Oh, His Goodness!

I think one of the hardest things to deal with is knowing that God could change things if He wanted to, but didn't...Isn't that such a paradox? God is in control and is good, but allows things to happen to us that hurt and grieve us...My pastor posed the question to the congregation one Wednesday night, "What do you think causes people to get to the point where they blame God and almost become angry at Him?" I seriously thought about this because I think I might have been there, and my honest answer was "Why wouldn't we blame Him...He is in control!" I mean, I've been taught that my entire life and I've always had that attitude of "whatever happens, happens because that's the way God wanted it". Somehow, that ideology doesn't cut it when "whatever happens" hurts so deeply and is so hard to understand. So, I confessed all of these unsettling thoughts to M and he told me something that I can't seem to get out of my mind...The main point of what he said is this: Part of God being God is His ability to say "No". If He had no other option then to answer "Yes" at all times, wouldn't it sort of take away from His "Godness"? And if He could never say "No" to what we ask for then He wouldn't really be in control...WE would be...If we are searching for the kind of god who always gives us what we want then maybe what we should really be looking for is a genie.

Thank God, He has more than just one option. Thank God, He is God!!

Accept and Launch

For the last year or so that I've been working with my current employer, I have been using a particular program that daily asks me if I want to upgrade the version I have. Actually, it is more than daily because it is every time I log-in. My options: Accept and Launch...Make Changes Later...or Exit. So, for the last two hundred or so log-ins, I've been selecting "Make Changes Later"...

Change is inevitable...

Since it is our call as believers to become more like Christ daily, there are daily changes that will need to be accepted. The Bible urges us consistently to put off the old nature and put on the new...to exchange sinful behaviors for godly behaviors....to daily renew our minds in order to think God's thoughts...

Could we be postponing a fantastic upgrade by selecting to make changes later?

Fly, Stupid Bird!

So, N and I were driving down the road and we spotted a little bird crossing the street. Doesn't it make you wonder why they don't just fly across? I mean, they see a huge moving object travelling towards them and they walk?! Stupid birds! Don't they sense the danger? It is pretty obvious that one should remove itself from the path of something that is most likely going to annihilate it, wouldn't you think?

We do the same thing though!! Turns out stupidity isn't only "for the birds"! We find ourselves in situations all the time that could be somewhat dangerous and we walk...we rationalize...make excuses...WE NEED TO FLY! There is no time when danger is on the way! Get off that path and use the wings that God gave you!

Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."

Pride by Beth Moore

My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
I cheat you of your God-given destiny...
because you demand your own way.
I cheat you of contentment...
because you "deserve better than this."
I cheat you of knowledge...because you already know it all.
I cheat you of healing...because you're to full of me to forgive.
I cheat you of holiness...
because you refuse to admit when you're wrong.
I cheat you of vision...
because you'd rather look in the mirror than out a window.
I cheat you of genuine friendship...
because nobody's going to know the real you.
I cheat you of love...
because romance demands sacrifice.
I cheat you of greatness in Heaven...
because you refuse to wash another's feet on earth.
I cheat you of God's glory...
because I convince you to seek your own.
My name is Pride. I am a cheater.
You like me because you think I'm always looking out for you.
Untrue.
I'm looking to make a fool of you.
God has so much for you, I admit, but don't worry...
If you stick with me,
You'll never know.


"The biggest injustice of pride: it cheats wherever it plays."

Patience Is a Virtue...and I Don't Have It!

Today, I spent more time on the phone with Sprint customer service which is more then likely located in India...(nothing against the residence of India, but I've called four times and haven't understood the representative yet!) I was put on hold about three times and every time he came back on the phone he would timidly say "Thank you for patiently waiting"...by the fourth time I was pretty close to saying "Listen, stop saying that! I'm not patiently waiting!! I'm annoyed that I'm on hold and frustrated that I've had to call as many times as I have!" Didn't say that though...just said "Yup, Uh huh"...

I'm just not a patient person and that's that...I mean, maybe sometimes I am...

When the computer says to double click, I usually click four or five times....the computer gets all confused and has several times opened more than sixty windows of the same thing! This thinking of "the more times I click the faster it will come up on the screen" usually just creates more work for myself

In conclusion...be patient! I'm working on it and if you are working on it too then we would all be patient with one another and that would just make it easier...

Feelings. Nothing More Than Feelings.

I have spent the last several months longing for that "feeling" of God's presence in my life...Do I know He is there? Yes. Do I know I am His? Yes. Do I know that He loves me? Yes. Do I know He has a plan for me? Yes. So, why desire for the "feeling" of things I am already confident of? There is nothing wrong in praying for an overwhelming presence of God in our lives...I'm going to keep praying for it...But, I can't allow "feelings" to conclude my beliefs. Wouldn't it be nice if you could see your prayers float up to Heaven? You see Jesus catch them and hand them over to His Father...Wouldn't it be easier waiting for the answers to our prayers if we could see that they reached Him? I know that sometimes I feel like my prayers don't even leave the room...they hit the ceiling and bounce right back down to me and I am left "feeling" like maybe all I did was talk to myself for the last couple of minutes. This makes me wish I had a higher ceiling!

Having a relationship with God is so much more than being on a spiritual high 100% of the time...It is definitely more than feeling powerless and empty. Having a relationship with God is about balance. I don't need to search for oneness with God...I already have it...that is a promise to us as believers...Christ dwells in us!! "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Romans 8:9

It doesn't matter how high or low the ceiling...He has made His home in us...He is in the room within earshot of our every need!

Because I'm Obsessed...

...I researched and found a possible spiritual application to my last blog...

Did you know that the Bible uses the word "heart" 765 times? See, because of my obsession I spent the whole day reading and counting! No, just kidding (Did you ever notice how people always feel like they need to say "just kidding" when it is clearly a joke...who could read the whole Bible in a day?) I obviously did a Bible search online. Often times the condition of the heart that is being referred to is either positive or negative to the extreme...evil, hardened, glad, willing, discouraged, sorrowful, seeking, guarded...In our modern dictionary, there are so many definitions of "heart"...understandably, the first definition states it's function in our ability to live...it mentions the conventional shape that we usually draw...like, I heart N...but out of the many possible ways of defining this word I like: "the innermost or central part of anything"

To love the Lord your God with all your heart...may our love for Him be the central part of every single part of our lives...and may we be able to express His love to others who don't know it.

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deut. 6:5

So, monitor your heart today...what is it's condition?...