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.