It was a mid-summer day earlier this year as I was conversing with the Lord on my long evening commute. I say to him, "How? Better yet, why? Why do you love me in the first place?" I just didn't understand why or how I would mean anything to Him. "I am just only one person in this world," I thought. I guess you could say when I look at myself in a group of people, my family, my neighborhood, the world, I feel insignificant. That I am just one person and how can God possibly even notice me with so many others? To avoid this perception, it is my conclusion that I must always remain with the Lord in this walk as if He and I are the only ones in this world.
I'll still never understand it fully, but He answered me immediately with the words, "My Creation." Yes, it was His deep but gentle voice. It then donned on me that the love He has for us is very similar to the love I have for my own children. I am certainly His child, but it is still so hard to wrap my head around what Love is then? Where did it stem from? Why is it necessary? Oh I understand why it is necessary here on earth. What fathoms me is beyond this earth.
God created all, and yet if looked at in a large perspective - one out of many things can seem insignificant. One tree verses thousands, one flower out of a field of many. But when I choose to look at my surroundings and everything in it in the light of individuality, I see God's creation for each and every thing very significant. That He touched it all individually. That I am significant. When He spoke those words to me, "My Creation," I felt His creation upon me and His love with the touch of His hand upon my shoulder. No other love than that of your parents is more heart warming, is it?
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Why I am a Christian
I have been contemplating something for all my life. The truth.
The verse below describes what I feel.
Job 32:18 NLT
"For I am full of pent-up words,and the spirit within me urges me on."
The question that I am led to find an answer for:
1 Peter 3:15 NLT
"Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it."
Why do I believe what I do? Sure I've always felt good about things or known what the results would be if given a generic answer, but I was never really able to truly answer why I believed what I believe. I needed to know and unfortunately until I finally asked myself this question, I found I didn't really believe in anything to my surprise.
This verse has really been etched in my mind. When asked, what will I say?
I have noticed others when asked as to why they believe what they believe I hear them replying with "We" statements rather than "I" statements. "We believe" this or "We practice" that. It almost sounds as if they have rehearsed the faith statements given by their religion or church and have used it for their answer of why they have hope. But where is the answer explaining the root of their belief on a personal level? Most importantly, where is mine?
After some thought I hope to find that maybe they weren't prepared for this answer either. That their thoughts and beliefs are not just stemmed from the church they are attending and that they truly do have an intimate relationship with Christ. This happens all the time though. People get in the "We" mode and don't think for ourselves, myself included. Had I been asked a year or more ago why I believe what I do, I hate to say that I wouldn't have been able to tell you.
While I don't have a lot of knowledge of religion, I do have the experience of having been in one and know now that I never felt it was "right" or "true" to practice there in. Not for me it wasn't. That plain. That simple.
You see, I was raised in the LDS church and from my memory we did some of the practices such as family home evening or girls camp - really good quality time spent together and as a child I soaked it all in. But I never recalled reading scripture or having discussions personally as a family. I don't ever remember being taught that personal relationship with Jesus was something I could have.
Maybe this is the root of my unbelief then? That I was uneducated? Educated or not, the naivety along with no desire or inquisition of the religion I grew up in, I was not subject to grow in it. I don't think I was supposed to either. I believe God has a plan for all of us to come to know Him in a unique way and in His timing.
Since then I've never had the desire to seek any religion. Just God. And now that I have truly found God, I have also found Christ. I have found Him like I've never found Him before.
Why do I believe what I do? Why am I a Christian? Because I wouldn't dare put anyone else's name in place of Christ and for good reasons:
1. Christ is complete. Whole. There is no need for anyone else. His son to whom He gave to us on purpose for purpose. Praise Him and the Word He delivers to us through the messages. Doing this completes me. I have no need for anything else. If I did, why then would Christ's second coming be so important? No wonder why I never understood - I was reading the wrong book and was taught religion, not relationship!
2. I have a personal relationship with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit - the trinity. These are the three living beings that constantly reveal to me God's plan of love, compassion, mercy, grace, conviction, forgiveness, etc. that I cannot deny! I find God's Word every time I open the Bible or simply in prayer or conversation with Him. Add to this the messages received and praise given to glorify Him completely charges my spiritual battery! I am spoken to in so many ways and am so appreciative of it. Grace and miracles are so abundant before my very eyes.
3. I love Jesus and am amazed by His sacrifice for me. I know His plan of salvation for me and I know that my only work here on earth is to influence others for His sake and for the Glory of God. None of the work I do for Him earns me a spot in heaven, He paid for it all on the cross.
