What's in Your Diet?

"I won't be before you long..." You hear that a lot, especially at church. Ha. But really, I won't.


I'm learning that often times, we as people despise the Word of God. "People" includes church folk. I use the word despise, and while it is harsh, it's accurate. You cannot despise something you've never experienced. It's kind of like how kids despise vegetables. Candy tastes better, but we know that it's bad for us.

Same as the Word of God. It's not always fun to chew up and swallow. We'd rather eat the good stuff: blessings, prosperity, eternal life, etc. We want to spit out what is good for us: love thy neighbor, "judge not, lest ye be judged," "it's better to give than to receive."

Candy tastes good, but it has costly side effects: cavities, loss of teeth, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc., etc. Don't forget that it's man made. Now vegetables, God created them, in all their green glory. Their purpose is to help us grow, fight sickness, strengthen us, and they can even make our skin glow :) Sometimes, though, veggies don't always taste the best. We like to add stuff to them. Stuff like cheese, dipping sauces, sprinkle some seasonings on them. We try to make the experience easier to digest. We want it to go down a little easier.

We do the same thing to the Word. We add too it (or take away from it) to make it taste better. We start trying to "fix up" and "dress up" what God has for us, so it won't convict as strongly or difficult to swallow. Even though God knows what He is doing. He feeds us what we need so we can grow, be strengthened, fight. And while we are going through, He'll have our skin glowing and face smiling because we know that our Father fed us what we needed.

We tell Him we love Him, yet we reject Him. How can we love someone we don't know? How can we know if we don't learn about Him? How can we learn about Him if not through His Word?

What's in your diet?

His Royal Highness

Everyone wants to be the king of something. We want to be the best. We want all the attention. We want fame. We want celebrity. If we can't get it ourselves, we want to be closest to whomever has it. We want to know it; be right next to it. If we can't be Beyonce, we want some connection to her. "I used to live on the same street as her second cousin's step sister's niece." "Well, I go to church with her first grade dance teacher's grandson's landlord." "Well, this one time....." We all want to gain from someone else's fame, someone else's worth.

You think I am, but I'm not judging though. I do it too. Let me give you a little background on the Famous One who I know: Like I said, everyone thinks they're the king, but I know the King of all kings (Rev. 19:16, 1Tim. 6:15). If you want to meet Him, I can introduce you (John 3:16; Rom. 6:23; Rom. 10:9). He makes appearances all the time! Actually, He's always around. You can't see Him? No, He doesn't use a disguise, it's just that many don't see Him because they've forgotten what He looks like because they haven't spent time with Him in a while. Others just refuse to acknowledge his presence, nevertheless, He's here. He's real cool too. Real approachable dude, unlike most celebrities. Even though He has the whole universe in the palm of His hand, He doesn't mind chillin with the common folk. You know, the people that most don't have time for, He's never too busy. He has a special place in His heart for those who are rejected because He, Himself, was rejected, made fun of, insulted, hated, persecuted...you name it. He still loves everybody though. He's a real "down-to-earth" guy.

You think Michael Jackson was the hardest working? My King NEVER sleeps (Psalm 121:3). You think Michael Jackson was generous? Yeah, he gave money, time, even donated blood. But when was the last time MJ gave his life to save your soul (Matt. 20:28)? You think Bill Gates is wealthy? How about Oprah? My King is the source...of ALL of it! (Psalm 50:10; 2Cor. 8:9). Most importantly, He's a family guy. He loves His children...to death. You want a role model? A famous person to look up to? One who won't end up killing his girlfriend, cheating on his wife, getting a DUI, or overdosing? He's the One. Won't ever let you down. Never disappoint.
Get like Him (Eph. 5:1).

No, I'm not His third cousin removed, from a great great uncle by marriage. No, I'm not His half brother's stepniece, whose father was adopted by a great great great grandmother, whose cousin on His mother's side.....He's my Daddy! I'm an heir to the Throne!

You already know His name. Recognize His Royal Highness.

Was Blind but Now I See

So...it's been way too long, but I make no apologies. I'm sure I was busy with some really important stuff...
After graduation, I ended up having the BEST 5 WEEKS (and 6 days) OF MY LIFE! No one can convince me other wise. God is so faithful, and I thought I knew that before May 21st, but I was sadly mistaken. I really thought I was kind of figuring this thing out, but God took the blinders off of my eyes and led me to a place where His love and His power could not be denied! His Word says that "Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He is Lord." And I literally saw it with my own eyes. Even those who wanted to deny His majesty; they failed miserably. His presence was so overwhelming and overpowering. It was like every activity you participated in, every place you went, He was just chillin right there next to you. I mean, that's where He was all along, but again, the blinders were all the way off.

I could look to my left and see the Gospel of our Savior being offered to the hungry heart of broken teenager, who sadly had never experienced the feeling of true love before. I could look to my right and witness tears of joy from a 16 year old girl who made a free throw for the first time in her life because a counselor relentlessly fought that young girl's doubt and fear of failure with the Living Word--and that 16 year old girl actively practicing her own faith by believing that Word as truth and taking the shot.

I was reminded over and over again by the Holy Spirit that what I was seeing every single day was not abnormal, but that it was what the world should look like. He showed me that all of this is in His plan. Basically, I was only to be shocked by it briefly, but then I needed change my way of thinking. This is what is to be expected. He says that we, as a people, have lowered the standard, and have lowered our expectations of ourselves as believers and disciples of Christ. We should expect to hear a 20-something college kid telling a 17 year old high school kid of his/her testimony; sharing about how serving the Lord at a young age is not boring or burdensome, but of how it is the best decision one could ever make. Someone should be telling our youth that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). Our youth need to hear the Truth from people who know the Truth. How can we sit back and watch them trip over the same stone we just tripped over, and not say anything to prevent them from stumbling? How dare we allow them to die right before our eyes? How can we as believers expect them to love themselves and each other if they have not yet known the love of Jesus?

I left on a slight tangent, but God is saying that we ought to expect more of ourselves, within the Body of Christ.

Getting back to it...the best part of all this is that the presence of God isn't just at that place in Golden, MO. It's everywhere! We just have to get those blinders off!