Disappointment: Pain

Another question that I'm sure at one point or an other we have thought these things. "God why all this pain?"  "Why must I endure and suffer all this pain?" "Why must the world suffer all this pain?" "Being a all loving God how can you watch all this pain and not do something?" I know I have thought this things, and I can probably put money on the fact I will probably think it again at some point.  

I had one person say to me one time "How can God look into the face of an innocent child and not save them from pain and suffering?"  " How could He not rush to help them?" "How could He let such awful things happen to then?" Honestly in that moment I had no idea what to say.  When we think about it don't all of us in some way want to scream this from the top of our lungs some times too.  "How can you let such evil happen God?"

There are 2 things that I have come to understand a little better in my search to understand disappointment with God and pain.  The first thing is that if we have all powerful God and a all loving God to the purest sense, then we have one thing for sure.  This one thing is that Love in its most purest form is not coercive.  Now if someone would ask me if love was coercive I would obviously say no, but I will have to give credit for this thought and say I heard this idea from a wonderful sermon from Ty Gibson called, Through Tears.

True an utter love is not coercive.  True love is not generated by coercive tactics.  You can't hold someone at gun point and say "love me!" and suddenly their heart goes a flutter for you.  Their heart my flutter for sure out of fear, and they might even say they love you, but they would not Really love you. If you really want someone to truly love you, you have to show love to them and try and draw them by your love.  You have to give them freedom right?

If true love requires freedom then there has to be choice. There has to be an option to walk the other way away from love.  You could love someone soooo much and long for them to love you and do all these great things for them, but they could still choose to walk away from you.  So then love is risky.

This is how Ty writes it Love=Freedom=Risk.  

This concept seems so simple but honestly is very deep if you think about it.  It blew the lid off my jar of cranky complaints against God.  For it helped me see how an All Powerful  & LOVING God could have a world like ours, like Ty would say, "On His hands".  Pain exists because God will not force anyone to love Him.  

This brings me to my other thought.  As a medical professional I see  a lot of people with pain.  Nearly every person I see is suffering from pain and looking to me to help them get better.  Now is pain a bad thing? Well.... in some ways yes... but is pain always bad? No.  From the physical side of things pain can be a very good thing.  It warns the body something is wrong.  Pain saves lives many times! If you get a huge gash in your leg and you have no pain you could bleed out and die before you noticed enough to get help. 

Honestly, even emotional pain is a warning system that tells us something is wrong and we need help.  Even emotional pain can and will kill us from the inside out if we don't get help.  Pain in many ways is a gift and an opportunity to get the help we need to survive.  

Now looking at pain from a broader perspective gets a little harder.  We look at our world and see that their are innocent people being tortured, killed, displace from their homes, starving, living in war zones.  If we thought of the world like the human body, this would be warning signs that there is something majorly wrong. This world has a huge infection and needs help.  Are you following me?  Its true right?  Most of us would agree with this.  

So an all powerful God made this world and man, but because He is all loving as well, He gave freedom.  He was up front and told Adam and Eve there is a disease out there that will kill you.  "If you do this one thing you will be infected and die." But He didn't force them to stay in His love, He gave them freedom.  True to the all loving God He is. We know the story.... Adam and Eve chose to turn away from God and the horrible infection started for the whole of the human race, Sin.  

We are lovers of sin, but God knows this is fatal.  But He allowed freedom because He is a God of true love.  He restrains Himself from just vaporizing us, because He first loved us.  He longs to save us from our condition but He still has to allow freedom.  So He made a plan to cure our disease.  Jesus!

• John 3:16-17 - " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" NIV

So He personally sacrifices Himself!  This All powerful & All loving God permanently marries Himself to the Human race because He SO loves us.  And as pure love would do, is willing to die and take on the whole worlds infection to cure us!  And hopefully show us how much He loves us so we will chose to love Him and be saved!

This is the true message of the Gospel!  Why the Gospel is such Good News Right!!!  So in some ways we can begin to understand and believe that This all powerful God is truly All Loving and does hurt with everyone of us suffering on this planet, but also doesn't take all pain away because each person has choice.  Pain is an indication we need our savior and we live in a war zone. You cannot expect that your life will be peachy in a war zone. We have an infection each one of us.  But God does not force anyone to choose love over hate.  It is not love if it is by force.  So we have ones that chose love and ones that don't.  This is war.  We suffer and have pain.... but honestly in a way it is a gift because it lets us know something is wrong and we need to turn to Jesus!!!

Paul in his ministry talks about a thorn in his side and that he asks God 3 times to take it away.  God tells him this:

• 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 - "   But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." NIV

I look at this verse in a whole new light.  God says "No" to Paul 3 times in his hardship.  Are you feeling like that?  Are you having some major pain in your life and you are begging God to remove it?  God seems to be telling you "No" over and over?  Take courage!  Paul suffered the same!  God told him basically "Paul, I know this is hard for you but I will help you to endure this" "My grace is sufficient for you!"  "When you are feeling your worse and the world is pressing in and you feel totally weak and helpless, I will show my power to the world when you are at your weakest!"  He told Paul "your suffering is not in vain, and I will help you through, and reach many others through it"

Isn't that the truth so many times.  We are inspired and see the love and power of God when someone else that suffers way more than us witnesses for Jesus and finds ways to show the world Jesus love despite their disability or horrible abuse done to them or losing several loved ones to war.  Don't we look at them and realize in the deepest part of our hearts there HAS to be a Loving, powerful, and Amazing God out there if some can endure all that and still witness and do all they do despite all that has happened to them? I know I sure do! 

So in my search recently, I have to say and beg to point out that pain is relative.  And in many ways pain can be a gift to us and this human race.  I know some one reading this may want to punch me for saying that, especially if in the middle of major pain in life,  but I challenge you to really think about it.  God has the cure!  It isn't to remove all of pain in this world it is to surgically remove the cancer eating our souls. It Will be painful, we Will suffer, not because He wants us to.  Its about saving us spiritually and eternally from the inside out, not from the outside in.  Pain is relative, but doesn't ever have to be in vain.  Ultimately Christ suffered most so we could suffer less! Remember, God's grace is sufficient for you too! Take courage!

Disappointment: Great Expectations

So I do not have all the answers to disappointment. I think there are many things that we will not fully understand about God for probably a very long time. But I do think God gives us enough evidence to believe if we choose.  Therefore, I attempt to share some of the things recently that have helped me in my disappointment with God.  

