Hide and Seek

          One of the funnest childhood games we played was Hide and Seek right? You have to seek out the best place to hide you're entire body, without making a sound, and hope that the other person doesn't see or hear you. Your heart beats faster as you listen to the final countdown and sometimes you even second guess yourself that you may have not picked the best spot to hide in. Time is up and they come looking. The game is on!

We could spend hours playing this game and it never seemed to get old. We just continued to find new places to hide and better ways to figure out our opponent whether we were hiding or seeking. It's a game of strategy, and we liked it!    

As we grow older, we still like to play hide and seek, but maybe we play it in a slightly different way now then we did as children. We don't necessarily play it anymore for the giggles and laughs but more as a way to keep ourselves from getting hurt.  We don't want anyone to really know us completely because we don't want to be that vulnerable with others, after all, they'll probably hurt us. We don't want to let people know our deepest desires or dreams because they might find someway to ruin it for us. We don't know how to experience real friendship and trust with anyone because too many "friends" and "family" have let us down. So we hide. We make people "work" at getting to know us. We hide from failures, we hide from guilt, we hide from shame, we hide from our mistakes, we hide from opportunities, and we can even hide from love.   We are good at hiding aren't we? We are really good at this game because everyone else is playing it too. You could say, we are all "Experts" in this field.

But...is that a good thing? Why is it so hard for us to just be real with one another? Why do we live in fear of being who we are with everyone we come in contact with? Sure the normal answers come to mind...people say mean things, nobody will understand, too many people have hurt me so this is easier to just shut everyone out...but is it really?

There's the other route of people saying things like we can't disagree with anyone because that's not loving people. BUT funny thing is...why can't we disagree with each other? Why can't we be real? We don't have to be hateful just because we disagree, but simply saying NOTHING is hiding too! Crazy isn't it? We are all really masters at hiding. We make all sorts of excuses but do we really have the courage it takes to simply, be real?

     I do believe that it is possible. To be real. To not have to hide. I think it will take great courage and strength because we definitely live in a world of hide and seek. But the most awesome thing that I have discovered is that I know a God who DOES NOT play hide and seek with us. He simply says, seek Me with all your heart and you WILL find Me. Awesome! No tricks, no countdown, no time outs...if we look...there He is. That is what I need in this world. I cannot hide from Him and I will always find Him and that is exactly what I want.  A God who can be found whenever I look. A God who does not hide from Me. And frankly a God who never has to try to seek me out because He always knows right where I am.

     I believe that God does not have a problem with the childhood game of hide and seek, but I know First we must find Him, and then let others find us. Let's stop hiding shall we?

He does not want us living in that game. He wants us to be real with those we come in contact with. He wants us to stop hiding and closing ourselves off from the people around us. It's okay to disagree in life...but it's not okay to hide. If we really want to be a light in this dark world...

                                    So come out, come out...wherever you are! ;)

Throwback Post March 2016: Sometimes Life is just Sweet!

          So I had a great reminder of the sweetness of life today. My husband and I have been crazy busy the last several months with alot of ... let's just call it "life stuff". Every day has seemed to just swish by us so fast and we never seem to have enough time to finish all the things we've needed to get done.       Don't get me wrong, we've marked alot of things off of our to do lists: we've emptied two whole storage units (how did we get so much stuff!), we've fixed up the inside of the house we are living in (no little task), and we have slowly but steadily been working our way towards becoming debt free.

   

     We try to be as frugal as we can with our money. This has not always been the case but Praise God that we can live and learn how to become better stewards of our finances and resources. Lately, my husband has put in long hours and hard physical labor (he is a very hard worker and I love that about my husband!) and sometimes I wish he had more spending money to enjoy from the fruit of his labor, but for a long time now, we have been socking everything we can into becoming debt free and of course just paying normal bills. But he doesn't complain, he just gets up and works hard to provide.      Tonight when my husband came home...he hands me a couple very nice presents. Shocked and confused I accepted these gifts wondering why he would spend what very little he had on me and wondering how he paid for the rest. Came to find out that he still had gift cards left over from Christmas and he wanted to bless me with something nice. I love my husband. What a selfless act of love he displayed towards me.

   

      I began to look around at all our blessings, and I saw how my husband was a direct reflection of how God loves us. And I thank God for the wonderful blessing He has given me in a Godly husband. (There is much more to this blessing and maybe some day I'll have to share our story) For the rest of this evening, I started reflecting on some of the ways God has shown us His love, which has left me feeling pretty grateful tonight.

     

       One thing that I have learned and am still constantly amazed by is... God loves to love us. HE takes great pleasure in loving us. Sometimes I think we miss that concept about God. He constantly is dropping things in our path during our day just to let us know He is near and that He loves us. We just miss them sometimes. Okay, probably a lot of the time.  I know that when I make myself aware of God during my day (usually by just keeping Him in the center of my thoughts), I usually find myself completely overwhelmed by how personal He is and the tears usually well up out of pure joy.

