Our New Identity

Dear friends,

It has been a long time.  I feel guilty that it has been so long since I have shared the glorious lessons and revelations that God has share with me.

My greatest blessing that has occured, is that my social identity has changed.  I am no longer known as Kat Bell, but Kat Moyer.  What a strange thing to think of...in one day, my identity has changed.  How people acknowledge me has changed.  I talked with a few friends of mine yesterday, and we joked about how easy it was to call me Kat Bell...as if it was one word.  Now it is not as easy.  Now we sometimes have to stop and think about who I am now.  It isn't a long reflection for that one, but what about my identity in Christ?

Do people have to stop and think about my new identity, or is it so obvious that it just rolls off their tongues?  Do I live as if I am Harold Moyer's wife, or do I live in a way that people have to stop and ask questions about it?

Am I living a life for Christ in a way that people have to stop and ask whether I am the bride of Christ?  If so, I think it is time to step back and reflect on how I must live in my new identity and not just claim the name.

That is my challenge to not only myself, but also you my dear friends.  It doesn't just stop with a one-time repentence.  Our identity causes us to humble ourselves before God not just daily, but every moment.  It makes us draw close to Him on a regular basis.  It is stepping into a lower state so that God may lift us up.  Our identity is not just a name change, but a life change...a heart change.  Our priorities are different.  Our desires are different.  Our struggles are different.  We stand out in the world because we live in a different identity.  We will go against the flow, but we mustn't turn around and join it.

It is who we are.

I love you all, and I hope to write more in the near future. 

Go Where You Are Sent

Luke 8:34-39 

Verses 38-39  "The man wanted to go with Jesus, but he said, 'Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.'  And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him." 

For years this poor man has lived with a 'multiple personality' disorder.  Day and night in this city of the country of the Gerasenes, a man roamed, naked, rabid, thrashing uncontrollably and terrorizing all the citizens in and around the town.  He had no relief from his agony and torture. 

And along comes Jesus, Son of God, and the demons inside this man tremble before the mighty King.  (who know who they will follow and listen to)  They plead for Jesus to keep from "sending them into the abyss." (verse 31)  So instead, Jesus sends the demons into a herd of pigs nearby, and the man finally has relief and control over his own body. 

In thanksgiving, caught in the moment of emotion, he leaps to Jesus' feet and declares his devotion to his Savior, asking to become like the other disciples that were called and follow Jesus.  (Our turning point toward eternal life)

Yes, Jesus calls him as a disciple and tells him to follow, but not to physically follow.  The man desires to be with Jesus, but Jesus had other plans.  "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." 

How many of us desire to do something that we fell is much greater than where we are at, like travel overseas to witness the salvation of a lost nation?  Or what about speaking to a bike gang or prison and seeing inmates become believers and followers of Jesus?  Wouldn't that set your heart on fire more? 

But what this man was called to do is similar to what we can feel discouraged about, staying home.  Staying in your community.  Sharing the Gospel with our friends and family. 

Last night, during our prayer group, one member passionately prayed for our community and friends that think they are Christian, but are not following Jesus the way he called us to.  They think they have a "get out of Hell free" card.  But that's not what Jesus says will give us salvation.  Our friends and families around us need to have a changed and transformed heart in the image of Christ.  They need to have a desire to follow and become better.  They need to be of the good soil that will take the Words of Christ and soak them in and watch the fruit grow.  We need people called to share in their own homes. 

We are all tools in the hands of the master craftsman.  We need to remain sharpened in the word and fellowship (Proverbs 27:17) and ready for use whenever we are needed. 

Where has God called you to work today?  One day at a time, serve the Lord where you are at and do so with joy.  You are part of God's plan for the spread of the Gospel, and He does not appoint any small tasks. 

I love you all,
In Christ our Savior and our King, I pray for your love to grow all the more in our Lord Jesus Christ.

~John 16:33~ 

Withdraw and Pray

"But when even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.  But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray."  

Luke 5:15-16

For a while I had been going and going and going in life on turbo drive.  I have been constantly thinking and working and pushing my tired body around to get the next thing done or serve this person or catch up in my own personal needs.  I would go to bed exhausted and sleep hard all night just to get up and do it again the next day.  This is my natural, my automatic mode I fall into if I am not careful.

After a while, I felt my heart struggling more.  More things irritated me, and especially during my special time of the month, I would see just the kind of person I tried not to be.  Words from friends and sermons stuck with me, but one was given by a dear friend that really solidified everything:

"Sometimes I am spiritually dehydrated and find no time to drink the living water God so freely gives.  Hydrate or die."  

Jesus would retreat to his Heavenly Father to recharge because he delighted and sought that personal time with God the Father. 

In Heaven, they were one.  Then Jesus and the Father "split" when Jesus came to earth.  He craved that unity.  He ministered to the people here as was his purpose, but his real delight was in God the Father and that one-on-one time. 

He did this to set an example for us as his followers in order to stay strong in the face of sin
and to remember the command, victory, and the course he was instructed to follow. 

The above verses in Luke remind me that it is crucial for me to find some place that I can be alone and pray...read...meditate...spend personal time with my heavenly Daddy.  

