Sorry I didn't post last week. I spent last week moving to Texas. This week I would like to discuss gratitude.
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I'm going to break this down into 3 sections. The first being "BE JOYFUL ALWAYS." I spend a lot of time focusing on what I don't have, what I want, and how much greater my life would be like if I had more. It does not say be joyful when things are going well or when you have something that other people want. There are many times in my life that I find myself complaining about how I am not making enough money, I don't have the nicest things, or how I wish I had a different life. What I should do is to stop and assess all the amazing things the Lord has blessed me with so far. I should thank God every day for the people he has put in my life, the jobs I have had, and the experiences He has given me. So many people in this world have far less than I do and I get caught up in how the girl in the store has a nicer handbag than I do.
Part 2 of this passage reads "PRAY CONTINUALLY." Being joyful means nothing if you do not have an active relationship with Christ. In my short time as a Christian I have struggled with praying, but I can honestly say there is no better feeling than the one I get after I have connected with the Lord. I don't have any scientific evidence to back this up, but to me it resembles the feeling of endorphins being released into my body like when you're in love or when you workout. If that feeling can be accessed every day by simply going before God and keeping your relationship with him healthy and active, why wouldn't someone want to pray every second of every single day? I believe that praying continually can mean different things for different people depending on the phase of their life that they are in. For some people, praying continually could mean once a day while others could mean multiple times a day.
The final section of this passage reads "GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, FOR THIS IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOU IN CHRIST JESUS." First of all, who doesn't want God's will for themselves? Christ's will is a constant. It does not change and He is always right. We need to thank the Lord for every aspect of our lives: the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is easy to praise Him when things are going well, but it is a struggle to be grateful when things aren't going according to plan. As humans we can never know ahead of time how various aspects of our lives will effect our future. God has seen our entire lives before they happened and would never put a child of his into a situation that would not be for some purpose in their lives. Those purposes could range from things as simple as finding a job, meeting new people, or being in the right place at the right time to deeper purposes such as bringing glory to God or sharing the word of the Lord with others.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Week 4: Love and Relationships
My boyfriend and I have been in a relationship for two and a half years. As a Christian couple, we try to honor God with our relationship, but sometimes we have struggled to know exactly how to go about honoring the Lord. We aren't perfect, we don't always treat each other how God commands us to, but we try to. I am also going to touch on what God wants his followers to find in their significant other.
To be cliché I am going to start with 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. It is a verse that many people have heard before at weddings, and its popularity can sometimes make people over look the power of it. The verse reads: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails... This verse spells out how to have a successful relationship, with anyone, not just a husband or a wife. I can't say that I am ALWAYS patient, kind, trusting, protective, or hopeful. Nor can I honestly claim that I am NEVER rude, self-seeking, easily angered, or keeping a record of wrongs. I am not perfect. No one is, except Jesus. But I can say that when it comes to love, and the man I believe I was put on the earth to be with, I will always persevere, and I will never fail. I look at this passage as a model for how I should strive to be in all of my relationships, but especially with my boyfriend.
God wants us to live our lives with a partner (Genesis 2:18, 21-22), and He wants us to love them how He loves us (Ephesians 5:22-25). Genesis 2:18, 21-22 tells us The Lord God said, " It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him....So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. In Ephesians 5:22-25 we are told: Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. I am a very strong willed and stubborn woman, and I think my boyfriend would agree, so I found some difficulty with the line that reads, "Wives, submit to your husbands..." But as I read on, I began to see why it is important and relax. If I think about how Jesus loves his followers (aka church), I know that He would never take advantage of their obedience. God loves us more than we will ever be able to fully comprehend. He wouldn't use our submission to him to hurt us or put us in situations that would end in bad circumstances. If a husband loves his wife as Christ loves his church, there should be no worry about submitting to him.
