When Faith and Fear Collide

I just realized it has been well over a year since I have posted on my blog.  I'm not sure why the gap in posts except life has been very busy! Over the past year I graduated with my Masters in Counseling, passed my state exam, moved into a new apartment, purchased a new car, started a new job, quit that job, started another new job, took on additional responsibilities with said employer and finally took the plunge after much encouragement from family and friends to start my own private counseling practice.

This is where the faith and fear colliding comes in, when reading the above paragraph I see how God has worked every aspect of my life out, down to even the smallest of details, yet my fears can sometimes overcome the faith I have that God will once again come thru.  I'm not sure where the fears come from except that on some level it seems normal to have some fear of failing.  I have also thought about what failing may look like and have had to process how I'm going to feel if I do fail. Obviously, I don't go into anything in my life with an outlook of not being successful, but I do put certain expectations and time frames on things that may cause me to think of myself as a failure if things aren't going as I planned them to go....the operative word here is "I."  With all the planning in the world I have to keep reminding myself that if God is in what I'm doing and I've earnestly sought His will, He appears to have opened all the doors, then whatever happens is in His control and not mine.  There I said it, "I am not in control!" Wow, that's tough when you have a personality that likes to be in control.

So how do I get past the fear when I feel overwhelmed and have negative thoughts cross my mind?  I have to constantly remind myself that God plans my steps, His ways are not my ways and everything I do is for a purpose.  Sometimes that purpose is for me to rely on Him more and take my concerns directly to Him each step of the way instead of trying to fix it on my own.  What I might find unimportant may be the one step I need to take to get to the next place I need to be.  One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

I have been blessed beyond measure and more than I will ever deserve, knowing God has it all under control helps me to keep looking to Him to renew my faith and release my fears!  If your fears are bigger than your faith right now, remember to turn your fears over to him and He is in control and wants the best for you!

God Bless

Is it my Right to Fight?

It's been a while since I've been on here to write about anything but something I saw last evening on Facebook has prompted me to do a little scripture searching.  I'm so not political but what I am is a Christian who wants to show God's power and His love through me and my actions.

As Christians it seems that little by little other religions, cultures, and immoral behaviors are taking over the world, if not the world at least our country.  I could say I'm shocked and can't believe this would happen, in all places America!  However, given the state of our country's affairs I'm not the least bit surprised.  Honestly, I see it getting way worse before it gets any better. With that being said the question I have been pondering is, "As a Christian is it our "right" to fight for God and what we believe in?"  We all have our opinions so I didn't really want to go on what I feel I can do but what does God's word say we can do?  This is a little of what I discovered.

In the Old Testament I found a couple examples that show opposite of "fighting for rights."  In the book of Daniel we see Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego not fight for their rights, they just refused to do what King Nebuchadnezzar told them to do.  So is that fighting, they understood what the consequence would be for not bowing so they chose to stand.  By standing they ended up in the fiery furnace.  No I don't see anywhere in the story where they struggled or kicked and screamed going into the furnace.  They trusted in the Lord their God to save them from the heat or take them on to be with him.  They didn't ask others to go along with them, they didn't try to help the king see his ways were wrong, they let God do that for them.  God changed the Kings heart by bringing them out of the furnace without a burn on them. This in turn is what the King decreed, "Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort." Daniel 3:29  Through their obedience to God they were saved and God was glorified!

So then I thought well maybe that was just that one instance, again I came to the same book in the Bible. Daniel, the man whom the king loved.  The man whom God loved.  Those that hated him conspired against him. First, they had the king of the land take away his "right" to pray.  The "right" was removed yet Daniel didn't throw a fit, bash the king or even those who started the fight.  Instead, Daniel chose not to follow the law and pray!  Did Daniel understand the consequence for his actions? Absolutely, according to Daniel 6:7 "All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions." (KJV)  Daniel being in the position he was in would be well aware of his consequence.  Yet Daniel continued to pray, not fight, not argue, just pray!  God listened to Daniel's prayers and when he was thrown into the den of lions God spared Daniel's life.  Again see the results, "I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end." Daniel 6:26

So some may say, well that was Old Testament times and God doesn't do things like that anymore.  I would have to differ with that opinion, but again it's not about my opinion.  What does God's word say in the New Testament about us fighting for our rights?

