The Prosperity Message
It’s time our generation stands up and say, “Enough is enough!” In one of my classes the other day, “the prosperity message” came up. The professor informed us that the fastest growing churches in the poorest parts of Africa are continuously being taught “the prosperity message.” His aim was to challenge our “American way of thinking” about what prosperity is. He asked for us to share our thoughts on “the prosperity message” being taught in Africa. My immediate response was that “the prosperity message,” at its worst, is bull-crap and poor people should not be told that God will make them rich if they serve him or give the little finances they do have over to the church. I said that following Christ sometimes means suffering and while I believe God wants to bless His children; our aim should not be to gain earthy riches. My professor challenged me and said, “What kind of good news is that when these people have been suffering their entire lives.” I said, “The good news” is that Jesus has made it possible for us to have eternal salvation, whether we are wealthy on this earth or not. He, playing the devil’s advocate, said “How is that good news when their immediate needs of food, water, and shelter are not being met?”
For those of you that are not really familiar with “the prosperity message,” it is a world-wide wave among Christian churches which teaches that the more we give to God (especially financially), by giving to a ministry, television evangelist, or a church, the more we will be made prosperous. While some “prosperity churches” teach that being prosperous is more than just financial wealth, most “prosperity teachers” have an unbalanced focus on financial gain. You may hear some ridiculous evangelist on TV saying something like, “There is a woman at home right now watching this program whose son is on drugs (dah!); I believe if you send $100 to our ministry, God is going to deliver your son from drugs.” The poor and desperate woman sitting on the couch feels compelled to send her last $100 for the next two weeks, which was her grocery money, to this manipulative evangelist, in great hopes that her son will get off drugs. Sadly, chances are that God never spoke to this evangelist, but he has justified himself by calling his lies “positive proclamation!” Therefore, the women gave up her grocery money, ate scraps for the next two weeks, and guess what; her son is still on drugs. Meanwhile, televangelist guy hops on his self-owned airplane, carrying a suitcase full of two-thousand-dollar suits, to fly over to Northern Africa and preach this same message to his desperate and weak prey!
“The prosperity message” is also being taught in hundreds of Christian churches! The teaching is most popular among the poor and needy, for obvious reasons. The mostly poor congregation watches their bishop or pastor wearing top-notch clothes, driving a BMW, and owning a beautiful mansion. They are taught, rather directly or indirectly, that if they give to God, He in turn will bless them with the luxuries they see their leaders flaunting. Unfortunately, while their leader and his family enjoy their mansion, the congregation sits at home in the projects or low-income-homes, just waiting for the “wealth” they have been promised. Some may feel inspired by “the prosperity message” and get up and start a business which does make them wealthy, but this does not happen because God is giving them money since they gave money to God. It simply means that their pastor is more of a motivational speaker than a carrier of the gospel and someone in his audience decided to get off their butt, work hard, and make some money!
Now, I want to be clear that God desires to bless His children, but not because we give in hopes that He will make us rich. I do believe God has called certain people to be rich; not for their own gain, but so that they may give to help further the true message of Christ. I don’t believe that God has called every Christian to be financially rich; if we were all rich we would be a bunch of snobs that don’t need each other! God does, however, promise to provide for every Christian’s needs. In other words, there is nothing wrong with Africans being taught that if they serve the Lord, he will take care of their needs (food, water, clothes, shelter, etc…). The Bible says that God is a good Father who always takes care of His children, but this does not mean God want everyone to be rolling in hundred-dollar-bills!
“The good news” has absolutely nothing to do with money! If you are looking for gifts because you were good this year, ask Santa Clause. “The Good News” is that Jesus came to earth, died on the cross for humanities sins, and is willing to save our souls from eternal death and punishment, if we will only accept Him as our Savior! All the riches of this world will eventually fade away, material possessions may be stolen and will eventually diminish, but the love of God, found in Jesus Christ our Lord, is forever. We should not give to get! We should give because we love Jesus, want to see the Kingdom of God grow (churches and ministries do need funds to keep things going), and desire to bless others with all we have been blessed with from God!!!
Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
Why do bad things happen to good people? More specifically, why does God (who is supposedly good) allow such terrible things to happen in people’s lives? If you are a Christian or a religious person, you may ask why you bother serving a God who lets upsetting and disturbing experiences happen to you. Worse, why is it that “religious people” are often the cause of disheartening incidents? Sadly, there are many examples of this. While I don’t wish to get into a history lesson, it was European Catholics (“Christians”) who took it upon themselves to murder hundreds of “non-Christians” in the name of Christ during the Middle Ages. Further, it was our early American Father’s (mostly Christians) who believed it was OK to capture African human beings, pack them into boats as if they were sardines, and enslave them in the name of money. These are two major examples of the “religious” practicing injustice and causing “bad things to happen to good people.”