4. The Bible is living and active. There is no supplement. The Bible is the ONLY Word from God. The Spirit tells me this. The Bible didn't always speak as a living Word to me, but since I have persevered, sought, and received Christ as my savior revealing the gift of my salvation to me, the Spirit has been strong within and the Bible living and active. The enemy enjoys distracting us away from the truth and unfortunately time was spent during a large part of my life focusing on the wrong book.
5. I am witness. I have had many revelations, prayers answered instantly and not so instantly but all answered the same. God is consistent. There is meaning and actual purpose for my fasting that I never even realized. I have learned this, and that it is not just a ritual everyone does on the first Sunday of the month.
6. Relationship. I have a relationship with the Lord who walks with me daily. To know that Jesus died for me, is utterly heartbreaking but I know He did it for Love. I now converse with Him during this time with Him and thank Him like I never have before.
7. I need Christ. God loved me so much that he sent His only begotten son for me. I need a Savior. I am a sinner. Until I realized this, I could never really accept Jesus as my Savior. Interesting how the enemy kept me feeling comfortable in sin.
8. God tells me so. Believe me, I have asked of Him, "If I am to be in a setting for you Lord, show me where? If the way of religion is true show me and I will obey." He showed me Christ and revealed his Word in the Bible and the plan of salvation and I now know the truth. I am so gratefule that I finally came to know Christ and His Gospel.
I am a Christian because I believe in Christ and His Gospel. I am proud to have "Christ's" name first and foremost in my thoughts. Religion doesn't work for me. Relationship with Christ does. And like I said earlier, I wouldn't put anyone else's name in place of Christ's. Therefore I am Christian!
The verse below describes what I feel.
Job 32:18 NLT
"For I am full of pent-up words,and the spirit within me urges me on."
The question that I am led to find an answer for:
1 Peter 3:15 NLT
"Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it."
Why do I believe what I do? Sure I've always felt good about things or known what the results would be if given a generic answer, but I was never really able to truly answer why I believed what I believe. I needed to know and unfortunately until I finally asked myself this question, I found I didn't really believe in anything to my surprise.
This verse has really been etched in my mind. When asked, what will I say?
I have noticed others when asked as to why they believe what they believe I hear them replying with "We" statements rather than "I" statements. "We believe" this or "We practice" that. It almost sounds as if they have rehearsed the faith statements given by their religion or church and have used it for their answer of why they have hope. But where is the answer explaining the root of their belief on a personal level? Most importantly, where is mine?
After some thought I hope to find that maybe they weren't prepared for this answer either. That their thoughts and beliefs are not just stemmed from the church they are attending and that they truly do have an intimate relationship with Christ. This happens all the time though. People get in the "We" mode and don't think for ourselves, myself included. Had I been asked a year or more ago why I believe what I do, I hate to say that I wouldn't have been able to tell you.
While I don't have a lot of knowledge of religion, I do have the experience of having been in one and know now that I never felt it was "right" or "true" to practice there in. Not for me it wasn't. That plain. That simple.
You see, I was raised in the LDS church and from my memory we did some of the practices such as family home evening or girls camp - really good quality time spent together and as a child I soaked it all in. But I never recalled reading scripture or having discussions personally as a family. I don't ever remember being taught that personal relationship with Jesus was something I could have.
Maybe this is the root of my unbelief then? That I was uneducated? Educated or not, the naivety along with no desire or inquisition of the religion I grew up in, I was not subject to grow in it. I don't think I was supposed to either. I believe God has a plan for all of us to come to know Him in a unique way and in His timing.
Since then I've never had the desire to seek any religion. Just God. And now that I have truly found God, I have also found Christ. I have found Him like I've never found Him before.
Why do I believe what I do? Why am I a Christian? Because I wouldn't dare put anyone else's name in place of Christ and for good reasons:
1. Christ is complete. Whole. There is no need for anyone else. His son to whom He gave to us on purpose for purpose. Praise Him and the Word He delivers to us through the messages. Doing this completes me. I have no need for anything else. If I did, why then would Christ's second coming be so important? No wonder why I never understood - I was reading the wrong book and was taught religion, not relationship!
2. I have a personal relationship with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit - the trinity. These are the three living beings that constantly reveal to me God's plan of love, compassion, mercy, grace, conviction, forgiveness, etc. that I cannot deny! I find God's Word every time I open the Bible or simply in prayer or conversation with Him. Add to this the messages received and praise given to glorify Him completely charges my spiritual battery! I am spoken to in so many ways and am so appreciative of it. Grace and miracles are so abundant before my very eyes.
