Devo for the (future) children: Love yourself, Love God

Dearest, most lovable child of mine,

Today I want to talk to you about love. Not the cheesy idealistic, overrated, but completely enchanting to watch, romance in the movies, but real honest to goodness, I’ll be there for you, unconditional love.

If there is anything I want you to have learned from your father and I is how to love. Not just a special someone, but everyone that you meet. This is something that I know Jesus hopes you understand as well. I hope you are beginning to understand in this stage of life (however old you are) that everyone has worth and value in their life. Due to this, we, as Christians, strive to love and bring out that worth and value in the people we meet and have relationships with (friendships, family, significant others, strangers…etc).

The Bible states that the law of the Old Testament can be summarized into two statements (Love your neighbor as yourself and Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength). These two sentences encompass books and books of the Old Testament -39 to be exact, as well as being a major foundation in the teachings of the Jewish and Muslim religions. By this time in life you’ve probably heard it called the golden rule and is also referenced (through different wording) including the Baha’I faith, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Native Spirituality, etc.

So you’re probably starting to think that this concept must be pretty important right?

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Right.

So what does it mean and how do we go about it?

Well Psalm 139 talks about how we are made in the image of God and how he knit us together in the wombs of our mothers. Joshua ( ) talks about how He has divine plans for us and ( ) talks about how He is preparing the steps for us to take.

This means that everyone who walks on this Earth is here for a reason. Every person who has ever taken a breath was designed by God, and each of those individual’s has a deep, longing desire to be loved, to be noticed, and to be appreciated.  Filling those needs in people is a very simple way to show love. 

This can be done through acts of service (mowing someone’s lawn, listening to their problems, standing up for them at school, or even just sitting by people).

It can be done through words of affirmation (encouragement, telling people compliments about what you like about them, and telling them that they were really good at XYorZ that you saw them do or try to do).

You can also give them gifts, feed them, play with them, help them with their homework, hug them, or write them kind notes. Each of these things falls under God’s commandment to love and value our neighbors and each of these things will help uplift our neighbor’s spirits and help them realize their value in life.

So how does this relate to loving God?

This is one that I struggle with right now (I’m 21 years old and am writing this on June 2^nd, 2014).

See I wish God and I could go out and drink coffee and I could just spend time talking with him about things that are going on in the world and hear Him give little quips of humor and insight.

I wish that God could cuddle me at night or really hug me tight. I often envision Him doing so. I also wish that He and I could dance with me wearing a long flowing dress.

Well this is getting kinda girly, so if you’re a boy this could relate to wanting to play football or video games together. You could envision yourself going on bike-rides or finding frogs with God.

Basically spending quality time together.

However, I’ve found that even imagining myself doing that with God isn’t enough to satisfy my soul. So I read and pray, and mostly spend time reading Biblical fiction, listening to music or drawing my spiritual emotions out to God.

This is something I want you to focus on. The last few ideas are things that I’ve personally found help connect me to God, but I want you to experiment and try to find what makes you feel closer to God…what’s your spiritual personality?

Are you close to God in nature?

When reading about Him?

When singing to Him?

When telling others about Him?

When you do things for others?

When you journal your thoughts?

When you write your own Biblical fiction?

When you pretend you’re a Biblical character?

There aren’t any right or wrong answers to this. As we’ve talked about, God has made each one of us unique and that also relates to how we experience and feel close to God.

If you’re still stuck try to think of what you’d do with your free time and see if you can make it about God.

But never forget, your experiences with God are about being in relationship with Him. Not about what you do or don’t do with Him (so don’t get stuck on rules about reading your Bible this many times a week, or only listening to Christian music, etc –unless it’s how you connect with God and something you feel convicted about.).

He wants to spend time with us and He wants us to do it in a way that makes us happy…He doesn’t want to make us miserable to spend time with Him.

So with the rest of this devotional thought I want you to think back and reflect on the times that you have felt loved by others and a time that you helped love someone else. (Write or remember one story for each).

I also want you to think of your favorite moments with God and try to spend at least one hour this week (or more…as many as you want even….not that it’ll get you out of chores, or school, or homework :P )…doing what you love and devoting that time to God.

And remember, you are loved, you are chosen, you have value, and I am so blessed that you are mine.

With love,

Mom.

Moses and the Mount of [in]Security

In life we see people who have done great things and we assume that they are great people. That it was the people that make the deeds. However, this is not the case...I mean sure they are great people, but they themselves are not GREAT.

