By Kristen Entwistle

When I began writing the ALL study, I wasn’t quite sure where it would take me.  What Scriptures would come alive in a new way, what songs would take on new meaning, and what God would teach me through this study.

I knew what the concept of all meant when I started this study.  It’s a pretty basic English word, really.  Just three simple letters that, when strung together, make up an impossible task.

Impossible, that is, without Christ. 

It’s amazing, really, how much this concept comes up in Scripture.

Philippians 4:13: I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.

Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Ephesians 6:18: And pray in the Spirit on ALL occasions with ALL kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying ro ALL the Lord’s people.

Colossians 3:17: And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Colossians 3:23-21: Whatever you do, work at it with ALL your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Romans 8:28: And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

2 Corinthians 9:8: And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in ALL things at ALL tines, having ALL that you need, you will abound in every good work.

1 Peter 5:7: Cast ALL your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

There are plenty more verses that I could mention that compel us to live ALL our lives for Christ – every aspect of them.  It’s a tall order, a tough task with Christ.  But it’s what we are called to.  It’s part of what we are here for.

And when we live ALL of our lives for Christ, people will take notice. 

They will begin to ask why we live differently.  They will begin to wonder why we have so much joy in the midst of struggle and hardship.  And our lives will point to the cross, the reason for our hope, the author of our faith, and the sacrifice He paid for us: ALL of His life.

Jesus paid it ALL, ALL to Him I owe. 

Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.  In Him we live and move and have our being, in Him we are made children of God, holy and blameless in His sight.  Oh, what a gift His grace is to us, what matchless love we have been shown.

Earnestly seek Him ALL of your days.  Love because He first loved us.  Be salt and light in this dark world, and strive to live ALL of your life for Him.  May He continue to shine through you so that others may see you and know the One who sent you. 

Now to Him who is able to do far more than all that we ask or imagine, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen.  (Ephesians 3:20-21)

For videos and other study materials for ALL, please click here

By Kristen Entwistle

Music has always been a part of my life.  I began playing piano when I was in grade school, and still play to this day.  I’m not very good, but now I mainly play so that I can sing.  Singing has always been a part of my life, too.  My parents like to tell the story that they knew I was going to be able to sing when I could sing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ on key at the age of five.  I began learning how to play the flute when I was in fifth grade, taking to it like a fish takes to water.  I loved it.  I loved playing the simple melodies and the complex runs.  In high school, I was a part of the musicals in the pit orchestra and the chorus, I played piccolo in the marching band, flute in the symphonic band, and piano and flute in the jazz bands.  I even tried my hand at playing the alto clarinet when I ended up in Freshman band as a junior.

Perhaps it isn’t surprising with my musical background that songs tend to stick in my head and stay there.  I memorize song lyrics without even trying to.  Memorizing Bible verses is harder for me, but something that I’m working on. 

I think that’s part of why listening to Christian music is so important to me.  If the lyrics are going to stick in my head, permeate my vocabulary and influence my actions, they’d better be good lyrics – true, trustworthy, lovely and perfect.  Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t think secular music is bad.  I don’t think that you should never listen to it.

But for me, if I’m going through a rough time, I’d rather have the lyrics of 10,000 Reasons running through my head than All about that bass. 

When a particular song gets stuck in my head, usually God has something to teach me through it.  Lately, Casting Crowns’ song Dream for you has been stuck in my head.

I don’t put much stock in dreaming.  Mostly because I find that the dreams (as in hopes and aspirations) I have end up getting squashed by the world or by other people.  Perhaps that’s why I didn’t particularly like it the first few times I heard it.  Then I actually started listening.

The song talks about David, his dreams of being a ‘big-time shepherd someday.’  But God had bigger plans for him than shepherding sheep.  David was going to the shepherd king, the one on whom the lineage of Jesus rested.  The song talks about Mary, who dreamed of having a family.  But God had bigger plans for her: raising a king.  Makes me wonder what kind of dreams God has for me.

Because if I allow myself, I do have dreams.  But I’ve got it through my head somehow that if I allow myself to dream, I will just end up disappointed.  And then I remember that God’s got a plan.  He’s got the whole thing worked out – I just have to be willing to let go and let Him work.  I just have to be willing to say, “God, do with me and my life what you will.  I’m willing to live all of my life for you.  Not my will, but yours be done.”  It’s a decision I have to make daily.  One that is easier on some days than others.  But His dreams, His plans, are better than mine, no matter how good I think mine are.  I think I’ll let Him dream for me.  Because He is good, all the time, in every circumstance, through every high and every low, and He is faithful.

I’m stronger than you think I am
I’ll take you farther than you think you can
You sing and call me Great I Am
So take your stand
My child, if you only knew
All the plans that I have for you
Just trust me, I will follow through
You can follow Me

Maybe God doesn’t reveal things to you through songs.  Maybe it’s through Bible study books or direct study in His Word.  Maybe it’s through conversations with others or the weekly sermon you hear.  But regardless of where you hear God speaking, dwell on it.  Think about it.  Wrestle with it.  Talk about it with trusted friends.  And then share it with others.  Because what God taught you or revealed to you may be something that others need to hear too.

What’s God teaching you today?

By Kristen Entwistle

Sometimes when we’re in the midst of a tough circumstance, a difficult season of life, or when something terrible happens – the death of a child, a senseless bombing, or a national disaster – it is hard to see God working it out for good.

I’ll be the first to say that I’ve asked God why He allowed me to have CF, and what He’s doing with it.