     How great it is to be loved by my God. It's in moments like these, that I can't imagine my life apart from Him. Part of my journey with the Lord, is that I have determined in my heart that I want to "fall in love" with Jesus more every day. And in doing this, it has kept my heart centered where it needs to be and I have discovered so much about my God: Who He is, What He wants from me. What His plan is for my life. What He thinks about me. And I'm discovering how much He loves me.

      It was more than enough that Jesus died on the cross for me. He doesn't owe me anything. BUT I find it so incredibly humbling to know that even though He already gave me everything He had to give: His life, He STIll chooses to love me more. How can we resist a love like that?  No matter the struggles we may face in this life.... with a Savior like that... life is pretty sweet! ;)

A Political Spirit?

       
So I have been hearing this term "Political Spirit" a lot lately, lots of big name pastors use this term, tons and tons of Christians use the phrase..."I try not to get involved in politics" or "I avoid politics at all costs". So my inquisitive mind wanted to know.... "what is this Political Spirit I keep hearing about and why do other Believers, not want to get involved in politics?"
           
                                                             Here's what I've found...

       Though I completely agree that Satan is all over politics and things that are going on in the world... I believe this preaching of "Beware of the Political Spirit" is nothing but a huge play out of SATAN'S handbook. There is NO Biblical reference of this political spirit demon or attitude... and NO ONE that preaches on it has produced one either. So... watch out for the "political spirit"... okay, so what exactly does that mean? What are we supposed to watch out for?  

If we are saying that the Political Spirit makes us engage in things that clearly go against the Word of God and we stand in support of those things and vote for those things then....sure, no brainer, stay away from the Political Spirit.

If we are saying that the Political Spirit makes us lose our minds when the WORLD doesn't value the same morals and guidelines we do as Believers, so then we become hateful towards the world instead of a light in the darkness then.... sure, no brainer, stay away from the Political Spirit.

If we are saying that the Political Spirit makes us so afraid of offending the secular world with our knowledge of God's Truth, that we would rather shy away and not visually, verbally, or socially speak up against the things that break God's heart... because we simply don't like confrontation with the world then....sure, no brainer, stay away from the Political Spirit.

Here's the problem... demonic spirit influence or not... that is just called NOT BEING A REAL CHILD OF GOD. Let's not complicate it. Wait..but???... "The Political Spirit causes DIVISION in the Body of Christ"....Hey...there is NO DIVISION IN THE ACTUAL BODY OF CHRIST...PERIOD. The BODY OF CHRIST is COMPLETELY UNIFIED WITH WHAT GOD WANTS AND IS DOING.... So there can definitely be division caused by people who believe in Jesus sharing their OWN opinions of things, BUT for those who seek God's heart and will on any issue, will be united because GOD IS NOT DIVIDED!"(worth a ponder)  So Let's talk about the Truth on this issue about whether or not a Christian has any place in Politics, where do we really belong on this issue?

The Answer: EVERYWHERE. We as Children of God...belong everywhere that pertains to how things are run, what is made acceptable in our towns, states, country.... does it mean that we will always get our way? No. That's a pretty for sure guarantee we won't always get our way but it does not lift the burden of standing for what is Godly and what is right.    There is this belief that has been rising among Christians for a very long time that Satan was given dominion over the Earth.... Nope. Wrong! MAN was given dominion over the Earth. Adam and Eve were boneheads and allowed Satan to enter their lives and mess stuff up (that's the really simple explanation *wink wink) But that is still the Truth of the Matter...Satan still only gets what we give him! So why are we so afraid to stand up against what he is trying to do in the world we live in?

           We have got to stop living like we are playing by Satan's rules.  God is God of the Earth and Everything in it. He gives us all a free will to live in sin or to embrace His plan for our lives (this includes the world He created... there really is no separation). We cannot force morality on people BUT we most definitely can and should stand up and fight for things that honor our Creator and stand against those things that come from the Enemy to destroy what God has created.

           To say that God doesn't want us to be concerned with politics is not only absurd at best but it proves our ignorance of who God even is. Everything God does is about structure, law and order since the beginning of time. He established government even in the Garden of Eden! Think about it! He gave to Adam Eve, and they had dominion over the animals and the Garden (Government) and He forbid them to eat of the Tree (law and order).

           There are so many scriptures of God and government that it is so absurd for us as Believers to think we should stay away from getting involved in politics... why?

