How amazing is that God knows us inside and out. He knows the heart of each one of his children. There are billions of people on this planet but he is equally interested in our lives, each and every one of us. He knows when we are going to slip up, disobey him, and run from him and yet he loves us the same.
Matthew 10:26-30
26"So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny[d]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
I've never felt God's love like I am right now. This verse gives me encouragement... not even a bird dies without the will of God. He has counted the very HAIR on my head. We are worth that much to him that he was numbered each one of his billion children's HAIR. What a beautiful Savior and wonderful King!
My walk has grow tremendously and my relationship and love for MY SAVIOR has never been like this. All I had to do was ask God to reveal himself to me.
Luke 11: 9-10
9"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
The way I feel is indescribable. My spirit aches for him. I finally understand and comprehend a small portion of his love for ME. Just me. It's the same for you.
Father God,
Your love for me has never felt this real before. I can physically feel your embrace. Don't let me go. Don't ever let me go. I realize now the relationship that I need to have with you. I am fully and completely yours. Take me and use me to further your kingdom for your glory. Let me feel this love until I see your face in heaven.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
It has taken me sometime to write another post.
There has been a barrier in my life and relationship with Christ. I have finally identified the problem and have come to terms with myself. I have idolized relationships. I'm not just talking about romantic relationships but friendships as well. I put them both before God in my everyday life and did not even realize my fault.
Here is my attempt to put into words what I have learned and gone through.
I recently got out of a relationship I thought was going well and was of God. I still do believe it was God's will because of what I learned. To me, it ended prematurely... to me. I was broken hearted and discouraged. Tears where inevitable and I tried my hardest not to feel deserted. But I did feel as if God was playing with my heart. But then I started to read a book called "Boy Meets Girl- say hello to courtship" I learned the difference between passion and wisdom, versus passion and foolishness. I was the worst of the two.
" In proverbs, foolishness is portrayed as a wicked seductress who lures her victims with the offer of romantic and sexual pleasures devoid of responsibility. 'Come, let's drink deep of love till morning,' she says,'Lets enjoy ourselves with love!' (proverbs 7:18) This is how foolishness works. It calls us to enjoy ourselves without concern for the good of others. It seeks intimacy without obligation."
This scared me. I didn't want to be like the seductress. I want to be smart about love. I don't want another undefined romantic relationship. I want there to be a purpose, Marriage. This is the part where I discovered my idols. Why am I not ready for marriage? Because I don't put God first and it probably not my time yet. I'm still learning and growing.
Culturally, Girls are told that without a man in their lives... they are incomplete. We think that we need that companionship and cannot find the feelings of love with out a boyfriend. What what is love without God? He is the one that placed the emotion in our hearts. The one that loves us more then is even comprehenable. The only love that is really needed it that of God's. It the only thing that can sustain us and teach us how to love. It goes back to 1 Cor 13:4-8
" Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails."
That's God's love right there and how we should love. I was putting love and relationships on a pedestal and it was on my mind constantly. I have identified the problem and I am taking action. So here is where I am... learning to love God and put him first in everything I do, think, and live.
That's all for now. More of what I have learned will come soon. I just want to let it marinade on the this page for you and myself for a while.
There has been a barrier in my life and relationship with Christ. I have finally identified the problem and have come to terms with myself. I have idolized relationships. I'm not just talking about romantic relationships but friendships as well. I put them both before God in my everyday life and did not even realize my fault.
Here is my attempt to put into words what I have learned and gone through.
I recently got out of a relationship I thought was going well and was of God. I still do believe it was God's will because of what I learned. To me, it ended prematurely... to me. I was broken hearted and discouraged. Tears where inevitable and I tried my hardest not to feel deserted. But I did feel as if God was playing with my heart. But then I started to read a book called "Boy Meets Girl- say hello to courtship" I learned the difference between passion and wisdom, versus passion and foolishness. I was the worst of the two.
" In proverbs, foolishness is portrayed as a wicked seductress who lures her victims with the offer of romantic and sexual pleasures devoid of responsibility. 'Come, let's drink deep of love till morning,' she says,'Lets enjoy ourselves with love!' (proverbs 7:18) This is how foolishness works. It calls us to enjoy ourselves without concern for the good of others. It seeks intimacy without obligation."