I’ve finally given God control and said, “Do with me what you will.  Not my will, but yours be done.”

I’ve seen some of God’s goodness in recent years, and begun to see a little bit of His plan for me.  But there are times when I still get sucked into the dark, deep pit of despair.  Recently it has come in waves rather than drops of rain, but this particular pit has been in my work.

I have the unique privilege to work and study an aspect of my own disease.  As you can imagine, there are good and bad things about working on my own disease.

There are days when the bad outweighs the good. There are days when the good outweighs the bad.

Lately, the bad has outweighed the good. 

It’s just been hard, for a number of reasons that I don’t want to elaborate right now.  Suffice it to say that I’ve wondered if I can do research in this field long-term.

Whenever I see a talk or poster at a conference that deals with CF research, I make a point of saying, ‘Thank you’ to the researcher. 

I usually say something along the lines of, ‘Thank you for the research you do.  It means so much to patients, parents, doctors and nurses that are affected by CF.  Thank you for doing what you do.’

Today, I was at a CF clinic routine visit, and one of the nurses asked me how my research was going.  The staff knows that I work on CFRD, and so I told her that I had some exciting results that I just presented at a conference.  She got really excited and asked to see one of the devices that I had in my purse from the conference, and took it out into the offices for show and tell.

The doctor came in, asked how my research was, and so I told him the same thing that I’d told the nurse.

And you know what he said? 

“That’s amazing!  On behalf of patients, doctors, and families affected by CF, thank you for doing this work.  Thank you.”

God truly is good.  All the time. 

When I’m sitting here wondering how God is using me, how to get out of this particular pit, how He is using it for good: He brings me into places like this.

He uses other people to encourage me.  Just from a few simple words from my doctor, I was reminded that God really is good, and that He does have a plan.  That what He has called me to do right now, He will give me the strength to do.  That where He has called me to be right now, He will be with me.  That even when it seems impossible, nothing is impossible with Him. 

I still don’t have all the answers to my questions.  I still don’t understand so much of His plan.

But I do know this:  God is good.  All the time. 

By Kristen Entwistle

Lent is not about giving up coffee so that you can kick that caffeine addiction or chocolate so that you can lose weight or Facebook so that you can spend less time addicted to your phone.  Don’t get me wrong, all those things are good.  But lent isn’t about giving things up that will make your life better, healthier.

Lent is about surrender.

 From the beginning of His ministry, Jesus surrendered to the will of the Father.  In the days and hours leading up to the garden of Gethsemane, even Jesus struggled to surrender to the will of the Father.  He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will,” and then, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done” (Matthew 26:39, 42).  But surrender He did.

He surrendered to the will of the Father, by saying, “Not my will, but yours be done.”  He surrendered His whole life, His entire ministry to the Father – all of it, every last minute of it.  He surrendered control of His situation to the Father, knowing that His plan was greater.  He surrendered to the cross, to the most brutal death known to man.  Lent is about surrender.

Surrendering all of our lives to Christ, not just part of it. 

Surrendering our plans for our lives, letting God’s will prevail.

Surrendering the illusion of control, giving God control of our lives.

Surrendering to the cross. 

Lent is about surrender.  When was the last time that you surrendered your entire life to Christ – not just the parts that are easy?  When was the last time you surrendered to the will of Christ, His good, pleasing, and perfect will?  When was the last time you surrendered control to the One in control of it all?

What if, this Lenten season and all the days after it, we strove to do what Jesus did – surrender?  What if we gave up coffee so that, instead of spending the time making it in the morning, we used that time to pray for the strength to surrender?  What if we cave up chocolate so that every time we thought about eating it, we instead prayed for God to help us give up control of our lives?  What if we gave up Facebook so that we could use that data and time to read the Word on our lunch break, praying for the will of God to be evident in our lives?

I think we’d see a big change in the way we live our lives, in how we see God working in our lives.  Because surrender is what we have been called to, and it’s hard.  Christ, our example, surrendered to the Father, to the cross.  With His help, surrender is possible.  Surrender.

Also published at BrokenBeautifulBOLD.com

By Kristen Entwistle

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:28-31

You’ve probably read this verse in one the Gospels many, many times.  And there’s one word that shows up four times in the greatest commandment that we like to gloss over – that tiny little three letter word: all.  Let me tell you what this verse doesn’t say.  It doesn’t say, “Love the Lord your God with some of your heart, with a little of your soul, with as much of your mind as you can spare, and with a bit of your strength.”

No, it says:

ALL your heart,

ALL your soul,

ALL your mind, and

ALL your strength.  

How do we do that?  In a world where we struggle to give ALL of our attention to anything, let alone ALL of our strength to Christ?  Why are we called to love Him with ALL of our lives?  What did He give to us that we should give Him not only ALL of our heart, but ALL of our lives?  Is God really good ALL the time, or only when things are going well?

Join us for a four week study on this very topic starting March 2:

On Monday, I’ll post the video for the week (it’s short, you don’t have to listen to me for very long!!) with a listening guide.

On Tuesday, I’ll post some questions and other Scriptures for you to ponder during the remainder of the week.

On Wednesday, I’ll post a blog here related to that week’s topic.

On Thursday, I’ll post a reflection on that week’s topic- either in video or text format.

On Friday, I’ll post a graphic that will relate to the week’s topic.

Would you consider joining us for this study?  I pray that you will engage with the material, and start a conversation with your friends, family, and with me about what God is teaching you through this study and through the challenges of life.

All of the materials for this study will be found on the blog as well as under the Study Resources tab.