Frustrating Times

Imagine that you had a disease that was ruining your life and eventually would end it. Imagine the pain, frustration, and sadness that would constantly take place. You've been to a few doctors here and there, but not many of them gave you any hope. Finally, a doctor steps in and informs you that he has cure to this disease. No pills would need to be taken and no major surgery would have to take place. Rather, one must choose to exercise and eat healthy each day. If that was done, then the person would no longer suffer from this disease. I would hope that you would choose to take the doctors advice. However, only 1 out of 10 people ever make a lifestyle change to prolong their life when faced with a life threatening illness. They would rather continue in the bad habits, then sacrifice to make better choices. It boggles the mind.
Unfortunately, I have found this same statistic in many Christian circles. Most people want God to do amazing things and radically transform their lives, but... not if they have to give up that "one" thing. I am so stinkin' tired of dealing with people not willing to give up the "one" thing! Seriously! Quit it! Just stop! I spend my life speaking the same life-breathing words that touched me in Scripture and yet that person will not let go of some of those sins. It boggles the mind.
*sigh* I want to get mad, but it just leads to being sad. When will people give up the darkness and embrace the light?

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Joy

Why are so many people miserable?

I get those who do not yet have a relationship with Christ or even believes He exists. I imagine I would be miserable too. In fact, many nonbelievers I meet at least act perfectly happy. But, I have found the vast majority are miserable and like I said, I get that.
I get those believers who are living out a sinful life. If I were giving God the middle finger each day, then I would be pretty miserable too. I get it, I definitely get it.
I get those believers who are suffering terrible tragedies in their lives. Sometimes you just weep and mourn because so much is going on around us. I get those people too.
So, to recap... I understand why nonbelievers, sinful believers, and suffering believers appear to be miserable. But what about the rest of em?

Ask yourself this day if you have a legitimate reason to be miserable. If not, perhaps more effort needs to be made to fix it. Pray to God, Surround Yourself with People Who Express Joy, and take comfort in God's sovereignty!

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Fast: Day 6

Hunger pains no longer hit me. It's more the craving of something warm in my mouth and the function of chewing. Oh how I miss it! However, the positive is that as my body feels cleaner so does my spiritual life. Much of the clutter that was there before has been removed and there is a desire to keep it removed. What clutter is in your life? Should you take a break from the clutter or remove it permananently? Think about it.

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Fast: Day 4

Continuing on. The hunger pains don't really hit me much anymore. In fact, when I do drink my juice, sometimes I have difficulty finishing it. Time spent with the Lord has been good in between normal work day things. I must profess that I don't feel as though the Lord is really speaking to me about anything today. And that brings me to my point of topic...

Sometimes we need to spend time with God understanding that we may not get a "word" or some special "revelation". Rather, we should enjoy just the spending time. I must admit that in my own life it is difficult for me to just "spend time" with others. I always feel that there has to be some kind of purpose, even if I don't know what the purpose is going into the time spending. What I need to learn is that time spent with God is very good even if something new hasn't come to me. Rather, I can take joy in the silence and enjoy that I'm improving my relationship with him. Today, I would encourage you to not seek answers so much as to just spend time in worship before Him.

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Week of Fasting

From January 1-7th the Bethel Community has been fasting and praying. We are doing this to grow closer to our Lord and also put us in an excellent position to hear from him regarding major decisions. Today, is January 3rd. Three whole days and we have already had so many blessings take place because of this. Mostly, God's message to all of us has focused on love and obedience. We obey when we follow the two great commands to love God with everything we and to love others. Jesus adds to love just as He has loved us. Sort of takes the sting out of obedience, doesn't it? We are commanded to love so that we understand what it means to be loved. What a beautiful circle produced by God that we gain understanding from. I will have more updates later in the week. Today's service was excellent and flowed quite nicely with all who had things to say. May we continue on!

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