My hook for falling into major disappointment with God is my great expectations.  I think God is mighty and powerful and I should be able to expect certain things from Him.  Now this is where things get sticky. Can we expect things from God?.... yes! Can we always be sure of what action God is going to do? .... No. This can become a real problem in discerning, and can quickly get me in trouble because I start to place God in a box, and start predicting what I think God will do or should do.  As if I know His will and plan in detail. 

When we are in pain and struggling with something big in our lives, we want to believe in a big God that will come to our rescue and sweep in and save us like we have read in so many books.  Even many Christian inspirational books are full of stories of miracles and amazing things that happen to people who have prayed and believed.  Their loved one was saved, or cancer cured, or recieved money right before a house was to be foreclosed.

I get caught not so much with earthly things lately but with spiritual things.  I am praying for someone and suddenly things get worse and they are doing worse and seem farther away from God than before I started praying.  Or I try to fast and pray to get closer to God and a veil seems to fall over me and I feel totally disconnected, worse off than when I started.  It's these things where I lose my way.

My thoughts are "God surely wants to save this person.  It has to be His will"  "God surely wants me to draw nearer to Him, this has to be in His will"  Now are these things true? Yes!

• 1 Timothy 2: 3-4 - "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" NIV
• James 4:8 - "Come near to God and he will come near to you..." NIV

The problem comes when I take these promises and truths and think God must act a certain way, or I build up in my head the ways I feel He should show Himself and work miracles.  As I pray and do what I think I should then my expectations get bigger and bigger and I climb higher on the ladder that I have built.  My thoughts go from trusting God to trying to will God to do what I think He should. It is so subtle I don't even know I'm doing it sometimes.   Then when things don't work out the way I think, I go into major faith crisis. I go from anger, to blaming myself for not doing the right things, to having issues trusting God.  I think "Why won't God do for me or my love ones what he has done for others?"

What can we expect from God?

• He will never leave us. 
• He will work out things for our best. 
• He will give us the Holy Spirit freely.
• He will forgive us if we confess.
• He will finish the good work He started in us. 
• (I'm sure there are more you could add to the list)

Notice most of these have to do with the internal world and not external.  Even when the scripture says He works things out for good, we think we know what good is, but most of the time God is looking for eternal good not always what our version of good is.  God works in many ways but always with the eternal and spiritual in mind.  And a lot of the times, outside of our understanding as finite human beings.

So how do we as Christians believe in a messed up world and trust even when we have been greatly disappointed?  It is not easy sometimes.  When I was researching this topic the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came to my mind and what they told King Nebuchadnezzar.

• Daniel 3:17-18 - "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

This is some amazing faith!  They believed that God could totally save them if He wanted to, but they also knew that sometimes He doesn't.  They chose to believe anyway! They trusted that God knew the eternal outcome for good and the physical one was not the most important. They understood that this world is a war zone and with many unhappy endings as it would seem in our small human view.  But that God's view is much bigger and wider able to see the spiritual and eternal importance beyond.  They chose to cling to hope & trust rather than expect a certain outcome in the now.

So I guess for me I realize, in light of my disappointment, that I was building up great expectations and attaching them to my faith.  That somehow if these things don't work out, God is not who He says He is.  The devil loves to try and get us to believe this in our disappointment and pain. I realized I am putting God in a box and demanding He prove Himself to me, rather than trusting the hundreds of other things He has done in my life. I am not believing that no matter what things appear, He IS working things out for good spiritually and eternally beyond my view.

• 2 Corinthians 4:18 - "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" NIV

Great Expectations can get us in trouble but Great Hope (faith) trusts God is who He says He is and will work things out for Good for the spiritual and eternal of all His kids. We can expect God will do HIS thing NOT OUR thing, and one day we will get to see more why.

Disappointment

There are different times in our lives when we face storms.  Most of us now, are dealing with some small irritation or another and all of us have times where we feel like we are in a hurricane and no end seems in sight.  Sometimes it can feel like any form of help is a million miles away and God is silent, or absent.  

One of the things recently in my life that I am realizing very acutely is that I struggle with my expectations of God.  It is a tricky thing, because we are invited by God to believe and hold faith, but in our point of view at certain times, it seems like circumstances line up to just get worse and fall apart. Despite many hours or years of prayer and diligence God seems to be doing nothing, and more pain and suffering ensues.  These times can leave a huge sense of disappointment and questioning of God and God's character. 

Disappointment is:

the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations.

So I read this and think "So it is better not to expect or hope for anything?"   In the middle of my storms especially the bad ones, I will sometimes say to God "So I'm not suppose to care?"  To be totally honest,  going through times of great disappointment, are the most fragile times and can be the most pivotal  moments in my relationship with God.

In my disappointment  I will usually want to scream something like "But I am suppose to expect something from you God aren't I?" 

It can be very hard to understand in the midst of pain what we can and can't expect. All through the Bible are amazing stories of God doing huge and mighty things.  We even now, have many books and stories of miracles God has done recently in peoples lives. This builds up huge expectations, and God calls us in the Bible to remember the great things He has done.  Over and over He tells the Israelites to remember how they were rescued from Egypt and brought to the promise land. And in the New Testament there is passage after passage reminding us to remember Jesus and all the mighty things He did.  

The other aspect that is hard to understand in the midst of pain, is that God doesn't always act every time in these huge and mighty ways.  And also there are many stories in the Bible that have this kind of thing too, where people waited years and years to see God's promises fulfilled.  Some never saw it fulfilled but believed anyways.  And still others were killed beheaded, hung upside down on a cross, or tortured without any intervention from God in our perspective.   

So one could vacillate endlessly back and forth about what to expect from God, and honestly lately I have been doing that very thing. I have felt the need to pray for specific things over the last few years and the more I have prayed over these things the worse the circumstances seem to get. For a while I comfort myself with the usual things we say as Christians "The devils is working as well", "Sometimes things have to get worse before it gets better", "God is in control" ..... etc.  You probably know a bunch more.  Don't get me wrong, these things are true, but to a person in pain and huge disappointment they can seem trite, and don't get to the heart of the matter.  Sometimes in our pain we need more.  

So over the next few posts, I would like to explore some tough questions that some of us as Christians have a hard time even uttering, but we all think sometimes.  Mainly, because being honest with ourselves and God is hugely important in a having a viable and growing relationship with God.  I would also input that God is big enough to handle ALL our questions and help us come out the other side stronger in our faith and with greater understanding of Him.  

