I have struggled with a few things in my life, and one of them has been faith. Not the kind of faith that makes you feel that God is there, but the type that believes that he can and will do great things for you. Being that many of my friends and colleagues are the type that believe heavily in the power of miracles and healing, I have gone through life with a few disabilities wondering why God has not healed me of them. Sometimes I have received harsh words and noticed that they look down on me because of it.
For those that have known me at points in my life, they know that I am not the type to sit there and wallow about what should be. In fact, if you are close to me, you probably have heard me say that what is and what should be are two different things and those that demand what should be will be very disappointed with life. That being said, I have always mourned the death of what should be, and then I picked myself up and pursued what is in front of me so that I may seek the best life possible. I have always dealt with my deficiencies that way.
A few years ago, a religious person walked into my life and told me, “God wants you to be healed, accept that now.” I believe that I can be healed by God, but is it his will? They tell me that it is his will, and they quote scripture. They seems to make sense, so I allow myself to be prayed for, what’s the worst that could happen? What I do not anticipate is that the worst happens and I am told that I do not have faith, because if I had faith the size of a mustard seed, God would heal me. So obviously, my salvation is hanging in the balance of my ability to get healed. There is a lot of pressure, especially considering that they are not willing to listen to logic.
So fast forward to last Thursday, when I went to a service and yet again was not healed. Some people were healed, others were not. I did not take it as a slight from God, I just wondered how that works. I maintain that God has his reasons, and I was able to discuss how I felt with others, and I received a few good points that I would like to highlight.
A girl that I recently befriended talked about how in Daniel that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fire for not wanting to worship the gods or statues of Nebuchadnezzar. Before that happened, they said that they believed that God would save them, but if he didn’t, that they would die not worshipping the kings statues or gods. This made me think about how people often times base their faith on what God can do for them. The three men were committed to God, and that is what was important. It did not matter that God did not rescue them (but he did), they were committed to him regardless of his actions.
I then spoke with one of my better friends in Divinity School, and had a good talk with her. I mentioned that the service was hard for me because of my history unhealthy churches, but I really liked the message and I cannot argue with what God has done with this woman. My friend knows my health history, and as we talked she told me that I AM a miracle. I was really uncomfortable and was dumbfounded, so quickly changed the subject! But I realized that even though I am not necessarily being blessed, I am able to bless, inspire and encourage others because of what I am going through and overcoming.
The last conversation was with another more recent friend that I have made. As we talked about the conference, I mentioned that little miracles happen all around us. I mentioned that it is much like baseball, where most people only want to see homeruns but could careless about a well-played base hit. The base hits happen and can be very effective, but people generally only acknowledge the base hit when the game is on the line. Because of this, no one is really looking for anything but the homeruns. I have a tendency to look for the little miracles, the unexplainable acts that happen before me daily.
This being said, the three major points I would like to ask are this…
If you do not receive a major miracle, will that impact your faith?
If you are receiving a miracle that you want, do you think that maybe it is because you could be blessing more people else in the process?
Are you looking for the small miracles in life?
So miracles happen every day, but are you waiting for a conference to come or are you looking for them as they happen around you?
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Love Message, just different verses
Now that we have passed Valentines day, I think it is safe to talk about the subject of love. Most of the year, I take offense to people who think that I need to be set up with someone or need to be prayed for to find “the right one” and things seem to amplify around February. So, I am going about this subject little bit differently today!
I am going to shoot off a few verses that are a bit off of the beaten path, but I think that they are important, Matthew 22:37-40 and Songs of Solomon 2:7. This is not going to be a downer message by any means, but I am trying to share something that has helped me through the years.
In Matthew 22:37-40, we are commanded to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbors AS OUR SELVES. Let me repeat that, AS OUR SELVES. Does this mean MORE THAN OURSELVES? No. This is paramount, because if we do not love ourselves, than how can we love others? The answer is that we may but we will become exasperated because we will feel strained due to them not giving back. We should never be afraid to love someone, but be careful with how close you become to people who are not able to love back. Just like a pet cat or dog who is limited to showing love in certain ways but never being able to say “I love you”, some people are just not capable of loving fully or healthily. We must never put all of our hopes in them coming around because they my never come around, so please be careful!
In my own life, when I found who I was and I saw the part of the puzzle that I fit and how special and unique I was to God, I began to thrive. I was okay that someone did not accept me for who I am, I was okay with showing someone the door when they made unreasonable demands. It’s their loss. The way I look at it is that if the water in a pitcher is never replaced, than it will run out of water. So too it is with our hearts. So is God pouring love into you, and are those close to you pouring into you as well?
