I don't know about you, but many times it feels like I am praying in Vegas. I had that feeling more as a new Christian, but I still get it every now and then. What do I mean by praying in Vegas? It's where you pray, but you really don't know if your prayer is going to be answered. You have no assurance. When someone gambles they don't know whether that slot machine is going to pay off. They don't know what card is coming, or where the ball will land. That is how our prayers can be sometimes. We are just pulling the lever so to speak, or just rolling the dice and hoping they will land on our number. How can we fix this? How can we get more assurance when it comes to praying?
There are many aspects to prayer, but on this post I would just like to help us get started. I would like to help us to get on the right track.
"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1 John 5:14,15)
The above verses from the Bible tell us that one thing we do to get our prayers answered is to ask according to His will. I guess I could try to simplify this concept by asking you to remember when you were younger and you wanted something. Now the process was usually that you had to go to your parents and ask them. But weren't there times you were more confident you were going to get what you asked for because you knew your request was going to be ok with your parents? On the other hand, weren't there times you weren't sure if you would get your request because you already knew that it might be something that your parents wouldn't go for? You were either asking according to your parents will, or asking not in accordance with your parents will. Then there were times you simply didn't know what your parents will was, so you just asked to find out.
The Bible tells us that if we ask according to God's will, He hears us. Then it goes on to say that since He hears us, He will answer us. So how do we get to know His will? By reading the Bible. When you and I read the Bible we get to know what God is like. It is like spending time with someone. The more time you spend with them, the more you know whether they will do something for you or not.
As I stated earlier there are many aspects to prayer. Even when we pray according to His will, there are times we have to be patient, times it looks like He is not answering but in reality He is. All of that can be for a later time. But on this post I'm hoping to get us on the right track. A safe way is to pray is to pray according to God's will. Spend time with God by reading the Bible and you will begin to learn what His will is. Let me add also that by praying , you learn how to pray.
I hope you will begin to learn what God is like. I hope you and I continue to learn His will. I don't know about you, but I want to pray with some assurance that what I am asking is going to be answered. I don't want to pray Vegas style anymore.
Troy
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Religion vs. Relationship
Give me rules I will break them
Give me lines I will cross them
The above words are the opening lyrics to a song by Jason Gray entitled "More like falling in love." I think it is a great line to describe how we all are by human nature. If somebody tells you don't do something that is exactly what we want to do. I don't think we want to break the rules, but something compels us to do it.
Well, this is what often happens for us when we decide that we would like to get to know more about God. For some reason, all we see or seem to focus on is what we can and what we can't do. Somehow this wonderful experience of getting to know the creator of the universe turns into rules and regulations. When you read the Bible though this is not what God is after. He is after a relationship with each one of us. Imagine someone marrying you and then asking you ,now what can I do and what can't I do? You would realize this is not what marriage is supposed to be about. It is about enjoying each other, and getting to know each other.
I realize some people use the term "religious" to describe somone who attempts to follow God with their life. I have never been particularily fond of the term but I do understand why people use it.
But when I think of the term "religious" I think of someone who has missed what God desires for us. I think of someone who may go to church on sunday but not really think about God the rest of the week. Now sometimes this is not the person's fault. For some reason there is something inside of us that says," what is the least amount of commitment required of me and still be okay with God."But you can see with that type of thinking why our religious experience never satisfies. How many of us have ever really come to enjoy something without putting all of ourselves into it, or enter into it with passion. Well, the same thing can be said of a relationship with God.
Even though religion without relationship looks attractive it can never lead to what we are looking for. It always leads to disappointment and unfulfillment. It is like a gift beautifully packaged but when you open it there is nothing in it.
When we choose to go with religion without relationship the pressure is on us. Religion without relationship tells me, "If I obey, if I perform, if I do well enough... I will be accepted by God." Matthew Woodley in his book Holy Fools says, "religion always leads to two disastrous alternatives: self righteousness (because I have performed and I am good enough) or guilt and anxiety (because I'm not sure if I've measured up to the rules). This is what Jason Gray is talking about when he says," 'Cause all religion ever made of me was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet it never set me free." That is what you and I feel like when we don't have a relationship with Jesus but observe religious activities. We never feel free, we never feel good enough.
