"In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just me—naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken—nothing.
It is this nothingness that I have to face in my solitude, a nothingness so dreadful that
everything in me wants to run to my friends, my work, and my distractions so that I can forget my nothingness and make myself believe that I am worth something.
But that is not all.
As soon as I decide to stay in my solitude, confusing ideas, disturbing images, wild fantasies, and weird associations jump about in my mind like monkeys in a banana tree. Anger and greed begin to show their ugly faces. I give long, hostile speeches to my enemies and dream lustful dreams in which I am wealthy, influential, and very attractive—or
poor, ugly, and in need of immediate consolation.
Thus I try again to run from the dark abyss of my nothingness and restore my false self in all its vainglory.
That is the struggle. It is the struggle to die to the false self. But this struggle is far, far beyond our own strength. Anyone who wants to fight his demons with his own weapons is a fool. The wisdom of the desert is that the confrontation with our own frightening nothingness forces us to surrender ourselves totally and unconditionally to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Alone, we cannot face “the mystery of iniquity” with impunity.
Only Christ can overcome the powers of evil. Only in and through him can we survive the trials of our solitude….The encounter with Christ does not take place before, after, or beyond the struggle with our false self and its demons.
No, it is precisely in the midst of this struggle that our Lord comes to us and says….
“As soon as you turned to me again, you see, I was beside you.” "
How very true this quote is. I read this tonight in a book called Intimacy with the Almighty by Charles R. Swindoll. This is especially true for me. One of my largest difficulties is trying to quiet my mind and self wholly in order to be fully in God's presence, just enjoying peace and solitude with Him. The reason it's so difficult, I believe I now know. I have unresolved issues in my soul, but of course, everyone does, I believe. That's why those things pop up most when I try to quiet myself to spend time with God. They are things I have to work through and not shut out. Things I need to discuss with Him, and beg forgiveness for. Anyway, I thought this was a fascinating quote, and I hope that anyone reading this enjoys it as well.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Hell, and separation from God.
Naturally, hell is bad. It is Satan's home, and the root of evil. There can be nothing good in hell, just as there can be nothing bad in heaven. But one thing that really boggles my mind is the fact that you are completely separated from God.
It's hard for me to even imagine it. Even if I could handle all the pain, horror, and sadness in hell, I could NOT handle not having God watching what I'm going through, and helping me through difficult times every step of the way. Here on earth we think we have hard times - ha! That is all hell is. Every bad thing on earth - pain, torment, sadness, death - that is what hell is comprised of! I couldn't imagine not having God to help me through the hard times I go through in this life, let alone going an eternity in hell where the only thing known is hard times.
Complete separation from God. What would this mean, exactly? Although I am fuzzy on being able to imagine it what it would be like, I believe I know what it would entail. He wouldn't bless our steps, protect us from harm, have plans for our future, or be there to help us to feel better when life feels like too much. He wouldn't answer any prayer of dire need or desperation. You would be completely alone, facing everything on your own. In hell, the other people will show no mercy to you whatsoever. They will beat you, mock you, and everything, all the time, will be rude and horrible words and actions. At least, that's the way I think of hell. And no God to protect you from anything? That is definitely not a future I want for myself.
It's hard for me to even imagine it. Even if I could handle all the pain, horror, and sadness in hell, I could NOT handle not having God watching what I'm going through, and helping me through difficult times every step of the way. Here on earth we think we have hard times - ha! That is all hell is. Every bad thing on earth - pain, torment, sadness, death - that is what hell is comprised of! I couldn't imagine not having God to help me through the hard times I go through in this life, let alone going an eternity in hell where the only thing known is hard times.
Complete separation from God. What would this mean, exactly? Although I am fuzzy on being able to imagine it what it would be like, I believe I know what it would entail. He wouldn't bless our steps, protect us from harm, have plans for our future, or be there to help us to feel better when life feels like too much. He wouldn't answer any prayer of dire need or desperation. You would be completely alone, facing everything on your own. In hell, the other people will show no mercy to you whatsoever. They will beat you, mock you, and everything, all the time, will be rude and horrible words and actions. At least, that's the way I think of hell. And no God to protect you from anything? That is definitely not a future I want for myself.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Loving Jesus.
