John 10:10
A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
The Apostle Paul told his disciple, Timothy, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” Over and over again in scripture we are given a clear picture of the followers of Christ being emboldened, empowered, battle ready men and women. At the sign of adversity, they did not roll over and play dead; they stood strong in the strength of their Savior and received each beating, harsh accusation, imprisonment, and even death with the abundance of joy they had been promised.
In July of 2011, at 15 years old, I decided to put action to the gifting the Lord has given me. I started a small blog with the hopes of blessing others through the things the Lord had been teaching me. Postings were irregular and the topics were sporadic; from courage and forgiveness, to an allegorical story with gospel themes, but they all revolved around one central theme, the name of the blog.
Give Me Jesus
I wanted to see one thing above all else: Jesus truly treasured in the hearts of all his followers.
One post, in particular, stands out. “I’m Broken, I’m Fed Up and I’m Done with Mediocrity” It was a post written after an attack on my faith from a college professor. I felt as though I was a complete failure as a Christian for not properly standing up for my Lord. Even after spending my whole life in church and all the apologetics conferences and workshops, I had failed to convince the atheist professor to get saved. I left class that evening completely broken. Yet, in my failure, I was reminded of God’s faithfulness in my weakness. Just because I had not persuaded the professor, did not mean I had failed. The enemy put an obstacle in my way and the Lord of Heaven was standing on my side.
We do have an enemy in this world. He is very real and he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking those whom he may devour. However, this enemy has received far too much credit in our battle of this world. Believers have shrunk back for fear of defeat, as I did, for far too long. We know we are frail, but we are not alone. Yes, there is a roaring lion, but there is also the Lion of Judah, and we are His children. Jesus is the one who emboldens his children. We are not frail babies who cannot defend ourselves. We are fully equipped and trained soldiers ready to stand firm in the day of battle.
The heart behind this blog is to embolden believers in Jesus Christ to live in life in Him with an abundance of joy as it can only be experienced through His resurrection power. We cover a wide range of topics, but one thing remains constant, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. With our Savior as our focus, there is no battle too grim, no enemy too mighty, no stronghold too impenetrable. We are the children of the King, sent forth on a high and holy mission and we will prevail by the power of the One who sends us. We stand, not in our own might, but born into a new life in Christ, not as helpless infants, but as soldiers, ambassadors, and sons. The renewed strength will only come as the Word and Spirit of God are allowed to grow us into the maturity of holiness, readiness for battle, and equipping for every good work.