I realize that I am not married, but in my relationship I look to my boyfriend for spiritual guidance and one day he will be the spiritual leader of our family. That doesn't mean that women are stupid or can't also help their men along. Everyone goes through times in their lives when they need a spiritual "jump start" where the other person helps to get them back on track with their walk with Christ. In the two and a half years of my relationship we have each needed one. A relationship is a pair for a reason, If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 4:10
To be cliché I am going to start with 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. It is a verse that many people have heard before at weddings, and its popularity can sometimes make people over look the power of it. The verse reads: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails... This verse spells out how to have a successful relationship, with anyone, not just a husband or a wife. I can't say that I am ALWAYS patient, kind, trusting, protective, or hopeful. Nor can I honestly claim that I am NEVER rude, self-seeking, easily angered, or keeping a record of wrongs. I am not perfect. No one is, except Jesus. But I can say that when it comes to love, and the man I believe I was put on the earth to be with, I will always persevere, and I will never fail. I look at this passage as a model for how I should strive to be in all of my relationships, but especially with my boyfriend.
God wants us to live our lives with a partner (Genesis 2:18, 21-22), and He wants us to love them how He loves us (Ephesians 5:22-25). Genesis 2:18, 21-22 tells us The Lord God said, " It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him....So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. In Ephesians 5:22-25 we are told: Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. I am a very strong willed and stubborn woman, and I think my boyfriend would agree, so I found some difficulty with the line that reads, "Wives, submit to your husbands..." But as I read on, I began to see why it is important and relax. If I think about how Jesus loves his followers (aka church), I know that He would never take advantage of their obedience. God loves us more than we will ever be able to fully comprehend. He wouldn't use our submission to him to hurt us or put us in situations that would end in bad circumstances. If a husband loves his wife as Christ loves his church, there should be no worry about submitting to him.
I realize that I am not married, but in my relationship I look to my boyfriend for spiritual guidance and one day he will be the spiritual leader of our family. That doesn't mean that women are stupid or can't also help their men along. Everyone goes through times in their lives when they need a spiritual "jump start" where the other person helps to get them back on track with their walk with Christ. In the two and a half years of my relationship we have each needed one. A relationship is a pair for a reason, If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 4:10
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Week 3: Forgiveness
Today I want to talk about forgiveness. It is a big deal in any and every relationship someone has, whether those are friendships, relationships, marriages, corporate relationships, family relationships or any other situation. There are lots of sayings and quotes surrounding this topic, but today I am only going to focus on one passage that can be found in Matthew 18:21-22.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered. "I tell you, not seven times but seventy times seven."
To be completely honest, I first heard of this story in the Bible through a Christian song by Chris August called 7x70. Which you can listen to here: 7x70 Chris August. My boyfriend and I were in the car driving somewhere and I was singing along to this song on the radio. He looked over at me and asked if I knew what this song was talking about with the "7x70". I said no and he explained the verse above to me saying that it doesn't matter how many times someone does you wrong, you should always forgive them. I looked at him questionably and he went on to say that forgiving someone doesn't mean that you forget about what happened, or that what they did is acceptable. It means that you aren't going to let it eat at you anymore. The other day someone else told me "Some people say I forgive easily and that I don't have a backbone for being so forgiving. I asked them why they thought I forgave so easily. They didn't know and I explained, I don't forgive people because it makes them feel better, I forgive them because it makes me feel better. If I didn't forgive them, I would wake up the next morning still angry. That would ruin my day, not theirs." That surprised me to hear, but it makes sense. I tend to hang onto grudges for a while if I feel like I have been wronged. During the time I'm holding a grudge, it makes me angry and frustrated. Those are negative things that happen to me and the simple fix is to forgive someone for what they have done to me. Again, that doesn't mean that what they did is ok, it just means I'm not going to let it affect me.
Sometimes I think that I have forgiven one person as many times as they should get and that I won't forgive them anymore. But who am I to do that? First, it would only hurt me in the long run. And second, what would life be like if Jesus turned to me and said "nope, you've had your quota of forgiveness, you're on your own now"? He would never do that. Jesus was and is perfect. We will never be as perfect as He is, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to be.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered. "I tell you, not seven times but seventy times seven."
