Head in the Clouds

I know a lot of people won’t admit it, and I honestly don’t want to either, but there is a voice in my head that I constantly try to push back. I ignore it and order it to flee, however when the sun says its goodbyes for the day and my head reunites with the pillow after a long day of school, my mind runs away before I can catch it and cage it again.

No, I am not talking about dreams, this is something more harmful than that. I am talking about a weapon God gave me to wield for His kingdom, but instead I have handed it over the enemy to use against me however he pleases. This weapon I am talking about is my imagination.

I believe that a lot of people secretly hope to have an adventure and I’ll be first to admit that. We look at exciting television shows or read thrilling novels where the main character who had a previous dull life is spirited away into a world of adventure where they embark on an epic journey.

Even if we don’t admit it, we hope that one day we ourselves will also be spirited away from our mediocre lives. We want to be thrown into a story, an adventure where we are that one girl or boy who’s not the brightest, or the prettiest, or the bravest but will board an expedition all our own. We, however, don’t see that day coming soon so in the meantime we keep our heads in the clouds.

We squander all the precious time God blessed us with and run fantasies of that life through our minds. This is dangerous and it is a trap I have been tangled in many times.

Instead of focusing on where God has me now, I look to the future when I will be older, wiser, in college, and well on my way to vocational ministry. That however is a terrible place to live for so many reasons:

1.       Tomorrow isn’t promised to me

a.       I could die before I even finish writing this post and all my hope would have been in the future me, not the me God has right now.

2.       I look at that future and forget the fact that that future will take time

a.       A godly woman doesn’t just rise out of bed one day; she is grown. I long to be wiser but that’s not going to happen automatically, I must go through the growing process like everyone else.

3.       I neglect the now

a.       If my mind is always living in two years from now, I am not focusing on the mission field God has placed me in (my home, school, and church).

4.       It sets me up for disappointment

a.       Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

b.      Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

c.       What I dream of is 99% likely not to happen.  That’s a fact I’ve learned the hard way these sixteen years on the earth. To borrow the proverbial term, my life never goes according to plan. (I have found that that is always best.) When I live in a fantasy world, I am always expecting something to happen (like I have the best first day of school) and when it doesn’t I am left in tears.

The last reason I feel is the most important:

5.       These fantasies, even if they’re good things, always focus on me. And I am not the star of the Story

a.       In the words of John the Baptist: John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

In reality, there is a story going on that is more exciting than anything I can make up in my mind or read in a book. It’s His story. The story of Jesus coming down to earth to die for my- our sins. I could live in a fantasy world all day, but would be missing the point of life: Jesus. There is nothing more exciting than living a story where my King is the main character, the hero.

The fact that my head usually lives in the clouds is a good thing. That’s where God wants it. (Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.) He just wants my mind to be on Him because I am His.

Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Music Monday: Born Is The King (It's Christmas)

Time for another Christmas Music Monday! Today's song is Born Is The King (It's Christmas) by Hillsong Worship. This newer Christmas song has really simple lyrics because it is a simple message: Our King was born, so rejoice! That is what a lot of Christmas songs are about: rejoicing. People often don't know or remember why they rejoice during Christmas however this song tells us simply: the King was born! Our Savior has come!

Memory Verse of the Week: Psalm 116:10

Psalm 116:10 (NKJV)
10 I believed, therefore I spoke,

“I am greatly afflicted.”

One of my catch phrases I need to stop saying is "ignore it and it will go away". I try to ignore problems in my life and suppress my feelings so I don't have to deal with them. In this Psalm, the Psalmist was on the verge of death and so he did the only thing he could do: call out to God for help. And God saved him! 

When he was afflicted, he admitted it. I belive this is an important verse to learn because a lot of times Christians will try to pretend like they have no problems because they believe they should be perfect and their lives should be perfect. That is simply not true. It's impossible. The Psalmist  knew he was in trouble, and he shared it with God. This is an example we should follow. 

Music Monday: Ding Dong Merrily on High (The Celebration's Starting)

Thanksgiving is officially over so we can now move to the best time of the year: Christmas! The majority of America looks at Christmas as a time of joy, however a lot of them miss out on why it is so joyful. I don't know why that is because it's literally in the name: CHRISTmas! So for this wonderful month, all of our music Mondays will be featuring Christmas music!