I believe He longs for us to ask and probably wishes that some of us would get more honest about our doubts and questions about Him and really lay it out to Him so He could draw closer to us. 

• Isaiah 1:18 - "  “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: ...."ESV

 

Stronger

Testing..... I would say probably most of us do not like testing of any kind. Especially tests in school growing up.  As adults in our jobs we might have testing as well to keep up our skills or learn new things and show compliance for a new skills needed for our jobs.  Whatever the situation or reason for the test, it usually is not fun and just the thought may cause some of us to sweat. :) I know I do. 

The hardest kind of testing for me, hands down, is the testing of life circumstances and relationships. All the things in life that get difficult can be hard, but the struggles in relationships are the hardest for me. Especially, when it happens with people closest to me. With all of us, this kind of testing can hurt the most. 

The Bible talks about the testing of people's faith.  Abraham is an example.  Job is another one. There are many who have faced the trials and difficulties of life and had their faith tested.  I have heard some people say "Why does God test our faith, doesn't he know?"  Yes He does.  But I guess the better question is, if He knows what our faith is, then why does He test it or allow things to happen to try our faith?  Maybe it is more for us to discover what our faith really is.   

I know for me, if things are going well and I'm floating along, it doesn't take long with my sinful nature to think I'm a pillar of faith.  It is when trials come in my life, the really acutely painful ones, that show me what my faith is really worth.  A lot of times I stand in awe and shame that I puffed myself up and thought I was so strong. I see over and over that instead of truly trusting in God in everything like I thought I was, it doesn't take much to turn the tables and for me to doubt God like the Israelites in the desert.

There is a serious battle going on for our hearts.  It is not that God does not care, or wants us to go through tons of pain and heart ache.  But He knows that our sinful condition is fatal, if we don't rest all our hope and trust in Him.  Allowing this "testing of faith" burns out the impurities in our hearts and teaches us the reality of the status of our heart with God, if we let it.  It becomes an opportunity to grow and be more perfected in our faith.  

I know I have used this verse before and probably in a similar way discussed this topic, but I know I need repeated reminders in this area and maybe some of you do too.  And in times like these this verse always helps to put things in better perspective for me.

• James 1:2-4 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything"  NIV

At the end and sometimes in the middle of trial "testing" , it can give me a different and better perspective on where I really am with God and especially my true trust level with Him.  God is jealous for us.... For ALL of Us... Our whole heart.... not just a piece of it.  He knows our tendencies and where we slip back into old habits, and He knows the devil is out trying to take us down and rip us and our faith to shreds.  He wants us to see that no matter what trials we face can trust Him and be mature and complete in our faith.

So the verse says "Let perseverance finish its work".  This is what I tell myself this morning in the midst of my testing.  Instead of fighting the pain and wishing this trial would be over cause it hurts so much, I need to trust God and let the pain of perseverance finish its work.  For the proverbial "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger"  Holds true by the loving hand of our God if we let Him.  Even when we don't understand why we must go through what we are going through.  We get stronger in faith in Jesus and that He is fighting the fight for us and has already won.  

Courage for you this day in the testing of your faith!

Lens of Love

So lenses are very amazing things.  They are able to take in light and show and image to the viewer.   In photography, the lens makes all the difference on what you see.  Things can appear totally different than what they really are.  There are lenses with glass that warps an image to be really close up and the edges far away, or one that makes things close seem far away, or even with certain colors prominent. 

My lens or lack of lens has been a little skewed lately. Have you had times like that?  You know like you have a good friend and they seem a little distant, or a brother or a sister you are close to said something that seemed a little off, or a co-worker you normally get along great with seems to not like one of your ideas.  It kinda messes with us doesn't it.  

In theses situations we have choices right?  Based on our experience with them and the truth we know, we can choose what we do with the things that seem not good.  We choose to believe what we see on this one occasion as the truth, or we can choose to believe what we know about and have seen from the past. We can decide what lens we will look at the situation.

Now we were meant to be able to look at the world with pure clean lenses.  God made man to see the world as it really is, a beautiful gift of love from our creator. But the Devil had other plans to come and distort or vision and inject sin into this world.  And we all know sin as flipped this world upside down.  Now what is right, SEEMS wrong, and whats wrong, SEEMS right.  

The beautiful thing about God is that He gave us a lens that helps flip the image we think we see into the image it really is.  

JESUS

• John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." NIV

So when we think life is too much and we are doomed, we aren't! Thinking about this Love of God by giving us Jesus, doesn't this have the capacity to change our view?  Of  COURSE! 

So all those people you know that may have let you down sometimes or done something that didn't feel good. If you choose to look through the lens of love, that they love you, you can trust them.  Then you know that even when things a little off, you can trust their love for you.   You are able to still move forward in the relationship with them even when things aren't perfect.

It is the same with God!  God does so much for us every day from the warm bed we sleep in at night, to the flowers outside, to fuzzy little mongrel that welcomes you when you come home from work! But besides the things we enjoy now God has given us JESUS! He gave us Jesus to show us His great and abounding love for us beyond question!!!!  So even if our warm bed is taken from us, or the flowers forget to bloom, or the fuzzy mongrel is no more, that we can look to and through the Jesus and this Great Love, to know that God looks out for us and will not abandon us!

So as usual and as many of us do sometimes, I got down about life circumstances.  In times like these, I lose my lens.  I decide to try and look at the word and my circumstances through my own eyes and start doubting God's love for me. I get lost in the lack of a spouse or kid when all my friends have one, or in dissatisfaction with my job or family.  Instead of stopping and taking the time to look through the lens of Jesus.  I cry out to God and say "why is everything so messed up!!!"  And God gently reminds me "Remember My Love"  "Look to and through the lens of My Love, Jesus"

I was sitting in church yesterday and I was listening to the music being played for the offertory "Redeemed".  The line that always touches me is "Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, HIS CHILD AND FOREVER I AM" 

With that kind of love, how can we not want to look through the lens of love always!  I pray for you and for me that we get better at choosing the lens of love, over any other in this world.  God bless you this week!  Amen!

Singing Over You!

