Lately I've been wondering something..

Why does God intervene? I mean, lets's say you're in a situation that, well, could be better, but you're happy with it. Why does God have to tell you to go somewhere else, or get out of that situation. I mean if God loves us, wouldn't he Just want us to see us happy?

The truth is, if you've been in a situation that you thought was just.. perfect, and God took you out of it.. This is why.

Because God loves you SO much, that he doesn't want you to live the best life you can possibly dream of. He wants you to live a better life than that. That's how much God loves you. He wants to see you happy so badly, that He's saying "No, that's not good enough! I have something better, you deserve better!"

God loves you..

Rejoice in your trials!

James writes in James 1:3.. "rejoice in your trails."

I'm really starting to understand that verse, and what he means. James says in the verses after that our trials develop our perseverance; so basically "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". To break it down a little more, The comfort in this is, the next time you face trials, you will be stronger, and that's something to find happiness in.
But there's something i want to add to this thought. I think this whole idea of rejoicing in trials seems a bit strange. I mean, the verse is saying, be happy when the crap comes, right? So when it all hits the fan, and we're upset, we feel like we're handling it all wrong, or that there's just something wrong with us.

well let's be honest. that's BULL CRAP!!!

"anyone who gets a parking ticket, and rejoices, is not an optimist, they're just an idiot." - Erwin Mcmanus

Ephesians 3 says there is a time for everything. There's a time to laugh and a time to cry, a time to mourn and a time to dance. It's not a sin to be angry... Jesus was. It's what you do with that anger.
This verse is saying "look ahead". Instead of focusing on right now, and how bad things look, focus on the future.

... But we can't do that unless our hearts fully believe god has our best interests. Sometimes, well, for some of us it's all the time, we see God as either incapable or just unwilling to be active in our lives. But that's a lie. We have to fully believe and engage the truth that God knows our best interests, but not only that, He's acting on them.

God WILL work things out. And you can Hold me accountable to that. Be patient.. be raw, and honest with him. Maybe he just wants you to tell him how you really feel.

My last thought.. Don't pretend to be spiritual around God when you're praying. Be raw, be honest.. swear if you have to. It's not like he doesn't know you're thinking it anyways. If you're ticked off, just tell him. The times where i feel God has answered me the most clear, is when I've been honest with him. Don't be afraid to say "God, I'm just pissed off." And if you don't believe me, read the book of psalms.

My prayer is that all of you reading this will be encountered with the truth..

God cares.
God is active.
God has your best interests.

It's almost like we think God doesn't really know everything. I mean, if we were actually raw and honest with God, he wouldn't love us would he?

The truth is God knows everything. Have you ever had a friend, or had a crush on someone, and you have no desire to tell them about the bad things you've done, in your past? I have... and I've treated God the same way.

But the funny thing is, God knows our deepest thoughts of hatred, lust, greed, envy. And he still loves us more than anyone could ever have the capacity of loving in the same way.

seeing the most disgusting part of someone's heart, and then dying for them? that's real love.

thoughts on love

I've been thinking about love lately. I mean, Why would God even create love? in my life, the more I have loved, the more i have been let down, and the more pain i endure.

This may be a bold statement, but i don't think a lot of us have really experienced real love, and i include myself in that. I am directing this more towards relationships, because that's where a lot of people mistake love for something else.

So many of us "fall in love". If you look at that statement very realistically, it's not possible to fall in love. Love is a choice, a commitment, and it's the only thing people can't force out of you, because it's a gift. But the truth is there's a lot of situations where we can't stop the feelings that we have for someone, and that's why we use the term "falling in love".

I think this whole idea of falling in love is a bond. Actually, maybe falling in bonding is a more appropriate translation. Because 1st Corinthians 13 describes love as a whole bunch of things; let's read it to be sure. We've all heard "love is patient, love is kind.." ect. So i am going to use the message's translation, because it's fresh, and down to earth.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

And if you boil your relationships down, is this you? Is this how you're acting to your partner, your lover, your friend? Because in every relationship I've been in, even when i feel that overwhelming love, this hasn't been me. Which has showed me i wasn't loving at all.
See, it's easy to be in love, in that bond, but it's a completely new and different thing to actively love a person. God placed that beauty in us, the capacity to love, and it can beat ANYTHING. I've been bonded so many times, but God is really teaching me to love in this way.

