Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Some Ramblings ...

Lately I've been lacking in my devotionals. I know it happens to a lot of people. It is something that we tend to do living in a world filled with distractions. I look at these distractions as something getting in the way of my time with the Lord and I feel bad for making time for friends, school, crossfit and relax time etc.. but I truly don't believe that is the Lords intention- to make us feel bad for what we do. He just wants to be a part of each aspect of our lives. Once he is the center of each part of our lives then he becomes the focus of our lives which I believe is the true desire of the Christian heart.
 
So I began to think to myself, how can I get in the word more and incorporate God into my life more throughout the day. Last night as I was reading through Mark I chose to just read what was in red (the words of Jesus). I have been reading in Mark lately and also reading a couple books on Jesus- just studying him, his words, his character/personality etc. There is no greater person to study in the bible than him. Over the past year I have learned so much about him from doing this. My thoughts about the kind of person he was has greatly changed. I grew up with this image in my mind that Jesus walked around angry at the world throwing tables over (Mark 11) yelling at people telling them all they are sinners and they need to repent or they will spend eternity in hell. I think a lot of people probably think this about him and unfortunately that is the issue with religion these days.
 
I hear so many people say they don't go to church and are not Christians simply because Christians are hypocrites. I'm not going to sit here and say that they are wrong because of course Christians are hypocrites. I'll fully admit that I am but Isn't everyone? Just because you are a Christian doesn't mean you get to by pass being a human and being a sinner just like the rest of the world. Being a Christian doesn't make you better than anyone else it just simply means that you understand that you have been given grace and have received it. Your life is no longer just about you and what you want. Your life purpose is not fulfilled in relationships, jobs, school, status or any other type of identity. Your identity is solely for the purpose of Christ. Every day that goes by you are actively seeking the Lord for wisdom and guidance through prayer and through his word (the Bible) learning more about the God that he is and the person that he created you to be. So yes going back to church and hypocrites. Yes they are there and I'm there and I am one of them. I've judged people when I shouldn't. I've preached and not practiced. I've messed up a lot and I'll continue to.
 
As I've been studying the character of Christ it's really made me more sensitive to this subject because my desire is not to ever be hypocritical and turn people away from the most important decision of their lives. The more I study Christ the more I see that he had personality. Ya he did get angry but at the religious people who should know better. You can have all the knowledge of the Bible in the world but if you don't actively live through the words it is meaningless knowledge. Jesus often got angry at the Pharisees and with his disciples he got frustrated with many times. He would respond to their questions in smart alack ways. I'm a pretty sarcastic person and I tend to enjoy other people that are too. Its a character quality that many possess. The bible does say that God created us in his image.(Genesis 1)  Humor and sarcasm is not something we created but that He did because I believe that is a quality he has. We love to laugh and joke with one another and the more I study Jesus the more I see that he did too. 
 
The more I study Jesus the more I fall in love with him. The more I desire to know because the more I know him the more I know my own heart. Every day is a battle. Just when I feel like I finally have it all together I somehow trip and fall off of a cliff. As true as that is, the reality is that God is there no matter how much we have it together or don't. He is love.
 
Its all about Jesus <3