"The Lord your God is in your midst,
 a mighty one who will save;
 he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing"

Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

I was just recently introduced to this verse.  I just so love the picture it paints of God.  That He rejoices over us as His kids!  That He quiets us with His love and is so overwhelmed with love for us He sings loudly over us!  

Can you imaging God walking around heaven saying your name and how much He loves you and starts singing in joy over you and the relationship you have together, like a Dad sings to his kids to comfort them, or be playful with them, or be proud of them because they are HIS kids!  

Dear friends in Christ!  Please know this today that God loves to sing over you!  May you be encouraged this day! 

Trust Me

My heart has been hurting a lot lately. There are times in each of our lives that we feel down or discouraged. I feel the pain of a couple of close people to me.  I identify with their suffering and questions.  I long to reach them but they barrier themselves up because of their pain or disappointment.  They can only see their pain they cannot see past it.

Boy do I identify with these feelings.  I have been several times in places where all I could see was my suffering.  I had no idea the damage my own suffering was causing to those around me.  Anyone that tired to help I would fight and argue with  because I was too afraid to let anyone touch that wounded part of me. But deep down I longed to be set free and be healed. 

I know what awful games the devil plays with our minds and even still I find myself getting stuck in these patterns of thinking starting to believe the lies he spins for us. "No one will understand you" "you'll never be good enough" "Everyone thinks you're crazy" "God loves them more than you" "If you tell them how you feel, they will leave you"

Ever heard those lines before?

My heart just aches for these loved ones and for the wake of destruction this kind of thinking is doing in their lives.  I have tried to talk with them but they still seem so stuck.  

So this last couple weeks I have just cried and cried over it. I long for God to step in and wake up their hearts to see His love and a way out.  But it seems that things just get worse and more people are getting hurt.  It seems as if all my prayers are in vain and nothing breaks through. 

It is hard in times like these for me to keep the faith.  I feel God saying to me just keep trusting me. I just want to say like David saying "How long oh Lord!"  But you know what I love about David... He was so honest about his feelings to God and just laid them at God's feet.  In the end he always found hope in His loving God. Psalms 13 is one of my favorites.

"How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
 I will sing the Lord ’s praise,
for he has been good to me" NIV

In some way God speaks to David and reminds him of all He had done  for David and says "Trust Me, Remember all the times I have been good to you, just trust me"  David remembers and says. Despite what I see and feel "I will trust in your unfailing love......for he has been good to me"

Psalms has a way of soothing my soul in rough times. It helps me to see I can be totally honest with God and tell Him how I feel.  I don't have to pretend with Him.   When I lay these burdens at His feet, He will lift me up and remind me to hang on and trust Him because of all He has done and His unfailing love.

Now my heart still hurts and I will keep longing for these loved ones,  but God reminds me that He has unfailing love not just for me but for my loved ones as well. That He has not forgotten my prayers or missed one tear I've cried. He gently whispers "Trust Me" " Remember what I've done in the past for you and trust me"

Many of you, I know struggle with much harder things than this. God see's everything we go through and His heart breaks too for the things sin does to us in this world. He longs for us to reach out to Him in everything with total honesty of heart. He knows He is the only one that can save us from this world of sin and pain.  He holds out His hand and says "trust me, I know it seems unbearable but trust me" "I am your hope and your salvation. My love is unfailing! I will lift you up!"

God knows that if we will chose to trust Him, we will have peace. If we chose to believe what He promises and has shown us over and over again in His actions of sacrifice and love, we can have peace!  It may not change the longing but now it can be cradled in hope in our loving God!

So this morning I'm reminded to lay this pain and fear for my loved ones down at God's feet. Reminded of my God's love for me i relax a little. I chose to trust Him, even as I type this entry and make this decision to believe in my God over what I feel and see, peace is washing over me. 

It is an interesting thing choice. Choice must come first sometimes before the peace.

So lay your heart out to God in your struggles, whatever they might be.  He sees you and hears you and so longs to draw close. He wants to give you hope in the midst of your suffering.  Reach to Him and know His unfailing love!  He has not forgotten you or hidden His face. Choose to trust Him and you will find peace.

So Worth Waiting For!!!

Do you ever struggle with waiting?  LOL :) silly question right? 

We wait a lot in our day don't we? We wait in traffic, we wait for the bus, we wait in line at the grocery store, we wait in the drive thru.  There really is no end to the waiting we do.

Some things are easier to wait for than others. So for me waiting for the small things are sometimes harder than for the big things.  Like I nearly go bonkers over the slow lady in traffic, but I wait with bated breath for a trip to go see my friend.  The waiting is almost as fun as the trip because I think of all the fun we will have and every time we talk on the phone we are planning the cool things we will do together. 

Lets be honest though.... Sometimes waiting gets incredibly hard. Waiting for an answer from a doctor about the prognosis of a loved one, waiting to hear if family is okay after a car accident, waiting for the body to heal after an injury, for a single person, waiting for a spouse. Even more painful can be waiting for answers from God about broken relationships, loss of a job, or purpose and direction when everything in your life seems to be going wrong. 

The Bible has so much about waiting.  So many promises and hope!  I love this one in Isaiah.

• Isaiah 40:31 -  "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
  they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
  they shall run and not be weary;
  they shall walk and not faint"  ESV

What we deal with in this world can be truly down right horrible and nearly what seems impossible to bear, but it is all temporary.  We have such a hope beyond all the pain and sorrow and yes.....even the waiting that we must do in this world. 

My small group at church has been studying Hebrews and yesterday a verse just leaped out of the page at me. 

• Hebrews 9:28 - "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." NIV

For the first time this verse brought such encouragement.  Jesus came first to wipe away sin and He will come again to bring Salvation to all those who are waiting for Him.  The English Standard Version says "Eagerly waiting for Him"

We have such a loving Savior that has wiped the slate clean for us and continues to do it for us every day as we turn our hearts toward Him. But He did not die and rise again to wipe the slate clean and then leave us.  He is COMING BACK to bring us SALVATION from this sinful planet!  Isn't that SO worth waiting for?

I think the interesting thing is the verse says for those who are waiting.  When we wait we look for something or someone.  So it is an action a state of the heart, waiting.  We don't wait without some expectation, what's the point?  The beautiful thing is God does not abandon us in this waiting. He gives us strength to go on even when others around us may fall because we put our hope in Him and trust Him in everything!

So the next time you wait somewhere or for something.... Remember..... God will give you strength..... and your waiting is not in vain.  He is coming back to save us and be with us forever!  Something TOTALLY worth waiting for Eagerly! 

