The Power of the Written Word

See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed,

but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass,

and the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.

~1 Peter 1:22b-25a

Here we are at the end of another year. 2014 will soon be over and we will be ushering in another calendar year whether we like it or not. ;) May God go with you all as you traverse into the unknown, knowing thtat you are led by a God Who holds your future as a memory. Seek Him and He will be found of you. Don't let failures of the past, present, or future hold you back from doing His will today. And remember that you are salt and light in a dying world. Walk into 2015 with courage, because the Lord God Himself has said He will never leave you or forsake you. "Immanuel" means "God with us", and if God is with us, who can be against us? Nothing shall separate us from His love, and to those who love Him He promises to work all things for their good and His glory. God bless you all.

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Our union with Jesus is the basis for a bond with our fellow Christians. Because that bond is so vital and real, we can live with each other in an intimacy impossible in every other setting.

~Lawrence O. Richards

What makes the difference is not how many times you have been through the Bible, but how many times the Bible that been through you.

~Gispy Smith

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection.‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

~Thomas Paine

To forsake the Lord through persecution is to set time before eternity, to barter heaven for this world's pleasures, to renounce eternal life for a few hours of ease, and to involve ourselves in endless misery rather than endure a stupid jest or a senseless jibe… Like true soldiers may we buckle on our harness and resolve that let the battle rage as it may, through divine grace we will not desert our colors. We prefer death itself to the disgrace of forsaking a cause so true, a doctrine so pure, a Savior so gracious, a Prince so noble, and so worthy of our most loyal service.

~C.H. Spurgeon

There is unwavering peace today when an uncertain tomorrow is trusted to an unchanging God.

~Unknown

It is the nature of this God-given grace to bring distant things close to us: faith looks upon things promised as though they were actually fulfilled. Faith gives a present subsistence to things that are yet future: that is, it realized them to the mind, giving a reality and substantiality to them.

~A.W. Pink (in Elijah)

Do your duty where God has stationed you: plough up the fallow ground and sow the seed, and though there be no fruit in your day, who knows but an Elisha may follow you and do the reaping.

~A.W. Pink (in Elijah)

As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is a mere flattery or platitude. It is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.

~G.K. Chesterton

Don't forget God's blessings in the past or the joys you experienced in the past. There will always be pain to remember; always mistakes we could regret. There will always be scars we wish we didn't inflict. However, don't forget that God upheld you through all of it, and He will never falter in carrying you through everything in the future. God can heal us from our past no matter how discouraging, dark, dreary, or dismal it is....God is infinitely bigger than anything in anyone's past.

~C. McConkey

How long do we stand? We always stand. How long do we pray? We always pray. When do we give up? We never give up.

~Michael Farris

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And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 1:14

Guest Post: Fruit of Grace

Photo Credit

Today I have the privilege to share a post with you written by another very special friend of mine. Carrie-Grace M. is a fourteen-year-old homeschooler, and she gladly accepted the invitation to write for Facing the Waves. Her older brother leads ICBF--our Bible study group--and our families have known each other for about three years now. Thank you, Carrie-Grace, for your enthusiasm in writing this post!

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“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” ~Philippians 1:6

God’s sovereignty in our sanctification is a rather knotty issue among Christian circles. After all, God is the One Who sanctifies us, but once we are saved there is still a working out of our salvation that we have to undertake. Faith is not based on works, yet Christians are commanded to bear fruit for God’s glory. No more can we live to the passions of our flesh, and we are held accountable when we do.

Romans 6 says this: “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

In this post, I wanted to look at the beautiful meshing of God’s sovereign grace and our obligations as Christian men and women. How do work and grace weave together to make one whole?

The answer to this starts in our restored relationship with God.

1. We are children of God
We were once alienated from God, strangers to Him without hope. But now, He calls us His friends. We are His brothers, adopted into His family through blood-ties. Through his death and resurrection, we have died to sin and now live to righteousness. The old is gone, the new has come. Our souls have been ushered into the throne-room of grace to have eternal fellowship with God. We work out our salvation as a gracious privilege, given to us from above. This privilege is not meant to hurt us or hold us back, but to free us to do the works that God has prepared for us. True, it holds us back from sinning, but it frees us from the death-grip of sin.

