God is Better

Today i am reminded of many Dubble-yous (W's). Because i have an abundant time waiting for school to start, it seems God has allowed me to use this time to be more intentional with my relationship with Him. I realize that if I am to one day become a shepherd of a church or ministry, I most definitely need to start with changing and transforming myself. So anyways here's my W's blog.

1) Worship
2) Word
3) War
4) Worthy
5) Witness
6) Waiting


1) Worship
Lately God has been reminding me of Worship. Worship is not necessarily the outward expression of praise for God, although i believe there should be evidence of it. Before we can begin to worship with our actions, words, behavior and lifestyle, we must first start with our heart. I believe God cares much more about our attitude and mind set of our heart than any amount of works. We can worship at any time of the day. Worship could come in the form of a prayer, singing a song of His super awesomeness, or in a joyful heart of graditude. As we grow older and mature, we must not lose that child-like joy in the arms of the Father. It's impossible to absorb God's love and not find an explosion of joy.

Kay getting a little off track.. My point is that Worship sets the tone and mood to how we live. The intentions and thoughts of our hearts display into our actions, and then into our habits, and then into our character. So start with a heart of worship, and then you can worship God in any daily activity. Personally i notice its easier to worship Him while walking, privacy in the bathroom, or falling asleep to worship music. I would also encourage people to try and write out prayers or poems and to definitely try creating your own original worship song. I have a few mainstream worship songs i normally like to hum to, but creating your own joyful song of praise definitely helps the heart to surrender and stand in awe of Him. So try it!

2) Word
Many Christians in todays church barely touch their Bibles. The Bible is God breathed, it is His living and active Word. He speaks a kajillions of lessons straight to our heart through it, but we miss a lot of it because we don't bother to dig into His love letter. My faith bloomed back in March 2008 because that's when i first started to do daily devotions. Your life will change dramatically once you dive into God's Word, read and take hold of His promises. Heaven and Earth will pass way, but His words will never pass away.

A pastor once said, "If Jesus were to come back not for the rapture, and give one message in the largest football arena today, and it were broadcast acrossed the globe, He would hold up the Bible and say, I've already communicated everything you need to know in here." God has given us everything we need to know about salvation already, we just need to trust in His Word.

I just watched the movie "The Book of Eli", I was surprised to see that the book was the Bible. He read it everyday and did his best to memorize it. It was the last Bible on earth, and Denzel had to beat up a bunch of guys for trying to take it. But anyways, we must realize the high importance of reading the scriptures and falling under God's Word, Will and Way, lol (W's).. God gave us a law that He knew no one could obey perfectly, because it would lead to our dependence on His Son for righteousness.

3) War
In the near future and coming years I believe there will be many wars and rumors of wars. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdoms all against each other. I can't imagine what a WWIII would look like. But I do believe that before Christ comes, many more Christians will be put to trial, jailed and persecuted for their faith. Many will fall away being choked up by thorns. Many will fall into the deception of false teachers, prophets and false people claiming to be Christ. The thing is, that all these things have already begun. But Christ will not return until all His promises are fulfilled.

And since we're on the topic of war, we must also realize that their is a spiritual war at hand. Yes, God has already defeated the enemy and we have victory in His name, but we don't have to look far to find a battle of good and evil. "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." 2 Cor 10:3-4

I am not surprised when I hear a broadcast of thousands of people and families getting hit with natural disasters. Earthquakes, storms, hurricanes, tsunamis and all sorts of natural disasters will only increase in the near future. I Bible tells us that in the end times, there will be darkness and chaos. The only hope that we have is in Jesus. And many people who intend to pray at the 11th hour will die at 10:30. We must get right with God now! Forgiveness of sins by God's grace can begin now! Salvation is upon us now! God grants us freedom through Christ now! Don't put off seeking God, salvation is such an urgent matter, because it will determine our eternity.

4) WorthySo why all this talk about Worship, Jesus, Salvation, God? Because He is absolutely Worthy. Whatever you may be struggling with, just remember that God is better. Who is more worthy of praise? What sin or idol is more appealing than God? God is infinitely better. Many people want to know God and find salvation in Him, but are hindered when it comes to surrendering anything, or if it means that they have to live their life differently. The fact is that Jesus is worthy of trading everything for. Trade your filthy sin in, kill it, deny those temptations, and God continues to help us break free from the bondage of our sins. Love always conquers a multitude of sin. The more we surrender, the more we trust, and the more we look to Jesus the less we'll sin. And eventually our desires grow into a hatred for our sin and a love for righteousness. The closer we draw to Christ, the farther we get away from sin.

I think talking about how God is infinitely worthy, may be my favorite topic of this blog. We are completely ill deserving of His grace, and He is fully worthy of our entire worship. You ever come to a point in your life, where you wonder.. "Is this all there is?" Gotta go school from 1-25, then start working till 65, and then maybe retire, and finally die. Sure we can pick up some hobbies, we read a couple dozen books, watch all the latest movies, blow money on video games, collect thousands of material things, find a spouse, have a few grandchildren, and try new restaurants, and then what..? IS that it? You explore this world, work ur butt off, then just die?! Is there anything more? Anything of greater value or worth? Many of you know what im getting at. This life is a vapor, and then it's off to eternity. The question is if it's smoking or non smoking. We must choose for ourselves who we will live to glorify. Im gonna be politically incorrect by saying that Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven. Buddha can't bring us to God, Mohamed can't forgive our sins. There is only one who died for us and can bring us at right standing with God. Don't get mad at me, i dont make up these rules, you may hafta take that up with God Himself.

