GOD DID!

This next post might make some of you very upset. But God has put it upon my heart to write this. It's about sin. And I know how you all feel about this word. It is such a convicting word. But this is about being a quiet victim and sin.

There are times in our young lives when something offensive happens to us. I'm talking about young like when you can first start to remember things. Or should I say when you choose to remember things. But there is a time when you have been mistreated almost to the word of abuse by someone and chose not to tell anyone. Or if you did that is a whole other story.  I can only speak for the ones that didn't tell because I am one.

I was sexually abused one time when I was around 3 years old and chose not to tell anyone out of fear. That was a sin a had to carry for 42 years. People are going to think why is it my sin because I was the victim. But you see by me not telling I was giving into fear, which is from the Devil, that action was a sin. That was the fear I had to carry which turned into more fear, which is all just more sin. Fear = Sin, Sin = Fear

By me not telling anyone I allowed the Devil to win. By me not telling I allowed that person to continue on with his abuse. Which in turn was probably many more little girls. I wasn't able to love myself the way God had intended. I wasn't able to allow people to love me correctly. And because of that I allowed some very bad boys in my life. I believed I wasn't worthy of anything better.

God one day showed me this abuse because I put it out of my memory. I had to relive it. I feel so bad for my little 3 year old. That poor little girl was so scared and in so much physical pain. God helped me understand that I needed to ask Him for forgiveness for carrying that with me. For not surrendering that situation over to Him. I asked God to forgive all who participated for they didn't know that night was going to affect me my whole life. They were just thinking of the here and now.

And you know what, I truly meant this prayer. I didn't want this memory anymore. I want God to carry it from me. God Did! I don't need any psycho therapy or anything like that. Which is really amazing because usually people need that. I know in the past I would have. God took it from me and I'm healed! I'm truly healed. I don't want to go back to the way I used to feel with that sin, (and many more) so I ask God daily to forgive me and show me anything I need to ask for forgiveness for.

How Cool Is That!!!

I don't know about you but I know that I when I listen to some of these TV preachers I either get a canker soar from them being too sweet about God or a sour face because they are yelling at me about God. There is one on TV that always smiles while he preaches about God in this almost whispery kind of voice. And he has a huge following. That is because he only says good about God. This preacher is never convicting in what he has to say about God. This preacher is a joke.

But then there is a man on TV, a large fellow, and he is always yelling in this stern voice. When I listen to him I feel like I'm in the principal's office. And then there is the woman on the TV with the "Joker's" mouth. She has lots of good things to say. But the problem is hearing it on a daily basis is rough. Hearing how you have to constantly change your ways and how I'm living my life wrong is very discouraging.

Here is the thing, if we could combine all these preachers into one that would make for one great church. You feel me? I would like to give you a little insight on how easy it is to live for God. 

You know when you do something wrong and you apologize to that person? Well, you need to do that same thing with God. Just ask God for forgiveness. But in our lives we have to do that a lot more often. I'm talking about the way we think, the way we speak, the way we behave honestly needs to have a conscious effort to be for God. The word Christianity means little Christ. We are little Jesus's. How cool is that!!! So this is a habit, that's all it is. 

A habit like stop smoking, like stop sucking your thumb, like remembering to brush your teeth and to shower. So when you do something that you know is against God just say, "God please forgive me. In Jesus's Name, Amen". And it's done. He forgives you like that. How cool is that!!! No need to beg for forgiveness! Nothing like that! You ask and He gives it to you. That is how great our God is!  

The more you do this the more your actions and behaviors will become aware to you. It will become second nature to you to live for God and people will see the change in you. Just try this for 21 days and see what happens to you. I know you won't want to go back to the old you.

God Made Easy

I don't understand why some Religious leaders have to make God so hard. My first point, Religion is man made, Christianity is Christ made. They make it almost impossible to live a day to day Christian life and have any thought of your own without thinking it's a sin. That is not at all what God is. And it's my goal to make God understandable by a middle class, sinful, mother, and humbled wife that loves her Lord just as much as she loves her husband. If I can understand the gifts that God gives us then you can too.

I think there's some verbiage from God that "offends" people. We are combative beings by nature. Always wanting things we can't have or more of something. And wanting to be first. We are combative people that are competing against each other constantly. Are we always wanting to be like "Adam"? The first one on earth? I don't know, maybe that is reading too much into the Bible.

But we get in that competitive nature when we think about "How dare God declare He be the only God!" and "That we worship only Him?" We are rebellious by nature also. Look at how Eve rebelled against God and Adam with the apple. Maybe it isn't us being rebellious at all. Maybe it is us standing up for something that you think is important.  Be it good or bad.

But are men only rebellious because of women? Did women introduce men to "rebellion"? If women were never created by God would there still be peace on earth? whooooaaaa.... too deep.

My point is, we as human beings rebelled and competed against God. Sin was introduced with Adam and Eve. God knows that we are sinners and not perfect. God only put Jesus down on earth as a perfect person. But we are all children of God's just like Jesus if we declare that God sent Jesus down to earth to die for us.

