Opportunity - Choosing Love for Your Life

Another week and another encouraging word, one that I've been reflecting on for awhile now. When I began my weekly devotionals I had no idea how difficult it would be to convey my reflections and prayers into words for others to read. I love to pray and to spend time each day with God, but I feel so vulnerable putting my individual thoughts out in the open for everyone to read and even judge. I've taken on a challenge that I didn't anticipate and I've caught a lot of heat for it from some, which at first was discouraging, but then I realized that no matter what anyone says, I'm never going to stop being who I am or sharing my love for God and His love for you.

So let's get to it, we begin again in Genesis.

Gen. 4:7 right before Cain murders Abel it says, "....sin lies at the door and it's desire IS for you, but you must rule over it."

You can read the context if you need too, but here's my brief summary. Cain is in relationship with God, but worships Him half-heartedly and then kills his brother Abel, who is faithful and understands the Lord's love comes not from what we do, but who He is. Cain is then punished to a life of wandering without God.

The truth is that at some point in our lives we are all Cain, we know God and love Him, but we are doing things with half of our hearts. The difference now is that as long as we acknowledge God, we cannot wander this life without Him, because we have been forgiven through the blood of Jesus. Sin is a door that will always be open, but I believe it says that sin lies at the door, because it is not powerful enough to stand on it's own. We must let sin into our lives, we must allow it to overtake us, otherwise it just remains there, an open door, an opportunity just like any other.

Of course, it's easy to say that sin is just lying there at the door, but the truth is sin is powerful. It's tempting and sometimes we falter, we allow the excitement of a situation to overwhelm us and instead of thinking of what this will serve, we think of the temporary, of the rush or the high, and we ignore what we know is right. Sometimes we end up in situations we know we shouldn't be in and later regret. Sometimes we play the same stupid moment in our head over and over again. We yell and fight and say really nasty things that we don't mean. And sometimes we hurt others. If you ask me, I think this is the greatest sin, the most regrettable. A moment in which we are so wrapped up in our own flesh that we hurt someone else. The trouble with being human is that while we can ask for forgiveness from God, we can't ever undo the harm that we've caused to another. I hate that sometimes we don't consider the gravity of our impact on other people. One word, one look, one judgement and that's all it takes; suddenly sin is flooding the doorway, you're so angry you can't see straight, the distance between you and God is growing and you're becoming more and more like Cain.

To be a Christian isn't to be better than others. It certainly doesn't mean that I never sin or fall short. I don't go to church every Sunday, but I also don't spend time damning other people to hell. Sometimes I'm half-hearted in my efforts and other times I'm riveted with passion that moves me to tears. To be Christian means that I admit I'll never be good enough, but that I will pursue God anyway. Since becoming a Christian at the age of 19 and making the decision to share my faith with others, I have experienced more judgement than I ever did as a 16 year old girl in high school. I've listened to people tell me I'm brainwashed, I'm ignorant and that I have so much to learn. I've been called names and I've been told that I'm not better than anyone. To which I never know how to respond, because nowhere in my love for Jesus did I declare anything that was harmful in nature to others or their egos. What's funny and ironic, is that when Karlie Ramsay use to come to me in high school and tell me about God, I would say similar things to her. I sat there judging her and Christians alike, claiming them to be self-righteous and ignorant sinners. What I didn't know is that I was the ignorant one. I was the one who was missing out on the radical grace and love of Jesus and all Karlie wanted to do was to share it. She was never claiming to be perfect or judging me for my lack of faith, she was simply inviting me to experience true unconditional love.

That's the best part about God, His unconditional love. With love that grand there is no room for judgement, no disappointment, no criticism. God is either all good or He's not, but He can't be both critical and loving. We however, are human and there's nothing to stop us from judging or hurting others, at least we can tell ourselves that, right?

That's where I believe the biggest misconception of the Christian faith comes in. We are all sinners, but that doesn't mean we can go on sinning just because we throw up a prayer and get out of jail free. The truth is within each of us there is a still quiet voice and that voice guides us each and every day if we allow it too. Whether you want to call it the Holy Spirit, God, your higher conscience or Jimney Cricket doesn't really matter, it's choosing to listen to it that matters. It's choosing love instead of hate. Acceptance instead of judgement. Openness instead of criticism. After all, who are you and better yet, who am I, to say that the way you live is any better or worse than the way I do?

Like sin, judgement, hate, temptation and evil all lie at the door, but what you have to remember is that you have the power to close the door, or to slam it shut, or to step out into your life over it all. It will always be there, tempting you, taunting you, screaming at you and sometimes looking really great. But while evil and its counterparts may lie at the door, God is standing in you; He is in your heart and with you always. He is bigger and greater and more powerful than anything that can come against you, His love is worth fighting for and overcoming all things evil in your life. So don't give in, fight for your God, in your heart, in your life and in everything you do. Come to Him always and take time to listen, not because you're better than anyone else, or because you have something to prove, but because He is the only one who will love you unconditionally.

