Would I Marry....Me?!?!?

I spent the weekend in Estes Park, CO with a bunch of friends from my Christian singles group. My good friend Mackie Jones (www.doyouwanttobehealed.wordpress.com) had a wonderful devotional prepared for us on Saturday night. The topic – and I know I’m going to mess this up, but these are my thoughts from the weekend – was basically “are you the person the person you are looking for is looking for?”

I simplified it so I could make sure I remembered the main point. Am I someone I would marry?

My honest answer is – No.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)

¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

While I am waiting on this man to enter my life, the one God intends for me, there are things I must be doing to prepare for this relationship.

            1.       I need to YIELD to God, allowing His creative work in me to happen

2.       I cannot resist God, or I will not grow.

3.       I cannot speed up the process either.

I do find it amusing that when I decide to truly and honestly work on my relationship with Jesus, someone tries to stop me, putting these ginormous stumbling blocks in my path.

You KNOW this thing. Its name is satan, fallen angel and father of lies (John 8:44). He does everything he possibly can to distract me and keep me from running the race. Sometimes, I allow this distraction.

                He plays on my weakness.

                He uses my heart’s desire against me.

My weakness comes in the form of men who show interest. NOT every man., mind you - and I am no where near desperate (If I were, I think I would be in a bad relationship right now). These men are NOT what I need or truly want in my life, because there is usually a something missing, a key characteristic that is my top ‘thing’ they all need to have.

And the other thing is.. these men do not fit the qualities of the man God intends for me to spend the rest of my life with, and I’m okay with it. I’m not looking for someone who can’t seem maintain control of themselves. Drunkards, foul-mouthed, constantly putting me down or picking at me to get a rise out of me (or to make them feel better about themselves??), or the man who just isn’t a Believer in Jesus Christ. These are only a few of the characteristics that are distasteful to me, but they are the most recent ones I have encountered.

I have begun to react differently when I encounter men like this. I go to my failsafe, fallback, most trustworthy item I could possibly go to for defense:

Ephesians 6:10-17 (NASB) 

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶  in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

 Take THAT, devil!!

James 4:7 (NASB)

⁷ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Transformation

Romans 12:2 (NASB)

² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

God has blessed me with a gift of figuring certain people out, some before they even speak to me. I believe my experiences in my prior career helped to hone this ability to ‘read’ people.

I recently had an encounter with someone who, by all outside appearances, had it together. By looking at this person’s professional website, anyone would think “wow, what an amazing and talented person!”  But, when you look a little closer, and you have personal interaction, the truth comes out as to who a person really is deep down.

Isn’t this true for us all though?

For the world to see, we are polished and have it all together, but inside we are a broken down mess, full of petty and childish behaviors, wanting to punish others because we have been ‘victimized’ in our own minds.  

My stepmom recently came back from a mission trip to Haiti, and as I was talking to her about it, she was describing the openness of the Haitian people, how they will tell you right where they are. They don’t hide anything, and in the third world sense, have none of the junk we Americans collect in our souls.

Wouldn't it be amazing to be that transparent to everyone you meet? Someday, it will be like that for all believers, but here on this planet, we like to put a wall of protection around our lives to keep from getting hurt. This is because of the pain we are inflicted with in our lives, whether it is by the things someone has said or physically done to us, or false accusations made. Sometimes the people that hurt us are the ones who are supposed to protect us and be there for us at all times.

Truth be told, we are responsible for ourselves and our actions, and must do the things God calls us to do in order to best exemplify the Light of the World living through us. When encountering a person who is outwardly showing inner pain, the thing God calls us to do is to love that person. I honestly have a problem with this at times, because when someone has been so very ugly to me, I do not feel inclined to be overly kind to them. My sinful nature wants to say nasty things back to them, to hurt them and accuse them of things that are untrue, especially when they have done the same to me. Thankfully, I am not a child (literally or spiritually) and so I am able to refrain. I am also able to retrain (constantly working on) my thinking so that I do not even think the mean, spiteful, petty things that are in my mind.

God calls us to be in a constant state of change, so that those of us who have chosen a personal relationship with Jesus Christ are growing closer to Him while here. How can you make a difference in your life to show the transformation of Christ's love in your life?