I found myself thinking when I was listening to a sermon about conquering insecurity and they were talking about how Moses is generally depicted as the 10 commandments guy or the parting of the Red Sea guy. And yes he was there for those things, but those identifiers belong to God.

The point of the sermon started with Moses' insecurities at the beginning of when God called him and how he needed Aaron's help to fulfill God's plans. But I'm not so sure that his insecurities ever went away.

I can picture Moses walking up Mount Sinai battling insecurities and doubts...you know the same ones that plague you when you have a new idea or are doing something new for God. But I think the thing that helped Moses through, or at least I'd like to think so because it's what has helped me through, is remembering the signs of the past. With Moses' insecurities, God never stopped giving him and the Israelites signs that this was God's will and that God was with him. I think when Moses was going up on the mountain he was thinking back to the burning bush, back to passover, back to the Red Sea, and then to his feasts on Manna...I think as Moses was trusting and being obedient to God, he was turning back to the signs and miracles in his times of insecurities.

And it's the same way with us today.

I think when we are feeling insecure about who God made or more specifically in my case -what He has called us to do. I think we need to keep trusting and obeying and reflect on the times that God has carried us through. The times that God has called us to obey and at the end of the day were a success. Those are our miracles that we can build our faith and security on.

So at the end of the day when you're feeling insecure...look down at your foundation because you better believe that when your foundation is the Lord -there's nothing more secure.

Prayer Drawing -Fear of community.

To me, this picture represents how I feel about community. I really don't know how to express the feelings that led to this picture, but the water droplet that is falling is a tear that comes down from my fear of opening up, to being vulnerable, and being an active part of community.

One of my strengths is the ability to help others open up and to be able to encourage them in what's going on in their life. One of my biggest weaknesses -allowing others to do the same for me.

When I think about doing that in my own life I always struggle with thinking about why the individual would care because it seems like a silly thing to tell them what's going on in my life. I always downsize how much it hurts me because I'm used to keeping things bottled inside. It may seem like I'm strong to keep things together, but it's a weakness in an inability to share what is going on inside of me.

However, I've found that as much as I want to keep things bottled up and hold on to them, I've found that what's in my heart still seems to leak out, just a little, but enough to give me hope that it's the right thing. In the times that I encourage others, and open myself up a little to encourage them, I find that I'm watering a little bit of the dry ground in my life.

So the dry ground represents the community in my life. The little sprout of life shows that it's not because the ground isn't fertile, but because I haven't watered it in my own life. I am trying to learn to water it with tears of happiness and tears of sadness. To let people into my life, into my insecurities, so they can lift me when I'm afraid or broken, and rejoice with me when there are blessings or accomplishments.

I'm learning -or hoping, that with the right community of love around me, I can learn how to open up and let other people help cultivate my life.

I hope that maybe my experience might give you the strength to do the same. Perhaps your issue isn't with community and opening up in general, maybe there's some small area that you're afraid to open up to others about, or opening up to God. You're holding on to your pain so tight that you're not allowing life to come out of your experience. Perhaps together we can learn to let go of our pain and just see what happens in our lives.

With the hope of having the strength to be "weak",
Kate

Prayer Drawing -Rocks of my faith

This was done during a period of silence from God. This picture is very symbolic as each thing represents the rocks of my faith that I hold on to when God doesn't seem as present as He normally does. The crosses obviously represent Christ as the rock of my salvation, and the mountain represents the upward battle of following Him. The pile of rocks represent the 12 stones that the Israelites took out of the Jordan River as reminders of the things that God had done for them. To me, this makes me remember the times that God has moved in my life -from the way that I met Robert, to my experience in the river, and the little things that God does throughout the week. And the gems on the ground represent the scriptures that give me comfort. I've always called the lesser known scriptures -the ones that aren't the overused "cliches"- the gems of the Bible. 

Throughout the time that I was working on this I really felt a connection to God even when I couldn't feel His presence or hear anything from Him. It's a reminder that when I don't understand the present and I don't know what's going to happen in the future, I can always lean on the past and know that God has been there for me and because He has I know He always will.

So I would urge you to think about what you set as the rocks of your faith. Try to reflect on it during your "mountain top" experiences when everything seems crystal clear and then write it down so you can remember it and encourage yourself when things don't seem to be going the way that you want them to. When you don't hear God and you don't know what He's doing...or when you're being attacked in your faith. 

