A good friend of mine Travis Deaver, once said something very wise that has stuck with me ever since. He said, "Inspiration comes in the greatest ways, and to be inspired is to see life the way it was meant to be seen, through God's eye." I absolutely agree with him. Inspiration makes us wants to do better. It drives us to be better people and change our character so that others around us will gain something. My favorite thing about inspiration is that it can happen anytime, anywhere. A lot of the times I get frustrated from lack of inspiration in my life. But if what Travis said is correct, then inspiration comes from God. It's like a gift He has given us. As a christian, I believe that the Holy Spirit speaks to me and guides me to be more Christ like. But like all Christians, it's really hard to discern when the Holy Spirit is actually speaking to us. I know I struggle with this constantly. Isn't it possible that inspiration is really the Holy Spirit speaking to you in a way that you can understand?
John 14:16-17 says, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." A friend of mine, who's also a pastor, Tony Calabrese, recently shared something with me about these verses. He said, "What is so cool about Jesus saying that he will send "another" Counselor is found in the original word he uses for "another." The word another DOESNT mean another as in "I'm going to buy another coat" as in a different coat. The word Jesus uses for another means "the exact same kind." Think about that! Jesus essentially is saying that he is going to send another Counselor , one that is JUST LIKE HIM. At this moment He is the Mighty Counselor to His disciples but soon another...just like Jesus type of Counselor , will come into their hearts." Sometimes instead of fighting so hard to find inspiration in my life, I need to simply become aware of God's presence in me. He is ready and willing to lead me. I feel like anything and everything has potential to be inspiring if I let God fully take control of my life.
Lately I've been finding a lot of inspiration in the Bible. For the last few months, every time I have set foot in a church building or bible study, I've walked away inspired. The words of God just move my heart in a way I can't explain to you. My entire body is consumed with this overwhelming feeling of joy and peace and comfort. It's like God is wrapping his arms around me and holding me tightly. When I leave I have an urge to tell the world about Jesus and change everything that is flawed in my life. Obviously, what I want to do and what I actually don't always line up, but the fact that God inspires me to change each week is so encouraging. It's a constant reminder He is always with me in every situation. I also love that God is so consistent. Consistency is something that I value greatly. I hate it when things arn't consistent or when parents or other figures of authority constantly change their minds. God isn't like that at all. All throughout the bible God is consistent. In the Old Testament, God was with Joseph in prison and saw him through that. Great things came out of Joseph being in prison. Years later in the New Testament, Paul writes us the book of Philippians in prison. The purpose of this book was to a) thank the Philippians for the gifts they had sent whilst in prison and b) to give strength to believers and show them that true joy come from Jesus Christ. God was with Paul. He proved to be consistent. And today, God has not changed. He is still there no matter what, fighting to show us how to live for Him. I'm thankful everyday that God is with me ready to send inspiration my way.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Letting go isn't easy
Learning to let go of things is something I struggle with on a daily basis. Be it an argument or a material possession, letting go is simply tough. It's not easy because most of the time I've worked really hard for it. Other times, whatever needs letting go is close to my heart. Lately though, I've been struggling to let go of myself. Actually ever since I was baptized I've been fighting what seems like a never ending battle. Jesus has called us to let go of ourselves and take up the cross every day. It's easy for me to read that in the bible and want to change, but actually living that out each day is so hard. I've worked my entire life to gain the identity I have today. I've experienced pain and suffering, as well as amazing love and great joy. The friendships formed and the lives that have impacted me mean the world to me. But if I don't let go of myself and give my life completely to Jesus, all of what I've worked for is going to suffer. My ultimate goal in life is to live like Jesus in order to be reunited with Him when I die. But just because I've been baptized doesn't mean I can live my life how I want. I'm learning that the hard way. If that means letting go of old relationships and throwing away items that have potential to lead me astray, then that's what I'll have to do. The great thing about Jesus is that even though letting go is rough, he is going to place other people and opportunities in my life that will lead me to glorify Him. I have to trust Him fully in order to do that though. I pray that God continues to place opportunity in front of me so that my life and heart will align with him. I know it will be hard, and tears will be shed, but I think eternity is worth it.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
A few things I've been learning lately. Enjoy :)
I feel like I'm not alone when I say that I struggle so much with the fact that Jesus is not here in the flesh with me. It's so darn frustrating that I can't give him and hug and have him tell me everything is going to be ok. I long so much to be in the arms of Jesus and walk beside him. I've even gotten angry at God, wondering why I couldn't have lived when Jesus lived? Why couldn't I have lived to reach out and touch him? In the midst of this struggle I've been digging into the bible to help me out. I felt like I should share with all of you a little bit of what I've been learning, in hopes that it might encourage you like it's been encouraging me.
