Tough Love

"Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure." - Psalms 2:5

     Have you ever had one those days where it seemed like nothing was going right? Perhaps this feeling lasted for more than one day, maybe one or more weeks, or maybe even years. When you feel like everything is coming against you, when you feel as if your world is falling apart, what do you do? Do you try to fix it? Pray about it? Change your attitude? See what you can learn from it? Blame God?

     A lot of modern preaching teaches that God is a God of love and He wants nothing more than to see us live happy lives, so He gives us whatever we want or need to be happy. As a result, when things go wrong, it's easy to become confused and say that God must not love us. Further, wouldn't that lead many to ask the question, 'How could He let so many things fall apart in our lives and not fix them for us?'

     Yes, God does love us. In fact, His love for us is so great, we can't even comprehend it. Jesus loved us so much that He gave His life so we wouldn't have to spend eternity in Hell. When we accept Him as our Savior, we also accept a responsibility to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him. He died to save us because He loves us. It's not just that it's a responsibility, but living for Him is something that every Christian should want to do. If we accept His gift, His love, we can't do that without loving Him in return, and that gratitude should make us want to please Him.

     God has our best interests at heart. When things are going wrong and our lives seem to be at their darkest, that may be hard to believe, but it's still true.

     When we accept Christ, God becomes our Heavenly Father, and He treats us like a good Father should. When we obey Him, He blesses us. When we disobey Him, he punishes us. That modern preaching I mentioned earlier? That's the part they like to leave out. People don't like to hear that God can get angry with us, so some preachers, to please the people, seem to have resolved to just leave that part out.

     So, when things go wrong in life, does that mean God is angry? No, not necessarily. God has a plan for each of our lives. He exists out of time, so He knows our future, and He knows the best possible path that we could take. If we stray from that path, He might allow a few negative things to happen to us to encourage us to get back on the right path.

     Sometimes we're stubborn and we get it in our heads that we know better than God. Again, we're limited to our human understanding. We can't see our future, we only know what we want to have happen. If God doesn't allow it, then we sometimes forget that it means He has a plan that is even better.

     God's plan is perfect, one hundred percent fool-proof. Does that mean if we completely follow God's plan that nothing bad will ever come our way? No. God may test our loyalty at times, but the more devoted we are to God, the more Satan will try to break us away.

     If we stray from God's plan, God will not bless the path we try to take because He knows it is not what is best for us (even if we think it is (again, our minds are limited; His is not)). He allows us to struggle sometimes because He knows that we learn from our mistakes.

     The more we intentionally sin against God (repeatedly doing things we know are wrong or ignoring and running away from the path He laid out for us), the more severe our punishments may become. Job 1:21 says, ". . . the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."

     Like a good Father does, God blesses good behavior and disciplines the negative behavior in order to keep us on the right path. He does this to help us grow and weed the sinful tendencies out of our lives.

     Does that mean we can learn to live without sin and be perfect? No. We can never be perfect and sinless until we get to Heaven. We still live in a sinful world, and still have every capability of being tempted by Satan to walk away from God. God knows even our thoughts. If we consider a sin, even if we don't do it, we need to repent of it. Repent. Recognize your sin and be truly sorry, and He will not only forgive you, but He will wipe your record clean. That's the beauty of God's grace. Total forgiveness. God is quick to forgive us when we've done wrong, and all we need to do is ask.

     So why do we go through struggles? Punishment? Redirection? Is Satan trying to bring us down? How do we know for certain? The only answer is to pray. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." Read your Bible regularly so you can learn the principles He wants You to live by. God will never leave you confused as to what is going on. He may not show you the whole picture, but He will help you from situation to situation. He loves you, He will guide you, He will carry You through your hard times. He wants you to trust Him completely. Sometimes it's hard to let go of certain things in your life (trust me, I know), but He always has the best plans for you.

     "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 20:11

God's Guidebook For Life

     "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." - Galatians 1:8-9

     What do you think it takes to get to Heaven? Does it involve being good enough? Maybe it just matters whether or not your good outweighs your bad? Maybe it doesn't matter at all because a loving God would never send anyone to hell, right? Well, not exactly.

