There were too many hot/cold songs and references to choose from. Sorry my lovelies!

I am a few days late this time, but in my defense I was out of town at 3DYC!! Woot. Anyway, pressing on… *bursts into song* pressing on, all my distress is going going gone! Pressing on… yeah ok anyone who gets that reference rocks my socks.

So today we begin a new topic, one I was going to do last week but didn’t because I did Christmas instead. This is a rough topic, a little harder to digest than most that I have thrown your way. This week we are talking about being lukewarm.

So, what does lukewarm mean? According to dictionary.com, it is “moderately warm; tepid”. I’d give you the definition of tepid, but when I typed that in all I got was 'lukewarm', so I don’t think it would help you much. Basically, it’s like when you stick your leftover pizza in the microwave for the wrong amount of time, and it comes out not quite hot, not really cold… just sort of blaaah. That’s what lukewarm means… in the middle.

In addition to our pizza, our actions can be lukewarm as well. For example, if a performance got lukewarm applause, it was probably not a very good performance. To be lukewarm is to be very borderline. You’re not really this, but you’re not really that. Not hot, not cold; not thrilled, not depressed; not entirely agreeing, but not totally disagreeing. Just sort of there. Get the picture?

“Ok,” You may be saying. “I got it. Lukewarm is indecisive and not really good. What does that have to do with God?” Quite a bit. Just as we can be lukewarm about a cause or a performance or anything else in the world, we can be lukewarm about our faith.

So what would that entail? What might someone with a lukewarm faith look like? They might be someone who is what we could call a ‘Sunday Christian’. You know, someone who talks the talk in Sunday School but walks on a whole other path the other six days of the week. Maybe they’re really passive and quiet about their faith, and friends can talk extensively to them and never know they were a Christian at all. Maybe their heart just isn’t in it, and they sort of glide through life using Jesus as ‘fire insurance’ against hell. Maybe Jesus is just a small part of their life, just another thing they do.

You know, I have several times heard my Christian friends say to me, “I know you’re really into it and all, and that’s cool, but I’m just not as into it as you.” That just about kills me. It’s like, to them, loving Jesus is like liking a certain band. “Oh yeah, I like some of their stuff, but I’m not a huge fan like you are.” That’s not how it rolls, guys!

So let’s look at another view. What might an ‘on fire’ Christian look like? Maybe the stuff they say on Sunday totally matches their actions throughout the week. Maybe they spend time with their Father in Heaven. Maybe they love others the way Christ loved them. Maybe their heart breaks when they see the pain in others around them and do what they can to show others that Christ is the way to healing, be it through their actions or their words. They might not necessarily be a pastor or a leader, but they could be living life the way God calls us to live it! They won’t be sinless or perfect, but they try, and ask God for His forgiveness when they mess up. To them, God is everything. He is more important than their dreams, their friends, their family, their money, their time and dare I say it, even their facebook. Jesus is central in everything they do.

Sound extreme? Sound like I might be asking a little too much here? Well guess what… it’s not me asking. God calls us to be radical for Him. He calls us to step out of our comfort zone and put out a little effort. But being lukewarm certainly sounds easier, doesn’t it? Doesn’t it sound much more comfortable? Well, Heaven sounds a lot more comfortable than a cross too, but that didn’t stop Jesus from coming. Why did He come? Because He loves us. It all comes down to the love, people! How much do we love Him? Do we love Him enough to take a bit of a risk? Do we love Him enough to work a little harder? To be a little stronger? To love a little more? Oh sure, we might SAY we love Him… but actions always speak louder than words, don’t they? Think about it.

Let’s see what God has to say on the subject. It says in Revelation 3:16, “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Other translations use the phrasing, “vomit you out of my mouth.” You see? When we are neither on fire for Him nor rejecting Him, when we are simply there taking advantage of His love and passion for us and reciprocating with a bland familiarity, when we would do more for our cocker spaniel than for Him, it makes Him want to puke!!!

Makes sense, really. Can you imagine it in human terms? Say one of your friends gets into a relationship. He sacrifices everything, his plans and dreams and possessions and even physical comfort and safety. He is deeply, madly in love with this girl, and would do anything to have her with him. Now say that she belittles him to her friends. She only comes around once, maybe twice a week. In public, she pretends like she doesn’t even know him. She sleeps around with other men, spending more time chasing them and her other interests than she does with him. All the while she takes advantage of the good things he provides for her, while giving nothing in return. How many of you would want to see someone you cared about in a situation like that? I know I would be saying, “Mm-mmm, honey! You best be leavin’ that girl, she ain’t worth your time!” *insert Z snap here* You would probably want to murder that chick for being such a jerk, and yet we do the exact same thing to God when we don’t give Him everything we have.

Now I want you to take a good, long look at yourself. I’m serious, now. How are you treating God? Are you giving Him everything He deserves? Do you love Him enough to be on fire for Him? If you do, how are you showing it? Do me and yourself a favor. Pray. Right now, before you leave this page. Ask God if you are on the right track, and if not, get there. It is so worth it, my loves!

And so ends another study. I love you all, and you (as a collective group) will be in my prayers.

xoxoxoxo

Awww, man! I KNEW I should have checked my list twice!

MEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRYYYYYYY CHRISTMAAAAAAAAASSS!!!!! Hohoho!

That was my Santa Clause impression. So obviously, Christmas is coming up very soon. And I mean VERY soon. I mean, six days? That’s madness! So I guess you are probably expecting me to talk about the true meaning of Christmas. Well you are absolutely righhhh… WRONG! Haha, faked you out, eh? I think you get enough of that shoved down your throats every year, I wouldn’t be saying anything you hadn’t already heard a bajillion times. No, this week we are actually talking about giving.

I wonder, how many of you got up at three in the morning and went shopping on Black Friday? Hunting for that perfect gift for that certain someone, and at a lower price! I won’t lie, I was out there. Me, my mother, and my grandmother in our holiday tradition, braving the cold, snow, and crazed shoppers. We’re not like, hard-core or anything, but we have fun with it. Now those of you who know me may be able to attest the to fact that I am NOT a morning person. I like sleep. Me and the sandman are good buddies. I tell you what, there had better be one heck of a good reason if I’m going to be getting out of my cozy covers at 3 a.m.

So what IS that good reason? Even those of you who got a decent amount of sleep after Turkey Day have likely emptied your wallets and maxed out your credit cards in preparation for this one special day. Why? What’s our motivation? The love of shopping and being shoved and honked at by lunatics in Santa hats? The pleasure we get from paying bill after bill when it’s all over? I don’t think so. How about this… is it because we enjoy seeing the people we love happy when we give them something? Do we go to all this trouble simply because we care for people, and all this festivity is a good way to show it? Hmm. Could be.

I want you to do me a favor. Mentally run down your Christmas shopping list. Who did you buy for this year? Now (you don’t have to tell anyone else), how many of those were obligation gifts? You know what I’m talking about. Those gifts you buy not because you really want to make that person happy, but because you have to give them something for one reason or another. Maybe you don’t want to hurt feelings, or you know they are getting you something so you have to give something in return, or you gave some mutual acquaintance a present and you gotta get one for them now, or they are family but you don’t like them very much, etc, etc. Don’t act all high and mighty, I know you have at least one of them on your list. So what’s our motivation in this scenario? Well, as already mentioned, obligation. Or perhaps it’s just tradition, just something you have always done this time of year and always WILL do this time of year.

So I’m certain you are wondering, “What in the name of Rudolph are you getting at? What does my Christmas shopping have to do with God?” Well, let’s think about it. Jesus is the “reason for the season”, right? We’re all celebrating His ‘birthday’, aren’t we? So after you got gifts for your friends, your mom, your cat, your Auntie Myrtle, your boss, your pastor, your mailman, your babysitter, Joe the Plumber, and every other possible friend and acquaintance… what are you giving Jesus this Christmas?

