Today I am trying something different. Not sure why, just felt like it. Today I am doing my own church service of sorts. Got a set list of music and sang along. Music was 1) Hosanna, 2) O, Praise Him, 3) Come Thou Fount, 4) Revelation Song, and 5) Lord I Lift Your Name On High. Now for a sermon!
Today's message from Darrell is about worrying. I'll just write my thoughts as he speaks.Matthew 6:25-34 speaks on worrying. Seems like most people out there are prone to worry. It's destructive and shows God to be untrustworthy, unkind and not very powerful. As I've know it can branch into other sins, such as greed, fear, dishonesty, anger. Worry chokes out the Word of God from our hearts. I think it also has a tendency to be one of the sins that most people gloss over instead of confronting it head on. Worrying can mean stress, being distracted, anxiety. It can be over the future, the present, the past. Jesus commands us to get rid of it. Interestingly enough there is a good kind of anxiety. From what I understand this is what "concern" is. Makes sense. We should have concern for the care, needs, and interest of other people. Sinful worry is when we freak out about stuff over which we have no control. It's okay to plan out stuff but once we do all that worrying should be put aside.
So how do we overcome that worry? The greater gift implies the lesser gift. God gave us a body and a soul, therefore He will take care of the lesser part, ie He'll provide for that soul and body. God gave us a soul and body for so much more than just eating and drinking and getting dressed for the day. Worrying about provisions is trivial compared to our goal, our mission of being on earth. We still work, we still care, have concerns and we still have responsibilities. What an interesting thought : God is able to feed 200-400 billion birds every single day. A bird eats its own body weight of food every day. That's a hundred million tons of food. If God can do that can He not feed us humans whom He gave a SOUL and a body? No other creature on earth has a soul like ours. And that's just the birds he spoke of in the passage. That doesn't include all the other species which He created as well. Another interesting idea : instinct = God. When an animal has that instinct to just simply know what to do in a certain situation, well, that's God who allows that. Darrell goes on to speak of how every detail in the universe is controlled directly by God every single day. WOW! How big is God! Every blade of grass that grows He controls. And if He has THAT MUCH power how is it that we continue to worry about the most trivial of things? Simply put, God feeds the birds, we are worth much more than a bird.We cannot dilute ourselves into thinking that there is no difference between us and animals. How much did God pay for us? A bird is worth next to nothing yet He DIED FOR US ON A CROSS. He gave away His only Son for us! When you pay a lot for something you take care of it, you don't just trash it. God paid the ultimate price for each and every human being on earth, both in the past, the present, and the future.
God doesn't promise to eliminate suffering. All the things we worry about and are afraid of are possible. He said there would be trials and tribulations. However, God promises that tomorrow He will still be God. If He continues to feed the birds He will continue to take care of us who mean so much more than the birds. God's yoke is easy, His burden is light. "The Lord is with me. What can man do to me that shall make me afraid?"
It's nice when things correspond between messages that I listen to. Something like worrying about if we'll be happy in the future can be taken care of by looking to God, by loving Him and receiving your joy from Him. And that's what I have been learning recently. What a great message on worry. I've read all this stuff before and learned it before but sometimes God speaks and stirs our spirit so powerfully that it just makes so much more sense.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
August 20th
I know this doesn't really follow along with the rest of this blog topic but Happy Birthday to me! I just had to say that. I've learned that with birthdays and presents and being with other people there can be an awful amount of selfishness involved. I'm doing my best to be selfless instead. It's a rather difficult thing to do when the mentality of birthdays is all about "me, me, me".
God, take this selfishness and replace it with love for You. Help me toss aside the old man and replace him with the one you desire me to be. All honor and glory to You Most High, Exalted and Glorious One. Amen.
God, take this selfishness and replace it with love for You. Help me toss aside the old man and replace him with the one you desire me to be. All honor and glory to You Most High, Exalted and Glorious One. Amen.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Contemplation
I believe it was a wise choice to start writing down my thoughts again.
After much thought today I think the most profound thing I could ever learn from the Bible is that to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is to obey every single command in the entire Bible. I'm going to leave it very simple with that statement. Sometimes I tend to over analyze things and try and be eloquent with my words but sometimes simplicity is where it is at.