Or even if you're not in a mountain top experience, try to think back to the things that God has done in your life, when He's made Himself known to you and try to remember the reactions that you had to that. Remember that God is the same today as He was then. He is the great I AM and if He's not blessing you, He's probably teaching you. 

Trust Him because above everything else, He's loving you.

Kate.

Prayer drawing: The hands of God and Adam.

          This is the first of my spiritual prayer drawings (yes I drew this!). This may be something a lot of you guys know about, but something I just learned about, and I really like it. I have found that there has been real power in the times that I am spending thinking about God and just letting my spirit pray.
          The other thing that I really like about it and what made me first try it when it was explained to me, is that it brings a new perspective to prayer. Instead of bringing a to-do list to God...it gets you praying about different things -more abstract things.


       This week I found myself thinking about how God reaches out to God and how I reach back to Him. This was really easy as it was Easter time...the ultimate God reaching out to mankind story. However, things began to get even more personal as the week went on....it was as if my week was following this reaching out theme.

       I have another post about how I'm going on a God-date with Robert. This is because God personally reached into my life and wants to celebrate my efforts as a wife and how I've stood by Robert's side during some hard times last semester. But God wants to celebrate something in my life. How crazy is that! It's a new way that I get to experience God. It's so cute. And it really brings me to look at God in a new way. It's not about rules and doing things. God wants a relationship with us, and like a parent, He wants to be celebrating our successes with us. God wants to be in on our community -in our life...not just us always striving for His... :)

        The next little story that I have has to do with one of my friend here at the college. We were having a random devotional life chat date and as usual God just blessed us with wonderful conversation. We were talking about where we were at with God and we were in the same place. We were both talking about how it seemed that God wasn't talking to us at the moment and how it didn't seem like we fit into the tradition explanations to why God was speaking to us (these generally are sin or that we weren't obedient to the last thing God called us to do).

         As we were talking we began to gain a new perspective on the situation. That perhaps it wasn't anything that we were doing wrong, but that we were just walking silently, side-by-side with the Lord, like two lovers who are completely content in the moment, just breathing it in. It's like when you get to that point in a relationship when you don't need to fill in the silences. When there aren't any directions needed for the future, no discipline needed -and you're just able to be content in each other's presence.

       So this week I would say that I've just gained some new perspectives on who God is and how He wants to relate in our lives. In a world where we are always being told we aren't enough...even in churches we are always being told the next spiritual thing to work on (listen to God, how to pray, etc) God is saying....just being with me is enough. Just spend time with me....no gimmicks, no three step plan to hear my voice, just simply spending time with me in relationship....it's taking it back to it's simplicity.

      I think we live in a world where we try to complicate and twist things. In America, we live in a society that says whoever is the most busy is the most important. We idolize church goers who volunteer for everything as the standard to live up to. But really, our relationship with God isn't about how much we tithe, how many hours a week we spend at church, or how much we are out there doing things for God....those are all missing the point.
 
       In any other relationship, it's not about how much we pay someone, how many hours we running errands for them...it's about spending time communicating with them...getting to know them...the heart to hearts. That's what God wants...He wants our lives to be a constant heart to heart with Him....so why are we complicating things?

Devotional on trust and intimacy (2-25-13)

Lately, God has really been teaching me and growing me internally.

When the semester started I really felt like God was saying: this semester is you and Me. Growth time.

And it has been. It is currently midterm week of my Junior year and looking back on it I've grown SO much internally.

