news flash: you have an enemy

Here are a couple of random pictures from young life camp that I haven't come around to sharing with you yet, I had so much fun there! {More to come!}

I remember when I first became a Christian and I silently imagined to myself a future ahead that would be filled with white picket fences, cupcake parties, endless perfection, along with success without hardly having to do much at all.

Sooner than later the reality of the Christian life struck me and I was able to understand that life as a Christian often meant many different trials and tribulations AND also circumstances that I was often not in favor of. The good news is that all throughout the midst of these hardships, I have Jesus as my anchor, who I can trust is always working for my good. He brings me life and peace that nobody or anything in this world can give me. Also, in the midst of all these trials of my life, Jesus is still going to bless me with amazing things, even though I don't deserve any of them!

Next, I realized I have an enemy. In the beginning of my relationship with Jesus, I wondered why it felt so much like there was someone working against me. Why did it feel like I had to work EXTRA hard just to simply wake up and read my devotional every day? Why did I feel like there was someone telling me I wasn't good enough to be a Christian?

The enemy saw what was forming in my life, and he didn't like it one bit. He saw my weakness as a new follower of Christ as an opportunity for him to attack me with lies and discouragement.

The enemy has hated my relationship with Jesus from the start. 

He has done everything he can to keep me from moving forward, and to discourage me when things aren't going my way.

He has told me lies about myself that were never true.

He makes me focus on where I am, not on how far I've come.

I could go on forever about the things the enemy has done to prevent me from moving forward. But he doesn't deserve that much attention. I'm only telling you all of these things because I think it is important to be aware of how the enemy tries to work in our lives. He whispers lies into our hearts that hurt our souls. He tries to make us settle with what is in front of us instead of trusting God to bless us beyond our wildest dreams. 

Friends, don't be surprised at all with the opposition that you may be facing in your life with your relationship with Jesus. In fact, I'd say get used to it, but NEVER give up. Its never going to go away, but the good news is that the more you fight against it, the stronger you become in Christ. As long as we are seeking God above all else, than the enemy can hardly do anything at all. The enemy can only work in your life if you give him the permission to do so. For example, say the enemy tells you that your not good enough for Gods love, because you have done way too many bad things in comparison to another Christian who you view to be perfect. You choose to believe that lie from the enemy and live a life of misery, instead of living by the truth of what God's word says about you. 

"So you are no longer a slave, but Gods child; and since you are a child, God has also made you an heir."

Galatians 4:7  

The verse about is truth. It says that we are all Gods heirs. This means that we are all viewed the same in Christ and we are all given the same inheritance as children of God. Not one of us is better than the other.

Reflect on that truth today, friend! Stop thinking anything different than what God's word says about you. We reap what we sow. If we sow thoughts of lies, we will reap lives of misery. If we sow thoughts of truth from Gods word, we will reap joyfulness and purpose.

I love you guys!

Love always, Jess

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working for a relationship with God

Here is a picture to begin this post that I took via Instagram yesterday from my new home. God's beautiful sunset. I was amazed by His beauty. It was the perfect way to end to my day. Click here to follow my Instagram adventures!

Work. Work is something we are all familiar with, whether we have a real-life full time job or are a college student. Work can be down-right tiring, and sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances with work where we just want to give up. I can assure you that there were about a million times where I doubted that I would actually graduate college in 4 years. I was so overwhelmed with my circumstances, but at the same time I was determined not give up. Thankfully I am here today to tell you that I thankfully did graduate college in 4 years, and my diploma is in my room right behind me. {PHEW!} I start graduate school in the fall, and as excited as I am about this new experience, I know that it will be a whole new level of work that I will be challenged with. 

Lately, I have been realizing that my relationship with Jesus takes work. It's kind of like a full time job, that is worth every single itsy bitsy penny. My relationship with Jesus is my life, my everything. I'm not just writing this to you all to make myself look like that "perfect Christian," its simply the truth. Jesus is my all, and sometimes I find myself becoming frustrated with the circumstances that I face in maintaining my relationship with Him. Sometimes, I get distracted by whats around me. Sometimes, the greatest enemy I have against Jesus is my own selfish self. "But you could be working on that project right now, instead of spending time with Jesus!" "Spending time with God doesn't REALLY matter, its not like God will love you any less if you don't spend quiet time with Him!" These are some of the thoughts that run through my head a lot of the time. I am learning these are the thoughts I have to fight against, no matter how hard I have to fight. 

I came across a short passage in Jesus Calling that I felt really related to this topic:

"Be willing to fight for this precious time with me. Opposition comes in many forms: your own desire to linger in bed; the evil ones determination to distract you from me, the pressure of family, friends, and your own inner critic to spend time more productively. As you grow in your desire to please Me above all else, you gain strength to resist these opponents."

Maybe your wondering why I am so determined to fight against my own thoughts and spend time with the Lord. Maybe your thinking to yourself: "But its true, God won't love me any less if I don't spend time with Him!" Yes, that is true, but I have learned that our God is a God of relationship. This means that yes He will always love us unconditionally, but if we are not working to maintain our relationship with him and get to know Him better through spending time with Him, we will begin to feel unloved. God will begin to feel distant. It's like when a girl tells her boyfriend she doesn't want to date him anymore. Although he accepts that she wants this to happen between them, he still loves her. He wants to be with her, but since he loves her and wants her to be free to make her own decisions, he lets her go. Their relationship ends and the girl begins to forget everything the two of them ever had, even though the boy is still in love with her.

I am determined to just focus on resting with the Lord this summer, whatever that may take. I am far from perfect, and I know this will take work, but I am looking forward to the journey ahead of me. I have experienced some circumstances this summer where quite frankly I felt like I was in a war zone just getting away from the loudness to spend time with Jesus. Now as I venture off into a more quiet time during my summer, I want to really to to know God on a whole different level.

I love you guys! I hope you have a beautiful day!

Love always, Jess