3. I love Jesus and am amazed by His sacrifice for me. I know His plan of salvation for me and I know that my only work here on earth is to influence others for His sake and for the Glory of God. None of the work I do for Him earns me a spot in heaven, He paid for it all on the cross.
4. The Bible is living and active. There is no supplement. The Bible is the ONLY Word from God. The Spirit tells me this. The Bible didn't always speak as a living Word to me, but since I have persevered, sought, and received Christ as my savior revealing the gift of my salvation to me, the Spirit has been strong within and the Bible living and active. The enemy enjoys distracting us away from the truth and unfortunately time was spent during a large part of my life focusing on the wrong book.
5. I am witness. I have had many revelations, prayers answered instantly and not so instantly but all answered the same. God is consistent. There is meaning and actual purpose for my fasting that I never even realized. I have learned this, and that it is not just a ritual everyone does on the first Sunday of the month.
6. Relationship. I have a relationship with the Lord who walks with me daily. To know that Jesus died for me, is utterly heartbreaking but I know He did it for Love. I now converse with Him during this time with Him and thank Him like I never have before.
7. I need Christ. God loved me so much that he sent His only begotten son for me. I need a Savior. I am a sinner. Until I realized this, I could never really accept Jesus as my Savior. Interesting how the enemy kept me feeling comfortable in sin.
8. God tells me so. Believe me, I have asked of Him, "If I am to be in a setting for you Lord, show me where? If the way of religion is true show me and I will obey." He showed me Christ and revealed his Word in the Bible and the plan of salvation and I now know the truth. I am so gratefule that I finally came to know Christ and His Gospel.
I am a Christian because I believe in Christ and His Gospel. I am proud to have "Christ's" name first and foremost in my thoughts. Religion doesn't work for me. Relationship with Christ does. And like I said earlier, I wouldn't put anyone else's name in place of Christ's. Therefore I am Christian!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
All in a Day's Work
"So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God." ~Ecclesiastes 2:24 NLT
I came across this verse today. It reminded me of how pleased I am too have found this of many realizations of God's hand is in my life. Before I started walking with Him, I never noticed.
I have been guilty so many times dreading daily chores, but whenever they are completed, I stand back and with a breath of fresh air I gain a sensation of accomplishment and much peace. The difference now is that I really get much more than that. It feels good as if God is smiling upon me, that He is proud.
I remember as a child I once asked my mom, "How come we have to work?" You see my siblings and I were always in charge of the little details of the garden. Whether it was burying seeds, weeding, snapping beans or peas, or shucking the corn, we were always put to good use. As a kid, I'd rather had spent my time playing the in the foamy "Indian" soap where the water met at the end of the furrows in Dad's garden. Looking back, I now realize I was taught a good lesson that day when mom replied, "Because Jesus wants us to." Ever since then I've pondered about this statement and accepted there was something more to working. I just never really knew what that was until recently. Walking with God has really opened my eyes to a lot of things and this is just one of them. I am excited to see what the future holds!
No matter how small the chore is, it is still given as well as received by God as good. I love that through Him I am able to appreciate the outcome of a good hard day's work!
I came across this verse today. It reminded me of how pleased I am too have found this of many realizations of God's hand is in my life. Before I started walking with Him, I never noticed.
I have been guilty so many times dreading daily chores, but whenever they are completed, I stand back and with a breath of fresh air I gain a sensation of accomplishment and much peace. The difference now is that I really get much more than that. It feels good as if God is smiling upon me, that He is proud.
I remember as a child I once asked my mom, "How come we have to work?" You see my siblings and I were always in charge of the little details of the garden. Whether it was burying seeds, weeding, snapping beans or peas, or shucking the corn, we were always put to good use. As a kid, I'd rather had spent my time playing the in the foamy "Indian" soap where the water met at the end of the furrows in Dad's garden. Looking back, I now realize I was taught a good lesson that day when mom replied, "Because Jesus wants us to." Ever since then I've pondered about this statement and accepted there was something more to working. I just never really knew what that was until recently. Walking with God has really opened my eyes to a lot of things and this is just one of them. I am excited to see what the future holds!
No matter how small the chore is, it is still given as well as received by God as good. I love that through Him I am able to appreciate the outcome of a good hard day's work!
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