Saturday, August 31, 2013

Perspectives

I few months ago I overheard a group of people at a restaurant who were talking about somebody that wasn't present. In the middle of a sentence, one of them stops and says "I don't consider this gossiping", and proceeds to continue. I got to thinking- whether you consider it gossiping or not, you are still slandering somebody that is not present, and that still makes it gossiping whether you believe it is or not.

How often do we try to justify our situation to dissuade the perspectives of others? If we claim Christianity when we are in the presence of believers, and we tell others we will be praying for them and try to assure them that God is in control, but then we go and live our lives by using inappropriate language constantly and doing inappropriate things- do we really think that it makes us a Christian just because we say we are? How often my heart breaks when somebody is around me, knowing I'm of faith, and try to come off like they are too, but then their lives reveal otherwise. My heart breaks for them, because if they truly knew God or were working towards a relationship with them, they'd at least try to please the creator a little bit. Or they would at least feel guilty about their actions, and not celebrate those behaviors with others.

Others cannot believe you are a Christian if you have no actions to back them up.

Just because you don't consider getting drunk a sin, doesn't make it any less of a sin. Just because it was a tiny lie, doesn't make it any less of a lie. Just because it doesn't have a heartbeat yet....doesn't make it any less of a baby.

What I"m getting at is it doesn't matter what your perspective is, if it doesn't line up with scripture, then your perspective is irrelevant. Seek the Holy words and find out how God intends for you to live your life; don't just go by what "feels" right.


Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Cave Dweller

Sometimes it is in the cave where God speaks the loudest. Sometimes we need the safety of the cavern to cover us, to scare us into time with our Maker. Much too often do we neglect the things of God and strut about in daily life disregarding our necessity of our Breath-Giver, because the world has been too nice to us.

Why is it that we only call on God the strongest when we are in our caves? Sometimes it is the cave that saves us. Sometimes, had we not gotten stuck in yet another rut, in yet another cave, we would slowly begin to consume ourselves with our own happiness, when the entire time it should be the happiness of our Lord.

In our caves we can see nothing but darkness. Yet, if someone was to light a match, it would illuminate the entire cave, and give light to every edge of darkness. But the point is, we need someone else to light the match because we've been in a cave so long that we have become unable to progress and we haven't allowed someone to light that match. We somehow prefer to dwell in the darkness, in the lost hope, to a point where it becomes comfortable. And comfortable is not a good place to be at all.

Sometimes I wonder how we can allow ourselves to become comfortable in the darkness of our caves. But it is in our caves where God can do the greatest work within us. It is the point where we are unable to stand on our own and allow God to light that match for us.
I can no longer be a cave- dweller.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

"I can see farther than my eyes can look"


One day a man took his young daughter on a boat trip. She was so excited because she had never been on the water- had never seen the waves of the ocean. Her anticipation climbed higher as her father drove them quite a distance to a shore, not too far from home, but far enough that the drive seemed endless. She chatted anxiously, and he amused her with stories from the sea. For he used to be a man of the sea, and to him it was just another trip. But to his only daughter, the trip was currently the whole world.

As they arrived at the docks and prepared the boat, the girl anxiously climbed in, excited to feel the wind that her father kept talking about. She was excited to hear what a wave could sound like, and she wasn't even scared of the sharks.

As the ship pulled away from the docks, the child stirred anxiously about the boat, next to her father. He sensed her pleasure, and enjoyed the moment. Her eyes were so wide, taking in the scenery. When he got the boat out in the middle, he stopped and let her stand on the seat to get a look. She looked around carefully at the waves, at the rocks, at the distance. She looked around wide eyed and in awe, and exclaimed "I can see farther than my eyes can look!"

Have you ever been able to see farther than your eyes can look? This girl got it- there is more than meets the surface. How much more can your soul look ahead than your eyes can? How much farther can you see if you open your heart to God's promises?

My eyes can look at the now. My eyes can look at the sadness from losing my baby. My eyes can look at the endless wait for my adopted child. My eyes can look at the surface, but what I can see is so much more. I can see what God has promised me- I can see my house full of tiny feet. I can see my husband being a daddy, and me finally being a mommy. I can see love and laughter and every fulfilled promise that God has told me about.

So next time you see the surface, think about what you are looking at, and when it looks grim or gloomy, try to see farther than you can look.