• I have learned to embrace friendships and actually be a part of them instead of having one sided relationships. (for anyone who knows me now, I'm really good at letting people talk to me about their problems and I'll give advice, but before this semester, I would never put forth MY problems. Yea, I would say things that related to them, but never what I was struggling with now. 
• I currently have my very first VP. This stands for vulnerability partner. Right around Valentine's Day I asked one of my best friends to be my vulnerability partner and be my guinea pig as I learn how to share and open up about myself. This has proved to be one of the best things in my life because I've noticed that as I share with her, it becomes easier to share with others. 
• I am learning to fight for relationships and healing. I'm struggling to hold on to a friendship right now and struggling to be a part of this relationship for a different reason than the others. And I'm finding it hard to hold on to the friendship that God wants us to have because of the pain that we've encountered over the summer. And I'm struggling to learn to give up that pain and to trust someone who's bruised my trust (with the right motives). So that's some growth in progress.
• I've learned that trust is a choice. I was praying about a relationship I'm developing with one of my I guess you'd say mentor? and I was struggling about being involved and how I felt about it and whether or not it was safe and as I was praying I heard God say, "Do you trust her?" and my response was I could. He didn't like that answer and He replied, "Trust is a choice- do you trust her?" and in that moment, I made a huge decision for me. I decided, yes, I'm all in. She already means too much for me to lose the small bit that we have, so yes, I trust her. And in that moment I just felt such peace and happiness that only comes from when I KNOW I'm following God and His path. 
• One of the other things that has happened this semester is a trip to the past. I had a meeting with my old Sunday night youth group leader about hearing God's word and how you know it's from God. Spirit talk if you will. And as we sat there and talked for three hours about our lives and experiences we've had with the ways God has talked to us, it made us both realize how far I'd come. I used to meet at her house Wednesday mornings and chat with some girls from youth group....well I didn't do much talking. I wasn't able to open up and really be involved, and these three hours really showed how far I'd come.
• The other thing that I did was branch out into more friendships. I asked people that I kinda wanted to be friends with, but didn't know if they wanted to be friends with me. If you're a girl or an introvert, or anything like me at all, you know the feelings I mean...the awkward insecurity. And I really mean awkward because when I don't know where I stand in a relationship, I'm very awkward. BUT I did it! and we had a marvelous time -get this- talking about introversion and how it makes things awkward and we bonded over our mutual introversion. And hey, I know some people question how two introverts can be friends, but hopefully we'll make it work, and even if it doesn't, I'm rejoicing in this accomplishment.

And this is just the beginning. I know I have more to grow and stuff to learn -including wisdom- but I wanted to share with you these inner parts of me, so that way when I get where I am going, it will be a reminder to me and knowledge to you of the awkward, introvert with intimacy and trust issues that I started out as and a testimony to God of the person that I will become. 

Blessings,

Kate

God's in control

I have been learning lately that there is a purpose and meaning for everything that I do. Everything that God calls me to do, or not do, is completely for the glory of who He is, and everything shows itself to perfect harvest in His times.

Recently I have not felt close to God, but He was allowing me to refocus my life and decide my routine and whether or not I would allow Him to be the focus of my school year, rather than my academics. (which if any of you know me, is completely backwards from my personality. I have once studied 12 hours straight for one test...) so the fact that my goal is no longer a 4.0 in school is crazy to me.

No longer am I going to study for long periods of time, just to appease my text anxiety. Instead, I will read and study and be confident in my understanding of the material, and trust that God will bless this.

This is because God has plans that are BIGGER than my school. BIGGER than my academics. BIGGER than my visions of my path.

Academics is my way to control my future, and I need to give that control up. Personally, with what God has called me to do, I don't need straight As -as long as I feel I have learned the material (and those of you who are naturally bad test takers like myself understand).

God is in control of my path because my path is His path.
I need to live in that. ^

Growing and living,
Kate

God's moving

This post isn't an update of our lives exactly, but rather an affirmation for someone that God is moving! He is doing big things, and not just through Robert and I. Big things are happening all over the place. Big things are in place, the Spirit is preparing people for a revolution, a Revival. Big things are going to happen in Big ways and in small ways.

Just know that God wants to move in you in a Big way. He wants you to see Him and get to know Him, and this, though seemingly small, Is a BIG thing! IT's life being consumed by Him. Letting Him guide you and caress you at night saying, "I will take care of you, go to sleep my child."

It's God saying, "This is how I want to work through you."

It's God speaking. To us. Now. In this place.

Wherever you are. God wants to speak to you. Maybe not in a grand open up the sky way, but in a still sweet voice that says, "you are my beloved, come spend time with me and let me take care of the desires and anxieties of your heart. I am here for you, just be with me and I'll take care of everything. The holes that you're feeling -I can take care of them. The insecurities that you have- I can get rid of them. The friends that you need -I can provide them. The love that you desire and were made for? -That's me."

It's this that makes our relationship with God soo vital and important. He doesn't want you to do things for Him. He doesn't want you to read your Bible out of duty, but because you desire to know Him better. He doesn't want you to pray so you can feel like a good Christian, but because you want to connect with your Father. He doesn't want you to love others and your enemies because it's a commandment, but because He wants you to understand how to love like Him. How to be like Him! -to be able to understand Him more and come into a fuller understanding of intimacy with Him!