Anyways the reason salvation is also called the gospel, is because it's incredibly good news that God gave us Jesus as a Savior from this world. He offers such an abundant amount of love, you couldnt carry it all. And a relationship with Christ is never bland and stale, He increasily grows and works in us. We cannot afford to waste our lives, invest in things that will never last, and jus wither away. The bottom line is, that if your looking for something more, the dots don't just seem to connect, life seems empty, lonely and it's missing something, then I want you to know that there is much more, infinitely more.

Jesus gave His entire life because He wanted a relationship with His people. In this life, we all look for something. We are confused about our identity and purpose. We wonder what significance and meaning there is to life. The answer is that we were created to worship, not just worship anything, but worship the Lord. Taste and see, get a touch from Jesus, spend a minute with Him directly, try just a sample of His love i dare you. I can barely describe the explosion of flavor from just one encounter with Him.

When i was younger I thought everyone believed in God. I thought it was the norm. I didn't see how people could completely miss the universe's most mind blowing wonder of God. During my freshmen year of UH, i realized that "Wow, i didn't realize how many people lived without knowing Jesus." And i think that also played a part in God specifically telling me to go and tell them that don't know. If you find something so incredible, infinite, and holy, wouldn't you want to share that with everyone? Why keep a cure to yourself?

5) Witness
I used to conceal my faith. I used to hide my light. You probably could'nt even tell i was a Christian. Ashamed of it? Maybe. Lukewarm? Definitely. I was salt that wasnt salty. I would only pray and turn to God when i needed Him. But now, God has called me to lead people to Him. There is no greater mission, than to attract others to God's love and redemption. In fact, we who claim to be Christians are all called to serve, give, witness, disciple, worship and evangelize. But most importantly, God calls us to love Him and others. God calls us to step out of our comfort, He calls us to put our own agendas aside, He calls us to live for His Name. That is of course, if you claim to be born again and walk by the Holy Spirit. I believe our faith should be bold, courageous and contagious.

When I arrive at God's heavenly throne in the kingdom of Heaven, the first words I want to hear from God is "Well done, good and faithful servant!" What have we done with what God has entrusted us with? In Matt 25, we see how we are stewards of God's gifts. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. What have we spent our lives investing into? Where do our money and time go into. God gives us the task of multiplying and sharing what we have. Have we spread the gospel that He called us to? Have we sown seeds for the harvest, or have we buried the treasure and kept it to ourselves. A pastor once told me, "You are as close to God as you want to be." What you put in, is what you get out. When i feel far off from God, its normally because i haven't spent any quality time with Him. When i feel like God isn't using me, its normally because I have chosen to indulge in other things. You become what you worship, and your relationship with God is as close as you desire it to be.

We try to rationalize, compromise and make up excuses to why we don't need to surrender everything, but the bottom line is that Jesus wants us entirely. There is a very cleaver and crafty one who is always out trying to deceive us into thinking that we don't need God. He prows around like a lion looking for those to devour. We say, "I don't need to surrender anything finical because i spend enough time serving. Or "I don't need to go to church, because i can pray at home." Yes, i've fallen into these errors firsthand. Small compromises lead to big consequences. Letting small bugs in, will lead big bugs in. Cutting corners short, and taking easy ways out in life is really cheating yourself and your integrity. Satan subtly convinces us to get away with things and compromise our faith and alliance to God. He tempts us to justify our sins, and only follow God partially. He distracts us from God, he tries to draw us away from listening God, and he also distorts our obedience to God. He tries to twist up our understanding of God, confuse our worship and he basically wants us to place our trust somewhere else. Be on gaurd, sharp with discernment, and equiped with the full armor of God.

6) Waiting
This ties into worship, but i noticed that God often tells us to just wait upon Him. Sometimes we can spend time with God without being deep in prayer. We can sit in the silence, and prepare our hearts to just listen and receive His love. Times of reflection and mediation are vital for the growth of one's soul. Similar to filling up our cars with gas, we must fill up on the Holy Spirit.

We're normally off busy with school, work and life that we forget to set aside time to just meet with God. The good Shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures and leads us beside calm and quiet waters. Turn off all your stressful problems and soak up His love. He restores, rejuvenates, replenishes, refills, and overflows our soul with His love and peace. Find great joy and delight in His grace. He's the only One who can offer such healing and restoration. So, if you're looking to dig deeper in a more intimate relationship with God, try just shutting off your loud mind and seek Him. You'll be surprised how many revelations and empowerment He gives to those who wait upon Him.
Revelation song

Worthy is the,
Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to Him who sits on
Heaven's Mercy Seat

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And I will adore You…!

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the Only Wise King,

Filled with wonder,
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus, Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery..

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come,
With all creation I sing:
Praise to the King of Kings!
You are my everything,
And – I - will - adore YOU…