Faith
A few blogs ago i talked about how important loving God is. Everything stems from our faith and love in God. But before we can love God, a prerequisite is knowing God's love for us. A few questions ive been asking myself are "How do i have faith? How do i seek God's love?" Obviously faith and love will push us to grow closer to God, but how do we do that?? We hear "Trust in the Lord, Repent and Believe, Take up ur own cross.." But how do we actually do all these things? There is no way we could do those things on our own. God's help is required for us to grow closer to Him. The Holy Spirit actually does choke work to draw us closer to God. The Holy Spirit encourages us to leap out in Faith. I know experiencing God would help. Reading His word would help. But i know so many non believers, and struggling Christians, that don't know how to increase in faith. We can read about His promises, but how can we truly believe in them? How can we put all our faith into what is unseen? I think faith produces faith. Trusting God, and allowing Him to fulfill or provide, will help us to trust Him even more.
Counting the Cost
I think too many people are afraid of putting all their marbles on God. But God tells us to count the cost. He doesnt say give me some of you. Just give me 10%, or 25% of you. He really requires us to devote 100% to Him. The Christian life is only meant to be lived out 100%. The question is why shouldnt we? We're already His to use, He gave us life, He gave us everything we have. We belong to Him. He even died for us, so we could be with Him. So why then do we have such a hard time submitting our trust, faith, and lives in Him? Most of the time, people realize how lost they are without God. Sometimes people hit rock bottom, finding themselves without any options. Then when there's no other place to turn, people finally surrender to Christ. I still find myself struggling with faith. I desire genuine faith. I want a heart that bleeds for God. I think it's a life long process to grow deeper in faith. We can never completely die to ourselves, and fully know God, until we see Him face to face.
"In our culture of seeker sensitivity and radical inclusivity, the great temptation is to compromise the cost of discipleship in order to draw a larger crowd. We do not want to see anyone walk away from Jesus because of the discomfort of His cross, so we clip the claws on the lion and clean up a bit of the bloody passion we are called to follow." -Shane Claiborne
Introspection
I think we learn much about God, by learning and reflecting about ourselves. Understanding who we are, and understanding our relationships with others, helps us to better understand God. How does God speak to you? How do you think? How do you learn? What is my purpose? How can I change or improve my ways? How can i conform to God's plan for me?
Fundamentals
The core heart of the bible, is the gospel (good news). That Christ died for our sins, so we can have a direct relationship with God. We need to always come back to the basics, like reading His Word daily, digesting it, meditating on it, and coming to Him in prayer. The foundation of our faith, is in the life of Jesus. That He came not to call the upright, but the sinners! He came for those in need of a savior.
Relationships
Having conversations, leads us into forming relationships. People are seeking to be understood. The way we can understand people, is by listening. We need to be more concerned with others than ourselves. The greatest thing that people like to talk about is themselves. So get to know them. Ask them their story, their background, their experiences, and be real with them. Love on them, and try to turn regular conversations, into deep conversations.
Teresa
I met a 3rd mom on this trip. She reminds me of the oracle from the matrix, because she tells people exactly what they need to hear. One thing that she helps people do, is get over the past pain. She understands that many of us, hold in some sort of internal pain. Most of us don't know how to grieve or face our damaged hearts. When we fall down, we need to recognize that we got hurt and sometimes we need to be nurtured, before we rush to get back up. She also taught me to be playful with God. Finding that peace and joy that passes understanding.
Rejoice in Suffering
I got sick through all the traveling and cold weather. And yet i will still rejoice and praise God, even though i feel physically weaker. Sometimes being sick shows us that we need to slow down. We need to find rest in Him. We need to humble ourselves. I think God intended us to struggle and face trials. God often uses suffering to glorify Himself. Far be it from God to do evil. But He does allow us to face trials, because He wants us to find the light throughout the darkness. All the men of the bible screwed up. They saw what it was like without God. They witnessed how worthless life would be without a sovereign God. Many times we pray for healing, and often times He does grant healing. But we have to keep in mind, that sometimes these trials are according to His will. We can pray for protection and health, but sometimes that's not how God intends it to be. Sometimes we need to struggle, in order to learn perseverance.
Party in Heaven
During the Winter Conference, we were worshiping, singing "Gloria, Hallelujah" over and over. And everyone's hands and hearts were lifted. The entire room was praising God. And i was jus imagining how much greater the party is in heaven. God is preparing a wonderful place, where we can fully witness His Holy being. We got a taste of how great the celebration will be. But until then we need to expand His kingdom, and show others this narrow gate.
Boldness
As Christians we need to be bold in our faith. We need to be confident in the Spirit. We need to take lead, and voice the love of God. If you know me, then u know that i can be extremely lazy. I dont like to be in charge. I rather someone else lead the way. I dont like taking risks or being responsible for things. But especially as a male, I need to see things to completion. I need to be proactive. Initiating, pursuing and willing to risk it all. In order for me to become a stronger leader, i need to block out fears, and build up more courage. Sometimes we need to go for 2 or 3 yards at a time, rather than for the touchdown pass. As long as we're taking a step froward, and striving for a first down, we'll eventually get to the end zone.
No Limits
Anything is possible with God. So why not trust Him with everything? He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. Sometimes it seems we hold the Holy Spirit back from doing what it really wants to accomplish. We're afraid of what the world might say, or fearful of what others will think.
Prayer
One thing i need to work on is prayer. I dont nearly pray enough. God is always present. Its just that most of the time, we arnt aware of Him. We need to fill ourselves with His Word and the Spirit. We need alone time with God. Check in with Him throughout the day, and jus talk story. Prayer often leads to intimacy. We need prayer if we are to become stronger Christians. We need prayer if we want to humble ourselves and seek His face. If God is with us, who can be against us? Well alot of stuff are against us, but none are successful when we have God. Lets face it, we cant do anything right without God leading us. Lets just put everything aside, and fill our hearts with genuine faith. For God is always with us, even when we cant see Him.
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