God Loves Unconditionally

Even as [in His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love. - Ephesians 1:4 (AMP)

It's been a little while since I wrote but I've always said I will only write and share when I truly believe that God is asking me to. Recently, I have started reading what so far is a very practical & eye-opening book by Joyce Meyer titled "Power Thoughts". I came across one of the "Power Thoughts" in the book that says "God loves me unconditionally," and wouldn't you know it this was somewhat hard for me to accept. In my heart of hearts I know this to be unequivocally true, but my mind just tends to get in the way of receiving this. As I sat reading this so much began to well up inside me and I just said out loud, "Lord, how can you love me? You know me."

The conversation continued, "You were there when I denied You and wanted nothing to do with You...You where there when I made the decision to go outside the bounds of marriage and give myself away time and time again hoping I'd fine a love that You were already willing to give...You where there when I used my God-given talents for the world...so again I ask You; how can You love me unconditionally?" As I came to the end of my rambling recap of why I believe that God couldn't love me unconditionally I felt Him began to speak to me. "I love  you in spite of all that. Your actions, good or bad, do not dictate my love for you or anyone else. If you never prayed to me again, I'd still love you. If you never picked up a Bible again, I'd still love you. This is the very definition of unconditional love and this kind of love is ONLY found in Me."  This led me to my "Ah ha" moment that I believe God was trying to get me to. No matter what I do, God will always and unconditionally love me. Now knowing this doesn't mean that I have a golden ticket to do whatever I want. It's quite the opposite, I find it leading me towards wanting to learn more about Him and His nature by spending time with Him (in prayer) and reading about Him (the Bible). It's when we know and understand this love that we are driven to learn more of the Source (God) from where this love comes from.

You see the idea of an unconditional love is something that is still very foreign to us because we are such a works-based and conditional society. Our mentality is if you do this you get that. Which is most cases is just good old fashioned cause and effect in operation. But God does not operate within our boundaries; our thoughts are not His thoughts and our ways are not His ways (see Isaiah 55:8-9). He is God, so our ways and ideas couldn't possibly or properly explain (or contain) Him but yet we always try. It's easier for us to accept something when we can understand it and it's easier for us to understand something when we can place boundaries on it. God is not something we can put boundaries on.

God's great love for humanity is measured by the redemption plan that allows mankind to come back into right-standing with a holy and perfect Creator. This plan is Jesus. The fact that Jesus came and paid the ultimate price just so that we would be given the opportunity to make a choice. The choice whether to accept or deny Him. The choice to either receive or reject God's unconditional love. This is what we are faced with. It's not about a religion or a denomination it truly is about a choice; what choice are you going to make? Are you going to believe what God's word says and accept it or are you going to believe what everyone else tells you that you should believe.

Take Care & God Bless,

-E

Playing The Odds

So I was going through this this old bible study workbook this morning that my wife had picked up a long time ago and came across this. I had seen and/or heard it before but it still is pretty amazing when you really stop and think about it.  Excerpt from the study guide "Christ - The Life of Christ - The Basics of Faith"

The Old Testament contains nearly 300 references, called prophecies, to the coming of Jesus Christ. Prophecies give us nearly 300 facts that must be fulfilled in one person to confirm that He was truly the Messiah. Guess what? All these were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. For a detailed list of these prophesies, check out Josh McDowell's book "New Evidence That Demands A Verdict". The chance for anyone to fulfill just eight of these nearly 300 prophecies is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (one hundred thousand trillion or one hundred quadrillion). To illustrate this: cover the entire state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep. Mark just one of these silver dollars, drop it back anywhere, then blindfold one man and ask him to choose the one marked silver dollar in one try. This is equivalent to the chance to fulfill only eight of the prophecies. Jesus fulfill all of the nearly 300.

That's something to think about!

Take care and God bless,

-E

I Do Love You

35, just another number but as of today it's the number of years that the Lord has blessed me with. During my normal work-day routine this morning I was in prayer headed into work and a song came over my iPhone that I've heard before but God decided to give me a birthday gift.

The lyrics of this song are so powerful and as I heard them tears began flowing down my face.I quickly found myself right in the middle of one of those moments where God just completely envelops you. As the song played through God spoke to me and I know I was being led to share what He said with you all. Here is what He said:

"You know I love you, right? Your entire life, I've loved you. You mean the world to me and I just want what is best for you. I don't care that you've messed up from time to time, that's why I sent my Son. I know your heart and to answer that one nagging question you've had, yes, I am very proud of you. My love for you has no restrictions, so stop living life like your actions will dictate the depth of my love for you; that is just not in My nature."

So that was what He said and even now these words are echoing in my soul. He didn't have to speak this to me but He did; that's the kindness and compassion of our God. Even now I sit in the parking lot at my work and God continues to pour out His love on me; it's nearly overwhelming. This word is for you too as long as you are open and have the faith to receive it.

Take care & God bless,

-E

You have been
And You will be
You have seen
And You will see

You know when I rise and when I fall
When I come or go, You see it all
You hung the stars and You move the sea,
And still You know me

Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, You know me
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

You have been
And You will be
And You have seen
And You will see

You know when I rise and when I fall
When I come or go, You see it all
You hung the stars and You move the sea,
And still You know me

Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, You know me
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

And nothing is hidden from Your sight
Wherever I go, You find me
And You know every detail of my life
And You are God and You don't miss a thing

And nothing is hidden from Your sight
Wherever I go, You find me
And You know every detail of my life
And You are God and You don't miss a thing

Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, You know me
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, You know me
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, You know me
Whoa oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh

You memorize me

Are You Kind?

