WHY DO YOU FOLLOW GOD?

Why do you follow God? Really. Ask yourself. Challenge yourself. Ask God to search out your heart and show you. We live in a VERY self-centered culture. Have you brought that mindset into your relationship with God? I am convinced, that when it all boils down, there are basically two "types" of believers.
The first "type" would be those who just simply live life. They make their own decisions, they choose their own direction and live life on their own path of "choice." They then pray and ask God to "bless" their decisions and choices and invite Him to be a part of their life. They try to do the Christian thing when it comes to making decisions. They are caught up in the "rights and wrongs" of everything. Does God love them? Absolutely. And not any more or less than the other "type" of believer we will describe. But let me ASSURE you. They are REALLY missing it and missing out. Their prayers are a list of wants and needs. "God I want this car, heal my body, may me children be good, etc." There is nothing wrong with this. God is our Father! He wants us to lay these things before Him. But if that's all there is...is there something wrong?
The second "type" of believer is a FULLY surrendered one. They simply live for God. They learn to hear Him and recognize His voice (John 10:4). Their life is not their own (1 Corinthians 6:19). They have "given up" on their dreams and goals...well, they have given them to Him. Their decisions and choices are based on OBEDIENCE to God. They follow the "path" that He shows them. They choose what He has chosen for them. These believers are partaking of the spiritual blessings that they have been freely given in Christ Jesus. There is intimacy with the Father. There is "true spirituality" if you will. Rather than asking God to be a part of their life, they ask to be a part of what God's doing in this world. They actually take the Bible for what it says. They actually read it and obey it. They seek to be purified and allow God into those "secret" places of their hearts and minds. No holding on to secret sins. God has complete access.
Can you be a "believer" and live as the first type? Can you be an unbeliever and live as the first type...but not really be a believer? Sure you can. I'm not saying they're not a believer...but I'm also not saying they are. People can be deceived into thinking they are living for God when, unfortunately, in reality they just want God to bless their life. They're not really interested in living for Him. Please do not think I TOTALLY live as the second "type" of believer. But that is my desire. Is it yours? Why do you follow God? Have you counted the cost of following Him? Enough of my opinion on this matter...let's just read what Jesus said. He says it much more boldly, bluntly and seriously that I think I ever could. I have too much "people pleasing" in me. Here's what He says about following Him...

Luke 14:26-28 "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he CANNOT be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me CANNOT be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?" (emphasis mine)

Matthew 10:37-39 "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it."

1 Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who you have from God, and that you are not your own?"

1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love the world, nor the THINGS in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is NOT in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the WILL OF GOD abides forever." (emphasis mine)

WARNING: We tend to always give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and we justify ourselves and tell ourselves things like "well, I definitely don't love the world and I know life here is short and...." so on and so forth. Let me challenge you to, rather than make yourself sound good in your head, to say "Lord, there is so much of me that loves this world...I am so focused on myself...I live life my own way...HELP ME LORD!" Don't puff yourself up before the Lord. Humble yourself before Him. That is the way of the true disciple. Remember the Pharisee puffed himself up before the Lord in prayer, the tax collector repented and was broken over his sin. Which are you? Jesus is coming back and your days are much fewer than you think. Sense the urgency. Live for eternity. You will be standing before Him before you know it.
I love you so much. I am praying for you. Pray for me too.

Your sis,
Rach

THE PEOPLE SYNDROME

Galatians 1:10 "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."

We have a people syndrome where we are way too caught up with people

• Pressure
• Belonging
• Acceptance
• Popularity
• Celebrities
• Musicians
• Fashion
• Reality Shows
  

We have a tendency to lift people up and idolize them in our heart which the Bible tells us to flee from in 1 Corinthains 10:14 "Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." ...God did create us to have relationships...we are relational and He created us that way...but we can be unhealthy in the way we interact with and view mankind.

Idolatry is allowing something to be on the throne of your heart other than God. It is something you love and worship more than God. It is something that causes you to act in behalf of it.

When you put your trust in other people...it pulls you away from God. Jeremiah 17:5 says, "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD."

We are so easily led to follow people. For example, most of us know about God from what people tell us about God...not from what we've read about Him for ourselves from our Bibles. We rely on other people to tell us!

