We were dead in our sins.

Life is busy these days. I find myself defaulting to "survival mode" all too often, just simply trying to make it through these days without a major meltdown or an accidental nap. I quickly find myself living for me. I quickly forget that it's not about me. I forget the truths of the gospel, what has been given to me in Christ... I forget that I owe Him everything.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."

- Ephesians 2:1-3

I was dead. Dead.

Dead in my sins. Following the course of this world, like the rest of mankind. Loving myself, pursuing my own passions and desires. A child of wrath.

But God...

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

- Ephesians 2:4-10

Saved. By grace. Through faith. And even this faith has been given to us. Saved... From what? Saved from ourselves, saved from the wrath of God, who could rightly and justly destroy us the moment we take our first breath. Saved to a new life in Christ. Covered in His blood. Set apart, as holy vessels, for His purposes. For His purposes and not our own.

I memorized most of this passage recently, and thinking on these few verses has been an encouragement and a challenge. I find myself amazed at these truths, and appalled a how quickly I forget them. Life would look so differently if I truly lived in light of these truths each day.

When I'm being yelled at by a customer for something out of my control... I'm quick to complain to coworkers after the fact, quick to think I deserve to be treated a certain way. But I was dead in my sins. It's only by God's grace that I can do any good thing. My heart should be filled with compassion. My words should be seasoned with grace.

When I am tired of writing papers, when school feels pointless... Again, I am quick to complain. Quick to want what I want. But I owe Christ everything. I must be a good steward, even in the little things, because I am representing Him and I must trust in where He has me in each and every moment.

When things change, when I am in the unknown, when life is confusing... I am quick to want the answers, quick to seek a solution and not a Savior. He has been so kind. I deserve nothing, yet He continues to lavish His grace on His children. If I would strive to focus my mind on these truths more and more each moment, life would change drastically. Ladies, let us not forget that we were once dead in our sins.

“You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.”
- Jonathan Edwards

We serve a kind, gracious, patient heavenly Father. But let us not forget how helpless we are apart from Him. Let us no continue in sin because grace abounds, but let that grace be a motivation for us to continue putting off sin and putting on the fruits of the Spirit. Let us be known as ladies with gentle quiet spirits, speech seasoned with grace, and lives that are not our own.

The Pitfall of Perfectionism

I’ve been thinking about perfectionism and idealism a lot lately. Admittedly, I’m not your typical perfectionist. I’m a little messy and unorganized at times, and if you were to watch me clean out my car you’d probably hear me say a few times, “Oh! There that is!” However, in other areas of my life I let perfectionism creep in. A few weeks back I wrote an article about anxiety and how we can often deem it a personality trait rather than see it as the sin that it is. I believe perfectionism can fall into the same assumption. People generally describe perfectionists as “neat”, “organized”, or “particular”. There is nothing wrong with being neat and organized; in fact, Scripture encourages it! When talking about worship/speaking in tongues 1 Corinthians 14:40 says, “But all things should be done decently and in order.” All we do in our lives is worship to someone or something, and as Christians we seek to live lives that worship our King, and our King desires order. The key here is the order He prescribes. Not the order we prefer in our own idealistic world where everyone does the things we want them to do and everything goes our way. This is the pitfall of perfectionism. I find sometimes I can be very zealous about the things that I want. I desire to be a good employee. To work hard. To be appreciated by my coworkers and praised by my supervisor. To be liked by the patients I see. I desire to be a good wife. To accomplish all of the things on my to do list. Dishes washed, laundry folded, floors cleaned, dinner made. I also need to be sure I’m eating at least somewhat healthy and able to workout routinely. I want to be a faithful member of the church. To be there every Sunday, be involved in church functions, serve where I can. You may be thinking, “Well, all of these seem like good, harmless things. What’s the problem?” For the most part, there is no problem with the list above. The problem arises when someone or something interferes with my plan. When my schedule gets rearranged and I don’t get to accomplish the things I intended to accomplish. When the help I anticipated on having doesn’t come through. When I realize I’m not Wonder Woman and can’t do everything on my list in one day. When I work so hard and don’t get the pat on the back that I feel I deserve. It’s then that I allow myself to become frustrated. I selfishly saw the wonderful plan I had for my time and when I didn’t make it there, I had a pity party.  Man, the filthy dross that comes out of my heart! God doesn’t want me to be zealous for what I want, He wants me to be zealous for good works! For his purposes, not my own. To realize the things that come up that prevent me from doing what I had planned, those things are God-ordained. Maybe I won’t be or do everything I had planned; but if I am doing all that I do with my heart, with love for my Savior and love for others, that is what truly matters. So rather than being particular and organized about what I want, I need to be particular about what God asks of me. What does he ask of me? I’ve been chewing on Romans 12:9-13 lately. Here’s what it says:

⁹ Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,  serve the Lord. ¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