Loving God is the solution to all of life's problems. I love that statement. If I could just simply love God with all my being than all of my problems would become bearable. They wouldn't crush me, strangle me or beat me into the ground. They wouldn't weigh upon my back for countless years and the guilt from past mistakes would not rule me. Can you possibly see where I might have joy? Loving God somehow miraculously gives me comfort, peace, hope, joy, encouragement amongst other things. When I have those is any mountain too high to climb? (And in that I mean that as a metaphor). I believe that's what it means when people say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Not this nonsense about how God might give you the power to move a car up the side of a hill because it broke down, or that He'll give you power to run a thousand miles so that you can win a million dollars for getting first place. I hear the phrase used a lot but I think it is misused. Hmm, tangent.
Back on track. Or maybe not. I seem to have lost my train of thought with that detour. Oh well. I am content that I was able to write what I did. My bike ride home was rather nice. Lots of time to meditate on what I have learned today. Bedtime soon approaches. My birthday approaches! Perhaps that will be a good time to reflect on my life and how I came to be where I am today.
Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. With all creation I sing praise to the King of Kings. You are my everything and I will adore You.
After much thought today I think the most profound thing I could ever learn from the Bible is that to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is to obey every single command in the entire Bible. I'm going to leave it very simple with that statement. Sometimes I tend to over analyze things and try and be eloquent with my words but sometimes simplicity is where it is at.
Loving God is the solution to all of life's problems. I love that statement. If I could just simply love God with all my being than all of my problems would become bearable. They wouldn't crush me, strangle me or beat me into the ground. They wouldn't weigh upon my back for countless years and the guilt from past mistakes would not rule me. Can you possibly see where I might have joy? Loving God somehow miraculously gives me comfort, peace, hope, joy, encouragement amongst other things. When I have those is any mountain too high to climb? (And in that I mean that as a metaphor). I believe that's what it means when people say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Not this nonsense about how God might give you the power to move a car up the side of a hill because it broke down, or that He'll give you power to run a thousand miles so that you can win a million dollars for getting first place. I hear the phrase used a lot but I think it is misused. Hmm, tangent.
Back on track. Or maybe not. I seem to have lost my train of thought with that detour. Oh well. I am content that I was able to write what I did. My bike ride home was rather nice. Lots of time to meditate on what I have learned today. Bedtime soon approaches. My birthday approaches! Perhaps that will be a good time to reflect on my life and how I came to be where I am today.
Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. With all creation I sing praise to the King of Kings. You are my everything and I will adore You.
Joyviction
What inspired me to start another blog? Well the title of this one is "Joyviction". Joy and conviction. I had an experience today of both at the same time. I've been listening to Darrell Ferguson's "Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul" series and it has been one of the most profound lessons I have ever learned as a Christian. Today's topic was Desire = Worship. I can go into that further later when I have more time but I wanted to remind myself that this day did indeed happen and it's not just another day to be thrown to the wind. Seems I've had things wrong most of my life. When did it become all about me and nothing about God? I'm not sure but it happened somewhere along the way. I've become so selfish that I couldn't even tell that I was. That's scary.
One thing I want to point out to myself most of all is that asking God for things with the motive of bringing pleasure to myself (even asking to be healed of a sickness) is both idolatry and adultery in God's eyes. If I ask for healing from sickness and I do not do it so that God might be glorified then it is worthless. I never understood the whole thing about loving both the world and God at the same time is impossible. To love one is to hate the other, etc. Apparently I have allowed the world to condition me so thoroughly that I believed I could do both and that is was also right and okay to do so. After what I just heard there is no WAY I can ever believe that again. Hahaha, eat that enemy/world! So that is where I get my joy. I get it from God! He both convicts me in my error and gives me joy to understand that it doesn't have to keep being like that. He strengthens me and encourages me and gives me hope to carry on the work that He has set out for me to do.
One thing I want to point out to myself most of all is that asking God for things with the motive of bringing pleasure to myself (even asking to be healed of a sickness) is both idolatry and adultery in God's eyes. If I ask for healing from sickness and I do not do it so that God might be glorified then it is worthless. I never understood the whole thing about loving both the world and God at the same time is impossible. To love one is to hate the other, etc. Apparently I have allowed the world to condition me so thoroughly that I believed I could do both and that is was also right and okay to do so. After what I just heard there is no WAY I can ever believe that again. Hahaha, eat that enemy/world! So that is where I get my joy. I get it from God! He both convicts me in my error and gives me joy to understand that it doesn't have to keep being like that. He strengthens me and encourages me and gives me hope to carry on the work that He has set out for me to do.
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