I was recently lead to Acts 17:24-31 while questioning why I couldn't have walked with Jesus. All of the verses really hit me but verses 26-28 really brought it home...especially 26 and 27. "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' This really spoke to me. God put us here in this exact moment because it was the best time for us as individuals to love him to the best of our abilities. If God would have wanted me to live when Jesus walked the earth when his disciples did, he would have put me there. Instead, I am here today, living the life I'm in right now, with the family and friends I have right now, for a reason. It is the best time in God's plan for me to walk the earth. And I need to embrace that with everything I am. After all, Jesus' greatest command was to love him and love others. It's up to me to live that out, and now is the time to do it. My circumstances won't define me any longer. Instead, they will help shape me to become more reliant on my faith in the one who put me here.
The book of John has really been rocking my world as well. Jesus speaks some very powerful words to his disciples in chapters 14-16 as it relates to Jesus not being here in the flesh. Verses 1-3 say this, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would not have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am." As Jesus tells his disciples that when he leaves them he will prepare a place for them, they become confused. They think they need him there to find the way to God. But Jesus is telling them, that he is the way to God, and believing and trusting in him is all it takes! And it gets better! Jesus goes on to talk about the comfort of the Holy Spirit that is to be sent in place of him here on earth. Verses 16-19 say this; "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live." Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit is so darn comforting to me. He tells us all that it is a fact that he will come back, but until then we still have the Spirit in us to guide us! He also tells us in various places what we must do what he asks of us. In verses 25-26 Jesus says, "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Chapter 15 verse 26 and 27 goes on to say this, "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me since the beginning." Jesus is telling us that we are responsible for the kingdom of God to advance. And to help us out and give us the right things to say, he has sent the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 16 Jesus teaches specifically about the Holy Spirit and the purpose of him being sent. verse 7; "But I tell you the truth: It is for your own good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." Verse 8 gives us a little more detail about what we are to do with the Holy Spirit. "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in reguard to sin and righteousness and judgement." Verse 13 also helped me out a ton. "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." I know there are a lot of verses there, but each of those verses have really helped me when it comes to knowing what to do without the flesh of Jesus being in front of me. Knowing that he has not left me and has sent another Counselor in place is also very important to the trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are now all able to work as one, and guide each of us. (read John chapter 17 for more on the unity and how it relates to our walk with God. It's awesome!)
Recently, this has also helped me out. “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” - Luke 2:49
Every one of us has a father here on earth. And every one of us at some point or another feels disconnected with our father. Some of us may have great relationships with out fathers, while others may have never met him. There are also those who rely on a respectable male figure in their life to serve as a father figure. Jesus was one of those children. Joseph, the husband of Mary and father to Jesus, isn't actually responsible for the birth of his son. God was. Jopeph did however did raise Jesus and guide him in the right direction at a young age. As time went on though, Jesus began to feel a disconnection with Joseph. I feel like every one of us can relate to that. As I was reading this verse an overwhelming sense of comfort came over me. God will always be the perfect father...no matter what. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing our earthly fathers. But in those moments when it's hard to find that fatherly connection it is really awesome to know that God is there, waiting for us to come to him. He won't steer us in the wrong direction, or tell us we aren't worthy of love.
I guess that's all I have for right now. Thanks for sticking to the end on this one, I know it was lengthy.
I was recently lead to Acts 17:24-31 while questioning why I couldn't have walked with Jesus. All of the verses really hit me but verses 26-28 really brought it home...especially 26 and 27. "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' This really spoke to me. God put us here in this exact moment because it was the best time for us as individuals to love him to the best of our abilities. If God would have wanted me to live when Jesus walked the earth when his disciples did, he would have put me there. Instead, I am here today, living the life I'm in right now, with the family and friends I have right now, for a reason. It is the best time in God's plan for me to walk the earth. And I need to embrace that with everything I am. After all, Jesus' greatest command was to love him and love others. It's up to me to live that out, and now is the time to do it. My circumstances won't define me any longer. Instead, they will help shape me to become more reliant on my faith in the one who put me here.
