A Second Chance

Oh GOD, please don't turn your face from us!

I was talking with a friend yesterday 'bout how spiritually weak our respective churches are and how that it's difficult to dive deeper into the Bible when even the foundation and the basics aren't there. I don't know if you can relate, but many of my church members have been going to church for many years but they show no signs of growing or even interest. Are they coming 'cause they've been doing it for so long? Or is it 'cause of their parents? OR because they have friends at church?

I was reading Jeremiah today and I came across this;

"Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. [] Return, faithless Israel, I will frown on you no longer for I am merciful."

Do you know what this implies? GOD is letting go of those who He has given a chance to but have been unfaithful to Him. They have turned from Him and chosen their own paths and chosen NOT to accept Him. He's going to turn to those that have never had a chance to know Him. Just like He turned away from His chosen people when they refused to accept that Jesus IS the messiah.

GOD, don't turn your face from my church. Don't turn your face away from my friends. I'm begging you, O LORD. I'll do anything. I'll talk to them next week. I'm begging you for one more chance, GOD. Just like Abraham asked, GOD I'm asking. Don't turn away, my GOD. Just one more chance, I'm begging you. When your face is turned, there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Don't do it. PLEASE.

Just one more chance.

I beg of you. With tears on my face, with me on my knees.

LORD, You Are Good!

GOD, I want to thank you. Nothing in particular, but I just want to thank you for EVERYTHING! You make everything so amazing and everything so awesome. I love it when my Father shows up to see what I've put together for Him. It's like being a child again, handing dad that ugly piece of drawing, but seeing that look of pride in his eyes.

LORD, may all glory be to YOU! I don't want any part of it. The only glory I want is the glory reflected off you. Let the praises be to your name and not mine, oh GOD. All I want is just a glimpse of you, GOD. May the earth resound with praise as we hear as ALL creation lives to glorify YOUR NAME! GOD, I praise you from the top of my lungs and I will praise you as long as I have breath. I will shout your name to all the earth and tell them the story of what you have done in my life. I don't care if it's a million miles I have to walk, or however many things I have to suffer for your name. I'm going to do it, GOD. It's a promise.

FATHER, I am yours forever and you are mine. Hold me in your arms and never EVER let me go. I truly want to spend eternity with you 'cause you're just so amazing and you make you EVERYTHING beautiful. Use the skills and talents that you have given me and let them sing of your wonders!

WONDERFUL, even though we're such failures and we don't live up to the name CHRISTian, you still accept us. Even though we're so broken and we can't compare to the worship of your angels, you still accept it. I thank you SO much for accepting our offering of praise 'cause we don't deserve it. We don't even deserve to wash your feet, but yet you still accept our offering of worship.

LOVE, EVERLASTING, ALPHA AND OMEGA, PRINCE OF PEACE, COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, THE CREATOR OF IT ALL! Thank you and may the world praise your name forever!

Amen.

The Glory Of It All

The glory and majesty of it all just constantly blows me away.

The complexity of the universe, how quarks have their own spin, how there are force particles and how chloroplasts can produce organic molecules from inorganic molecules just totally blows my mind. How can such a vast 'thing' called the universe be so ordered? It just constantly amazes me at how everything fits together. It's just not possible for entropy to have done such a thing. There truly is a GOD.

Often, people ask "how can you study science and be a Christian?" My answer? When I study science, I just study what my Father has created and made. I also get to enjoy it and learn 'bout it, SCIENCE (the study of knowledge) is NOT contradictory with CHRISTIANITY. It's just how certain people consider evolution to be proven science even though we cannot know what exactly happened during evolution.

I once heard on the radio a chemist who was speaking regarding evolution. He said something along the lines of :
Do you know why many scientists prefer evolution over creationism? It's just because of their metaphysics, but it's because there's so much more to teach about evolution. With creationism. it's just one lesson on "GOD creates the universe in six days," maybe even an extra lesson when he rested. But with evolution? You get to teach the basic chemistry, the biology and the physics involved. That's why many scientists prefer evolution.

