or "praying a prayer" or "being baptized." No I am talking about a daily commitment to God. It is a statement of fearlessness to go wherever and do whatever for the Kingdom of God. Do you want to be a little baby for Christ or a warrior for Christ? Christians we have to stop drinking on Spiritual milk, and rise up to responsibility. Stop complaining about the way the church does this or that or about what someone has on. Start telling others about Jesus. Love as Christ loved. Give until you cannot give anymore. When you give yourself a way to God he will bless you with eternal riches that FAR outweigh these earthly pleasures. Only when you become committed to God will your prayers be answered. We have all heard the verse Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of you heart. People have skewed this verse to fit whatever they are going through at the time. I do not think it is saying that "whatever I desire I am going to get." The way I interpret that scripture is that when you are doing the will of God, you are delighting yourself in him. When you delight in God, his desires will be your desires, and your desires will be his desires. There will be no middle ground. You will only want what he wants.

Surrender to him today. It is the best step you will ever take. The first step is the hardest, but it is essential. Grab hold of our Abba Father's hand and let him lead you where he wants to take you.

Hannah Hollis

Let the Spirit Speak!

1 Corinthians 2:4-5 "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

     Why is it that we, as Christians, have the same routine everyday? Go to church, listen to a sermon, sing some songs, and pray a couple times a week. We should not have some comfortable life style that is so routine that we forget about the radical plans God has for us. God wants us to become reliant on His Spirit so that he can move, in power, in our lives. We do not take the time to open God's Word and read it for ourselves. Instead, we just listen to some sermons and just go by what "Baptist," "Church of Christ," "Non-Denominational," or whatever church you go to believe in. Here's an idea, how about you go read bible for yourself, and let the Spirit's power lead you in what you read. 

      In 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about how when he spoke to people God's power was known. When we walk and talk the Christian life, is the Spirit's power being demonstrated so that others can see and know of this saving grace of Christ? We have become too lax in our walk with Christ, and have forgotten that we are called to live Spirit-led lifestyles. That means reading and proclaiming the Word of God. Reading and proclaiming God's Word, sadly, seems to be absent in many people's lives. When we tell others about the truth of HIS Word, the Spirit's power will intercede and people's faith will no longer "rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." 

     This week I have experienced that power more than ever in my life. My week has been full of God's power and divine plan. He allowed me to be a part of leading nine people to Christ this week, nine people! I am not sharing this for my glory, but for God's glory. This goes to show you that if we go somewhere, led by the Spirit, God's power is going to show up and out! This is why it is vital for us, as Christians, to read the Word for ourselves and proclaim it. 

Be Spirit led. Read and Proclaim. God's power will be evident. 

Love,

Hannah 

Patiently Following

     Why is it so tough to be patient? I find myself struggling everyday with this characteristic. Everything in our society is so quick that we rarely have to wait on anything anymore. Whether it is food, Internet, or transportation, everything is convenient. This idea of never having to wait rolls over into our spiritual  life, sadly. We become impatient with waiting on a certain answer from God. We want a quick response to our prayer that was prayed five seconds ago. As Christians, we often get caught up in trying to find our "calling" or "direction" in life. "What is my purpose in life?" or "What is God's will for my life?" These are deep questions that usually are not just a quick response from God. Instead it is a daily shaping, sanctifying, and stimulating process that God has planned for each individual. This process includes but is not limited to reading His Word, praying, sharing the Gospel, fasting, serving, and having Christian fellowship. When we do these things, we are not just sitting around wasting days that God has blessed us with. This process will help us grow so that our ears will be more attentive to God's voice, instead of our own. Our hearts will stop chasing "our desires" and start seeking His desires. That is why is Psalms 37:4 say to "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart," because when you delight yourself in him, your desires become what God intended your desires to be. 

     Proverbs 20:21 says "An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning will not be blessed at the end." Too often, we turn a situation or a person into an "answer from God." I am not taking any credit away from the miraculous powers of Christ, but we seem to grab things to fit them into our plans and end up not having that full blessing that God wanted to pour out on our life. When we wait patiently we will appreciate the rich and full blessing that God will eventually give to us.

