It Ain't Over Yet!

Last night after hearing some discouraging news, I opened my bible to the book of Job. When you don't understand what God is doing, this is one of the best books to read in my opinion. So here is the beautiful lesson that I learnt from Job. Job lost everything. In the 30 something years (just a guess) that he had toiled on earth. In just one day it all disappeared. All his material possessions were either stolen or burnt up. Only he and his wife survived, I take it because they are one so when God said, “only don't harm his person,” it included them both. But upon news of this all, the first thing he did was acknowledge God's sovereignty by WORSHIPPING HIM! And as it is written, he did not sin or curse God. As God was confident in Job to be a blameless man, so he proved. His wife, who although wasn't in support was able to recognize him as being a man of integrity. Can God brag on you? My answer right now is no but I'm working on it #grace.

Job's identity did not lie in his wealth or his children or anything he accomplished on earth. If it did, how easy would it have been to curse God? If it did, he probably would've killed himself instead of just lamenting about his life. Instead he recognized that everything he had was from God and was given to him. He was consistent. Like my fave verse (Philippians 4:12-13), he knew what it was to have plenty and he knew what it was to be in need. But in everything he was content because God was his strength. Let me tell you, Job knew the secret. In his tears, he cried out to God. When we submit our lives to God our tears don't fall in vain. He sees and can count every single one.

And as we all know, the story doesn't end that Job lost everything and then died. He was brought into rich fulfillment (Psalm 66:2). The fire came, but did not burn him. The water came, but did not drown him. And in the end we see that he received double what he had lost. “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before" Job 42:10. The Lord blessed his latter great than his former. I know God can do all things. Today is June 1st 2017. We're halfway through the year but it's not over until God says so. Keep the momentum. Stay consistent.

Stay Blessed!!!

Elena Asks.

 

LIFE IS SHORT

Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone! Today I’m going to share with you all the story behind my life motto. If you know me, you’ve heard me say this at least once: LIFE IS SHORT. And truly, it is. I was talking to my girl Nini a couple of weeks ago and it was around 11:30pm. She was basically telling me that I should go to bed since I had work the next day. I usually wake up around 5:30/6:00am so it was a justified suggestion. However, I was up because I was working on my to-do list (cheers to productivity). So my reply to her was this, “LIFE IS SHORT.” And to be honest, that is my reply to a lot of people. Why?? Because it is! There’s not much more to it than that. If I could get a tattoo, that’s what it would say.

Two years ago on this day, I lost my cousin who I’d grown up with and his death hit me hard. Loosing Jonathan was really hard for me for many reasons but also because he was YOUNG. I realized that we often take life for granted when we are young. It’s a cliché but it’s true. I didn’t realize when I woke up Friday morning that I would be hit with news of a death in my family. I was simply living my life, going through the daily routine and all of a sudden nothing made sense anymore. I couldn’t feel, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t understand how someone so young could just take their life and be done with it. It really made me think about how I value my life. I realized that there was so much more I could be doing but I wasn’t simply because I felt like I had time. When it comes to God, the author of time, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (2 Peter 3:8). So the excuse of “when I’m older I will (fill in the blank)” doesn’t work.

James 4:14 says, “ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” We really don’t know how much time we have on earth, let alone what tomorrow holds. Our time is short. And that is really all there is to it. When I was in school, I would pull an all-nighter and be so tired. But then, I would finally get to sleep and a couple weeks later, forget how tired I was. Am I still tired from that overnight study session in the café that I pulled in April? No. But I do remember the bomb grades I got because I worked so hard and felt accomplished. With this perspective, I don’t mind staying up and working on my goals because I know that it will work out in the end. With this mentality that Life Is Short, I understand that procrastination is me taking advantage of God’s mercy and sovereignty. Because I’m assuming I have all the time in this world to be obedient and do what I’m called to. I’m not saying don’t ever sleep, but just realize that you only have a short time here. We don’t know what tomorrow holds. So make the most of it. Pull an all-nighter, go the extra mile, and work hard. You can never regret that. Life is short. What I would regret is dying in the promise. Not doing what I said I would do. I would regret my life coming to an end and realizing I never did that thing that I always said I wanted to do. I would regret taking advantage of the short time I’ve been given to live purposely on this Earth. So the next time you’re looking for an excuse, remember – LIFE IS SHORT.

Side note: I’m preaching to myself because I decided to write this blog instead of sleep even though I totally could’ve justified it because I had a long week!

Stay Blessed!!!

Elena Asks.

Leave The Dead

Today’s message comes from Luke 9 which I encourage you to read on your own time. But you can follow along with Luke 9:51 – 62.

One thing that I’ve always found interesting in the bible is how the elders knew when death was upon them. I believe they were so in tune with their bodies and spirit, that they could somehow sense when death was near and would therefore prepare themselves for it. When they announced that their time of death was near, it wasn’t something instant but could even take up to a couple of years for it to happen. For example, Isaac sent his sons out to prepare a feast before death came to his door. Even more so, the children would often relocate years before their parents died in order to be with them or as it was often referred to "bury their dead." Basically, when it was said of a child that they were going to bury their dead, they were actually going to prepare that loved one to die. Then, after they actually died, the mourning period would typically last 110 days.

So in Luke 9:1-4, Jesus gathers His disciples, gives them all the power and authority and sends them out to preach the gospel. Telling them to bring no food, no clothes, no money and not even a carry-on luggage. Basically bring nothing that would be a distraction or a nuisance to their mission. He makes it clear that “If anyone will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever will save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:23-24). He only wants those who will give up everything to follow Him.

In Luke 9 we read that along the way, Jesus ends up in a Samaritan village and meets a man who claims that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. And he tells Him, I don’t have any mansion here on earth, I don’t even have place to lay my head, are you sure about that?

Then he meets our friend to whom He says “follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  Jesus says to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But you go and preach the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:50-60).

From previously gathered information, we know that his response (read: excuse) for Jesus really means, “I’m not ready yet, give me a couple years, let me get my affairs in order and then I can come and follow you. Maybe then, I would’ve had time to really see if you’re legit.” When Jesus says let the dead bury their own dead He is saying this realizing that the man was not trying to give up everything to follow Jesus. He did not realize that the Son of Man came to save the lives of men and not destroy them (Luke 9:56). The dead are those who are dead in Christ and alive to sin. The ones who haven’t caught the revelation of who Christ is. They are the ones who should be spending months mourning and living in sadness when the saviour of the world is alive and present in their midst.

More often than not, following God means giving up everything. But it also means giving up your pain. Letting the dead bury the dead and gaining life from the One who gives it. When Jesus says the dead should bury the dead, He also means it by saying that those who are dead in spirit shouldn’t stop others from getting life. And to those who have life and know God, they shouldn’t distract themselves with the dead and all the burial rituals that would be taking them away from life with Christ. Let’s not get so distracted by all the stuff around us that we forget that everything else can wait. God will use any measure necessary to grow us, even if it may cause temporary pain (See Job, Judges 3, James 1). No matter what is going on in our lives, we must put it aside for Jesus. Leave the dead and follow the one who gives life and life in abundance. Preach the kingdom of God and don’t ever look back! 

Stay Blessed!!! 

Elena Asks.