"For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people." Hebrews 10:30

When Jesus was being taken from the garden to be placed on trial Peter tried to protect him with his sword, it was his "right" to do so, right! "And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. ⁵² Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." Matthew 26:51-52

Paul and Silas showed us how to be examples of  Christ.  " And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. ²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. ²⁷ And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. ²⁹ Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, ³⁰ And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  ³¹ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:25-31 

They were thrown into prison for preaching the gospel, which should have been their "right." Their chains were loosed and they didn't kill the guard, they didn't even chain the guard up, he won the guard to Christ!  

If we are to be the example of Christ because He has already fought for us. Salvation is through him, no man on this Earth can save us from the destruction that comes from men, only Christ!  So if we see our rights slowly taken away and given over to immorality and wickedness should we be surprised or even shocked, no!...It has been happening since the Earth began.

So it appears what we should be doing is continuing to live for Christ as if nothing has been taken away, no laws given to me by the government that go against God's laws should matter, we continue following the head lawmaker, the One whom created the man or men who think they are in charge!  We don't change how we share the gospel, we do it in love!  We may be thrown into a fire, a lion's den or killed by the sword, but then again, isn't that our right as Christians!

So am I saying sit by and smile and just say, "Oh well, it's to be expected?" Absolutely not! In my opinion, as Christians we must stay united, because a house divided will surely fall.  When we see a fellow Christian bother have an injustice done to them we peacefully pursue justice, such as Chick-fil-a's Appreciation Day last year or shopping at Hobby Lobby to support their fight against laws that go against God's laws.   We can also write our Congressmen or women and in a Biblical way let them know that we don't agree with allowing laws to come on the books.  We can most of all pray!!!! Pray to the God who controls all things and all situations, as a united group of Christ followers. 

Supporting what is RIGHT, GOOD AND MORAL with our funds, time and prayer and let God deal with change the way He sees fit.

That's not very Christian of you!

Over the last year I have had a few people question my Christianity because I choose not to do something for them.  As much as I can understand their frustration in not getting their way, I don't understand the logic.  Where in the Bible does it say I have to do whatever someone asks of  me just because I am a Christian?  According to them, if I don't do it then I'm not setting a very good example of Christianity!  Or I get, I don't want to be a Christian if that's how they treat people! Or Christians are no better than anyone else, they only think of themselves.  Whatever the ridicule it causes us to question our decisions and doubt ourselves.   Whenever this happens I always take it to prayer to make sure I have made the right decision in saying no.  Then it came to me...I am told no constantly by God.  If I weren't, I would be married, drive a new car, be out of debt, and own a home.  Am I to take it that God does not love me because he says no, well that's the most absurd thing ever.  It's because God does loves me that he tells me no.  He knows there is something else he has in store for my life.  Sometimes he tells me no because I have to pay the consequence for my behavior and/or choices.  Sometimes he tells me no because my will is outside of His will.  Whatever the reason it makes him no less God and me no less of a Christian.

So why is it that God can tell us no as Christians and yet we are made to feel guilty for telling those in our lives no if necessary?  Why is it they throw the Christianity thing in our face first thing when they don't get what they want?  I'm assuming they think the guilt might then overtake us and we will change our minds.   I'm not a Christian to be a yes man to everyone I come in contact with.  I'm called to love everyone and to follow Jesus!  Loving does not mean agreeing with everyone or giving someone what they want just because they have asked.  Loving you is doing what is best for us both.  A lot of times me helping is only enabling and ultimately, not helping!  Unfortunately, when on the receiving end a no does not feel like love.  If only they could understand that it doesn't feel good on our end either even when we know it's the right decision.

So if you're dealing with having to tell someone no and them questioning your Christianity, ask yourself this, "Will me helping them hurt them in the long run because they aren't making wise choices with their life?"  Take it to God ask him for wisdom and always tell them no in love if that's what needs to be done.  They're probably not going to like it initially, but hopefully one day they will thank you for it.

Matthew 5:11 "God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers." 

Take a moment and think about that quote, I mean really ponder what it’s saying.  Do you believe it?  Does change arise from chaos, no matter what the chaos is?  When I think about the cross, how chaotic that scene must have been, the people standing around either cheering, crying or in shear disbelief of what they were witnessing, in that moment, was it pure chaos?   In that moment, did those who walked with Christ really believe he was who he said he was?  In that moment were they trusting what he had told them and expecting him to create change for their world?

