Lordship

    This week we embarked on a road trip to go camping with another DTS in the mountains. Excited to meet our new speaker, and to go camping with sixty plus other people, I was not completely prepared for what I encountered. Mark Parker was our speaker, and he is about as out of the box as a early fifties man can get. He was not afraid to get in your face, or to jump around, or to blast his music, or to get people interested in dating his sons, but most importantly he is completely out there for God and making him Lord.

   What is lordship and why is it important?
In order to know Jesus as Lord, we first have to know him as Savior. Why do I need to know him as my Savior first? Because, I cannot acknowledge him as Lord when the Holy Spirit is not dwelling in me (1 Corinthians 12:3). What are the differences between knowing Jesus as my Savior and knowing Him as my Lord?

Savior - I believe in Him: - Knowing God and accepting His love - Receiving and feeling that love - Jesus is my world - He died and his blood washed away my sin - He is a redeemer - He loves me

Lord - I will follow Him: - I have experienced/met with God, therefore I respect him - I know Him - He is King and invites me to be a part of his world - He rose again gave me the Holy Spirit - I have been given life and am made holy - I love him

Throughout this week I learned the importance of making Jesus the center of everything in my life, and finding my identity in Him. I opened up to God, and he helped me realize that he was not Lord of my life. For years, I have tried to find my identity in relationships with boys, friends, and family. Being myself had not been an option for me, because I did not think I was good enough. I tried to act like other people to the point that I nearly stole their identity and I lost many relationships as a result. Thank you, God, that is all in the past! During this week, I accepted Jesus as the First Love in my life. He will come before anyone or anything, and I am committed to believing and being present in him.

   Know what I am about to say may sound ridiculous to some of you, but that's okay. At the end of the week, each of us students and whatever staff wanted to join made commitments to God and to each other that could last anywhere from a month, to a year, to several years, keeping it realistic. Some such commitments went along the lines of continuing to work with YWAM, or giving up pop, or supporting an individual financially, or reading the Bible before breakfast, etc. My commitment was a little different. On December 6,2013 I made a promise to God that I would not date for a year, but that I would dedicate this year specifically to knowing him as my First Love and the source of my identity. You can burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all, or do whatever you like, but that's what I am going to do. That is not to say that I will not seek God for any of the other years of my life, but this one is His and no one is going to change my mind.

Thank you for reading!

I would appreciate your prayer as I continue to seek God. If you would like to support me financially please email me at amyt.dr@gmail.com and I can give you details.