     It's not possible to be "good enough" to get to Heaven. We are all sinners, we were born that way, and whether you try to live a good life or not, if you have never let the blood of Jesus wash away that sin, there is no way you (with that sin) can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

     What makes us sinners? When the first sin was committed and sin entered the world, we were all cursed with a sin-nature. Sin is a desire to do things that are not Godly. In Exodus, God gave Moses ten specific commandments of things that should not be done. They are:

     1) "You shall have no other gods before Me." - Exodus 20:3. This includes anything we spend our time with more than God.
     2) "You shall not make for yourself a carved image." - Exodus 20:4. We should not be worshipping anything other than God, no images, no pictures, no items, nothing.
     3) "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." - Exodus 20:7. Every time someone uses His name as a curse word, it is taking His name in vain.
     4) "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." - Exodus 20:8. When God created the world and rested on the seventh day, it wasn't because He was tired. He did it as an example that we are supposed to follow. We can work six days, but we need to take a day out of the week to rest - it works to both recharge us and to keep us humble.
     5) "Honor your father and your mother." - Exodus 20:12. - You may not always see eye to eye on things, but God appointed the adults in your life for a reason. If your parents don't honor God and you find it difficult to honor the things they do, then perhaps He placed them in your life for YOU to be a witness to them.
     6) "You shall not murder." - Exodus 20:13. Even hatred toward someone is unacceptable.
     7) "You shall not commit adultery." - Exodus 20:14. - Literally, don't even think about it. If you followed God's guidance for a spouse, then you should not even be thinking about looking elsewhere. This includes pornography - God is not pleased with such activity.
     8) "You shall not steal." - Exodus 20:15. - It doesn't matter how small something is, if it does not belong to you, it does not belong in your possession without the consent of the owner.
     9) "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." - Exodus 20:16. God wants us all to be honest. Even little white lies, while we make think they are innocent, can always have the potential to hurt somebody.
     10) "You shall not covet." - Exodus 20:17. Don't ever be jealous for anything someone else has. You can be happy for them, but when you let the selfish desires of jealousy cloud your judgment, that is putting your wants before God's, and that is not where your priorities need to be.

     Breaking any of these commandments is what makes us a sinner. If God is not in your life, you're already breaking the first three, and therefore have absolutely no chance of gaining access into Heaven. As I said before, you cannot possibly be "good enough" as long as your soul is still stained with sin. Heaven is perfect and, as such, it is impossible for sin to enter, and there are no exceptions to that.

     Now, what about the statement that God is a loving God and would never send anyone to hell. While it's true that God loves us, there is still that little problem about sin not being allowed to enter into Heaven. God may love us, but He is still a judge, and He is a good judge, at that. No sin, no matter how great or small, can pass the gates into the Kingdom of Heaven. When we sin, we are giving in to the temptations of the devil. One day, Satan will be locked in hell, and he wants to take as many people with him as he can. Satan wants you to fail. Some people may even find it fun to sin, after all, when you go against God, there are no responsibilities, no rules to uphold, but that attitude is what makes Satan very happy and he knows he can trust that those people will be right next to him in the fiery pit. Are the eternal consequences worth it to you?

     Some people are under the illusions that hell will be a place to just have a big party. Why don't we research what hell will be like? Revelation 21:8 calls it a "lake which burns with fire and brimstone" and a "second death." Matthew 13:50 says, "There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Jude 1:7 call it an "eternal fire." Have you ever burnt yourself? Imagine the way that felt, except it's all over your body. There is no water, the fire never goes out, it's extremely hot and you might feel thirsty, but that thirst can never be quenched. Hell is a real place, but it is not a place for a party. Hell is a place of eternal (yes, I mean eternal, as in never-ending, and once you're there, there are no second chances) torment.

     Many churches today don't like to preach about the reality of hell because it scares people away. The truth is, we need to be scared of it. What encourages us to live for God if we're not afraid of the alternative? How can we appreciate the gift of God if we don't understand the horrific details of what Jesus died to save us from? Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice so we wouldn't have to go to hell, so we could choose to accept Him and go to Heaven. Yes, we have to choose Him. His death wasn't a free pass that would save everyone. It created the POTENTIAL for everyone to be saved, but if you don't accept Him and live for Him, if you choose to still live in your sin, then that sin will prevent you from having access to Heaven.

     The opportunity for salvation was a gift, but if you don't open it, you won't have it. Accepting the gift, accepting Jesus, and letting Him be ruler of your life, is the one and only way to Heaven.