How do you know if you love Jesus? Many people I've talked to say, "I love God!" or, "I love Jesus!" But how do you know if you love Him deep down? He sees into the very depth of your soul. He sees the horrible sins you haven't even committed yet. He sees the reason behind your every action, thought, and even movement. Since he knows literally EVERY single thing there is to know about you, how do you know when you love Him?
I don't know about you, but I feel like I don't even know myself. When I read the verses in the Bible which mention that He can see the deepest parts of who you are, I always wonder what my deepest secret is. Even I don't know the real reason behind my thoughts and actions most of the time. So, since I barely know myself, how can I answer honestly to the question, "Do you love Him?"
I suppose an intelligent way to approach this question, would be to look at what things describe love.
1) When you love someone, you are willing to do anything for them. .2)You're willing to drop your most important plans if something urgent or bad happens. .3) You listen to them, talk to them frequently, and keep in a good relationship with them. Some people, you love so much that you don't even want to go a day without telling them hello, or that you're thinking of them and you hope they have a good day. .4) But, when you talk to them you don't want to make it all about you, as this isn't a productive conversation, and will eventually bore them, and you don't want to weigh them down with all of your problems. You want to hear what they have to say, too. .5) You anxiously await the very moment that you get to see them next.
Now, let us analyze these things, and perhaps see if I possess any of these.
#1, I like to think that I would be willing to do anything Christ told me to do. He might have to tell me a couple times if it was something REALLY out there, because at first I would probably think it was my imagination. But I think that if I knew a command came from God, I would do it.
#2, Welll, I'm not sure what kind of bad thing would happen to Jesus, so I don't think that part applies, necessarily. But if there was something urgent He was calling me to do ASAP, would I drop everything I was doing at that point in my life, and do what he asked? Hmmmm.
#3, I am trying to talk to Him more often. Sometimes it's easy to get lost in life and start dragging behind on your prayer or devotions time, but lately I have been setting aside the time for it, because I know it's important for my relationship to grow in Him. And I do listen to His answers to the questions I ask him. (Like, for instance, when I asked why he liked to be praised all the time, which I blogged about in the past.)
#4, here's one that I might not be up-to-par on. When I pray, I usually ask for things. "Please help me with ___" or "Please be with _____ tomorrow." Now that I think about it, I just ask for things from Him quite frequently. I need to try for more of a two-way conversation, rather than one which is so one-sided.
#5, I do await the moment I can see Jesus Christ in person. Just imagining it in my head excites me. I have so many things I'd like to ask Him, and I would love to ask to be forgiven. I know that I already am forgiven, but I think that if I asked him face-to-face, and he looked me straight in the eye and said, "Caitlin, I forgive you for everything." That would be so powerful. And I look forward to just being able to run to his arms and hug Him.
So, it looks as if I possess three of the top five things that I believe show love? That figure isn't so bad. And of course the whole walk with Him is a journey. Maybe along the way I will just know. I'll just know when He is my every waking thought, or the One whom I do everything for. I hope that I grow to be that way, because as of right now, I feel as if I am leaving a bit to be desired in this relationship.
I don't know about you, but I feel like I don't even know myself. When I read the verses in the Bible which mention that He can see the deepest parts of who you are, I always wonder what my deepest secret is. Even I don't know the real reason behind my thoughts and actions most of the time. So, since I barely know myself, how can I answer honestly to the question, "Do you love Him?"
I suppose an intelligent way to approach this question, would be to look at what things describe love.
1) When you love someone, you are willing to do anything for them. .2)You're willing to drop your most important plans if something urgent or bad happens. .3) You listen to them, talk to them frequently, and keep in a good relationship with them. Some people, you love so much that you don't even want to go a day without telling them hello, or that you're thinking of them and you hope they have a good day. .4) But, when you talk to them you don't want to make it all about you, as this isn't a productive conversation, and will eventually bore them, and you don't want to weigh them down with all of your problems. You want to hear what they have to say, too. .5) You anxiously await the very moment that you get to see them next.
