Revelations 1

I believe that one can sense when they are lacking spiritually. I have mistakenly called it spiritually dead, its more of spiritually starved. This is something I've been experiencing lately, now that I am unable to attend church on Wednesday nights due to work. I have still gone on most Sundays but it just isn't the same. (Not to mention other factors that have distanced me from both the church and in some ways, God as well.) This was the first time I had been to church on a Wednesday since the fourth of July. The excitement I felt all day about going was matched only by the feeling I had afterwards of being full. It was similar to how you feel after a good meal. Not stuffed, as though you could burst, but full and satisfied.

I also had some revelations. I'm not throwing scripture out just yet, this is raw and I'll most likely touch on these in some later writings. First is that, we are truly, truly supposed to focus on pleasing God and looking after His attention and giving Him ours. Not concerning ourselves with how others see us or how they feel about us. That doesn't matter, and shouldn't matter to us. The only thing that matters is what God will say of us. Hopefully it is "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

The second thing is that you can't rely on people. People will fail you and disappoint you more times in your life than you will ever be able to count. And as humans, it seems in our nature to want to rely on each other, to depend on people for something. We want to trust each other. But this just leads to broken trust and broken hearts. God is the only one who will never let us down, and is always there no matter what. He is who we should turn to when things go wrong, when things are going right, and when things are just moving along. We shouldn't call up some person and demand they fix things or give us the answers or ask that they do the praying for us. We should step up to the plate, look to Heaven and have that relationship with God ourselves.

The last thing is, we cannot distance ourselves from THE church or God. Or both! You wither up spiritually and you begin to feel fatigued. It affects your every day and every aspect of who you are, especially when you have dived so far into His Word and His promises and doing His work and ministering. You will feel a not only a spiritual difference, but also a physical and an emotional difference.

Ramblings of a Smoldering Believer: Jesus Wins!

I had a moment recently where I had to remind myself that Satan does not win. God triumphs. We have the end to read and when you read it, Jesus wins. It has been as though I've been fighting a battle for the last few weeks, one that I don't feel I have been winning. However, as a child of God; as a born again believer; as a person who is looking forward to an eternity in Heaven, I shouldn't have the concerns I do. Most believers shouldn't.

I'm not saying I'm perfect and that having this revelation means that I'll automatically be able to control the concerns I have and be able to just throw everything to God and press on. I'd love it if it was that easy, but it is something I'll have to work on and that believers everywhere have to work on. We have an amazing Father in Heaven who loves us so very dearly. So much so that He didn't want us to perish in the pits of Hell. He wants us to be able to come home to Heaven one day, so He defeated Satan through His Son. What greater way to show the love He has for us? Do we truly grasp that love? I don't believe we do . I know I don't. Writing this makes me have an awe of that love. I'm known as a loving person and I still don't grasp that love.

Knowing this, I really want to be able to walk in that love. To know the depth of that love and be able to express that love to other people. What a great feat that would be! To show the love of God to other people. People who don't know that love! It blows my mind.

It also blows my mind that people who go to church and are "Christians" can be so unexcited, so 'blah' about this! So unexcited about Christ in general! The believers are sleeping! Now this doesn't apply to EVERY believer. It isn't a catch all. I know there are people who are madly in love with Christ and who are on fire and see and have the passion for Christ, but where are they all hiding? Where are they scattered? They exist and they fight to be able to hold on to that fire in the company of so many lukewarm believers.

The ramblings of a smoldering believer.

Food for Thought

Sometimes we have such a strong desire not to do something or not to go somewhere and once we give in and go or do that very thing, we can find it was exactly what we needed all along. I came so close to not going to Ichthus, a Christian music festival, last week. I had myself convinced that it would be too stressful, that too many things had happened and I wouldn't enjoy myself but would dwell on all that had happened to hurt me. Less than an hour before I needed to leave I was packing my bag and walking to my car, not really sure if I would actually go or just stay with a friend for a few days. As soon as I pulled onto the grounds I felt such a peace and could truly feel God's presence.

There were Jesus freaks everywhere and throughout the four days I would catch people's conversations around me and they were all talking about God! It was a refreshing experience, to see and hear all of these people who love God. Seeing so many people come together as believers and put aside our differences of denomination or what church we go to or who our pastor is; it was awe inspiring.

We have a tendency to get so caught up in the religious aspect of being a believer and caring so much about where we go or who is preaching the gospel. As long as we are receiving the true gospel and seeking God with our whole hearts, what does it matter who we hear it from? Yes some people find it harder to see God in a Baptist church or a Methodist church or a Pentecostal church, but I believe we should be able to see God everywhere. Even if its when you're driving around in your car without any music on.

In different parts of the Bible, it refers to the church and each member as a part of the church. If we could come together as believers in Christ as THE church, nothing could stop us. I had a thought the other day about denominations. That very word, denominations. It's pretty close to the word denominator. Which, in a math sense, is what divides another number. Denominations are what divide us as believers.

Food for thought.