Our world today is in much chaos, even closer to home our country is feeling very chaotic.  With the election quickly approaching and the uncertainty of what may happen no matter who gets elected, change is about to come, does it mean it will be great?  Well I suppose it depends on the perspective in which you view what’s going on around us today.  In a world where the news shows someone killing themselves live on TV for the world to see, to other people killing our people with no sense of remorse or even care as if they weren’t human, we have become so desensitized to the value of human life, not understanding or even caring about the eternity that they go to once they leave this world. We could get caught up in the, “Oh no, what’s going to happen to us as Christians” as we slowly lose our freedoms or we can embrace the fact that “GREAT CHANGE COMES FROM CHAOS”.  Just like back in the day of Christ they could not imagine what that change would be, they didn’t have God’s Word to rely on, His truths to hold close to their heart and the scripture that says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5

God never intended for us to look at the world around us and worry about what is going on, that doesn’t mean we bury our head in the sand.  It’s ok to be informed and we should be, without being informed we can make some unwise decisions.  However, being informed and being anxious over the future of this world are two different things when you’re a Christian.   Scripture tells us time and again, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 

As a Christian we have something to look forward too, we know that out of all this chaos there is something wonderful coming.  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Matthew 24:42. 

So I want to end with this, as I know I can’t remove anxiety or worry from myself or anyone else  Christ can, but understanding how the story ends and knowing that it will all be worth it no matter what may come can help me accept the statement with chaos comes great change and that’s our Lord Jesus Christ!

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.  He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.  Revelations 21:1-7

God Bless and May the Lord give you peace and comfort through times of uncertainty and change!!

No Love

I recently heard on a radio broadcast that Facebook is causing more and more people to feel depressed.  The thought that everyone post only those good things about their lives make others compare themselves and then question why their life isn't that good.  Let's face it how many people have you taken a picture of and they said, "If that's not a good picture don't post it on Facebook!"  I know I've said it myself, is it because we don't want people to see the bad side of our lives, we post those wonderful family vacation pictures but never tell of the arguments all the way down the road heading on that vacation.  We post about getting engaged or getting married so everyone can know, or so we can feel better than those people who aren't in a relationship or at that level in their relationship.  Whatever the reason people are only seeing a glimpse into the real us and that glimpse is only what we want them to see.
I'll be the first to admit that I try to post uplifting encouraging messages or faith based messages, not because I'm always happy or life is grand, trust me there are times I'd really like to say what I'm thinking but in life and in "Facebook Reality" I try to guard my tongue from hurting others intentionally or unintentionally (I'm not always successful at it and I admit it.)
There are things that I don't love about Facebook and it's world and we all know it's become a world of it's own and those things I'd rather give no love to at all are; that it's making it easy for people to be unfaithful and causing divorces, jealousy, discord, hate speech, arguments, immodest images (that just happen to show up because someone I'm friends with commented on or "liked" a picture of someones that their friends with), political debates (that never get resolved), and the freedom for anyone to say what they want without thinking of the way it makes them look or the consequences of others seeing it and the list could go on and on.
So is the issue really with others and what they put out there or is it within us.  The Bible is says in 2 Corinthians 10:12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.  -- Comparing ourselves is not wise, we have the life we have and if we're trusting in the Lord we have to trust that he knows what He's doing.  So you may not get to travel the world or have a big house or maybe it's not His plan for you to get married.  When we put our sights on what He wants for us and stop comparing ourselves with the rest of the world we can learn to be content in whatever state we're in.
In conclusion, I'm not a hater of Facebook obviously, I'm on it all the time and I post my blog to it), it has been used to connect me with people from my past that I've built great new relationships with, I am able to stay connected with those I've met around the world and I've even made new friends through Facebook connections.  However, we need to keep it all in perspective, are we using our Facebook "powers" for good or for evil.  Are we encouraging to others or discouraging.  Are we thoughtful of others feelings of those reading our pages or do we not care.  It's your page and you can do with it what you wish, but remember words and images scream loudly about who we are and how others perceive us to be.......How do you want others to see you? 

Happy Labor Day and Many Blessings!!