Ever thought much about that? I haven’t. But it only makes sense, doesn’t it? We give gifts to people because we love them and want them to be happy. Why shouldn’t this apply to Jesus, who really ought to come first in every aspect of our lives? Maybe you have thought about this, and drop a little extra cash in the plate at church every Christmas Eve. My question to you is… where is your heart as you are giving? Is it obligation, because this is just what you do every year? Or is it given out of love and thankfulness, a true heart offering to God?

So let’s say that you are thinking about this for the first time. What do you get for a person who literally has EVERYTHING? Well thankfully, God isn’t one of those people who give you absolutely NO Christmas list or ideas to work from (I do that sometimes. My friends don’t like that much. Teehee!). Let’s take a look at what Jesus might want from us this Christmas.

Genesis 4:4- “But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering” No, you don’t have to go out and kill a sheep this Christmas. Abel gave the best of what he had to God, not what was left over. In other words, he made God a priority. Hmm, what a splendid idea! Where could we make God a priority… in our time, maybe? Our money? Our thoughts? The possibilities are endless!

Matthew 25:40- “The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” What does this mean? God is saying that when you do things for people who need it, it’s like you’re doing it for Him. Let’s see now, how can we apply that… why not stop by a soup kitchen this week? Maybe drop a little more than spare change in the bell ringer’s bucket. Bake a batch of cookies and send them to that little old lady down the street. Maybe just tell someone that you love them and God loves them. Use your imagination!

Ephesians 5:1-2- “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” This one is sort of twofold. The first part is this… Live and love like God. Love unconditionally, irrevocably, inexplicably, and irrationally. Love everyone! Your friends, your family, your enemies, your acquaintances, the strangers you meet on the street, the cashier with an attitude and nose ring, EVERYONE. Now here’s the second part… in this living and loving, we may be required to sacrifice something of ourselves. Nothing’s free, you know. This may not be money. It could be our pride. It could be our time. It could be our comfort, or our immediate happiness. Let me tell you now, though… no matter how much you sacrifice for Him, isn’t He so, so worth it? Yes. Yes he is.

Mark 1:35- “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” What is God asking for here? Time. Time spent alone with Him. Do we get enough of that? I probably don’t, although I am doing far better than I once was. You know, I bet Jesus was dead tired. He had been walking all over the place, dealing with huge crowds, preaching, healing people left and right… man, if anyone deserved to sleep in it was Him! But He didn’t. He got up early and made time for God. Why don’t you give that a try?

Don’t get me wrong here. God should be the center of our lives all year round, not just at Christmas time. But I mean, I’m certain you don’t neglect all the other people in your life the rest of the year either… Christmas is just a time of giving a little extra. So in all your wrapping and decorating and shopping and baking and giving, don’t forget the Person who gave you the greatest give anyone could ever give. And if you haven’t already, maybe this is the time when you can accept that gift and make Him your savior. Think about it.

Merry Christmas, my loves. May God bless you all!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about You. It's all about You, Jesus

We’re baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!!! Miss me? My deepest apologies for my abandonment of you, my readers. I do not hesitate to say that the lack of blogging is entirely my fault, and I hope you can read back over one of our first studies and forgive me for my lapse in attention. Thanks. Anyway, pressing on.

This week we’re going to be talking about worship. Some of you might be thinking, “Oh! I know all about that. That’s where we sing a few songs in church before I start texting my friends… erm, I mean, before the sermon starts.” (That was hypothetical, guys. DON’T TEXT IN CHURCH!) Well, those couple of songs are an aspect of worship, certainly. But it goes a little deeper than that.

Essentially, worship boils down to giving praise and expressing love. Now this doesn’t have to apply to God. People worship all sorts of things in this world. Some people worship money. Some worship other people, be it someone they really look up to or just someone they care for. You can worship your job, your social standing, even yourself. But that, my dear children, is called idolatry, and is in fact frowned upon in most societies… well actually it isn’t, but it’s certainly a no-no in God’s book. Idolatry is putting something in place of God. That’s another topic though, and I’ll go deeper on that another day.

So let’s say, hypothetically, that you wanted to give praise or express love to someone or something. How would you do it? Maybe you’d totally talk that person up to your friends. Maybe you’d write a song or a poem, or draw a picture. Maybe you’re not the artsy type, so you write a letter. Maybe you just take time out of your day to think about this person, or even *gasp* talk to them. If it’s someone you really look up to or respect, maybe you will check out the stuff they’ve done or the books they’ve written or the videos they have on youtube. Maybe you would want to emulate them, to try to be like them. Maybe you’re just unique and can find a way to express love and praise with a hanger, two pop cans and a toenail. Who knows?

Application time! Look back over that list. Chances are you have done some of that stuff. I know I have (For the record though, no toenails were ever involved). If we use such a wide variety of ways to express love and praise to the people in our lives, why should we limit our praise for the Almighty God of the Universe to a few off-tune songs every Sunday?

Don’t get me wrong, there is absolutely NO PROBLEM with worshiping through music. For some of us that’s a great way to connect with God, and singing in church is an awesome way to commune with your brothers and sisters in adoring God. There is just so much more to it than that! It says in 1 Peter 4:11, “Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” Did you catch that? Then everything you do will bring glory to God. EVERYTHING. If you’re a musician, great! Do it for the glory of God. Are you an athlete? Cool, do it for the glory of God. Are you an actor, a reader, a dancer, a writer, a gamer, a photographer? Do it for the glory of God. Maybe you make a mean grilled cheese sandwich. You grill that cheddar for the glory of God! Get the picture?

This brings up another point. It says for the glory of GOD… not the glory of *insert name here*. I’m not going to lie, I all too often have trouble with this one, and I need a TON of God’s strength to overcome it. Myself, I’m a performer. I act, I sing, I play, it’s what I do. Well not long ago I was part of a singing group called Teen Team. We went to different churches and sang, then we went on a mission trip to Spain. Confession: I would often get caught up in the performing aspect of it… how we sounded, if we looked good, who was watching, what they thought of me, etc. My focus shifted from God to myself. It took a lot of prayer to shift it back, and by the time I finally got my act together (no pun intended), we had reached our last performance. Now that’s not to say that every time we sang I wasn’t worshiping… just a lot of the time. I look back on that with regret, because I don’t know how God could have used me if my heart had been in the right place.

It’s all too easy to get caught up in making ourselves look good. We work so hard for others to think well of us! What happens then? We lose our focus. Sometimes even the way we worship God in church gets tainted because we fear the thoughts of others. For a while I didn’t want to raise my hands or close my eyes in church because I thought that if I did, people would think I was just doing it so that they would think I was super-spiritual or something and I would look fake. It’s like reverse psychology, only I did it to myself and got all psyched out! I’m willing to bet that something like that has happened to most of us. The Holy Spirit may be guiding us to let loose and say ‘Amen’, but we keep our mouths shut. Maybe, if we’re really honest with ourselves, we might find ourselves shouting hallelujah with the best of them not to praise God, but to look good.

The point is that worship is about where your heart is, not your actions. You could sit in the back pew and do no more than sway with your heart in the right place, and you could make God happier than a worship leader who didn’t. It’s not about what you do… it’s about who you do it for. It’s not about us… it’s about God.

So this week, I have a challenge for you. As you go about your normal routine, think “How would I do this if I were doing it for God?” Then, well, do it! Give it a shot. See what happens. I’m all for success stories, so if you see God doing anything particularly cool in your life through this, leave a comment! Let us know.

So, that’s it for this week my dears. Oh, and if you could… pray for me please? I don’t know why, but I have had an immensely hard time getting this Bible Study up and running lately (obviously). Thanks darlings. Talk to you next week!!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Psh... and we're worrying about Obama and McCain!

This week we conclude our talks about relationship. We have covered that God is our friend and He is our Father. The final thing we need to remember is that God is… well, God! This week we talk about Jesus as Lord.

So what does the word ‘Lord’ mean? According to dictionary.com, it means “one who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler”. Straightforward enough, isn’t it? So the question really becomes, what is Jesus Lord of?