I'm a sinner. I'm imperfect and I spend a lot of time trying to make things right, but you'll never hear me say that you're wrong. I may not agree with you, I may not like what you have to say and heck, I may not even like you, but I would still invite you to know the love of God. And if like me, you come around, great. If you hate religion and God for the rest of your life, that's okay too, you're no less of a person than I am, you're no less worthy or loved than I am. I don't believe you're going to hell or that you're a bad person. So please, stop putting words in my mouth, when they've been so clearly written here. Don't tell me what I believe or pretend that you're any better than me or anyone else. Deflate your ego, turn down the volume and open up your life. Remember that like sin, God too will present Himself and if you so choose someday you may open that door. Life is about choices and enjoying what we've been given, we are here to love and no one can argue with that. 

As for me in my life, a life wandering without God, is unimaginable. Even Cain comes to find that God's absence in his life is too painful. I chose a life with God and that means living and pursuing him with all of my heart. So on that note, here are reflections for this week:

Read the book of James (specifically 1:12-17) it is so powerful! James wrote a letter to the Jewish Christians outside of Palastine telling them that faith in Christ alone is not enough, it is not enough to hear about it, read about it and know it, we must live it! The blood of Jesus is only worth something in our lives if we allow to be in everything we do! The letter of James tells us that "God promises to give you what you need to live for Him." (1:17). It is not enough for you to simply believe, you have to do!

A few things from 1 Peter. Start with 1 Peter 3:8-4:19. It begins with a blessing over all believers and goes on to talk about serving our God and His glory by doing good work.


"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your advesary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Jesus Christ, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you. To Him BE the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 5: 5-11

Your beliefs do not make you a better person, your behavior does.

Live in love.

Blessings to all,

K&M

A Reminder

Last week I didn't send out an encouraging word, I sat down with the topic I had planned and my intention to write it several times, but for whatever reason it never came together; I couldn't seem to get out what I was really trying to say. I kept thinking that some half-hearted effort wouldn't be the same, but that was the problem. I had spent a week praying and thinking about my topic, how could it possibly feel half-hearted? I decided because it wasn't perfect, I wouldn't send it.

I've had a truly awful time sleeping for quite awhile now and it's been really hard. Plagued with strange restless dreams night after night, losing sleep and then finding myself without energy for days at a time, I feel like I'll never function again. Last night was no different, I woke up sweating and panicked at 3:02 am, frustration kicked in and tears of exhaustion with a tinge of desperation began to fall. I said aloud, "When is this going to get better?!" I sat in my bed folded up and seriously jarred, trying to repaint my dream like my mom had told me to do when I was younger; she would say to me, go through and replace the bad things with happy things. Tired of this routine, I turned over and kicked off all my covers too hot to really need them, but silently thinking that the sheets might offer me some kind of protection I pulled them back up to my chin. I realized that so often in my life I live with this standard of absolute perfection, anything less just isn't enough. I didn't send out an email with an encouraging message to loved ones for the fear that it wouldn't make any real difference if I couldn't find just the right words. I wake up night after night terrified, thinking that if only my dreams were as I repainted them to be I would sleep. Then I almost laughed at myself, I'm a 21 year old laying in bed terrified who has rationalized an inch of fabric as protection. From what? Is a murderer going to walk and think to himself, "Shoot! She's under the covers, maybe next time!" Is the terror I've created in my own head going to be smothered under the layers of cotton? Seriously?!

Sometimes as humans, we do and think ridiculous things, we come to believe certain notions and have standards that we deem totally reasonable. And isn't that the err of humans? Believing we KNOW how it should be, how it is and thinking if only it was this way, then everything would be okay. How incredibly arrogant. Is this not just what I wrote about last week? The state of my faith and position of my heart? Didn't I just challenge everyone to believe that God is who He says He is and we must come before Him humble, with hands open? Someone once told me a story about desperation, it goes something like this: There were two brothers stranded in a desert, both brothers were about to die of dehydration and thirst, they prayed and begged God for rain. When the rain came, one brother grasped for it desperately trying to grab what he could, but got no water; the other brother sat paitently with palms open and allowed the water to pool in his hands. Only one lived.

Sometimes we are so desperate. We think to ourselves if only, if only, if only. We assume we know better and so often we except only "perfection" (at least I do in my own life.) I'm quick to forget that it's not a pile of blankets that will protect me, but a mighty God whom I serve. A God who doesn't expect perfection, who understands and accepts just how "human" I really am. A God who will not only comfort me in my fear, but protect me from evil. So all these thoughts are racing through my head at what's now 4 am and that's when I silently asked myself a better question, "When are you going to believe that this can get better?"