Just a bit of food for thought. Personally, I don't necessarily disagree with evolution in the sense that GOD created us a little bit differently and as intelligent and well designed beings, we evolved to be able to survive our surroundings. This does NOT mean that I agree that we evolved from single celled organisms. In my book, this is impossible. Even given the time evolution was suggested to take place in, life is way to intricate to randomly MUTATE from nothing.

What is life is a blog for another day.

Jehovah Jireh - GOD provides. He will always give to the seeker and provide for those seeking knowledge, for He is GOD.

In The Middle

At times in our faith, we're mediocre. We're lukewarm, not gaining ground, not moving up nor down, whatever you want to call it. It is said that if you're not moving closer to GOD, you're slipping down the slope.

Being mediocre gives us that sense of helplessness. The "why can't I do anything" and "why is everything just passing by" syndromes come from this. It makes life so pointless. Originally, I was going to write 'bout how being mediocre is okay sometimes, but GOD put a change of heart in me. I was going to say how mediocrity provides a contrast between the highs and the lows, but being mediocre is just plain ol' bad.

Even when you KNOW that you need to go back to GOD, you just don't feel the initiative to. You want to, but you don't want to do the work and part of you is lazy. It's such a struggle 'cause we're all human. I still haven't figured out a way to dig myself out of holes yet, but I hope to never have this struggle again, but I know I will. One day, I hope to find way to put myself back in the run, but I know that I will need the power of the Holy Spirit and that it's the only way. I try to do things by myself WAY too much and I know that I need to let GOD do it more often. As previously mentioned in my previous post The LORD's prayer, may YOUR will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Fight the mediocrity and let GOD work and move your heart so that you burn like a fire for Him.

Amen.

The S Word

Suffering.

How many people actually enjoy suffering? Probably no one. Is suffering good or bad?

It struck me as we had some sharing time during T4C in a small group of people that suffering isn't bad. Suffering is good. The time old adage is that suffering builds character, but suffering is more than just a character builder.

The suffering I'm talking 'bout is the one that brings one closer to GOD. Through suffering and trials do we rely on Him more and begin to trust Him more. This suffering, though unpleasant, is good for us spiritually. Too often do we focus on the world itself and not enough on the spiritual sense. Though it may hurt physically and in this world, the rewards we reap are in heaven and out of this world.

We should pray for suffering. Agree, disagree? We should pray for suffering because, as Christians, we want to be closer to GOD. Although our hearts tell us that we want to be closer to GOD, it may be hard to actually pray this prayer and mean it wholeheartedly 'cause, as humans, we don't want pain. When we pray for suffering and GOD answers this, He's only refining us more and we're only getting closer to Him.

Is this worth the pain? It's your call and your battle within yourself. While suffering, look through the fog and mist and see the light that is there waiting for you. Take the pain and focus on GOD.

The LORD's Prayer

When I can, I like to start off my day with the LORD's prayer. If you think 'bout it, how many times have you said it? If someone paid me for every time I've said it in my life, I'd be rich. But if you deduct the amount of times I'd just mumbled it and said it for the sake of saying it, I wouldn't be so rich anymore.
After all, the LORD's prayer is important, else it wouldn't be in the Bible. But if we examine it and actually meditate and think upon it, we can see that it's a powerful prayer.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Oh GOD, OUR GOD! LORD you are in heaven and you are watching, we glorify your name on high! Hallowed means to honour as holy. We honour you oh GOD and we are reverent of your holiness.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
May your kingdom come, LORD. The day where there will be no crying or weeping, your perfect kingdom, THE kingdom of heaven. May your will also be done on this earth, may you dictate my life today and forevermore, having whatever you want to be fulfilled.

Give us today our daily bread,
Feed me spiritually, for I hunger for you and I need you. The same way I am about to eat breakfast, may you fill that hunger as I wake up in the morning.

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
LORD, I'm human and I will fail, but forgive me! I also want to be like you and be as forgiving as you, especially even when you were on the cross. You forgave them, my LORD, help me to do the same. Also, help me to not be so quick to anger, but rather quick to love.

Lead us not into temptation,
Guard my eyes and my heart, give me clean hands. I am yours and yours alone, let no one take me from you.

