In all things - Big and Small

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3 & 4)



I used to think that I only needed to turn to God when I was completely lost of hurt or desperate. I not only thought that those were the only times I needed to turn to him,but, and I do not admit this eagerly, I used to think those were the only times when he had his attention on me. I couldn't worry God with little matters like a big test, a bill that needed to be paid, or a small ailment of the body. I couldn't bother him with things that weren't life-threatening, heart-breaking, or eternally important. Even though one of my favorite verses in the Bible (1 Peter 5:7) says to cast ALL your anxieities on Him for He cares for you, I always thought that meant big anxietities, you know the important stuff. 

However, I saw that verse out into practice in a different way by the women in my Bible study group. At the end of each Bible study, these women would offer up prayer requests. Some would ask for healing for a very ill friend, reconciliation in a marriage, or wisdom in a new business deal. Their voices were filled with concern and need and I understood why they needed prayer. However, other women would ask for a fun time at the beach, healing for a bruised foot, or Christian friends for their kids. At first I thought, well I hope God heals the person with the life-threatening illness before he worries about a bruised foot. Now, as I write this, I realize how horrible of a thing that is to say. By imagining God as if he is like a human physician with a waiting room and only time for the major cases, I put a limit on God's ability. Any prayer I made for that woman's bruised foot would have been compromised since I basically said God couldn't do it because he was too busy with the big stuff. I see that that isn't the correct idea about how God works. 

Joel Osteen told a story about his father once praying that the trunk of his car open after it got stuck right before a conference. His father needed sound equipment that was inside the trunk and when he couldn't open it himself, he said a prayer over it. The people with him thought he was crazy to pray for a trunk to open. They probably thought as I did: it isn't important enough to bother God with. I can just imagine Jesus saying to us, "Oh ye of little faith." But, after the prayer, the trunk opened. 

The Bible says God cares about all parts of out lives. He wants us to use faith in everything we do. In John 15:5, Jesus says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, a part from me you can do nothing." If we do all things - pray, celebrate, travel, eat, etc. - in Jesus we are living a life of faith. No thing is unseen by God. Romans 14:23 describes eating without faith. It reads, "But the man who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not with faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin." Big statement. 

So now I realize, yes of course we should pray to God when we are desperate or hurt or lost. But we should also use our faith in dealing with all worries and when we try to accomplish every goal. Joyce Meyer states that "there is no part of your life God is not concerned about, and He wants to be involved in everything we want, need, or do. So let him in."

Oh me of little faith. 

To Forgive - Divine.

I was told a story by a friend of mine about a man, a very well-respected, good, Christian man, who had to come to terms with an obstacle in his life that was blocking him from God. I would like to refer to this man, as I recount this story, as Bob. (I know I am going to get the details wrong, so I will change the name so as to make it almost a fiction-based-on-truth anecdote.) 

So, Bob was having troubles with this finances. He was struggling and he just felt like something was off, that something was not right in his life. So, he prayed about it and felt that God was leading him to believe that there was unforgiveness in his heart. Bob said, "No way, God, I am not mad at anyone. I love everybody." But God brought a face to the mind of Bob that made him a little uneasy. It was a co-worker that had made a poor business move at Bob's work that cost Bob and several of his co-workers a dock in their pay. Bob thought, "Oh no way, God. Not that guy. You want me to forgive that guy? Do you know what he did to me?" Bob thought back to how he had been angry with this man, giving him the cold shoulder for almost a year. How this man had selfishly messed with the money that Bob brought home to support his family. Heck, the man never even said he was sorry. But Bob felt a tug at his heart and he thought of Jesus saying, "Bob, you ask if I know what this man has done to you. But do you know what my people did to me?" After that, Bob understood that his unforgiveness was standing between him and God's goodness. He couldn't continue on until he rid his heart of such bitterness. 

When Jesus instructs his disciples how to pray, part of that pray sounds like this: "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors." Mathew 6:12. A few verses later, it states in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

When it comes to prayer, God's word instructs us to rid our hearts of all unforgiveness before asking of the Lord. Mark 11:25: "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions."

God doesn't say that you should only forgive certain sins or only forgive if those who have hurt you beg for it. He doesn't say only give some one three chances and then that is it - don't forgive them again because they do not deserve it. Luke 17:3-4: "Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” 

We do not deserve forgiveness and we sin over and over and over again. To ask someone to be perfect and never cause pain or frustration is to say that they don't need Jesus and you would never want to wish a life without Jesus on anyone. However, we know that sinning comes to easy for us - it makes us human, but forgiveness is harder and it comes from God. There is a famous adage that reads: "To err is human, to forgive divine." It rings true. God is the ultimate source of forgiveness. He can help us forgive as he forgives us. 

Forgiveness takes time but it is necessary to forgive, in order for God to forgive you and to be close to God. So forgive each other - we all make mistakes. If it doesn't come easily - pray about it and God will lead your heart through it. Remember, vengence is for the Lord, not for man. (Romans 12:19)

Romans 12:21: "Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." 