     Stop wasting time sitting around and get out and make an impact in the Kingdom! That is God's ultimate will of our life. God is not trying to torture us, he is simply shaping us into the likeness of Him. Let go and let Him take control. 

Be patient. Follow Him.

Patiently Following,

Hannah Hollis

"Take my Life, I Lay it Down"

     I usually don't just write blogs about my own life, but I think it important and helpful to share with you guys what amazing ideas and passions God has laid on my heart. Let me start off by saying God will never leave or  forsake us. WE make a daily decision if we are going to pick up our cross and follow him or if we are going to live for our own selfish desires. His position as The King of kings will remain no matter how far away from God we think we are. It only takes one step to turn around and flee from sinful desires. Let our Abba Father pick you up in his arms and let HIM tell you who you are.
     I fully believe that in order for God to work to the up most in your life, you have to surrender ALL to Him. Surrendering all to Him is not a one time thing; it takes self-discipline. What I mean is this: you have to commit all your plans to God; stay in the Word everyday; and pray without ceasing. I can say that I have nothing holding me back from where God wants to take me and what He wants to do in my life. Saying this, I am overly excited about what God wants to do with me for His glory. Knowing that Christ is the only one the satisfies my heart gives me a peace like no other. In these past couple of months the Lord has been molding my heart to desire only things that give Him glory. He has turned my heart upside down for the lost in this world. I absolutely hate passing up an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus. There is no other purpose in my life than to tell others about Jesus. I am patiently waiting for God to tell me specifically where He wants me.
     I just want to encourage anyone who is "waiting on the Lord" to answer a specific prayer, not just to sit around and do nothing. When we revolve our lives around one request it usually becomes more of a stress or worry which is a sin. Instead, do what God has called us to do and walk through the open doors God gives you to serve Him. When we are serving Him, He will speak to us. The reason is because when we draw near to God, He draws near to us; what a comforting feeling.
     We are called to be witnesses, not just church-goers, not just bible believers, not just money givers; WITNESSES. Christians, it is time to stop saying we are going to do this and that; let's actually GO. We should consider it joy if we face persecution if we are furthering the Kingdom for Jesus Christ.  It is an honor to suffer for Jesus Christ. It is an honor to serve the Most High King. It is an honor to be called a co-heir and conqueror with Christ!

Through these sufferings, you will receive blessings.

Love,
Hannah

We are Aliens

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."
1 Peter 2:11-12


"I am not coming to church because it is just full of a bunch of hypocrites." We have all heard this or maybe have even said it. I have always said this is not true, but is it? I am not saying it is a valid reason to not come to church, because it certainly is not. What I am saying is this...
As Christians we are supposed to look, act, and sound different than those who are not Christians. Can people tell the you are a Christ follower just by how you act at work or at school? If not, than we are not being aliens in this world. If we are acting just like the world then there is a possibility that hypocrisy will creep into our lives. Hypocrisy is defined as he practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to  which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense. In other words it means, saying one thing and doing another. We go to church, we tithe, we will even go on the summer mission trip to Europe, but we go back to work or school and start talking bad about someone. We all have done this at some point. So guess what? We are ALL hypocrites. So how do we stop this problem? We have to check ourselves everyday. We have to ask ourselves, "Is this lining up with what the Lord tells me?" We need to do so because  non-Christians are going to accuse us; like by calling us hypocrites. And when we are doing right they will not be able to accuse us because they will see our good deeds and will HAVE to glorify God! 
So let me simplify all of this. Do not say one thing and do another thing. Act, sound, and look different than the lost world, and live good lives among sinners so that they will have to glorify God. Let's stop giving people the excuse of not coming to church because "the church is full of a bunch of hypocrites." 