Living Like Christ

     "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.." - 1 Corinthians 11:1

     What does it mean to be a Christian? Does it mean God finds favor with us? Of course, just like any child finds favor in the eyes of their father, God is our Heavenly Father and we are His children who are all very precious to Him. Being a Christian means that we have accepted God's gift of salvation and have given our lives to Him to follow the amazing plan He has for each of us.

     There seems to be a lot of controversy as to how Christians should act. Some people may say that they believe in Christ and that is enough, but they can still do whatever they want because God loves them anyway. Yes, God loves them, but as a child disappoints a father, that sin is disappointing to their Heavenly Father.

     Others may say that they believe in Christ, and for the most part, they're good people, and the good outweighs the bad, so that's good enough. Just giving God what you deem to be 'good enough' will still disappoint Him. Revelation 3:15-16 says, "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth." When you only give what you say is 'good enough' rather than giving Him your best, that is like an insult to Him. You absolutely cannot ride the fence. If you love Him, give Him your all, and He knows your heart, He knows where your true devotion lies. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties." - Psalm 139:23.

     Another group of people might say that the best way to act like a Christian would be to follow the example of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul wrote to the people of Corinth to imitate him because he was imitating Christ. In essence, Paul didn't actually want the people to imitate him, but he wanted them to join him in imitating Christ, in acting like Christ, loving like Christ, teaching truth like Christ.

     I remember a movement that began years ago where everyone was using the phrase WWJD - What Would Jesus Do? While it was a good thought, the idea began to be over-used. People would wear the WWJD bracelets, but they didn't know what it meant. You could tell by their actions that they weren't applying that question to their lives, and they were only wearing it because it was a fad. Truthfully, though, according to Paul, we need to be applying that question to our lives every day. When we're faced with a decision, well, what would Jesus do about it? He would have us consult with Him (pray about it) rather than make any rash decisions on our own (Proverbs 3:5-6). When we're feeling angry, what would Jesus do about it? He would speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). When we're feeling depressed, what would Jesus do about our situation? He would encourage us to think about something positive, something noble, just, pure, lovely, and good report (Philippians 4:8).

     The bottom line is that a Christian should be living in a Godly, Christ-like manner.

     Why is that so important?

     When we call ourselves Christians, we become ambassadors for Christ. We bear His name - 'Christ'-ian, and therefore, we represent Him in everything we do.

     What do you want the world to think about Christ? As a Christian, it's YOU the world is looking at to find out why you say Christ is so amazing? You're a Christian, you can talk the talk, but will you walk the walk?

Prayer Makes A Relationship

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7

     How do you pray? Do you actually talk to God as if you were having a conversation with Him? Do you have a regular prayer you pray every morning or night, saying the same thing over and over each day? Do you even pray every day, or only when you need something? Do you stop to thank Him when He answers your prayer in the way you were hoping for? Do you praise Him every day? Do you still praise Him when He gives you what you need rather than what you want?

     God is our Heavenly Father and we should feel like we can have an open conversation with Him. He wants us to talk to Him. Tell Him what you want, tell Him what you feel like you need, tell Him your hopes and dreams, tell Him your fears and frustrations and things you're struggling with.

     After all that, though, don't forget to listen for His response. Yes, He will talk to you. The Holy Spirit is always talking to us, encouraging the choices we make every day. The closer you get to Him, it will seem easier to recognize His guidance. Don't forget to read your Bible because that is the main tool He uses to talk to us. Pray before you read that you will get something out of it, and you most definitely always will.

     Some people might say they don't know how to pray. It's easier than you might think. Just talk to Him like you would talk to anyone. Talk to him like I'm talking to you right now. Prayer is a one-on-one conversation with your Creator. That might make it seem a little intimidating to just talk to Him casually, but that comes with having a relationship with Him. He is also our Heavenly Father. Talk to Him like you would talk to your dad, or you could also talk to Him like you would talk to your best friend (which is another part of the relationship we have with Him).

     By the way, yes, I called prayer a conversation. Like I said, God talks to us all the time. Sometimes He might choose to do it through your Bible reading. Other times, we just need to be still, be quiet, open our hearts, and listen.

     Just like any relationship, it takes time and effort to help it grow. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says simply that we are to "Pray without ceasing." Jesus will always make the time to talk to us. Will you make the time to talk to Him?

