God during the "Tough Times"

So tonight, my daily reading plan had me read passages from the books of Matthew, Psalm, & Genesis. I know! A random combination scattered across the Bible, right?!?! Thats what I thought too, but of course He totally blows my mind as I read from the 3 books. He re-assured me of His presence with me during the tough times (like now).

Honestly, you feel so helpless during those times. When you're hurting, circumstances are out of your control, and you cant see relief for the future, what can you be sure of? Its tough because it seems like everything happens all at once, and has this "snowball" effect in your life. But, as I read, He showed me that it's during these times I have to remember most of all that He is with me during my hardships. 

During these times, God’s presence comforts us because He knows us intimately. He knows the desires of our hearts, because He's the one that put those desires there. He gives us what we need – His LOVE and STRENGTH, a sense of SECURITY. He lets us know that we are not alone, He is with us. He knows what it is to feel rejected. He knows what it is to feel alone. He knows what it is to suffer. He knows how it feels to lose a loved one. He carries us in His arms along with our problems & worries, and offers peace for our hearts. (Psalm 68:19). We don't need to be afraid because our God is not bound by limitations (Matthew 19:26).

God has a purpose for everything he does, even in allowing "hard times". The story of Joseph in Genesis clearly illustrates this. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery! But, God planned that those years would prepare him to become the leader of Egypt. At the time he was sold into slavery, Joseph could not see God’s purpose, **And neither will we, most of the time** But Joseph trusted Him through everything, and His faith was rewarded when he was able to rescue his family (Genesis 45:1–8).

We are called to live a life of faith. Believe God’s promises even if your circumstances are beyond you. Remember that your God is true. God will never leave you. He will never forsake you. His good purposes will always be carried out in the end.

Hate and Forgiveness

Do you hate someone? Or "strongly dislike" someone? There are always those people that make you so upset, do so much wrong, even wrong you on a normal basis, that you cant stand to be around them. Its in these times it can be hardest to do what God tells us to do; Love one another, to Instead of choosing revenge or retaliation when we’ve been wronged, love those we’d rather hate. 

Is there someone you can think of right now that you’d like to "pay back"? Do you want someone to hurt like you hurt? We have to resist that urge that comes so naturally to us, to get even. Resist repaying a wrong, because retaliation is usually excessive. When we do pay back, it’s often with interest. 1 Peter 3:9 says, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called.” You can’t always stop people from hating you, but you don’t have to hate them back. You can’t always make people love you, but you can always love them back.

Believe me, I know it isn't easy. For those of you who know my past, you personally know how hard the road of forgiveness was for me to travel. It's tough, really tough. You can see all kinds of risks involved in forgiving others. like, what if what they did was really wrong? They may not even be sorry about it. It’s said that true forgiveness is hard to extend because it demands that we have to let go of something we value… which is the right to repay. But, what you have to realize is that forgiveness doesn’t clear someone from blame. It doesn’t clear their record with God. But, it does clear you of having to worry about how to punish them. When you forgive another person, you’re not turning them loose. You’re just turning them over to God. That’s why you often hear people who have genuinely forgiven say, "It felt like a weight being lifted off my shoulders." Yes. That’s exactly what it is. It’s like a breath of fresh air rushing into your heart. For the first time in a long time, you feel at peace. You feel free. 

If there is someone your struggling to forgive, try and do something kind for that person. It could be anything from saying something nice, a quick email, tweet, Facebook message, a text…. or even a big butterfinger blizzard from Dairy Queen! (Really, thats just what I want right now…. come to think of it, don’t get me one because if you do, I’ll know you’re mad at me for something).

As Christians we are called into relationship with God, but we are also called into relationship with God’s people. 1 John 3:22 -24 "You know that you are a Christian if you obey his command, And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

Admitting Your Sin...

