What Price Tag Have You Put On Jesus?

We all set "mental" price tags on the things we have because everything has its own value. The "price tags" we set show how much the things are worth to us. The more we spend time on something probably means it is worth more than the things we spend less time on. But the most important question you should ask yourself is, what price tag have you put on Jesus?

It has always been easy for me to say that I love God and would do anything for him.

Easy, until the day he asked me to let go of something that meant the world to me. One by one, he asked me to let go of things that I had truly desired and planned to do. They were all tests to see how far I would be willing to sacrifice for God.

At this time, I thought I was ready to give Jesus everything that I had, until he finally asked me to let go of the last thing that meant the most to me. At that moment I told God, "I'm sorry, I can't do it. Why would you ask for something that means so much to me?"

It was a devastating moment because it was in that moment when I realized I had put a price tag on Jesus; and that price tag was limited to my very own selfish desire. Yes, Jesus was worth a lot to me, but not worth more than the very thing he asked me to let go.

But as I was praying and crying to Jesus for help, I realized one truth that penetrated in my heart:

Jesus placed a high price tag on me - His life. 

He was willing to give up himself and everything he had for you and me. 

The day Jesus was crucified on the cross was the day he paid the price for your salvation through sacrificing his own life. You were that worth it to him. He was willing to give up anything so that you would be saved and have eternal life. But how about you? How much is Jesus worth to you?

1 John 3:16 says, "We know what real love is because Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters." If we are asked to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters, how much more should we give up our lives to Jesus, who gave up his own life to us?

You should give Jesus everything you have because he gave up everything he had for you. Jesus wants all of you because he gave up all of himself for you. It's only when you surrender your life to him when you can rise up and accomplish his purpose in your life; his beautiful and perfect will for you (Romans 12:2). 

God will never do anything to harm you. Everything that he asks is meant to glorify him and bless you. Abraham is a perfect example in the Bible who was blessed by God because he valued God and was faithful to him. 

God asked him to sacrifice his one and only son, Isaac. Abraham obeyed without any hesitation. But the moment he was about to slay his son, an angel from the Lord stopped him. God was only testing Abraham to see how far his faith in God was. Because Abraham was faithful to God and was willing to sacrifice the very thing that meant the most to him, he was greatly blessed by God. 

Genesis 22:16-17 says,"..because you have done this, and not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars.." Just as God was faithful to Abraham, so will he be with you and me. 

I'm sure Jesus knew the whole time that I had a low price tag for him, which is why he asked me to let go of the very thing that was stopping me from loving him completely. We all will be tested by God just as Abraham was tested, but through it we will see the beauty of Christ in our lives. May we see that Jesus is worth more than anything else in this world. So remember, what price tag have you put on Jesus?

Are You Focusing On The Right Thing?

We all have the choice of where we place our focus and attention to in life. There are many responsibilities, tasks, and relationships that we value, but which should we focus on? Your choice of focus will determine whether you will have a life that is desirable, or one that misses the mark. Are you focusing on the right thing?

Recently, I've been caught up with my things to-do list that just never seemed to end. Each day I found myself crossing off things I had to do, but the the time that I had didn't seem to be enough for me to finish all that I had to do.

Each day was like a race with time, using every second that I had. I was busy with my full time job, starting my own Christian clothing line, blogging, and studying for my bible class.

But there was one thing that I neglected on my things to do list that should have been my priority, and that was my time alone with God.

It wasn't that God was displeased at my works for him, but he was displeased with where I was placing my focus on in life. I became so focused on my work for him that I started cutting short my time with God. Even doing things for God can displease God when it becomes of greater importance than God himself. 

I was so excited with starting my Christian clothing line that all my focus was placed on that. I thought that my works would fulfill me with joy and peace, but the more I focused on what I needed to do, the more I was overwhelmed with burdens and worries.

What caused these unnecessary burdens and worries? It was because my heart was focused on the wrong thing.

