I AM RIGHTEOUS.

Yup, Me. Righteous. Not because of anything I've done, but because GOD SAYS I AM.
What a concept?

So...this weekend in Wentzville we did our Bible doctrine talk with Rick Hein. Fascinating! When we were done talking...I was giddy, like literally GIGGLING, with excitement.

We had read Leviticus. (YIKES) and the chapter in Grudem's Bible Doctrine that we had read was on Sin. (I'm gonna really try my hardest to summarize this whole conversation and get carried away typing in my excitement. But I can't promise anything...) Po

So...it's like 10am...we are talking about how because of Adam's sin, we all have a sinful nature. And Rick says, "Ok, who in this room has sinned this morning?" We all raise our hands. And He says, "Ok, Brittney, what have you done?" I was like....."Uhhhh....? Nothing that I can think of EXACTLY....but...I probably have sinned" He asked Josiah the same question and he had the same answer. He then went on to say, OK...it's 10am.....what on earth could you have POSSIBLY done at this hour? You just woke up! WHY do we assume that we have sinned? Is it POSSIBLE for a Christian to go an entire day without sinning?

Here's the problem: we focus so much on the fact that we are sinners, that it sometimes becomes our identity. In the same way, Miss America 2009 may think of herself as unattractive and detestable, and in thinking of herself that way, she becomes unattractive and detestable even though she MAY be one of the most beautiful women on America. A Smart person comes across as stupid if they're always thinking of themselves as stupid.

Christians need to remember we have DIED to sin. That means that we are no longer a slave to it, we are righteous. Yes, we will have sinful thoughts, we DO still have a flesh, but taking those thoughts captive and claiming that we are RIGHTEOUS is the key. Actions always follow identity. We don't believe that we're free from sin because we don't act like we're free from sin.

It IS possible for a Christian to go 24 hours without sinning. We tend to forget that we are DEAD to sin. Meaning, when we are saved, or "born again", our sinful nature dies. Literally....DIES. We are a NEW creation, something totally different. In God's Lavish Grace, Terry Virgo gives this illustration... Powerful stuff.

"You might find yourself arriving from London at Barcelona airport. The captain informs you that the time is now 4pm. You look at your watch and it clearly says 3pm. You have a good watch and it's still working. Why should the pilot say it's 4pm when you watch clearly tells you that it's 3pm? How do you proceed? Do you keep him happy by pretending that you agree that it is 4pm when you really know full well that it is 3pm? Should you try hard to consider that it is 4pm? No. The reality is that in Spain it is 4pm. Spain is in a different time zone to England. They are one hour ahead, so you change your watch to match up with Spain. Similarly, you are no in Christ and are therefore dead to sin. You are living in a different location, so change your thinking! When you moving into a different time zone you change your watch. When you move from Adam into Christ you shift into a new life where you can count yourself dead to sin, because GOD SAYS YOU ARE."

So...yeah....this font is stuck on italic....kinda annoying. OH well...moving on....=)

Anyways, I was totally just overwhelmed and blessed by that conversation with Rick. I think we all were. We spent the weekend handing out free sodas, helping at different events in the community, and setting up for the church service. TWO of the ladies we gave sodas to came to church today. Praise God!

As soon as we got home we met with Dan to discuss our "God's Lavish Grace" book. It was another amazing time of talking through things and better learning how to accept God's free gift of grace to as. As well as learning how to explain it to others.

I'm so thankful that God has placed me here. This weekend, I ALMOST let satan get the best of me....But this verse kept popping into my mind... "I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Psalm 16:8. And I'm CLAIMING that as my own.

OH YEAH...We also went on a prayer walk around the neighborhoods in Wentzville. Dillon and I went together....Chris and Josiah went together...and Rick went alone. We were going to meet back at the car in 30 minutes. and I'm thinking to myself, "PRAY? for 30 minutes? Dude? What am I even going to pray for? I don't know ANY of these people." (WHEN will I LEARN????) So....we start walking, and we pray for the people in this neighborhood, for the existing Christians, for people who have yet to hear, and as we're walking, all I can think about is the kids who just don't KNOW and their parents aren't teaching them about God. And Dillon says, "hey, is there something on your mind, cuz while you were praying, I felt like there was something you needed to pray about" And I was like, "uhh...yeah actually" So we began to pray for the kids. and as we're walking we come across kid toys everywhere, and this family with 4 little boys and the mom is screaming at them and calling them nasty names and the kids repeat it. And my heart began to break for these people. They just don't KNOW what they're missing! We continued to walk praying non-stop for all of these different things that God was placing on our hearts and speaking to us about. And I look at my watch thinking that we had only been walking for like 10 minutes...and we were LATE! It had been over 30 minutes. Again, a huge wake up call regarding God's faithfulness.

Because of this situation (and others) I've decided to take on a new way of thinking when it comes to things that I REALLY don't feel like doing, or when I know I'm going to be doing something that will really stretch me. Instead of worrying about it or getting bummed out, I get EXCITED. Because it seems like the times when I'm like, "Ugh, for REAL? We have to do THAT???" are the times when I'm completely SHOCKED by what God does! You'd think I'd learn!

I'm exhausted from this weekend, but also pumped. I feel like I learned a lot and we also spent SO much time together as a team...and we really bonded. Go us. =)

I'm so excited to see what God has next.

I hope that reading this encourages someone. =)

Romans 6:14 "Sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace."

Hooray!