The second verse is Solomon writing to NOT STIR UP LOVE UNTIL THE APPROPRIATE TIME. This is what I pray about being single. I always start out thinking about being friends with every one instead of trying to date, and then I ask that God not allow me to stir up love until the appropriate time or at all if this person is not meant to be. Instead of dictating things on my timetable, I am asking for him to guard both of our hearts so that if it is not meant to be that we will not hurt one another and that I will be wise with my words and not give the wrong impression. For me, I ask to stay in sync with God’s plan because I find that when we get out of sync with God’s plan, that’s when we get hurt. When we become impatient, that’s when we are reckless and dangerous. So instead of stirring up love before the time, I ask for his guidance and wisdom with those that I meet.
Does this mean we just need to sit on our butts and wait for someone to fall in your life? Not at all. In order to find God’s blessings you need to get out and do something. God would have never parted the sea for the Israelites if they never left Egypt, either that or they would have never seen it. Plus, you never get to know someone if you never spend time with them. Yes, it involves risk, but who cares? In the dating game, there is ideally only one successful situation, just be mature about it and be sure to keep the other person’s heart safe.
Finally, I would like to close with one last thing about love. Those who have been in bad relationships and dirty break ups know that sometimes bad things just happen, they are not fun and no one wants them, but they happen. I would like to encourage you to CONTINUE TO LOVE. If you got wounded, take some time to mend, don’t run into another relationship because you feel that you have to, or that your clock is going to run out. Conversely, do not close yourself off because you could be hurting yourself and others. Be at peace and know that God knows the desires of your heart, and he does not want to play tricks on you. CONTINUE TO LOVE, because if you withhold your love from others, you will ultimately rob them of a blessing that they could have received.
Love is what we are meant to share with others, that is why we must keep our hearts guarded. We have to love God and Ourselves before we can adequately love another person, so be careful not to be too fast and get into something that you will regret later. Paul reminds us that we can do many great things, but if we have not love we are nothing. Do not let another person steal your love, and do not give your heart to someone who does not understand it. Instead, ask the Holy Spirit to show you who to love and receive love from.
I am going to shoot off a few verses that are a bit off of the beaten path, but I think that they are important, Matthew 22:37-40 and Songs of Solomon 2:7. This is not going to be a downer message by any means, but I am trying to share something that has helped me through the years.
In Matthew 22:37-40, we are commanded to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbors AS OUR SELVES. Let me repeat that, AS OUR SELVES. Does this mean MORE THAN OURSELVES? No. This is paramount, because if we do not love ourselves, than how can we love others? The answer is that we may but we will become exasperated because we will feel strained due to them not giving back. We should never be afraid to love someone, but be careful with how close you become to people who are not able to love back. Just like a pet cat or dog who is limited to showing love in certain ways but never being able to say “I love you”, some people are just not capable of loving fully or healthily. We must never put all of our hopes in them coming around because they my never come around, so please be careful!
In my own life, when I found who I was and I saw the part of the puzzle that I fit and how special and unique I was to God, I began to thrive. I was okay that someone did not accept me for who I am, I was okay with showing someone the door when they made unreasonable demands. It’s their loss. The way I look at it is that if the water in a pitcher is never replaced, than it will run out of water. So too it is with our hearts. So is God pouring love into you, and are those close to you pouring into you as well?
The second verse is Solomon writing to NOT STIR UP LOVE UNTIL THE APPROPRIATE TIME. This is what I pray about being single. I always start out thinking about being friends with every one instead of trying to date, and then I ask that God not allow me to stir up love until the appropriate time or at all if this person is not meant to be. Instead of dictating things on my timetable, I am asking for him to guard both of our hearts so that if it is not meant to be that we will not hurt one another and that I will be wise with my words and not give the wrong impression. For me, I ask to stay in sync with God’s plan because I find that when we get out of sync with God’s plan, that’s when we get hurt. When we become impatient, that’s when we are reckless and dangerous. So instead of stirring up love before the time, I ask for his guidance and wisdom with those that I meet.
Does this mean we just need to sit on our butts and wait for someone to fall in your life? Not at all. In order to find God’s blessings you need to get out and do something. God would have never parted the sea for the Israelites if they never left Egypt, either that or they would have never seen it. Plus, you never get to know someone if you never spend time with them. Yes, it involves risk, but who cares? In the dating game, there is ideally only one successful situation, just be mature about it and be sure to keep the other person’s heart safe.
Finally, I would like to close with one last thing about love. Those who have been in bad relationships and dirty break ups know that sometimes bad things just happen, they are not fun and no one wants them, but they happen. I would like to encourage you to CONTINUE TO LOVE. If you got wounded, take some time to mend, don’t run into another relationship because you feel that you have to, or that your clock is going to run out. Conversely, do not close yourself off because you could be hurting yourself and others. Be at peace and know that God knows the desires of your heart, and he does not want to play tricks on you. CONTINUE TO LOVE, because if you withhold your love from others, you will ultimately rob them of a blessing that they could have received.
