Blog Archives
how He loves.
because you know how much i love youtube.
i seriously think you’re going to love this video – especially if you like David Crowder, John Piper, and Matt Chandler.
give it a listen and leave your thoughts below afterwards.
when it comes to disappointing God…
so you think your sin disappoints God…?
so you think your spiritual failures break His heart…?
so you think you can’t share your testimony without being a hypocrite…?
so you think the guilt you feel is from God…?
the Jesus i wanted.
i started off the new year in the book of matthew, and that’s where i’ve continued to read in my devotions. i’m reading about Jesus, and as you all know, no other person that ever walked the face of this earth compares to Him.
i think i had Him figured all wrong though, to a point. see, i always pictured Jesus as merciful and gracious, but having a secret agenda. i always thought of Him as loving and kind, but expecting something in return. i always believed him to be wonderful and perfect, but demanding and legalistic. and, in my mind, he was allowed to be all of those things if He so chose to be, because He is, after all, God.
but i was wrong about Him. not that that will come as a surprise to you.
I’m an idiot…
Sometimes christians lose their way. sometimes they lose their focus. And other times they all but lose their testimony.
And usually it’s over the stupidest things. Or sometimes they’re not stupid things at all… But in an attempt to “be strong” and “handle it like a superhero” we belittle the situation to make ourselves feel more in control than we really are. But those “things” are real.
Like unresolved conflict. Hurt. The beginning stages of bitterness. Doubt. Anger. brokenness. the search for truth.
And in the process of searching in the dark for those things, you can -somewhere along the road- take a wrong turn and end up in a place you never intended to be… Or back to a place you never planned to visit again.
Why I love the Lord.
On Sunday nights after the evening service, a group of the “singles” (not restricted to age, or even marital status really… we just say “singles” because we make up the majority of the group) usually go out to dinner or dessert. This past Sunday, however, we didn’t go out after the service. We stayed at the church and had a prayer meeting, after which my friend bought pizza for everyone.
There were eight of us all together, and for over an hour we shared prayer requests and sought the Lord in prayer. Some people are burdened with financial difficulties, others with strained or severed relationships, and others with illnesses and injuries. But God is good, and I know that He is weaving the tapestry of every life to bring about His will for us.
Outrunning grace.
Do something for me? Grab a home video and press play. No, I don’t mean go dig in that box in the garage for the tapes and VCR. Take a second and snag that video you keep on the shelf in your heart; the one that only you and God have seen. You probably don’t even have to hit play. It’s more like “un-pause.” You know the story of your life so well you could recite it in your sleep. This is what I do, and maybe you’re guilty of it too. You play back that video over and over pinpointing the flaws and regrets. You find everything you can to have a reason why God wouldn’t want you.
While listening to Ketric, one of Cross Point’s youth pastors, speak to the students on the mistakes we make in our life, I couldn’t help but replay my life story starring yours truly. (One of these days I’m going to see if Kate Hudson is available to be my stunt double.) In the new leaders group afterward Ketric told us, “There is nothing too big that God can’t fix.” There is no denying the truth in that statement.
Some Christians don’t act Christian at all.
I would just like to vent for a few minutes. Please bear with me – this will most definitely be beneficial for myself, and it may even prove to be somewhat helpful for you too.
You know what really irks me? Christians who don’t act like Christians at all. Why? Because I used to be one. I don’t like when people set themselves up as holy judges and execute spiritual verdicts on people when they’ve never walked in their shoes or shut their mouths long enough to listen to their struggles. The holy judgers take peoples’ questions and treat them like the asker’s absolute doctrine – when in all reality, all they were looking for in the first place was an honest answer for their inquiries.
What’s wrong with Christians today.
One thing I have noticed lately… God’s people sure do a lot of complaining. What a shame.
We have a sad misconception today that if we’re not completely healthy, or if God doesn’t give us children then He hasn’t been good to us. We think that if our loved one dies, or if our children aren’t serving the Lord then God hasn’t been good to us. We get all upset if our car breaks down, or the boy we like falls in love with someone else, or if we don’t have enough money to pay the bills – then obviously, God hasn’t been good to us. If we don’t have a house with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a perfect husband, or a job that pays big bucks, then God has short-changed us. If God allows us to suffer a smidgen, or our Pastor lets us down… if it doesn’t rain enough and our flowers die, if our dog gets hit by a car… or if God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we think He should… well then, God has treated us so badly.
Hello?
Maybe it was mercy.
“…it just hurts, you know. I feel like God’s punishing me… like, maybe if I hadn’t replaced my relationship with God with my relationship with Bryce, God wouldn’t have allowed us to break up.” It had been almost 4 weeks since Kelly and Bryce broke off their 3-year relationship. As she and I drove down the road we discussed the past events that were still fresh in her mind and heavy on her heart. “…and I know it’s probably stupid of me, but I can’t help but wish things were different with him and I. I wish that in time we would get back together… and maybe even get married one day.” Heartbreak was evident all over her face as a couple tears trickled down her cheeks.
As her friend I knew what I wanted to say, but I also knew that my saying it wouldn’t help anything at all. I was quiet for a few moments before I finally spoke…
“We’re always so quick to assume that just because we’re going through a hard time it’s because God’s punishing us. You know… we always think He’s “judging” us for something wrong that we did. Well, I don’t think that’s how God works. In fact, I know that’s not how God works. He’ll never punish or judge me for something I did because that was settled 2000+ years ago when Jesus hung on the cross for my sin! That’s the whole point of Him crying “It is finished!” Sure, there will be consequences for our sin, but God didn’t cause them; WE caused them… God just allowed them.”