He wants you! and He's willing to move in your life. You only need to surrender what's holding you back. The things that are distracting you, that you're trying to fill your holes with. You just need to be as you are and trust that HE will provide and heal you! Let Him come into the holes of your life. To make you WHOLE and HOLY. That's His PROMISE for you TODAY! Come to Him! Love Him.

with love and passion,
Kate

A little dab 'll do ya.

This is a phrase I heard a lot growing up, and I'm sure you have to. It was generally said in reference to how much shampoo or toothpaste I would use. Today God used it to describe something so much more serious than that, sin or separation from God.

This morning (at 6:15am) God woke me up because He had something He wanted me to know, and apparently this is the only time I'd listen. But I'm going to be honest here, I haven't been acting the way I should in my new relationship with God -the whole being thing. On the scale of my old life I was fine, but I want something more, and God knew I needed help with that.

So this morning, again, I opened up to 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. I honestly have been going back to that passage a lot, and I think it's an important part of my new walk with Christ (mostly because He showed it to me). Anyways, God told me this morning that I have been holding resentment towards Him for having me get rid of my clothes. And it's true...not about all of my clothes, just the new ones I got that I was super excited about, but I'm learning that those aren't important, and aren't to be my focus.

Anyways, back to the resentment. Part of me was not ok with giving away my clothes -not fully. It was a huge thing to ask, and I was having a hard time just being with God after that because I didn't know what crazy thing God was going to ask me to do next. (and this-giving away all my clothes- is the big thing for me -for you it could be your music collection -or coffee, just to put it into perspective)

I have been focusing on what God will ask me to do, instead of who God is asking me to be. And these past few days have definitely not been as exciting without the saturation of His presence. But He couldn't saturate me as long as I was holding Him at arms length. He wanted to comfort me and be with me, but I was putting Him in time-out until I figured out how to handle the situation.

You see, a little dab of yeast -the yeast of my old self- permeating my bread caused separation between me and God. Just a little heart hint of resentment. Not enough for me to fully realize it, but enough to do the job -causing me to have a little rebellion from God.

Just a little dab 'll do ya.

Just a little yeast caused me to be away from my God. I don't want that to happen again. I don't try to say that I'm perfect at this lifestyle -this whole being in God and in His presence focusing on Him. Obviously, I'm not. However, I am excited about the possibility of the unleavened bread relationship. The one without any yeast, and that makes it worth it.

Being saturated in God is so worth it, and ANYTHING that takes me away from that is not worth my time.

-Kate Nowak

I serve a greater God!

I'm so excited that I serve a God who is active in my life and wants to know me! There is nothing in this world that could make me happier than to know that the God who is in control of everything, who made everything, and to whom nature obeys wants to know me personally!

In fact, He has already taken the time to get to know me personally. Yes, God knows everything, but He still chooses to be in intimate relationship to me. He knows everything about me, when I sleep when I'm awake! It's such a blessing and I'm honored that my God moves!

God is working so much in Robert and my life and I am amazed at how real of a God we have. We have the God who's presence moves in our lives. We have a God who stirs our hearts and gives us passions, who satisfies our every need!

We have a God who is greater than all circumstances because He created the universe in which they appear. He is greater than all our troubles and chaos because He is greater than time itself!

OUR GOD IS GREATER!

and it's about time I treat Him like it. I'm no longer putting my God in a little box with the little actions I think He will take in my life. I'm no longer expecting nothing to happen in my life because I KNOW I serve a living God who is greater than my imagination tenfold could ever dream!

And my God wants to be an active part of my life...and my God can't doesn't want to be a small part. He wants to be my everything! And I know as I surrender everything to Him, He is going to take me on adventures that I can barely fathom!

I hope you'll step into the Big journey that God has planned for you, as I am!
It's exciting and worth every step. :)

Love and excitement,
Kate

The new batch relationship!

Titus 3:7 "so that having been justified by His grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life".

This is the goal that God wants for each and every single one of us. It's what He wants from me! You see this verse is part of a bigger passage: Titus 3:4-7. This passage talks about what God did for us when He died on the cross. It's about His sacrifice as Savior, so we can have relationship with God. It's about His desire for you and I to become heirs with Him!

It's about having the Holy Spirit and being in relationship with God! He wants us to be intimate with Him.

Which brings me to the second verse God brought me to: 1 Corinthians 5:8, "Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old yeast, or with the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." With this verse, God was bringing me back to what He'd been teaching me. You see, everything He had me do, geting rid of my clothes and going in the river was an outward example of this.

It's a big symbol of the new relationship I have in Christ.

