Puny Human Brains Just Don't Get It, Ever.

I have a feeling that something is going to happen today. I think it's a good something. The more I think about the feeling itself, the more I think about what we talked about in the laystaff meeting this morning.

The main point that I got out of it (there was a LOT more than this though) was that by God's grace comes wisdom, knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6). When we don't understand something ourselves, the best and most important thing to do is to not lean on something that we lack (Proverbs 3:5)! Often we'll even think that we have total understanding of our situation...but we don't. What we perceive to be true and what is actually the truth is often wrong.

We also like to think that what we want is obviously God's plan for our lives, and that bad things just aren't meant to happen to us.

Just, no, guys. Gold can't be refined and made pure without fire.

I'll use an example from my life that will hopefully explain why.

I had back and neck trouble on and off for over 15 years. Yes, since I was four. It hasn't restricted me much, but I'd never been able to do push-ups because my back wouldn't support me. And pain is annoying. My pastor prayed for me one Sunday and I was healed. But then all of a sudden, I was in more pain than before! I didn't understand why I was in pain. I was angry. I cried. It took me two days to be able to ask someone why, and when I did, I had a massive facepalm moment. Turns out that when your muscles have been compensating for so long, when everything is put back right, you hurt even more!!!

I apologised to God for yelling at him, and I think he may have had a small chuckle. I know I did, in a sheepish kind of way.

My understanding failed me, I should have been listening to his voice. But at least I have now got a fantastic illustration for this point! See, there was God at work in multiple levels. Man, God is awesome.

We don't have the road map for our future, but God does (Jeremiah 29:11...the verse that stalks me). He's like our navigator, and we can choose to listen to his wisdom or choose not to. If he tells you something, you can believe him. My mum always says that you should check things you get with the Bible to make sure that it lines up...that's a whole other blog post though. But yeah. God gives wisdom and when he gives it, it's usually something that can be found in his word.

God has a plan for us, to ultimately make us prosperous (Jeremiah 29:11). We need to grow first to be able to reach our full and awesome potential. A horse cannot win any sort of prestigious trophy without first being gentled or broken, and put through rigorous training.

Likewise, we don't necessarily understand why bad things are happening to us. The horse doesn't understand why that infernal man has strapped a saddle to its back and is pushing it to run its hardest...in a circle of all things. You may not feel like you're going anywhere, but the more you grow and rely on God, like the horse that trusts its trainer and is obedient, the more awesome you'll become.

Trust Him with all your heart and don't rely on your own understanding! God is so much bigger and knows infinitely more than us. Listen to him. ;)

If My Heart Was a House You'd be Home.

Thanks, OwlCity, for putting it so succinctly. (Adam Young is too awesome a writer for words.)

First of all, being the mushy sopface that I am, I am in love with that song. Not only is the music fantastic, the lyrics are beautiful!!! It's totally how I feel about no one in particular.

Which brings me to my topic for this post.

Today I am going to talk about being single and not loving it.

Also, what I have realised over the past year about it.

Firstly, Everyone I know (pretty much) has told me (in one way or another, some more and some less diplomatically) that I need to get over it because there's no way I'm going to stay single for long.

Still, my brain says, "Pfsh. Yeah, right."
Then I'll say, "But-"
And then my brain will cut me off with "You will be lonely for ever and without someone to love! BAHAHAaarr..."
...Yeah, maybe not quite like that. But, anyway. Continuing on.

And my heart goes sadface on me.

But... no more!

I realised this: I can love the someone even though I don't know them! Like that sappy Human Nature song...but not.

So yeah, I have decided to love whoever-he-is wholeheartedly, even though I don't know him yet.

Circle me and the needle moves gracefully
Back and forth; if my heart was a compass, you'd be north;
Risk it all, I'll catch you when you fall
Wherever you go, If my heart was a house you'd be home! 

*sigh*

Yep, fantastic song. And I don't feel lonely any more.

Self-Righteous is a Bit of an Oxymoron.

 I was going to post this as a comment on my previous blog post, but then realised it would probably be better as another post (it being long and all).
So, in response to Thomas...

I see where you're coming from, but I'm not quite sure if you can see where I'm coming from.

Never beat people over the head with your faith. I agree with that. Although, there is a difference between making a stand for what you believe in and bashing people about with it. Jesus said to be open about what you believe in.