This week's song is Ding Dong Merrily On High (The Celebration's Starting) by Rend Collective. This song is from their new album, Campfire Christmas, and it is my favorite thus far. The beat is just so uplifting and it puts me in the Christmas mood every morning.  I hope it does the same for you as well!

Happy Thanksgiving!

No matter what your thanksgiving looks like, no matter what food is on the table or who sits around you, there is always a reason to give thanks.

 

Psalm 28:7- The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. (ESV)

 

Memory Verse of the Week: 1 Samuel 16:7

The full context of this verse was when God was telling Samuel that He was going to choose a new king. Some verses I feel can be taken out of context but this one is pretty clear cut:

1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)

 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

This verse has popped up in my life recently so I was very excited when Ally suggested it for this week. There are so many situations when people, especially Christians judge someone based on how they look or their outside persona, but this shouldn't be. I notice that a lot of times "Christians" put on a church act, pretending like they love Jesus and we can look up to each other, thinking, "I wish I was like that" when really we couldn't give a hoot about God.

It is a very sticky line when we judge someone, in a positive or negative way, so something I am going to try to pray for is the will power not to label someone instantly, just by what they are showing the world.

Music Monday: Out of Hiding (Father's Song)

God has been teaching me about His love constantly. He is making me truly understand that He LOVES me. Not just a "I died for the world and you're part of it so you can be saved but I don't really like you that much". No. The Maker of Everything in existence loves me, He delights in me, He loves to see me happy! GOD LOVES ME! There is nothing like the love of God in the world. And not only does He love me, He loves you. At the start of tenth grade, I head someone say this: "God loves you because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you..." and it just went on and on.
I feel as if this song just explains God's love as good as we can explain it on Earth. It describes how God feels about us. My prayer for this week is that you will truly believe that God loves you.
The rest of Steffany Gretzinger's new album, The Undoing, is equally as wonderful as this song so I will probably do more music Mondays of those or you can check them out yourself: The Undoing Playlist.

First Day of School

[I was suppose to post this all on Tuesday but I couldn't think of a title and I forgot (just like how I forgot to do a memory verses). Sorry.]

This may all seem random but yesterday was my first day of school. If you read my I'm Back post, you know I was extremely anticipating this day.
... It did not at all go as planned and yesterday and today I reflected on it during school. I hope this will be encouraging to someone out there.
Here are two inserts from my very personal journal (ok, the first one is just something I scribbled on paper):

Insert #1
It's interesting how you can go into a situation with all the faith in the world, knowing that because you prayed, everything will work out in your favor, but in one instant, everything shatters and your perfect day turns into a dark pit. A pit of physical loneliness. That's where I am.
Algebra 2 class surrounded by a group of friends that just so happened to get into a class together. I didn't get into the same class as my best friend, I didn't even get in the same lunch as her [one can say I was a tad bit jelly]. So hear I am, wondering why God didn't answer my prayers but to be honest all I can do is laugh. The situation is so bad its hilarious. So I know that even though I will probably be eating lunch alone today and I want to cry, God is going to still have a good year. I can't wait to look back at this school year and laugh with the joy of the Lord because He is going to do amazing things!


There was a sense of optimism at the end of that. But I has Algebra 2nd period and as the day went on all I wanted to do was cry. In fact, when my mom picked my sister and me up, I did. However thanks to God using amazing people like my friends and family, I had my perspective back for today!

Insert #2
I found out yesterday that I am a major "planner".  I organize exactly how I want my life to go and for some reason whenever what I planed doesn't happen, I am left confused and depressed. It's like, I prayed for something right? So why didn't it happen?
This year I expected to have classes with my friends and not be alone at lunch. That didn't happen and I realized my optimism was limited to my situation and what I thought the future would hold.
But God had other plans, like He always does. Now after a blissful summer learning about Him, I am forced into classes when I barely know a soul and where God truly is my only friend.
The verse Proverbs 16:9 has taken on a totally new meaning for me this past day.

Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

A man’s heart plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.

My heart had been planning out this whole school year and when everything didn't happen the way I thought it should, I was shocked into a state of depression. I honestly thought being around friends would make this the best school year thus far when truly, being in God's will will do that.

And as I am writing this I am sitting alone during lunch with a smile on my face, truly excited to do what God has made me to do.

