You Have Been Marked For a Purpose

Two years ago today, my life was forever changed. On March 19, 2013 Zachary Teter made his journey home to heaven. As I sit here writing to honor his memory, I can still sharply feel the pain of his loss. Not many days pass that something doesn't remind me of the friend I will only see again in Heaven. I can still clearly remember the train ride back to Lynchburg after Zach's funeral. As I watched the snow fall, I reflected back on his life and the memories we shared. At one point,  a verse read at his funeral invaded into my mind and has planted itself there ever since. The verse I refer to is John 10:10, the inspiration for this blog.

Zach and I had an interesting relationship. We literally grew up together. During our high school and college years, our friendship strengthened. When I came home from college, I always knew that at some point during the break I would see Zach and my two cousins Matthew and Nicole. And I always knew these moments would be a great time. During these times, Zach would often push me out of my comfort zone and convince me to do things I would not normally do or at the very least want to do. One of my favorite examples is one of the last times I saw him. We had all gone line dancing. Normally during the slow songs, we would leave the floor for a break and wait for another line dance to come on. One of last times I went line dancing Zach grabbed me and pulled me onto the floor. I was so annoyed because I wanted a break and I didn't feel like slow dancing. I am now so incredibly thankful he did this because I will treasure that moment with him forever. I never wanted to step put of my comfort zone, but also never regretted the story it gave me to tell. Zach is a major contributing factor to many of my best stories.

During that train ride, I thought about this relationship with Zach and I thought about this verse. I realized sitting on that train, the perfect way to honor his memory. I could let Zach convince me to do one last, crazy thing that was scary, maybe a little dumb, but would leave me with a great story. I decided that I needed a reminder to take chances and not be afraid now that he was no longer here to push me. I decided that I would get a tattoo of the words "Abundant Life."

Now, I fully understand that many people reading this will disagree with this action. They will see a tattoo as a means of scarring my body. They will say that a tattoo is "unchristian." They will tell me that getting a tattoo is a mistake that I will regret in the future. They will tell me that it is trashy. These voices kept me from getting my tattoo for almost two years.

However, throughout the course the past three months I realized that my tattoo would not only serve as memorial to Zach. The words "Abundant Life" would serve as a reminder to live life to the fullest. They would also remind me that God has promised me a life of JOY. In the moments when life seems hopeless and I am overwhelmed beyond reason, I could look at those words and be reminded that those feelings are only for a season. God has promised abundance to those who seek His presence.

A month ago today I finally mustered up enough courage to allow my friend to give me one last good story. Because of space, I decided to get the words "Abundant Life" in Hebrew. The Hebrew characters would remind me of my time in Israel and the closeness I felt to God in that place. This way not only would this mark remind me of God's promises, but it would also remind me to seek His presence.

For those you think that I have made a terrible decision, I respect that opinion. I hesitated for a long time, because I thought that you may be right. That this decision was based too much in emotion to be rational. However, for two years, I could not shake the desire. I have to believe that God had planted this idea and has a purpose. God has marked me to purpose in this life and this tattoo is a physical representation of that. Everyday I look at my wrist and am reminded of the friend I have lost but also of the life I should live in his memory.

Promise within His Presence

At One Community Church we just wrapped a sermon series entitled "Your Greatest Victory." Throughout this series, I have learned that God has promised us victory over our greatest afflictions. This promise of VICTORY is the inspiration for us to have hope even in our hour of greatest despair.

However, there is more to the story...

The last week of this sermon series, during the hour of prayer before the first service, our pastor pointed our attention to John 10:9.

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

Funny how a verse can take on so much meaning in your (my) life and yet you (I) never bother to look at the context of the verse. I had never looked at the preceding verses to fully understand the meaning of what Jesus was communicating in John 10:10. Pastor Paul explained John 10:9 this way: Jesus is the door by which we enter the presence of God.  The death of Jesus on the cross tore the veil that separated us from the presence of God. Because of Jesus Christ, we may freely enter into the presence of our Heavenly father, a privilege that the heroes of the Old Testament rarely knew. Jesus' sacrifice allows us this privilege daily, if we chose it. 

The power of being in the presence of God was something I never really understood. The closest I had ever been to understanding this power was was 6 years ago sitting on a bank outside of my hotel room in Israel. As I sat on this patch of grass, overlooking the sea of Galilee and its surrounding areas, where Jesus walked and performed the miracles of the New Testament, I felt God's presence in a more real way than I had ever experienced. After I returned back to normal life following that trip, I treasured that memory, believing that this type of experience could never be achieved apart from those circumstances. 

That belief could not have been more incorrect. That type of encounter with God is not something I should treasure, it is something I should strive for daily. There is power in the presence of God. It is no coincidence that these two verses are next to each other. John 10:9 reveals that the means to the presence of God is through His Son Jesus Christ. In verse 10, Jesus then promises that He has come to provide an life of abundance. This life of abundance cannot be experienced without first entering the presence of God. We cannot receive the promises of God, without first seeking His presence. 

Now do not misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that if we spend time learning about God and seeking Him, that He he will automatically grant our greatest desires. I have spent the better part of my adult life believing this lie. I believed that if I just read my Bible more, or chose the worship station over the top 40 station on the radio, that God would finally start to give me the life I wanted. THIS IS NOT TRUE!! When you seek the presence of God and truly seek to understand His ways, your perspective changes. When you choose to give God your attention, He changes your desires. 

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: (Psalm 37:4-5 NIV)

God never promises that He will fulfill YOUR desires. He promises that if you commit yourself to His will, He will reveal his desires for you. When His desires become your desires, you get a picture of the abundant life Jesus promises in John 10:10. When you seek his presence, He will show you the direction that leads your life towards abundance. God can see the picture so much better than we can. He knows what is good for us, so much better than we do. I take comfort often in the fact, that God's plans for me are far better than anything I could even hope to imagine. 

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Our desires represent what is temporary. Temporary is all we know, so apart from God, temporary is all we can hope for. God has access to the eternal. That which is eternal is far better than that which is temporary. When we seek God and place our faith in His plan, our desires shift from what WE want to what GOD wants. Our desires shift from something that will be TEMPORARY to something that will be ETERNAL. 

The presence of God not only aligns our heart with the heart of God, it also prepares us for His promises. I firmly believe that God will not deliver on His promises until we are fully ready. We cannot not expect to become prepared apart from God. When I went to college, professors who had been teachers taught me what to expect when I finally stepped into my own classroom. Teachers who knew what was coming, prepared me for what was promised (a teaching career).  God knows what He has promised. He understands what we need to be prepared for what He has promised. When he spend time seeking Him, He is able to prepare us for His promises. 

I will not seek the presence of God as a means to attaining what I want. I will seek the presence of God to discover His promises and receive preparation for what He has planned. 

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. (Proverbs 16:3)