Let’s think it through. A lord is one who has control or power or something, right? Let’s look at a few examples. Jesus and His buddies got caught in a major storm one day while they were out boating. It says in Matthew 8:26, “But Jesus replied, "Why are you so afraid? You surely don't have much faith." Then he got up and ordered the wind and the waves to calm down. And everything was calm.” So, Jesus is Lord of the water. In Mark 5:12-13 it says, “’Send us into those pigs,’ the spirits begged. ‘Let us enter them.’ So Jesus gave them permission. The evil spirits came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the entire herd of 2,000 pigs plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned in the water.” Jesus commanded the demons to leave the man… thus, He is Lord over demons. In Daniel chapter three, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (crazy names, right?) refused to bow down to a statue of their king. The king got so mad, he prepared a furnace and had the three men thrown in. It was so hot, the soldiers who got close enough to get them in there were scorched to death! And yet, they came out untouched. It says in Daniel 3:27, “Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!” So, God is Lord over fire, too. Jesus submitted Himself to be killed so that we could be reunited with God. BUT, He didn’t stay dead! Mark 16:6 “but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.” He is Lord over death. How about the very first verse of the Bible? In Genesis 1:1 it says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” I think you are getting the picture… God is Lord over EVERYTHING. That’s why Jesus is Lord, not lord.

Now here is where we need to get specific. A lord (or, as it may be, Lord) is different from a dictator. Just because someone has the power and authority doesn’t necessarily mean it is exercised. A lord can be a dictator, but they are not necessarily the same. Case in point: let’s scale things down from cosmic to apartment sized. Say you are renting an apartment and have a landlord. Naturally you wouldn’t want that landlord in your business all the time! He probably has a key to your pad, but do you want him to waltz on in any time he pleases? What if he jacked your rent up to exorbitant rates? Screened your friends from the apartment complex? Turned off your power? I doubt you would stay in THAT apartment very long! God is NOT that kind of Lord. God allows us to exercise free will. He will never force us to do anything (that doesn’t mean there aren’t rules, people!), and He doesn’t want to use his power to harm you in any way.

Let’s take it the other way. Suppose you got so sick of that jerk of a landlord that you moved and got a new apartment. You talk to the new landlady and she seems pretty cool. She promises to stay out of your way, you can pay the rent when it’s convenient for you, there are no real rules apart from the basics in the contract, and she hopes you enjoy living there. Pretty nice, you think. Loads better than the last guy! Then let’s say your sink breaks. By your contract you don’t have the authority to fix it, so you call the landlady. No answer. You leave messages, but no dice… she ain’t calling you back. Since you have no payment schedule, you get behind on your rent… and your power gets shut off. There’s a leak in the bathroom, but you can’t get that fixed either. You suddenly find that you have cockroaches. A rowdy bunch moves in on one side of you and party till four in the morning, and on the other side you suspect there is a crack deal going down. Your landlady is so uninvolved that the things that you need help with aren’t getting taken care of! Result? Not a fun place to be living. Although God gives us free will, He doesn’t abandon us to make the best of our situations. We did a thing on prayer a while back… He does answer, remember? He’s there with advice and comfort and support when we need it, and He helps to solve the problems in our lives. He imposes rules on us, yes, but they are to keep us and those around us safe.

Remember when I said earlier that God was Lord of EVERYTHING? Well, there is one sorta-kinda exception… our lives. He has withheld His unlimited power and authority over us to a degree that we choose to make Him Lord of our lives, or to deny Him. If He wanted to, He could easily make us His slaves, His minions, etc. He could even make us happy, loving, prosperous, and perfect… except that we would have no free will. However, He chose not to do that. He wants us to love Him and respect Him as Lord of our own choosing, not because we are forced to…we would be little more than robots if that were the case!

So what does it mean to make Him Lord of our lives? Let’s look back at what the word ‘lord’ meant… authority, control, and ruler. Making God your Lord means giving Him your love and worship. It means listening to His word and striving to obey it, not because you have to, but because you want to serve Him. It means having a direct line of communication with the God of the Universe. What all these pretty much add up to is that God is first in your life, above all other things.

I will be the first to admit this is not an easy thing to do sometimes. Just the other night God showed me that I was putting my acting and my consequent glory as more important than Him and striving to glorify Him through it. For a long time my friends were the lords of my life, and food as well (thankfully God straightened me out!!). We can often get our priorities messed up. Money, power, love, friendship, talent, dreams… oh, dreams are a big one. But the fact is that in putting these things first, we are making idols out of them. I’m not saying that these things are bad… but these finite things cannot take the place of an infinite God.

God is Lord of All. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the lion and the lamb, the peanut butter to my jelly… oops, sorry, got carried away. It says in
Philippians 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” God is Lord of everything, and someday everyone will acknowledge that He is Lord. Angels, demons, the living, the dead, everyone will know that He is Lord. Of course, you could call Him ‘Lord’ today. After all, why put off till Judgement Day what you could do right now? Just saying… since we’re all going to be saying it anyway, we might as well embrace it now and enjoy the benefits of His love, leadership, guidance, and perfect relationship.

Well, that’s all for this segment! I hope it helped you to appreciate all the things God wants to be in our lives, and I pray that you are experiencing it for yourselves.

xoxoxoxoxo

Oh, by the way....

I'm really sorry this one was so late!!!! God bless and have a good week, my darlings!!

xoxoxoxo

Ward Cleaver has got nothing on Him!!

So, we now continue on in our quest for Truth. This week, we will be talking about (my personal favorite) God’s role as our father.

This is a tricky subject, because I know that the word “father” does not necessarily have the best connotation to some of you. Perhaps your father hasn’t been a positive figure in your life. First of all let me say that, however your earthly father treated you, it is not your fault. And no, I’m not talking to those of you who are mad at your dad right now because he grounded you for that D- in history class. I’m speaking to those of you that have been hurt, and deeply. It is especially for you that I make this next statement, although it holds true for all of us… God does parenting right. He isn’t like your earthly father, or even like mine (although I love my daddy to death!). God is the perfect definition of fatherhood… really, fatherhood as it was always meant to be.

So, ideally, what does a good father do? He picks you up when you fall and scrape your knee. He’s there with a hug when you need one and when you don’t. He is protective of you, but knows when to let you do things on your own. For girls like me, he might interview and intimidate your dates. For you boys, he might spur you on with both jibes and words of encouragement toward that right girl. Although sometimes we prefer to leave this out of our “good father” list, a good father chastises us sometimes too, and punishes us when we need it. Does he do this out of rage, or because he gets some sick sense of pleasure from it? No! He does it to make us better people, to realize that things in life have consequences, and to keep us from getting hurt. Also to this end, a good father sets a list of rules.

God is all this to us and more. Is it always in a physical sense? As we discussed last week, no. But we also showed last week that He could give us comfort when we needed it, and I have a few times mentioned God-hugs. It says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

Think He has nothing to do with who you want to go out with? Think again! Titus chapter two gives God’s criteria of a godly young man and woman (I think I shall have to do a study on that one day). That is a tight list, and maybe holds a higher standard for your love interests than you or your earthly father do.

And, as we know, God does chastise and punish us. Bolts of lightning aren’t generally the norm, but convicting words of a sermon are. Maybe He gives a little nudge on your heart every once in a while. Maybe you are just straight up feeling guilty. All these are methods of chastisement and bringing our sin to attention. Often, punishment is simply the natural occurrence of things in the world. Drink and drive? You might kill someone, or yourself. Sleep around? You might get pregnant, or contract an STD. Stay up all night playing Rockband and don’t study for a big test? You might just flunk. This is NOT karma, people! It’s natural action and consequence. Karma is slapping someone in the face, then tripping over a rug the next day and hurting yourself. Action and consequence is slapping someone in the face, then getting beaten up. And no, Karma is not real, I am not advocating it. Just thought I would clarify.

ANYWAY, the point of all this is that God fulfills all the functions of what a father ought to do.