Our spirits crave this and need this.  We need the recharge, and Jesus gives us an excellent example to follow.  We need to find places away from people to recharge in Him.  Our quiet times should be uninterrupted just like if we were going on a date or out with a very close friend.  It is rude to pull out our cell phones and text while our attention should be on the person we are spending time with.  Why should this be any different with our Heavenly Father?   Turn the phone off, lock the door, do something that will keep your focus fully on your Father in Heaven.

If this is your desire, please pray with me and be prepared to fight for what you know you need to do to survive:

Dear Father, I want to crave that personal time with you.  I want to desire that unity with you.  Help me make the time to go out to a desolate place and spend sweet time with you in your Word and be hydrated in your Spirit.  Lord God it is only by your power that I can be the person I want to be, the person you call me to be.  Only by your power can I be like your Son.  Please help me Daddy.  I want to be with you. 

I love you all. 

Message in Our Marriage

As I am making the plans for our big day, I have found myself hitting several brick walls. 

When Harold and I started courting, we would go out once a week and have date nights.  Many times he would ask me "What do you want to do?" 

I couldn't give him many answers, because I didn't always know what I wanted to do.  I asked "Whatever you want to do, I'll join you." 

When planning life after college, I never really settled on what I wanted to do.  Not to brag on being selfless, but I didn't give much thought into what I wanted to do with my life.  I didn't have a Peace with anything. 

I came to a point in life where my response was "Whatever God called me to do."  I lived day to day, working where I was at, waiting for God to reveal the next area of life. 

Now that I am preparing for marriage with a wonderful, God-fearing man, I am finding this extremely difficult. 

What do I want? 

I have narrowed down a few big things already...you know...like colors, venues, location of wedding, stuff like that.  But in the details, things that don't always matter to me, I am finding it real hard to make a choice. 

Deep down, what Harold and I really want, is for the message of our marriage to be clear.  It isn't about us being served and honored in this time.  It's about how we are committing to serving God.  It's about our proclamation to everyone that our big day is God's day for us.  Our lives after the ceremony shouldn't be were we start to honor God in our marriage, but our preparation and the day itself should be a proclamation of how great our God is.  Our friendship, courting, and engagement should show it. 

That is what I really want.  I want God to be glorified.  I want the details to be given to Him and let God make our day special.  He has provided already with the abundance of support and help we both have received thus far.  In the planning, Harold and I have found many blessings.  I have no reason to complain or be upset with all that God has provided. 

Our big day is God's big day for us, and reflecting on how Harold and I have been called and drawn to each other is nothing but an act of God.  We are being joined to serve Him together.  Our day should honor that above all. 

Above what I want is what God wants.  He will reveal my heart to me in its time.  He already has, and I know He will be faithful to continue to do so.   

We Don't Deserve Him

 Ever ask the question, why me?

You find yourself in a great job, and you can many times find reasons why you belong in that job.

You see yourself in different hobbies, and you can find reasons why you are good at those hobbies.

What blows our mind is when we come across a good thing, and can't figure out why we got it.

Jesus is that good thing.

We don't deserve Jesus.

Yet Jesus died for us.

Not because of anything we've done.

But only because he loved us.

Why does he love us?

What have I done?

Nothing.

And there is nothing I will ever do to earn that love.

But guess what?  I already have it...

And so can you. 

He is so willing to give.

And you don't have to do a thing.

Blows your mind doesn't it?  It blows mine.

I offer so much of my junk before Jesus,

And he takes it willingly.

He nails it to the cross with Himself.

So I can be pure and blameless in his Father's sight.

All because he loved us.

That's it.

Feel like you can measure up?

You won't.

So save yourself the hardship.

And accept the freedom of knowing...

We don't deserve him. 

You Thrill Me, Lord

"You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done."

 Psalm 92:4 

It is easy to praise God when things are going well for you.  It is VERY easy when God answers a prayer that has been piercing and poking at your heart for years and years.  We are quick to offer praise to God in the good times...and on the other extreme, it is easy to run to God for help in the hard times.

However, we don't naturally think to praise God during those hard times.  We have a hard time finding the rich blessings in life when things aren't always going the way we would want them to.  The last thing I want to say is "You thrill me, Lord" when a parent has passed away, or when I lose my job.

Nothing that extreme even has to happen...I find it hard to say that phrase even after a long day and I am exhausted!  I forget so easily the rich blessings in my life because I will draw toward the discouragement that pulls me from the joy I could have with God.  My vision will gaze onto the waves of life rather than the one who controls the waves.

My request is this...even though my joy right now is great, I know there will be hardships.  I know my heart will not always want to say "You thrill me, Lord."  But, I know that no matter what, the Rock has not moved from my grasp.  The Author of my life has not stopped writing exciting sequences in the plot. 

I pray that the Lord thrills your souls today! 

"I Catch All Your Tears"

"You keep track of all my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book."  

~Psalm 56:8~

Our God is gentle and compassionate to us as His children.  Can you imagine the Creator of the universe, who watches everyone and everything at the SAME time catching YOUR tears when you cry them?  Even Him being aware of our sorrows blows my mind.  He is not just aware of them, but He cares enough to catch each one and save them.  He knows why we cry, and He holds us through all our sorrows. 

He knows it is tough, whatever you are going through:

Whether it be a loss, a growing pain, a hard lesson learned, a broken spirit...whatever the source of your hurt...you can trust that God is there through it all with you, paying close attention to every detail of your life. 

What a God we serve...Thank God for not just being present in the hard times, but being right there with you with His full attention on you.