Now, let us analyze these things, and perhaps see if I possess any of these.
#1, I like to think that I would be willing to do anything Christ told me to do. He might have to tell me a couple times if it was something REALLY out there, because at first I would probably think it was my imagination. But I think that if I knew a command came from God, I would do it.
#2, Welll, I'm not sure what kind of bad thing would happen to Jesus, so I don't think that part applies, necessarily. But if there was something urgent He was calling me to do ASAP, would I drop everything I was doing at that point in my life, and do what he asked? Hmmmm.
#3, I am trying to talk to Him more often. Sometimes it's easy to get lost in life and start dragging behind on your prayer or devotions time, but lately I have been setting aside the time for it, because I know it's important for my relationship to grow in Him. And I do listen to His answers to the questions I ask him. (Like, for instance, when I asked why he liked to be praised all the time, which I blogged about in the past.)
#4, here's one that I might not be up-to-par on. When I pray, I usually ask for things. "Please help me with ___" or "Please be with _____ tomorrow." Now that I think about it, I just ask for things from Him quite frequently. I need to try for more of a two-way conversation, rather than one which is so one-sided.
#5, I do await the moment I can see Jesus Christ in person. Just imagining it in my head excites me. I have so many things I'd like to ask Him, and I would love to ask to be forgiven. I know that I already am forgiven, but I think that if I asked him face-to-face, and he looked me straight in the eye and said, "Caitlin, I forgive you for everything." That would be so powerful. And I look forward to just being able to run to his arms and hug Him.
So, it looks as if I possess three of the top five things that I believe show love? That figure isn't so bad. And of course the whole walk with Him is a journey. Maybe along the way I will just know. I'll just know when He is my every waking thought, or the One whom I do everything for. I hope that I grow to be that way, because as of right now, I feel as if I am leaving a bit to be desired in this relationship.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Contradictions?
One thing I really fear about going to college, is having to defend my faith to people who might mock or disrespect it. I am seventeen years old, and graduating in about two and a half months, then hopefully starting college in the fall. But one thing that I really haven't considered until recently, is that undoubtedly I will have to answer questions about, defend, or perhaps preach, my beliefs. Sometimes this wouldn't be so bad. But I have no idea how I would defend myself against the great list of "contradictions of the Bible."
Yesterday during church, we watched a video of a student who was unable to defend his faith when it was put up against the contradictions. So today, I thought I would read a few of these contradictions to see if I would be able to defend it. And as it turned out, no - most likely not, without prior thought and contemplation. But that's what I spent these last few hours doing. Really thinking about the contradictions and how to defend my faith against them. I did come up with a few things that I hope will be useful to me in the future.
Firstly, the Bible was written over hundreds and hundreds of years. Just time alone would be a contributing factor to any number of contradictions. (If you read the Constitution of the United States, which was written back in 1787, and you look at American policies and the beliefs of political figures of today in 2011, don't those resemble quite a contradiction?) Time changes many things. Different things going on at different times, God's anger building in certain points, and declining in others.
Secondly, I believe that when you have faith in something, you just have faith in it. When you believe in something, you just believe it. There are, possibly, a hundred reasons not to believe in, or have faith in God, The Trinity, or Christianity. But it's the millions of reasons why you should believe in them. that make it something you follow completely. However, you should not follow it blindly, just saying, "God is real, because... I think He just is. It's what I believe." That is not enough to defend yourself, or to even come close to converting someone. If something is thrown in your face, you have to know what to reply.
- One contradiction I read was between Psalm 145:9 and Jeremiah 13:14.
Psalm 145:9 says:
"The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made."
Then Jeremiah 13:14 says:
"I will smash them on against the other, fathers and sons alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them."