Love is what we are meant to share with others, that is why we must keep our hearts guarded. We have to love God and Ourselves before we can adequately love another person, so be careful not to be too fast and get into something that you will regret later. Paul reminds us that we can do many great things, but if we have not love we are nothing. Do not let another person steal your love, and do not give your heart to someone who does not understand it. Instead, ask the Holy Spirit to show you who to love and receive love from.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Doing what is right
On Thursday I went to a get together that was a really good show and there was some really good time of prayer. While we were praying for others, I found that God started talking to me about myself. Talking to me about who I am, where I came from, and where I am going. I know! Random, considering that I was trying to pray for others. One of the topics that God talked with me about spurned the idea of this post.
The part of the God conversation that I think about is how many people in our churches right now would still be in the church if it did not benefit them at all? If all they were given was their salvation (which they have to trust will be given to them), is that enough to satisfy them?
If they did not receive affirmation for a showy activity, would they still do it?
-Jesus told some people not to tell others who healed them.
If they were given ministry positions based on production rather than popularity, would they try to get those positions?
-Jesus knew the law and for it he was hunted down.
What if their hands had to get dirty putting someone back together, would they be willing to help?
-Jesus stopped to heal people, often times touching people with deadly illness.
If the pastor snubbed them, could they understand that there are more dire needs in the congregation or would they get hurt?
-Jesus felt his father forsake him on the cross, but he understood his fathers reasons.
Would they keep their faith if they had their life threatened for being Christian?
-Even though Christianity is growing at an exponential rate in oppressive countries, many have been martyred.
If being Christian was unpopular, would they do it with sincerity and humility?
-In Egypt, the Coptic Christians (5%-10% of the population) can only work menial jobs,have to pay heavy taxes, and are under protected by the government. Could we live under those circumstances?
Could they befriend someone who needs a friend, even though it might "ruin their image"?
-Jesus ate with tax collectors and other outcasts of the day, but he did not care.
I guess what I am doing is trying to figure out if we as Christians can do what is right in the face of what is popular or comfortable.
The great thing is that most of the people who read this I know are the types that are willing to go the extra mile and do what is right. You guys are awesome, and I care a lot about you so please do not think that I am condemning anyone! I am just writing this to put in contrast the main mentalities.
As our churches and our peers are becoming more self serving, I think it is important that we become other-focused. There may be a day in our life time that we will get persecuted. Thats why I am saying that it is important to begin a life of love now, because for that, there is no law. Love is doing what is best for someone, can we commit to doing that today so that it will be habit tomorrow?
The part of the God conversation that I think about is how many people in our churches right now would still be in the church if it did not benefit them at all? If all they were given was their salvation (which they have to trust will be given to them), is that enough to satisfy them?
If they did not receive affirmation for a showy activity, would they still do it?
-Jesus told some people not to tell others who healed them.
If they were given ministry positions based on production rather than popularity, would they try to get those positions?
-Jesus knew the law and for it he was hunted down.
What if their hands had to get dirty putting someone back together, would they be willing to help?
-Jesus stopped to heal people, often times touching people with deadly illness.
If the pastor snubbed them, could they understand that there are more dire needs in the congregation or would they get hurt?
-Jesus felt his father forsake him on the cross, but he understood his fathers reasons.
Would they keep their faith if they had their life threatened for being Christian?
-Even though Christianity is growing at an exponential rate in oppressive countries, many have been martyred.
If being Christian was unpopular, would they do it with sincerity and humility?
-In Egypt, the Coptic Christians (5%-10% of the population) can only work menial jobs,have to pay heavy taxes, and are under protected by the government. Could we live under those circumstances?
Could they befriend someone who needs a friend, even though it might "ruin their image"?
-Jesus ate with tax collectors and other outcasts of the day, but he did not care.
I guess what I am doing is trying to figure out if we as Christians can do what is right in the face of what is popular or comfortable.
The great thing is that most of the people who read this I know are the types that are willing to go the extra mile and do what is right. You guys are awesome, and I care a lot about you so please do not think that I am condemning anyone! I am just writing this to put in contrast the main mentalities.
As our churches and our peers are becoming more self serving, I think it is important that we become other-focused. There may be a day in our life time that we will get persecuted. Thats why I am saying that it is important to begin a life of love now, because for that, there is no law. Love is doing what is best for someone, can we commit to doing that today so that it will be habit tomorrow?
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Using your talents?