BIG LOVE

When I first started to go to church again in high school, I remember making fun of the music. (my apologies Cornerstone Community Church) Not because it was old style hymns or the muscians were untalented, but I just couldn't get over how all the music sounded like love ballads. I used to think - people could sing this stuff to their girlfriends or boyfriends, but they are singing it to Jesus?!?! WHAT?!?!

Well, God is love. The greatest gifts he has given us, including his son, have come from his infinite, unconditional love for us. John 3:16 says: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son." Okay. Fact - God loves us. But I think the reason why some Christian praise songs sound like love songs is because our love for God and his love for us can be emulated in one of God's greatest gifts to man - relationships. So we often think that the spouse is the one we could never live without, because we love them in similar way that we love God, and we definitely can't live without him. Does that make sense? 

I believe God has given us mothers, daughters, friends, brothers, wives, and husbands so that we can be like him, so that we can love unconditionally through all the faults and all the obstacles. God loves us despite all that we do, He forgives us when we screw up, and He does everything to ultimately build us up and show us how much he cares. If we are asked to be like him, than we must practice the same type of love. 

Jesus said in one line before the famous 3:16 in John 3:15 - "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." He loved us enough to take upon himself the ulitmate burden. I believe, even if God doesn't call us to take on such huge burdens for each other, that he has given each of us the capacity for "big love" - love for each other modeled after the love we have for God.

The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. We were designed not for eternal isolation, but for living together and interacting with one another. Life’s greatest joys come in our relationships with other people. Love means a willingness to be inconvenienced, a willingness to set aside our own concerns to attend to the needs of someone else. Love is a lot more than good feelings—it must also include good actions. And there is nothing that can make a person feel more fullfilled in life than to love. 

LOVE:

 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 

 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. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 

 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

1 Cortinthians 13 

An Equation for Living

Sometimes we ask – what can that person give me? Why have them in my life? Would they make me laugh? Buy me awesome presents? Make me feel loved? Remind me I’m beautiful? Or maybe we ask – what can this new experience give me? Could a trip to Hawaii make me fill happy and at peace? Would a new pair of shoes make me feel worthy? 

In asking this – you are saying to God – you haven’t given me enough. I want more. Just like the Israelites were not happy with miracle bread that fell from the sky, they wanted meat. 

What would happen if we stopped asking about gain and start living the equation found in 1 Timothy 6:6-10:

 “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” 

The equation: Godliness + Contentment = Great Gain 

Pastor James Macdonald explains that godliness is always wanting more of God – the one thing that the Bible says we are allowed to covet and desire. Godliness is a want to always better ourselves. However, 1 Timothy explains that along with that desire, we should temper others. Contentment is defined as satisfaction in God’s sufficient provision, to rest in what one has and seek nothing more. It is a settled sense of peace with what God has given you. Contentment is refraining from saying, “If I had this, I would be happy” or “God, if you give me this, then I will truly be blessed” etc. A lack of contentment leads to the foolishness of having no course, no settled purpose, a back and forth bounce from one thing to another in an attempt to find happiness. Desire for gain is not wrong – but it has made many people desire wrongly, barking up the wrong tree. 

Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the light.” That is all we need, right? A way to God, the truth of his word, and the light of his love and teaching to help us see this way and truth. 

There is a story of a young preacher who was ready to give his first sermon. He planned his sermon around Matthew 6:20-21 – “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” However, he thought his first day at the pulpit required a nicer suit. He didn’t have a lot of money, so he thought he would try the pawn shop on the corner. He walked in and to his surprise he saw rows and rows of black suits. He walked over to the counter and asked the attendant, “I never thought the pawn shop would carry so many suits. That is exactly what I came in for.” The attendant explained that the suits came from a local funeral home that went out of business. They were the suits that the dead were buried in, but, of course, had not been used yet. The young pastor combed the racks and found a suit that fit him perfectly. He went home and prepared his notes; however, when he went to place his notes in the pocket of the suit, he found that the suit jacket had no pockets. What a perfect metaphor for his sermon. You see, the suit was made for the deceased and since the dead cannot take anything with them out of this world, why would they need pockets? 

Irony: Filling a Hole with Holiness

Sometimes, I think humans walk around with holes in their hearts.

And all of us look for ways to fill them up. 

Sometimes we stay very busy, too busy for God, when we have a hurt or an emptiness inside, because being busy makes us forget that hole. Sometimes we try to fill it up with alcohol or partying. Sometimes we try to fill it up with money or shopping. Sometimes we try to fill it up with the surge we feel when flirting or engaging in sex. But every time we try to fill up the hole in these ways, we are left wanting, needing to fill up again.

I remember a girl friend of mine telling me that when you are sad, when you feel down about your job, Melissa, just go shopping! She said that when she went home after a long day of teaching ninth graders in the inner-city, she would just eat and eat and eat. I would watch TV and shop. I realized that I was filling my time with things I thought would fill the hole. 