When I first read that, I thought, "Oh my. That is a big contradiction. What would that possibly mean?", etc. Then I realized that the Bible has, what? 31,173 verses? That is room for a lot of contradictions if you just choose a few which seem to disagree! So I read chapters 12 and 13 of Jeremiah to really see what God meant when he was angry in 13:14. I found a few things.
First of all, God gave the people of Jerusalem many chances to repent, but they chose not to. He was being merciful to them until he said 'enough is enough.' In Jeremiah 12:15, it says: "... I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country." That is love and mercy! It shows that still even after he uproots them from their land and homes because they were wicked, God still says, "I love them and will have compassion on them, so I will give them their own inheritance and another place to live." But then in the 13th chapter, the people of Jerusalem still aren't getting it. They are still rejecting Him and not doing as they should. So God shows Jeremiah an analogy of the similarity a ruined linen belt has to what He will do to the people who won't listen to Him. He says (Jeremiah 13:11,) "For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,' declares the Lord, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.' " They messed it up for themselves. That is why He cursed them so in the 14th verse.
Of course, there are hundreds - no, thousands - of supposed "contradictions" in the Bible. However, I believe that every contradiction has a remedy and an explanation. But the people who come up with these contradictions don't do any digging. They take the words at face-value. You are the one who has to be armed with the knowledge of the remedy to the contradictory statements.
Yesterday during church, we watched a video of a student who was unable to defend his faith when it was put up against the contradictions. So today, I thought I would read a few of these contradictions to see if I would be able to defend it. And as it turned out, no - most likely not, without prior thought and contemplation. But that's what I spent these last few hours doing. Really thinking about the contradictions and how to defend my faith against them. I did come up with a few things that I hope will be useful to me in the future.
Firstly, the Bible was written over hundreds and hundreds of years. Just time alone would be a contributing factor to any number of contradictions. (If you read the Constitution of the United States, which was written back in 1787, and you look at American policies and the beliefs of political figures of today in 2011, don't those resemble quite a contradiction?) Time changes many things. Different things going on at different times, God's anger building in certain points, and declining in others.
Secondly, I believe that when you have faith in something, you just have faith in it. When you believe in something, you just believe it. There are, possibly, a hundred reasons not to believe in, or have faith in God, The Trinity, or Christianity. But it's the millions of reasons why you should believe in them. that make it something you follow completely. However, you should not follow it blindly, just saying, "God is real, because... I think He just is. It's what I believe." That is not enough to defend yourself, or to even come close to converting someone. If something is thrown in your face, you have to know what to reply.
- One contradiction I read was between Psalm 145:9 and Jeremiah 13:14.
Psalm 145:9 says:
"The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made."
Then Jeremiah 13:14 says:
"I will smash them on against the other, fathers and sons alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity or mercy or compassion to keep me from destroying them."
When I first read that, I thought, "Oh my. That is a big contradiction. What would that possibly mean?", etc. Then I realized that the Bible has, what? 31,173 verses? That is room for a lot of contradictions if you just choose a few which seem to disagree! So I read chapters 12 and 13 of Jeremiah to really see what God meant when he was angry in 13:14. I found a few things.
First of all, God gave the people of Jerusalem many chances to repent, but they chose not to. He was being merciful to them until he said 'enough is enough.' In Jeremiah 12:15, it says: "... I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country." That is love and mercy! It shows that still even after he uproots them from their land and homes because they were wicked, God still says, "I love them and will have compassion on them, so I will give them their own inheritance and another place to live." But then in the 13th chapter, the people of Jerusalem still aren't getting it. They are still rejecting Him and not doing as they should. So God shows Jeremiah an analogy of the similarity a ruined linen belt has to what He will do to the people who won't listen to Him. He says (Jeremiah 13:11,) "For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,' declares the Lord, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.' " They messed it up for themselves. That is why He cursed them so in the 14th verse.