So there is something that caught my attention in one of my readings for class (I am paraphrasing exceedingly). The story was written by Mark Twain, and it was about a guy who died and went to heaven. When he got to heaven, he asked St Peter, "Who is the greatest general that ever lived?" He pointed to a guy, and told the man that was him. The guy replied that he knew him and that he was a common laborer. With that, St. Peter replied that if he would have tried, he would have been the greatest general. What this made me think about is how we could be destined for amazing things, but we never utilize the talents that we have.
Those of you that have known me know that for years I went back and forth on what I wanted to do with my life. In high school, I abhorred algebra, but I spent so much time working on it that it took away from the classes that I was actually good at. I excelled in History and in German, but spent so much time doing Algebra instead of fine tuning those skills. When I finally rid myself of it spring of senior year, I was able to devote the time I needed to work on my strengths. I ended up going to college not knowing what to pursue because I was so busy trying to fix what I was bad at.
I can see that in my life in the church as well. Much of my Christian life, I found myself getting prodded by people who have the prophetic gifting. The gifts I get told I have the most frequently are teaching, wisdom and exhortation. But instead of considering that, I was told that I needed to give prophetic words or else I could not be on the youth ministry team. I was told that I had to speak in tongues or else I might not be a Christian. I told them that 1 Corinthians has a huge chunk devoted to refuting the dominance of certain gifts, and that we are all needed to form a cohesive body. Paul actually says that some my speak in tongues, not all. Needless to say, I put them in my rearview rather quickly.
As I have been doing my thesis and looking at Spiritual Gifts, I have come to realize that we need to become more cognizant of what our strengths are, and be able to use them properly. For me, I started teaching regularly to become a better teacher. I took a position in my church where I could use my wisdom and encouragement to help people reach their potential. I always knew that I was not a prophetically strong person, and thats okay. So I guess what I am saying to you today, is just because you might not be awesome at something, its okay. Because there is something that you are amazing at and I hope that you do not let anyone get in your way from becoming a catalyst by doing it.
There are somethings in life that you need to adjust. so don't get me wrong, but I ask that you do not spend a bunch of time trying to become something that you are not. I was talking to a friend yesterday, and we were discussing what happens when people spend so much time trying to please others and become something that they are not. Ultimately, people see through it and they eventually get exposed. It can be exhausting trying to be someone that you are not, thats why I never really did that. Plus, I never do anything to try and impress people because you can never please everyone!
I think that will be a discussion for another day, but I wanted to share something that really impacted me recently. So the question is, are you using your talents or are you trying to be something that you are not? My hope is that you would chase after your talents, and become the man or woman that God wants you to be! God bless you, until next time!
Those of you that have known me know that for years I went back and forth on what I wanted to do with my life. In high school, I abhorred algebra, but I spent so much time working on it that it took away from the classes that I was actually good at. I excelled in History and in German, but spent so much time doing Algebra instead of fine tuning those skills. When I finally rid myself of it spring of senior year, I was able to devote the time I needed to work on my strengths. I ended up going to college not knowing what to pursue because I was so busy trying to fix what I was bad at.
I can see that in my life in the church as well. Much of my Christian life, I found myself getting prodded by people who have the prophetic gifting. The gifts I get told I have the most frequently are teaching, wisdom and exhortation. But instead of considering that, I was told that I needed to give prophetic words or else I could not be on the youth ministry team. I was told that I had to speak in tongues or else I might not be a Christian. I told them that 1 Corinthians has a huge chunk devoted to refuting the dominance of certain gifts, and that we are all needed to form a cohesive body. Paul actually says that some my speak in tongues, not all. Needless to say, I put them in my rearview rather quickly.
As I have been doing my thesis and looking at Spiritual Gifts, I have come to realize that we need to become more cognizant of what our strengths are, and be able to use them properly. For me, I started teaching regularly to become a better teacher. I took a position in my church where I could use my wisdom and encouragement to help people reach their potential. I always knew that I was not a prophetically strong person, and thats okay. So I guess what I am saying to you today, is just because you might not be awesome at something, its okay. Because there is something that you are amazing at and I hope that you do not let anyone get in your way from becoming a catalyst by doing it.
There are somethings in life that you need to adjust. so don't get me wrong, but I ask that you do not spend a bunch of time trying to become something that you are not. I was talking to a friend yesterday, and we were discussing what happens when people spend so much time trying to please others and become something that they are not. Ultimately, people see through it and they eventually get exposed. It can be exhausting trying to be someone that you are not, thats why I never really did that. Plus, I never do anything to try and impress people because you can never please everyone!
I think that will be a discussion for another day, but I wanted to share something that really impacted me recently. So the question is, are you using your talents or are you trying to be something that you are not? My hope is that you would chase after your talents, and become the man or woman that God wants you to be! God bless you, until next time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)