Free for what?

1 Peter 2:15-16

(NKJV) "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God."

(ESV) "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God."

Well I must say this verse hit home with me. I am free, you are free, God gave every one of us free will. Once we've surrendered our lives to Christ we have a responsibility to use our freedom in a positive manner. As Paul said, it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me. By choosing to live for Jesus we sacrifice certain things.

I know that I took advantage of God's grace many times in the last few months. You know that feeling when you're in the car on your way to go somewhere, see someone, do something you know isn't going to honor God? It might not necessarily be that you're "sinning", but you know it's probably not the best decision you could make...well I've been there! We all have. You do something even though you know you shouldn't. I sinned knowing God would forgive me the moment I asked him to, and that's exactly what we shouldn't do! Jesus sacrificed everything so we could be free to have relationship with him, not as an excuse for us to do whatever we want whenever we want because we know he'll forgive us. We've been instructed in this verse (1 Peter 2:16) to use our free will to do God's will--how are you going to use your free will?

Now what exactly is God's will? That's a common question and it can actually create a fear in us that inhibits us from moving forward. It's terrifying to take a step forward when you don't even know if you're going the right direction. God speaks to us various ways, but the most reliable avenue of communication is His Word. Instead of just asking God what his will is for you, why don't you start out by looking at what the Bible has to say about it? The two greatest commandments are to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. When you go back to the basics and you do what God's will is for every one of us, he will begin to show you what his more specific will is for you. Ultimately, it's all about relationship.

Judah Smith spoke tonight at United Night at UG, and he talked about how Jesus is the point of everything. Jesus is the manifestation of the glory of God. Sometimes as Christians we try to look beyond Jesus for something that will fill us, satisfy us. We ask for God's presence, his glory, his power, his healing, his attention...but all we should be asking for is his essence. We should be desperate to know God, not only to feel him.

We are free so that we may know him who made us so. God isn't going to force you to love him, he's not going to make you seek him. His desire is that you would want to know him. And that's what I want to be able to say on judgement day, that I sought the heart of the Lord and my deepest desire was to know him. What do you want God to say to you on judgement day?

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

Back to plan A...

I need a plan...the best way to accomplish something is to plan out how you're going to accomplish whatever that thing is you want to accomplish.

I want to go to Hillsong, that's the goal right now. So I need to save at least $10,000 (that's the very minimum) before I leave. I would be leaving in December of 2012. So if I want to be safe I need to be putting aside $1000 a month...LOL

I only say "lol" because that's a lot of money save every month. My income would have to almost double what I was making. And that's another problem...I am currently unemployed. If you know anyone who's hiring let me know. I actually have a couple second interviews this weekend so I'm hoping to have a job by next week! Cross your fingers for me!

So let's say I do get a job next week and I start saving...I don't realistically think I'll be able to put aside $1000 a month. So that means I will have to think of another way to bring in the money. Maybe do a bake sale? I haven't done one of those before...anyone have any ideas on ways to raise money? Oh, by the way, if anyone is interested in learning more about Hillsong International Leadership college you can go to their website:

http://www2.hillsong.com/college/home.asp

I also need to apply to the college, I guess that's kind of an important part of the process. I got accepted once before back in 2008, so I don't think that should be a problem.

Well it's a beautiful day outside, hopefully you can go out and enjoy it! It's been strangely warm this fall so far. But I'll take it. =)

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae

My story. What's yours?

My name is Chelsea Rae Faverty, I'm an abnormal girl who chose to live a very normal life. I let life control me for a good 7 months but I'm ready to change that. The word "testimony" has become over spiritualized, but I am going to share my testimony with you in hopes that you can relate to some part of it and be encouraged. Your testimony is simply your story, and this is mine.

I grew up in a conservative Christian home with two amazing parents and two equally amazing younger brothers. We went to church every Sunday and participated in all the church camp outs, BBQs and Bible studies. I went to a few different private Christian elementary schools but finally settled in at Cascade Christian School. Starting in 7th grade I began to lead worship for chapel each week. Even at the age of 13 I had a real relationship with God. I let him guide me in my decision making and I could feel him near me. I wasn't just one of those kids "going through the motions."