The book of John has really been rocking my world as well. Jesus speaks some very powerful words to his disciples in chapters 14-16 as it relates to Jesus not being here in the flesh. Verses 1-3 say this, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would not have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am." As Jesus tells his disciples that when he leaves them he will prepare a place for them, they become confused. They think they need him there to find the way to God. But Jesus is telling them, that he is the way to God, and believing and trusting in him is all it takes! And it gets better! Jesus goes on to talk about the comfort of the Holy Spirit that is to be sent in place of him here on earth. Verses 16-19 say this; "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live." Jesus' promise of the Holy Spirit is so darn comforting to me. He tells us all that it is a fact that he will come back, but until then we still have the Spirit in us to guide us! He also tells us in various places what we must do what he asks of us. In verses 25-26 Jesus says, "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Chapter 15 verse 26 and 27 goes on to say this, "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me since the beginning." Jesus is telling us that we are responsible for the kingdom of God to advance. And to help us out and give us the right things to say, he has sent the Holy Spirit. In John chapter 16 Jesus teaches specifically about the Holy Spirit and the purpose of him being sent. verse 7; "But I tell you the truth: It is for your own good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you." Verse 8 gives us a little more detail about what we are to do with the Holy Spirit. "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in reguard to sin and righteousness and judgement." Verse 13 also helped me out a ton. "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." I know there are a lot of verses there, but each of those verses have really helped me when it comes to knowing what to do without the flesh of Jesus being in front of me. Knowing that he has not left me and has sent another Counselor in place is also very important to the trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are now all able to work as one, and guide each of us. (read John chapter 17 for more on the unity and how it relates to our walk with God. It's awesome!)
Recently, this has also helped me out. “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” - Luke 2:49
Every one of us has a father here on earth. And every one of us at some point or another feels disconnected with our father. Some of us may have great relationships with out fathers, while others may have never met him. There are also those who rely on a respectable male figure in their life to serve as a father figure. Jesus was one of those children. Joseph, the husband of Mary and father to Jesus, isn't actually responsible for the birth of his son. God was. Jopeph did however did raise Jesus and guide him in the right direction at a young age. As time went on though, Jesus began to feel a disconnection with Joseph. I feel like every one of us can relate to that. As I was reading this verse an overwhelming sense of comfort came over me. God will always be the perfect father...no matter what. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing our earthly fathers. But in those moments when it's hard to find that fatherly connection it is really awesome to know that God is there, waiting for us to come to him. He won't steer us in the wrong direction, or tell us we aren't worthy of love.
I guess that's all I have for right now. Thanks for sticking to the end on this one, I know it was lengthy.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Love takes Time
I wonder if God gave us time so we can appreciate eternity more? A lot of us question our existence often. It seems weird that we are just here with all this stuff surrounding us. How did it get here? Why are we here to experience it? What's the point? And after many years of thinking, the idea that God gave us this time here on Earth to appreciate eternity more makes the most sense to me. Let me further explain.
God could have easily created us to live with Him immediately. But what would have been the point of that? He created us out of love, and in order for us to love Him back, we must have a choice. We can't be forced to love Him any more than we can be forced to love one another. He gave us free will for a reason. If we have to choose love Him, then we first must experience love for ourselves. This is where I think our time on Earth comes into play. After a lot of questions and some research, I've found that one of the main things that separates Earth from Heaven is time. (there are different types of "time", but we don't experience all the different types in Heaven.) We experience Heaven after we die, for eternity. But we first must live here and die in order to experience that. If that is the case, then time we spend here is unique to Earth.
On a different, yet similar note, if the time we experience here is unique to Earth, it would also mean that love has to have time first in order to really exist. Love doesn't end when we die, but it sure can't begin unless we live. As a baby, I didn't come out of the womb with clapping hands singing praise and love songs to Jesus. I had to first learn love through the actions of my parents. The cool thing is, the love I was being taught by my parents is the same love they were taught from their parents and so on. What an exciting cycle of love! But that cycle had to begin somewhere. The Bible tell us, that cycle began with Adam and Eve. In the first few chapters of Genesis, God shows Adam and Even what love should consist of. But Adam and Eve had to learn it for themselves! They didn't listen to God, and God became angry at them. The good news is that we have a compassionate God, and He forgave them. Through that mercy and forgiveness, Adam and Eve learned that God will love them no matter what. That is love. But it didn't happen right away. It took Adam and Eve time to learn this. And now years later, we are learning that same love. Love has never changed since the beginning of time.
