Trading Truth for Lies.

Maybe you say you believe the bible, but are your friends, your own desires, or your culture a stronger influence in your life?

Read below and see if you can relate to any of this…

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” -Romans 1:20-32

Man, it is tough reading Romans sometimes because the truth almost feels like a slap in the face. How quickly we exchange truth for lies. We exchange eternal joys for temporary happiness. We exchange peace and freedom for guilt and bondage. We get it so wrong, and so often. We say we believe and then we do what we want, when we want, how we want...and to be honest...it's time we step our game up and live like we believe.

A lot of us have been jaded by imperfect people who have proclaimed to be Christians and failed us, hurt us, let us down...BUT those people are not our PERFECT GOD. He has not failed you. He has given his life for you and paid the penalty for our sin so that we can have eternal life. We can have freedom. Many of us confuse freedom. We think freedom comes in doing what we want, and often ignoring God. I loved JP's example from Tuesday.

Sure you have the freedom to play the piano. You can walk up to it and start playing all you want, but it is going to sound terrible. In order for it to sound beautiful it takes discipline.

In life we have the freedom to do anything, but we will make it terrible, mess things up, hurt others, and continue to hurt ourselves until we realize that discipline is good for us. God's word, teachings, instruction is good...it makes all things BEAUTIFUL. Maybe you don't believe me...Try it.

Here is another question...

Do you know that you were created in God's image?

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." -Genesis 1:27

All of us are the image bearers of God. Wherever we are, what ever we are doing, we are to reflect that of Christ who created us in HIS IMAGE. The problem comes a lot of times when people don't take the time to KNOW GOD and therefore don't truly know how to REFLECT GOD. So some of us are doing a terrible job of being Christ's ambassadors.

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 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 5:20-21

With our co-workers, family, friends, relationships, breakups, and even with strangers we are to live as Christ ambassadors. We are to be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

"The Gospel doesn’t just reconcile you to God, it regenerates our heart and helps restore others to God. It doesn’t just affect our eternity. It affects how we live each day. We should be living as ambassadors, restoring this world to God."- JP

You say you believe the bible, but are your friends, your own desires, or your culture a stronger influence in your life? Are you going along with what your friends do, or what ever feels good, or what our culture would say is acceptable? Are you living like you believe the bible?

You were created in the image of God...how amazing and humbling is that. He loves you that much. Everything else was created, but we were created in his image and get to have a saving relationship with him! Get to know Him. Be reconciled to Him. Be redeemed. Be restored. Be renewed. And then help others find the freedom in Christ too.

Hosanna- Hillsong United

Praying for you all that we would be a change in this city...for God's kingdom and our good~

www.theporchdallas.com

I'm Not Strong Enough.

STRONG WHEN I AM WEAK

Do you ever have those times when you feel like the hits keep coming? When it rains, it pours? When the storms in life keep coming and you think, “ok Lord I’m not sure how much more I can take”?

Then someone tells you, “When you are weak He is strong”. We hear that and far too often let that go in one ear and out the other without thinking much of this great truth.I can think of many times in my life, and to be honest the past couple weeks have felt like one thing after another keeps happening, and I wonder when I will have just one week of calmness…

Check out this song by Matthew West: Strong Enough <- click for video

As I’ve talked with friends, and heard Todd preach this past Sunday about all that Ann is going through it seemed fitting to share with you about these storms in life. You see more than often we rely on our own strength to get us through the days. We try to control and do things our own, it’s funny how strong and in control we think we are.

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” -1Corinthians 1:25

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the LORD.” -Isaiah 31:1

Finally in times of brokenness we look to God for his will, his strength, his grace, his peace, “God will you do anything to just get me out of this situation, or make this better, or bring this back, or take this pain away…God I can’t do this, I need you.” Oh how the Lord rejoices when we come to him and realize how much we need him.

“Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”– Isaiah 66:2

“But he said to me, “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

I’m not sure why bad things happen, and why sometimes it seems like more than we can bare, but I know my God. I know who he is. I know that he hasn’t promised us an easy road, but he has promised to see us through everything (Isaiah 41:10). Things may not play out how we’d like, but his plan is greater than mine. He is good. He is faithful and I trust him. He is a strong tower, a refuge, when I can’t seem to find my way or have the strength to get through the day (Proverbs 18:10). I believe there will be a day where there is no more crying, no more pain, no more death, and He will make everything new (Revelation 21). I believe that Christ has victory over all, and I can't wait for that day to come, but until then I have to keep an eternal perspective.

Do you believe God is for you? He is. Do you believe he loves you and is there to see you through? He loves you, and you are not alone.

How quickly we forget our SAVIOR. He is all we need. He is our strength, our hope, our trust, our everything. Have you forgotten him? Have you turned to him to help you through the storms of life? He understands your pain. Christ suffered. He is full of compassion and grace. He longs for us to rely on Him. That is why he suffered…a greater suffering than we will ever endure...

