Where is God?

   "You said you'd always be there for me! But you’re not" (The Lion King). This is a quote from The Lion King. Simba is feeling alone because he doesn't have his father anymore. Have you ever felt this way about God? I know I have... so how can we feel that God is with us? Well let's look at the authority on everything: the Bible.
   Elijah had just defeated the prophets of Baal. He had a huge victory so why did he feel defeated? It is because Jezebel was going to kill him. He felt so alone and scared so he went to the wilderness. He got so low that he even said just kill me. But God had other plans.
   Elijah went to Mt. Horeb. On the mountain there was a powerful wind, an earthquake, and a fire but the Lord was not in any of those. The Lord was in a whisper. God had shown his power and Elijah probably expected God to be in the strongest force... but God proved again that his plan is better than ours. God encouraged Elijah to go back to Israel and keep fighting the good fight.
   Elijah went back and did what God told him to do. God never left Elijah; Elijah just needed a reminder that God is always with him. God has a plan we just need to trust him.
   So, when you feel like God is not with you what will you do? Will you trust God has a plan?

   1 Kings 19 and Proverbs 3:5-6

   Image found here.

Clinging to the Source of Life

   I'm going to be honest: I stink at gardening. But, because I'm a teacher, I get a lot of flowers from my students. I try to keep them but eventually they die.
   One time I received 3 flowers from my students because it was the end of the year. And, if you guessed they all started to die you’d be correct. I took the flowers out of the pot and threw them into our front yard. I walked by those flowers every day and looked at them. They were a reminder that I'm a failure at gardening. Then one day I noticed something strange.
   Two of the flowers were dead and gone. However, one of the flower's roots had gotten through the bottom of the soil and the roots started to go into the ground. The flower actually started to perk up. That flower survived because it clung to the ground. It clung to the source of life. That flower survived a few more months because it was able to get sun, water, and nutrients from the ground because it was tough through a difficult time.
   These flowers are a great example of us. Some of us go through life clinging to nothing. Some people think that they don't need anyone. They just want to get as far ahead as they can and they don't care who they need to break to get there. In the end those people die even though they worked hard in life.
   Others of us find Christ but don't cling to him. These people may go to church on Sunday but the rest of the week they don't walk with Christ. They may work hard at their job but they also don't cling to the source of life when things get tough.  In the end these people die as well.
   Finally, there are those people who find Christ and cling to him even through the hard times. They walk with Christ even if things are hard. These people never die. They may die physically, but their soul and spirit never die.
   I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be the flower who clings to the life source rather than be those who die forever.
   So, which flower will you choose to be? Will you choose to cling to the source of life? What can you do to keep clinging to the source of life? 

   Psalm 63:7-8, Colossians 1:9-10, Matthew 5:6
   Image from here.

Is God on Time?

   Queen Clarisse has been known to say "a queen is never late, everyone else is simply early" (The Princess Diaries). She says that because, since she is the queen, she makes her own time. Events can be set up for a certain time but she has other matters she also needs to take care of. Her subjects may not see all of the behind the scene things she needs to do; but she does them anyhow to keep her kingdom strong and safe. Her subject may even get annoyed with all of the waiting but she still does what is best for them.
   You may be saying either you would get annoyed with the waiting for the queen; or you would not get annoyed because you knew the queen was doing something important for the kingdom. Well let me tell you something: you probably already have gotten annoyed with your king.
   Let me change this quote a little: "God is never late, everyone else is simply early." We have a tendency to be impatient and get annoyed whenever we do not get what we want when we want it. We ask God to do things, fix things, and get us things to make our lives better. We a want those things right away. But God, in his infinite wisdom, doesn't always give us what we ask for. 
   God is in heaven looking at us. He knows what is best for us because he has a plan. Like Queen Clarisse, God is doing a lot of behind the scene work to make sure that all of his children are safe and cared for. We don't see all of that work and we get annoyed when we don't get what we ask for. God does have a plan and does everything for a reason. We may not know that reason. But, we must trust our king and know he is working behind the scenes in our lives for our good.
   So, will you get annoyed when things don't go the way you planned? Will you trust that God is working behind the scenes for our good? 

   Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Psalm 27:14, Isaiah 40:31
   Image from here.

Silence...

   Once when I was in college I went to a class. I sat down and waited for class to begin. The professor came in, put his books down, stood behind the desk, and looked at us. The class quieted down and looked at the professor after about a minute of talking. The professor just looked at us and smiled. After a while people began to look around. Some people started to giggle. Others kept looking at the clock. The professor kept smiling at us and was still quiet. 
   I just sat there thinking what is our professor up to? Then I figured it out but I didn't want to ruin the surprise for anyone else. Just like I don't want to ruin the surprise for you, yet. 
   Another time I was at work at Jimmy John's. One of the managers had a tendency to call group meetings, especially when she was stressed. She called us over one day when another manager, named Betty, was also working. We all went over and the manager said, "team meeting." Then she was quiet. All of us were quiet as well, all of us except Betty. Betty said, "what's going on? Why isn't anyone talking?" Betty continued to talk and giggle.

   Why did the class and Betty giggle? It is because they thought something was odd: silence. Why is it that we do not like silence? Is it because we like to talk? Is it because we live in a loud world? I do not know but I know there are people who need noise no matter what. Yet, in the Bible we are told we should have silence and solitude. Matthew 6:6 says "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." 
   Why will we be rewarded if we go into our rooms and shut the door? First off we are to humble ourselves instead of trying to make ourselves look good in front of others. Second, we are having a conversation with God. You may be saying, "I don't hear God when I pray." Well how do you pray? 
   Prayer is a conversation. That means that 2 people must be involved at least. Most of the time when we pray we do all of the talking. If you were out with a friend and your friend did all of the talking and did not give you a chance to talk, would you try to even say something to that person? God wants to talk with us. I'm not saying that you will audibly hear God. You may have a thought that comes from him, a friend may relay a message to you from him, or you may see something that comes from him. God does speak... but sometimes we are not listening. That's why we need to have silence and solitude. We must spend time with God just like we would any other friend. 
   So, does silence scare you? Do you ever have quiet time with God? If you don't, what can you do to spend more time with him?

   Matthew 6:6, Luke 6:12

   Image found here. 

The Ultimate Betrayal: An Easter Blog

   Have you ever had the experience where you are talking with someone and the conversation seems to be going really well? You are telling jokes, talking about their kids, asking about their weekend, and all seems to be good. But, in your gut, you just get the feeling that something isn't right. See, you know that this person has stabbed you in the back, and possibly will again. It doesn't matter how you know this person is gossiping about you but you know it for a fact. This person has betrayed you.
   By the world's standards you have a right to hate that person. The world would say that you would not have to talk to that person ever again. The world would even say that you would be just in trying to get revenge on that person. 
   What about God's standards? In John 13 Jesus gives us the example of how we should treat betrayers. 
   In the beginning of the chapter Jesus shows us that we are to serve those who wrong us. Jesus takes on the role of servant by washing his disciples’ feet. He washes all their stinky, sweaty, dirty feet. HE WASHES EVERY DISCIPLE’s FEET. Did you catch that? He even washed Judas' feet. He washed the feet of the person who betrayed him in the worst way. This man was the one who gave Jesus over to die! 

   How can we serve those who betray us in a way like that? We need to remember that we cannot see the whole picture. Jesus knew the ending to the story. He knew what had to be done. He also showed love to his betrayer to the end. We need to trust that God has a plan. God can use trials in our lives to bring about his perfect plan. In the meantime we need to show love to those who hate us. In doing that people will wonder what is different about us. That will make them wonder and thus become a seeker. Who knows, it just may bring them to Christ.
   We also must not forget that we also are betrayers. There is not one man, woman, or child who has not betrayed Christ. We have no right to hold grudges against our fellow man when we have been given so much grace. We have hope in the grace of Jesus Christ. Because of him we are no longer seen as betrayers. We are washed (kind of like feet ;) as white as snow. If we have that kind of grace from God should we not show it to our betrayers?
   So, how do you treat those who have betrayed you? Do you serve them and show the love of God? Do you believe God has a plan for your life? Do you believe in Jesus Christ and the gift of grace he has given us?

   John 13, 1 John 4:19-21, John 13:34

   Image found here.