When we begin to have a relationship with Jesus though, everything changes. Even though we still mess up, we realize we don't have to be perfect because Jesus is. When we hear that voice that says, "you're not good enough." We respond, "you're right, I'm not good enough, but Jesus is and it is in His atoning work for me that I am trusting in."
When we are in relationship with Jesus we are not concerned about keeping rules to try to be good enough we obey out of love. We no longer think about what is the least amount of committment required of me. We want to give our all.
A couple of years ago I took my dad to see the Chicago Cubs for his birthday. A few months before his birthday I saw where you can display someone's birthday on the scoreboard at Wrigley Field. I immediately called up to do this for my dad. It was going to be a surprise for his birthday. Sure, it was going to cost some extra money but I figured it would give him a great memory. Not many people can say that they have had their name up on the Wrigley Field scoreboard. Well, what motivated me to do that? It was love for my dad. It was because my dad and I have a relationship that is important to me. That love for my father didn't make me think, "what is the least amount I can do for my dad on his birthday". No, I wanted to do all I could do for him.
I think the above illustration in a small way describes how our relationship with Jesus should be. Instead of turning our relationship into rules and regulations, we turn it into a love relationship. We do things out of love. We can try to conform to religious rules, but usually we won't last very long. But when we do it out of love, life with God becomes an adventure and "religion" feels right. Our mind set goes from," what do I have to do?" to "what can I do?" We begin to want to do all we can for God, because we are no longer doing it out of obligation, but out of love. That is a difference between religion and relationship.
Here is a link to Jason Gray's "More Like Falling In Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rzOdXJu5UA
Troy
Give me lines I will cross them
The above words are the opening lyrics to a song by Jason Gray entitled "More like falling in love." I think it is a great line to describe how we all are by human nature. If somebody tells you don't do something that is exactly what we want to do. I don't think we want to break the rules, but something compels us to do it.
Well, this is what often happens for us when we decide that we would like to get to know more about God. For some reason, all we see or seem to focus on is what we can and what we can't do. Somehow this wonderful experience of getting to know the creator of the universe turns into rules and regulations. When you read the Bible though this is not what God is after. He is after a relationship with each one of us. Imagine someone marrying you and then asking you ,now what can I do and what can't I do? You would realize this is not what marriage is supposed to be about. It is about enjoying each other, and getting to know each other.
I realize some people use the term "religious" to describe somone who attempts to follow God with their life. I have never been particularily fond of the term but I do understand why people use it.
But when I think of the term "religious" I think of someone who has missed what God desires for us. I think of someone who may go to church on sunday but not really think about God the rest of the week. Now sometimes this is not the person's fault. For some reason there is something inside of us that says," what is the least amount of commitment required of me and still be okay with God."But you can see with that type of thinking why our religious experience never satisfies. How many of us have ever really come to enjoy something without putting all of ourselves into it, or enter into it with passion. Well, the same thing can be said of a relationship with God.
Even though religion without relationship looks attractive it can never lead to what we are looking for. It always leads to disappointment and unfulfillment. It is like a gift beautifully packaged but when you open it there is nothing in it.
When we choose to go with religion without relationship the pressure is on us. Religion without relationship tells me, "If I obey, if I perform, if I do well enough... I will be accepted by God." Matthew Woodley in his book Holy Fools says, "religion always leads to two disastrous alternatives: self righteousness (because I have performed and I am good enough) or guilt and anxiety (because I'm not sure if I've measured up to the rules). This is what Jason Gray is talking about when he says," 'Cause all religion ever made of me was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet it never set me free." That is what you and I feel like when we don't have a relationship with Jesus but observe religious activities. We never feel free, we never feel good enough.
When we begin to have a relationship with Jesus though, everything changes. Even though we still mess up, we realize we don't have to be perfect because Jesus is. When we hear that voice that says, "you're not good enough." We respond, "you're right, I'm not good enough, but Jesus is and it is in His atoning work for me that I am trusting in."
When we are in relationship with Jesus we are not concerned about keeping rules to try to be good enough we obey out of love. We no longer think about what is the least amount of committment required of me. We want to give our all.