In my own personal life, I find that the older I get the more difficult situations I have to face. Growing up is painful and I have thrown my fair share of pity parties and temper tantrums trying to stop it! In my still-young- life of 26 years, I have faced the difficulties of chronic pain, devastating “break-ups,” losing jobs for no good reason, and my husband losing jobs for no good reason. Unfortunately, many people who have made my life more difficult were people who claimed to “love God!” This makes the pain and injustice all the more devastating! While my situations were and are very tough to deal with, I realize that other people face far greater pain then myself.
When I put things into perspective, I realize that my chronic headaches are nothing compared to people who are fighting cancer or literally starving to death. I recognize that my “heart-breaks” are nothing compared to those who have suffered the loss of a child or have been abandoned by a spouse. I understand that I or my husband losing our jobs is nothing compared to people who have been out of work for years, live on the streets, or resort to demeaning jobs to feed their children and pay their bills. The truth is that no matter how horrific our situations become, we can always find someone who is facing something even more difficult than us! When bad things happen to us, it is in our human nature to have a pity-party and find someone to blame. When we run out of people to blame, we often blame ourselves. When blaming ourselves becomes too painful, we often resort to blaming God.
We don’t instantly blame God because we are logical enough to realize that God did not directly cause our troubles, but people did. If you believe in God and have a relationship with Him, He is not the first one you want to start accusing. Overtime, however, if things get worse or stay the same, we often question the goodness of God. We may find ourselves in tears asking, “How can God allow this to happen to me?” The word “allow” is key in our desperate need for answers. In fact, it is this word that causes many Christians to leave their faith behind and many everyday folks to become atheists. Many can just not fathom a God who would allow so many terrible things to happen all around the world! While this way of thinking is completely understandable, it is illogical for us to believe that we can wrap our minds around God. In other words, if God is real and He is the creator of all human-kind, why would any person assume that they would be able to understand “the goodness of God?”
While it is impossible to understand why God allows bad things to happen on this earth, it is possible to understand that God is bigger than us. His ways are higher than ours. His thoughts are deeper than ours. His ways are different than ours. He does not reason as we do. He is not human, but the creator of all things. He has no beginning or end. His existence has always been and cannot be explained or understood. I do not put my faith in “a God who allows bad things to happen;” I put my faith in a God who was compassionate enough to send His precious son to the earth to be afflicted with the worst mental, emotional, and physical pain one can suffer (at the hands of “religious” people) for the sin of all man-kind. It is the “sin” of man that causes bad things to happen to good people. Even organic diseases go back to the first man sinning and allowing evil (sin and sickness) to enter our world. I choose to put my trust in God, who sent Jesus (who was God in the flesh) to suffer with His creation and die on the cross for our sins!
So, the question is extended from “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people” to “Why does God let bad things happen to all people, including Himself in the flesh?” While this question can really only be answered by God Himself, it is OK to speculate His reasoning. It is important to understand that God does not think within earthy limitations, but thinks eternally. In other words, God thinks more about the things that will last throughout eternity, rather than earthly matters. For Christians, this means that God is more interested in your character than the happenings of your life. While God cares deeply for our earthly struggles, He is more interested in seeing how we respond to those earthly struggles. If you are anything like me, you kick and scream, hoping to get your way. However, the spiritually mature, learn to put their trust in God despite their circumstances. This is God’s goal and one reason He allows bad things to happen. He wants us to love and trust Him on the sunniest of days as well as the rainiest of days. He desires for us to respond to struggles as He does – fearing nothing because we know that earthly struggles will fade away and those who remain true to Christ will spend eternity pain and struggle free in the presence God!
Reverse Racism
As I have written in previous bogs, I have suffered with chronic migraines/headaches since I was 13-years-old. Towards the end of last summer, I finally conjured up the energy to apply for jobs. Working a rewarding job has always been a great remedy for my chronic pain. Though an enjoyable job has never healed me, it has served as a great distraction which has always allowed me to think less about my troubles. There is nothing more fulfilling to me than working in a Christian school as a teacher. Not only do I get to help educate kids academically, but I also get to inspire kids to grow spiritually! I applied at various Christian schools this past fall. The first place that called me had me come in for an interview. The principal and the church which supported the school were African American. They offered me a 5th grade teaching position, which paid well, right on the spot. I was very excited to work with a diverse group of people and gain experience working with people outside of my own race.
After I accepted the job, I was called by three other Christian schools and each wanted to interview me. I turned down every interview because I had already found a school that I was looking forward to teaching at. The school I had decided to work for was starting fresh after some issues with the previous administrator. My co-workers and I were led to believe the school was going to be small, but we would each have some students. It felt like we were all going to be part of building a Christian school together. You can imagine our shock the first day of classes when we had less than 5 students in the entire school. The first week, it remained this way. We were all very nervous, but the principal kept encouraging us that “God had told her” we were going have 60 students by the end of the month.
