Max Lucado

So every day I wake up and read this little daily devotional by Max Lucado called "Grace For The 

Moment." It's great. But I was reading through a few days that I missed and the one for May 20th struck me. So understand these are his words and God's teaching.

God Is Angry At Evil

"So put all evil things out of your life...These things make God angry."

Colossians 3:5-6

Many don't understand God's anger because they confuse the wrath of God with the wrath of man. The two have little in common. Human anger is typically self-driven and prone to explosions of temper and violent deeds. We get ticked off because we've been overlooked, neglected, or cheated. This is the anger of man. It is not, however, the anger of God. 

God doesn't get angry because he doesn't get his way. He gets angry because disobedience always results in self-destruction. What kind of father sits and watches his child hurt himself?

Amen to that. 

At A Boy

So I wake up, still very groggy from the hydrocodone that hasn't left my system and I go grab a chocolate pudding, a glass of milk and I sit on my parents bed and start flipping through the news stations. While flipping through, I catch a quote from two women that are talking about Barack Obama and the one goes, "In his speech today, he really portrayed himself as someone that is everything to everyone." 

Did you catch that? 

No really. Read it again. Because that statement is one of the saddest things I have ever heard. Okay, we all have our understanding of politicians. These opinions put them somewhere relatively low on the ladder of popularity, kinda near a used cars salesmen. Of course there comes the point in which Americans must vote and determine who to put into the Presidency. No easy task. Politician is still a politician. But there is a difference here. Barack Obama is continuing his show, his facade if you will, as everyone's main guy. He's still playing this popularity game that politicians play, quite frankly though, he needed to stop once he was elected. He is in office with a Democratic congress backing him. There is no reason for this to continue on.

But this is where the huge realization came to me. George Freaking W. Bush never gave in. That guy, (whether you like him or not) always flew his true colors with America. He never dished out fancy rhetoric and inspiring speeches, (honestly I don't think he could if he had tried, it's just not him) but he always did act upon what he found to be best for America. Bush continued to do what he found best for America whether his approval ratings were 80% or 8%. 

Mark 13:13 says, "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved." 

To those who know my past, many of you know my passion for politics. I think I'm shifting though and that I understand now that Christianity isn't politics and that Jesus wasn't a politician. I just know if that is the route that I'm meant to go down, I will be carrying my Christian spirituality with me because it is that important to me. So I guess this post was to try and shed some light on what we know about George Bush and give him some credit for his faith and how he served this country. None of us will ever know his heart completely or what he really believes until we are standing in heaven one day. I hope this showed some of the contrast between the two leaders, I'm not saying one is right or wrong. God says he puts the leaders of this world into power. I just hope that as we all continue to grow in our faith that we are able to stand strong in what we believe in and really exemplify a Christ like heart :] 

Eye Confess

EYE

Luke 6:42 

"How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

CONFESS

James 5:16 

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." 

Eye Confess

To confess means to acknowledge a fault, crime, or in this instance sin, by way of revelation. My past has been marked and hacked away at by my own sinful nature. I have messed up. I am not without fault. Lust, lies, and worry top the charts in my past (not to mention the other countless sins). My closest friends know my past and that is where James 5:16 comes into play. I'd like to thank them for always praying for me and always willing to lend an ear when I'm in need of letting out my past sin. I hope they know and understand that I am always here for them when they are in need. 

However, this brings me to the point of this whole post and what I need to let out. I am done with my past. Others may continue to say and speak the truth about my past. I do however, absolutely refuse to bring up anything against their past (I mean honestly, is that going to get us anywhere? Someone else speaking on behalf of another person?). Now don't get me wrong, my past has obviously shaped me and has been filled and blessed with many moments I never wish to forget. But sometimes there are those periods in your past that seem to effect your very core and inner being, whether positive or negative. The most influential time in my past is rather bittersweet. It was initially negative yet it has reaped positive rewards thanks solely to the redeeming power of God. We do of course understand how satan loves to deter us from the positive aspects and pull us down to his level of negativity. And this is where I offer one of the best statements I have ever come across:

"Do not let your past be the enemy of your future"

Do not, I repeat DO NOT let your past seep into your current thoughts and bring you down. It is written in 1 John chapter one, verse 9:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 

No advancements will be made for the kingdom of God if our pasts continue to rip at us and hack us right back down. STAND FIRM.

GALATIANS 5:1 

"IT IS FOR FREEDOM THAT CHRIST HAS SET US FREE. STAND FIRM, THEN, AND DO NOT LET YOURSELVES BE BURDENED AGAIN BY A YOKE OF SLAVERY." 

None of this is easy. Anything that is worth it in life requires work and persistence. However, God will make us new. He will clean our slate. This is the LORD's grace. 

-Alright. I woke up at 6:40 this morning with all of this on my mind. Now I'm off to have my wisdom teeth removed. Farewell. 