Facing Our Trials

     "Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
     Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."" - John 9:1-3

     Many times, when we face trials, we become angry with God. If God is supposed to love us, we want to know why He would do things that seem like they would hurt us. Especially after we've all heard the saying over and over that God never gives us more than we can handle, so why does it sometimes seem like we're given more than we can handle?

     Yes, God does love us, but His job is not to give us everything we ask for. What He does give us, is exactly what we need. Sometimes, most of the time, what we need is not something physical. He uses hardships to teach us lessons.

     Have you ever prayed for more money? A new car? A new job? A sickness to be healed? If your request isn't answered in the way you want within a certain time frame, what do you do? Do you ask again? Do you ask why you didn't get what you wanted? Do you get angry at God?

     Picture this: A little toddler wants some candy, but has already had more than he should. The father says no, so the toddler begins to throw a fit. The toddler is going to continue to throw a fit until he gets what he wants. The dad knows he can't give the toddler more candy because that is what is best for him and if he eats any more he will get sick. Should the dad hold his ground? Or should the dad give in to make the child happy?

     How is that situation any different than ours when we pitch a fit to God for not giving us what we want? God knows what is best for us because He can see the bigger picture. We may think we know what we want, but that doesn't always mean we know what we need. Our wants are based on our current circumstances. What God wants is for us to trust Him with those circumstances so He can take care of our needs.

     If we don't trust Him, if we keep pulling back, then we're never going to achieve that happiness God wants for us. We may say, God doesn't know what I need, I know what I need and God won't give it to me. We try to control our lives, but our views are limited. The only way to peace is to follow God.

     Sometimes, if we stray from the path He has for us, he may give us some hard times to help encourage us to turn back to the right path. Other times, he may let us struggle with certain situations to help us build Godly character. It's up to us whether we learn something or not, but if we close our hearts to God's teachings, we risk closing our hearts to God Himself.

     Nobody enjoys going through trials in their life, but if we trust God to help us through, He will lead us through even the darkest times.

A Life Of Praise

"Sing to the Lord, all the earth; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day." - 1 Chronicles 16:23

     Sunday mornings are great, aren't they? We go to church, we sing the songs, we listen to the message, and we have fellowship with our fellow believers. We like to praise God on Sundays.

     What about when that alarm goes off Monday morning and it's time to get ready to go back to work? Are you still praising God? What about on payday when you're looking at your paycheck and your bills and wondering how you're going to make it work? Are you still praising God? How about when your car breaks down, are you still praising God? When it's winter and the heat stops working in your house, are you still praising God? When disease strikes your family, are you still praising God? How about when your family and friends laugh at your faith, are you still praising God?

     There are many situations in life where we find it difficult to praise Him. In fact, in some situations, rather than praise Him, we blame Him.

     Why do we contradict ourselves? Why do we only get excited to praise Him on Sunday mornings? Why do we not continue to praise Him throughout the week?

     We don't need to be in church to praise God. A church is just a building, THE church is all the people who claim to be followers of God. We need to be praising God every moment of every day. When we're alone and no one is looking, we still need to be praising God.

     Our worship of Him is not just something we go to church and do on Sundays. Worship does not just come from our voices as we sing, true worship comes from our hearts. When our hearts are praising God, it will show through our actions and we will be publicly proclaiming our love for Him.

     If our actions are not showing how much we love God, then perhaps we might want to re-examine our hearts. We say we love God, but then we ignore Him half the time, or we only talk to Him when we need something or have something to complain about. Is that love? Where is the praise?

     If you love God, praise Him, trust Him, lean on Him in all those difficult situations, and let your actions proclaim that love to the rest of the world each and every day.

     We need to let our light shine. The world should never have to ask if we are Christians. That is something that they should be able to see in our everyday lives, through our constant prayer and trust in Him. Our attitudes need to reflect the love that Jesus had for the world. Our words need to lift people up and encourage them. Even our private thoughts need to glorify God, as they will effect our lives whether we realize it or not.

     "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" - Psalm 150:6

     Live your life, every day, in a way that is pleasing to God, in a way that glorifies God. You can shout out your love for God with words, but when you back it up with your actions, people will see that and know you speak the truth.

Priorities

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." - Matthew 6:24

     Close your eyes for a moment and think about something, anything. What's the first thing that pops into your mind?

     Did you think of a person? Someone you love, perhaps? Did you think of an object? How about an activity? Favorite song or TV show? Perhaps you thought about what you're going to do later, or what you would be doing if you weren't reading this.

