• Aug. 23, 2009 - But Hasn't God Already Done That?
God bless you.
He already has.
A speaker mentioned something about this once, and it really got me thinking, and now, I really wish people would stop saying "God bless you/America." Because God already has blessed us all. It's no longer about what God can do for us, but what we can do for God. God has already blessed us beyond what we could ever imagined, so why ask Him to bless us more? We're blessed with the air we breath, the food we eat, the family we have, the friends we have, the love in our hearts, God's son, and most of all, we as Americans are blessed with the freedom to not be persecuted because of our love for Christ. It's time we stop trying to find ways that God can bless us, and to start finding ways to bless God.
Proverbs 8:20:
I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice.
Ah, the righteous path everyone always talks about, that's what you're writing about? Yes.
Okay so this is how some people think of this path thingie. Step 1: Ask Jesus in your heart, Step 2: Try not to sin very often, Step 3: Yay! You're on the path of righteousness!! Congrats!
No way!! That's not walking the path of God. In fact that's what you're not supposed to do: that's being a hypocrite and it's a big reason why over half the population of America isn't saved. Yes my words are harsh for a blog by a thirteen-year-old girl who's talking about the path of God, but it's the truth. In Revelation 3:16 it says: "But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot or cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!" That's what being a "Christian" without living it is. It's being lukewarm. God wants you to be hot or cold, of course He wants you to be hot, on fire for Him, but He wants you to be something!
It doesn't take much to get on the path on God, but it takes a whole lot to actually walk it. Walking the path of God means living like Jesus did. Follow in Jesus' footsteps. It's hard, but most definitely worth walking.
There's two paths, one big on, and one narrow one. Of course the conveniently sized one is the wrong one, and the narrow one is the path of God. Not only that, but the narrow path has more rocks in it. But I think I'll risk it, because I know what lies at the end of each path.
What's even harder than the rocks and the narrowness is when you see your loved ones just standing there on the path, not moving. You want to call out to them "Hey, you're on the right path but you have to walk it before you get there!" But you know they wouldn't take it the way you meant. You just don't want them to be spewed out of God's mouth, but you don't know how to tell them that they're not getting anywhere. I've come to realize there's only two things to do in this case: serve & pray, serve & pray, and serve & pray. Prayer opens their hearts and serving can help to fill it well enough for them to see that something's wrong with what they're doing. Prayer is a beautiful gift we have, it's the most reliable thing that we have with us here on earth. When God responds to a prayer it's always, always, always either yes, no, or wait. In this case it's usually wait.
Persevere, it takes what seems to be eternity for God to give you a definate answer.
Be sure that you're walking on the path before you point out that someone else isn't. Come on, let's get moving! There's rocks out there to conquer!
Philippians 1: 21-24:
For me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don't know which is better. I'm torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
I know exactly how Paul feels here, because I feel this way often. There are a lot of times when I just get really stressed out because there's so much for me to do! There's things I have to read, write, cook, draw, clean, practice, and memorize. It's so easy to just give up and quickly do it all without heart. I often turn to God and just wish He would take me home. But obviously that's not what He has in mind for me at the moment, that's for later after I've completed this tremendous task called life.
Life is short. Nothing but a breath compared to eternity. Will it really kill me to do my best for such a short time? I have to stop being so self-centered. I don't know if I'm alone in the feeling but I feel it often.
It's time to get up. Go do what you were meant to do. Hurry! You don't have much time to do it! Push it the hardest you can, run the fastest you can, declare His name the loudest you can, talk to Him as much as you can, share Him with the most you can, do whatever you can before it's too late.
Yes there will be an end to these troubles, but that day is not here yet. So continue to praise Him, in all the highs and lows, when you fail and succeed, when you're sad or joyous, always.
Alright, so you ready? Let's do this, because it's not a burden, this life is not a burden. It's an opportunity.
Who knows? Maybe you only have thirty days to live. How are you going to live? What are you going to make of this golden opportunity?
1 Peter 1:18
For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver.
I once had a friend, who was depressed at the time, ask me, "Have you ever been so sad that you begin to crave the sadness?" I told her I didn't know what she was talking about, but I sort of did without really realizing it. I now definitely know. But she had it all mixed up. It's not the pain of sadness that causes you to long for sadness. Rather, it's when everything seems to be perfect that you begin to feel sorrow. You can have everything you've ever wanted, but you'll still want more. It's because if you focus on earthly things then you'll never have joy. Your (false) joy causes sorrow, not your sorrow causes joy. The only way to find true joy is through God. And I don't mean that you need to have God too, but that you need to have God only. It's only when you can surrender everything to God that your emptiness can be filled.
One speaker put it like this: It's like asking God to fill your cup. He can't do that until you pour all the dirty water out.
God paid the ultimate price for us, so how dare us ask of Him even more. You can't expect God to come to you. You have to come to Him, come to Him and leave everything behind. That's when you'll find true contentment.
1 Timothy 6: 6-8: Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we cam into this world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
Let me leave with this to think about: If there's something you feel you couldn't surrender for the Lord, then that means you probably should. Often, the sorrow people feel is called 'emptiness' but it should be called 'too full for God.' Because God can't fill you up until you empty yourself out.
Proverbs 6:6:
"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!" NLT
Ants. They're tiny. Their strength is amazing. They can carry things that are way heavier than them.
That's about all you need to know. Ants are strong, they can carry things heavier than they are, and we need to be like them. I'm not talking about physical strength, that's important but not as important as spiritual strength (1 Timothy 4:8a "Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better"). I'm speaking of ants and how we should be like them, not with out strength, but our spirit. Think of how ants are; heavy objects are placed on top of them, yet they keep on moving in whichever direction they had intended on. If something gets in their way, they simply go around it. What is it they have that we don't? They have
perseverance and faith. They never give up, even if their pathway is blocked with something solid and completely imovable, or even though it sometimes feels as though the weight of the sky has been placed upon their backs.
Come! Let ys no longer be called lazybones! We must all get to work, for it takes several ants to build an ant house, and several billion times several billion ant houses to cover the earth. Live out the role you were designed for, and accomplish the tasks you were made to accomplish. FInd which direction is best, and continue that way, even if you have to move around huge, solid, objects that try to block your path. And most of all, carry on, even when the biggest of burdens are place upon you. For if you do this, you will be able to hear the creator of all things tell you this, "Well done my good and faithful servant, you traveled on and on, with determination, faith, and perseverance, even when the path seemed to never end. You have accomplished your duty, and carried burdens upon your very back that far exceeded your own weight."
This may seem to be a little strange for a first entry, but I'm writing to say what's been on my mind.
In 1 Timothy 2:8, it says "In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy(emphasis added)."
When Paul says that he wants us to pray he doesn't just mean one of those prayers you recite from memory; the one you pray every day at the dinner table, just minus the "please bless this food" part. But when he says 'pray' he means all sort of things. Of course there's prayer, singing, any kind of way of acknowledging or praising God, really.
Also, what would be the definition of a "place of worship"? A place where you worship, right? What's worship? Honoring, praising, loving, praying to, glorifying, and living for God. So basically, we should always be worshiping. That means that every place you go is a place for worship.
If every place you go is a place of worship, and you should always be worshiping, then what else is there? We need to be free from all anger and controversy. How do you do that? Be loving, humble, and willing to sacrifice. Once you've got these things down, I guarantee it will be a lot easier to be free from all anger and controversy.
So when we're told to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, that can only mean this: worship without ceasing, correct yourself when you make mistakes, and live your life as though it's a melody unto the Lord- because it is.