There is more to it than that, however. This series is all about relationship, right? God doesn’t just fulfil the functions of a father... God is our Daddy. At least to me, ‘Daddy’ is more personal than ‘Father’. I mean, how many of you walk up to your dad and say, “Good afternoon, Father. I hope you are well?” I’m more likely to run up to my dad, kiss him on the cheek and say, “Yo, padre! What up!” We don’t have to have a stiff, distant relationship with God. God is close, He is there, He is real. He is someone we can be totally comfortable with, and there is no reason to stand on form. I think now of my own earthly father, and the teasing he often endures from me. In fact, me and some friends from youth group wrote a song a few years back about his lack of hair and advancing age (gosh that was funny! We still sing it from time to time). I don’t fear to throw a few jokes his way, because we have that sort of relationship and closeness. God is the same way.

When I hear the word ‘Daddy’ I also think of a child’s love and trust. How does a child love? Simply, purely, innocently… the love of a child is so precious. It is for this reason that Jesus says in Mark 10:15, “I promise you that you cannot get into God's kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does”. Our Daddy cares for us and provides for us as though we were children, and we need to love Him as such, albeit with the understanding and knowledge that comes in our later years.

So, the weekly question… I know you are thinking it! “What makes you think that God would want to be that to us? Where did He ever promise us this?” Many places, actually.

1 John 3:1- See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!
Psalm 68:5- Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
Psalm 89:26- He will cry to Me, 'You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation!
John 20:17- …but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
Romans 1:7- To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 8:6- But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him.
Ephesians 4:4-6- There is…one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17- Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, 17 comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.
Hebrews 12:7- As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?

God wants to have a close, parental relationship with you. This wasn’t achieved on a whim… Before Adam and Eve first sinned, they had that perfect, unadulterated relationship with God. After they disobeyed Him, however, that relationship was broken and sin separated us from God. God spent the next few thousand years weaving a plan to restore that relationship… that plan was His son, Jesus. So great was His love for us, and so potent was His desire to be reunited with us in fellowship once more that He sent His Son whom He loved to bridge that gap. Jesus came willingly, knowing what He would endure upon the cross and dreading it, but loving us enough that He would bear it. I can not imagine anyone loving me so much that they would allow their own child to die for me. He brought me, a rebellious, petty, self-centered and imperfect little girl into His arms to be His child, though his true Son suffered mightily for it. It was for you too, you know.

For too long we have been Fatherless and orphaned in the world… now the King of Kings is standing there with the adoption papers all filled out, just waiting for your signature. So… will you sign?

Idk, my bff Jesus?

This week’s study will really be a testament to the fact that this is God doing the talking, not me. The reason for this is that my heart is not much in it this week, and my mind is wandering somewhere through a field of daisies and Monty Python youtube videos. Praise God for His strength in my weakness!!!!

As I said last week, we shall be talking about our relationship with God. This week, let’s consider God’s position as our friend.

Now the first obstacle we need to overcome before we study any of God’s roles is the idea that God is just some cosmic being watching us from a galaxy far, far away. *Star Wars theme begins to play* Ha, just kidding. Anyway, it is true that God is cosmic. He is infinite, and huge, and omniscient/omnipotent/omnipresent, etc… we’ll deal with those things in a few weeks. The point I would like to convey is that He is also very personal.

Let’s backtrack a moment. Think over your list of friends. What do they do to make you consider them your friends? Do you hang out? Rejoice together over the good things and cry through the sorrow? Share secrets? Swap stories? Listen to music and just laugh the whole night away? Maybe a better question is, what is it about who your friends are that makes them your friends? Are they caring? Fun? Accepting? Do they have the ability to love you as you are? That’s what a friend means to me… you can fill in your own blank, but apart from a few differing interests in activity, I’m guessing your idea isn’t too far off of mine.

Upon initial inspection of this list, it seems rather impossible that Jesus could be a friend to us. It’s not like we can actually see or touch Him, so how can He do all those things that a friend does? But let’s think about it a minute.

When something amazing happens to you, who do you want to tell? Your friends, of course! You go to them, just knowing they’ll be as thrilled as you are by the news, because that’s just what friends do. What’s stopping us from telling Jesus what happened? Who cares if He already knows, He likes hearing it from you as much as your friends do. And He will rejoice with you just as much or more than your bestie in math class. Same goes for the other side of the coin. We all have those days when we just need a hug. Of course your buds are going to be there with a pat on the back, and maybe some cookie dough. What makes us think that Jesus won’t react the same way? I mean, He may not send Gabriel down bearing a heavenly bowl of cookie dough (although that would be AWESOME… And no calories!), but He’s still going to comfort you. He hates to see you hurt, even when you brought it upon yourself.

I have several times encountered this sense of peace and comfort. I remember one time I was at a birthday party at a friend’s house. During the course of conversation, I found out something that broke my heart: a friend of mine (who wasn’t present at the time) was cutting again. I couldn’t even be in anyone’s company, and my friends (being wonderful as they are) understood that. I went downstairs to be by myself for a while and sobbed. I was staggering under the weight of my feelings and questions… how could this happen again? What if she cut too deep and killed herself? Why didn’t I see this coming? How could she hide this from me? If I had done more last time, would she be safe now? After some time I gave up pointless questions that had no answers and cried out to God. There were no specific words that I can remember. It was less of a request and more of a deep yearning. Almost immediately I felt this uncanny sense of calm. I stopped crying, and sat up. It was the most real, tangible expression of God’s love I had felt up to that point. Somehow I knew that it was going to be all right, that God was holding onto her, that it wasn’t my fault… the peace just washed over me in wave after wave of comfort. It was rather like a God-hug.

So we know that God can share in our moments of triumph and of pain. But what about all those in between times, all that time we spend just chillaxin’ with our pals? I wouldn’t consider someone a very good friend if they only came to me when they needed help. So it is with Jesus. He’s with you as your cruising down the street, blaring your tunes. He’s chilling with you while you check your facebook. He’s vegging on the couch as you rot your mind on the television. Admittedly, I don’t always think about Him being there all the time, but He is. A more obvious way to spend time with Him is by talking to Him, and by listening too. You may not necessarily hear a booming voice from heaven, but we can indeed hear from God. He might guide your thoughts, pop an idea in your head, give you a feeling in your heart, or speak through the Bible. He can speak to us in any number of ways… we just have to be listening for it.

We all have different types of friends. We might separate it into our church friends and school friends, or your drama club friends and your basketball friends, or your choir friends and your math class friends, etc. Chances are all these friends from all these areas of your life are of varying closeness to you, ranging from passing acquaintance to total BFF.

How many people does it take to make a real friendship work? (I know it might seem like I’m totally switching topics, but I’m not. Stick with me a minute!) Naturally, it involves both parties. Person A might be really interested in pursuing a relationship with Person B. Person B can either share the interest to a large degree, accept the friendly arrangement passively but without much excitement, or be totally opposed to the whole thing. For a close friendship to emerge, Person B has to want it, and they both have to put in the effort.

Now let’s bring these two ideas together. Simply because a person knows Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean they have a close relationship. Some people may be going to heaven, but they are more on an acquaintance level with Him. However, it is not because Jesus doesn’t want to draw close to these people. He’s like Person A. He loves you, and so greatly desires to be your friend and have that relationship… but it takes two to tango. Always the option for closeness is there. The question is, do we want Jesus as our BFF, or that Guy We Say Hi To Every Sunday?

Think now about your very closest (human) friend. If a mad gunman ran into the room and pulled the trigger, would that person take the hit for you? Even as I ask it, I rather hate this question. One can never know how things would play out until they really do, and I can only pray that it never happens to any of you (or me, for that matter). I don’t know that I would ever want my friends to love me that much… then they would be dead, I would be sad, and it’s just a bad situation all around. I can find no fault in the statement of John 15:13. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” It’s true, isn’t it? It rings so true to our human hearts that it is even reflected in the ideas of modern culture and media. I am reminded now of the first ‘Pirates’ movie, quite near the beginning. Jack turns to Will and says, “This girl… How far are you willing to go to save her?” Will quickly and vehemently replies, “I’d die for her!” “Oh good! No problems then.” I could list off a hundred more examples, but this one is my favorite. Romeo and Juliet, anyone? A Tale of Two Cities. Obi-wan in his forfeited duel with Darth Vader (ooh, two Star Wars references in one bible study!). Boromir and Gandalf’s heroic actions in Lord of the Rings. Aslan of Narnia. Dying for love…its frequent use only reflects its accuracy and the respect we have for the idea.