The problem is that our culture has changed dramatically over time. Every one of us is influenced by our surroundings, and over time those influences change the way we look at things. Unfortunately, the American culture has become more and more dependant on media, and as time carries on, the idea of love has become a constant victim. So often we hear young kids throwing the word "love" around without actually meaning it. They see teens on TV that after 2 hours of knowing one another, are madly in love. Then something happens like another girl or guy getting in the way, or a simple fight, and all of a sudden those teens have "fallen out of love". Watching shows like that presents a completely false and negative depiction of what love really is. Even if a parent explains to the child what they just saw is wrong, the fact that the idea is still in that child's head is a big problem. Most teens don't listen to their parents, so instead they decide to enter relationships at very early ages, throw the word "love" around after a day or so, and then get ridiculously hurt when it doesn't work out. God has showed us time and time again, that love should not end, ever. These shows tell kids otherwise. Is that really what we want to be teaching our children? Sometimes, we don't have a choice because of how dependant we are on media. This is why it is so important to teach our children love at an early age as it aligns with God's ideas, not our cultures. I feel like the divorce rate wouldn't dramatically decline if we focused more on teaching our children about God instead of letting the TV become a babysitter/educator. Love wouldn't have an option to become a victim because those values are already set before entering into situations where controlling the amount of media intake is harder. Lets stop making love a victim, and let God show us how to live.
God could have easily created us to live with Him immediately. But what would have been the point of that? He created us out of love, and in order for us to love Him back, we must have a choice. We can't be forced to love Him any more than we can be forced to love one another. He gave us free will for a reason. If we have to choose love Him, then we first must experience love for ourselves. This is where I think our time on Earth comes into play. After a lot of questions and some research, I've found that one of the main things that separates Earth from Heaven is time. (there are different types of "time", but we don't experience all the different types in Heaven.) We experience Heaven after we die, for eternity. But we first must live here and die in order to experience that. If that is the case, then time we spend here is unique to Earth.
On a different, yet similar note, if the time we experience here is unique to Earth, it would also mean that love has to have time first in order to really exist. Love doesn't end when we die, but it sure can't begin unless we live. As a baby, I didn't come out of the womb with clapping hands singing praise and love songs to Jesus. I had to first learn love through the actions of my parents. The cool thing is, the love I was being taught by my parents is the same love they were taught from their parents and so on. What an exciting cycle of love! But that cycle had to begin somewhere. The Bible tell us, that cycle began with Adam and Eve. In the first few chapters of Genesis, God shows Adam and Even what love should consist of. But Adam and Eve had to learn it for themselves! They didn't listen to God, and God became angry at them. The good news is that we have a compassionate God, and He forgave them. Through that mercy and forgiveness, Adam and Eve learned that God will love them no matter what. That is love. But it didn't happen right away. It took Adam and Eve time to learn this. And now years later, we are learning that same love. Love has never changed since the beginning of time.
The problem is that our culture has changed dramatically over time. Every one of us is influenced by our surroundings, and over time those influences change the way we look at things. Unfortunately, the American culture has become more and more dependant on media, and as time carries on, the idea of love has become a constant victim. So often we hear young kids throwing the word "love" around without actually meaning it. They see teens on TV that after 2 hours of knowing one another, are madly in love. Then something happens like another girl or guy getting in the way, or a simple fight, and all of a sudden those teens have "fallen out of love". Watching shows like that presents a completely false and negative depiction of what love really is. Even if a parent explains to the child what they just saw is wrong, the fact that the idea is still in that child's head is a big problem. Most teens don't listen to their parents, so instead they decide to enter relationships at very early ages, throw the word "love" around after a day or so, and then get ridiculously hurt when it doesn't work out. God has showed us time and time again, that love should not end, ever. These shows tell kids otherwise. Is that really what we want to be teaching our children? Sometimes, we don't have a choice because of how dependant we are on media. This is why it is so important to teach our children love at an early age as it aligns with God's ideas, not our cultures. I feel like the divorce rate wouldn't dramatically decline if we focused more on teaching our children about God instead of letting the TV become a babysitter/educator. Love wouldn't have an option to become a victim because those values are already set before entering into situations where controlling the amount of media intake is harder. Lets stop making love a victim, and let God show us how to live.
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