What you are about to read is what some would define as a testimony. I hope those who might read this will come away with hope, renewed faith, new faith, or even an opening of the heart and mind to seek more.
Since May 2007, when Kim & I got married, I graduated college and we headed to our new residence in Northeast Tennessee, a lot has happened. In these three and a half years, I worked full-time as a temp employee for only eight of the forty-three months we resided here. The rest of the time I worked part-time, mostly at a local fitness facility. It was during this time that God was doing most of the work. It was in my day-to-day struggles of seeking full-time employment here, there and everywhere, that Christ was teaching me, molding me, and refining me into a better, more mature person. There were a few instances where things got quite tight financially. But it was in these times, God showed up to remind us Who was in charge and that where Scripture states that if He provides for the birds of the air and the fish of the sea, that He will surely meet the needs of those whom He has entrusted and created to rule over these animals. He came through every time in all sorts of different ways. It was in these instances that increased our trust and faith in Christ.
Also, needless to say, I had some free time on my hands. And in no way am I boasting or patting myself on the back, but I was able to develop a daily time with my Savior. And it has been in this time of Scripture reading, prayer, devotions and being quiet to meditate upon Him and His Word that I am most thankful. For had I worked full-time, perhaps I would not have been able to build a stronger, more secure foundation. And had I not been blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to develop this time, who knows how I would have behaved and acted when times did seem a bit harder. But it was by His plan and love that the Holy Spirit within stirred me and motivated me to want to spend this time with Him. And it was in this time that His greatest work took place. He has taught me so much. He has revealed even more to me. And He has refined me, thus allowing me to see things about myself that I didn't know existed. Sinful things about myself that are selfish. I now realize things about me that I was unaware of prior to this and though it has been difficult to realize that these thoughts and actions come from myself, I am grateful that Christ has let them be known to me. For it is in this process, that God is bringing such darkness to the surface, scraping these things slowly away, and allowing His light to shine forth. It is here that He is increasing my knowledge, my strength, my Christian maturity, and my faith. And to me, this is the best thing that could have ever taken place.
Only God knows why He needed 3.5 years to work upon me in this manner. But I know one thing, I am thankful, I am blessed and I am excited to see how He wishes to use me. In this time, I have also seen my wife grow and begin her own journey. It is from God's work upon my heart that He has used my personal spiritual growth to be put on display for her to see. And it is here she has come to desire more of Him. And for that I can only sing His praises. It excites me to see how He will use us as a Christian couple.
We hear it so often and witness it everyday, but we live in a country that is selfish, greedy, covetous, and lustful. We live at a time where more and more people are impatient and want things at the next split second. And if they do not get it, they handle it poorly and place blame on anyone and anything except at themselves.
My prayer is that you slow down. To examine your life. To question things. To seek. To not live for yourself but for others. And to look a little closer at Jesus Christ and who He was while He lived here on earth and who He is today. And may you come away from reading a little about my life these past few years to realize that hard times, discouraging times come to us all. It is how we handle them that matters. It is who you rely upon and trust that will help you out. Not to make things easier at the snap of a finger. But to rely and trust Someone beyond yourself and your own human energy, mind, and strength. We live in a sinful world. Therefore, bad things are going to happen and they will happen to everyone: good and bad, Christian & nonbeliever. It is how we handle them that matter. This earth we live on is temporary. This life we currently have is short. It is what is to come that truly matters.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Why is it so hard for people to believe in God? Why is it even harder to believe in Jesus?
One can sit back and look at a clear night sky. One can drive across the country and see the various landscapes that make up our own country. One can think of things in their life, big and small, and understand that something outside of their own power was the real reason those things occurred. These things are because of God.
But how do you know? Where's the real proof?
Those questions are what seem to keep people from believing. People want proof. We think that this world, the happenings, and our lives should work just like one big mathematical problem where X+Y=XY.
It all boils down to faith. Faith in a being and happenings unknown to us and unseen. Humans seem to struggle with this. Is it out of arrogance that we think we deserve to know and have to know the meaning and an answer to everything that goes on?
Of course if you have trouble with the any of the above, you will definitely have trouble with your motives and approach to reading Scripture out of the Bible.
One false teachings we hear from such pastors as Joel Osteen is a message called the Prosperity Gospel. This is the teaching that if you do a good thing and give so much of your finances to the church then God will reward you with more material things and wealth. Sorry to burst your bubble but it doesn't work that way. You serve others out of love for them and out of reverence and love of Christ. You do not do it in hoping that you will be rewarded with more stuff and more money. This thought is basically the same as the whole concept of karma. God doesn't work that way.
Faith and our motive is the key. Is your motive in giving money to a homeless man selfish? Meaning, for example, are you giving to this person in need only because if you help them it makes you feel better about yourself, that you did a good deed and that your good deed will equal to an earthly reward in some way? If that is your thinking then your motive for doing it is wrong. We humble ourselves to help others to show them Christ's love. It isn't about us at all. It's about God and about others.
