How Do You Go to God?

When I'm weary,
When I'm sad,
When I'm fearful,
When I'm mad,
When I'm hurt,
A lot or a tad,
And of course,
When I'm glad,
I go to God
With good or bad,
and suddenly,
I have more than I had.
-Me

It's lovely to be able to go to the God of the universe and just chat like you would with an old friend. That's a great way to go to God. Anytime, anywhere, with any emotion, God loves it when we go to Him. He wants to chat with us--no matter if it's for 3 seconds or for many hours or even days. He loves when we acknowledge that He exists everywhere and is accessible anywhere and at any time. He loves when we tell Him what's on our hearts.

Do you realize how blessed we are to be able to do this? And to have a God who loves this?

One of the things that makes Christianity so special for me is how deeply, sincerely, purposely, and wonderfully personal it is.  The Creator of everything enjoys just hanging out with creation--having fellowship. It doesn't even mean you're using words.  It just means you're there and God's there and you're just together.  It's so amazing and awe-inspiring, isn't it?

That's what I'm thankful for today. And with this thanksgiving (and on this Thanksgiving day ;) ), this is how I'm going to God. I'm going to God by giving Him thanks for this life, this truth, this love that He has given me personally. I'm thanking Him for being so real and right and loving and sovereign and joyful even when the sin in the world makes Him sad. I'm thanking Him for being so sad that He gave His Only Begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins. I'm thanking Him for all the blessings in my life whether big or little. I'm thanking Him for my big brother playing the piano, my parents making me dinner, my curling iron working just the right way, this special American holiday, the rest of the world waiting for me to explore, the cold that feels just like the coming Winter should, my awesome camera, being able to have a blog, being able to write with all of my heart, my nonnie being alive and well, my break in work, the ability to play, the disappointments that keep me humble, the waiting for a change, loving life, and being saved by the blood of Jesus. I'm even thanking Him for my schoolwork. That's the hardest one. But thanking God makes me grateful, and being grateful makes me see what I have as so much more. It just makes life better.

Are you going to God with thanks today?

Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!

Are You A Royal?

Have you ever realized how EVERYONE wants to be a royal? A ruler? On top of the world? Or at least how the world tells us we should wanna be royals? Well, Lorde noticed it. She also noticed that "we'll never be royals. It don't run in our blood." But of course she then begs, "Let me be your ruler; you can call me queen bee. And baby, I'll rule, I'll rule, I'll rule. Let me live that fantasy."  So, from this song, we come to understand that even though us normal people will never be rulers, we still wanna rule --this is the dream that we're all in love with. We all wanna answer "yes" to the question "are you a royal," but it just isn't gonna happen. Right?

Wrong.

Okay, okay, before you think I'm really crazy, let me tell you about the inheritance you're being offered right now.  Eternity of being a son or daughter of the King of the universe. Paid for by the blood of Jesus. All you do is accept that Jesus died (and resurrected) for you, and you're royalty. For eternity. With the God who loves you so much that He sent His only son to die for you.

In reply to Lorde, we can be royals. It runs in Jesus' blood that He poured out for us.  We can live that fantasy.

I'm a royal.  Are you?

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are a people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

-1 Peter 2:9-10

Why Can't We Be Friends?

We've all had those kinds of friends at one point or the other (or at most points). You know those friends who are nice on the surface and lead you to believe that you are (of course) their friend, their groupie, but then, all of the sudden, they ditch you. They ignore you. They still say you're their "friend," but you know the truth. They leave you singing, "Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?"

It's very frustrating, isn't it?

And that's how Jesus feels about us sometimes.

Think about it. At some point in his/her life, almost every Christian finds him/herself saying Jesus is his/her friend, but not really acting like it. We all still like the idea of being a Christian, but we lose faith in Jesus, feeling like "how could we need someone we can't even see? Is He even real?"  Then, like the flaky friend, we don't spend time with Jesus anymore or invite Him where we're going. We hate to admit it, but we kinda decided that our friendship was never real.  Our faith--well, we wouldn't say it exists. We're officially doubters, even though there was definitely a point where Jesus revealed Himself to us.  When we doubt after Jesus reveals Himself to us, that's when He gets frustrated. It's not out of anger, but it's out of love. He wants to be our friend because He loves us, yet we aren't feeling it. It leaves Him singing,"Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends? Why can't we be friends?"  Except when Jesus asks this, it's a rhetorical question, because He definitely knows what's happening on our end of the friendship.