Beautiful Day + (Wildflower Festival)

So I really just absolutely love it when Sundays are amazingly gorgeous and beautiful and just perfect outside. And I feel like today deserves at least some sort of recognition, like a blog post. If you live in the Dallas area well then I think you should NOT be reading this but should be outside smiling and soaking up God's glorious creation :] 

Add on: The Wildflower Festival was totally sick last night and today. Bob Marley and The Wailers minus Bob Marley was definitely the best :] 

Support for Absurd Analogies

If any of yall are close to me and really have gotten me started on a specific topic, you probably know that I come up with really crazy analogies that make perfect sense in my mind but come across kind of distorted to others. However, I have one that I feel like I should share. I was simply sitting here studying for my marketing exam and this thought came into my head about God's plan and will. 

Okay, so we know that when we turn to God, he really starts to work in our lives. He starts to make things "tick." I thought about the old school steam locomotives. They're heavy, they're absolutely massive and they are relatively dense. So, we are like the steam engine. The overall train. We got a lot of baggage with us (the cars in the back) and we're just kind of in idle until we find a conductor. Some of us find really crappy conductors (things of this world) and they really don't get us anywhere. They may for a short time, but eventually it just isn't going to work. Those conductors aren't going to take care of the train and things are going to start to break down. (If yall know anything about steam locomotives, they take A LOT of attention and care and maintenance, trust me, I watched a show on this ;]) But we really truly start to get moving to the right places when Jesus is our conductor. When we fully turn the controls over to him and absolutely nothing else. It's a tough decision to make and follow through with, but once you get on the right track (haha good pun eh?) and really get going, God is going to follow through with his plan. His plan is intricate but he will use you and use you according to his holy, perfect and pleasing will. He'll get you going to the right places at the right time if you allow for him to remain the conductor :]! There really is no greater joy than allowing for God's plan to work in your life. 

So that's my analogy. Completely original. God inspired. Usually people like for analogies to be 10 words or less but quite frankly, that's not much of an analogy to me. I like it when analogies are complex and link up on multiple levels. And this one I really could extend out even more if you want to get into the mechanics of trains but I think I'm going to avoid this for now. 

Pain and Judgment

Today was another day for a rather large amount of growth as far as perspective is concerned. To say I was humbled by Jesus is an understatement. 

Lately pain has become more like a pair of boxers to me than anything else; it's always there (minus when I'm in the shower, I think a majority of yall would agree a hot shower is rather therapeutic). Quite frankly though, it's just annoying now. It infiltrates my every day life and when I finally start feeling decent again, it attacks in an unexpected way and I just can't defend against it. So I decided it was time to take it to the big man upstairs. I mean what else can we as humans do when absolutely nothing else is working?

I started researching pain and looking into Biblical relations to pain and I uncovered this little Psalm called 73. I recommend it to any believer that doesn't understand why bad things happen to them and good things seem to rain down upon the wicked people of this world. I also recommend it to anyone that doesn't really consider themselves to be believers and the one thing holding you up is why bad things happen to you or good people. 

(I encourage reading through the Psalm just real quick before continuing on) 

Alright. Now that you've read it, let's discuss. We can see that the psalmist knows he is living life with purity in God. He sees his life full of struggles and understands that he is wrestling with his faith. He sees the wicked and their life of ease. He debates becoming wicked and becoming carefree. He goes to God and sees that their moments are brief and in a short time they will be swept away and he will be left standing with God. 

Alright now let's really dissect this. There are 3 main points that I noticed when reflecting on this Psalm. 

1. We are seeking the good in life. Many of us believe that the good in life is found either in prosperity or in the absence of pain. This just isn't true though. The ultimate good in life is being near to God, your Father. 
2. Experiencing pain really puts life into perspective, especially concerning life, death and prosperity.
3. Dealing with pain takes time. It's a process. It's not a quick fix. Often pain is brought about by our own sin or sin of others. However, this is actually beautiful because God utilizes our suffering and sorrow and the death we experience to bring us back to the full joy of living in Him :] A great example of this is in 2 Corinthians 7:5-11

Okay so that deals with the pain. I know we all experience pain on different levels and under different circumstances but I believe we can all lean on God for healing and understanding.

Now. Time for Judgment. 

Ugh. Hi, I'm the guiltiest person. I judge people more than anything. It's terrible. 

Matthew 7 : 3-5 really hit home with me today. 

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." 

This verse made me reconsider some of the diction I used in the post I had about marijuana. I was comparing what I do to what my friend does on the basis of a worldly standard. I thought this was justified because I believe the law in the U.S. is just. But this isn't how Jesus views things. A sin is a sin. A crime is a crime. All are equal. So it's at this point that I realize that I really don't have room to cast any form of judgment. I mean, where would Christianity really be if God hadn't established this? It would be completely pathetic. If Jesus is big enough to forgive anything and take us back, then we should try to follow suit and show the exact same love because we understand that His love is the perfect love. 

Romans 15 : 1-7 everyone NEEDS to read. I made it easy, just click on it. It really brings into focus an aspect of the Love in which Christ is all about. 

Alright. Take care. I hope that this creates perspective!