Moody

How do you, when everything in you feels like crap, go on consistently in loving others?

I'm in one of those moods where I physically feel slouchy, tired and irritable. So how do I overcome this and quit being a jerk to people? I'm bored, irritable and lazy. It honestly hurts me even to talk.

Answer: By the Spirit! ....How?

Amazing Skit

Love Vs. Duty

When I understand God's love for me, I want to honor Him in every single word and action. But I find that I can't. There is nothing good in my body. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. So how then can I live and express the freedom and love of Christ? Through His Spirit! And how do I do that? I don't! If I did it, then it wouldn't be His Spirit doing it! I just wish I was perfect in all my actions and words. But I'm not. And I must deal with this until He comes to redeem my body and make it like His.

It confuses me so much as to why Christians focus so much on morality and "Christian living". We have an amazing God who loves us! Why do we dwell so much on what we do instead of who He is? I'm not saying we shouldn't talk about holiness. Of course we want to honor God and stir up one another to love and good works, but we aren't out to save the world and work for Jesus! God could do all that with a snap of His finger if that's what He really wanted!!! He doesn't want our slaving away for Him. He wants us!! I think if the majority of our time was spent on learning more of God's love and grace then difficulty with sin and disobedience would fade into nothingness. Why do we settle for the same old boring reminders that we ought to be living right instead of focusing on the Life Himself? I want Jesus, guys. I'm not interested in having a job.

I love God so much and I want so much to honor Him in all I do. But it won't come through my valiant efforts at service. It has to come from Him. Sometimes it hits me in these moments of clarity where I'm able to recognize my "branchness" and realize how I'm absolutely nothing without God. So, if that's true, then it isn't about me. It's about Him. Why do I think I'm able to do anything? Why do I keep getting tempted to rush along the sanctification process? Because I want instant shake and bake results. I subconsciously become insecure in God's love.

Church Entertainment

I just wanted to take a moment and discuss my concern with the way a lot of televangelists and preachers dress on television dress in nice tuxes and have those really pretty stages with the lights, High Def televisions and whatever else.

I'm not judging anyone or anything but it does make me cringe a little when I see things like this. I just think people ought to quit with the flashy stuff. I could care less what your set looks like and how you dress or what kind of haircut you have! I just wanna hear the PURE, UNTAINTED GOSPEL! I don't care how pretty a book cover is. I just want it to tell the truth about the Good News. Again, I'm not bashing anyone or anything...This is just my opinion.

Understand And Believe?

Earlier I was contemplating the truth of the Gospel. The reality of it rather than the theology of it. And I eventually found myself trying to grasp the fact it was MY sins that Jesus died for so that I could see how personal and real this is and that the Gospel is not just some salvation theory. I think this is definitely true but I do think we can go too far as I did today. I found myself trying to understand it so much that I physically became tired and then I started to doubt my faith in what Jesus did for me personally. Did I really believe right? Am I sure I put faith in the fact that He died for MY sins and not just for the world? Do I really understand that I was raised from the dead with Him when I believed He was raised from the dead by God?

When I try to understand things too much, and try to put faith in them, then it will be impossible. I can't understand spiritual things with my mind. Of course we are to trust He personally died for us, but struggling to grasp the fullness of that will wear us out. We will never completely understand with our minds, what Jesus did on the cross. Terry Rayburn, in a message I listened to shortly after this anxiety and frustration, said something very encouraging. He talked about how we need to break out of the bondage of trying to understand things in order to believe them. I admit I am terrible with this. I struggle to see my faith and wonder if I believed it right and so on and so forth. Questions such as "Do I really know Jesus?" and "Did I really believe that it was MY sins that He died for?" will plague the person who struggle to understand everything.

'Round And 'Round The Mulberry Bush

You know, more often than not, I can easily catch myself in hypocrisy.

Just today I was going to post a blog entry about Universalism, New Age and how much I despise those beliefs. I was going to make the comment about how Oprah likes to quote scriptures from the Bible, but ignores things like the gospel and that there are none righteous, not even one. Then I realized how I still shy away from books like James, 1 and 2nd Peter, parts of Revelation and parts of other books because they seem to contradict the gospel. I know it's simply my lack of understanding, but I've yet to understand a lot of those things and I get scared when I read certain passages. This happened in Hebrews very often before I understood grace and the New Covenant. Now I love Hebrews. It always makes me very confident in the gospel.

But there are parts where I intentionally avoid because I feel I don't understand them or am not ready for them. I used to make myself read everything because I felt that I had to have all my theological pieces in order so that I could be a good Christian. But now I'm starting from the Gospel. Pure Gospel.

I worry at times because I can't love people the way I want and I can't surrender completely to God and love Him as much as I want to. Maybe it's a part of the "slow cooking" process. But I want to go higher and higher in love, faith and hope. I want to explode into the air, flying in the Spirit, loving God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind and with all my strength. But I find it difficult to understand and grasp God's love. I also have difficulty slowing myself down to meditate on Him.

"Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more."

Glory to God in the highest for His steadfast, unwavering love and grace. Glory to Him because He is God and there is no other. I wish I could love Him like He deserves to be loved.

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