A couple of years ago I took my dad to see the Chicago Cubs for his birthday. A few months before his birthday I saw where you can display someone's birthday on the scoreboard at Wrigley Field. I immediately called up to do this for my dad. It was going to be a surprise for his birthday. Sure, it was going to cost some extra money but I figured it would give him a great memory. Not many people can say that they have had their name up on the Wrigley Field scoreboard. Well, what motivated me to do that? It was love for my dad. It was because my dad and I have a relationship that is important to me. That love for my father didn't make me think, "what is the least amount I can do for my dad on his birthday". No, I wanted to do all I could do for him.
I think the above illustration in a small way describes how our relationship with Jesus should be. Instead of turning our relationship into rules and regulations, we turn it into a love relationship. We do things out of love. We can try to conform to religious rules, but usually we won't last very long. But when we do it out of love, life with God becomes an adventure and "religion" feels right. Our mind set goes from," what do I have to do?" to "what can I do?" We begin to want to do all we can for God, because we are no longer doing it out of obligation, but out of love. That is a difference between religion and relationship.
Here is a link to Jason Gray's "More Like Falling In Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rzOdXJu5UA
Troy
Monday, March 8, 2010
Accepting Your Past
I have found that one of the keys to enjoying a fulfilled life is to learn to accept your past. You and I have to come to a place where we make peace with our past.
Have you made peace with your past? If you have, I am happy for you. But if you are still beating yourself up about your past you must move on. How can you ? By accepting what has been and trusting God for what is in your future.
Since you and I are only human, we are usually slow to forget our challenges, hurts, and mistakes of the past. But if you and I truly want to live a fulfilled life we have to leave the past with God and move foward in life.
The apostle Paul puts it this way in Philippians 3:13-14, " One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
You may think to yourself, well that is easy for him to say he is the apostle Paul. But before he was the apostle Paul he was known as Saul of Taursus. He used to consent to the killing of Christians. In fact, he was on his way to arrest some Christians when he had his conversion (Acts 9). He could have beaten himself up about his past but he moved on with his life and became what God had planned for his life. Moses in the Old Testament is another example of someone who murdered someone before he became known as a powerful person for God (Exodus 2). One final example would be King David of Israel. He was known as a man after God's own heart. He was the greatest king of Israel. Yet in the middle of his reign he committed adultery with a woman. She eventually became pregnant and David had her husband killed in battle (2 Samuel 11). This wasn't a man who didn't know God. This was a person who followed God and still blew it. Yet when you read of Jesus' human lineage it was through this man that Jesus was born.
Yes these people had to live with the consequences of their mistakes, just like you and I do. But they did not let their past keep them from moving foward with their lives. You would be surprised by all the people who I talk to who seem to not to be able to move on with their past and still beat themselves up over something that could have happened 20 years ago. Listen, everyone has blown it at some time in their life. We have all done things we wish we wouldn't have. None of us are perfect. I know it's not easy to move on sometimes, but God doesn't want us to beat ourselves up over our past. We need to confess the wrong to Him. Ask for His forgiveness and then accept His forgiveness.
A. R. Bernard says,"Don't let your future be held captive by your past." So today come to peace with your past. When you do , then you can begin to position your thoughts toward your future and the wonderful plans God has in store for you.
Troy
Have you made peace with your past? If you have, I am happy for you. But if you are still beating yourself up about your past you must move on. How can you ? By accepting what has been and trusting God for what is in your future.
Since you and I are only human, we are usually slow to forget our challenges, hurts, and mistakes of the past. But if you and I truly want to live a fulfilled life we have to leave the past with God and move foward in life.
The apostle Paul puts it this way in Philippians 3:13-14, " One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
You may think to yourself, well that is easy for him to say he is the apostle Paul. But before he was the apostle Paul he was known as Saul of Taursus. He used to consent to the killing of Christians. In fact, he was on his way to arrest some Christians when he had his conversion (Acts 9). He could have beaten himself up about his past but he moved on with his life and became what God had planned for his life. Moses in the Old Testament is another example of someone who murdered someone before he became known as a powerful person for God (Exodus 2). One final example would be King David of Israel. He was known as a man after God's own heart. He was the greatest king of Israel. Yet in the middle of his reign he committed adultery with a woman. She eventually became pregnant and David had her husband killed in battle (2 Samuel 11). This wasn't a man who didn't know God. This was a person who followed God and still blew it. Yet when you read of Jesus' human lineage it was through this man that Jesus was born.