        Now I read a lot of articles about this "Political Spirit", I'm sure I have not read every single one out there, but I've read a lot... They all had a lot of "spiritually sounding" words that many people I'm sure eat up like heavenly candy...and these articles all had the same points in common which all steered people away from getting involved in politics. These articles used fear as a theme to discourage the Believer from engaging in any kind of debate over political issues just incase it would be deemed offensive to those on the opposing side. They used the fear of being prideful (this one came up a lot) and the result of turning people away from the love of God and cause them to become more defensive toward the Truth.

                                                          BUT.....

          If we, who know the Truth, know the Creator of the Universe, are called by God Himself to be a light in this dark world... why would we ever decide that God doesn't want us involved in the politics that affect our daily lives as humans on this planet? The right to be able to freely worship Him (better keep quiet and not offend other religions *that worship Satan???? hello.) the right to not do something that compromises your faith (just be silent, let them see it's not really that important to you *give them an inch...they will most definitely take a mile) We are literally standing here right now in this day and age, watching a war on Christianity take place right here at home. We are being attacked on all sides. The media attacks us, social activists attack us, politicians attack us, other religious groups that serve Satan attack us *whaaat???? well... if they don't worship God then WHO do they worship and follow??? Their religions are not innocent and it's time we recognize our enemies for who they are… doesn't mean we don't love...but we must recognize that we actually have people that want and are working on destroying us.  

         The Most used excuse among all people really, Believers and Non Believers alike love to bring up The Separation of Church and State. So Christians have no business talking about any issues that involve politics or the way our country is run. But here's the problem with that.... that's NOT what that law even is. This Law PROHIBITS the Government to Rule the Church. Period. It does not stop Christians from speaking up in political issues or being involved in politics! We are citizens too and our voice matters! So STOP using this as any kind of excuse to keep your mouth shut. We have to stop being ignorant of the laws of this land that protect our freedoms.... or we will eventually lose them! Here's the link... https://definitions.uslegal.com/s/separation-of-church-and-state/  Read it and please be informed!

     

  How can we expect God to Bless America if His Children are silent on the things that are important to Him and required of us? How can we expect America to thrive if we allow Satan to rule and reign?  As with anything in life, we can allow Satan to use it and it can become a stronghold in our lives... so yes, you can use politics in a way that pleases Satan, or you can use politics in a way that pleases God. It's totally up to you  but you Will use it in one way or the other...your choice. But this "political Spirit" stuff... I'm calling it nonsense. Stand up boldly for what honors God, there is a lot of really loud voices in our world right now screaming for the right to do things Satan's way... are you really going to sit back and keep your mouth shut? Do you really think God is pleased with that?

Be bold sweet friends! Find your courage in the Truth of your Saviour.  We can LOVE and OFFEND at the same time. The Truth sets people free. We are living in a dark age... people need the Truth.


Now, if we want to really talk about Church and Politics..... here's something to think about and weigh out in your own head and hearts        

*Some pastors (I have witnessed this in more churches than I care to count) will not confront sin in certain believers because they give a lot in their tithes and offerings and they worry that they will stop if they make them angry. These individuals also usually have a lot of influence on what the church does... Biblical or Political?

* Membership …. in the Body of Christ or the Church Building? Yes, it's important to be committed and able to VOTE on... what God is doing in the church? …. Biblical or Political?

*Tithing envelopes and Tax write offs.....Biblical or Political?

*Possibly my Least Favorite of these: Thank Goodness the Church is TAX EXEMPT... but ONLY if you DON'T preach on certain topics!!! (and just think, all this time you thought your pastor was just following Jesus' example and not talking about politics or major moral issues that are pushed by politics...nope, actually they haven't talked about it or encouraged you to follow Jesus' example and speak out against those things because of... well … MONEY. plain and simple.)  So... Biblical or Political?  *here's the link for your own perusal. https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/the-restriction-of-political-campaign-intervention-by-section-501c3-tax-exempt-organizations

So if we are gonna talk about some sort of "Political Spirit"... let's at least get to the bottom of it shall we? How easy we can be swept away by the Enemy, he's really good at it....that's why we MUST SEEK GOD IN ALL THINGS... in our daily lives, in the politics that rule our country, and also in our churches. Be wise sweet friends, below are some scriptures worth looking up on these issues.

Obey the laws of the land, unless they go against what God says:
Rom 13:1 ; 1 Pet 2:13-14; Acts 4:19-20; Acts 5:29; Daniel chapters 1,3,& 6

Honor those in Authority: 
Rom 13:7; 1 Peter 2:17

Do right and cooperate with our authorities: 
Titus 3:1-2; 1 Peter 2:15

Pay taxes:
Rom 13:6-7; Matt 22:17-21

Pray for our government:
1 Tim 2:1-2

Share Jesus with and disciple government leaders!
Matt 28:19; 1 Tim 2:3-4

Be informed and vote for issues and candidates that uphold God's purposes:
Matt 5:13-16; Titus 3:1