I always had a little bit of a rebellious streak but it started getting worse as I got older. My parents did everything they could to tame that part of me but I always had to learn things the hard way. (Honestly, I think I will always have some hardheadedness in me no matter how old I get.) I got grounded every couple weeks for one thing or another (my parents were really strict), and I started to think about transferring to one of the public schools in the area because I was tired of being known as a goody-goody. I began to get depressed around the age of 16, every day was a roller coaster. Sometimes I could force myself to snap out of it, my dad always told me attitude is a choice, but other times I just felt like dying for no reason at all. My life was great, I had no reason to be so sad. That's something I still struggle with that today, actually. But even with all of theses things going on, I loved God with all of my heart and I always tried to do his will. I went on mission trips, I cut certain friends out of my life if I felt God leading me to, I forgave people who hurt me over and over.

At some point in all my years spent at Cascade I realized I was meant for something more. I don't know the day or the time but it seemed only natural and expected that I should go into vocational ministry. I decided to go to Bible college. Since my junior year I knew I wanted to go to Hillsong International Leadership College in Australia. It's an expensive school of ministry, but I knew that my God was not limited. I idolized Hillsong and once I found out they had a school for ministry I didn't want to go anywhere else. I didn't look at any other schools because that's what I wanted. No exceptions. No plan B.

Well, God works in mysterious ways and I started to get involved in the Jr. High ministry at Puyallup Foursquare Church. The Jr. High pastor there told me about a program called Ministry Institute, put on by Puyallup Foursquare. It was a program focused on raising up the future leaders of the world. You lived in dorms next to the church and you took accredited classes from NW University. Wow! This was the perfect alternative to going across the world and spending thousands of dollars! Just a couple months before the deadline, I applied and got accepted into MI. Turns out I went with plan B.

MI is an incredible program and it changed the way I see God and myself. I don't regret one day I spent in that program. But here's the kicker, Hillsong has been in the back of my mind since I was 17. The desire, urge, tug at my heart strings is still there 4 years later. I took the easy road by doing MI. Close to home, much less expensive, I knew a few people. It wasn't risky at all! And since when does God ask us to play it safe?

Growing up, I had these great dreams of becoming a women's speaker, worship leader, author, song-writer, and yet I was doing nothing to move toward these dreams. I set huge goals and had no plan to reach them. I was waiting for God to get on the loud speaker and tell me exactly what he wanted me to do. That never happened. Eventually, I got tired of feeling like a failure and I decided to stop dreaming big. I stopped holding myself to that higher standard that I've always lived by and I settled for a mediocre life. I got a full time job in sales and lived life like most 21 year olds do. I stopped going to church, stopped reading my Bible, stopped praying. Just worked hard and partied harder.

Now it's 7 months later and I am tired of living this normal life. I used to be so above average, I used to be exceptional. And now I'm normal, average, mediocre--but it's because I'm choosing to be. I know what I'm capable of yet I'm giving it up for what? The freedom to do what I want when I want? To have no accountability, no one telling me how to live? People will always tell you how to live. And you're never really free. There will always be rules, whether they're from man or God. It's time to start dreaming again.

One of my biggest fears is failure. I hate messing up. Whether it's saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, getting fired, starting something and not finishing it, disappointing people. I have let that fear inhibit me my whole life. I am not a risk taker. I would rather play it safe and be positive of the outcome, than take a leap of faith and risk failure. Is that really how I want to live my whole life? Honestly, no, not at all. Big accomplishments require big risks. Risk takers are history makers, and that's who I want to be--a person who makes history.

Who do you want to be? What's your story? Share with me, I'm all ears. My email is chelseafaverty@gmail.com or you can find me on facebook.

Faith.Hope.Love.

Chelsea Rae