About the passage you quoted:

Matthew 6:1-7 (NLT)
Teaching about Giving to the Needy
   ¹ “Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. ² When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. ³ But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. ⁴ Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.


Teaching about Prayer and Fasting
 ⁵ “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. ⁶ But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. ⁷ “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.

This is talking about not being arrogant about what you do for others and thinking that it makes you holier than other people.

Here are a couple more points to consider along the lines of self-righteousness:

Romans 3:22-24 (NLT)
²² We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
 ²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

We have ALL fallen short of the glory of God and it is by GRACE ALONE that we have been saved! Bit of a kick in the guts for self-righteousness there, hehe. It's quite a humbling thing to think about.

Luke 16:15 (NLT)
¹⁵ Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.


We should do good things not for personal glorification but because we love God and others. Remember the woman who gave her last two coins? She did something in public but not for showy self-righteousness.

Finally,
2 Timothy 4:5 (NLT)
⁵ But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

We're all supposed to be open about what we believe. But it is most definitely common sense to not push someone around with God's word if they don't want to hear it. It just pushes them away more.

This comes back to what I was saying in my previous blog post: Living the right way is how you shine God's light! By living right, others can see that there's something different about you. So there is a private and public element of your faith, but both are important! You don't have to carry a heavy bible under your arm and shout to the heavens for all to hear about hellfire and brimstone, but definitely don't keep it a secret.

Thanks heaps Thomas, your comments were very thought-provoking. I always appreciate them! :)

Walk the walk, love others, be real.

Stepping Up to the Plate. Or Something Like That.

I've got that warm fuzzy feeling inside and it's not from my lunch.

I have something to say and I think it's really important. Whether you're a Christian or not, I'm pretty sure you'll agree with at least some of it.

I'll give you some background story first, though.

As you most likely know (people who read my blog have usually known me since I was about 14) I used to write A LOT about things God and I had been discussing. I haven't so much lately written about it and I was wondering why. I was talking to God the other night and he said, “Well you kind of need to rededicate yourself to me.”
I responded with “But...I am totally full on for you and passionate about your plan and everything!” But God does know better, being sovereign and indescribably amazing and all powerful. With this in mind, I said “Okay, I'll do it.” So I prayed and rededicated myself to Him, and felt awesome. THEN. Yes, then. He said to me, “Okay, now make it public.”


WHAT??!
What will my youth pastors think? What will the other people in the church think?

Yeah, anyway after that mini freak out, God said gently, “It's not about what other people think, it's about you and me. Besides you're in a safe place when you're with the Church, no one will judge you.”

I always love how he's so gentle with me like that. He gets how I'm wired because, hey, he was the one who wired up my brain.

This morning in the House we had a visiting speaker, an evangelist by the name of Andrew Kubala. He is very awesome and also hilarious. I wish I'd had my note taking implements (my phone which I left at home accidentally) with me cause he said a lot of awesome stuff...I think I'll be getting a hold of the CD because it's worth listening to over.

Anyway, lo and behold at the end of his message he had an alter call for people becoming Christians or rededicating their lives to Jesus. I was freaking out. I knew what God had said to me but I didn't want to look bad or weak or like I'd been evil or sinning like a maniac or something. I was praying inside, “GOD! PLEASE ASK HIM TO SAY SOMETHING TO MAKE ME FEEL LESS FREAKOUTISH!” among other things. God answered my prayer quick-smart when Ps Andrew said something about even leaders, and one more person. I knew it was me that needed to put my hand up, because God had been telling me I had to for the ENTIRE WEEKEND. Hehe.

So I put my hand up. And when he called us out the front, I went. Along with some of my friends too, so I figured that maybe this is something God's been challenging a few people with this week(end).

I've been asking God for a new breakthrough and I got it by being obedient in one simple thing. I was feeling embarrassed, but God said to me then that I didn't need to, because, as I looked around me when heading back to my spot, all around me were other leaders and pastors, and people I KNOW love him totally.

Taking physical steps forward like that and being bold in public is important. It shows people where you are at in your heart and what you are focused on. (Baptism is another fantastic example of this.) Walking the walk (literally in my case) proves that you believe in and act on your own talk. I'd better not say anything more or I'll give it all away too soon!

I won't write out what else God's given to me just yet, not to publish here. I'll save it in a word document for another day....because this has been a lot already. If you're interested to hear about it, just message me or leave a comment or check out Colossians 3.