This is what He asks of me. Breaking this passage down I’m commanded to love truly and sincerely, focusing on the needs of others. To hate sin and evil. To hold on tightly to what is good and true. He also adds (somehow he knows I already forgot), to love those around me like I would a beloved sibling! This love is not based on what they do for me or how much I love (or hate) to be around them. To show a sincere appreciation and honor to those around me, no praising myself. Also, he tells me not to be lazy. He tells me to let a fire burn within my heart to serve the Lord! He tells me to be enthusiastic about what He has called me to do. When expounding on this passage MacArthur encourages, “Whatever is worth doing in the Christian life is valuable enough to be done with enthusiasm and care.”  He tells me to joyful about the hope I have in Christ. Don’t get antsy when I’m being tried. Be patient. Pray to my Father; in fact, do it on a continual basis! Make sure I’m aware of the needs of my fellow siblings in Christ, be hospitable (when Paul says, “show hospitality” in this passage, it literally means to “pursue the love of strangers”). These are the things I should be focusing on! There is so much here that can be unpacked. If you’ve got a study Bible I would encourage you to get it out and dig through the associated verses listed. When I look at the list above of what I’m called to do, it seems daunting, intimidating and even discouraging; and it is if I planning on doing it in my own strength! I know I can’t do this on my own and that I’ll mess up. Then I’m reminded of grace. That wonderful, marvelous grace of God that forgives and restores. That strengthens and encourages. That saved my soul. I read about Paul and the amazing things he did for the Lord. Paul will be the first to tell you that all that he is an all that he accomplished was only by the grace of God. 1 Corinthians 15:10 says, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” It’s the same grace that he extends to the hearts of other fellow believers. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the grace of my God poured out through His people. He will give us the strength we need to be this kind of Christian.  All that energy I’ve been spending on building my kingdom, let me invest it in His Kingdom. That is something to be particular about. 

With love,

Anna Leigh

Living as Christ.

We all long for something. Whether its longing for the upcoming installment of a favorite movie or book series (e.g. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"), a meal to satisfy the stomach rumbles, a holiday after a weary season, or a certain kind of relationship, longing is an everyday reality.

As Christians, we all long for the coming of our Lord to bring about the completion of the Kingdom of God. Especially in the weariness and uncertainty of this present life, we long for the certain hope and destination that is ours in Christ Jesus. Yet, the reality is that we have not yet entered that promised Rest. We are still journeying forward through the mire and muck of a fallen world.

How do we maintain courage and persevere in walking faithfully in this life before we enter Heaven's Rest? Paul's answer is found in Philippians 1:21, "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." We see here that we not only have a future hope in Christ, but also a present hope.

We are able to endure and persevere with the hope that in the end there will be certain deliverance and victory: to die is gain. This is reason to rejoice! Paul writes, "Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed" (v.19-20). Paul wasn't just referring to his hope to no longer be in physical bondage, as he is under house arrest while writing this letter, but he is also speaking of his ultimate deliverance from a weak creation longing for the perfect heavenly rest (2 Cor. 5:2).

Paul uses triumphant language demonstrating his faith in the certainty of Christ's victory. In Christ's death and resurrection, he defeated the curse of sin (death) and effectively atoned for the sin of all who believe in him. As we are united in Christ, we will never be defeated or can be condemned for the sin he already paid the price for. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, "we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Rom. 8:37). So, that's our future hope of ultimate deliverance, that is sure because of the work of Christ on the Cross.

Our present hope is found in this: Living is Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:9, Paul recognizes that he would rather be at home with the Lord, but that regardless of where he is he knows that his purpose is living to glorify the Lord: "So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him."

We have good work that was created for us by God, and we are strengthened by God's abundant grace to invest the different gifts he has given to us individually in his wisdom (Eph. 2:8-10). If we invest and cultivate skills in any area of our life, we are expecting a certain result. If you want to be a good cook, you read some recipes and learn from the example of an experienced cook. If you want to do well at a sport, you practice and go hard in the games. God tells us that we will "reap what we sow," and that he supplies all that we need to invest and grow in godliness and the Kingdom of God: "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work" (2 Cor. 9:8).

Paul recognizes that, in living and life, he has a fruitful labor given to him by God. He says that living will benefit the Philippians and be used to bring them "progress and joy in the faith" and glory to God (Phil. 1:25-26). This is a labor shared by every believer. God calls us to live lives worthy of the gospel ,wherever we are. Whatever roles you are in: wife, daughter, mom, sister, friend, Church member, student, employee, we have the opportunity to honor God and live lives worthy of the gospel (Phil 1:27). In Christ, our living always has purpose.

Jim Elliot once wrote, "Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living." If we only dwell on the future hope, and neglect the present hope offered in Christ we kill the abundant joy of living for Christ. So, we cry out, "Come, Lord Jesus!" and rejoice in the Lord, while we are still waiting and laboring.