Now, this doesn't mean we're just all going to Hell. Some of the best Christians go through this at one point or another. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that every Christian goes through this. Way back 2000 years ago, when the disciples were trying to heal this demon-possessed boy, the father of the boy had to go to Jesus because the disciples just couldn't do it. When Jesus heard that His disciples couldn't do it, He said, "O unbelieving and perverse generation... how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here" (Matthew 17: 17). He was frustrated. It hurt Him to know that His disciples, who had been seeing Him and talking to Him face to face, didn't have enough faith to heal a boy. But this was also Jesus asking a rhetorical question, because He knew how long He'd be on earth with them and He knew that their faith wouldn't always be up to par. He still loved them despite this. Actually, I think one of the main reasons He's saying this is to show that we need Him more than He needs us.

It's to show that sometimes we will be those flaky friends of fake faith, but we still need Him and should go to Him in those times.

The disciples could SEE Jesus with their own two eyes, yet they still had issues with faith and trusting in the reality of their friendship with Jesus. So, they needed to rely on Jesus to heal the boy--to do the job they were called to do. The job they could do if they had enough faith (see Matthew 17:20).  Even if we're horrible friends of Jesus, He wants us to go to Him, and like He did for the disciples, He'll pick up the slack. He'll do what we were meant to do. He might get frustrated that we can't love Him so much that our faith just comes naturally, but His love will still be constant.

He still wants to be your friend.

He wants to be your friend forever.

[Cue "Why Can't We Be Friends?" here]

How's your friendship with Jesus going?

Do You Want That Perfect Life?

"I want that friend. I want that dress. I want that appearance. I want that grade. I want that position. I want that acceptance. I want that happiness. I want that fulfillment. I want that life. That perfect, perfect life.

"But I don't have that.

"God, why don't I have that? Don't You love me? Don't You want me to have joy?  Isn't that one of the fruits of the Spirit?  It's what we get as Christians, right?"

Silence.

"I'm very unhappy, God. Where are You? I thought You were real. Get over here, Lord. What are You doing? I want Your joy."

"Follow me."

"Well, I know that, God.  I am a Christian. That's kinda what the word implies.  I'm already doing that.  But I'm just really antsy trying to get that life You wanna give me."

"Follow me."

"Ok, this isn't funny.  I am following You.  But I need to feel filled up, You know? Of course You know.  Why are You playing coy?"

"Follow me."

"Lord, I think we're getting disconnected because You just said the same thing three times after I told You that that's not what I need.  I've already got that.  But I need You to make me a little more perfect. Oh, and You know that prestigious title that that girl has?  I think I'd be a better Christian with it.  And please hear me and stop trying to tell me to follow You when I already am.  I'm really just asking for that good life, You know."

Silence.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Matthew 16:24-26

Do You Feel Like You Belong?

It's an age-old question that haunts us all daily. No matter who you are, you've experienced the feeling. The feeling of wanting to fit in. Of wanting to be in the in crowd. Of wanting to be cool. Of wanted to be wanted. Of wanting to be loved.

It's a painful experience, isn't it?

Now, sometimes you don't even like the cool kids, but you want to be accepted by them. Maybe it's because they're monsters who might eat you if you don't get on their good side. Maybe you want to be a monster yourself. It's always easier being the predator than being the prey. Whatever the case, these monsters have been made important (probably by their own exclusive behaviors...) and you want to feel important too.

But why does it take monsters to make you feel important? Isn't there a better way to go about the desire to feel and be important?

Most kids will say there isn't.  It always involves being liked by a monster or being a monster, eh?

NO.

Just no, guys.  It's not true.  Actually, it's the worst way to feel important, because there's a 99% chance that you won't really feel important. You'll just feel used. You'll just feel empty. Drained. Like an orange that was juiced, you feel useless now.

But they're lying to you. You are not useless. You are not like that orange with no purpose. No matter what they tell you, you're more than that. No matter how they act to you, you're more than that. You are a beloved child. You are a purposeful creation. You have intrinsic value that the world has underestimated. You have been loved with an eternal love. You have been created in the image of the Creator. And He loves you so very much.

Imagine you're a new baby with your parents. These aren't just any parents.  They've wanted you. They've desired you. They've created you with the intention of loving you. Of being with you, of guiding you, of holding you, and of leading you in the path made just for you. They never want to leave you, but as you grow up, they let you leave them. You choose to go, and you're gone. But they still love you.

And that's how it is with God. He made you because He desires to love you and lead you and to never let you go. He desires to call you His child. But you left. We all left. None of us live up to the title of God's Beloved Child. So, Jesus died and rose again for us. He is the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, for our unworthiness to be called God's Beloved Children. Because of this, if we return to God, accepting Jesus into our lives, we are again His Beloved Children. God made it possible for us to be His again. For us to be valued. Important. Wanted. Loved. You have the opportunity by the blood of the Son of God to be overwhelmed in His love. God's Undying, Eternal, Everlasting, Pure, Accepting Love.

That's where you belong. Why are you waiting?

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.  If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.  As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.  That is why the world hates you."
-John 15:18-19

"Whoever does not know love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
-1 John 4:8-10