To be completely honest, I first heard of this story in the Bible through a Christian song by Chris August called 7x70. Which you can listen to here: 7x70 Chris August. My boyfriend and I were in the car driving somewhere and I was singing along to this song on the radio. He looked over at me and asked if I knew what this song was talking about with the "7x70". I said no and he explained the verse above to me saying that it doesn't matter how many times someone does you wrong, you should always forgive them. I looked at him questionably and he went on to say that forgiving someone doesn't mean that you forget about what happened, or that what they did is acceptable. It means that you aren't going to let it eat at you anymore. The other day someone else told me "Some people say I forgive easily and that I don't have a backbone for being so forgiving. I asked them why they thought I forgave so easily. They didn't know and I explained, I don't forgive people because it makes them feel better, I forgive them because it makes me feel better. If I didn't forgive them, I would wake up the next morning still angry. That would ruin my day, not theirs." That surprised me to hear, but it makes sense. I tend to hang onto grudges for a while if I feel like I have been wronged. During the time I'm holding a grudge, it makes me angry and frustrated. Those are negative things that happen to me and the simple fix is to forgive someone for what they have done to me. Again, that doesn't mean that what they did is ok, it just means I'm not going to let it affect me.
Sometimes I think that I have forgiven one person as many times as they should get and that I won't forgive them anymore. But who am I to do that? First, it would only hurt me in the long run. And second, what would life be like if Jesus turned to me and said "nope, you've had your quota of forgiveness, you're on your own now"? He would never do that. Jesus was and is perfect. We will never be as perfect as He is, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to be.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Week 2: Sharing the Word of the Lord with Others
An important question to ask yourself is "how do we share our faith with others?" or "how do we find the courage and words to say when sharing the love of Christ with others?" I hope to be able to answer these questions in tonight's post. However, before we start discussing being a witness to others and sharing our faith, I feel it is important to point out a verse that shows how to become a follower of God. Romans 10:9-15 is a long passage that I will break up into a couple sections. The first section (verses 9-11) reads That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Becoming a Christian truly is as easy as that. My pastor often says that it is as simple as "ABC". You must first Admit that you're a sinner, then Believe that Christ died for your sins, was raised from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and finally Confess Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. More information on salvation can be found by reading the "Roman Road." The verses are: Romans 1:20-21, 3:23, 3:10, 6:23a, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10, 10:13, 8:1, and 5:1. You can look them each up in your Bible, or they can be easily found online.
The second section of the passage (Romans 10:13-15) says this: for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" People typically don't believe things the first time they hear them. As humans, we like to process and come to conclusions ourselves. However, if there is no one to plant the seed of Christ's love in the minds of others, then people will not process and decide to believe and follow Christ. Knowing God's love for you is a truly amazing feeling as any believer will tell you. To keep that feeling a secret or to try to keep it all to yourself is selfish. The Lord has more than enough love to more than fill everyone in the world's hearts from the beginning to end of time. Sharing His love with others will not take away from your love from Him, but in fact will draw you closer to Him. In my short time as a Christian (only a year and nine months so far), I have had the opportunity of watching people I have witnessed to become my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a feeling that is beyond explanation and honestly rivals that of my own salvation.
When I first became a Christian in September of 2010 I was ecstatic to tell everyone in the world, but I didn't know anything about God or the Bible, except that Jesus loved me and that I would spend the rest of my life learning about and following Him. It is nearly impossible to share the Word of Christ (accurately) if you don't know the Word of Christ. That isn't to say that you can't lead people to the Lord just because you haven't read the Bible or memorized verses. But let me tell you, the Bible is an unbelievable resource that will give your attempts to witness a bit more credibility and background. As Christians, it is our responsibility to share with others the "good news" of the Lord. In fact it is so important to God that we share with others that he commands us to on multiple occasions. Two that I found to be clear and direct can be found in Mark 16:15-16 and Matthew 28:18-20. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned..." Mark 16:15-16 Matthew 28 reads: Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 This passage actually tells us to teach others (specifically new Christians) to obey the commands that Jesus has given us. Not only do we need to tell others of the Lord and how He loves us more than anything we can possibly imagine, but we need to tell them to follow what He tells us to do, this includes telling them to share the Word with others.