Isaiah 53

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 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. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

He understands your suffering. He will get you through the storms in life. The awesome thing is when you see God use those times of suffering later to help others and to comfort them. He redeems all and uses all things for His glory and our good. Believe that.

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. -2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Praying for you all and that you would trust the Lord to see you through~

www.theporchdallas.com

God Unscrambles Eggs.

“God unscrambles eggs….and only God” –Victor Marx

My life has been a scrambled egg for sure. It’s felt like such a mess at times and I’ve wondered when the trials are going to end. For far too long I kept wondering when things would just be smooth, or not feel like a rollercoaster. How long would it be until I felt at peace and true joy?What I didn’t realize is that part of the problem is that I had never dealt with pain from my past, and I had not turned to the Lord for healing, freedom, and grace. There were things I just didn’t want to face or let people know about.

When Victor said, “you can’t live according to the labels people give you” I could totally relate. I have felt stuck and used to believe that I was identified by my divorce and my past. How could people ever see me differently? How could I ever see myself differently?

The truth for me and you is that our identity is in the Bible. It is in Jesus Christ. Not in our past or what we’ve done. You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). You are a child of God…forgiven…free…and in the process of being sanctified.

What just seems too painful to face, and leaves you feeling like you’d rather just not deal with it?

What are you keeping from others because you are afraid of what they would say? Or just afraid to admit?

I had no idea how much of my life was affected by not dealing with things of my past, not healing, not forgiving, and not just bringing everything into the light. In the light…that is where grace is found, that is where healing begins. You see, God never intended your heart to be hard. He never intended us to hide things from each other, and Lord knows we can’t hide it from him. Trust Him. Give him that pain, hurt, or whatever it is that you have in the darkness.

^“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” - 1 Peter 2:9-10

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”- Galatians 5:1

The Healing has Begun – Matthew West : Healing has Begun (Video)

“You have carried the weight of your secret for way too long

Thinking if there is a place called forgiveness you don’t belong

Oh, but freedom can never be found behind those walls

So just let ‘em fall, just let ‘em fall… Whoa oh, the healing has begun (2)

How long has it been since you’ve felt anything but shame?

Child, lift up your eyes ‘cause mercy remembers your name

And those tears you’ve been holding back, let ‘em fall ike rain

Cause today is the day, yeah, today is the day

Whoa oh, the healing has begun (4)

Hallelujah, hallelujah, yeah, whoa

Just life your eyes, lay it down

What once was lost has now been found, whoa oh

There’s a world full of people dying from broken hearts

Holding on to their guilt thinking they fell too far

So don’t be afraid to show ‘em your beautiful scars

Cause they’re the proof, yeah, you’re the proof

Whoa oh, the healing has begun (6)”

Praying for you all and thanking God for bringing me out of the darkness and into his marvelous light…

www.theporchdallas.com

Still Launching...

To my dearest brothers and sisters in Christ~

As I reflect on this weekend my heart is full. LAUNCH 2011 was epic! Staff and volunteers have planned, prepped, and prayed for this weekend for the last year, and it brings me much joy to see what the Lord has done. Our prayers of people getting connected to each other (the Body of Christ) and into deeper relationships with the Lord, and to just have a ton of fun were answered. PRAISE GOD!

I'd love to leave you with this prayer...

Father, thank you. Thank you for showing up and doing more than we could ever do. We can hang some lights, decorate a building, sing songs, speak your Word, even make people laugh, but YOU ALONE SAVE. You alone heal, restore, and bring everlasting life. I pray you get all the glory, honor, and praise. I pray that as we come back to the "real world", we would be changed, be moved, and continue living a life of worship that is glorifying to you. That we would be a light to this world and a change in our city.

I love you Lord and thank you for my friends at The Porch, and an incredible Launch weekend. ~Allyson

Some of my favorite quotes from the weekend:

We can’t help but be moved, be changed, give forgiveness, find freedom, and love others in a way that is selfless and honoring to the Lord.

Our God is a sweet and convicting God...are you ready to deal with me now? We distract ourselves from having to stop and think and deal with our Holy God.

We engage in everything that Dallas offers and not the one thing that matters.

Purpose of singleness is to secure an undistracted relationship with the Lord.

He is not looking for moral conformity, He is looking for personal intimacy. It’s not about doing things to get the guilt off.

When you decide, when you act like He’s real it will cost you. It may be socially awkward. You don’t think it was awkward for Noah building a huge boat? It will cost you but the benefits are greater.

When you are smitten and captivated by the Gospel generosity and forgiveness come because our God is those things.

When the weight of the Gospel falls on you, you feel the stewardship and want to go and tell.

The greatest gift we have, our salvation, came because God denied Jesus’ request of there being any other way.

See your chains, not as a setback, but as an opportunity…like Paul.

When you understand the Gospel, that you don’t deserve it, entitlement goes out the window and you serve others.

www.theporchdallas.com