Obviously, the principal did not hear from God because the school had only gained seven or so students by the end of the month. Some teachers had no students in their class and others had only a couple. We all felt deceived and feared losing our jobs. I was especially upset because I had turned down three job interviews at really great Christian schools. In my two months there I was the 5th grade teacher, then the 4th grade teacher, then the 5th grade teacher again, then the 3rd grade teacher, then the “Bible teacher” for all of the grades. I tried to remain flexible and positive as they tossed me around (like a rag-doll) according to their ever changing needs. The reason their needs kept changing was because parents were taking their kids out of the school because they had no classmates.
I felt I was deceived in the name of “proclamation.” Meaning, the principal simply proclaimed that each teacher would have students. While I think it is fine to positively “proclaim” things in ones own life (in other words – walking by faith), Christians should be very careful when “proclaiming” over other people’s lives! Not only did I feel betrayed and lied to, but I also began to notice reverse racism. Since every teacher felt deceived and feared losing their jobs; negativity began to erupt in the school. The staff was made up of half Caucasian women and half African American women. The teachers began to gossip and complain about one another, which created a very unhealthy atmosphere. Soon, I noticed that if a problem would arise between a Caucasian woman and an African American woman, the principal would always take the side of the woman of her own race (whether the woman was right or wrong). Not only was this unprofessional, it was “reverse racism” and certainly did not reflect Christ.
I was able to ignore the injustice, until the injustice came knocking on my door. There was a very nasty African American lady (who had issues with both white women and women of her own race) that I ran into a confrontation with. She was very rude and unprofessional towards me, so I reported her behavior to the principal. The principal arranged a meeting for the three of us to discuss the current issue. Within the meeting, I realized that no matter what I said I was going to be wrong because of the color of my skin. The nasty lady was being rude to me right in front of the principal, so I pointed it out and said, “You can hear how she is speaking to me, yet you are still defending her.” The principal was highly offending and said, “I am not defending anyone and you are an accuser of the brethren.” If you have an understanding of biblical theology, you understand that she was basically calling me Satan.
I was more than hurt; I was livid! The combination of feeling deceived and taken advantage of, coupled with the crippling hurt and shock or “reverse racism” among Christians, was more than I could handle. I quit the job immediately! It has been over a month since I left the school, and I still feel like calling a lawyer and suing (even though it would probably be a stressful, waste of time). While I try to forgive and forget, revenge sounds more than sweet at times.
In general, racism has always been an issue among Americans. It used to be that African Americans suffered the most, when it came to racism. Today, however, Caucasians and those of other races, suffer from the devastating affects of racism. No matter what race you are, it is certain that at one point or another, you will be treated unfairly, simply because of the color of your skin and cultural background. It is God’s desire that we, as Christians, love one another, despite our racial differences. Galatians 3:27-28 says, “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The truth is that racism is prevalent in every culture and every race suffers from it!
As Christians, we should fight against the injustice of racism and refuse to give into its cruelty. We should also choose to forgive and love those who persecute us because of our race. As Martin Luther King Jr. put it “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
I would like to hear your experiences and opinions; please comment!
What to do when Life Sucks!
If there is anything I have learned about life in the past couple years, it’s that being in your mid-to-late twenties is a VERY difficult place. I heard a statistic somewhere that the average American does not begin to “grow up” until the ripe age of 25. This makes sense if you really think about it. Our generation has been taught to graduate high school at 18, move on to college and have as much fun as possible until 22, then either continue education (grad school) or get a job with a bunch of other 22-year-olds that never “grew up.” While some parents cannot afford to pay for their children to attend college; my guess is that most parents at least contribute to their children’s college fund. Even if parents could not pay for college, the government comes to our aid and pays our tuition, books, living expenses, and even provides some extra cash to blow on fun (if you so choose – AT 18-YEARS-OLD)!
So, our generation is spoiled beyond belief. We expect our folks to take care of us until we get jobs. Some even expect their folks to take care of them for their first few years of working. So, when we reach about 25 and funds start to get cut off (especially if you got married), reality slaps us right in the face! All of the sudden an adult (who still behaves much like a twenty-year-old) is expected to pay bills, student loans, buy their own groceries; purchase toilet paper, etc… The greatest problem is that we are a highly educated generation with little practical skills and experiences to offer. Further, many of us were not taught responsibility beyond taking a shower and dressing ourselves. So, here we are very “book smart,” looking for a job within an economic crisis, frustrated because we have no money to buy toilet paper. Brilliant minds cannot get jobs in their fields. Young people who have spent thousands and thousand of dollars on master’s and doctorial degrees are finding themselves making less money than people who didn’t even go to college, but mastered a trade.