Love God. Love others. 
Love yourself!
-Hannah

Filled Up with the Fullness of God

Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

      Is there something inside of you the yearns for more of Christ? Do you want to be filled with the Spirit?  I know, lately, that I have just had something burning inside of me that hungers for a new measure of the Holy Spirit. I want to be "filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." I was driving down the road and I thought, "I want to be rooted and grounded in love!"This scripture, which is a prayer for the Ephesians, is just what I needed to read. I am at a point in my life where it seems like the pressure is on to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. There is no pressure on me though, because I have laid all those pressures on my Heavenly Father. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
     When I let go of the stresses of being a college student my priorities begin to simplify. The reason is because things that seemed so important before are in God's hands and he will take care of them. Since I let go of the "pressures of a college student," I have been longing for a deeper more intimate relationship with my Creator.
So this is what Ephesians 3:16-19 has said to me...
     As Christians we have to let  Christ reign over ALL aspects of our life. You are his creation, he should be able to do whatever he wants with us. We can only give everything to Him when we let the Holy Spirit empower us. If we try to give God our messy plans on our own, it seems that we end up picking our burdens back up, instead of leaving them in his hands. And when I say everything, that even means our weak areas where there is sin. Those weak areas are holding us back from all God wants to do in our lives. That one secret sin that no one else knows about IS hindering you and the fellowship you have with the Holy Spirit and other Christians around you. Once we let him take complete control he lines up our paths like he originally designed it. When the Holy Spirit intercedes in our life, we will "be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

-Hannah

Contentment

     People have always told me, "Be content with God, and then move forward with the next step in your life." But I have come to realize that a person who becomes "content" in their walk with Christ have instead become a religious person who just checks off "religious boxes". The "religious boxes" I am talking about are, going to church, praying, doing your quiet time, and tithing. You know, the basic things you should do when you are a Christian. All of these exercises of faith are wonderful until you turn them into a chore. Contentment seems to make our walk with Christ plateau. We seem to come to a point and say we are a good Christian just to please ourselves. We sometimes do this subconsciously to give us a slight moment of pride and peace. Contentment now becomes something attainable instead of something we are pressing on towards. 
     Contentment can be a dangerous act that can cause us to become fruitless and not passionate about the desire of our Lord. We should never just be content with where we are in our faith. Paul says in Philippians 3:12-14: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." In our Christian walk there is no stopping, we are always pressing on. 
     I am not saying that the Lord cannot satisfy, but we should long for more and more of Him, always. We can be content in our sufferings because we know that Christ is doing a work in our life. That does not mean our walk of Faith has plateaued; instead it means that we have an opportunity to press up the mountain of hardship for a greater glory. "In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."  1 Peter 1:6-7
     We also can be content with God's love for us, because that will never change. If God's love is all we have we can and will make it. His love will satisfy us, even when we feel we have no one in our lives. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them." 1 John 4:16 
     The fulfillment of contentment comes when we daily ask to be sanctified, humbled, and led by the Spirit. Contentment does not mean you stop pressing forward. Contentment is not something that you will reach in this earthly life. Contentment is an eternal goal of gaining God's consuming presence in all aspects of our life. 

Pride

     Pride is an issue that most of us deal with as a Christian. I find us looking at others and comparing our "good works" to theirs. Why does it make us feel better to look at others and see their faults and compare it to our lives? It gives us a moment of pride, but easily fades away. Then we have to keep looking for more flaws in other people to make us look better. STOP doing that! It will never satisfy you.

     When I realized that this was becoming a stumbling block in my walk with Christ, it was tough to admit it to God. Why is that? Because of my pride! I was brought to Galatians 6:4 "But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor." When I first read this verse I thought, "We are only supposed to boast in the Lord." Then I began to dig deeper and I understood that Paul was telling the Church of Galatia to stop looking and comparing your burdens and works to others; line them up with the infallible Word of God. 

     This cut deep when it really sunk in. When I begin to line up my actions in my life with the Word of God, I will be able to boast in myself, because it is the Spirit working through me. We will have comfort in our hearts to know that our lives are approved by God and His word. Wow. So stop comparing your life to other people and start comparing it to the Word of God. His word always stands.