11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12
I loved going out on the weekends. I loved to have drinks with my friends and dance all night. I loved being in everyones business and gossiping about people, probably to make myself feel better about my own life. I also unknowingly dated a married man. Worse is when I found out that he was I continued the relationship, and let myself fall in love with him. After I found out, even though I didnt have the relationship with God then as I do now, I felt God telling me to end it. But I was more worried about my relationship with that man then the one with God. I have always been concerned about what others think of me, I dont want people to think that I'm wierd or something. Looking back at that..how silly of me to worry about that!
Fear of what people will say was something that kept me from seeking Gods truth for me. When I look at it, almost everyone hated Jesus, they called him all kinds of names, that didnt stop him.Jesus wasnt worried that Simon wouldnt talk to him anymore, they killed him for being who he was! Today, no one is going to kill us for being a Christian (in the US anyways), and lets thank God for that. I can honestly say that being a Christ follower is the hardest thing that I have ever done, but it is the most rewarding. When I began my walk with Christ, He took from me the desire to party and replaced it with the desire to learn about Him. He took from me the fear of ridicule from others and replaced it with love and understanding towards them. God is good like that, He fixes things in me that just arent right!
I feel that I am proof that if you put your trust and faith in God that He will not ignore you. He will show you His will for your life, He will take you places and show you things that you never thought possible. He is cool like that!!!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Limited Thinking
I think that there are many misunderstandings when it comes to having faith and God. I think that there are alot of "christian"groups that make Christians look bad and that turns people way from God. I'm not going to talk about the people that say God hates the US, that is a whole different subject in itself, I don't even have words to say about that topic! But in the less extreme more realistic sense, some people see faith as rules:
-I can only wear skirts
-I cant eat sugar
-I cant watch TV
-I cant take birth control
-I have to pray 20 times a day
-I cant dance, drink or laugh......
The truth of this is, is that yes, these are some things that different denominations practice.
17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect[a] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
In this passage the "unveiled faces" refers to Christians, believers of Christ.
I wore a veil (more like 10 veils!) over my face for a long time. That veil held me back from pursuing God will in my life. When I seen this list with my veil on, I only seen limitations vs. now looking at them with my veil off, I see that this list ultimately came from God. And because He is so awesome, He knew that if the world were to only have one denomination/religion then we (His children) would be limited in knowing Him.
I have learned not to limit my thinking when it comes to faith in Christ. I had to realize that just because someone does or doesn't do these things, that they are fulfilling Gods call in there life, which was something that I wasn't doing while judging them. Thinking that they were weird, when I was the one losing out. God has done alot of work with my heart this past few years, we have come along way together. He taught me that how you get to the finish line isn't as important as making it there. All Christians have the same goal: to get to heaven, to have eternal life with Jesus Christ. So no matter if you don't eat sugar, or you do until your teeth fall out, the goal is still the same, eternal life with Christ.
I also used to think that there were no "cool" Christ followers,that you were a "bible banger" (thanks Brandy!) if you had a relationship with God. But I want to state for the record that I know some very cool women (and men) that believe, in fact I sat down with 3 this morning and 4 last night. Women who are as normal as they come, graphic designers, teachers, artist, program directors, moms and wives, the only difference is that "They're Believing God"!!!!
-I can only wear skirts
-I cant eat sugar
-I cant watch TV
-I cant take birth control
-I have to pray 20 times a day
-I cant dance, drink or laugh......
The truth of this is, is that yes, these are some things that different denominations practice.
17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect[a] the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
In this passage the "unveiled faces" refers to Christians, believers of Christ.
I wore a veil (more like 10 veils!) over my face for a long time. That veil held me back from pursuing God will in my life. When I seen this list with my veil on, I only seen limitations vs. now looking at them with my veil off, I see that this list ultimately came from God. And because He is so awesome, He knew that if the world were to only have one denomination/religion then we (His children) would be limited in knowing Him.
I have learned not to limit my thinking when it comes to faith in Christ. I had to realize that just because someone does or doesn't do these things, that they are fulfilling Gods call in there life, which was something that I wasn't doing while judging them. Thinking that they were weird, when I was the one losing out. God has done alot of work with my heart this past few years, we have come along way together. He taught me that how you get to the finish line isn't as important as making it there. All Christians have the same goal: to get to heaven, to have eternal life with Jesus Christ. So no matter if you don't eat sugar, or you do until your teeth fall out, the goal is still the same, eternal life with Christ.