But deliver us from the evil one.
Satan will surely attack, but help me through it with your word for it is sharper than a double edged sword!

For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever,
Who said worship and adoration can only come with music? This is a verbal version!

Amen.
Amen.

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I've finally arrived at the part of Hosea where he begins to talk about GOD's great love. I've seen my own brokenness reflected in Israel and now GOD will show me how great His love really is. One thing that I really wondered while reading through this was how Hosea constantly changed between "I" as in GOD and referring to GOD as "GOD." Hosea is written by Hosea about the words GOD had said to him (see Hosea 1). I realized today that there are two possibilities.

1) GOD is frankly referring to His other parts of the trinity. Easy.

2) Hosea is SO close to GOD that He has become part of Him and GOD is just speaking through Him plainly. It's as if one day, GOD just spoke through you to you. "Hey, this is GOD speaking." Right out of your own mouth. I want to be as close as Hosea was and I wish I were that close today, but it's a growing process and I'm determined to get there.

Amen.

How Glorious You Are/How Blessed I Am + Love

It's because of your love and how awesome you are that results in my blessings. I constantly find things to be thankful for, but today, I'm incredibly thankful for what you have given me and what you continue to drown me with.

Lately, I've been reading Hosea in the OT because I'd previously thought that I'd get a lot on GOD's love for the Israelites, seeing as Hosea married a prostitute to show this. Instead, GOD's teaching me a lesson again. Although I haven't finished the book yet, this is what I've learned so far.
1) Don't presume that you KNOW the Bible. Even if you know the Bible well and have an awesome background, one can never know the full extent of what GOD's saying 'cause He gives a new message each and every day.
2) Hosea starts with how the Israelites are treating GOD. They continuously turn away from Him and, like how Gomer [Hosea's prostitute of a wife] treated Hosea. She constantly left him for other men and, in the same way, the Israelites neglected GOD. Even through all this, GOD's weeping, but He still has to punish them. In this book, He lays out what's in store and how upset He is. We should remember that, as humans, we do sin, but we should repent and WANT to return and be at peace with Him. The Israelites didn't even give a thought at turning from their ways and that was why GOD was extremely upset. Essentially, return + restore or suffer the consequences.

O LORD, you are glorious in ALL of your ways. In the highs, you are SO glorious, but you are even more when you rescue us from the depths of our sin. Thank you so much for constantly reminding us to return for you, or even just reminding us that we are nothing without you. Thank you for the Son and, definitely, thank you for the cross. Help us not to forget that you ALWAYS want us back even when we have our backs turned.

Is Everything Really Beautiful?

Finishing a bio assignment early in the morning or late at night, however you would wish to look at it. Is it really beautiful? Talking 'bout evolution in plants and ignoring the fact that there is intelligence behind the design (ie. GOD), is that beautiful? As Starfield puts it, it's beautiful "even when the tears are falling."

So many things that are out of our control, things that cause us to cry and cry out for the LORD to come to our deliverance. Is it still beautiful when it's so wretched, broken and torn up? Well, Jesus says it is. He holds us in our failures, carries us when we're tired and searches for us when we're lost. This is the GOD I know and trust.

Sometimes, to get closer to GOD and to be more like Him, we need to be 'chiseled' and it hurts. (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhfUzodLRvk) For people like me, with big egos, it hurts even more, but we have to accept it if we want to be closer to GOD and to be more like the Big Man. However it's broken to you, it's going to hurt, it's just how MUCH it's going to hurt and WHO'S going to do it. GOD will eventually do it, but through whom and how? But before we examine others, we must examine ourselves because what good is it to pick a splinter out of a brother/sister's eye when there's a log in your own? Is it still beautiful when there's pain and strife?

Through pain and suffering, strife and sorrow, sickness and dying, I will proclaim you LORD. Through health and sickness, poor and rich, strength and weakness, EVERYTHING is beautiful and I will shout your name. I may be weak, but you help me up, I may stumble and fall, but you catch me.

Everything is indeed beautiful, EVEN when the tears are falling, whether they be of joy or of sorrow.

AMEN.