Power in a Pile of Rocks

So I have these little pile of rocks around my house. Not because I'm some secret geologist or planning to build a miniature rock castle in my back yard someday. :)  My sweet little niece who is 3 loves them and loves to give them away to the people she loves. 

She doesn't seem to have much discernment in picking her rocks she will pick nearly anyone out there. All colors sizes and shapes can qualify from pea sized gravel to as big as her fist, It matters not. She will at any given moment have at least 3 rocks somewhere on her person hand or pockets. 

Today I walked by my little pile on my end table in the living room as I tried to clear away some clutter and noticed her little treasures again sitting in their place smiling at me. 

It makes me think of how many small gifts and talents we are given, what little things we are drawn to and treasure. God has blessed each one of us with special gifts however big or small. 

• 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 - "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
   Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." NIV

I love how the verse says there are different kinds of gifts but the same God at work and all given for the common good.

What gift has God given you? No matter how big or small God calls you to use it. Some people have the gift of writing letters, or mowing lawns, or saying something encouraging, or listening, or collecting rocks. It may seem small and insignificant but not even the smallest gift goes unnoticed by God and those who receive it.

Those plain little rocks aren't plain to me. They bring me waves of joy and love every time I see them and remember the gift of a loving heart and hand they came from.  So to someone else those rocks are nothing, but to me they mean the world.

Never underestimate the power your spiritual gifts God has given you and how they can change a life. From the outside observer it may seem like nothing but a couple rocks, but to the one that receives it may be more precious than gold and warms the heart of God.

Head in the Game

So I'm back to running again.... for little over a month now.  I'm doing better this season than last considering I took winter off.  Last year I came to a point where running more than 3 miles was hard to me.  I only made 4 miles once.  This season I've made 4 miles 2x but I struggle to get that mileage every time.  

I started doing some research  and my conclusion is. Running is a head game.  Its what I'm telling my body I can do verses what I can't do.  So I know I can do it I've done it before. It is my head and my focus on my body aches fatigue etc that stops me.

I think God has steered me into running, even though I'm not a runner build or really even liked running to start with, because it is such a physical tangible way of understanding our spiritual running.   

Paul compares his spiritual life and mission as a race more than once in the new testament. 

• Acts 20:24 - " However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace" NIV

• 2 Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" NIV

The writer of Hebrews which is unknown but sounds a lot like Paul also encourages us in our faith and spiritual lives as well with analogy of running.

•  Hebrews 12:1-2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith..." NIV

As I put my shoes on and get ready to go outside and do this running thing, what I'm focused on and what things I say to myself make a difference.  If I focus on my body and my internal tiredness I feel like the road stretches endlessly before me and I fail to make my goal. But if I tell myself positive things and focus on the road ahead and my goal, I can do it!

Sometimes  and especially for me the last month, I feel little lost and struggle to feel close to God. I start worrying about how I'm feeling rather than what God's truth is and His promises.  My emotions want to take over and tell me I can't run this race.  However, I'm reminded through my physical running, it is not how I feel that determines my success it is what I'm focused on.  If I take the time to remember God will never leave me and nothing can separate me from His love, my focus shifts and I have a little more energy to keep going despite what I feel.

The devil will try and manipulate us into thinking that how we are feeling whether discouragement, depression, or disillusionment, is the reality. But as Christians we have promise after promise, and truth upon truth, not only in the Bible but times in our lives when God has stepped in and worked miracles for us.  When we focus on these things the resistance drops away and we find the energy to keep the faith and keep going.

So this last week or so I have had to say to God "God despite how I feel I know Your promises and Truth. I trust You" I'm slowly pulling out and finding my energy again to keep going.  Every time I do this it grows me and my faith for the next time around. I find myself able to trust my loving God more and more!

What struggles or emotions are you facing that seem to be clouding your vision or feelings of closeness to God? Remember the Truth. God loves you and will never leave you! This spiritual race is tough and at times a head game.  Keep your head in the game and Trust what you KNOW to be True, not what your body is telling you. Fix your eyes on Jesus and you will find the energy bit by bit to finish the race!!

Dare to Speak

I got to spend some time with my niece and nephew today. They are such great kids. And I pray for them constantly for God to enlighten them and draw them and show His love to them. I want them to find that wonderful loving God I know.  Every once in awhile I get a glimpse that God is working.

So as we were driving in the car my nephew says he has a hard time telling his friends at school about Jesus. I asked him why and he said it was because he has friends he knows does not like Jesus or are not Christians. I tried to encouraged him as I can, but I too understand his dilemma.

As much as I encourage him and long for him to find the courage to be a God follower.  His comments and thoughts still ring in my ears and make me think and considered my life as well.

Don't we all as Christians struggle with this very concept.  I struggle with this all the time. I want to reach the world but I also struggle to acknowledge God before my friends especially the ones I know aren't really Christian or even a little resistant.  I like to think I do better than I used to but I think if I were really under pressure would I speak up despite the cost of losing a friend or being mocked for my belief.  I have to say I empathize with my nephew but also know that God wants us to speak up.  Jesus gives us instruction on this very thing in Matthew.

• Matthew 10:32-33 - "“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." NIV

Jesus goes on in this passage to say He did not come to bring peace to the earth but a sword and to turn family against each other.  Initially this sounds harsh and crazy, but he says a key point that puts in more in perspective.

• Matthew 10:37 - "“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." NIV

Basically, Jesus knows that if we love anyone or anything more than Him we will parish on this earth.

•  Matthew 10:39 - " Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it" NIV

How do I make God so important that I would sacrifice even my closest relationships for Him?  It is something that Jesus calls us all to do, that we should love Him more than anything or anyone else.

It is a process but as we look to Jesus and grapple with these questions, He transforms us day by day to get to the point that if the time comes we will have the courage to do just that.  Dying to ourselves and looking to Him gives us life eternal and helps us reach our world.

I'm glad to see my nephew is seeing these things and looking to find answers to these critical questions so early in life. It is a sign that God is calling on his heart. He isn't perfect at it, but he is learning. And as I think on it, I realize I too am learning the same as he is to acknowledge more my loving Lord and Savior to the world around me.

Through this little chat with my nephew, it reinforces to me the importance of always looking to Jesus for my strength to speak up when at times I might feel like shrinking back.

