#god's lessons

[walking-with-jesus-now]

Trust God & Love Him!  Forever!

[walking-with-jesus-now]

Don’t miss an opportunity to Learn what God is teaching you...

[becoming-christ-like]

Why support systems are not just some hippie idea

Today I realised how important support systems are. For all of you are saying yes of course jusr remember I still have some teen spirit in me that says I should be able to do everything myself. So today while I was out fabric shopping I noticed that my bike tire was getting low. With the help of my friend we made it to a bike shop and my friend who has better Japanese was able to translate and talk me through it. She even helped my to buy more expensive (by college student standards) groceries to help me feel better. I know God put her there for me today other times. She has helped me realize and see what a difference and importance having a support system feels like.

[freedbythetruth]

The Bike Ride Up

I went on a bike ride with my cousin last night and there was this really small hill, to me it was more of an incline or a ramp, but to a kid it seemed like a hill. She's gone up steeper hills before so I believed that she could ride up this one. I wanted to ride a different route yesterday. She was hesitant and scared at first, but she decides to try it. She was almost at the top of the hill when she got anxious and really scared. It was getting harder for her to push herself up the hill further and she was afraid she was going to slide back down. She was yelling and screaming at me saying that she told me she couldn't do it. She started to cry. I got off my bike and I was holding her. I said, "Hey it's ok I'm here and you're not going to fall. You can do this". She didn't pedal the rest of the way but had me turn the bike around with her on it and take her down the hill while she was on the bike. I had one arm was wrapped around her and the other hand was holding the bike. We were going really slow and she wouldn't look up, but closed her eyes and hung her head down. The whole entire time she told me "You better not let me go. You better not let me go". I told her "I'm letting you go. See my arm is wrapped around you. Don't worry I won't let you go". And finally when we reached the bottom I told her to look up. She didn't exactly jump for joy or tell me like wow that wasn't too bad, but I think she trusted me a bit more than she did before. I couldn't help but notice this experience was a lot like mine with God. When God challenges me I tend to shy away because it's new and different. Like my cousin, I was scared I would fall backwards and there would be no one to catch me. So many times I've gotten scared and closed my eyes and let God carry me. Surrendering all control to Him, but at the same time pleading and begging He won't let go, even if this obstacle isn't as bad as the last one. I complain and cry sometimes not even realizing that He is still helping me. But why... Why is it that I need God to prove his faithfulness to me constantly? At the end of each obstacle, I tend to forget the anxiety I felt and how God still took care of me. It's almost like at the same time I doubt his faithfulness partially because I don't think I deserve it or because I'm waiting for the day God tells me that He has had enough and He can't keep proving His faithfulness to me again again. A deeper doubt in me is what if the God I believe in doesn't exist. What if He truly isn't loving and caring and kind. But when things work out.. Almost too well to be explained by sheer luck or fate or the workings of nature, that's when these doubts go away. I'm not saying I have no more doubts or that I fully trust in God and his plan, but I'm learning to. And like my cousin with each obstacle I'm starting to trust God a little more and more.

[freedbythetruth]

GPS: I'm Fine Without It

Yesterday I was driving home from work and I realized as I saw the car slid into my lane which was on the right side, I forgot to turn on my GPS. As a sort of new driver it is a bad idea to have one hand on the wheel and fumble with the GPS especially if it's a small one that sticks to your car front window.  For just a second I panicked a little inside, luckily (God reminded me) that there was an exit coming up soon that I had to take. I've been driving to work by myself for 2 weeks now, and even though I knew my way back to my aunt's house I felt comfortable having the GPS on. It told me how many miles I had until I had to make a turn. It told me what turn to make and if I made a mistake it would find a way to get me back on the right road. In other words, when the GPS was on I made minimal effort to pay attention to the signs and surroundings as I was driving. (I was kind of like a mindless zombie following the directions of my GPS). It was my safety net and with that I had no worries. As I was driving from memory, I started noticing things that I didn't realize when I was driving with the GPS on. The surroundings seemed different to me and this time I felt like a real driver who knew what he/she was doing and where she was going. I made the right turns, didn't miss any exits, and got home safe.

When I got home, I realized that I forgot to turn on the GPS because driving felt comfortable to me... so comfortable that in the back of my mind.. I knew I didn't need the GPS anymore. And as I was driving I replayed this constant thought in my head for a while.

I am a child of God. He would never do anything to harm me. He will protect and guide me on the road

Or at least something like that. For a long while, I was always scared to drive on the highway by myself because I kept imagining these accidents in my head. At the same time, I kept forgetting that God would be my protector on the road. As long as I drove safely and the right way... God would take care of the rest. He gave me comfort and peace as I was driving.