I know a lot of you reading this can relate and so can I! Being in your mid-to-late twenties is a difficult age! I am almost done with my master’s degree and have no clue what I am going to do with it! I certainly know what I would like to do with it, but that does not mean I will have my way. So, where is God in all of this? What is the point of me knowing so much information, yet having no one share it with or no where to practice what I have been taught? One could drive themselves CRAZY coming up with question after question about their future. Will I find a spouse? Will I finish my education? Will my career path work out? Will I be able to pay of my student Loans? The questions and doubts just go on and on.
As I walked out of a job interview today, unclear on how it went, I felt the still small voice of the Holy Spirit pressing a Bible Scripture on my heart….” God works all things for the good of those who love Christ Jesus.” This is a promise to me and to all who truly love Jesus Christ. Loving Jesus Christ means devoting your entire life to Him, just as a man and woman who are in love commit their lives to each other. Loving Jesus Christ means submitting to His will, his commandments found in the Bible, and intrusting your hopes, fears, dreams, and motivations to Him! Does this mean you have to be perfect? Of course not! If we were all perfect, we would not need Jesus in our lives! You do not have to be perfect to love or to be loved, but when you REALLY love someone, you want to “do them right!” Though I love my husband and want to please Him, I will never be able to perfectly walk out his expectations. The same goes for any marriage! However, when we committed our lives to each other, it was our full intention to try our best to submit to one another and help each other reach our goals. Jesus wants this type of relationship with you. Here goes me being blunt; If you don’t care about pleasing Christ, do things you know he does not like without any remorse, and do not try to obey biblical commands, chances are, you do not love Christ. The great thing is that He loves you and is simply waiting for you to commit to Him!
For those of us who do love Jesus and those of you who make a decision to love Him, we have been promised a good life! This does not mean that we will always get our way or bad things will never happen to us; it means that no matter what “curve balls” life throws our way, God is on your side and we can expect Him to turn every situation for the good. Even the worst of all situations (like murder and rape) can be turned around for good. This seems difficult for our human minds to comprehend, but there are many ministers of the gospel who were abused as children and now live amazing lives because of their relationship with Christ.
So, do not be discouraged if things have not worked out how you hoped they would. Don’t fret if you are having a hard time finishing college, getting a job, working a job you hate, finding a spouse, and paying your bills! If you love Jesus Christ, God has promised that in His timing, God will turn all the difficulties in your life into good!
Why do people make fun of me?
I have always hated being teased. I remember when I was a kid; one of my dad’s best friends sent him a letter in the mail. At the end of the letter, the man drew a little devil, wrote my name, and pointed an arrow to it. Though he was teasing, it hurt my sensitive little heart and I never forgot it. It took me years to fully forgive this man and realize he is just a jokester!
Also, throughout my childhood, I figured out that kids are mean! My friends (who I am still friends with to this day) and I thought it was amusing to torture each other. We would often pick on one person at a time by leaving them out, making mean comments to one another, and dis-inviting each other to birthday parties. I am sure a lot of girls can relate to this childhood pettiness! I was never a nerdy kid, but still got made fun of and left out a lot; aka popularity does not make you “bullet-proof” to teasing!
When I reached Junior High and High School; I became even more popular, yet I got teased all the time! The boys in my school were cruel! I am not mad at any of them anymore; I now realize that they had a lot of bad stuff going on at home, which most likely triggered a lot of their cruelty. I have never been a skinny girl, but never much overweight! The boys found it amusing to call “us girls” fat and ugly, just to be mean. In junior high, one person spread a rumor that I stuffed my bra, which is a nightmare to a J-High girl! Also, I have always had a round face. I got teased about having a “double chin” all through middle and high school. In fact, one guy somehow found a terrible pic of me (totally sporting a double chin), photo copied it, and passed it out at lunch! The sad part of it all was that these boys were supposed to be our friends! Further, people always made fun of me for my faith in Christ. Some of the guys called me “Hitler” because I would encourage my friends (the pretty girls) not to “give them any!” I actually find this amusing now! I was made fun of for trying to maintain sexual purity in high school. My friends and I were nick-named “the church girls.” I think this was initially meant to be an insult, but we embraced the name and still do!
The point of all this is that it does not matter what you look like or how cool you are; people will always find a way to make-fun of you! I was a cheerleader my whole adolescent life, dated very popular guys, and still got teased constantly! This does not mean that it does not hurt! In fact, my husband is a big teaser (go figure)! While he is not a “cruel teaser,” he often makes hurtful jokes unintentionally. This has caused a lot of fights between us because I HATE BEING TEASED (probably because I was teased so much throughout my life)!!! I don’t really think many girls like being teased (unless its flirty teasing of course)! 
