A thought to remember!

"The will of God will never take you, where the Grace of God will not protect you." --- Unknown

Getting Real with God

I think many people going through life, experience times when things seem somewhat disconnected. Just look around and you will see people close to you who have felt the pain of disconnected relationships and even shattered dreams. The fear of being hurt causes many people to withdraw and even build some walls to protect themselves. Yet those same walls can become a rigid fortress unless we allow God to dismantle the pain and heal our brokenness.

As we read the Scriptures we see that the Bible is essentially a book about relationships. In fact as we read we begin to see that God is intimately concerned and involved with people. God walked with Enoch. God met with Abraham. God encountered Isaac. God spoke with Moses. God counseled with Joshua. God enjoyed fellowship with David. Funny thing is these were imperfect people, yet God sought them out and together they fellowshipped. It was not through some rote memorization or systematic theory but God revealed Himself through the context of real relationships. He responds and communicates with individuals like you and me who have real needs, real concerns, real questions and real dreams. Yes God not only listens to us but He responds to us, if we only allow Him too. God chooses to meet you where you are, where you live, in your reality, and in your world. The question is we prepared to answer the door when He knocks? We need to ask ourselves how real are we with God?

Seeing through God’s Eyes!

Has your heart ever been broken by the pain and horror of the sinful actions of others? How did you feel when those actions seemingly go unpunished? We have a choice of how to respond to people and circumstances. However many times our emotions are triggered and through a spider web of experiences we find ourselves struggling to make decisions. Imagine how you would respond to the abusive spouse, the foul mouthed teenager, the disrespectful neighbor, the taunting gang member, the corrupt politician. Certainly each one can rub us the wrong way at times. We may even become angry with them, avoid them, or perhaps try to change them?

The truth is when we try to change people's behavior; we have lost the authority to proclaim God's love to them. Consider how God feels about the lost. It is His love they are scorning. He wants to bring them into a restored relationship with Himself and has invited us to be a part of the process. We must fully experience His forgiveness so that we can model His love. This love should compel us to reach out to others, having the heart of the Father and the mind of Christ!