It hit me like a ton of bricks. Sitting there in Basic Training, listening to our pastor talk about mercy and forgiveness, I saw that for ten years, I had failed to realize how deeply I was hurting. How my heart was rock hard to the core over things that no longer matter. How I judge every single person and every single event based on those events of my past. How I have been jaded and cheated myself out of so much happiness. A few simple words made me see it…. “Don’t be bitter.” It was said as part of a story the pastor was telling about his past and how these simple words from his father made him realize that bitterness was controlling him. He built up this story like his dad had imparted some absolutely life-changing wisdom on him and when he said “Don’t be bitter,” I thought, “Is that it? Is that all that your dad said to you that made you tear up just now?” As the class went on, we continued to talk about the pastor’s favorite Beatitude: “Blessed are the merciful, for they … [Read more...]
Complete Trust
We love because he first loved us. – 1 John 4:19 That is a deep passage in scripture. Think about it for a minute... We love because He first loved us. We are only able to love ourselves and each other because God’s love shines down on us. Even when we don’t reciprocate that love, it’s there. In the course I’ve been taking at church, the pastor showed us three basic principles that we experience through Christ. These principles are simple, yet completely profound in reality. True Freedom. Universal Need. Deep Comfort. It’s through these three principles that we are able to build trust in God. But, it is only when you know God loves you that the trust you have in Him grows. This experience can be totally different for everyone and so today I want to share with you a few of the stories I heard during our “group time” at church. These stories really showed me how personal everyone’s experience with God is and how I can learn from them. First, let me explain the group…there were … [Read more...]
Proud to be Poor
A few weeks ago, I signed up for an intensive Bible study class at my church called “Basic Training.” To give you an idea of this course, it’s “a 7-week course designed to equip Christ followers to live an abundant life. The study centers around 10 Biblical truths that are closely linked with the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12.” Keep in mind that I am a relatively new follower of Christ. I’ve always been a believer (even if I’ve doubted), but I never did anything about it. I never really even tried to grow myself spiritually. I always thought that if I was a good person, Heaven would be waiting for me. I clearly did not understand what it meant to really be a Christian. This year, however, I found a great church family that finally helped me to understand what being a Christian is really about. I accepted Christ as my savior, prayed for forgiveness from God and was baptized. The whole point of that last paragraph is to tell you that everything I will be writing here is from the … [Read more...]
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