Posted in General Posts by Emily Waito on 5/21/2012
World Racers... This one's for you.
Ephesians 1: 3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined usfor adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,to the praise of his glory.
You are chosen. The Lord reached into the depths of your heart and stirred something in you; a longing for more of Him. A desperate need to see nations moved for our Lord Jesus Christ, to see healing, revival, and the glory of God be poured out into this earth.
… and Satan HATES that. As you’re preparing for this race Satan is going to do everything in his power to break you, discourage you and pull you down. Don’t be fooled. The power of darkness is very real and very dangerous. But “he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)
In Galatians we are called heirs. We are not slaves but sons and daughters of the most High. (Galatians 4:4-7 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.)
I want you to understand what this means. It doesn’t matter what happens in your family, with your friends, at your job or anything else. What matters is that the spirit of God lives in you and there are truths in your life that will never change, truths such as redemption, forgiveness and grace that has freely been granted to you. We are ambassadors of Christ so let us “Endure hardships like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy:3)
The world could fall apart and yet none of what Christ has granted us would change. Our salvation is sealed and we have been given unprecedented strength and power through Christ Jesus. God does not waste a drop of his saints’ blood. For “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
So LETS GO. We are the body of Christ.
2 Timothy 1:7
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power of love and of self discipline.”
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Posted in General Posts by Emily Waito on 3/11/2012
Well...The time has come for us, as students, to be cramming a whole semesters worth of work into the next couple weeks. I don't know why, but it seems that the end of second semester is so much busier and and so much more stressful than the first. Maybe it's the pressure of finishing yet another crazy year of school, the stress of moving, scrambling to find another summer job or for some.. a career! Yikes!.. no ones want to think about that. More and more of my friends are becoming "professional" students.
I have been able to stay caffeine free my whole university career up until THIS MONTH! This past month has consisted of me cramming school, friends and fundraising. It absolutely BREAKS MY HEART that I have to leave my NCCF (Nipissing/Canadore Christian Fellowship) family here in North Bay and I am trying to cram in every old and new friendship in my short time left while trying to balance school and FUNDRAISING! ($15,500 feel free to donate!)
Needless to say... Many things have dropped on my list of priorities.
# 1 The cleanliness of my bedroom (I can barely see the floor and I'm pretty sure I've worn the same socks more than twice and other articles of clothing without them being washed)
# 2 My diet: I just don't have time to grocery shop. I eat at the cafe a lot and when I'm home I seem to live off pancakes and peanut butter.. or toast and peanut butter. Eventually it might just be peanut butter...
# 3 This is where it gets serious. My time with God...
... Oh how foolish we can be..
Someone once said: "Until you know that life is war, you cannot know what prayer is for."
Ephesians 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
Ephesians goes on to speak about the Armor of God. When you don't spend time in prayer that armor gets stripped away and the enemy is always on the prowl (1 Peter 5:8) The enemey searches, looking for opportunities to tear you down. And I gave him just that. I let my guard down.. and sin slowly but surely started seeping into my life.
And I am so happy that I can say IT BROKE ME. I am so happy that I was NOT okay with that sin seeping into my life. I felt ashamed and heart broken that I had let down MY Savior.. my father.. that I had once again.. hammered that nail deeper into his wrist.
But check this out..
1 Peter 2:24
"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed."
See? Christ has conquered sin for you and me. I am no longer a slave to sin. I have been set free, washed clean, renewed, refined, made new. Through Christ, I am made strong and can stand up against the temptation of sin (1 Corinthians 10:13)
So not only have we been forgiven of our sins... but check this out (God is so good) 2 Corinthians 5:21 "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
Wait.... What? Read that last part over. "So that in Him we (me and you) might become the righteousness of God." THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. COME ON!
Christ washes away all impurities, makes us righteous in the eyes of God and has promised us more than we could ever imagine. Revelations 3:21 says "The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne."
Try and wrap your mind around that.
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Posted in General Posts by Emily Waito on 1/24/2012
God has always been a part of my life. Growing up in a christian home I was constantly being exposed to who God was and how much He loved me. Just like any other christian I've had my fair share of ups and downs. I've praised God and I've also turned my back on Him. If there's one thing I've learned through the years is that God is good and He is there with me until the very end. He has been shaping me through my sufferings, and even through my rebellion.
Being in my last year of University I was constantly worrying about my future. I didn't know where I was going or what I was going to do. Sometimes I questioned who I really was. But God knew.
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will last... "
Isaiah 43: 1 "... Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; YOU ARE MINE."
In the last few months of 2011 God broke me. He took things and people away from me that had become idols in my life. It was beautiful because it was only then that I was able to get a glimpse into His Kingdom. Helen H Lemmel said it perfectly in her Hymn
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
in the light of His glory and grace."
His majesty brought me to me knees. I knew there was no other way to live than to serve and Honor Him. So I started searching missions trip and came across this one. At first I thought it was too much for me to handle. I thought I wasn't strong enough or good enough to do something like this. But then He reminded me...
Philippians 4:13 " I can do everything through Him who gives me strength "
So who am I? I am a daughter of Christ. I have inherited His kingdom and I am ready to share it with the world.
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