Jesus showed his love for us by doing just that. He took the blame for us, He took the punishment, He took the pain… and why? Because He loves us. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down life for his friends… let that statement soak in for a minute.

God wants to befriend you, and He went to great lengths to make this possible. Will you accept His friendship? What have you got to lose?

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

I know, I know...........

Yeah......... So, if you are looking for the latest installment of our Bible Study, it's a teensy-weensy bit late....... Working on it, and I apologize for the wait! check back on, like, Wednesday though. Hopefully it will be up and going! Thanks guys, and sorry!!


xoxoxoxo, Hannah

Will you be mine?

Many of you will likely have heard me refer to having ‘a relationship with Christ’. I guess I never really explained what in blazes I was talking about though, did I? So, to rectify the unfortunate situation, we’re going to have a little series on relationship.

Today we are going to talk about what a relationship means.

Just what is a relationship, anyway? According to dictionary.com, it is “a connection, association, or involvement.” Anyone fit the description for you? Well, I’d hope so, anyway! If you need your memory jogged, here are a few examples. Your family, for instance? Perhaps your friends? Maybe a significant other crosses your mind at this time. Even authority figures you may not claim a close association with are lumped into this category. If any of you are like me, the different people we have relationships with are all very, VERY different. Can you think of any one common factor between them all? It’s obvious when you think about it… they all know you! Some of them better than others, I’m sure, but the simple fact remains that they all know you. Now stop and think about what it means to really know someone. Referencing my new favorite site again, one definition of ‘know’ is “to be cognizant or aware of”. Now, how many people are ‘aware of’ who you really are?

“Umm, you’re losing it Hannah!” You might be saying. “I believe we just clarified that all these people do know me!” Do they? I’m willing to bet that not one of those people you have a relationship with knows absolutely everything about you. Perhaps your friends know things about you that your parents don’t, and vice versa (yeah, we all have those embarrassing stories mom likes to tell at the most inopportune times). There are likely things that absolutely no one knows about you.

“Well, yeah. No one is totally open to everyone about everything! That would be stupid!” I wholeheartedly agree. I have my little secrets as much as the next person. But why is it that we keep these things hidden? I’m talking now about your thoughts, your hopes, your fears, your longings… those things that don’t come up in general conversations. As a general rule, it’s because we fear the outcome if others found out. Maybe they will laugh at us. Maybe they will use it against us. Maybe they won’t even love us anymore. Maybe it’s just one of those things that is for us only, and simply no one else has any need to know.

Think of any one person on your list of relationships. Can you imagine if they knew everything about you? The thought makes me shudder. I once had my diary stolen and read, and it seems to me that it would be rather like that feeling, but worse. Quite frankly, if everyone knew everything about me, I’m not sure I would have a whole lot of friends.

Now get this. Jesus is God, right? God is omniscient, which means He is all-knowing. He knows everything, that same everything we have been talking about that we keep so close to our hearts. Everything you’ve thought, everything you’ve said, everything you’ve done… everything. Kind of a weird thought, isn’t it? Here’s an even weirder one… despite knowing and being ‘aware of’ all that crap we hide, he still wants to have a relationship with us! Don’t ask me why, because I’m not really sure. I wouldn’t if I were Him. But then, it sure is a good thing I’m not God, isn’t it! Here’s what God has to say about knowing us.

1 Corinthians 1:9- God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
2 Corinthians 13:14- The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.
Philippians 2:1-2- If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
1 John 1:3- We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Job 29:4-5- Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house…

Even with the knowledge of everything we are and have done, God still wants to be in a relationship with us! He loves us so much, and it for that reason that He calls us to come to Him. He wants to take care of us, comfort us when we are hurt, sharpen us, steer us in the way we should go, support us, change us, and spend every day walking with us. I will tell you right now, it’s the best thing you will ever experience. Always easy? No. But worth it anyway!

There may be some of you reading this today that don’t have any sort of real relationship with Jesus. Maybe you don’t even know how to get one. It’s simple in concept, really. Know that Jesus is Lord and that He died and came back to life for your sins, put Him in charge of your life and be ready to love Him! All you have to do is ask Him. You don’t have to clean yourself up first, and you don’t have to say any special combination of words to make it work. If some of you are still feeling a little overwhelmed about the whole thing, here’s a guideline. Again, it’s not so much what you say as where your heart is.

"Jesus, I know I’ve messed up. I know that I haven’t been in a relationship with You. I’m sorry for what I’ve done. Please forgive me, and take charge of my life! I give everything I am to You. Thank You!"

If you are thinking about getting a relationship with Jesus or if you have already, shoot me an email or a comment and we can talk about it! I’m open to any questions you might have.

These next few weeks we will be talking about the different roles God plays in His relationship with us. For this week, however, I just want you to come away with the fact that Jesus knows us and loves us anyway. Never forget it! xoxoxo

No witty title today, guys... Sorry!

This week we are going to be discussing the word purity. My church crowd may be sitting there about to go check their Facebook, thinking “Purity? Really? I’ve taken the class, I know all there is to know. No point in reading this week!” However, I beg you to put away your preconceived ideas and open your hearts to what God might be saying to you today. For those of you who are sitting there in dire confusion, let me explain…

If you go to Google and type in the words Christian and Purity, you will come up with a million and a half sites all related to the same thing… no sex before marriage. If you ask the average church-going citizen what purity means, most will give the same reply. This is especially true among teens, mainly because it has been drilled into us from twelve years old and up. We’ve taken the True Love Waits classes, signed the paper, and got the purity ring that says we won’t have sex until our wedding night.

Blah blah blah. Now don’t get me wrong… this is an absolutely true message, and me and Jesus are 100% behind it. Sex before marriage is a bad idea for all involved, what with the physical, spiritual, and emotional ramifications. (If you don’t know what these things are, ask me. I’ll get you the information). I’ve got a purity ring myself, and I wear it every day to remind myself of my commitment. Oh, and it IS a commitment guys, both to God and to your future spouse! It’s not just a bit of bling-bling or something to wear because the Jonas Brothers have them! Anyway, it’s just that this simple definition makes purity a rather 2-D word, doesn’t it? Flat, rather lifeless, and of very limited use.

Now I will be the first to admit that until a very short time ago, this was my entire range of thinking. Purity = Chastity, Chastity = Purity, end of story. It wasn’t until the youth speaker at Brown City Camp, Jeremiah Bolich (look him up guys, he’s fantastic!), brought it up that God really got me on it. I spoke to many of my friends afterward, and they were equally surprised at this new revelation. The point he made was this:

PURITY IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE SEX (or lack thereof). You can go your whole life without anything even related to sex, and still not be pure.

There are many definitions of purity. Seven actually, according to dictionary.com. Oddly enough, the definition of “physical chastity; virginity” is number five on the list. Know what number one is? “the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc.”

“Ok, so what does that have to do with me?” You may be asking. “If it’s not about my sex life, what is it about?” I’ll tell you. It’s about your life. All of it. Every thought, every action, every word. All of it. God wants us to live our lives in a pure way.