Change.....

Wow....when you see that word what does it do to you? Well lately due to it being a year of politics the word can mean a lot for people, it can bring hope or despair. Some of us think of the word "Change" as a negative word, we like the status quo and don't want to rock the boat. For me, the word "Change" means opportunity, excitement, growth and something different. Now you might think that's a little odd but I don't necessarily always enjoy the routine, so change brings something new to my life. Now with that being said, I don't enjoy being taken out of my comfort zone and unfortunately with change that can happen. Over the past several months I had been asking God for a change in my life, something not only for my own spiritual growth but for me to advance His kingdom, I didn't think to ask for him to keep me in my comfort zone while these changes occurred, I've learned my lesson for the next time. So the change that's happened has brought me to a place of contentment and joy, being blessed by things that I would have not thought could be possible. With the Lord's help, prompting, and much prayer I left my church of the last 4 years, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with my old church, but we were no longer a good fit. Sometimes, stepping outside of the box we build for ourselves in our mind takes us to places we would have never imagined. Through that one move God has opened up doors that I never would have thought possible. I've met a group of people who love the Lord and their focus is on growing his Kingdom and living for him. There are wonderful ministry opportunities and learning opportunities that have come with this change. So no longer am I content to be a pew warmer, but I'm craving learning more of God's word and sharing it in the ways He has planned.....The Bible tells us that we're all to go out and preach the gospel, it's not just the job of a select few, it's the command for all Christians. So my thought for the day, don't be afraid of change, welcome it, ask God to make it happen so that He can get the glory. You'll be blessed for your efforts and grow through the process. And speaking of change, Blogger has changed the way I post now....so who knows if this is going to work correctly ;-)

Is it a relationship or just religion

So it's two in the morning on Good Friday and after a half an hour of back in forth with the Lord of whether He really wants me to get up and write a blog post at this hour, I finally decided He did. So if you notice really poor grammar you'll know why, I'm half asleep and my eyes are struggling to focus on the computer, but with His help I'll get the thoughts out that I'm suppose to.
Lately with the Easter season approaching I've been thinking about what my relationship with Christ is and what it needs to be? It's so easy for us in America to know Christ and about the Bible, we have the freedom to own as many of them as we want and to go to church and worship how we wish. I'm not sure how much longer those freedoms will last, but for now the freedom is there. (We'll save that topic for another day.) So are we taking advantage of those freedoms like we should? The Pharisee's were the most religious men of Jesus' time, they knew all the laws and kept them to a tee...however, when Christ was standing right in front of them and pointing out to them the problem with their knowledge they did not recognize him as the Messiah. How can this be! This can be because even though they knew the laws they did not know Him for who He was, the Son of God sent to die for them and save them from their sin. Knowing all about Him did them no good because they had no relationship with Him.
Think of the relationships within your life, your friends, family, co-workers, and all those in between. Do you have acquaintances, those people you may pass in the hall at work and say hello to, but you don't really know anything about? What about church are there people at your church who you know but know nothing about? I can even venture to guess there are even people within your own family that you know but know nothing about their lives. Why is this? It's because you have not built a relationship with them. Relationships take work and sometimes a lot of it. They don't always come easy, but you have to make a conscious effort to be involved in another person's life. The same goes for Christ!!!
He wants to have a relationship with us! He wants us to pick up the phone, so to say, when we need to chat and guess what He doesn't sleep! So how great is it that even at two in the morning you can have a conversation with Him. However, a relationship with Christ is like the others in your life, it takes work!! You need to communicate with him through prayer. He communicates to us as well. His Word is like an extremely long love letter. If we aren't putting forth the effort the relationship fades. He says he will never leave or forsake us, however that doesn't mean we have a relationship with him, it means he's an acquaintance. It's always a two way street. I saw a little picture not to long ago that said, "A relationship is not something you can log in and out of". Think about your own with those family and friends. How do you feel when you don't hear from someone you love for a while? I can imagine that Christ feels the same.
When going through the next few days up to Easter think about your relationship with Christ. Are you following the rules, but not following Him? Do you know him as an acquaintance or do you know him as a true friend? He wants us to make Him number one above all relationships, are you doing that? If not, wouldn't today Good Friday be a great day to start!

Happy Easter!!