Paul addresses this issue in Galatians 1:1 stating he was NOT sent from men nor through the agency of man but through Jesus Christ

In verse 6 Paul says he was so amazed that they were deserting Him who called them by grace to a different gospel. WHY??? Because of all Christ had done for them. They quickly turned away from Christ and all He had done to listen to what other people had to say!

OVERCOMING FEELING UNLOVED

Here is an excerpt taken from Beth Moore's Book "Praying God's Word." I pray you will be so edified!

"Whether we seek to have our cup filled through approval, affirmation, control, success, or immediate gratification, we are miserable until something is in it. I have come to dearly love and appreciate Psalm 143:8 (NIV): 'Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.' What a heavy yoke is shattered when we awaken in the morning, bring our hearts, minds and souls and all their "needs" to the Great Soul-ologist, offer Him our empty cups, and ask Him to fill them with Himself! No one is more pleasurable to be around than a person who has had her cup filled by the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only One who is never overwhelmed by the depth and length of our need. Imagine how different out days would be if we had our cups filled by Christ first thing in the morning. During the course of the day, anything else anyone is able to offer could be just the overflow of an already full cup. This person will never lack company or affection because she draws daily from the well of unfailing love. This blessed of all believers will know from experience what the apostle Paul meant in Colossians 2:10 (KJV); 'Ye are complete in Him.'"
-Beth Moore, Praying God's Word

GOD LOVES YOU

"God loves you and there's nothing you can do about it." -Billy Graham

A Beautiful Storm

This morning I was reading in Genesis about one of my favorite...I almost want to say my very favorite Bible character Joseph. Joseph ALWAYS amazes me. He stands above the crowd. Trials are his life and they press out of him purity, faith and compassion. A few days ago I read about how he resisted the temptation to sleep with Potiphar's wife though she asked him "day after day" (Gen 39:10). What was the result in his character? Purity. What happened when she lied and said he raped her? Imprisonment. My response? Amazing. But today I think I was even more amazed. Although I've read this many times I feel like I am walking around today with words and phrases swimming around in my mind like "wow" "amazing" "I can't believe it" "how is that possible". Anyway, Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery and God blesses Him and to make a long story short he ends up ruling Egypt and God has revealed to him of a famine to come. He stores up food and makes all necessary preparations for everyone to survive. His brothers come to get food for their family. So much pain and devastation has Joseph's father bared at the news of Joseph's death. A lie the brothers crafted. Here are his brothers coming to him for food to survive. The brothers that hated him...and would have killed him had it not been for Reuben, the eldest. When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers he says "And now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life....Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God"(Gen. 45:5, 8). What did I write next to each one of those verses? WOW. That's all I can think. Maybe I'm in lala land today but do you ever just put yourself in the character's position? Do you try to imagine what they felt? All I know is God does supernatural things INSIDE us and that has been amazing me more recently than what He does in the physical realm. God parted the Red Sea...of course He can. And it IS a miracle. But with tears in my eyes I say GOD is doing a miracle inside of us daily. I was thinking last night of how much He has changed me. Things I used to think and do...that I always thought would be a part of me. Struggles and fears. Now I most definitely have struggles and fears but...HE HAS FREED ME! I literally do not think the same. I am at peace. God is REAL. He speaks to me. He shows Himself STRONG. He is alive. When I seek Him I find Him. I am in LOVE. Are you? I pray you are. We are in such DESPERATE need for intimacy and love. God made us that way. God has blessed me with a wonderful husband but when it all boils down to it you know why I love him? God. You know what I love about him? God. God in him and God in me is why we can love each other the way we do. We do not meet each other's need for love in any stretch of the imagination. God does. We are in love with God. And Joseph must have been in love with God too. There is no way his life would show what it showed through all the trials had he not been in love with his God. I remember Billy said something very insightful when we were on our honeymoon. We were on a cruise ship and we were standing on the front deck. There was a storm in the distance we were admiring and we were commenting on how beautiful it was. He said, "You know that's how it's supposed to be when the world looks at the life of a believer going through a trial. The world should look on and say...'That's beautiful.'"

A Cute Little Joke

Know what God Looks Like?

A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew.
She would occasionally walk around to see each child's artwork.
As she came to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was.

The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."

The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like."

Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing the girl replied,. . . .
"They will in a minute."

