He is My Haven

Jesus is my haven and I hope to share with everyone His serene haven. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"-2 Corinthians 5:17 "However, as it is written: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.'" -2 Corinthians 2:9

[heismyhaven]

Trust

Trust is the foundation of every good relationship. Without trust what is there? Without knowing that someone is reliable, good and honest how can we interact with them in a healthy, God honoring way? People say hurtful things to each other all the time but saying "I don't trust you" can be the most hurtful. This is so hurtful because as trust grows we let other get to know the real us more and more and let everything out. So, when someone says they don't trust you it's like saying that you are unreliable and cannot be trusted with the secrets that make them, them. 

Imagine that feeling when someone says that they don't trust you and multiply it by the biggest number you can think of and that's how God feels when we don't trust him. The definition of trust is, "belief that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc." What fits this definition more than God? And yet we still rely on ourselves and don't trust in God. It is hard to trust in God, but when you think through every story Gods faithfulness and reliability is shown. If you feel like Gods faithfulness and reliability is not shown then be patient, God has a plan and your story may not be finished, its all in due time. Psalm 9:10 says, "Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you." There are countless verses in the bible about how trust worthy God is but when a situation arouses it can be hard to trust Him, but we can know that in the end God's way will not forsake us. The more we trust God and the more God honoring and following we become the more trust worthy we become to those around us. 

[heismyhaven]

Trying to be cool?

Trying to be cool is something we all are guilty of whether we want to admit it or not. Some take this farther than others and become a totally different person around those they are trying to impress. They may do things that completely gross them out and make them feel sick but if it makes them feel cool and makes them think others think they are cool they will keep doing it. But whose to say that doing that thing that you know is wrong makes you any better. Doing an activity should not define who you are and make you cooler. Changing who you are will also back fire so that at the end of the day no one knows you. 

This is a struggle for many people because they feel as though if they do what is right and are good then they will not be "cool". But Genesis 4:7 says "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” This is interesting because it is in the old testament. I personally never thought I would find something in the old testament that grabs your attention like this, which is probably why it's there. If we do God's will, how can we think that we won't be accepted? God will accept us and people will see God through us, which is a very attractive trait. Often when people are trying to be cool they drop God the fastest and don't tell anyone that they are a Christian. But why? It's like us saying "God I don't trust you and you embarrass me". It is very important to keep in the front of our minds that through God everything will be okay and through God we are accepted and act accordingly. This may take work to change bad habits, bad sins but it is worth it. 

[heismyhaven]

Choices...

Since the beginning of time God has given us the choice between good and evil. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, they chose sin thus changing the world forever. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God they were punished and their lives were as not easy as they once were, but God was still with them. 

When people become christians they often think that once they get past the hard decision of becoming a christian that life will become easier in the sense that all bad things and temptations will go away. Unfortunately, as much as we wish that this were true it is not. In every situation we can choose God or materialism/worldliness. One can be hard while the other can be detrimental.

Choosing materialism/worldliness may seem easier in the moment but does not have the lasting effect that we hope for. Materialism/worldliness can be fun and make us feel better in the moment but the truth is at the end of the day it leaves us feeling unsatisfied like their is something missing. As apart of our sinful nature we all will choose the easy way out multiple times through out our lives but the closer we get to God the easier it is to choose Him. 

Choosing Gods way can at times be one of the hardest decisions of our lives. We can feel like we are going in to situations blind, like our lives in some way will be ruined, etc. but the truth is that God loves us and would not forsake us. He knows what he is doing, He has a plan so that greater things can happen. If we are willing to take a small leap of faith in Him what may seem terrible can lead to much greater things. I have thought so many times, I wonder how many times I have said no to God and how many wonderful opportunities I have missed out on and how many lives around me I negatively effected just because of my selfish, worldly fears. 

In James 1 it talks about how God will be with you through every trial and temptation. We are not promised an easy life, but we are promised that God will be with us through everything. If life is hard we can be joyful and know that God has great things planned for us because he is preparing us and giving us wisdom for amazing things. I know every time God gives me a trial in my life he is trying to teach me something new because I am too stubborn to just learn, I have to experience it. Even though I may feel absolutely miserable I love when God gives me trials, things to thing about, and points out the faults in what I really believe about Him. I have learned that choosing God is very a very simple decision but can be very hard. The bottom line is that it's either God or worldliness and God is eternal while worldliness is momentary. 

[heismyhaven]

Jesus Prayed

While watching The Passion of the Christ last night I was astounded by Jesus praying. I have thought about this many times before but it always amazes me. In the Bible, this is not the only place that Jesus cries or prays it happens quite frequently, actually. Many people struggle to pray and to talk to God for many reasons, one being that they don’t know if praying is worth it or if it will be heard. Jesus is God, Jesus knows what will happen, but he still prays. That always stops me because if Jesus prays than what makes us any better to think that we don’t have to pray. What would make us think that we can do it on our own when Jesus prays and asks God to be with him and to help him. Luke 22:42 says “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” This prayer is Jesus’ prayer right before he is arrested. His prayer is saying that He knows what he has do but he does not really want to do it but if it is what God wants then He will do it. I know I have found myself in this kind of situation many times. It is hard to do what God wants sometimes and we may not always want to do it but it is important to remember that God has a plan for each and every one of us. We cannot always see or understand what God is doing and we may not ever understand. That is why we have prayer to talk to God about our lives so that he may help us through our hard times and our struggles and celebrate with us in the good times. We are called to try and be like Jesus and Jesus prayed to his father so even though it can be hard, prayer is necessary. The more that we pray the easier it becomes and the deeper we pray the closer we get to God.