This situation, I also realized, seemed similar to my spiritual life. There are times when I thought I couldn't be on my own (e.g. study the Bible, be part of worship, evangelize, lead people). I thought I needed someone to guide me and for a while people around me where my GPS.. telling me what to do and I just blindly followed. But at one point... I started picking up on my own as if it came naturally to me. I still have a long way to go. I've turned off my spiritual "GPS" for "local roads" (little things like studying the bible or talking to my friends about my faith) but I know God is leading me to the "highway". There will be a day when I feel I can tell anyone about my faith in God with confidence and conviction and eat, breathe, and truly live for God.  Even if I do one day turn off the GPS for the "highway", God will be there right next to me to guide me back if I get lost. 

[freedbythetruth]

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak

-Matthew 26:41

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

A few days ago I was working through a book of discipleship exercises and these two verses stood out to me. For the first verse, I realized that God was telling me that my body is weak to temptations. Hormones are a part of my body. So when I go through mood swings or when my body is not on it's regular hormone levels, yes biology sometimes is the cause for our irritability or impatience, but we should want to change despite that. God knows we are flawed and our behavior is affected by situations and biology, but He wants us to seek him in those circumstances. Excusing our behavior and blaming it on things we can't control can weaken our drive to want to change ourselves to be holy like God. There is a time and place for appropriate emotions but we should be careful to justify our emotions and actions by the right standards. Worldly standards of the right emotions and actions are different that God's standards. God was telling me that if I get angry or irritated about someone to calm down and think about where it is coming from. For me most of the time it's unnecessary to let myself be controlled by these emotions and exhibit them. It just would be easier for me to do that than to follow what God calls me to do. So I hope from now on I will be more aware of my anger or irritation and try to keep myself from being consumed by the heat of the moment. All with strength from God.

[freedbythetruth]

Cleaning and Purifying

I was cleaning my room out this morning. As I fumbled through my books throwing them in piles all over the floor left and right, I realized that for some reason I was holding on to things I thought might be useful. Things I thought might bring back memories. That included things like old magazines, tests, and random pieces of paper that had my old writing on it. The things I had in the piles on the floor were things I couldn't  decide whether or not to throw out. One moment I would think to throw it out, but the next moment I wouldn't. I was holding on to my past, refusing to throw it away thinking it might be important in the future or I might need it in the future. Let's be honest... if I had forgotten about something that wasn't that sentimental to me for years until I found it on my book shelf or in my drawers then it probably wasn't worth keeping in it. My mom insisted I throw most of my things out, but like my dad I liked keeping stuff from my past. 

This cleaning process.. reminded me of what God does for us. He prunes us and molds us so that we are closer and closer to being holy and like Him. It hurts sometimes as he cuts away our sins and chips away the parts of us that don't glorify him (our flaws). Maybe sometimes we forget that it was even there because we are such a different person when God changes us. Sometimes I forget that in high school I had a lot of academic pride or really anxious about my friendships. Sometimes I forget how judgmental I was about others. But God doesn't forget, at least I don't believe he does. He knows what we used to be like, but he's proud knowing that we want to change and we are allowing him to change us into who we were supposed to be before Sin entered the world. Those things are hard to throw out... but we do it because we know its better for us and for the sake of diminishing clutter in our rooms. But there are some sins we are hesitant to change because we feel that they might not be all that bad. We are hesitant to throw those sins out.

For me, pride is the sin I go back and forth on. Even though I trust God on some plans, I doubt and worry in other circumstances. He has been faithful to me constantly and yet I still doubt him. I still feel like I should do something and I need to take control of my life. I doubt that God could possibly have good plans for me. When time is running out and I have had a ton of rejections, I feel my trust in God diminishing. God understands that... which is why He constantly proves himself again and again how much he has provided for us even though He doesn't need to. 

So today I challenge you guys.. what are some things/sinful things you've been wishy washy about throwing it out/geting rid of in your life? Why are you hesitant to throw it out? Is it because you lack trust that God will provide and you believe it will give you pleasure and security in the future?If it is or if it is for some other reason, then I encourage you to bring it before God. Ask Him to change your heart because He can. Ask for a heart that can trust in Him and hate the sinful things like He does. Ask for the desire and strength to want to throw those sinful things in life. To me, its one of the coolest but scariest things in the world, but God can really change your heart and how you feel about something. But you have to really want it first or at the very least want to want it.