Need proof that it’s not all church hype? Take a look at this:

2 Corinthians 6:6- We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.
1 Timothy 4:12- Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
Psalm 24:4-5- He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Psalm 51:10- Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

See? Told you God was behind it. Why do you always doubt me? Gee whiz…

So, what does living a pure life entail? The definition of purity said it was free of anything that debases, pollutes, or contaminates. When it comes to our spiritual lives, that contaminate is SIN. Now I’m not talking about just those “big things” that all the church people are talking about… you know, murder, sex before marriage, stealing, pornography, all that good stuff. I’m talking about the “little” things, like cheating off your friend’s paper so you don’t fail a test, or those lustful thoughts you get when that little blonde hottie walks by, etc. I put quotation marks around the words “big” and “little” because to God, there is no big or little sin. Sin is sin, and it separates us from God. That means to God, living a homosexual lifestyle is no worse than lying to your friend so she won’t get mad at you. (And yes, according to God homosexuality is a sin. If you want some back-up verses, ask. Oh, and for those of you self-righteous idiots who think you are too holy to love/befriend a person like this, take a look at yourself for a change and come off your high horse a notch or five.)

In any case, sin puts a barrier between you and God. The idea of living a pure life is to get rid of those things! I know it’s hard. Sometimes we just plain don’t want to give up our sin. Let’s face it, sin is fun, at least for a little while. But the backlash and repercussions of it are not worth the temporary thrill, and a restored closeness with God outstrips any pleasure sin can ever bring!

So are you living a life of TRUE purity, or do you need to apply a Tide To Go stick on a few places? Truthfully, almost all of us have something God needs to work on in us. If God is calling you out on a few things, I know something that works just a smidge better than those stain-removing pens (although they are nifty, aren’t they?). It’s called prayer, and if I’m not mistaken, I think I may have just talked about it last week. Talk it out with Him, make things right, and live a pure life.

So, that’s it for this week!! Now that you know, go live it! xoxo

Okay, now bow your head and close your eyes.....

So now we know that when we pray, God answers. But exactly what is prayer? Today, we learn about Talking to God.
Prayer is nothing more than having a conversation with God. That’s it. Not so scary after all, is it? Still, there are a few things that God would like me to clear up with you about the subject.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PRAYER!!! (woot)

Misconception 1: God doesn’t have time to hear about the little things in my life.

I’ll tell you straight up that’s not true. How many of you know how many hairs you have on your head? How many of you actually care? Not like it stays consistent anyway, as we are always growing and losing more (Some of the older crowd perhaps losing more than you are growing). It says in Luke 12:7, “Even the hairs on your head are counted.” If God cares enough to know how many hairs you have on a daily basis, do you think that maybe he cares to hear about how your day went? What boy/girl troubles you are having? How much you absolutely ADORE chocolate cake? God simply loves to have communication with you, even about the little stuff. Which leads to our next misconception…

Misconception B: You have to use big, impressive words for your prayers to count.

WRONGO!! Many people feel uncomfortable praying because they feel like their prayers have to sound like… “Oh Holiest Father, we thank Thee for this day Thou hast made in Thy power and might. I humbly come in penitence before Thy exalted throne and gratefully expound upon the grace Thou hast administered upon Thy servant and his transgressions…” Dude, I just WROTE that prayer and I hardly know what it means! Please note, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this prayer. If you are comfortable with that sort of lingo and that is how you commune with God, that’s fine!! However, it is also fine to pray like this. “Hey Daddy! What’s up? Thanks for the awesome day you gave me. The warm sun was great for our time at the beach! I love the beach, it is one of the best places in the world! I’m sorry that I said that mean thing to Josh, I really shouldn’t have… will you forgive me? Thanks. I’ll go make it right with him tomorrow when I see him.” That I understood a little bit better, personally. There are some times when I can’t even manage that. Sometimes I can’t get anything more than “Help!” And you know, that’s alright. He hears me anyway. As I said before, God just loves talking to you and spending time with you. You don’t have to be all professional and fancy. He knows what you are thinking anyway, so flowery words aren’t going to hide the condition of your heart. Just talk to Him! You’ll be glad you did.

Misconception π: I know what I need better than God does.

“What?” You might be thinking. “No I don’t! Who would think that?” You don’t? Really? I know I can fall into this trap sometimes. Here is what I am talking about. Let’s say you pray for something. You pray, and you pray, and you pray, and you have faith that God is really going to answer this prayer with a yes (because He always answers, remember)… and then things don’t happen the way we want them too. Maybe a friend doesn’t come to Christ. Perhaps someone close to you passes away. Maybe your dad loses his job. What do we do? We get mad at God. “How could You let this happen? How could You do this to me? I don’t think You are even paying any attention, because if You were You would EASILY have seen how this situation was supposed to go down!” I’ve been there, and most likely you have too. The thing we have to remember is that we can only see a tiny part of the picture. Our limited view and understanding of the world is infinitely smaller than what God sees and knows. Sometimes it seems like God has no idea what He is doing, and that we could handle things better. We can’t though. God has a reason for what He does. Do we always see it right away? No. Will we ever see it? Sometimes, but not always. It’s a trust thing. I’m not saying that it doesn’t hurt… when stuff like that happens, it is a hard blow, and that's fine. We just need to remember that God is in control. A verse that I have always found exceedingly comforting is Romans 8:28. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” God’s looking out for you, so just put your faith in that promise and hold tight to Him.

I’ve talked a lot about what NOT to do. I’m sure you are wondering, “Well then, what do you do?” The disciples asked Jesus that same question. This is how He answered them in Matthew 6:9-13.

"This is how you should pray.
" 'Our Father in heaven,
may your name be honored.
May your kingdom come.
May what you want to happen be done
on earth as it is done in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
just as we also have forgiven those who sin against us.
Keep us from falling into sin when we are tempted.
Save us from the evil one.'

In Hannah terms, this is what this is saying.

Hey Dad! You rock, You know that? I can’t wait until You come back for me so that I can be with You! Until then, let happen what you want to happen around here, since You obviously know best. Keep food on the table for me and my family. Forgive me for what I have done wrong, and help me to forgive others when they hurt me. Oh, and when that old Devil comes around, help keep me from falling into his traps, would You? Thanks! I love You!

It’s not hard. It’s a natural thing. It’s talking to your best friend who loves you more than anyone else ever could. So, now you know. Give it a shot!

Naturally there are more ideas on prayer than I have space for here. If you have any questions, send me a message or comment or something, and we will get it answered for you. I love you all!! xoxo

Let's chat, shall we?

We once again convene in our respective homes to hear what God has to say. Let us wave in fond farewell to our portion on forgiveness (Don’t forget what it said though… that would really defeat the purpose of this whole blog, and I would never forgive you for it. Just kidding!!) and move on to a new topic! This time, I would like to talk to you about why you should pray.

Prayer really does work. With prayer, lions become like lambs before us. Tongues of fire lick our skin and do not burn us. Water retreats and leaves dry land in its place, demons are driven out, the lame walk, the blind see, and that math test doesn’t look nearly as intimidating.

God has been answering people’s prayers since the beginning of time. He will always answer you. That doesn’t mean He will always say yes, but He will always answer. God answers in three ways: Yes, No because I have something even better for you, and Wait. “How do you know He answers prayers?” you may be asking. Well, for one thing, He tells us so. It says in Zechariah 13:9 “They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’” It says in Isaiah 65:24 “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” Here are a few examples of when God said yes to some faithful petitioners.

In 1 Kings, Elijah was in a “contest” with the prophets of baal, a false god they were worshiping, to see whose deity was the true one. Elijah prayed to God, and boy, did He answer! In 1 Kings 18:38-39, it says “The LORD immediately sent fire, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones. It scorched the ground everywhere around the altar and dried up every drop of water in the ditch. When the crowd saw what had happened, they all bowed down and shouted, "The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"”

When King Manasseh was in some serious trouble (I believe he was being dragged by a hook in his nose), it says in 2 Chronicles 33:13 “When he prayed to Him, God heard his prayer and listened to him, and brought him again to Jerusalem and to his nation. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.”

King David knew what he was about when he called out in Psalm 17:6 “I pray to you, God, because you will help me. Listen and answer my prayer!”