To have faith means we believe. When we're desperate. When we're unsure. When we're vulnerable and cranky and really fricken tired. We don't spend hours repainting it our way and instead we ask God to repaint it for us. We surrender. We give Him our doubts and uncertainty and we stop acting like desperate thirsty people in a desert, because there's nothing to be desperate for. He is here, He is with us and all we have to do is open our hands and our heart. The greatest mistake we can make in our relationship with God, is limiting His greatness or forgetting that the only perfect thing in this life is the cross and the Man who died on it to save us from ourselves. So here's another reminder of sorts, an email that may not be as encouraging or perfect as I hoped all of them to be, but something worth sharing anyway.

Have faith. Trust that any good that you do, is still good, don't waste time measuring its impact or worthiness. Nothing is perfect, don't worry about making it so. Give God the chance to repaint the things in your life that are out of sorts, the things you are so desperate to fix or change. Keep your hands and your heart open and remember God is here, He is with you and yes, He will protect you, whether you're buried underneath your covers or not.


Throughout the week reflect on these passages:

Galatians 3:2-5 (Letting God be God, believing with faith)

2-4 Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by giving up everything and working relentlessly to please God? Or was it by responding to God's message to you? Are you going to continue in this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet in vain, but you must understand that it certainly will be if this attitude continues.
5-6 Answer this question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with His own presence, His Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does He do these things because of your strenuous moral striving OR because you trust Him to do them in you? Don't these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God.

Philippians 4:4-9 (Taking your worry and anxiety and instead rejoicing in the Lord and His promises.)

6-7 Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
8-9 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not to curse. Put into practice what you learned, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into His most beautiful and gracious harmonies.

Psalm 121 (God's promise for protection in your life)

3-4 He won't let you stumble, your God won't fall asleep, not on your life! Israel's Guardian will never doze or sleep!
5-6 God's your Guardian, right at your side to protect you- shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from shadows of the moon.
7-8 God guards you, from every evil, He guards your very life. He guards you when you leave and when you return, He guards you now, He guards you always.

Blessings and love to all,

Kelci 

The State of Your Faith

As most of you know, this year for Lent I've decided to write a weekly Encouraging Word and I'll say that it was much more challenging than what I originally anticipated. I hope you all find some wisdom, love or encouragement through these messages; this process has allowed me to spend more time in the presence of God and I pray that if nothing else it will allow the same for you. This being my very first time doing anything of this nature made it difficult to know where exactly to begin, so I decided to start in Genesis and make my way from there. I didn’t expect to find much as far as inspiration, but what I did find was the humbling story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. Most are familiar with the story of these two brothers, but if you’re not I encourage you to read it and then reflect upon this.

Let us first review the character of these two brothers. Cain is self-righteous, selfish and half-hearted; all the while his brother can be simply described as faithful and willing, but what about the character of God? What is God like? In this short classic story we’re given the exact nature of God. Read Genesis 4:3-5; though both brothers brought offerings to the Lord, God was only pleased with Abel. The issue of a blood sacrifice is essential for the right standing with God, because after Adam and Eve ate the fruit, God had to sacrifice animals to produce coverings for them and therefore hints that a blood sacrifice is a means for covering sin. Cain didn’t learn the lessons of his parents and therefore offers a vegetable sacrifice, the fruit of his own efforts; Abel’s offering however was of something provided by God and not the result of his own efforts, it expresses trust in God’s goodness.

The truth of it is that we must come to Him based upon faith, knowing that the blood of Jesus was enough rather than trying to “earn” His love and grace through our own good deeds and efforts. Abel and Cain’s offerings represent the two different ways we can come to God, either through faith in what Jesus Christ has done for us or on the basis of our own good works. Cain’s approach implies such self-righteousness, that he truly believed in saving himself though his own ideas instead of through the promises of God. How many times have you found yourself questioning God, His intentions or even His plan in your life? Have you turned away from Him completely or maybe just put a safe distance in between God and your life, thinking you can fair without Him? Remember that even in the moments you feel farthest from Him, in moments of your darkest most self-righteous ways of thinking, God is never far from you. You don't have to earn His love, you don't have to be good enough, because none of us are, we all live in sin, we're imperfect, but God loves us, despite us; not because of what we’ve done, but because of who He is. Let your faith stir up action -- remember, it is how we come to God and our attitude of worship and prayer that makes our offerings and lives pleasing and acceptable to Him. Stop worrying about the imaginary checklist that you believe puts you in right standing with God, and start considering the state of your faith and the true motivation of your heart.





Blessings to All,


Kelci