After many tears and arguments, my hubby finally gets it and tries not to tease.
I can’t help but think of Jesus on the Cross! Contrary to what some people may think; Jesus was a pretty popular guy during his three years of ministry. Of course, there were “haters,”but most people loved Jesus. Think about it; Jesus was cool; he accepted and loved the worst of people (thieves and prostitutes), he healed countless of diseased bodies, and taught things that people had never heard before. Yet, at age 33, a lot of those same people turned on Jesus. Of course, Judas betrayed Jesus to the Jewish “religious people” of the day and they arrested Jesus for no good reason! In reality, they were threatened by Jesus! Then, to make matters worse, a Roman official at the time brought Jesus and Barabbas (a murderer!!!) before the Jewish people. It was tradition to let one prisoner go based off the people’s wishes. When innocent Jesus and the murderer were placed next to one another, the Jewish crowd (Jesus’ own people) asked for Barabbas to be released instead of Jesus. Some of the same people that “loved” Jesus a few days ago just followed the crowd. They all roared, “CRUCIFY HIM, CRUCIFY HIM!!!” I cannot imagine the emotional anguish Jesus must have felt!!!!
Then Jesus (still completely innocent) was beaten and literally nailed to a wooden cross. The pain must have been excruciating, but perhaps the worst part was people emotionally torturing Jesus. The Roman soldiers spit on Jesus and mocked (aka – teased) him by saying; “If you really are the son of God, why don’t you have the angels get you down off that cross!” They laughed at him while he hung on that cross, brutally beaten, bloody, and emotionally scared. I have to say, I have never been made fun of or teased this bad!!! Yet, his last words before dying (for us sinners) were, “forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.” OH MY GOSH!!! I think I would have wanted to see everyone of them GO DOWN!!!!
If you are facing bullies, being poked at, being teased, feeling alone, feeling rejected, feeling betrayed, and emotionally scared; you are not alone! Everyone has been there and your Savior understands your pain!!!! Remember, that three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. He is now seated next to God and rules and reigns the world. If people are teasing you now, especially for being a Christian, just imagine your future award! 
Things will turn around for you because “If God is for you, who can be against you?”
Please leave your comments and/or questions…I would love to encourage or dialogue with you!
Is it wrong to have sex before marriage?
So, most Americans have probably heard at one point in their lives that it is wrong to have sex before you are married. Some people heed those words and avoid sex before marriage, but most people either decide the theory is a lie and dive in or decide the theory is truth, but fall in. In our post-modern culture, a lot of educated people would say that only the individual can decide for themselves if sex before marriage is wrong. In other words, if you think it is wrong, then it is wrong, but if you think it is right; it is right. Christians have often been accused of being “closed-minded” because they often take a strong stance against sex before marriage. Further, Christians have often been judged and ridiculed as being “hypocritical” the moment someone finds out that they “fooled around” or had sex before marriage. Yet, the common person (religious or not) would typically say that it is wrong to lie, but everyone has told a lie before, right? So, since Christians hold to a truth found in the Bible, that premarital sex is wrong; should they be so harshly judged as “hypocritical,” when every person who has ever walked this earth has broken their own rules???
As a Christian myself, I’m not advocating any sort of sex before marriage; I am simply asking people to think before they judge and I am encouraging Christians that no matter how far they have gone; it is never too late to do things differently! Now that I have your attention, I want to answer the question; “Is it wrong to have sex before marriage?” First I must define what I mean by “sex.” Sex is anything “Hot & Heavy.” This is why they say, “SEX SELLS!” You don’t hear any advertisers saying, “Intercourse sells!” or “Oral Sex sells!” Please do not tell me that half-hour “make-out-sessions” don’t get you in the mood for more! If you can make out for a half-hour with a guy/girl you like or think is hot and not want nothing more, then you are not like the rest of us (kudos to you)!
So, is it wrong before marriage or not? Yes! I know my “absolute” answer is not the most popular response. Good thing I’m not in high school anymore and I don’t care if I’m popular. Truthfully, in 8th grade I searched high and low for the answer to this question; the answer that I wanted to hear. I wanted to find some Bible scripture that said it was OK for me to have at least a little sex before marriage. The problem was that I could not find one stinkin verse to back up my hormones! So, I had to make a decision. Did I want to believe a lie and do want I wanted to do, or did I want to accept the truth and either not do want I wanted to do or do what I wanted to do and feel guilty?” Being a girl who loved Jesus, I knew I had to accept the truth. Darn! But wait….I am 26-years-old now, married, and saved sexual intercourse for my husband! I was not sexually perfect before I met my man, but I had saved a lot of myself for the person I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with. Thank God for His “Black and White” commandment. Who would not want to give this gift to their future spouse???