I also used to think that there were no "cool" Christ followers,that you were a "bible banger" (thanks Brandy!) if you had a relationship with God. But I want to state for the record that I know some very cool women (and men) that believe, in fact I sat down with 3 this morning and 4 last night. Women who are as normal as they come, graphic designers, teachers, artist, program directors, moms and wives, the only difference is that "They're Believing God"!!!!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Misunderstood
False: Because the world isnt the same as it was 1,000 years ago God has changed to "fit in".
Fact: God is still the same as He was when He created Adam and Eve.
He doesnt change! I used to think that He did, probably to justify my behavior. I thought..."Look at the world today, If judgement day were to happen today, everyone is doomed. But God is supposed to be good, so he wont cast us all away from him because all of my sins are excepted in todays living world. Millions of people are doing the same things I am....". I have a feeling that I am not the only one who thought that.
How depressing would that be; If God were wishy-washy like we are. If He changed His ways to "fit in". Think about this: the very hand that created heaven and earth is the very same hand that loves us today.
This is something that God has recently revealed to me. That he is so powerful and perfect that His love and rightousness never changes. That He will always forgive my sin (and forget it happened!) if I ask Him with a sincere heart, no matter how many times I make the same mistake. Unlike me who is unforgiving and unforgetting. Before I was really able to have a relationship with Christ, I first had to understand that He is allpowerful and unchanging. He is more than you or I can fathom, our minds cannot hold or comperhend his majesty and how BIG He is.
Fact: God is still the same as He was when He created Adam and Eve.
He doesnt change! I used to think that He did, probably to justify my behavior. I thought..."Look at the world today, If judgement day were to happen today, everyone is doomed. But God is supposed to be good, so he wont cast us all away from him because all of my sins are excepted in todays living world. Millions of people are doing the same things I am....". I have a feeling that I am not the only one who thought that.
How depressing would that be; If God were wishy-washy like we are. If He changed His ways to "fit in". Think about this: the very hand that created heaven and earth is the very same hand that loves us today.
This is something that God has recently revealed to me. That he is so powerful and perfect that His love and rightousness never changes. That He will always forgive my sin (and forget it happened!) if I ask Him with a sincere heart, no matter how many times I make the same mistake. Unlike me who is unforgiving and unforgetting. Before I was really able to have a relationship with Christ, I first had to understand that He is allpowerful and unchanging. He is more than you or I can fathom, our minds cannot hold or comperhend his majesty and how BIG He is.
In the "zone"
10 years ago my comfort zone was way different then it is today. I was comfortable smoking, getting drunk and high and having sex. I felt uncomfortable when I went to church (on the rarest occasion) and when I would pray, which was usually selfishly.
I was raised in a Catholic school so I have always beleived in God, but now I realize that it was in a superficial way. Adults that I was suppost to look up to and learn from drank, cheated on spouses and partied all the time. The only thing I learned at the time was that that kind of behivior was excepted.
After I had my first baby at 19, God sent me an angel (thats what I would call her anyway). She was my sons babysitter. Joan. She was the one to help me take my first step out of my comfort zone. She invited me to church one Sunday and my life since then slowly started to change. It has been a hard fight out and I fell back into my zone many times since, but God planted a seed in my heart that day and He waited patiently for my to notice it.
I was raised in a Catholic school so I have always beleived in God, but now I realize that it was in a superficial way. Adults that I was suppost to look up to and learn from drank, cheated on spouses and partied all the time. The only thing I learned at the time was that that kind of behivior was excepted.
After I had my first baby at 19, God sent me an angel (thats what I would call her anyway). She was my sons babysitter. Joan. She was the one to help me take my first step out of my comfort zone. She invited me to church one Sunday and my life since then slowly started to change. It has been a hard fight out and I fell back into my zone many times since, but God planted a seed in my heart that day and He waited patiently for my to notice it.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Turning point
This past year God has been doing some amazing things. He has revealed things to me that blow my mind and He has put some of the most awesome people in my life. I am speechless when I think about how much God loves me. Me! I never really understood how God could love everyone. When you hear people say that Jesus died on the cross for you, I would tend to think of the you, as everyone as a whole. But thats not it, He did it for you, for me, for you as an individual. When He revealed that to me, on that very special day, my life forever changed.
I am not much for journaling and sharing my personal life with people. I am doing this as a step to start stepping out of my comfort zone. Anyone who was at service this morning at Heritage will know what I am talking about. My goal in this is that maybe someone reading will be encouraged to step out of their own comfort zone. Because of my goal, I am slowly going to reveal why I am Forever Changed.
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