Of course, there are hundreds - no, thousands - of supposed "contradictions" in the Bible. However, I believe that every contradiction has a remedy and an explanation. But the people who come up with these contradictions don't do any digging. They take the words at face-value. You are the one who has to be armed with the knowledge of the remedy to the contradictory statements.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Some scripture from tonight -
I usually either do my devotions before bed, or during the day when the sun is shining in my window and everything is well-lit and pretty. Depends on my schedule for the day - anyway - tonight I read it before bed. I was a day behind in my devotional book, so I read both day's devotions. Both passages of scripture were fascinating to me.
The first, was Luke 9:57-62.
"As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.' He said to another man, 'Follow me.' But the man replied, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.' Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Still another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.' Jesus replied, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.' "
I don't believe I had ever read this bit of scripture before this evening. I thought it was an astounding thought, start to follow Jesus, and never look back on the way you were living before. Have you ever looked back? Because I am certain that I have.
Although it is a well-known fact, I will say it anyway: the road less-traveled is most definitely not the easy road to take through life. Many times I have thought longingly of how I used to live life; not caring about any kind of repercussions, etc. Of course I know these are condemnable thoughts, but the idea of the Holy Spirit not sending me the "no" vibe with everything I do, must have been fabulous. However, I also know that it wasn't lack of the Holy Spirit interjecting thoughts, it was just me ignoring those thoughts He interjected.
It is not that I regret my decision to follow Christ, but we certainly can't disagree that it was so much easier before we knew the truth about everything :P
The second scripture, was Matthew 12:30:
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."
This one is an interesting thought. If you're not working with God, then you're working against Him. However, what does "with him," or, "working with him," mean, exactly? Following what He leads you to do? Listening to Him? Submitting yourself fully? Agreeing with what He wants for His earthly domain? I really am not sure. Perhaps this one will take a little more research. But something that really puzzled me, is what it goes on to say in the next verses:
"And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matt. 12:31-32)
Wow. That sounds horrible, but I don't understand these verses either! What is blasphemy against the Spirit? Laughing at the Spirit, making jokes about it, or mocking it? Using it in sentences next to unsavory language?
There are so many things in the Bible which have not made sense to me fully. Either it is not the time in my life for me to understand them, or I need to try to listen to what God is saying about the word's definitions. Either way, I suppose I should pray about it rather than blog about it. If anyone would like to offer me some kind of ground-breaking insight, I would be very willing to read and consider. =)
The first, was Luke 9:57-62.
"As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.' He said to another man, 'Follow me.' But the man replied, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.' Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Still another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.' Jesus replied, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.' "
I don't believe I had ever read this bit of scripture before this evening. I thought it was an astounding thought, start to follow Jesus, and never look back on the way you were living before. Have you ever looked back? Because I am certain that I have.
Although it is a well-known fact, I will say it anyway: the road less-traveled is most definitely not the easy road to take through life. Many times I have thought longingly of how I used to live life; not caring about any kind of repercussions, etc. Of course I know these are condemnable thoughts, but the idea of the Holy Spirit not sending me the "no" vibe with everything I do, must have been fabulous. However, I also know that it wasn't lack of the Holy Spirit interjecting thoughts, it was just me ignoring those thoughts He interjected.
It is not that I regret my decision to follow Christ, but we certainly can't disagree that it was so much easier before we knew the truth about everything :P
The second scripture, was Matthew 12:30:
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters."
This one is an interesting thought. If you're not working with God, then you're working against Him. However, what does "with him," or, "working with him," mean, exactly? Following what He leads you to do? Listening to Him? Submitting yourself fully? Agreeing with what He wants for His earthly domain? I really am not sure. Perhaps this one will take a little more research. But something that really puzzled me, is what it goes on to say in the next verses:
"And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matt. 12:31-32)
Wow. That sounds horrible, but I don't understand these verses either! What is blasphemy against the Spirit? Laughing at the Spirit, making jokes about it, or mocking it? Using it in sentences next to unsavory language?
There are so many things in the Bible which have not made sense to me fully. Either it is not the time in my life for me to understand them, or I need to try to listen to what God is saying about the word's definitions. Either way, I suppose I should pray about it rather than blog about it. If anyone would like to offer me some kind of ground-breaking insight, I would be very willing to read and consider. =)
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Hmmm..