In this time of being "politically correct" and trying to keep from offending anyone, people can get worried about sharing their faith with others. Be proud to be a child of the King. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16 It truly is a gift to be saved by Jesus to live for all eternity in His presence. Don't sell that short by being ashamed of it. It is a wonderful thing, be proud of your faith and try to help others be proud of it too. I visited my boyfriend's parent's church with them this past weekend and I heard their pastor say that "your relationship with Christ should always be personal, but never private."
Father God, I thank you for our freedom to openly follow you. I feel that I take this for granted more often than not. I am able to broadcast world-wide via this blog and tell people of your love when in some countries people have been killed for opening following and serving you, Lord. Please continue to remind me, and others like me, just how lucky we are to be able to share your Word with others. I pray that we don't take our freedoms for granted and that we use our opportunities to tell others of your never ending love for us. I love you, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.
The second section of the passage (Romans 10:13-15) says this: for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" People typically don't believe things the first time they hear them. As humans, we like to process and come to conclusions ourselves. However, if there is no one to plant the seed of Christ's love in the minds of others, then people will not process and decide to believe and follow Christ. Knowing God's love for you is a truly amazing feeling as any believer will tell you. To keep that feeling a secret or to try to keep it all to yourself is selfish. The Lord has more than enough love to more than fill everyone in the world's hearts from the beginning to end of time. Sharing His love with others will not take away from your love from Him, but in fact will draw you closer to Him. In my short time as a Christian (only a year and nine months so far), I have had the opportunity of watching people I have witnessed to become my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a feeling that is beyond explanation and honestly rivals that of my own salvation.
When I first became a Christian in September of 2010 I was ecstatic to tell everyone in the world, but I didn't know anything about God or the Bible, except that Jesus loved me and that I would spend the rest of my life learning about and following Him. It is nearly impossible to share the Word of Christ (accurately) if you don't know the Word of Christ. That isn't to say that you can't lead people to the Lord just because you haven't read the Bible or memorized verses. But let me tell you, the Bible is an unbelievable resource that will give your attempts to witness a bit more credibility and background. As Christians, it is our responsibility to share with others the "good news" of the Lord. In fact it is so important to God that we share with others that he commands us to on multiple occasions. Two that I found to be clear and direct can be found in Mark 16:15-16 and Matthew 28:18-20. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned..." Mark 16:15-16 Matthew 28 reads: Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 This passage actually tells us to teach others (specifically new Christians) to obey the commands that Jesus has given us. Not only do we need to tell others of the Lord and how He loves us more than anything we can possibly imagine, but we need to tell them to follow what He tells us to do, this includes telling them to share the Word with others.
In this time of being "politically correct" and trying to keep from offending anyone, people can get worried about sharing their faith with others. Be proud to be a child of the King. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16 It truly is a gift to be saved by Jesus to live for all eternity in His presence. Don't sell that short by being ashamed of it. It is a wonderful thing, be proud of your faith and try to help others be proud of it too. I visited my boyfriend's parent's church with them this past weekend and I heard their pastor say that "your relationship with Christ should always be personal, but never private."
Father God, I thank you for our freedom to openly follow you. I feel that I take this for granted more often than not. I am able to broadcast world-wide via this blog and tell people of your love when in some countries people have been killed for opening following and serving you, Lord. Please continue to remind me, and others like me, just how lucky we are to be able to share your Word with others. I pray that we don't take our freedoms for granted and that we use our opportunities to tell others of your never ending love for us. I love you, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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