"Author is Unknown"

Your QUIET TIME: Is Spending Time With God Your Favorite Time of the Day?

1. Be still before Him

Psalm 46:10 NKJV

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

We need to stop and acknowledge who it is we're talking too. Almighty and all powerful Creator! We need to know He is sovereign (in control) and He knows the future. He holds you in His hand.

1 Peter 5:6-7

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

We need to come before Him and lay distracting thoughts aside, thoughts of things we need to do that day, problems that cry for our attention, worries that are filling our head...we need to clear our minds and focus our attention so that we can hear from God.

Psalm 4:4

Tremble, and do not sin; meditiate in your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.

We need to come ready to fill our mind with thoughts about Him...prepare to converse with Him.

Psalm 23:1-3

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

God wants to restore and refresh us when we are in His presence and it is His desire to lead us beside the quiet waters. There is a "sweet place" we can be with God where we sit in His presence and He calms our hearts and minds.

Zepheniah 3:17 NKJV

The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

2. Be open and honest with Him

Read Psalm 139:1-6

• God knows every thought in our minds but we need to CONVERSATE with Him in order to have a relationship!

Psalm 64:2

O You who hear prayer, to You all men come.

• God wants to hear us. Don't be afraid to open up your mouth and say what you really feel...God already knows it. You need to speak it to Him in prayer. This is how you communicate with God. James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

Psalm 89:46-48

How long, O LORD? Will You hide Yourself forever? Will Your wrath burn like fire? Remember what my span of life is; for what vanity You have created all the sons of men! What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?

The Psalmists were painfully open and honest with God. They communicated openly with God so that they could deal with what was going on inside them...so that they could acknowledge it and be directed and healed by the Lord. Speaking out loud to God helps us put in perspective what is going on inside of us. It may just help you stay focused with all those thoughts swimming around in your head!

3. Be listening to Him as you read the Bible

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

It is in your intimate one-on-one time with God in His Word that you can have a very powerful encounter with communicating with Him. It is in His Word that you hear His voice and respond!

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

in the NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

• The Bible is God's Word. It is how He communicates with us.

• When we open the Word of God we need to understand the verses are not going to jump off the page into our hearts without the Holy Spirit.

1 John 2:27 NLT

But you have received the Holy Spirit,* and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you all things, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie. So continue in what he has taught you, and continue to live in Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:9-12 NLT

This is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God's deep secrets. No one can know what anyone else is really thinking except that person alone, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. And God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world's spirit) so we can know the wonderful things Godehas freely given us.

• Talk to God while you are reading His Word!

• KEEP A JOURNAL FOR YOUR TIME WITH GOD. Record verses that speak to you, something God showed you that day, prayers He answered, prayers you want Him to answer!

Eyes to See and Ears to Hear

Hello sisters! I pray that the Lord spoke to you through the Beth Moore study if you got the chance to listen to it! God has so much in store! So often we get caught up in each day's demands and miss the voice of God!
I was encouraged this morning reading the book of Matthew. Jesus says in Matthew 13:11 speaking to the disciples, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven..." Verses 16-17 "But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." Verse 43b "He who has ears to hear let him hear." I want to encourage you to BELIEVE that God has given you ears to hear and eyes to see! Have you heard from the Lord lately? What's He been speaking to you about? Have you been seeing God move in your life and heart? In the lives of those around you?
When you come before the Lord...do you expect to hear Him? Hebrews 11:6 is such a challenging verse for me. It says, "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." I don't know about you, but my reward for seeking Him is getting to hear and see Him!
I pray you have ears to hear and eyes to see. Let God speak to you through His Word today! Don't just read the Bible to know about the Author, read the Bible to know the Author! Maybe you've gotten caught up in the routine of devotions, like I do so often. Let's return to having a heart that wants to know the Lord today. May God do a work in us by His Spirit!

It is so important to know the Lord. It is important because God says it's important!
John 17:3 "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou has sent."
Matthew 7: 23 "And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."
1 Corinthians 1:9 NLT "God will surely do this for you, for he always does just what he says, and he is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

I'm going to be posting practical ways to "hear the Lord" for the days to follow. Love you all!

BETH MOORE: Overcoming Insecurity Part 3

Here is the third and final teaching of Beth Moore's. I pray God is maturing you in this area of your walk!