He wants us each to have this kind of relationship. The relationship that we have in Him because of what He did for us. It's no longer about religion or sacrifices, it's about a Holy relationship with our Heavenly Father!

It's about being with Christ so that everything in our life that does not line up with God is gone. He wants us to live a new life. Coming to the feasts (or times when we celebrate the Father) as a new person, living in the new relationship He paved the way for.

Testimony towards Intimacy

Today God directed me to 1 John 5:9, "If we accept the testimony of men, God's testimony is greater, because it is God's testimony that He has given about His Son."

To be honest, I didn't really look at it to contextually, but that's because God gave me something specific from it.

You see. I love Stephen Manley's sermons about intimacy with God. He has been focusing his study on it his whole life...and you can tell. He's the guy who spoke at Brown City camp last week and if you haven't looked him up -you need to!

Anyways...with this verse, God told me that with how much I have grasped onto the concept from Stephen Manley -how much more will I grasp onto actual intimacy and the words that God has given me? He has sooo much more planned for me than just hearing about intimacy. -He wants me to experience it!

^Can't complain about that one! In fact, I'm rejoicing! There is nothing that would make me happier than intimacy with the God who knows every detail about me. He knows me better than I know myself -and still He wants me to be close to Him!?! It's amazing!

We are talking about the Guy who created the universe. The greatest Deity that struck down nations with one man. That makes the impossible possible. The GREAT God who created me! and who thinks of me as one of His crowning achievements...yea, it's that God who wants intimacy with me!

How can I keep from singing, when this is the relationship of the new covenant. This is the purpose of Jesus' divine death -a relationship with me.

It's beautiful guys. Simply beautiful!

BE ready

Titus 3:1 states "be ready for every good work". Be ready. It's about being. Being in relationship with God and letting Him mold you. You be. He does. When you are focused on God fully surrendered to Him, you are then ready for good works. Doing stems from being. You can't do to become. You must be then do. That's why Jesus' ministry started with Baptism. It started with being. It started with the pouring of the spirit and being in relationship with God. The time for His ministry came when He surrendered and the spirit was poured on Him. When He was in relation as a man with the Spirit of His God the Father, who is our father. And we have the same spirit. So just as Jesus needed to be to do, so must we follow His example. Be in intimate relation with God and He will do through you.

Free from sin

Good morning my friends! God is soo good. He reminded me this morning that hey you don't need to sin today. You are free from sin. No longer a slave because I became the master over sin. I defeated sin on the cross. I was the perfect blood sacrifice that shook the bondage of sin and freed every person who believes in me from sin.

It is through Jesus that we will come to know no sin. If we choose.

 Think about it. We are the only thing that is making us sin. Well what about the devil? HE has NO POWER over you! That's why he can only tempt. He can't make you do anything. He has no control over you when you are in the Hands of God!

You are the only thing keeping you from the perfect relationship in Christ. When Christ was on earth He was fully man. FULLY Man. Just like you and I. Jesus paved the way for us to become righteous. We need only focus on God.

Don't focus on not sinning. If you try to do it in your will, you will fail. It's not about your will power. Or your power to do. It's about your diligence to be. It's about how much you love God. The more you love God and get in an intimate relationship with Him, the less you will sin. It's not a natural reaction to sin when you're in a relationship with Him.

I don't know about you, but this a freeing thought!

1 John 3:5 "Jesus came to earth to be the sins of the world and in Him there is no sin".
John 1:29 "look the lamb of God who took away the sins of the world."
2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that through Him we might become the righteousness of God"

Old yeast vs. New batch

God has been bringing me back to this one passage: 1 Corinthians 5:7 "Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, since you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed." 

In the verse the old yeast is referring to the ways of the flesh, or different sins that plague our lives and keep us from fully surrendering and being the individuals that God desires for us to be. 

The cleaning out the old yeast required diligence and thorough searching -as the Jews would have done in ridding their house of leavened bread before the passover meal.

God wants you to search your heart for what is keeping you from fully surrendering to God and He wants you to throw it away -never to come back to it again, so you can become NEW and PLEASING to Him!

This isn't a purposeless call. It isn't some rule that we have to follow. It's for our sake. God's wants us to not live in sin, but to live in Him. God wants us to be a new creation -a new batch of bread. But He won't force us to. Instead He wants us to realize that being like Him is the best thing in the world and willfully surrender.

He wants US to throw out old yeast -so we can experience the fullness of being new!