Sorry this post was so long, I wanted it to be brief, but hey, whatcha gonna do? I pray this will encourage you while we all transfer into the new school year.

Music Monday: The Young and The Brutal

Today is the first day of school for me so I wanted to put out the song I will be listening to all morning: The Young and The Brutal! It's a song by my favorite band: House of Heroes, and the song in some aspects describes my life and is my prayer to God.

I don't want to "sink in a sea of apathy" anymore. God has put me in this suburb with the Xanax teens around me so I can proclaim the gospel to them and show them that Christ brings freedom! I am right where I belong at my High School and so are you. God put you where you are to make a difference, so do just that to the glory of our Father!

Back to School with Ally!

Hi there guys this is Ally!! Summer has finally come to an end for both me and Ashley, but it's okay because I feel this school year will be the best yet, and I believe it's better to start the year out positive! This summer was filled with great memories for me like going I the UK and Ireland, taking a girls trip with my mom, spending time with friends, and most importantly maintaining and strengthening my relationship with God. More now than ever I believe God is an important part of my life, and especially during this school year I know He will be there with me whenever I call on Him, and He will give me peace. I pray all of you will have a great year and continue to check out God's Grace! God bless!!

-Ally :)

"And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." ‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ (AMP)

I'm Back!

I guess I should have announced my summer long hiatus… but I was too lazy to. And that is honestly why I’ve barely posted this summer: laziness. And that is a sin so… I guess I should honestly pray about that.

Anyway school is about to be back so I will once again have a sense of deadlines which means I will once again get blog posts out. Since it is my junior year (the quote unquote “hardest year of the best four years of your life”) I may not be able to do my normal post every Saturday, however I will give my best efforts to have memory verse of the week and  music Monday. Speaking of Music Monday, I will probably be doing a lot more than that. This summer I found a lot of sick bands and songs that I can’t wait to share with all of you, so look forward to see random music up on the blog on any random day!

This summer was the busiest one I’ve ever experienced.

Highlights of my summer:

• Church Camp at Panama Beach Florida
• VBS (I volunteered, didn’t attend. Even though wanted to…)
• My 1^st Mission Trip

And in between all of that I filled my time with church activities. (This is the first summer I can remember my family didn’t go on vacation. Gasp.) Basically I have been totally boxed in from the world. That is both good and bad. Good because I have really gotten stronger in my relationship with God this summer and bad because August 25, the first day of school, is probably going to be a total culture shock for me. But I am looking forward to it!

The last thing I want to share is what God has taught me this summer (or reinforced into my mind):

1. God is enough and He fills me up

• I finally grasped this, a couple of days ago, after an incident with a friend and I have never felt closer to my Heavenly Father! Explaining this is impossible and to be honest, I don’t think anyone can truly understand how God is enough until they go through something and God shows His faithfulness more than ever.

2. He truly does use me

• This summer I was able to meet a lot of really amazing people and from our conversations, or just me listening to them, I realized God is using me. I sin every day and fall so woefully short of His glory but He redeems me and USES me for His kingdom! Seriously, me! It is truly amazing to see how many lives He has touched this summer from someone like me!

3. Pray
Pretty straight forward here. Prayer is one of the most important things in a Christian life and I don’t do it enough.

• This summer three of my friends and I all made prayer journals together and it has changed my life. I will hopefully do a post about the prayer journal soon.

4. Community

• I am totally shy but a lot of people don’t know that because I love people so much (and honestly, I fake confidence sometimes)! I am blessed to live in an area with so many Christians, not just people who go to my church, but all Christians. The Body of Christ is such a blessing and this year I am definitely going to take more advantage of it.

5. God is power

• Looking back at my prayer journal or my normal journal, I see God’s faithfulness and power. It is something that makes me wants to cry tears of joy and laugh out loud because He is SOO powerful and it just blows my small mind!

This summer I am 100% convinced that God has been preparing me for this upcoming school year. There is going to be some crazy faith at my High School and I am so stoked! Stay tuned for more posts coming up soon. I’m back!