This scared me. I didn't want to be like the seductress. I want to be smart about love. I don't want another undefined romantic relationship. I want there to be a purpose, Marriage. This is the part where I discovered my idols. Why am I not ready for marriage? Because I don't put God first and it probably not my time yet. I'm still learning and growing.
Culturally, Girls are told that without a man in their lives... they are incomplete. We think that we need that companionship and cannot find the feelings of love with out a boyfriend. What what is love without God? He is the one that placed the emotion in our hearts. The one that loves us more then is even comprehenable. The only love that is really needed it that of God's. It the only thing that can sustain us and teach us how to love. It goes back to 1 Cor 13:4-8
" Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails."
That's God's love right there and how we should love. I was putting love and relationships on a pedestal and it was on my mind constantly. I have identified the problem and I am taking action. So here is where I am... learning to love God and put him first in everything I do, think, and live.
That's all for now. More of what I have learned will come soon. I just want to let it marinade on the this page for you and myself for a while.
Friday, April 11, 2008
He has a plan...
With the school semester winding to an end, so many of us college students feel beat to a living pulp. Instructors are cramming last minute papers and quizes... then exams. It can get a little terrifiying and we start to doubt our abilities and our goals. The most encouraging verse for me is Jer. 29:11 (Message) I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
Be encouraged. God has a plan... and he is in control.
Be encouraged. God has a plan... and he is in control.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Where is God?
Hmm...
The Lord is so good.
I woke up this morning with the sun shining in, on my face and the birds singing outside my window. And it was for me.
God has amazing little gifts everyday that I don't think we see, whether is it because we are to busy racing through our hectic and full lives or we just simply aren't looking for them. We do not seem to notice the smile of the sunset or the whisper of the breeze. These things that seem so small are little gifts scattered throughout our journey on this world. They are there to give us hope and to make us feel loved.
Why is it that we wait for that explosion to feel God's presence? He is HERE! He is HERE RIGHT NOW!! All we really need to do is to take a step back from OUR life and search for HIM. To many times are our priorities for our greater good, but who knows what our good is? Our Father.
He is here today, take a step out of this world and notice him.
The Lord is so good.
I woke up this morning with the sun shining in, on my face and the birds singing outside my window. And it was for me.
God has amazing little gifts everyday that I don't think we see, whether is it because we are to busy racing through our hectic and full lives or we just simply aren't looking for them. We do not seem to notice the smile of the sunset or the whisper of the breeze. These things that seem so small are little gifts scattered throughout our journey on this world. They are there to give us hope and to make us feel loved.
Why is it that we wait for that explosion to feel God's presence? He is HERE! He is HERE RIGHT NOW!! All we really need to do is to take a step back from OUR life and search for HIM. To many times are our priorities for our greater good, but who knows what our good is? Our Father.
He is here today, take a step out of this world and notice him.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
You are the Living Bible
Now this is the Living Bible:
His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.
Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how to go about it. One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat.The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he re alizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.
By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick. About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do. And now t hey see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor.
With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone.Everyone chokes up with emotion. When the minister gains control, he says , "What I'm about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget." "Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!" I asked the Lord to bless youAs I prayed for you today.To guide you and protect youAs you go along your way.... His love is always with you,His promises are true,And when we give Him all our cares,You know He will see us through.
What an amazing story. This gave me to much encouragement and I hope it will do the same for you!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Caring about people is one of my strengths but yet it is seen as one of my weaknesses. Is there a point where one is suppose to give up on someone because they may have issues? I was told this past weekend that some people are worried about me because I care about those who need to be cared for. Honestly, I do not think that giving up on them is the right way to go about it. Jesus did not give up on the diseased, the criminal minds, or the promiscuous. He was actually seen more with them then he was with the people that had it all together. It raised questions but Jesus knew that these people needed him the most.
