You are my Rock and onto You I cling

Truly my soul finds rest in God;
   my salvation comes from him.

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
   he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2

One year ago I left for a four month mission trip to Asia and Atlanta. One year ago I thought I understood who God was. One year ago I started to be awakened.

Today, I truly know who God is. Today, I understand grace. Today, I understand love. Today, I understand believing. Today, I’ve experienced condemnation and judgment. And today, I turn to my God and hold fast to my Rock for my salvation comes from Him. 

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10

I am strong. I am firm. I am steadfast.

 

When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever. Proverbs 10:25

I am filled with the Spirit of my Savior. I stand firm forever through all storms and trials.

You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. Matthew 10:22

I will stand firm to the end. Even when I am being criticized and made to feel like a leper, I will hold fast to my God. Even when I am shunned and feel the hurt of a razor blade to my heart, I will stand firm in my Savior. Even when I am accused of being a wolf in sheep's clothing, I will be strong because I am no longer confused. I am no longer lost. I no longer live in the dark. I am in the light with God and no amount of words thrown at me by man will dent my belief in the truth! 

The waves of the world may be crashing around me, BUT nothing will tear my hands off of my rock because I cling to Him!

 

…we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. 1 Corinthians 15:58

…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

Believing: what it truly means

What does believing mean?

Recently I’ve heard it said that Christianity isn’t all about believing, but also Christianity is all about believing. What a conundrum this statement is when said from the stage and the confusion that it causes is unfathomable. When a friend and I started to question this statement I went to the only place that holds the truth…the Word. What I found is a beautiful truth that I feel all should know and understand so I’m going to let the Scripture speak for itself. 

All the prophets testify about him [Jesus] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Acts 10:43

Through him [Jesus] everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the Law of Moses. Acts 13:39

He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household. Acts 16:30-31

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 1 John 5:1

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 5:5

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. Romans 3:22

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. 1 Timothy 4:9-10

Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16

Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:16-18

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. John 3:36

(Jesus) Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. John 5:24

Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I [Jesus] will raise them up at the last day. John 6:40

(Jesus) Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. John 6:47

Whoever believes in me [Jesus], as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:38-39

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:31

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— John 1:12

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16

Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Romans 10:4

After you read the truths of the Scripture what do you think? Is it all about believing or is it more? My mind is made up…I, Ashley Magiera, believe that Christ Jesus came to this Earth, was crucified for the nations sins, and was raised again by the power of our Father. I am washed white as snow by the blood of my Lord Jesus. 

I am a believer!

I have an obese man living inside me

Now this sounds weird I know, but let me explain this very extreme truth about me. 

First off, I have a very lacking prayer life. It is one of my constant struggles in my walk with God. To hinder this bond and relationship I have with God by not speaking to Him and giving Him my heart in this very intimate way is a hard chunk to swallow for me. I am constantly trying to improve on this, but I get lazy. I forget. I can’t think of what to say. I am a procrastinator with prayer. 

Recently while me and one of my friends were talking I told her about this struggle of mine and she told me this: 

‘It’s like a muscle. You have to work it out to make it strong and healthy’ 

This is so incredibly true! Not only prayer, but every area of my walk with Christ is like a muscle. It always has to be worked out and strengthened. The Bible continually talks about running after and striving for Christ.

‘Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ Philippians 3:12-14

‘Stand firm, and you will win life.’ Luke 21:19

‘Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.’ 1 Timothy 4:7-8

‘Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.’ 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

So while sitting on my friends red sofa I came to the realization that I have an obese man living inside my spirit. A man that is lazy, a procrastinator, that sits in front of mindless worldly things and takes in not only large amounts of food, but things of this world. My spirit takes in scripture, church, revelations, conversations, grace, love, mercy…but am I doing anything with it? Am I just letting it sit and stew while I am lazy and delay? 

I must work out my spiritual muscle to be strong, to be healthy, to run the race, and strive for Christ! I must get rid of my obese man and make him rather healthy, active, loving, and taking in as well as pouring out!

The Small Things of Life

A thought provoking question…

What stirs your affections for Christ? What makes you thank the Lord, praise who He is, something that just makes you love Him for all the small things?

-The beauty of God’s creation. A sunset, a sunrise, an endless expanse of stars, a sky full of clouds and sun, the breathtaking beauty of nature. 

-Fellowship and community with my friends. Serving them, listening to them, enjoying their presence. Good conversations.

-Driving through a thunder storm.

-The sky….just in general. In all lights, cloudy or clear, sunny or bright, full of stars or full of moon. I just love staring into the sky. 

Even the small things that seem frivolous and small compared to the bigness of God and who He is. 

-A cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera.

-A deliciously good cup of coffee in the wake of the early morning. 

-GOOD music. 

-The smell of rain, fresh cut grass, and a newly fallen layer of snow.

-Finding pictures in the clouds.

-The randomness of life! 

The list for me can go on and on. As a follower of Christ I believe that once we enter into a true relationship with Him it will be the little things that start to stir our affections for Him. We should be in a constant state of praising and glorifying our Father for who He is and what He has given us. 

‘Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.’ Hebrews 13:15

It isn’t about rushing through life or becoming a slave to time…so just stop, breathe Him in, and praise our Lord and Savior for who He is!

Strive

 ‘Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel…’ Philippians 1:27

Striving: To exert oneself vigorously, try hard, make strenuous effort toward any goal, to struggle vigorously.  

Striving is not only to exert yourself and try hard, but it’s also to STRUGGLE vigorously. When I strive for something it’s a half packed punch with no energy behind it that doesn’t hit the mark and couldn’t even bruise sensitive skin. I give up easily, I get deterred easily, I get frustrated easily, and I get beat down easily by my defeat.

So to strive is already a struggle in itself, but then to strive side by side, in a community, is another struggle for an introvert like me. However, numerous times throughout the Bible God is telling us to live as one body (side by side) 

‘For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.’ 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

‘For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.’ Romans 12:4-5

So as one body we strive together. When one slips we catch them and help them up. When one struggles we listen. When one rejoices we rejoice….

‘Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.’ Romans 12:15-16

This week has been a week of me listening to God. 

-To be intentional with people. To put myself out there and be vulnerable.


-To struggle. Struggling isn’t a bad thing, it is what is needed of us to make it through the swim upstream.

-To build community and fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ. And not just the ones I am comfortable with, but all of them because we are of ONE BODY, ONE MIND, ONE SPIRIT, AND ONE HEART!