Yes these people had to live with the consequences of their mistakes, just like you and I do. But they did not let their past keep them from moving foward with their lives. You would be surprised by all the people who I talk to who seem to not to be able to move on with their past and still beat themselves up over something that could have happened 20 years ago. Listen, everyone has blown it at some time in their life. We have all done things we wish we wouldn't have. None of us are perfect. I know it's not easy to move on sometimes, but God doesn't want us to beat ourselves up over our past. We need to confess the wrong to Him. Ask for His forgiveness and then accept His forgiveness.
A. R. Bernard says,"Don't let your future be held captive by your past." So today come to peace with your past. When you do , then you can begin to position your thoughts toward your future and the wonderful plans God has in store for you.
Troy
Friday, March 5, 2010
Connecting with God
Well on this first post I would like to attempt to answer a question that many people ask. How can I get to know God? Let me say first of all that I am not an expert, but a fellow traveler along this journey. I would also like to add that I have come into relationship with God and have heard many stories of others who have also.
A truth that I just love is that God is not interested in you or I being religious, but He is interested in a relationship with us. Religion without relationship would be like a marriage without love. You may go through the motions but there is nothing in the heart. It can also be like someone in a relationship with you but all they are interested in is the rules and regulations of being in a relationship but not really interested in you.
Now how can you connect with God if you are not in a relationship with Him?
1) Ask Him to reveal Himself to you.
You would be surprised by how many people have asked God to reveal Himself to them and He has. He shows up in our lives if we are sincerely looking.
2) Be open to the idea that God can reveal Himself to you in anyway He desires.
If I could put it more simply I would say don't put God in a box. You may have preconceived ideas about how God would choose to reveal Himself. Sometimes we want God to show Himself in a way that we are comfortable with. God wants to show us that He is bigger than our preconceived ideas about Him.
3) Have an open heart and be patient.
If you are sincerely wanting God to show Himself to you, He will. If you are only trying to test Him, He probably won't. Jesus had many who would try to pressure Him into proving He was God. He wouldn't grant their request. Even when He was on the cross people were yelling to Him to come off the cross and they would believe that He was the Son of God. Jesus wouldn't bite the bait.
I would like to add that God is pursuing you at this moment. He knows your past. He knows all the times you have messed up but He still loves you. His love is not like human love. But when we mess up we mess up the relationship with Him. That is why He sent His Son Jesus to go to the cross for us and pay the penalty for our sins. What amazing Love! What amazing grace!
So today if you are not in relationship with God or you are not sure if there is even a God ask Him to reveal Himself to you. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God but you have messed up simply ask God to forgive you and then ask Him to help you live for Him. Our sins can never exceed His grace and love for us.
A truth that I just love is that God is not interested in you or I being religious, but He is interested in a relationship with us. Religion without relationship would be like a marriage without love. You may go through the motions but there is nothing in the heart. It can also be like someone in a relationship with you but all they are interested in is the rules and regulations of being in a relationship but not really interested in you.
Now how can you connect with God if you are not in a relationship with Him?
1) Ask Him to reveal Himself to you.
You would be surprised by how many people have asked God to reveal Himself to them and He has. He shows up in our lives if we are sincerely looking.
2) Be open to the idea that God can reveal Himself to you in anyway He desires.
If I could put it more simply I would say don't put God in a box. You may have preconceived ideas about how God would choose to reveal Himself. Sometimes we want God to show Himself in a way that we are comfortable with. God wants to show us that He is bigger than our preconceived ideas about Him.
3) Have an open heart and be patient.
If you are sincerely wanting God to show Himself to you, He will. If you are only trying to test Him, He probably won't. Jesus had many who would try to pressure Him into proving He was God. He wouldn't grant their request. Even when He was on the cross people were yelling to Him to come off the cross and they would believe that He was the Son of God. Jesus wouldn't bite the bait.
I would like to add that God is pursuing you at this moment. He knows your past. He knows all the times you have messed up but He still loves you. His love is not like human love. But when we mess up we mess up the relationship with Him. That is why He sent His Son Jesus to go to the cross for us and pay the penalty for our sins. What amazing Love! What amazing grace!
So today if you are not in relationship with God or you are not sure if there is even a God ask Him to reveal Himself to you. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God but you have messed up simply ask God to forgive you and then ask Him to help you live for Him. Our sins can never exceed His grace and love for us.