Admitting we have messed up can be a hard thing to do. Honestly I, and I think a lot of us, are reluctant to admit we've wronged or sinned unless we're caught in the act. Maybe it's because we are ashamed of what we did and believe that friends and family will "look down" on us,  and thats a hard feeling to cope with. but often times, the sin we are struggling with is something we have looked down on others for. Or maybe we're afraid that the person you sinned against will never forgive you. These are just a couple of emotions and fears i've experienced in my past, and even make it hard today for me to get back on track with God sometimes. It's like the fear holds you back. But, we have to remember that we are called to confess our sins without fear, and to pray for each other (James 5:16). Even though I consider myself in close relationship with God, I sometimes find it hard to confess things to Him, even though I know it should be the other way around; We should never have a difficult time confessing anything to Him. All of our doubts and fears should disappear. When God called Jeremiah to bring Israel to repentance by confessing their sins, God went as far to call them faithless, even whorish… But He still yearned and desired them to return to Him because of His love and mercy for His people. Jesus paid the ultimate price for our mistakes. Pray to Him, talk to Him, admit the sin in your life, and know that He wont look down on you as man might, He will welcome you in grace!

Your Faith is More Valuable Than Gold...

Man, I just love the feeling when a revelation hits me instantaneously when i'm praying after a quick bible read. This is exactly why I got rid of my "Study Bible", so that i'm forced to reflect and pray on anything I read to get the deeper meaning that Jesus originally intended for me to understand. 

Tonight, my reading plan had me come across 1 Peter 1:7 - "These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

The main part that stuck out to me was: "…your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire…" Peter is describing your faith's worth as "greater than gold". We all know how valuable gold is, especially if your female, hahaha! ;) It's obviously desired for its beauty, which explains it's use for almost all our jewelry. It's no coincidence that Peter compares our faith to Gold. Gold is refined under fire, which removes all of its impurities and imperfections resulting in pure, perfect gold. Although, the difference is that gold will eventually lose its shine, breakdown and deteriorate just like any other natural element. But, the Bible says that our faith grows and builds under trial and fire. Each trial we face does NOT deteriorate or devalue our faith. It becomes more perfect the longer we hold on to it. When it's all said and done, all the gold and riches in the world will be left behind. The only thing of value that will remain will be our faith, and what we did with it during our time here. And then, that will "…result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

Hang Out With Some Heathens Today

I had a conversation with a friend at work yesterday (The same friend i mention in my previous post: Foundation Check). He said to me, "Man, you're the coolest 'religious' guy i know." I was flattered at first, but i wondered where that statement stemmed from. I asked him what he meant by that, and he told me that typically, every "religious" person he knows is self centered. They always make him feel inferior, and they only talk and hang with other church people. He even told me that, that is a big reason why he has totally rejected the idea of there being a God, because everyone he knows who believes in God, are total jerks. "How can i believe in God if its going to make me look like those people?" I apologized to him for having such bad experience with "religious" people. 

I told him, "I'm not religious."

He looked at me totally confused, which was completely understandable since we have had several friendly conversations about God. 

"What do you mean? You believe in Jesus, don't you?"

"Yes."

"You are religious then. So whats the difference?"

"I follow Jesus. I do my best to be what He is and do what He did. Which was just to Love people. Thats it."

Still not sure he understood the difference I was trying to explain to Him, but we couldn't talk about it further since we had to get back to work. But, our conversation helped me realize something. Sadly, most churches, don't do the best job hanging out with those who are not like us (Believers). A lot of believers just avoid non-believers altogether. Believers can become very arrogant. You cant be afraid that your witness, or Christ-likeness, might be ruined if you hang around or become really good friends with non-believers. If you are one of those that have that "fear", i promise you this: Many of the people you are hanging around with in the church are living just as sinfully as those in the world. 

If you allow yourself to be controlled by the fear of being judged by fellow Christians, then you will become incapable of fulfilling the plan that God has set forth for you. No matter what you believe God has planned for you, it will always include being a light to those around you. If you are controlled by that fear, then try to think of how many will never see Jesus because the Church won’t step foot into their lives. Let’s not worry about what the overly religious think, and start acting like Jesus. Hang out with some Heathens today.