A couple of days ago, I watched Jesse Duplantis' video, "Close Encounters of the God Kind" where he talks about his trip to heaven. If you haven't seen it, I highly suggest it. It is so amazing. Just imagining it all made me want to go to heaven that much sooner :p. But there was one thing that I had a question about.
In the video, Jesse Duplantis said that it's all about praising God all the time, if one person says, "Praise God!" then it starts a chain reaction and everyone shouts, "Praise God!!" And that kind of got me thinking, why does God want praise all of the time?
Obviously, he created everything and He most certainly deserves constant praise like that, but I just thought, if it were I who was on the throne and Heaven was my domain, I don't think I would want people praising and worshiping me constantly. I would feel selfish. I just couldn't understand why God would want to be the thought in everyone's head or the one on everyone's lips constantly.
So, I was driving home from piano lessons later that day, and when I am in the car by myself, I always think that is the perfect time to speak to God openly, and out loud. So I mentioned to him the question I had. I tried to put it in the best words possible, but of course he knew the exact meaning behind the words. I told Him that I didn't understand. I just couldn't wrap my head around that image - everyone praising Him all the time, and I couldn't understand why he liked it that way. I discussed it aloud for a bit, and then I felt it - I am almost sure that this thought came from the Holy Spirit, and He explained it to me in a way I could understand, because I really doubt I would have come up with this myself.
I could hear the words coming together in my mind, "He is a King. Back in the days when King's ruled over kingdoms, the people were expected to love, fear, respect, and praise their king. And that is why He asks for us to love, fear, respect, and praise Him."
But this still wasn't quite something I could understand. I live in the United States, and I've never been in an environment where I had to love, fear, respect, and praise my leader. It is certainly a blessing to have never lived under a monarchy, but since I never had had to do so, the idea was still a bit fuzzy to me.
So I told Him these thoughts.
And he told me, "There were many evil kings who asked to be worshiped or thought of as the god to the people he reigned over. But I am the Good King; I reign even over the kings of the olden days, and monarchs of today. That is why I am to be praised constantly. Because I am the King of everything, and I actually deserve the praise and worship that those kings did not deserve."
I thought this was such a powerful thought. I know it came from God. I love it when he talks back to me during prayer.
In the video, Jesse Duplantis said that it's all about praising God all the time, if one person says, "Praise God!" then it starts a chain reaction and everyone shouts, "Praise God!!" And that kind of got me thinking, why does God want praise all of the time?
Obviously, he created everything and He most certainly deserves constant praise like that, but I just thought, if it were I who was on the throne and Heaven was my domain, I don't think I would want people praising and worshiping me constantly. I would feel selfish. I just couldn't understand why God would want to be the thought in everyone's head or the one on everyone's lips constantly.
So, I was driving home from piano lessons later that day, and when I am in the car by myself, I always think that is the perfect time to speak to God openly, and out loud. So I mentioned to him the question I had. I tried to put it in the best words possible, but of course he knew the exact meaning behind the words. I told Him that I didn't understand. I just couldn't wrap my head around that image - everyone praising Him all the time, and I couldn't understand why he liked it that way. I discussed it aloud for a bit, and then I felt it - I am almost sure that this thought came from the Holy Spirit, and He explained it to me in a way I could understand, because I really doubt I would have come up with this myself.
I could hear the words coming together in my mind, "He is a King. Back in the days when King's ruled over kingdoms, the people were expected to love, fear, respect, and praise their king. And that is why He asks for us to love, fear, respect, and praise Him."
But this still wasn't quite something I could understand. I live in the United States, and I've never been in an environment where I had to love, fear, respect, and praise my leader. It is certainly a blessing to have never lived under a monarchy, but since I never had had to do so, the idea was still a bit fuzzy to me.
So I told Him these thoughts.