So I have decided that I am not going to give up, especially on my friend. God has placed him in my life and on my heart to make a difference in his life. To help raise him up from the pit he has let himself fall into. It may not be by doing something in the physical world, but being a warrior for him in the spiritual world may be my occupation. I will not give up until God tells me to. He has a plan and I will wait it out till that plan is revealed, even if hanging on means seeing him being dragged through the dirt. As much as it breaks my heart... I will press on.
So I have decided that I am not going to give up, especially on my friend. God has placed him in my life and on my heart to make a difference in his life. To help raise him up from the pit he has let himself fall into. It may not be by doing something in the physical world, but being a warrior for him in the spiritual world may be my occupation. I will not give up until God tells me to. He has a plan and I will wait it out till that plan is revealed, even if hanging on means seeing him being dragged through the dirt. As much as it breaks my heart... I will press on.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
When to Speak?
How do you show some one that the troubles and trials they are going through will end up on the good end? I’ll give you one worse, how do you explain that to someone that does not believe in Christ? Christians have many battles to overcome, and one of them is knowing when to talk and when to keep quiet. I have noticed lately that when we speak the truth to someone that is rebellious of God or doesn’t believe his is the creator, it pushes them farther and farther from our reach. So when do we speak and when don’t we? I wish I had the answer.
But then as I think more in depth about this, really the answer is in plain view. God will tell us when to speak and when to keep quiet. The problem I run into is hearing God’s voice and knowing what I need to say. I need to first work towards that. I guess it takes steps.
Like I said before, I am reading Come Thirsty by Max Lucado. I woke up this morning and read this:
No leaf falls without God’s knowledge. No dolphin gives birth without his permission. No wave crashes on the shore apart from his calculation. God has never been surprised. Not once.
“The Son is… sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Heb. 1:3)
“He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need there is.” (Acts 17:25)
King David proclaimed, “In Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them” (Ps. 139:16)
Denying the sovereignty of God requires busy scissors and results in a hole-y Bible, for many holes are made as the verses are cut out. Amazingly, some people opt to extract such passages. Unable to reconcile human suffering with absolute sovereignty, they dilute God’s Word. Rabbi Kushner did.
His book When Bad Things Happen to Good People reached a disturbing conclusion: God can’t run the world. Kushner suggested that Job, the most famous sufferer, was “forced to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful, or a powerful God who is not totally good.”
The rabbi speaks for many. God is strong. Or God is good. But God is not both. Else, how do you explain birth defects, coast-crashing hurricanes, AIDS, or the genocide of the Tutsi in the 1990s? If God cares, he isn’t strong; if he is strong, he doesn’t car. He can’t be both.
But according to the Bible, he is exactly that. Furthermore, according to the Bible, the problem is not the strength or kindness of God. The problem is the agenda of the human race. We pursue the wrong priority. We want good health, a good income, a good night’s rest, and a good retirement. Our priority is WE.
God’s priority, however, is God. Why do the heavens exist? To flaunt God. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1) Why do people struggle? To display his strength. “I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for My own sake I will act” (Isa. 48:10-11) The prophet proclaimed, “You lead your people, to make Yourself a glorious name” (Isa. 63:14)
God unfurls his own flag. He flexes his own muscles Heaven does not ask “How can I make Max happy?” Heaven asks, “how can I use Max to reveal my excellencies?” He may use blessings. Then again, he may use buffetings. Both belong to him.
I am the one that creates the light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends food times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things (Isa. 45:7)
Enjoy prosperity while you can. But when the hard times strike, realize that both come from God.
(Eccles. 7:14)
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That woe and well- being proceed?
(Lam. 3:38)
This all sounds pretty selfish of God right? It sounds like us doesn’t it? Well we are made in his image. I think he has every right to be selfish. He created the heavens and the earth, light and darkness, US, the very matter of your computer screen. He has every right to be selfish.
We are here on earth to further the kingdom of God and when the time comes to go to him in that Kingdom, he wants us to bring friends. So as we walk through the troubles and trials, remember that at the end there will be something good. Maybe not for yourself, but for God and his Kingdom. It’s the least we can do. Give everything to God, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, every breath.