How can you step up and speak up more for God and acknowledge Him more to those around you?  How can we all focus our eyes on Him more in our day?   The smallest moment acknowledging God before others can plant seeds that can produce a harvest 10 fold. So take courage my friend and dare to speak!

My Father and Your Father!

Happy Easter! I guess a little late for some and I'm sorry.  It has been a busy weekend with all the events and special gatherings. It was a weekend full of God, good times with family, and friends for me.  I hope it was for you too.

This year was a little more special for me because of one of my dear friends pointing me more to Jesus.  She is super musical and has such a great heart for music and the message of music.  She also has had a burden to show more of Jesus sacrifice and His great love by His death and resurrection this Easter.  More than usual for her.  It has pushed me to consider more deeply Jesus personal care and love for each one of us.

I was reading this morning in John about Jesus death and resurrection.  Honestly I think it is cool that Mary Magdalen is the first to see Him.

• John 20:15-17 - "He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
  Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
   Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
  She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
   Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" NIV

Can you imagine how He must have spoken to her?  Reading it this morning, I imagined He said her name with such tenderness and love yet with such a heart of excitement to have her see that He was really alive and savior to the world! That as He asked her why she was crying, He was just waiting, with a smile on His face, to see Mary recognize His voice and go from utter sorrow to pure joy!  What a tender beautiful personal encounter with Jesus!

The next part just hit me between the eyes this morning! Jesus says "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God".   My Father AND your Father! My God AND your God!  I wonder how amazing it must have felt to Jesus to know that sin and death was conquered and that now each and every person could now say "My Father, My God!"  We could all now become His kids full fledged papers and all :) Adopted into God's Family because of Jesus sacrifice! He had just erased over 4 thousand years of sin before the cross and 2+ thousand years to forever in the future for all who believe in Him!

Oh how I wish every person could grasp even a small glimpse of this Amazing Love for each one of us! Oh dear reader, whoever you may be, whatever brought you to this page..... let this really sink into your heart, the knowledge of Jesus dying for you and the joy He has seeing you realize He really isn't dead.... He is Alive with more love than you could ever imagine! So that you can be free from sin and call Him Dad!

It Doesn't get any better than that!

Confession and a Bulldozer

So a subject that has been on my mind a lot lately is confession.  Mainly for how it keeps the road more clear between me and God.  It allows me to be in better communion with Him and hear Him more speaking in my life. 

This concept of confession did not dawn on me till just in the last couple years.  That confession is the key to the bulldozer that clears out the garbage between me and God. I'm not perfect at it all the time, but I do see as I take time daily to reflect and lay in front of God the things that come to me where I had a bad attitude toward someone or got impatient or selfish, the road of communication becomes more clear.

The Bible tells us there are times when some people have been so full of sin that God fails to hear them.  Now I'm not sure that it refers to the literal sense of hearing or more that God does not give them what they want because their hearts aren't right with Him. They don't confess and repent, they just want relief from their suffering. 

• Isaiah 59:1-2 - "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,
  nor his ear too dull to hear.
   But your iniquities have separated
  you from your God;
  your sins have hidden his face from you,
  so that he will not hear." NIV

David in psalms also talks about his state before confession to God and what God did when he did confess.

• Psalms 32:3-5 - "When I kept silent,
  my bones wasted away
  through my groaning all day long.
   For day and night
  your hand was heavy on me;
  my strength was sapped
  as in the heat of summer.
   Then I acknowledged my sin to you
  and did not cover up my iniquity.
  I said, “I will confess
  my transgressions to the Lord.”
  And you forgave
  the guilt of my sin."NIV

The beautiful thing about God is if we confess, He forgives us and cleanses us from everything! 

•  1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" NIV 

And when we do this, His eyes are on us and He hears us!

•  1 Peter 3:12 - "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
  and his ears are attentive to their prayer,....." NIV

 I know this is a lot of verses but such an important key to our communication with God and having it healthy and working right.

God wants to show us and teach us sooooooo much! Why not take the time every day to ask God to reveal to us what we should confess. Then God can get out the bulldozer of forgiveness clear the path and cleans us opening better communication. Wouldn't we all benefit from hearing God more in our life?  You have only sins to lose and forgiveness and whole lot of awesome to gain! :)

Titanic, Wake Up!

So I have recently been contemplating our world.  All the pain and suffering and death and brutality.  Our world is a huge mess.  On some days I think a lot of us say to ourselves "what is this world coming to?" (Kinda sound a little old reading that back to myself) :) But lets face it, its true, right?  Some day's I feel like we are on the Titanic.

Well, honestly we are aren't we?  Jesus even tells His disciples the end of time and the world as we know it was going to come to and end. Jesus told them the world was going to get worse before He comes back again.

• Mark 13:7-8 - "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains" NIV

These terrible events we are seeing more and more in the news, are signs that the end of time is coming. This ship is going down.  This earth full of sin is getting more and more wicked and people care less and less for each other.  This is the result of sin in the world.

To some this idea may be a little extreme, but I challenge you to read the Bible and look for yourself about what Jesus says.  Ask the Holy Spirit give you discernment on these things.  And I know He will.

Time is running short.  And just like the people on the Titanic so many of us are Asleep!  Even many Christians are Asleep!  We have taken comfort in our 1st world countries and all of the conveniences of life, and let them become idols and lull our brains and hearts to sleep!  We don't even know how to hear God anymore.

I am as much to blame for falling asleep for years. I went to church feeling I was doing fine because at least I did my best to do good.  But my heart was dead.  I had no life in it.  I still was thinking only of my selfish desires in this world and never really able to find any kind of meaning or peace in my life.  I would vacillate between feeling emptiness, fear, anxiety, and depression.  There was always this thought, "I'm supposed to be happy because I'm a Christian" but inside, I was completely apathetic. I tried to use the worlds momentary things try and fill the God sized hole in my heart.  It never worked.  Mean while, everyone around me is perishing and getting sucked in too.

I'm not perfect and won't be till heaven, but I'm happy to say God is waking me up!  So I'm pleading with you!  Wake up!  This ship is going down!  How many horrible things in this world have to happen before we see that we don't have much time left.  Do we wait till people start getting beheaded in our country before we do something?  In our state?  In our town?!  Do we not see that we need to get serious about our walk with God!

God is calling us and pleading with us!  Even as Paul does to the Ephesians.

