How big? ... really

I was watching interviews of today’s famous people, especially singers, and I saw how they made so much money by making songs and in ways that don’t necessarily go according to God’s Word and way of doing things. Suddenly, God seemed to me this small impotent deity that was not really necessary in this situation (of making money). The lie I was beginning to believe was that maybe God is not enough; maybe He is not big enough or mighty enough to handle issues as serious as money. In my mind, He suddenly became like this child that is shooed into his room when serious adult issues are about to be discussed. My peace suddenly left, and anxiety set in; what can I do to attain this kind of wealth? I suddenly felt as though I had not been doing enough, as if I would never be able to do enough and now (since I had to accomplish this on my own), I felt discouraged, a crawling infant faced with a mountain and the task to climb it…

In that split second, the Holy Spirit pointed it out, I was still in distress, and immediately, I shut down my computer and opened my Bible. My Bible opened to Isaiah, those chapters (40-45) that talk about how great and mighty and high above everything God is. Suddenly, that tiny deity vanished and God, through His Word showed me that He is the mighty God. God cannot fit into my little box, because, see, the entire earth is His footstool. He is not the child to be shooed; He is the center of the discussion and the only reason why that discussion makes any sense. God is not a poor wretch, all the gold and silver belongs to Him (Haggai 2:8), and nothing is more relevant in any issue of life and beyond than His Word. God started working on my heart, showing me the true picture of reality, refocusing my mind on the truth… He is the greatest. God is faithful, loving and good.

Many times in life, we get distracted from the truth, a lie slips into our minds and we start believing it, first, these lies tell you that God is small, impotent and just not enough for you or what you need in life (because this is the only way to cripple you). It comes up in what we think about relationships, family issues, worldviews, money issues and just as easily, any issue of life. The lies tell you that your God is not sufficient in this situation, that His ways and points of view are old-fashioned, and no longer relevant… those are lies! God is supreme, He is sufficient. He is the most relevant today and forever. God is God, and nothing else can take His place. The truth is there spelled out in God's Word (the Bible), read it.

The devil will try to deceive you into thinking otherwise, but nothing and no one can take God’s place and I pray that by the help of the Holy Spirit, You see and keep it that way in your heart, mind and in your life.

He spoke the world into existence.

Some songs about God's love for you

In the last blog entry, we explored a little of how in love God is with us, here are some songs to help you. Enjoy... 

While we were yet sinners...

Google or read in your Bible Colossians 3:12- 15

You can’t give what you don’t have. Notice how, before all these things we should do, “we” were defined. As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved…. This is how we should see ourselves. Most of us; Christians know in our heads that God loves us, and that was why He sent His son Jesus to die for our sins, but we don't know in our hearts what this means. What do I mean when I say God loves you? This is the creator of love we are talking about. From the broken humans around us, we see shards of love and we enjoy it, we want it. Even in its imperfect state, love is beautiful enough that most of us spend our lives trying to get it. If the love from mere humans could be so inviting, how much more the love from God? Most of my life, I saw God as this angry, scary ruler who I had to spend most of my life trying to please and not offend. I did not see him as a lover, who wants me to know at least a little of how much He loves and cares for me. The closest (although imperfect) depiction that we have of God’s love for us is true love between a man and a woman. When a man loves a woman immensely, I assume that he is doing everything to get her attention, to woo her heart, to let her know how much he cares for her, to get into a relationship with her. The Bible says that the Church (that’s us) is the bride of Christ. In the love relationship we see between a groom and his bride, the groom (hopefully) is not an angry, scary ruler who the bride has to spend most of her life pleasing and trying not to offend. That’s ridiculous! So why do we think that about God?

In the Bible, God goes to great lengths to tell us over and over again (so it is not mistaken) that He loves us. I mean, I don’t care how much a man loves a woman, he does not know the number of hairs on her head, but God knows that about you! Sometimes, when I consider how many people are in this world, I wonder if God notices me. This detail shows me that He does not just stop at noticing me, He knows me, all of me including my ugliness and He loves me! Most of the love celebrated on tv is between flawless couples, the lady is just the right size, has just the right smile, hair always lies perfectly, not a single strand out of line, even when she just woke up! When I see this, I am discouraged, because I am never that perfect. But another thing about God’s love for me and you is that it is not afraid to get messy, matter of fact, if God claims to love us, this love relationship is never “picture-perfect”, because we are always messy. In Romans 5: 6, we find out that God’s love came just at the right time. I have noticed that it is in those times when I have really blown it that the love I receive from people is amazing to me; those are the "right" times: times when I don’t “deserve” it. At other times, when I’m doing everything well, it is easy for me understand why people would love me, I mean, I’m saying all the right things, doing all the right things… I see why they would love me. God’s love came to us at a time when we would see absolutely NO reason to receive love. It’s the kind of love that has nothing to do with you, with the way you look, the way you perform… a singer sings “loving you is easy cos you’re beautiful…” well, not this kind of love. In verses 5-8, God loved us while we were still sinners, while we were still powerless, He demonstrated His love – Christ died for us.

Another thing about this perfect love (unlike the imperfect love we see all around) is that it never ends, it never leaves. In Romans 8, we are told that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Once you accept Jesus into your life, you are accepting the love that God demonstrated when He sent Him to die, and nothing will ever be able to snatch you away from it.

I pray that you come in contact with God’s love for you, in a tangible way, then you will be able to love others.

Trust without Borders

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders…”

When I was learning to swim, I simply could not get myself to “lay” in the water. I could not let my feet off the pool floor… impossible! What it I fell? I just could not get myself to do it. I would try, bend over halfway  as if I was going to swim, then stumble back up again. Sometimes, however, my dad would hold my two outstretched hands, facing me, then I would stretch myself out on the pool and I could kick. While holding my hands, he would walk backwards, pulling me forward while I kicked in the water. I was, so to speak, swimming in his arms. I knew he was strong enough, he would not let me fall, his grip was firm enough, so I let my legs float – I trusted him.

You find the need to trust when you can’t handle everything by yourself, when you don’t know what to do or how to do it and there's someone who does. You trust a good doctor’s prescriptions, because although you don’t know all the details of your illness, he does. Trust echoes surrender, dependence and sometimes in the case of our relationship with God, seemingly foolish obedience. 

When you trust God, you are saying “I’m not sure about this (on my own), I can’t handle this, but I know you can, I know you are capable, I know your Word is true, so I’ll obey you. I don’t know how to work this out, but you do, I can’t handle the consequences, but you can. God, I don’t know, I just don’t know how, when, where, what, why, but I know you, and you do. I’m ignorant and maybe even scared in this area, but you are not and you are holding my hands and leading me- it’s on you, God. The bill is on your bank account.

God’s ways are not our ways; His thoughts are far above our thoughts. His plans for our lives would blow our natural minds, it would literally defy logic and probability; it is above natural- it’s supernatural. It has not even entered the heart of man what He has in store for those who love Him.

You cannot walk in the plans God has for you without trusting Him, because most of it ride on the realms of the unknown.