2. We are slaves of the King
In Philippians 2:7, Paul says that Jesus “took the form of a servant.” The Greek word for servant here literally means, “a bondservant, a slave, one devoted to another to the disregard of one’s personal interests.” Christ disregarded Himself when He came to earth. Instead of imposing on others, He served them with a selfless love. And He commands us to do the same. At the Last Supper, He washed the feet of the disciples to set the example for all believers. “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 3:16-17). We are to use our freedom to serve one another, not as an opportunity for the flesh (Gal. 5:13). Christ paid the ultimate price with His blood to buy us back to Himself.

I was doing an English report for school recently, on a few of the “I AM” statements of Jesus. One of the ones I looked up was “I am the vine, you are the branches (John 15:4).” In John 15:1, Jesus refers to God the Father as the vinedresser. I found an interesting point from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia that said that the vines required the constant care of the vine-dresser in order for the fruit to remain healthy. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). God alone is the One Who makes us fruitful and preserves that fruitfulness. Jesus tells us to abide in Him in order to bear this fruit, for through Him, and only through Him, can we thrive spiritually.

If Christ is the source of our work, then what is the work? Galatians 5:25 says this: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” In the next chapter, it goes into detail about how we are to live according to the Spirit: forgiving one another, bearing one another’s burdens, sowing to the Spirit, etc. John 15:10, 12 say, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love…This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” Jesus declares that our work is to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We do this by putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and obeying the commands in Scripture. This leads to the working out of our salvation.

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13).

This is our calling. This is our mission. The grace of God works in us to this end.

“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. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

His grace toward us is not in vain. On the contrary, we work hard to bear fruit to His glory.

".... it is certain that the Christian does grow in grace.

And though his conflict may be as severe in the last day of his life as in the first moment of conversion, yet he does advance in grace--and all his imperfections and his conflicts within cannot prove that he has not made progress."

~ Charles Spurgeon

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Carrie-Grace M. is a Scripture-memorizing cat-lover living in the Mitten of the USA. During the summer, she participates in the National Bible Bee, and enjoys spending time in Scripture there. She likes drawing, reading, and corresponding with friends in between school studies.  

Coaching through the Transitions

Many coaches are fond of the phrase 'I can't change the wind, but I can adjust the sails.'

Deal with obstacles directly as they arise 

and oftentimes you will find that they add excitement to the journey 

and are rich opportunities for growth.

~Gary Collins

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Name 2 challenging transitions that people often go through at some point in their lives and explain how a coach would help individuals through such transitions. Using those 2 examples, write specifically about what you would do to help someone move on past those transitions.


Transition is a normal part of everyone’s life, but sometimes a coach is able to make those transitions easier for the person. As Collins (2009) says, “life coaching is about improving life” and it is the coach’s job to “[coach] people through transitions and [enable] clients to find more balance in their lives” (pg. 238).

Using Hudson’s Four Phases of Change (Collins, 2009, pg. 243), I could help the client who is struggling to decide on higher education. During Phase 1, the client would list the university options and pros and cons for each place, as well as listing his interests, mission, and passions. In Phase 2, I would be sure to encourage my client’s enthusiasm for learning, and remind him of his commitment and purpose to gaining further education (Collins, 2009). Phase 3 would entail planning for financial and travel resources to attend the university, as well as much time spent in prayer. Action steps and accountability would ensure that my client chose one university. Phase 4 would see the client creating and experimenting with all the travel and financial options, networking to gain contacts with the university and other students, and prioritizing his current life to start university in the near future (Collins, 2009). Each of these phases is important in seeking the will of God for this client, while ensuring their interests and passions are included as they seek higher education.

I would help a person who is having difficulty finding an enjoyable job by using the same four phases. During Phase 1, I would assist and encourage my client in listing his talents, gifts, interests, passions, and values. In Phase 2, the client would re-evaluate his dream and inform his boss about his decision to find a new job in the near future (Collins, 2009). This phase would also include my client creating and sending out resumes to different companies. Phase 3 would entail prayer and seeking the Lord’s will for his life, taking into consideration the mission and passions God has given him. Also, actions steps would be taken to prepare financially and perhaps geographically in order to enter into a better job. Additionally, I would encourage my client to resign from his current job. Phase 4 would see my client moving to a different house (if necessary) and beginning his new job. I would stay in contact with him to make sure he transitions smoothly into his new routine. He would be creating and experimenting with daily schedules, networking with people in the workplace (boss, co-workers, customers), as well as learning to prioritize his other activities around his work schedule (Collins, 2009).