In college, I prided myself on the number of friends I had because that meant I was loved. But I couldn’t shake the thoughts that I wasn’t truly loved, I still felt empty. I thought no one would ever truly love me, so I would push and push and push people to prove that they loved me and in turn this often pushed them away. I thought that if only I found the right person, if only I had the perfect job, if only I had a new family, if only I had the perfect haircut, if only I was recognized for my talent, then I would be full. 

But I was never full. Only a fool. 

But I have learned through studying God’s word that that hole can’t be filled by the world. I had to realize that God truly loved me. I mean, duh, right? I knew he loved me. I said it sometimes, but I never truly BELIEVED it! It wasn’t an easy thing to convince my heart of this, and my heart still at times tries to rebel against that love, but I choose to believe in the love I know I have for God and he has for me. It is a choice. You just choose to believe. Godly love isn’t a feeling and it can’t go away. It gives us peace and it helps to change our lives for the better. God so loved the world, that he gave his only son. Not only does he forgive our sins, he forgets them. He hears our prayers and answers them. He gives us wisdom and direction. He definitely loves me...and you. 

So the passage I am including for this one doesn’t necessarily sing praise for God’s love, but Psalms does that often and very well: “His love endures forever.” But it somehow seems to fit and I am inspired to write it – so here it is. 

1 Peter 5: 6-11

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in the time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever.”

He restores us because he loves us! Restores us – like fills our hearts. See the connection?

Boldly Go Where No Man Has...

I used to think that confidence came from a new pair of boots or a great hair day. Or maybe it came from an excellent test score or a compliment received at work. Or maybe it came from how much your best friend liked the present you gave her, how often you mother says she loves you, or how many times your boyfriend calls you beautiful. 

Or maybe not. 
No, definitely not. 

I found that confidence comes instead from trusting in the Lord, from knowing and believing that everything is in God’s hands. Think of it this way – the most perfect surgeon in all the land is going to take out your appendix – a surgical procedure he could perform with his eyes closed because he knows everything there is to know about medicine, even the future of medicine. With such a surgeon, you are sure to be pretty confident before the surgery. Then, in a biblical everyday life kind of sense, if we know that the most perfect God has given us a promise that we are worthy and that in the end we will experience a time of no more suffering and endless joy, then you have to be pretty confident in life. 

However, we, as imperfect humans, do not see nor know the future. Yet it is in not knowing the future that makes this whole scenario worthwhile. Back to the surgery analogy. Even if Dr. Awesome was the “perfect” surgeon, the patient would still have to have faith in his ability. It is this faith that would, in turn, ease the patient’s mind and lead them through the surgery. Concurrently, we must have faith in God’s promise and, in turn, it is the faith that will become a Christian’s confidence. For if we believe that God looks out for us, never forsakes us, forgives us, believes in us, and will save us in the end, then we will have faith which equates to confidence – not in the self, but in the power of God through the self. Because if a Christian strives to follow the will of God and his commands, then he can take his steps confidently, knowing that God is blessing each one, even the rocky ones. 

Look at these promises in the Bible:
"Be of good courage, 
and he shall strengthen your heart, 
all ye that hope in the LORD." 
     - Psalm 31:24 KJV

He gives power to the weak, 
And to those who have no might 
He increases strength. 
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, 
And the young men shall utterly fall, 
But those who wait on 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. 
    - Isaiah 40:29-31 NKJV

God gives us power and strength. Jesus promised that God answers our prayers if we ask with faith. God will never leave us and will promote us to victory. If you agree with these statements – how then can you not gain confidence in life, in yourself, and in your God?

But there is another struggle I have had with this topic. It relates more to being bold. I am not a very “bold” person, or at least I am not yet. I used to wait for others to act so that I could follow. I would tone down my outfit so I wouldn’t stick out. I wouldn’t speak to any strangers for fear of rejection. I used to think boldness and confidence could lead to the pride that ultimately came before the fall. But I believe there can be boldness in faith, confidence in our abilities and missions that come from God. Psalms 31 says to be of good courage – to take a bold step in the Lord when he calls you to act, speak, or love. It is in waiting on God that we gain our strength, so that when he tells us to act boldly, we can. 

I have recently read an article about praying boldly. I used to pray very timidly, as if I was speaking to a father that might strike out in rage if I ask in the wrong way or for the wrong thing. However, Candice Watters explains in her article that we should no longer be weighed down by doubts and ask with confidence for God to help with the desires he puts in our hearts. This doesn’t mean you should ask for a brand new car because God promised to give you anything you asked for, but to ask for assistance for the things in your life that you know are good and God-centered. Look at the story of Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52 for an example of a man who prayed boldly and received what he asked for. Watters also explains praying boldly more vividly in her article as well. 

May the Force (of God) be with you!

"Focus on the Family" is EVERYWHERE

...and that is pretty awesome. I found a online magazine (webzine I guess is the proper term) that has a ton of different articles on various topics of concern to young Christians. 

Check it out!

Boundless Webzine - A Website of Focus on the Family