Now, some may be asking, “What makes the Bible have the final authority on what is truth?” Before I even attempt to logically answer this question, I must state that ultimately one must have faith in Christianity to give the Bible this type of authority. I will say to my skeptics, however, that the Christian Bible is an ancient and historical book that has kept consistent (besides some grammatical and misinterpretations along the way) for thousands and thousands of years!!! If you don’t believe me, do a study on “The Dead Sea Scrolls.” Further, the Bible offers life, meaning, and purpose. God does not tell His people to ”wait till marriage” for the heck of it. He has better things to do than ruin your fun! God commands us to be sexually pure for our own sake! What? Why????
Sure, “hook-ups” are fun for the night and sex within a serious relationship is actually expected. But, what happens to you when you feel dirty or rejected the next morning or things did not work out between you and your partner? I will tell you what happens….if you are smart enough not to get pregnant or an std; you will still not escape the emotional havoc of it all. Perhaps you have done this so much that you no longer feel any sense of remorse, but if you look at your heart deep down inside; I would guess you feel lonely and empty. Partner after partner will never fill that void! Even a husband or wife cannot completely fill this void! Truthfully, the only thing that can fill this void completely is a constant (daily) relationship with Christ. Before you feel all judged and mad at me……
I understand the struggle not to get “hot and heavy” before marriage, because I have been there. The desire and need for sex is natural and believe it or not, God created us that way. If you strongly desire sex, God wants you to find a great man or woman, get married, and “do it” all the time. The reason he requires us to get married is for our own sake. Lets face it, relationships are hard, and when sex is added; everything becomes more complicated! We make ourselves very VULNERABLE to another person. Therefore, when the “crap hits the fan” and things are not going well, we want to fight or flight!!! A lot of times, dating relationships and “hook-up” buddies are easy to get out of when hell beaks loose (and it does in all close relationships)! Someone decides at some point to bolt, and someone ALWAYS gets hurt. When you are married and you guys start wanting to kill each other, running is not so easy! Why? Because you made a committment before your closest friends and family to stick it out (ahhhh)! Even, the law holds you to it and often makes it a pain to undo. While you can run, if you really love someone, you will fight it out until you figure it out because you know everyone is expecting you to (aka: accountability=a good thing).
This is not a message of condemnation for all of us that have messed up and disobeyed God because God is always ready to forgive us. All we have to do is ask him to and try to turn away from sexul sin. It may be a daily battle for some, but well worth it!
Please post, I would like to hear your opinions, questions, and experiences!
Pain
Sometimes I cry so hard that I get somewhat of a euphoric feeling when it is all over. Pain; it is an endless tragedy of life that we are forced to deal with. We cannot escape it. Even in our worldly and man-made “escapes;” it always creeps back up on us. Right when you think you have experienced the most pain of your life, something else happens that tops the last experience of pain. Worse, we grow tolerant to our usual way of “escape” and those pain remedies that once worked; no longer work as well or perhaps not at all.
“Never judge a book by its cover” is a well fitted quote for most of our lives. For instance, I am one of those people who smile when I am sad and pretend things are alright when they are not. It reminds me of the show “desperate housewives,” which is a total guilty pleasure for me! If you are unfamiliar with the show, it is about a town where everything appears to be perfect, but terrible things are always happening behind the scenes. This is not much different from all of our lives. We mask our pain because we fear man. We all have different fears and reasons why we hide our struggles; but we all do it. Typically, we don’t want people to judge us, feel sorry for us, or we fear they will not understand.
As I have said in previous posts; I deal with chronic migraines on a daily basis that affect every area of my life. If you have ever dealt with a chronic illness or have walked a loved one through it; you understand the not only physical, but emotional, mental, and spiritual impact it has on your life. It is exhausting in every way. Frequent medical bills only add to the stress and stress adds to the pain. Chronic pain (emotional, mental, physical) is an ongoing struggle that deeply traumatized the lives of those suffering and the sufferers loved ones.
I am convinced that all people suffer with some sort of ongoing pain in their lives. It may not be physical. It may not even be within you. Your suffering could be someone elses suffering. Either way, we all deal with it. The Apostle Paul talks about how he begged God to take away “the thorn in his flesh,” but God did not. He told Paul that His grace was sufficient for Paul and that in Paul’s weakness God would be strong. We do not know what this “thorn in his side” was, but some Bible scholars think it could have been migraines. If so, I relate! I have prayed continuously that God would heal me and I have faith that someday He will, but for now I have to rely on His grace to get through each day. I have to remember that there is a reason God is allowing me to go through this and that He has promised to be strong when I am weak.
Though pain in this life really sucks; as Christians, we have to remember that we are only passing through this earth and our eternal home is in heaven where pain does not exist! The Bible says that when we go to heaven God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; what a euphoric moment that will be! Our hope is not in this earth or man-made remedies for pain (though they can help for a while); our ultimate hope to overcome pain’s hold on our lives is Jesus Christ! He is the one that died for our sins so that we could accept Him and go to heaven where all pain and struggle will diminish.