Music Monday: Clear the Stage

The song Clear the Stage by Jimmy Needham cut me to the heart. I was not expecting it to impact me in such a way but this song makes me question, what are my idols? Why have I let them become this? And what am I going to do to get God back on the throne of my heart?
The lyrics at the end of this song are truths that I do not hear spoken a lot today:
"Anything I put before my God is an idol
Anything I want with all my heart is an idol
Anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol
Anything that I give all my love is an idol"
Words like that need to be proclaimed to the Church and I hope more people like Jimmy Needham will speak this truth. It is not just a suggestion to put God first in our lives, but a command:
"You shall have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3)

Memory Verse of the Week: Micah 6:8

I have struggled a lot lately with my purpose. Like does God want me to be a missionary and go into different countries, proclaiming the Word? Or does He want me to work at a homeless ministry and spread the Word of Jesus on the streets? There are so many options for ministry but no matter what job I end up with, there is the question of how He wants me to live. Who should I be friends with? How hard should I try in school? What time should I go to bed? There are so many choices and I don't know what He wants from me!
But... There is a simple answer to my dilemma and it is right in His Word.

Micah 6:8 (NKJV)
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?



He spells it out simply in His Word what He wants and the only reason I didn't know was because I wasn't reading it. I may not know exactly what my job will be and I may not have answers to all of my other questions but I know without a doubt that as long as I am walking humbly with Him and doing justly and loving mercy, I am in His will and that is exactly where I need to be.
This is a very important verse to know so you can bring it up whenever you begin to wonder about what God wants. He has already told us.

Music Monday: Nothing is Impossible

I am so sorry I have not posted in like forever! Last week I was in Panama City, Florida for Church Camp. I had no phone, and honestly no time to post anyway. But I am back this week, a little late... Haha! But this is still Music Monday (Tuesday)!


Today's song is Nothing is Impossible by Planetshakers. This song proclaims that with God, we can do anything! If we live by faith then miracles happen and God makes everything possible!

God, Our Example of a Father

A commercial interrupts my YouTube marathon and I quickly skip over it at the five second mark. Ads are all over the websites I visit but I quickly skim over them. The signs are everywhere, yet they are so nonchalant I don’t really notice. If it were May no one could escape the impending holiday. But it’s June, which means Mother’s Day has passed and Father’s Day is here.

If you are reading this blog and reaching for your cell phone to check the date, don’t feel alone. Father’s Day sneaks up on you and before you know it you’re sitting at the dinner table with your dad awkwardly looking at you waiting for his present. Awkward…

It’s not hard to notice that Mother’s Day gets so much hype and Father’s Day just doesn’t. Most Mother’s Day church services praise mothers for sticking with their kids and encourage them to keep doing so. The service for Father’s Day, though, typically urges fathers to step up and stop ignoring their kids and stop slacking.

It seems logical that we should make a big deal out of Mother’s Day; after all we have a commandment to honor our parents. … But parents are plural. We have to honor both of them. So Father’s day should be just as big as Mother’s Day. God definitely believes fathers are important.

God calls Himself our Father:

Psalm 68:5(ESV) Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.

Isaiah 63:16(ESV) For you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name

Romans 8:15(ESV) For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

The word “Abba” in Romans 8 most nearly equivocates to “daddy”. If God wants us to associate Him with our dads we know there must be something cool about the relationship of father and child.

Due to sin that relationship is broken like all other relationships. The only way anyone can experience a perfect father is from the one true Father who sent His Son down to earth to make us His children. On earth, however, we don’t always experience this sacrificial love from our fathers. But despite that, we are called to honor them, just like we do with our mothers. So let’s take a look at what the Biblical dad is. In the Bible a lot of times God explains His characters with the character of a father so we can learn something from those verses.

Fathers should:

Be Compassionate: Psalm 103:13(ESV) As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

Help Us: Deuteronomy 1:29-31(ESV) Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.

Teach in a loving way: Ephesians 6:4(ESV) Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Even if our fathers do not do any of those things we are called to honor and love them. This Father’s Day we shouldn’t drag our dads in a guilt trip, we should uplift them. Yes, they will never beat GOD, but through God, our fathers can be compassionate, help us, and raise us up to love God!
Just like for Mother's day I am posting a video to watch about Father's Day!

Music Monday: Comin' Out

This week's pick is Comin' Out by Jonathan McReynolds.
The feature song talks about coming out of sin to be the person God has called us to be. Jonathan McReynolds' lyrics talk about God pulling us out of the mess we've put ourselves in because we fell into the temptation the devil gave us. God is the only one who can save us and with His triumphant victory on the cross, He already has saved us and is just waiting for us to return to Him.