Ok, personal testimony time! Just the other day I was really upset over something. I didn’t have a hook through my nostril or anything, but I was hurt nevertheless. I will admit, I cried quite freely for some time, trying to figure out how to talk my way through this mess. It wasn’t working, and I was still miserable. I went in my room and lay down on my bed (my favorite praying spot!) and finally asked God for peace. As I said, I was angry and hurt, and I didn’t really want to be particularly loving to said person. As I lay there begging, the tears subsided. I stopped crying, and I just had this overwhelming sense that things were alright, my Savior-Daddy was with me, and I could work through the conflict. It was like a God-hug. Anyway, I know this may not seem particularly impressive to most of you, but what happened is that God brought me comfort when I asked for it. Duh, prayer answered!

As we all know, however, He doesn’t always answer with a yes. In 1 Kings 19:4, Elijah makes a request. “He begged the LORD, "I've had enough. Just let me die! I'm no better off than my ancestors."” God denied him. God had a purpose for Elijah to fulfill.

I am reminded now of a story that I have grown up hearing, about a missionary named Amy Carmichael (true story, guys!). She was born with brown eyes. As a child, she prayed and prayed that God would change her eyes to blue, but He never did. Years later she understood why. She began smuggling child prostitutes out of Hindu temples disguised as an Indian woman. Had her eyes been blue, as she had always wished and prayed for, they would have seen she wasn’t Indian and God could not have used her in that way.

God doesn’t tell us no because He feels like being mean. He’s not up there laughing at our pain. When He says no, it’s because He has something so much better planned for us! I remember when I saw a classic illustration of this. I was coming home with my mom from State Solo and Ensemble, and I was not thrilled with my performance. I just wanted to go home, change into something comfy, and not think about anything while zoning on the computer. However, my mom decided that we needed to go shopping for something. I was fine with that, but could I just go home and change first? No. We drove right past my street three times, but she would never stop. I will tell you, I was not the funnest shopping buddy right then. I was downright crabby. Finally, she let me go home. I walk in the door, close to tears… to find that my friends had thrown me a surprise birthday party. It had been my mom’s job to keep me out of the house. I ended up having a heck of a lot better time than if I had just followed my own plan for the day. My mom wasn’t being malicious… she loves me, so why would she be? She just wanted to give me something really good. It’s the same way with God. We get snippy with Him because He doesn’t give us what we want when we want it, when all He really wants is to do what is best for us because He loves us.

There is power in prayer, and God can work miracles if we ask Him to. It’s not just about getting what we want though… God is not a cosmic vending machine. Certainly, He wants us to ask for things. It says in Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” It also says in James 4:2, “…Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” It isn’t that God doesn’t want to give us good things. He does! It’s just that prayer is so much more than that. How do you get to know someone? You spend time with them and talk with them. Really, that is what prayer is. It’s hanging out with God. Crazy, right? We get the chance to chill with GOD, whenever, no matter what, and He is always ready to listen. How cool is that?

Through Jesus, we have a line straight to God himself! It’s like a phone plan with unlimited minutes and texting. There are times when you and God need to talk things out and use some of those minutes, alone in your room or at the altar. Then you can just send a quick text up as you go through your day as well. “Hey God, bless old Aunt Myrtle, would You?” To take this ridiculous phone analogy a little further… how much sense would it make to leave your cell phone at the bottom of your purse or rolling around the floor of your car, and never use any of those minutes? It wouldn’t. In the same way, recognize the gift of direct communication with the Creator of the universe and get some use out of it!

Forgiveness: Part Three

This is the third and final installment of our look at forgiveness. You may be wondering, “What’s left to talk about? God’s forgiven me, I’ve forgiven others… what am I missing?” This time we talk about forgiving ourselves. Oh, and once again, if you are new and haven’t read Forgiveness: Part One, go back and read it! Part two is not as necessary, but I encourage you to read that one as well. Anyhoo…

“Forgive myself?” you may be thinking. “What are you talking about?” Let me explain what I mean. Have you ever done something wrong, and felt guilty about it? Of course! We all have. That’s the Holy Spirit convicting us through our conscience. That is not what I am talking about.

Ok, scenario two. Have you ever done something wrong and sincerely asked God for forgiveness, but afterward you still were beating yourself up over it? “How could I have been so stupid! Why did I do that? I’m such a horrible person…” etc. THAT is what I’m talking about here.

Now as we learned back in Part One, God forgives you. Not only does He forgive you, but He makes you clean as though it never happened. Quite literally, He “forgives and forgets”. It says in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our sins from us.” It says it a little clearer in Isaiah 43:25. “I, I am the One who erases all your sins, for my sake; I will not remember your sins.” And again, in Jeremiah 31:34, “I'll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I'll forget they ever sinned!”

“Ok.” You may be saying. “You covered this two weeks ago. God forgave me, ok. What about it?” The point I am making is that God forgets your sin. He will never bring it up again. Now, if the God of the universe can forget your sin… shouldn’t you?

“Now hold on!” perhaps is your cry. “It’s not as easy as all that! It’s not like I want to feel guilty! Who would? But I’ve done so much, I’ve hurt someone, I’ve hurt myself… how do you expect me to suddenly be peachy overnight?” I don’t, and neither does God. Some wounds take time to heal… but why add to the weight of your pain by allowing these thoughts of guilt to keep haunting you?

I say allowing, because I agree that you don’t do it to yourself. So, logically, if YOU aren’t bringing it up, and GOD isn’t bringing it up, who is? It ain’t yo mama, I’ll tell you that. Satan is called the Great Deceiver, and with good reason! He loves nothing better than trying to tear you down. He brings up old sins, past failures, current fears, and future hopelessness. It says in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Trust me when I say that he is after you, and he is in no way above using things that God has forgiven and forgotten to hurt you!

Look at what you’ve done! Look at all the people you’ve hurt. You are horrible, worthless!
Do you really think that God can use you now? Why bother even trying?
You failed before… what makes you think you won’t fail this time?
You’re not good enough…
Remember when you did that? Can you really go to God with a heart like yours?

Any of these lies sound familiar to you? Just remember that they are lies! It says in John 8:44, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Even his very NAME gives you a clue… the word “Devil” in its original Greek form literally means ‘Slanderer’, or liar. It’s what he does. I’m not going to lie to you (ha, very punny, right? No, sorry, that was terrible.), that is a scary thought sometimes.

So here’s the good news. We don’t have to give in to him! If we are in Christ, and Christ in us, he has no real power over us. It says in James 4:7, “So place yourselves under God's authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you.” If that’s not encouraging, I don’t know what is. When we call on God, Satan runs! He has no choice but to go scurrying off, tail between his legs, screaming like a little girl! Well, maybe he might just slink off and sulk, I don’t know. In any event, he leaves you alone! Will it be a one-time battle? No. Will he likely return to torment you again? Yes. I told you, that’s just what he does!

But don’t worry. Take comfort in the knowledge that Satan has no power over you, that you are forgiven, and that God will never bring that sin up again. It’s washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. And thank God for that, because I will tell you what, my friends… we would be in some hot water without it.

So, to wrap up all my rambling… let God help you to let go of your guilt and shame. You don’t need it. It’s a trick of the devil to keep you from feeling like you can do anything for God. You are so far above that… you are a child of the King! I know it’s not as easy as a snap of the fingers, and I don’t want to make this sound like a quick-fix… just call on God, trust His promises, and know that you are forgiven.



Well, this was it on forgiveness! Now you know... what are you going to do with it?

Still praying about what to talk about next week and in the future, so if you have a suggestion, please let me know! Thanks darlings! I love you!

Forgiveness: Part Two

Eh, it's a little early. So sue me!

The second type of forgiveness is a little bit harder to deal with… that is our forgiveness of others. Oh, and if you are new and haven’t read Forgiveness: Part One, go back and read it. Now! Why are you still here? GO!! Gee whiz…

Ok. Anyway, today we are talking about forgiving those that have hurt us. As I said, this one is WAY harder. Is there anyone you are harboring unforgiveness for? Maybe an old ex-boyfriend that cheated on you. Maybe your friend told a secret about you. Maybe your parents haven’t been what they needed to be in your life. All of us have struggled at one time or another with this. It’s time to let it go.