It can be easy for us to believe that our jobs and careers will fulfill us, or that our marriages will fill us with satisfying love, but the truth is all these blessings can only come from God. We want a good job because we are seeking for security, but security only comes from God. We want to get married because we want love, but fulfilling love only comes from God.

When we focus on other things, we loose sight of the real blessings that come from God. Our works cannot provide us security, peace, joy, hope, and all the other desires we have in our hearts. All these things can only come from God, who brought together the works in our lives.

James 1:17 says, "Every good gift comes from above, coming down from the father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." We must focus on the giver of the gifts, and not the gifts because the source of blessings comes from the giver.

When we focus on God, our hearts become opened to receive the blessings that he has for us. Blessings do not only come in monetary forms. God's blessings include his faithfulness in our lives, his peace in our hearts, his loving voice in our ears, and his bursting love in our souls.

When we place our focus on God, it opens our eyes to see his faithfulness, our ears to hear his loving voice, and our hearts to receive his unconditional love. 

That is what I call a blessing.

God has so much that he wants to pour out in your life, but are you giving him room to pour into your life? Are you focusing on him? Your works were never made to please you - only God was made to please you.

Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Jesus Christ." God has all you need, but you must keep your eyes focused on him so that you can follow his path that will lead you to a desirable and blessed life. So remember, are you focusing on the right thing?

The Beauty In Waiting

Many of us live in a world that exposes us to the joy of instant gratification. We all want things now and hate the waiting game. Whether it be waiting in traffic or waiting 1 minute for the internet to go on, we simply hate waiting. But, there is beauty in waiting. 

It's been a while since I had received an inspiration from God to create my own Christian clothing line. But the first moment it popped in my head, I went straight ahead and started designing. 

Without praying or waiting on God to see what He wanted me to do, I started asking people I knew to make some sketch designs that I had envisioned. 

Inside my head I thought, "I could do this, how hard could it be." But what I soon found to realize was when I did things without the help of God, it opened more opportunities for frustrations to come. 

The designs were not coming in at the time I wanted and none of them were what I desired. Frustration after frustration, worry after worry, it all started to stress me out. It was at that moment when I realized I should have waited on God's direction and timing. 

So that started my journey on waiting for him. But in the midst of my waiting time, I continued to nag and complain to God, "God, when can I start this? When will the design be ready?"

I then stumbled upon a verse that brought peace into my heart. It was Psalm 121:3-4 which says, "..the one who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."

It's hard to go through the waiting season because it seems like nothing is getting done. It might even seem that God is doing nothing, but during our waiting time we must know that God is still working. He will ask us to be still, but it is so that he can do what he needs to do for us. Our God will never sleep or take a break on us; He is always working for our good. 

God doesn't need our whines and worries to be on time. I was wasting my own efforts worrying and whining to God, when the whole time he had it all under control. If only I knew that in the midst of me waiting, he was preparing something great for me. 

It has now been 6 months since my initial idea to start my clothing line, and praise God he has provided me with a designer that instantly was able to sketch out my vision.

I have also been praying for a christian photographer to help take pictures of my upcoming shirt line, and to my amazement, not only did God provide me a christian photographer that was willing to help me, but he provided one for me with no charge. The photographer even offered to provide models for the photoshoot and promised to handle it all at with no charge. 

God provides and is always at work for our good. Even when we he asks us to wait, it doesn't mean he has forgotten what we needed. He is telling us that he's got it, and he has the best coming for us and we only need to be still and trust in him. 

He knows what you need, and will provide you more than what you could even ask for. Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.." 

Whatever God may be asking you to wait for, trust in him and enjoy the waiting season because he is preparing something great for you. He doesn't ask you to wait because he's not sure what to do, but he always knows what you need and he only asks you to wait so that he can give it to you in His perfect timing. 

Your waiting time is a beautiful season for you to see God's marvelous works about to be displayed in your life. 

The waiting season can be the most unbearable time, but if you see it through God's eyes, it should be the most beautiful time in your life. It's during your waiting time when God is working the hardest for you. 

Just like waiting for an artist to finish his masterpiece, wait on God to finish your masterpiece. So remember, there is beauty in waiting.