Assyria is an Example

Assyria.. huge nation that began around 2400 B.C. and covering enough land that spans what is known today as Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey. The Assyrians contributed much to the beginnings of civilization:  animal domestication, agriculture, pottery, controllable fire (kilns), locks and keys, telling time and so on. However, the Assyrians were an evil people. The research online shows them to be a powerful and intelligent society – this is true. But, they were a civilization of Christians who decided to turn away from God, and in doing so, sealed their own fate.

Ninevah, the capital of Assyria, was judged not once, but twice by our Creator. World leaders today would be smart to study the history and know that God IS still in control and WILL cast judgment on them.. and as leaders, they are far more accountable for the decisions made.

The Assyrians were idolatrous, arrogant and oppressive to weaker nations, and they were the leading military power of that time.

God will not tolerate a nation, a people, a person who mocks His authority and attempts to assume they are more powerful than He.

This is certainly something I never really gave much thought to until we discussed Nahum this week in Sunday School.. God rules over everything – even those who DO NOT BELIEVE IN HIM.

Whoa.. what??? But all of those people who claim ‘there is no god’ and ‘I rule my life’ just do whatever they want.. and so many are SUCCESSFUL! They have power and money and people like them (really? Do people REALLY like them?) and I have nothing, but I follow God through Christ my Savior.

Nothing? A life that is blessed although you have little is certainly not nothing.

Money makes things easier, but does not necessarily make people happier. The Assyrians were annihilated because they scoffed at God. Our God is a jealous and righteous God.

Thank goodness He is also slow to anger…

The question was brought up of why people who do bad things are not punished immediately.

Well.. then the earth would be filled with animals and bugs, not people. If God annihilated us every time we did something wrong, I doubt we would make it out of the house each morning, much less through an entire day.

I am glad God is slow to anger, and sent us a Bridge to cross over the chasm of sin through His Son, Jesus Christ. We are ALL guilty.. the real question is, what do you do about that guilt?

If you don’t know Him, meet Him. It WILL change your life!

Nahum 1:3 (NASB)

³ The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
And the Lord will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
In whirlwind and storm is His way,
And clouds are the dust beneath His feet.

(BTW... my blog is being read in many nations! SO COOL!!! Thanks for reading my thoughts! I would love for anyone reading to become a follower of my blog so I can see the 'faces' of those reading. I know blogspot makes it a huge pain, but it would mean so much to me. Thanks again for taking time out of your day to read my thoughts. Blessings to you and yours!)

 

Welcome to 2013

It’s a new year, a time for starting over, and making resolutions. I have to admit, I’m pretty terrible at keeping resolutions so I just don’t make them anymore. I have become very good at doing things at my own pace, and when I decide to do something, I get it done.

I recently finished a trilogy of books written by a Christian author, Robin Parrish. The books are fiction, but based in Biblical truth. The last third of the final book really got to me, and made me realize some things. First, I’m pretty stubborn and don’t always like to listen to others and their advice – including what I should be hearing from my Creator. So, He sends others (Believers) to tell me the things I need to be hearing from Him. I tend to hear this method a little better. Second, I am a being full of fault and sin, and no matter what I do, that is always true.

Thankfully, our Creator saw fit to give the human race a choice. We ALL have the ability to make choices, and it is completely up to each individual as to what path is followed in their life. Some choose a life of crime. Some choose a life of serving. Others choose somewhere in between, leaning towards one side or the other.

I read a book when I was a teenager called “This Present Darkness” by Frank Peretti. These books by Robin Parrish make me want to read them again, because of the powerful mental images given of the eternal battle between good and evil on our behalf. His description of the veil between the reality we see and the one that is the true nature of the universe is powerful. Beings of power and beauty fight the shadowy creatures that haunt our nightmares (because this is possibly where we know we belong?) on OUR behalf, because our Creator, the Creator of all things, loves us.

It amazes me that we as humans are given a powerful ally in Jesus Christ. He is the One who was sent to earth to pay for the sins of humankind, past, present and future. Yet we spit in His face on a daily basis with our addiction to sin. Yes, addiction... every single one of us sins. No one human has the ability to be perfect, or live without sin. Too much of what we do and are surrounded by is grounded in sin – our thoughts, what we say, the actions we take.

For this reason, I make one resolution. To draw closer to my Creator this year. In that one decision, all others will be made simpler.

Romans 6:22-23 (NASB)
²² But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.