We are mere humans. We deal with pain the best way we know how. We must go easy on ourselves. Find friends and family we trust to share our struggles with. Chances are they will relate somehow. Put your fears aside. When we no longer fear pain, we are free to stand through the pain, knowing that soon; it will all be over!
He leads me by still waters…
We are having company this weekend; so of course I am a “cleaning maniac!” Not to mention, the company is my in-laws; of course, I want our little place to look extra special. So, here I am anxiously cleaning, getting a “bleach high,” and feeling worn out already, with a whole night to go. Sound familiar ladies? Or men? Whoever is the “perfectionist” in the family! As I hurry to clean, unwanting to stop my anxious flow; my computer begins to play some Christian music, worshiping God. It is amazing how just a song about God brings me peace and I feel the Holy Spirit inside me whispering “rest, my child.”
Rest is not a concept “we” Americans have gotten to know very well. We like to keep ourselves “busy lil’ bees!” If you are anything like me and have an extreme or perfectionist personality with a goal oriented nature; you know how stressful company coming over (though I love it) can be. I like to play “Hostess with the Mostest,” but sometimes obsess over everything being perfect, until I don’t want to finish the job. But wait, I must finish what I start (goal- driven, remember). So, I keep at it until the work is done, while all the while carrying frustrated emotions.
Perhaps your business does not stem from perfectionism, but from other reasons. Some like to keep busy because they are trying to please man, trying to prove themselves, trying to avoid thinking about what is really going on in their lives, trying to keep themselves from the great fear of boredom. Those are just to name a few.
The thing I love about my God found in Jesus Christ is that He offers peace and rest for His children. He tells us to relax, chill out, and have a margarita! Haha, ok so He is not Jimmy Buffett; but you get the point. God offers rest to His children and compels us to be still, stop busying ourselves with earthly things, and just spend some time with Him, meditating on His greatness, praying to him, reading about Him in the Bible, listening to music that reminds us of Him, and just being silent before Him. Who knows, maybe He has something to say to your heart.
There is a story in the Bible about two women who were sisters. One loved to work and please Jesus by cooking for him, cleaning for him, and picking up after him. The other loved to sit at the feet of Jesus and just listen to His stories, engage with Him, and spend time with Him. Of course, the ‘workin woman’ got annoyed with her sister and told her to get to work. Jesus simply said (and I am paraphrasing); “Work can wait; I would rather have your time than your service.”
Wow! What a cool God that would rather spend His time getting acquainted with us than being served by us. Unlike many other Kings! He beckons us to “Be Still and Know that He is God (Ps. 46:10).” God is much more interested in us chilling out with Him and getting to know Him than us being concerned with perfection, business, and working too hard. He desires us above all else and wants us to desire Him first as well. What an amazing creator we have; one who wants to know each of us personally. Desire to please God more than man; He is not only your judge in the end, but also your Savior from the judge through Jesus Christ (think about that one).
I think it is valuable to note that this concept of “rest” can be applied to those of you (like me) who are Christians and who obsessively try to please God (perhaps because you love Him so much and want to please Him). I must tell you and me, however, that He is already pleased with you if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior!! So, let us together stop trying to earn God’s approval; Jesus’ Cross did that for us! We now do what we know is right in our hearts not because we fear God, man, or even the Church; we do it because we love God and we want to do what is right. This does not mean we don’t love God if we go against our hearts and the Bible and do wrong; it simply means that we are human. It is time to get off our “high horses” as Christians and admit that we make mistakes and that we are dependent on Jesus. Not only this, but our work and business and perfectionism for God is pointless; God is pleased with His Son who hopefully lives in you!!! If not, just ask Him; yes, that simple!
Standing boldly in the presence of God…
Tonight I went to a youth group and remembered what it was like to be a new Christian, full of zeal, excitement, and passion for Christ. For whatever reason, as Christian’s tend to “mature,” in their walk with Jesus, they lose that ‘infatuation,’ we could call it. When that “infatuation” starts to wear off, we stop seeking the presence of God like we use to. Now, I don’t mean to make people jealous that have never experienced “the presence of God,” but it is one thing you should be jealous of and want with all your heart. The more people seek God (whether in private or within a group of people), God will show up. He says in His Word, “Seek and you shall find.” I think this is why teenagers so often bring in the presence of God. Often, they are new Christian and they are so passionate about Jesus that they will do anything to be in His presence! Tonight at youth group, the minister called upon the teenagers who really wanted to get serious about being bold in their high schools to come forward. Some may think coming forward or “alter calls” as some may call it is silly, but I think they are powerful. Why? Firstly, when you move forward you step out of the crowd and every looks at you. Not only is this humbling to human pride, but also empowering the Holy Spirit within. When you move forward you say “No” to your flesh and “Yes” to the Holy Spirit! Moving forward is a declaration! It says, “I don’t care what anyone in this room thinks; I am going to serve Jesus!”