My prayer for all of us is to engage this idea of love, and start genuinely loving people.

One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan came with them. “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.

Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”

Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

“All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence

Job 1:6-12

This is so interesting to me, this picture of confrontation between God and Satan. The interesting thing to me is How God is the one who brings Job into the conversation. Most people would assume that Satan brought up Job and wanted to test him, but that's not how it happened. It's interesting to me How God brought Job up to Satan. Satan showed up and God starts almost bragging. "Hey Satan, have you seen my servent Job? He is the Finest man in all the earth!"
I think a lot of the times we think that We are so worthless, and Evil, but at least here, that doesn't seem the case at all. This right here shows me that God can be so proud of us, that He brags about us. That's how much He loves us. Of all the things that God could have Said to Satan, he chose to brag about a human being.
I think there is something extraordinary about Humans. It's the potential in us. Genesis says that God created us in His image, and that's something that I think we forget. We are made in God's image. We have a potential for God to be so proud of us, that He will brag about us.

I hope I'm not just rambling. My point is, When you are tested, think of this story of Job. Think of Satan approaching God, and God Saying, "Hey Satan, have you senn my servant ____________ " That line is for you. Sometimes we blame God for the trials we go through, but maybe God was bragging about us, and Satan couldn't stand it.

Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

Blessed is he who comes,
the king in God's name!
All's well in heaven!
Glory in the high places!

Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, "Teacher, get your disciples under control!" But he said, "If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise."

Jesus had just performed many miracles, and the disciples were praising him, i guess because they didn't know what else to do. They were so excited to see people healed, so they glorified Jesus for this. When a religious teacher told Jesus to rebue his disciples, Jesus said that if they didn't praise him, the Rocks would cry out his Praise.
Now this wasn't just a good line Jesus came up with to outsmart this teacher. He wasn't thinking "I bet If i tell him the rocks will praise me, He won't know what to say! HAHA, I'm so smart!" No, this wasn't that. This was a challenge. Jesus was saying I dare you to stop them, because if you do, the earth will be so full of life the stones will shout my praise.

Jesus offers life, and that's something to shout about. Tonight i have realized that there is a very distorted perception of God. I was reading the book of James, and I am going to share some things i saw.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
James 1 : 5-8

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.
James 1: 12-18

Everything good comes from God. A lot of times we all blame God for the temptation we face, but the truth and the matter is God isn't the one putting us through the trial, the disaster that we're in. God however, gives us two things. He gives us strength to fight, and blesses us when we endure.
We need to get this false reality that God tempts us, and puts us through trial out of our heads, that is a lie that Satan has put in our heads. Everything that comes from God is good, and he only wants the best for us.
I think the problems we face, and this lie that Satan tells us, that it's from God is taking us away from our creator. But God is so good, that if we didn't praise him, the rocks would.

Now let's look at that for a second. Jesus said that the stones would shout. What does that mean. Oh wait, it must be a figurative sort of metaphor that Jesus uses, because we all know Jesus never makes sense anyways.
Well, what If Jesus was serious? What if the rocks are screaming his name, and we can't hear them? Look at this picture closely, it may take a minute, but let yourself be amazed.



What if the trees are dancing?

you can have all the scriptures, you can speak the absolute truth, you can even win all the arguments and debates that cross your path. But the truth is, if you're not speaking out of love, no one will listen.

Jesus told his disciples to preach the Gospel; the god news of Jesus's death and resurrection. He told his disciples to go to even the homosexuals and tax collectors, and tell them they have hope, and that God loves them too. I see a lot of condemning going on in the Christian faith. And it hurts to see it. I mean, the truth is that every single person is looking for love, and acceptance. And Jesus offers this. But I feel like the reason people aren't listening is because there isn't any of it in Christianity that they can see. All they see is a bunch of people telling them they're going to hell, and that they have to live a certain way to receive God's love.

Well here's the truth, Whether some people like it or not. Jesus loves homosexuals. He hates homosexual lust as much as he hates heterosexual lust. No sin is greater than the other, because there is no greatness in sin.

So, all of you people who are spreading the good news, and I include myself in this. I think we need to change our philosophy. Instead of telling people how to live, let's show them how to love.