“Why?” You may be asking. “You don’t know what they did to me! Why should I forgive them? They’re not even sorry!” Good point. I have absolutely no idea what they did to you. But stick with me for a little bit longer, and I shall do my best to give you God’s answer on the subject.

There are a few different reasons as to why God wants us to forgive. Because we as humans are selfish creatures, I will start with the one that most closely concerns our personal benefit. When you hold on to unforgiveness, it eats you up inside. Don’t deny it… you know it to be true. The object of your anger may be going about, blissfully unaware of your wrath or hatred. It may not concern them at all. But you… you know you haven’t forgiven them. You think about it every time you see that person. You carry it around with you, and it festers and matures, and makes you truly miserable. Maybe that person does know about it. Maybe you are quite open about the slate not being clean. Congratulations, now you have TWO unhappy people!

The second reason… because Jesus forgave you. “What?” you might be thinking. “What is this weirdo talking about?” This weirdo will gladly tell you. When you sin, you are consciously saying “No!” to God. That hurts Him. However, no matter how much you hurt Him throughout your life, He loves you enough that He is willing to wipe the slate clean. Now, if you are living the Christian life, then we want to be like Jesus, right? That’s what being a Christian is, being in a relationship with and having Jesus live through you. So logically, it would make sense that He wants us to forgive. “But that’s different!” You may be saying. “He’s GOD, isn’t He? Isn’t that sort of what He does?”

Hmm.

Well, yes, He is God. And yes, God can do anything. But does he HAVE to? In reality, it’s absolutely amazing that He would even allow such imperfect beings as ourselves to exist, much less to give us the option of living with Him for eternity. Yet, He does. Because we are worth it? No. Because we deserve it? No. It’s because He loves us, just as we are called to love others. It says in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." In the Greek language (the language this part of the Bible was written in) there was no punctuation, so they instead emphasized important things by repeating them. The phrase ‘Love one another’ was repeated three times!! Does that maybe signify to you that it is important?

So how do we apply this to forgiveness? How did God show His love for us? He forgave us. Hint hint, maybe we should show our love of others by forgiving them?

You may still be shouting, “But this is different!! This person has truly hurt me!” ok. I don’t doubt that you have been hurt, many of you more than I could ever understand. But is it really different? Let’s break this down a bit and be hypothetical.

Suppose one of your best friends totally betrayed you. Suppose someone then publicly humiliated you, turned almost everyone you know against you, beat you to a bloody pulp, exposed you naked in the most public place in town, and then… hmm, what came next? Oh yeah, then they started to kill you. If you found yourself in that position, would you find it particularly easy to forgive those people? Would you even bother to try? Frankly, I don’t honestly know that I would be able to.

But Jesus did. Put into modern terms, that’s pretty much what Jesus went through, only a heck of a lot worse. As He was nailed to that cross, slowly dying the most torturous and humiliating death imaginable, do you know what He looked up to heaven and said? In Luke 23:34, “Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

Still think it was easy? Still think you are really that different?

Now I move on to some others of you who may be reading this blog. Perhaps you aren’t thinking that you don’t want to forgive… maybe you are thinking that you can’t forgive. Perhaps there are some of you out there that have tried and tried to forgive this person in your life, but they have just hurt you too deeply. It is especially for you that I have wonderful news.

We don’t have to do these things on our own strength. Sometimes we can’t do things on our own, and that’s ok. I tried for a long time to remove something from my life that was displeasing to God, but could never do it because I was still trying to work off of my own strength. It wasn’t until I asked God to change me, and to do that work in me, that I was delivered. If you want to know about that, ask me and I’ll gladly tell you. But it takes a real act of surrender to look to God and say, “I can’t do it, so please do it through me! Put forgiveness in my heart, because I have been so deeply hurt that I can’t do it on my own!” and you know what? He will. It may not be easy… but He will do it. It says in Mark 2:7, “…Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Lean on Him. Let Him be your strength and your provider. We don’t have to struggle with these things by ourselves.

So again I ask you… do you have someone you need to forgive? Pray about it. Seek God over it and give your burden to Him.

They are coming, I promise!!

Hey guys! So, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to tell you when each new study is going to be going up. Well, I'm shooting for every Monday, so be sure to check it out! I'm also toying with the idea of also making this a bit of a traditional blog as well. You know, saying what's going on with me and all that jazz. As I said, toying with it, so we will see. In any event, check it out on Mondays everyone! Thanks, and I love you all!

Forgiveness: Part One

The first topic to be tackled here is forgiveness. There are three basic types of forgiveness, and all shall be addressed in time. The first (and frankly the most important, because without it the others are nigh impossible) is the forgiveness of God.

Now, in order to be forgiven, it’s rather imperative that we know we need forgiving. “I’m not a bad person.” You may be saying. “I haven’t killed anyone. I get good grades in school. I go to church on Christmas and Easter.” Etc, etc. It says in 1 John 1:10, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Let me put it this way and ask you a few tough questions.

Have you ever lied?
Liar.

Have you ever stolen anything?
Thief.

Have you ever lusted after anyone? Matthew 5:27-28 says “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Adulterer.

Ever hated someone? 1 John 3:15 says “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
Murderer.

The point is that we all mess up. We all sin, and when we do it hurts the heart of Jesus, and it quite honestly hurts you too. “Well,” you are likely thinking. “That sucks.” Yes. Yes it does.

Perhaps you are on the other end of the spectrum. Maybe you are reading this today and thinking, “Forgiveness? How could God forgive me? I’ve done WAY too much wrong… I can never be good enough for God.” In a sense you are right, because, since God is perfect, you can’t be good enough for Him. Bear with me for a moment while I explain that statement. Romans 3:23 states that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” None of us are good enough to make it on our own. Not you. Not me. Not my pastor. Not Mother Theresa. No one. ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Here’s the good part... WE DON’T NEED TO BE GOOD ENOUGH. That’s a very good thing, because we would never be able to do it. When Jesus came he took all our sins onto Himself. Pause and consider the magnitude of that act for a moment. He took all the sins of everyone who had ever been born and ever would be born. The man who had never sinned took on the guilt and shame and death that our sins brought. He took on your sin when you lied to your mom the other day. He took on my sin when I told that dirty joke the other week. He took on Hitler’s sin. He took on Saddam Hussein’s sin. He took the sin of every person ever, all at one time.

Why did He do that?

The answer is both powerful and simplistic. It was because He loved you then, and He loves you still. Dying with our sin made it possible for us to be reunited with our Father God who loves us so much. It is because of this selfless act that today, right now, no matter who you are or what you have ever done, you can go before God and say, “I'm sorry. Please forgive me!”… and He will. He is waiting with open arms, always calling you to Himself. He wants you to love Him, and to let Him love you. He wants a relationship with you, and quite frankly, that’s all it really comes down to.

Don’t believe me? Then, to quote the guy from Reading Rainbow (anyone else remember that show from when we were little?), don’t take my word for it!

Nehemiah 9:17 But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.
Acts 10:43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Ephesians 1:7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And so, it begins.........

There are two things you need to know about this blog.

The first: This blog has nothing to do with my opinions. “Hmm.” You may be thinking. “How droll. Isn’t that just what a blog is all about?” Maybe. I don’t know. I am the first to admit that I know absolutely nothing about blogging. In fact, there are a lot of things I know absolutely nothing about. Ah well. Such is life. In any event, the purpose and idea of this blog is not to tell the world of my daily doings, but to share what God has to say about things. I may throw in a few personal things, I don’t know yet. I am going to try to be as vulnerable and open as I can be here. But I digress. Flat out, this is an online Bible Study.

The second: I am not particularly worried about offending you. Don’t like what I say? Take it up with the Guy who wrote it. Think I’m a little too harsh? That’s ok. I love you enough to risk your disdain.

But enough of this introduction. On to the stuff that really matters……