     Did you think about God?

     The things we spend our time thinking about and doing are the things that take top priority in our lives. How often does pleasing and serving God make that list? Is that your number one priority, right up there at the top? Is it number two on your list? Does it even make the top ten? By placing anything before God, we make those things out to be idols. We worship them, we care about them more than God. We let those things (objects, activities, people, money, worries . . . anything) become other gods to us.

     God needs to be number one in our lives. Our purpose is to serve Him. Proverbs 3:6 says, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." When God is number one, when we serve Him day and night, in both our thoughts and our works, when we are living one hundred percent for Him, He will lead us through the complicated and treacherous path of life. That doesn't mean our situations will always be perfect, but He will help us handle and get through anything that gets thrown our way.

     If we made a list of everyone and everything in our lives that is most important to us, I wonder how many lists would have God at the top? There are some who would and some who would not even have Him on the list at all. However, if you are a Christian, then God should be on your list. If God is on your list, He should be at the top. If He is not at the top, then what do you consider more important? What other gods do you serve? Read Matthew 6:24 again.

     You can only serve one God.

     "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Luke 12:34

     What or who is number one on your list? What is the treasure of your heart?

     "Therefore by their fruits you will know them." - Matthew 7:20

     If God is your number one, then let His light shine through you. The world shouldn't even have to ask you Who you serve. Let them know that God is at the top of your list.

Not My Will

     If you asked me what my plans for the future were, I would probably tell you that I wanted to follow God's plan for my life. I feel like I'm beginning to see a bigger picture of what path He wants me to follow and how He wants me to accomplish the plans He has for me in life. This involves finishing/publishing some of my writing, and also, hopefully getting involved in the Christian film industry (such as attempting to start something right where I'm at in Michigan).

     I might also talk to you about how I went to school in Virginia, how I love the scenery and atmosphere there, and that I would absolutely love to move there someday.

     Now, if you've noticed, the plans I feel God has for me and the plans I would like to have for myself don't exactly go in the same direction. I tried following my own plan for such a long time, although as much as I wanted to move, I could never find the finances to move and couldn't find a job with relocation assistance. No matter how much I had wanted to move, it was never a real possibility. Only recently have I started to realize that God's plans might require me to stay right where I am, but even then, it was hard for me to accept. I'm getting there, but I had to ask God not only to help me accept the fact that He already has me right where He wants me, but also to be okay with it. If I was going to stop dreaming about Virginia, I needed God to help me fall in love with where I was. With His help, I have. Sure, I still like to visit Virginia, but I couldn't imagine trying to find another location to jump into the plans He has for me.

     "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:9

     God has a plan for us. We may not always see it, but He definitely does. Maybe you get frustrated because you don't feel like you're doing enough, or you don't feel like you're doing what He's called you to do. Maybe you don't know what He's called you to do.

     For years, I thought I had it figured out. I was sure I knew what He wanted me to do, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I wanted to be a professional actress who could be a positive Christian role model for people that liked my work. But I never achieved the goal, and looking back on those years, I can see how God was using that passion to shape me into who I am now. I had taken something that I wanted to do and tried to figure out how I could do it for God. That didn't mean it was His will for me - after all, it was still my path, my dreams, that I was trying to follow.

     We could go crazy trying to figure out whether our dreams are a goal He has given us or just something that we really want to happen. As long as we do everything for God, with the single thought of pleasing Him rather than ourselves, I don't think we can go wrong. However, if we don't achieve that dream, perhaps God never meant it to be the ultimate goal, but just for the pursuit of it to be a learning experience.

     I wouldn't have ever thought about publishing my writing if I hadn't have failed at trying to be an actress. And maybe writing isn't the ultimate goal, either, but ever since the moment I submitted to God to use what I've been told is a talent, He has given me ideas for so many things to write about that I had to start writing them down so I wouldn't forget any of them. So, for now, this is the path I will follow, and if He has other plans for me, then I have faith that He will lead me in whatever direction He needs for me to do whatever He wants me to do.

     If you're not sure whether you're following His path or yours, the first thing to do would be to pray about it. After that, make sure everything you do is for Him and His glory. If you don't know what He's called you to do, find a passion/talent/hobby and pray about how you can use it to bring more glory to God.

     God has a plan for us. We just need to live for Him, make our goal to do whatever He wants us to do, and He will lead us in the right direction.