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:10 NIV)

Uh oh! So yeah, I came across this today and yup, something rose up and that small voice inside was there asking me, "how do you treat others? Not, how does it look like you treat others but how do you actually and truthfully treat them; are you kind to them?" I couldn't honestly answer that with the answer I knew I want to. I have rolled my eyes and sighed under my breath at others (usually behind their back) probably half a dozen times this week alone and with as much time as I spend at church I can almost bet that some of these times was towards fellow believers.

So knowing that kindness is one of the fruits of the spirit; why are there so many unkind Christians (myself included at times)? Honestly, and I am being transparent here, we get too self-absorbed with our own lives, our own issues, and our own little world that we can't even conceive that there are others that are in similar or even worse circumstances than what we are going through. So after reading Galatians 6:10 and seeing that Paul is instructing the church to first, do good (be kind) to all people and (this is where it cuts even deeper), to do good (be kind) especially to other believers. It was clearly evident that I haven't always "done good" to ALL people including my fellow brothers & sisters in the Lord. 

I have since gone to the Lord in prayer and humbly asked for forgiveness and help in this area. But now all you Church-going-on-fire-bible-quotin' Christians think about this; when was the last act of kindness that you showed to your fellow believer? For example, when was the last time (if ever) that you gave up your seat at the service, or held the door open for someone, or offered to give someone a ride to church, or offered to serve in a department that you normally wouldn't, or better yet; when was the last time you just got alone in your quiet place at home or where ever and just prayed for members of your church?

I don't say all this to be judgmental because as you now know I too have fallen short, we all have, but I say it in hopes that you will actually stop and think about it from a truthful and logical perspective. When I did I saw an area in my own life that needs some improvement. So just ask yourself these tough questions and when you get the answers back that expose areas that need work; just pray, get it right, and ask God to help you in that area. He will.

Take Care & God Bless,

-E

Shut up and just listen

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the Lord sees into the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

The Prophet Samuel thought he knew who God wanted to use on this day when he had traveled to see all of Jesse’s sons in Bethlehem. In just the same we often think we know who God will choose to work through, and when the message comes in a slightly different package we tend to have a hard time accepting it. Why is that? If God picked Jesse’s sheep-herding son, David, to be King then why do we think that he couldn’t use anyone to speak to us? Maybe it’s a status thing or maybe we tend to think that God can only speak through only very specific avenues. I believe that’s called “Putting God in a box” and believe me I too have done that many times in my life.

Last night, I had the chance to hang out with one of our young guitar players from my church and our conversation really ministered to me and gave me hope that there is still a remnant of the younger generation coming up behind me that have moral and biblical standards. It brought such joy to my heart to know that there are youngsters out there that stand for something that matters. We talked about the Chik-Fil-A buzz, gay marriage, the Bible, and our own personal struggles that we’ve experienced in life.  The really awesome thing was it wasn’t prompted or pushed by me; he wanted to discuss these things.

So what’s the moral of this story? "Shut up and just listen already", is what was reverberating inside me last night as I drove home after dropping off the vessel that God had chosen to speak to me through. So yes, I too have been guilty of overlooking God's plan for a plan that looks more like how I think God should move. I often have caught myself thinking internally, "really? God is going to use you to teach me something?" The short answer to that questions from God is generally, "Yes I can, and I will...Do you have a problem with that?"

So keep your eyes (and heart) open to all people God is big enough to use anyone to speak to us. Look at the package that God has placed before you and just ask Him, "Are you trying to show me something?" usually there's a lesson to be learned there. Take time to listen for a change (see James 1:19), you don’t always have to be the one talking and showing everyone how much you know. Sometimes just listening can be the gift that God was trying to give to you and you didn’t even realize you needed it.

Take Care & God Bless

-E

Chick-Fil-A

So today the wife and I decided to go dine at the Chik-fil-A restaurant and quite honestly it was mainly because of a pretty nasty invite I received asking me to boycott them specifically on this day.  As I read the invite to boycott in my inbox I thought to myself, "Why would anyone want to boycott those tasty waffle fries and their perfectly seasoned chicken?" As I began to research the details a few days ago it turns out that this all came about from a response that Dan Cathy (Chick-fil-A founder/CEO) gave when asked about his opinion on the topic of marriage. So he was asked what he thought about a topic and based on his response he was persecuted, just seems like there was another agenda at work, and there is. We live in a society that when you stand for anything that is biblical you are immediately labeled as "small-minded", a bigot, a quack, a fanatic, etc; however, if you stand for something that is socially and corporate-media-supported then you are labeled as brave and courageous.


I have seen so many people commenting on this topic today and so many others giving their thoughts on how things should have been handled and frankly it just seems foolish that we think so highly of ourselves that we seem to just have all the right answers after the fact. No matter what side of the fence you're going to get controversy and that's to be expected. Then as I read through all these comments from other Christians and even some Pastors I kept feeling 2 Timothy 2:23 rise up which I think says it all, "Avoid foolish and thoughtless discussions, since you know that they produce conflicts." I made the choice to eat there today and show support to the owners (not anyone else) that there are still people that support traditional marriage and also it's a good excuse to get some pretty darn good chicken on my day off.

I am not going to get into the gay versus Christian controversy because frankly I have met some gay individuals that are more loving and more forgiving and demonstrate "Christ-like" love better then some so called Christians I know. It's not about gay versus Christians its about are we as Christians going to show the love of Christ and not be judgmental to all people as we should?


So my bottom line is just this, I support traditional marriage, I believe the WHOLE Bible and I really think Chick-Fil-A makes some very tasty chicken....Oh and waffle fries, the waffle fries are super great too!


Take Care & God Bless,


-E