• Ephesians 5:14 - "   This is why it is said:
  “Wake up, sleeper,
  rise from the dead,
  and Christ will shine on you.”NIV

Revelation also speaks of waking up and what happens if we don't.

• Revelation 3:2-3 -  "Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.
   Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you" NIV

Jesus even gives a parable about this as well of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.

Will We open our eyes?!  Will we see the signs right in front of us? Or will we, especially us a professed 1st world Christians, sit in our high level comfy cabins say "Oh, We're fine there is nothing wrong."  as the water is at our door and our neighbors are drowning!

Again, I know to some of you this may seem extreme. But again I challenge you.  If you claim to be a Christian, when will you get serious about your walk with God? I mean serious.  Like pressed in to Jesus seeking Him night and day.  God does not call us to live "all things in moderation."  God calls us to be SOLD OUT, FULL THROTTLE, ALL IN for Him EVERY DAY!

When will we fully surrender to Him and focus on Him rather than our ipads, phones, tv's , and video games, selfishness, other peoples opinions about us, etc..... you fill in the blank.  If we keep our heads buried in these things, and not turn our eyes and hearts toward God, we will drowned and go down with the ship!

God is knocking at our hearts, I know some of you feel it.  Don't ignore it!  God is calling you! Wake up! Surrender to Him and let Him into your Heart! Focus on Jesus and let Him transform you and the people in your life for Him! Before it's too late.

I pray for everyone that is reading this that your heart is stirred and you have the courage to wake up and surrender, All IN for Jesus our Loving Lord and Savior, to reach the world for HIM!  Amen!

Salted by Fire

Happy Wednesday!  :)  My worship lately has been reading through first 4 Gospels and trying to glean more about Jesus life and really focus on His messages to His disciples.  I especially love John.  Mainly due to more description and details about Jesus life and it feels more chronological.  I'm no Bible scholar so unsure how chronological it is, that is just the feeling I get when I read John.  However, a verse in Mark jumped out at me the other day.  It was if I had never seen it before.  

• Mark 9:49-50 - "Everyone will be salted with fire.
   “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” NIV 

I heard this passage about being salty hundreds of times, but never heard the salted with fire!  Pretty cool hu?!

The thing about salt is you don't need very much to make a dish taste better.  A little salt goes a long way.  Fire is kind of the same in the sense all you need a little spark to start a fire and that small fire can set a forest ablaze.

So this verse immediately made me think of when the disciples were given the Holy Spirit.

•  Acts 2:3-4 - " They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit...." NIV

What a awesome connection!  So Jesus talks about salt but not about literal salt or even just general figurative version of salt.  He is almost if not predicting the gift of the Holy Spirit to His disciples and believers!  

• Hebrews 12:29 - "for our “God is a consuming fire.” NIV

So this is God imparting a little part of Himself, the Holy Spirit, on each one of us to light the world on fire for Him!  Even the smallest flame makes a difference and spread far beyond what we think.

So lets pray today...."Help me be salted with fire of Your Holy Spirit"  So we can help set this world on fire for our Loving Savior!  May you be encouraged and blessed this day! And most importantly set on FIRE!  Amen!

Kori :)

Changed For Change

Have you as a Christian wondered how to relate to your non-Christian friends?  This has been a battle for me for the longest time.  I always felt that I never could really show that I was a Christian to my non-Christian friends, and honestly up until a certain age I really didn't even have but 1 or 2 non-Christian friends because of it.  I felt they wouldn't understand me and judge me.   I was scared.  

As I got older I began to feel bitter about my Christian upbringing and felt that the church was too strict and legalistic.  I began to more and more mold myself around the idea I needed to be more like the world for non-Christians to want to be a Christian, or honestly for them to like me.  Out of college I even decided it was more about being a good person and not about any do's and don'ts.  

My thought was that being a good Christian was about being "Culturally Relevant" so I formed myself even more so to the world. Dressing more like my non-Christian friends, I picked up drinking with them, listening to the same music even if it didn't have a good message, going places I knew were not good, going to shows that I knew were just filled with cussing and all kinds of graphic jokes or material that was totally making light or entertainment of sinful things. 

Up until only recently in the last couple years has God been slowly turning my heart around to see things differently.  Now that I am spending more and more time in worship and reading the Bible, it is becoming more and more clear to me that Jesus did not at all command His disciples to conform to the world.  

• John 15:18-19 - " “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." NIV

Then after Jesus warns His disciples the world with hate them, He then prays for them and defines more they are not of the world and asks God the Father to protect them.

• John 17:14-16 - "I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." NIV

So these kind of passages have been cutting to the heart for me lately. Mainly because I have changed so much over the last couple years with my decision to surrender to God even my greatest dreams to Him.  I have turned almost a total 180.  There is a list of things that in the last year I have given up or done that I would never in a million years been able to do.  It has only happened by the strength of God in my life, because I could never will myself or even have the desire to change them before, and believe me I've tried.

But these things make me more and more different than my non-Christian friends.  I am feeling the separation and I notice that they notice that I don't do the things I used to with them. No one has written me off or anything, but I notice they look at me a little different, and I see the question in their eyes why is she not doing that?  No one has asked me yet, but I'm sure in the near future it may come up.

So interestingly yesterday the sermon was talking about this. The point being made was of this very thing. The example given by the pastor was one of his own experience.  He stated that he ran into old friends and they got together to eat and drink.  He went with them to hang out and He was the only one in the group that did not drink.  He said it was awkward but it opened up conversation about God and what God had done in his life since they had seen each other last.

This was really encouraging to me and reinforced to me what I think God has been trying to get across to me over the last couple years.  My job as a born again Christian is not to conform to the world, looking more like the world, doing things more like the world.  My job is to focus on God and be renewed my mind in Christ, bathing myself over and over again in worship with Him and His word so He will transform the world around me for His glory!

Did you hear that?  Our job as disciples is NOT to change ourselves to be like the world, but to focus on God so HE can change the world around us for HIS GLORY!

•  Romans 12:2 -  "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will" NIV

I never could get this before.  I always thought the Christian message is too hard and my church is too legalistic.  Now, churches can be legalistic and my church is no exception.  But the message of Christ stands true ALWAYS and will draw hearts by the power of Jesus and His love.  So the idea of don't throw the baby  out with the bath water.  I'm also Not saying we should hate and banish all our non-Christian friends, just that we should keep to what we know to be right even when we are with them.

