Why Follow the Bible??

For some people, it is hard to understand why I (and probably the majority of Christians, though I can only speak for myself) follow the Bible. If I claim to not be religious (I'm not), then how do I follow this book? The Bible isn't religious, it is how people use the Bible that becomes religious. When you begin to use what is in the Bible to condemn people, or to persecute people, or to exclude people from your fellowship, then you become religious. If you use the Bible and your own actions to adopt a "holier than thou" attitude, then that is religious. Using the Bible to judge people is religious. 

I follow the Bible, I tithe, I go to church, I worship, I pray, I serve all because I love God. I don't do it out of condemnation. I don't do it because I want to impress people. I don't do it because it brings me favor with people (it really doesn't. Quite the opposite really). I do it because I love God. It's natural. When you love someone (God) you do everything you can to keep that person happy. You do everything possible to make them proud. You go out of your way for them. This is how our relationships should be with Christ. When that changes, we need to change something (just had a realization there for myself). 

John 14:15 states "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." and 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

I love God. Serving Him and following His Word make Him happy and make me feel fulfilled. 

More Pearls and A Bit on Beauty

Fear is faith in a lie.

The World doesn't read the Word, they read Christians.

Being a Christian means you are set apart from the world (Ephesians 5:1-2)

It is foolish to you, it is possible to me. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

You can't move forward when you are looking back. A tightrope walker never looks down.

Man's love is of man's life a thing apart
'Tis a woman's whole existance ~(Don't remember!)

The bible is a love story between God and His people. Christianity changes dramatically when we discover that it is a great romance. ~Captivating

Nature is not primarily functional, it is primarily beautiful.

Addictions are lovers of the heart. They are what we turn to instead of God. (Cigs, alcohol, facebook, internet in general, TV, etc) Our lovers have so intertwined themselves with our identity that to give them up feels like a personal death... we wonder if it is possible to live without them (The Sacred Romance)

These words are razors to my wounded heart- Shakespeare

We are not living in the world our souls were made for.

You are passionately loved by the God of the universe. You are passionately hated by His enemy.

God and Jesus thwart our plans for self-redemption. Or else we'll never turn fully to Him for help. (Hosea 2:6-7)  Captivating

We don't need to defend ourselves anymore. That's God's job. He is our Defender and Advocate. ~Captivating

We have to ask Christ to come and heal places in our hearts. He is a gentleman. If we still have them locked away....

For all the root of holiness is Romance.

Our changing relationship with God
             Clay-Potter
             Sheep-Shephard
             Servant-Master
             Child-Father
             Friends
             Bride-Bridegroom

If there is a space in our heart that only God can fill, there is a space in God's heart only I can fill, only you can fill.

Women are a mystery. Not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to enjoy.

Forced, striving beauty is no beauty to behold.

To let your defenses down is to let beauty step forward.

Do not give way to fear. (1 Peter 3:6)

A garden's beauty doesn't diminish with age; rather it takes years for it to become all that it can become. Such is with a tree, and with a person. ~Captivating

Beauty is a quality of the soul that expresses itself in the visible world.

Restoration has begun.

True femininity calls forth true masculinity.

If you would be loved, be loveable. ~Ovid

It is one thing to suffer. It is far worse to walk alongside one you love who is suffering intensely and be unable to do anything about it.

The heart is deceitful above all things. Jeremiah 17:9

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Col 3:2)

Love

Love. Such a small word with some big things behind it. Something that has been on my mind here lately. We guard our hearts so well, but want nothing more than for someone to love them the way they deserve to be loved. Why is loving so hard? Not just from one gender to another, but from one person to another. Whether it be family, friends, or more. Showing that love is something I don't see done very often or very well. I see so much deceit, so many lies, and so much hurt. If this is letting our hearts do the talking, maybe guarding them is better. In the last two years, I've become a much more loving person, and strive to make all that I love know just how much I love them. It is something I yearn for. Something I know every person desires. And something we are all supposed to do. Its not easy. Loving. Instead of critiquing, and hating, and hurting, and caring about ourselves above all else. But what a satisfying feeling, when you get through and touch someone's heart. That, is exactly what I aim for.