I would make sure to encourage both clients during these types of transitions to seek the Lord’s will through each step, explaining that He directs each individual according to their passions, mission, gifts, and calling in life. It would be my job to come alongside them and provide them with direction, asking powerful questions, and supporting them through prayer.

Reference: 
Collins, G.R. (2009) Christian coaching: Helping others turn potential into reality. (2nd ed.). Colorado Springs, CO: NAV Press. 

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We exist to praise God--to love, honor, and serve him--but coaching might be one of the tools he has allowed us to discover and use to be more effectie in honoring him and ministering to others. Coaching can be used to his glory provided we remember that coaching, including coaching across cultures, is a tool to accomplish greater divine purposes.

~Gary Collins

This was the last assignment I wrote for the Life Coaching discussion posts. Throughout this course I learned much about God, myself, and about what Life Coaching really entails, and as one who has been coached for several years through CollegePlus, I definitely was able to learn and apply some of the principles. And though the assignments I've posted are not representative of all that was taught and learned, I hope they are able to give you a small taste of what coaching really is. Coaching is a work God has called some of us to, whether short-term or long-term. And in coaching others we, as Christians, are given the opportunity to minister and lead others in the paths God has called them to.

God bless you all! 

A Life of Faith

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1

Faith is intangible. You can’t touch it. You can’t see it. Sometimes you can’t even feel it. But faith holds to something. And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three. Faith holds on to hope. You hope for something because you love it, because you want it and desire it. The three are intertwined and cannot be separated. Love holds the three together, but faith cannot be faith without something to hope in.

Abraham went out from his homeland, not knowing where he went, but he hoped in the One who had guided him that far and Who had promised him descendants as numerous as the sand and stars. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:10)

Sarah, the wife of Abraham--though one who laughed at the thought of bearing a child when she was past age--she hoped in God because she judged him faithful who had promised. (Hebrews 11:11) And from her son came the nation of Israel, and later the promised Messiah.

Noah "moved with fear" built an ark because He had faith in the God who said He would flood the entire earth.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

Faith is believing in the existence and presence of something you want. Something that is not yet here, but you see it in the future and you press towards it with all your might. You believe that it available even if that something isn’t yours, yet. Faith is grasping at what you don’t have, but clinging to each little piece of evidence, even if you can’t have the whole of it. Abraham never saw all the descendants that the Lord promised him, though he did see some. He was considered righteous for having faith in that which seemed impossible. He didn't give way to unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he [God] had promised, he was able also to perform.  (Romans 4:20b-21) Sometimes that kind of faith means against hope yet still believing in hope.

Faith is the sheer determination to believe in what you hope for, what you love. The Lord gives the righteous their desires of their heart, and those are the desires you hold fiercely to and love. They are desires you would loathe to give up and that you wrestle in prayer for, yet He does not grant them immediately. Some desires are never fulfilled, yet we know what it is to have faith in them. David's heart's desire was to build a temple for God, but it was not his hope that would be fulfilled, for Solomon would build it. Moses never entered the Promised Land. Faith doesn’t seek out just what is tangible, for then it would never be satisfied. Faith hopes in the unseen and invisible—the future. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18) It clings to promises, desires, and hopes, and does not easily let go. And our hope is ultimately in an unseen victory, and unseen God, and unseen Paradise, all of which show themselves in part, but will only be manifest completely in glory.

In the words of James MacDonald:

God is at work. He assures me of His presence till the promises are fulfilled. I know you may be painfully waiting on God for some promises He's made....Listen, He's working....Stop looking at what you see, and walk by faith in God. He is at work, even when I'm not seeing it.

For it is by faith that you stand. A faith that's yielded in its hope in God. A courageous faith that is on its knees with lifted hands.

Allow your trials, sufferings, and challenges to strengthen your faith and increase your hope in the Lord. Do not grow weary in well doing, even if you don’t see your faith fulfilled, for His sanctification is for your good and His glory, and He will never withhold that which is best for you.