Jesus message, the word of God, and His example of reaching the world, by being different, being love to the world and standing for what is right and true, should be our compass! What does the verse above say? " Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is"  We do not have to be more like the world to reach the world.  It is Jesus job to save it, is our job to be like Him, vessels full of Him, so HE can Save through us!

Contemplating this is such a relief isn't it?  Takes the pressure off. But also comes the understanding that the world will not like us either sometimes and treat us badly.  But the Savior Himself has prayed for us so we can endure and be protected from the devil and his evil schemes.  What a Loving Awesome God we serve!

So as I was looking for a picture for this post I also ran into this picture too.  I thought It was so beautifully symbolic for this message as well.

Even me going to Church since a baby, I looked like my friends, like these matches.  But when God touch me and with the flame of the Holy Spirit I became a new creation!  I became Changed!  Guess what happens to all the matches standing next to the one touched?  They catch fire!  

So don't worry about what the matches around you are doing.  Your job as a Christian is to let the Holy Spirit's fire in you, set the rest of the world around you on fire, For Our Loving Savior and His sacrifice for Us!  Isn't that So COOL!!!! 

So Take Courage My Friend!  When the world around you tries to pressure you to change to be the same, remember let the change in you be your witness!  You might be surprised what God can and will do!  

Amen!

Kori

 

ALL IN! not a fan

I just finished this book called not a fan by Kyle Idleman.  This book has totally blown out of the water some of my thoughts about being a follower of God.  The idea that Jesus has lots of fans but few true followers.  Being a fan is easy, but being a follower is way harder and demands much more than some of us are willing to give. It has really made me re-evaluate what I'm really willing to surrender and do for my Savior and my Love. How serious am I? 

On this weekend focused on human love, there are all kinds of overtures people make to show love.  Some of them are cards, candy, nice dinners, and romantic get-a-ways. But you don't see people selling all they have to following their love around the city or to then ends of the earth very often.  Oh people love to sing about how they would run 500 miles, and 500 more, just to be the person that walks a 1000 miles to fall down at their door.  :D (yes I'm a little silly blame it on me being a late gen X 'er) LOL
But not many are truly serious about it.  If we were, the divorce rate probably wouldn't be so high.

Kyle tells a story about a person that comes up to him and complains about their family member being to crazy about God and talking too much about good sermons and giving too much of his hard earned money away to the church.  The person asks him to tell the family member that the Bible says "everything in moderation" and it doesn't have to be all or nothing. I paraphrased a little there... but basically, what was said.  Kyle as nicely as possible quotes part of Revelation 3 and tells them God asks us to go ALL IN.

• Revelation 3:14-22 - "  “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
  These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
   So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.
   You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. ’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
   I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
   Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
   To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches" NIV

So I have a tendency to want to be a fan.  Don't we all! Our sinful natures want the benefits but not the hardships and the trials that come with being a true follower of Christ.  We think we look like the picture above.  Cool collected fashionable with a little bit of the world and God mixed together in one so the non-believer can swallow Christianity easier.  We look in the mirror and say secretly to ourselves and say "I don't look half bad today, someone out there is going to want to be a Christian like me" I confess I have had this thought sometimes.  "Thanks God looking pretty good now"  But really the times we think that, are the times we look like this.

The minute I'm thinking I'm all fly and strutting my stuff, I'm looking in the mirror the devil threw up.  I really traded my gold and my white robe for wretched, pitiful, and blind.

Now this said I don't think we need to wander around thinking we are garbage and get stuck in guilt. But we have to keep things in perspective and remember that, wretched, pitiful, and blind is where we come from and if we want to be more than lukewarm.... We have to go ALL IN.  We have to give up Everything to experience the full measure of His love.  He gave EVERYTHING for ours!  He walked more than a 1000 miles in the dust for us to knock at our hearts door!

Won't we let Him in?! Won't you let Him in?! Don't settle for lukewarm.  Don't just be a fan.  Lets go ALL IN! What does He promise?  Jesus promises He will come in and eat with us! Personal and real, giving us gold refined by fire (riches this world cannot buy), white robes to cover us, and salve for our eyes so we can REALLY see.

Oh Great the Fathers Love For Us! How Vast Beyond All Measure! That He should give His ONLY Son. To make a wretch His Treasure!

The best Love EVER!

Not a fan......  Follower!

Praise to you God!

all my <3 ....kori

More Light!

Happy Friday!  I love Friday because it means the Sabbath is coming. A day of rest to learn more about God and connect with other Christians. :)

I am reading in Luke right now and came upon these verses that I have read over and over but this morning really spoke to me.  

• Luke 11:33-36 -  "“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you" NIV

Over the last couple years I have been more and more convicted that I need to be careful what I watch.  Mainly cause I'm such a visual person.  My favorite way of imbibing information is through video/TV/movies.  But I realize these things also stay with me after I watch them and either bring good or bad things to my mind. 

As a kid I could not watch anything that was remotely scary because I would go to bed scared and having bad dreams.  I had a hard time washing those images from my mind and it totally affected me.  Even in college my psychology professor made it mandatory to  watch the movie Sybil and I couldn't hardly sleep for 3 nights without nightmares.

I know I may be a little extreme when it comes to sensitivity to visual stimuli.  But these verses ring true.  The eyes are the lamp of your body.  What we ingest through our eyes gives us light or darkness. 

Murder mysteries are one of my favorite things to watch on TV.  I love the problem solving nature of the show figuring out who did it.  However, I realized more and more these shows are about dark things.  Yes they are wrapped up in a pretty package of cool characters out for justice or at least mostly justice.  But at the core it is all about Murder.

This is just one example of something that can add darkness to us. And if I offend you with that example, that was not my intention.  But shouldn't we consider these things?  The devil is really good at packaging things up to look good and seem like good things.  He is good by adding just enough truth to something that we justify it as good.  What little things we let in wrapped in a pretty bow may be the very things that pull us away from God and dull us from hearing Him.

So these verses hit hard this morning and make me realize even more that what I am taking in with my eyes bring light or darkness.  I want a light so bright that is shines up the path in front of me to my loving savior!  Don't you?  Are you feeling yucky and unhealthy and struggling to see God in your life?  Fill your eyes with good healthy things of God's beauty, goodness, love, and mercy and see how your whole view changes and the life it brings to your heart!  Lets resolve together to let in more light! :)

Blessings

Kori