During all those times in the Old Testament when they talk about the sacrifices to God over and over again. They would talk about rams, cows, and goats being blood sacrifices. Well this time when Jesus died,  God was the one doing the sacrificing for us.

Like how Abraham took Isaac to the top of the hill to be sacrificed because told him to. And just when Abraham was going to kill Isaac, just as Abraham raised that blade getting his strength and will power up to kill his only son....God said, "NO! STOP!" God told Abraham what a great job he did and how he his new name is now Abraham (his old name was Abram), God gave him all of what is now Israel and some, Abraham and his wife Sarah ended up having all these kids (and Sarah and Abraham were not young at all). 

God put Jesus on the cross and Jesus had to die so we could have a relationship directly with God.
Jesus had to suffer in place of us.
 * That means the "suffering" He had would be one of your sins. So say you got an abortion. (I don't      care what side of the fence you are on, it is a sin legal or not) and say you don't ask Jesus for  forgiveness for that abortion.  And you just go about your life. One of those whippings or punches to  His jaw will be because of you. I hope that helps clear up the action and meaning of "suffering".*

That is why He was tortured.  The whippings and beating Jesus was inflicted with,...they were our sins.

Do I Offend?

Why do people get offended when you bring up God to them? I don't get it! People don't get offended when we talk about a top local news stories. Do you understand what I'm saying to you? I can talk to someone about the Kardashian's and most would get all up in that conversation. But if I were to bring up God and what He has done in my life...those same people would be like, "Oh NO! I  don't want to hear it." or "That's good for you." or "God? God Who?" or worse, "Who is your God?" Like there is actually more than one God!

I hate to tell you all this but there is only one (1) God. That's it! No more than that. We have made more Gods ourselves, like Buddha, Allah, and so on but those Gods were made up by us. They never created the earth and the planets. They didn't create anything, that is why if you follow one of those "man-made" gods you never find that inner peace you are searching for. The only way to find that peace that we are all yearning for is with the one true God...Jesus Christ...The Holy Spirit...The Trinity

You see God is where you will find true solitude. God loves you, He knows everything about you and STILL loves you! He knows you so well that He knows how many hairs are on your head, even if your are bald, He knew how many hairs used to be on your head. This is the kind of love that you are wanting from your spouse. The kind of love that you are constantly asking your significant loved one to give you.  I get that because I used to do that to my husband. I used to say things like, "why can't you show me affection?" "if you loved me you would hold my hand" I did that kind of stuff to him all the time.

But you see, my husband is just a person, and not a God. I had to get true acceptance from God first before I could love or be loved. Once I accepted God's love and truly understood what that meant, I was able to let Mike love me the way Mike wanted to, and not the way I was wanting him to. By me allowing God to love me first, it took the pressure of failure off of Mike.  It was the failure of not loving me correctly that I was putting on Mike. And in turn I am able to love Mike completely with all my heart.

Damaged Goods

Do you ever feel like no one can ever love you? Like you don't deserve to have anyone love you. You feel that way because you don't love yourself. Just that easy and just that sad.

At my old job all us "smokers" would gather around the "smokers circle" and smoke. And it was the day after Halloween and people were talking about what they did and what they dressed up as. And one girl said that she pinned trash on a jogging suit and went to a party as "damaged goods". And everyone laughed but I thought how sad. I even gave her one of those, "ooohhhh, how sad" sounds. But that was a perfect example of why we think we are unlovable. It's because we are "damaged goods"

But here is what I have found out, the damaged goods we have are really our sins! Now stay with me, because people hear that word sin and automatically are turned off. Because the word sin is such a damning thing.

Sins are the things we do wrong, whether we know it or not. Or even if we remember it or not. When we do these wrong things, and don't ask for forgiveness from God we carry that sin. The word "carry" doesn't mean like carrying a bag of groceries. It's more like a spot of dirt on a perfectly brilliant white shirt. You know where one little spec of dirt doesn't matter, so you don't clean it right away. Then you get another spec of dirt. And then another, and another. These specs of dirt are weightless but they are weighing down the beauty of the white shirt.

All you have to do is ask God for forgiveness. Jesus died on the cross so we could have direct contact with God. Before the curtain tore (when Jesus died on the cross) you had to go through the priests that were in where the arc was. and you had to make sacrifices. But you see God did the ultimate sacrifice by having Jesus die on the cross. That is the meaning of John 3:16. God gave us a sacrifice instead of us giving Him one. He gave us Jesus so we could talk with God directly. And in order to be with God forever in Heaven is to admit that God did this for us!

That's it! Why do people make this so difficult?!?! It's not! Just pray to God that Jesus was the Son of God. That Jesus died on the cross for our sins. That you are a sinner, but by the blood of Jesus I am a child of God. I invite Jesus into my heart. I declare Jesus the Lord of Lords! In Jesus's Name, Amen