Oh, when people “move forward,” God always shows up! God is a sucker for humility! Humility tells God that you love Him more than you love this world and you are not afraid to show it! Now, in “Christian adult world” only a few are willing to move forward, so God may draw near for those few and allow them to sense His presence. However, in “teen Christian world” everyone goes forward when they have tasted God’s presence before! This is what happened tonight. The pastor gave an “altar call” and almost every teen in the room moved forward, some falling to their knees in reverence to the Lord, others expressing the surrender of their will over to God by the lifting of their hands, and others crying out to Jesus with all their hearts!
It was in this moment that I strongly sensed that God was not only close by, He was standing in the room! I know when God is VERY close because the Spirit that lives inside of me jumps! I feel this intensely deep feeling in my gut that is indescribable. All I can do is worship God and cry. It is in these moments that I fall in love all over again! Not that I ever stopped loving God. It’s just that passion, you know, the “infatuation” sometimes needs to be stirred up!
It is not far off from a marriage. When you are first dating and married to your spouse, love is growing, but infatuation is strong! This is the emotion that keeps you together at first. Then, as time goes on, you learn to love unconditionally whether you have those “crazy butterfly feelings” or not. Then, every once in while your spouse will do something to sweep you off your feet and you may say, “I fell in love all over again.” This is basically saying, “I love my husband more than I loved him when we were dating (because love is a choice and a commitment; not a feeling) but today, I feel infatuated with him!
Just like marriages need constant restored passion and excitement, so does your relationship with God! Just as sometimes this means work in marriage, the same goes for ones relationship with God. Work does not imply labor. It simply means that we need to seek God’s presence with all our hearts because it is in His presence that we renew our souls and passion is restored over and over again.
Our relationship with God is the relationship that matters most since it is eternal. We should cultivate this relationship even more than our earthly ones. He is the lover of our souls and we will never be fully satisfied if we do not consistently seek His presence in our lives!
Want to watch someone making a bold move for Christ? Watch this YouTube video of Steve Harvey introducing Jesus Christ! It is seriously amazing!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8srM5DIaJBM&NR=1
unqualified…
It seems like no matter how much experience I get or how much education I have under my belt, I still feel unqualified to make a major difference in this world or even in my own little world. Ya know, like your never quite good enough! It is a feeling I think even the most secure people feel because it is a human feeling. It is somewhat realistic, but somewhat not for the believer in Christ. What I mean by this is that reality proves to us over and over that we as human always fall short, always struggle with weaknesses, and are continuously in need. No matter how smart we are, we don’t feel smart enough. No matter how talented we are, we don’t feel feel talented enough, and no matter how strong we feel, we don’t feel quite strong enough.
Perhaps you are in school or searching for a job, or are in a job you don’t like that much and you feel unqualified to do what you really want to do. I am about to finish my Masters degree and have no clue what will open up for me. I have to admit that I feel unqualified to do what I really want to do and perhaps I am. The one thing that I always fall back on is God and His sovereignty (his ability to make things work out for the good). I realize that I can do nothing that great apart from God and without His hand upon my life; I will go no where of any value to myself or others.
The thought that I rely on is that God is qualified to do anything and all things and He lives within me through Jesus Christ. If I live for Him, I know he will open up doors in my life that I am totally unqualified for. Do you know that I earned a BA without ever taking the SAT exam before college? Do you know that I am almost done with graduate school and I never took the GRE. Do you know that I have taught full time as a teacher in both Colorado and Pennsylvania without ever earning my teaching credentials.
The last thing I am trying to do is show off! If anything, I am bragging on God to take the “unqualified” and qualify them. Why? Because Christians have clout on this earth just as movie stars have clout to get into “celebrity only” clubs. Why do Christians have clout? Because they are children of God and God is the King of both heaven and earth and His children are royalty. Perhaps you feel like you are the last person in the world that has any sort of clout and maybe you are right; but, if you live for Jesus, He will give you great favor in this world!
There is absolutely no reason why I should have had any success in this world! I was a slacker in High School and cared little about my educational or professional future. I know that it has been God that has opened doors for me that were right and closed doors for me that were wrong. I know that it has been Jesus picking up the slack for me when I fall short of what is expected of me.
I am not advocating laziness! Quite the contrary; I am saying, try your best to live for Jesus and do well and fight for the things you want in life; but, when you fall short (and you will) trust that it is not you, but He that lives within you that makes you not only qualified, but a royal child of the King of Kings!