And he told me, "There were many evil kings who asked to be worshiped or thought of as the god to the people he reigned over. But I am the Good King; I reign even over the kings of the olden days, and monarchs of today. That is why I am to be praised constantly. Because I am the King of everything, and I actually deserve the praise and worship that those kings did not deserve."
I thought this was such a powerful thought. I know it came from God. I love it when he talks back to me during prayer.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Quote from The Ministry of Cheerfulness by Jesse Duplantis -
"God created the first man and woman and called them Adam. God did not name Eve. Adam named Eve. When God created male and female, he called them both Adam! He chose the female Adam to procreate. She was called woman, which means 'man with a womb.' God did not create Eve from Adam's foot, he created her from Adam's side! God made woman to stand side by side with a man to such a degree that their prayers would be hindered if they argue. At the fall of man, God told Satan point blank that he would send one born of a woman's seed that would bust his head. Women don't have seed, men have seed! For the birth of Jesus, God did not need a man. He needed a man with a womb; He needed a woman."
Isn't that something? It reminds me of another quote I heard a while ago:
"Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears. The woman came out of a man's rib. Not from his feet to be walked on; Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal! Under the arm to be protected, & next to the heart to be loved."
Even women who were thought of as dirt for hundreds of years (and in many cases, are still thought of that way today,) God has wonderful plans for them! God had to use a woman to birth Jesus, and he has to use woman for many other things in His ministry. It is my personal opinion that no man can be quite as motherly and understanding as a woman.
Isn't that something? It reminds me of another quote I heard a while ago:
"Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears. The woman came out of a man's rib. Not from his feet to be walked on; Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal! Under the arm to be protected, & next to the heart to be loved."
Even women who were thought of as dirt for hundreds of years (and in many cases, are still thought of that way today,) God has wonderful plans for them! God had to use a woman to birth Jesus, and he has to use woman for many other things in His ministry. It is my personal opinion that no man can be quite as motherly and understanding as a woman.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Miracles?
I believe in God, and I believe in Jesus. I believe Jesus did miracles and everything else that the New Testament says happened. But why is it that today when we hear of someone who has the power of healing in God's name, or God sends someone frequent visions, or someone can speak in tongues, why are we skeptical? If we really believe in the Trinity wholly and completely, then we believe in the miracles that Jesus did, and we believe that there still are miracles today. So what does it mean when we are skeptical about miraculous things in today's world? Does that mean we do *not* believe wholly and completely?
Perhaps I am alone in being skeptical upon hearing of miracles. But when I hear people speaking in tongues, I think that they might be making it up. Or if people have the power of healing, I just assume that it's all staged and they can't really heal anything. If I hear of someone speaking to God (and He answers) I slightly doubt that it's true. I'm just not so open to believing the miraculous things of God, as I should be. And why should it be so amazing to hear that God is doing these things? He is God! He made everyone, and everything on the earth. Why should it be so surprising and doubtful to hear of miracles still going on today? It's not that I doubt he can do it, I just doubt that it happens - if that makes sense.
But, with my views on it being as such, this is probably why He *doesn't* choose me to produce miracles. I have a doubtful heart, and He knows it. Sometimes I wonder what my place is in His kingdom. What place could He possibly have for someone who doubts the miracles of His chosen people?
Perhaps I am alone in being skeptical upon hearing of miracles. But when I hear people speaking in tongues, I think that they might be making it up. Or if people have the power of healing, I just assume that it's all staged and they can't really heal anything. If I hear of someone speaking to God (and He answers) I slightly doubt that it's true. I'm just not so open to believing the miraculous things of God, as I should be. And why should it be so amazing to hear that God is doing these things? He is God! He made everyone, and everything on the earth. Why should it be so surprising and doubtful to hear of miracles still going on today? It's not that I doubt he can do it, I just doubt that it happens - if that makes sense.
But, with my views on it being as such, this is probably why He *doesn't* choose me to produce miracles. I have a doubtful heart, and He knows it. Sometimes I wonder what my place is in His kingdom. What place could He possibly have for someone who doubts the miracles of His chosen people?
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