Jesus is God in human form. He humbled himself to be born to poor people in a setting that none of us would really want to endure. He did this so that we couldn't ever say, "Well, God doesn't know, He doesn't understand because He has never faced this situation." God does understand. God can relate because of Jesus. Jesus was physically beaten. He was gossiped about. His name was slandered. He was shunned and ignored. He was cussed at. He was made fun of. He was looked upon as an outcast. He struggled at times in regards to food supply. He was tempted. So if the Son of God lived in this manner, why do we think that by becoming a Christian everything is going to be "hunky dory" and everything is going to be perfect. Are we better than Jesus. No way! We are going to face trials. We are going to have to endure difficult times and situations in our lives. And the only way to get through this is by trusting God. Putting our trust and faith in Him. Believing that in whatever circumstances we face, in the end, it will all work out. And you know when we might see how things did work out for the good? It might not be until next week, next month, next year, or later. Heck, we might not see the result in such until we die and are in eternity. We are so selfish and impatient. We want what we want and overlook what we only need. We want things to happen right this second and if they don't we get all bent out of shape.
For example, I'm learning that when I get cut off or someone pulls out in front of me while i'm driving to not get all upset at that person but instead to thank the Lord above for protecting me and keeping me safe. Nothing happened to me.
My prayer for those who have no faith or weak faith is to first off realize that your life isn't about you. Things aren't always going to go your way. Bad things are going to happen. Yet also know that good things will too. Everything isn't always going to be perfect. Also, this world is too big to know everything. This solar system is too big to know everything. Our minds are too small to understand and know everything. Therefore, why are we so arrogant, selfish and prideful to think that we will and should know everything. That there has to be an explanation. That's dumb to think that. Understand that there are things you will not know, you will not understand and things that cannot be explained. And it is in this that you will begin to begin the process of wrapping your mind around what it means to have faith. And it is here you will begin to understand God. And it is here you will be able to hear the Gospel message, read the Bible in a different light.
One can sit back and look at a clear night sky. One can drive across the country and see the various landscapes that make up our own country. One can think of things in their life, big and small, and understand that something outside of their own power was the real reason those things occurred. These things are because of God.
But how do you know? Where's the real proof?
Those questions are what seem to keep people from believing. People want proof. We think that this world, the happenings, and our lives should work just like one big mathematical problem where X+Y=XY.
It all boils down to faith. Faith in a being and happenings unknown to us and unseen. Humans seem to struggle with this. Is it out of arrogance that we think we deserve to know and have to know the meaning and an answer to everything that goes on?
Of course if you have trouble with the any of the above, you will definitely have trouble with your motives and approach to reading Scripture out of the Bible.
One false teachings we hear from such pastors as Joel Osteen is a message called the Prosperity Gospel. This is the teaching that if you do a good thing and give so much of your finances to the church then God will reward you with more material things and wealth. Sorry to burst your bubble but it doesn't work that way. You serve others out of love for them and out of reverence and love of Christ. You do not do it in hoping that you will be rewarded with more stuff and more money. This thought is basically the same as the whole concept of karma. God doesn't work that way.
Faith and our motive is the key. Is your motive in giving money to a homeless man selfish? Meaning, for example, are you giving to this person in need only because if you help them it makes you feel better about yourself, that you did a good deed and that your good deed will equal to an earthly reward in some way? If that is your thinking then your motive for doing it is wrong. We humble ourselves to help others to show them Christ's love. It isn't about us at all. It's about God and about others.
Jesus is God in human form. He humbled himself to be born to poor people in a setting that none of us would really want to endure. He did this so that we couldn't ever say, "Well, God doesn't know, He doesn't understand because He has never faced this situation." God does understand. God can relate because of Jesus. Jesus was physically beaten. He was gossiped about. His name was slandered. He was shunned and ignored. He was cussed at. He was made fun of. He was looked upon as an outcast. He struggled at times in regards to food supply. He was tempted. So if the Son of God lived in this manner, why do we think that by becoming a Christian everything is going to be "hunky dory" and everything is going to be perfect. Are we better than Jesus. No way! We are going to face trials. We are going to have to endure difficult times and situations in our lives. And the only way to get through this is by trusting God. Putting our trust and faith in Him. Believing that in whatever circumstances we face, in the end, it will all work out. And you know when we might see how things did work out for the good? It might not be until next week, next month, next year, or later. Heck, we might not see the result in such until we die and are in eternity. We are so selfish and impatient. We want what we want and overlook what we only need. We want things to happen right this second and if they don't we get all bent out of shape.
For example, I'm learning that when I get cut off or someone pulls out in front of me while i'm driving to not get all upset at that person but instead to thank the Lord above for protecting me and keeping me safe. Nothing happened to me.
My prayer for those who have no faith or weak faith is to first off realize that your life isn't about you. Things aren't always going to go your way. Bad things are going to happen. Yet also know that good things will too. Everything isn't always going to be perfect. Also, this world is too big to know everything. This solar system is too big to know everything. Our minds are too small to understand and know everything. Therefore, why are we so arrogant, selfish and prideful to think that we will and should know everything. That there has to be an explanation. That's dumb to think that. Understand that there are things you will not know, you will not understand and things that cannot be explained. And it is in this that you will begin to begin the process of wrapping your mind around what it means to have faith. And it is here you will begin to understand God. And it is here you will be able to hear the Gospel message, read the Bible in a different light.
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