Memory Verse of the Week: Romans 8:1

As Christians we are saved from our sins through Christ and we are holy and blameless. But from that moment we get saved we don't stop sinning. And if anyone says they don't sin, they don't understand the gospel (1 John 1:8). But that doesn't mean we like sinning. Sometimes we get hit with guilt, but that's not the gospel either. The Holy Spirit doesn't guilt, He convicts. And when you're convicted you shouldn't feel condemned because...

Romans 8:1 (ESV)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

It is a good thing when you get convicted for your sin. However if you start feeling guilty say this verse to yourself and remember you are no longer condemned if you have a Relationship With Jesus.

Music Monday: Take Me to the King

Sarah Reeves did a cover of the song Take Me to the King by Tamela Mann. It is an old song but I still love it! The song is a call to be at God's throne because, as the song says, we are weak. Without God all of us have nothing but with him we have everything. We don't need rules or religion to make us think we are working to God because we can't work to Him. All need, all we have is Jesus.

When We Act Like Doctor Manette: The Armor of God

As a child superheroes were the things to be. There was the classic Superman (who is honestly not one of my favorites) and the super lame Bibleman. I don’t know what your childhood consist of, but mine had Bibleman. If you are not familiar with him, I’ll give you a sneak peek:

The world had Superman, Batman, and the Avengers and the only “superhero” the Christian community had was Bibleman (who may be as bad as Captain Planet). But as I’ve gotten older and learned more about God’s word, I’ve realized that Bibleman had something going. Christians don’t fight physical wars, we have a great spiritual war raging on against principles (not the school kind), powers, rulers of the darkness of the world, and spiritual host of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12).

In this battle against sin, against this evil, and against this temptation that tries to rule us, we need armor. And no, this armor doesn’t include tights (the armor of God is more classy).

Item	Verse	Regular Function	Spiritual Function	Defense or Offense
Belt	Ephesians 6:14- Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth…	Holds everything together so nothing falls	The "Belt of Truth" holds the rest of the armor together. It’s the "Belt of Truth" because if you have lies holding you together, you crumble.	Defense
Breastplate	Ephesians 6:14- …and having put on the breastplate of righteousness…	Protects the chest and heart	The "Breastplate of Righteousness" protects our hearts so they are not destroyed. When our hearts are injured, we are ineffective for God.	Defense
Shoes	Ephesians 6:15-… and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.	Used to run and go places quickly	The shoes ready to give the gospel of peace are used so we can quickly share the gospel to people who need to hear about Jesus.	Defense
Shield	Ephesians 6:16- In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;	Protects the whole body	When you have a "Shield of Faith", nothing can get through.  The shield stops doubt from getting to you and you will not be affected when people try to question your faith.	Defense
Helmet	Ephesians 6:17- …and take the helmet of salvation…	Protects your head and mind	The “Helmet of Salvation" protects your mind from doubts of your salvation. When you have the Helmet, you have the Word sanctified in your head so you will know that salvation is not based on how you preform, but solely on what Jesus did on the cross.	Defense
Sword	Ephesians 6:17- …and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.	Used to fight the enemy	The “Sword of the Spirit” is the Word of God which is the sword you use to fight the enemy and fight temptation. When Jesus was tempted, He even used the Old Testament to resist temptation (Matthew 4:40).	Offense The only offense part in the whole armor of God

 Every part of this armor includes knowing the Word of God. It is our Defense and our Offense. When temptation rises and we want to go back to our old addictions we have to eradicate it.

Example: If you are tempted to steal a 3 Musketeers Bar (the best candy ever) you put God's word up to it: Exodus 20:15- You shall not steal.

 Doctor Manette's shoe maker bench had to be destroyed just like our addictions, and the only way to do that is through God with the help of His Armor. And the only way Christians can use the Armor is if we have God's word marinated in our hearts.

Memory Verse of the Week: Romans 8:38-39

As a child I would stay awake at night horrified of one thing. Not the spooky monsters lurking in my closet or even the thought that a scary bug could be crawling in my bed. One thing haunted my thoughts and tortured me: death. 

But not just death, but what happens after death.

The Bible, however, has assuring words for those thoughts. 

Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This verse assures us that nothing, not even death can separate us from God's love. There never has to be another sleepless night. Memorizing this verse will help vanquish the insane thought that we may not be with Jesus when we die. 

Music Monday: Do Something

"God is good"
"All the time"
"And all the time"
"God is good"
That's a common phrase Christians say and although we believe it, sometimes we look around and honestly wonder, "God, if you are 'good' and perfect then why is there so much pain?!?"
I know I find my self wondering that a lot. But one of the reasons God made us is to do good works that he prepared before time (Ephesians 2:10). We are His hands and feet so we need to DO SOMETHING about the pain in the world.
This song is a perfect anthem for the Christians of the this age to stop complaining about the evil in the world and to start doing something.

When We Act Like Doctor Manette

[If I have gotten any info wrong on the wonderful novel mentioned below, bear with me, I have only read it once and you need to read it more to grasp the whole concept.]


In the novel A Tale of Two Cities there is a character named Doctor Manette and he is thrown in jail for eighteen years, however he was thought to be dead. In Book the First of a Tale of Two Cities, Doctor Manette is “Recalled to Life” because as it turns out, he’s not dead! … Well, he's not physically dead. Mr. Lorry and Doctor Manette’s teenage daughter, Lucie, go to get him from where he is being kept.

Doctor Manette has lost it. When Mr. Lorry and Lucie find him, he doesn’t even call himself Doctor Manette, but the name of the tower he was previously residing in. And to add to all that, all he does day and night is make shoes. Fast forward five years and Dr. M is a normal person living with his daughter safely in another city. However he still keeps his old shoe making bench and tools and he isn’t exactly sure what happened to him the years before. Besides all that, though, he is happy with his daughter.

This is Dickens though, and the book is three hundred something pages long so that’s not the happy ending of Dr. Manette. One night after Charles Darnay marries Dr. Manette ’s daughter, Dr. Manette  relapse or “backslides” as Christians call it. He returns to making shoes for nine whole days. Eventually his friends, Mr. Lorry and Miss Pross have to destroy his shoe maker bench and bury his tools.

You may be wondering why I’ve just summarized a snipped of a Charles Dickens book. Well I’m reading it in English class so this is just like a study guide for me. Just kidding. I am writing about it because in some way I feel like the story of Doctor Manette can be an allegory for Christians. You may be wondering “how?” Or you may already have an idea of what I’m about to say.

Before we were saved and became Christians, we were dead in our trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2:1) just like how Doctor Manette was dead (not physically but mentally, similar to how we’re not physically dead, just spiritually). However, someone came to get us: Jesus. So we are saved from our condition of being dead not because of anything we did, but only because of Jesus.

Jesus brought us from being a crazy dead person and into a family (similar to how Doctor Manette was in a family with his daughter). We no longer need to go back to shoe making or our sinful addictions. Over time we learn that Jesus saves us from our addictions because we are a new creation.

I love how Colossians 3:1-17 talks about us being a new person in Him.

Colossians 3:12-14 (NKJV)

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.  But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

We are called God’s “holy and beloved” so we become something more now that we are made alive in Him. As Christians we are to put on all of the attributes of God. Ephesians 5:1 says we are to be "imitators of God". That doesn’t mean we don’t sin, because we are not God, but we are new creations.

But… something happens… at least it happens to me. I am free from this sin, this thing that’s been a hold over my life for years and suddenly… suddenly I don’t know what to do and I find myself sliding back into the swamp of sin and shame and guilt, wondering what just happened???

The Bible calls this “Backsliding” and it happened to the Israelites time and time again. Just like how Doctor Manette went back to his shoemaking, I go back to my old addiction. So what’s the answer? Lucky for us the beginning of Colossians 3 explains it. Just like Doctor Manette’s shoemaker’s bench had to be destroyed, we have to put sin to death.

Colossians 3:1-7 (NKJV)
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. (Bold added)

But easier said than done right? How do you kill your “members which are on the earth”? Well I have something hopefully encouraging to say: YOU can’t! Encouraged? Let me finish that: YOU can’t, but God will.

And how does He put your sin to death? With a little thing we call the armor of God.

[Stay tuned for the end of "When We Act Like Doctor Manette" which is coming out next week and will feature the Armor of God!]