And to answer my first question, Max Lucado has this to say:
A word of caution: the doctrine of sovereignty challenges us. Study it gradually. Don’t share it capriciously (on a whim.) When someone you love faces adversity(hardship), don’t insensitively declare, “God is in control.” A cavalier(arrogant, causal, careless) tone can eclipse(hide, conceal) the right truth . Be careful. (I wanted to make sure everyone understood that part .)
And be encouraged. God’s ways are always right They may not make sense to us. They may be mysterious, inexplicable, difficult, and even painful. But they are right. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Rom. 8:28)
But then as I think more in depth about this, really the answer is in plain view. God will tell us when to speak and when to keep quiet. The problem I run into is hearing God’s voice and knowing what I need to say. I need to first work towards that. I guess it takes steps.
Like I said before, I am reading Come Thirsty by Max Lucado. I woke up this morning and read this:
No leaf falls without God’s knowledge. No dolphin gives birth without his permission. No wave crashes on the shore apart from his calculation. God has never been surprised. Not once.
“The Son is… sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Heb. 1:3)
“He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need there is.” (Acts 17:25)
King David proclaimed, “In Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them” (Ps. 139:16)
Denying the sovereignty of God requires busy scissors and results in a hole-y Bible, for many holes are made as the verses are cut out. Amazingly, some people opt to extract such passages. Unable to reconcile human suffering with absolute sovereignty, they dilute God’s Word. Rabbi Kushner did.
His book When Bad Things Happen to Good People reached a disturbing conclusion: God can’t run the world. Kushner suggested that Job, the most famous sufferer, was “forced to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful, or a powerful God who is not totally good.”
The rabbi speaks for many. God is strong. Or God is good. But God is not both. Else, how do you explain birth defects, coast-crashing hurricanes, AIDS, or the genocide of the Tutsi in the 1990s? If God cares, he isn’t strong; if he is strong, he doesn’t car. He can’t be both.
But according to the Bible, he is exactly that. Furthermore, according to the Bible, the problem is not the strength or kindness of God. The problem is the agenda of the human race. We pursue the wrong priority. We want good health, a good income, a good night’s rest, and a good retirement. Our priority is WE.
God’s priority, however, is God. Why do the heavens exist? To flaunt God. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1) Why do people struggle? To display his strength. “I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for My own sake I will act” (Isa. 48:10-11) The prophet proclaimed, “You lead your people, to make Yourself a glorious name” (Isa. 63:14)
God unfurls his own flag. He flexes his own muscles Heaven does not ask “How can I make Max happy?” Heaven asks, “how can I use Max to reveal my excellencies?” He may use blessings. Then again, he may use buffetings. Both belong to him.
I am the one that creates the light and makes the darkness. I am the one who sends food times and bad times. I, the Lord, am the one who does these things (Isa. 45:7)
Enjoy prosperity while you can. But when the hard times strike, realize that both come from God.
(Eccles. 7:14)
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That woe and well- being proceed?
(Lam. 3:38)
This all sounds pretty selfish of God right? It sounds like us doesn’t it? Well we are made in his image. I think he has every right to be selfish. He created the heavens and the earth, light and darkness, US, the very matter of your computer screen. He has every right to be selfish.
We are here on earth to further the kingdom of God and when the time comes to go to him in that Kingdom, he wants us to bring friends. So as we walk through the troubles and trials, remember that at the end there will be something good. Maybe not for yourself, but for God and his Kingdom. It’s the least we can do. Give everything to God, every day, every hour, every minute, every second, every breath.
And to answer my first question, Max Lucado has this to say:
A word of caution: the doctrine of sovereignty challenges us. Study it gradually. Don’t share it capriciously (on a whim.) When someone you love faces adversity(hardship), don’t insensitively declare, “God is in control.” A cavalier(arrogant, causal, careless) tone can eclipse(hide, conceal) the right truth . Be careful. (I wanted to make sure everyone understood that part .)
And be encouraged. God’s ways are always right They may not make sense to us. They may be mysterious, inexplicable, difficult, and even painful. But they are right. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Rom. 8:28)
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