Humble.

Want to know something amazing? God will meet you where you are. You can be the doubter, insanely in love with Christ, or anywhere in between and God can meet you there and touch your heart. There is always more to learn about God. A huge thing I have been learning about God is humility.
In our culture, as Americans, we are taught to be first and to be the best and to have the most and to do whatever it takes to get it. The truth is, that is all wrong. Our God is a god that looks as far as the east is from the west over all humanity and He is looking for humility. What is humility? It is NOT hating yourself or thinking that you are crappy. It is realizing it's not about you, that life is about God and others. Humble people bring a smile to the face of God, that's how much God esteems humility. The God who brought everything into exsistence isn't looking for the prettiest or the smartest or the strongest, but instead He is looking for those with a humble heart.
How do we become humble? Well that's difficult because you can't just say you are humble because that would make you not humble. We all naturally have pride and are selfish, we were born that way; HOWEVER, the more we see God for who He is, not who we think He is, but for who He really is, the closer we get to humility. We can begin to see God for who He is in some different ways but the easiest way to get to know God is to read the bible. I know that sounds cliche, but it couldn't be more true. You'll find that who God really is will affect every part of your life. You'll be frying the bigger fish in life if you know what I'm saying there.
How do you know when you are getting closer to humility if you can't just be able to say I'm humble? Obedience. When you have a humble heart, you are able to submit yourself to God and others and do what they ask of you because God's priorities matter more than your own. Jesus was the ultimate example of humility. God never needed you, He wanted you but because you were foolish and ignorant and sinful He could not be around you so He asked His son to die on the cross so that He could be with you. Then, Jesus gave up his home in heaven and became a weak and fragile human because even he recognizes God's authority and is humble enough to submit to it and because he loves you as much as the Father. I think if Jesus could do that for us and for God, we could submit to God for him.

Personal.

"To know me is to love me, and to love me is to know me." That's a phrase that has stuck with me for quite some time from a video I watched a few years back. It was about the woman at the well and how Jesus knew her. He knew her sins and flaws and heart to the core of who she was and still wanted her. He knew her and He loved her. I applied it to my life in the sense that I could know the God of the universe knows ME and loves ME, just as He does for you. That alone is an amazing truth to grasp.

The real turning point for me was when I actually flipped the phrase around to God. To know God is to really love Him, and to love God is to really know Him. Do you know God? When you are faced with hard situations do you flip through the bible for the answer? Do you know what Jesus would really do or say? The bible isn't an answer booklet to life. The bible is God telling you who He is so you can know Him. You can know the God of the universe. Then, you will just know in hard situations what He would do. For example, you know your friends or family well enough to know how a certain person would handle situations. The same should be true for God. They don't call Christianity a personal relationship with Christ for nothing. There's truth in that! Take the time to get to know your God. Pray asking Him to reveal Himself and read the bible, not for you or your benefit, but because you want to get to know your God on a personal level and then you will benefit.

God knew you before you were born, you've got your whole life to get to know Him back, will you?

Life's Tough

Get a helmet. I'm kidding! As people we go through so many hard times and as believers there are added pressures and higher standards. For example, a lot of people struggle financially and that's really hard but for Christians they also have to ensure that making money doesn't become an idol, or something put before God. There are many different ways of dealing with issues some successful and others not so much. I thought I would make a list of Do's and Don't's:

DON'T:
Ignore the fact that you're hurting
Base everything you do off sadness
Blame God
Hide everything inside
Believe things can't be better
Wait around on life
Focus on being hurt
Say "My life would be better if.."
Be ashamed
Lose heart

DO:
Pray!!
Tell God your hurts
Open up to Christian friends
Accept God's peace
Remain in God's love


And lastly on the DO list:
Realize that it is okay to be sad, but it's not okay to dwell on sadness. You have got to come to grips with the fact that everything here is only temporary, it cannot last. Why focus on temporary discomfort given by the world when you have the Hope of the world in you? We are fighting a battle already won, so let God have the battle and focus on the victory of it all! In that how could you be left feeling badly? Glory to God. :)

Open

Hey friends, it's been a really tough past couple of months for me so I just wanted to share something that I've learned along the way but I'm going to be very brief.

First, I've learned that you've got to be open. What does that mean? Let me break it down for you, being open is all about having a transparent heart and being honest and letting everyone enjoy the love you have inside of you. Sometimes in order to move past things you have to say them out loud to somebody and get it all out on the table. Do so. Find someone who will always be there and let them be just an ear so you can work through somethings, but also let God be an ear because He is the one that will fix your problems, not your friend who will listen. Always be honest about who you are and how you feel, bottling things up may seem like the best but it can be so hurtful. Also, just know that the love of God is in you and whether you feel it or not it consumes your heart at the very core of who you are, don't keep that from the world! The love of God is for everyone so radiate it.

Wanting and Wishing

So I was thinking about my life and trying to see if it was how it needed to be because let me tell you, it hasn't been near what I want. Soon I realized that my spiritual life is not where it should be because of my wants. When I gave my life to Christ that was me saying I will die to myself everyday so that You may be glorified through me. My wants and desires must die as well. For God to truly be able to use you, you have to be a vessel and your greatest obstacle will be yourself. For example, I was so consumed with what I wanted and what I thought I needed that I spent time praying (because I need God) and then I would go get all dressed up (because I need "that guy") and then I would dance around (because I need to be fit..and not bored) etc.

Now check this out:
"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other."
"Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."
"Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?"
"And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?"

All of those quotes were pulled right out of Matthew 6. God cares so much about you and He wants what best for you.. so why are you turning away from Him and saying "but I want what I want and You aren't giving it to me so You just hold on" and then going back to Him and saying "I didn't get what I wanted and it didn't turn out the way I planned. Comfort me!" It all seems so foolish, doesn't it?

God has got to be the MOST important thing in your life and NOTHING can matter more or you are being unfaithful. I would say God should be your number one, but He should be your only one. He deserves your best and everything you are.

Here is a great example that I heard:
A little girl holding her two favorite stuffed animals asked her father what he would be preaching about that coming sunday. He turned to his precious 4 year old daughter and said, "I will be talking about how we need to give God our best." She looked down at the toys in her hands and replied, "Well, He ain't getting these!"

Now you may sit there and laugh or just kinda smile at that because I know I did, but so often we are that girl and it is so true. We "love" God but heck! He ain't getting what we want! I mean, we want it. If you take a step back though, it shows two things. First, it shows that God is not as important as whatever it is that we want. Second, we are leaving this life with what we brought into it: absolutely nothing. At the end of the day, God is all that matters because He is all you will have when its all over.

Following Christ is not easy. It may look easier to just quit and live your life the way you want to, but I promise you will find that life is meaningless without Jesus Christ.. so take up your cross daily and follow Him to the end.