My Thoughts Out Loud

Hello friends, it’s been a while. There are a few factors into why that is, but that’s a post for another day. I wish I could promise a soon day, but I’m tired of feeling like I’m promising you guys something and then not being able to deliver on it. So…yeah.

What I am going to do is to give you some of the things I’ve thought about in that time. These are thoughts that I wanted to turn into full posts, and may even do so at some point, but I feel they are too important to not put out there right now. These are small thoughts with a big impact, at least to me they are. I guess my hope is that they speak to you as they did to me. That they give you something to contemplate and meditate on.

Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner

This is a saying I have heard probably all my life. It’s an important one to me and one I’ve strived to live out. However, I had a revelation about the dangers of blindly following this saying.

• Not everyone can hang out with sinners regularly, just like not everyone is called to teach or prophesy.
• We should love all people, welcoming them as Jesus does, but there are some people who will be influenced by sinners rather than influencing them. There is danger in that as it could lead to us falling into temptation and away from God.

Be aware of who you are surrounding yourself with and how they are influencing you. Love everyone, but be realistic about how well you handle being surrounded by people.

As We Have Been Forgiven

There is no price to pay for our forgiveness, Jesus already paid it. However, how we live reflects the state of our heart and whether we use that forgiveness as a crutch or a reality.

How do people act after we’ve forgiven them? Do they continue to do the same things knowing we will forgive them? If so, they are not truly repenting but using our forgiveness as a ‘get out of jail free card’. They don’t want forgiveness, they want us to continue letting them live however they want even if that way is mistreating us.

Are we doing the same thing to Christ?

Identifying as a “Sinner saved by Grace”

Identifying as a sinner saved by Grace (instead of a Saint) brings with it limitations. We mess up again, “Oh I’m just a sinner….saved by Grace.”

We begin to identify more with that title rather than the identity of Christ Who is in us. Rather we should identify with being a saint because of Christ’s presence dwelling within us.

The identity of sinner saved by Grace is meant to keep us humble, but it serves also as a reminder of our past. If we hold too tightly to that then we are withholding the Word of God which says, Behold, I Am doing a new thing…(Isa. 43:19)

There’s a reason Paul addressed his letters to the “Saints of the Church” and not “Fellow Sinners saved by Grace”.

He is the God Who Delivers

Everything God has done has been to deliver His creation.

When God kicked Adam and Eve out of the Garden, He wasn’t doing it merely to punish them. It was also an act of mercy.

Could you imagine being Adam or Eve and having to walk past the source of their guilt every single day? God doesn’t want us to focus on the guilt but on relationship with Him.

Satan knows the importance of Worship

Satan knows how important worship is. He knows how it connects us, stabilizes us, spiritually, mentally, and yes, even emotionally. He knows that it provides a gateway directly to the throne of God that is not found elsewhere.

That’s why the enemy is so adamant on interrupting us when we’re worshipping. Why secular music is so easy to get in our head. Why we have such issue with this arrangement or that singer during worship. Because he will provide whatever distraction and interruption to us worshipping that he can, because in doing so he disrupts our intimate connection with God.

There are many examples of this throughout the Bible. The two that first come to mind are when David returned with the Ark of the Covenant, and when the Israelites escaped Egypt (2 Sam. 6:12-23 ; Ex. 15). Both times, Satan used people’s contempt and discontent to interrupt the flow of worship that had sprouted up.

Be Like Children

Jesus tells us that whoever inherits the Kingdom of God must be like a child. (Matt. 18:1-6) That prompted me to think:

What are my children like?

• They want to be with me 24/7
• They pull me into whatever they are doing
• They imitate what they see me doing
• They cannot hide when they’re upset from me
• They climb into my lap in their need to be close
• They cling to me
• They’re unique in their gifts and talents and use it to express themselves to me
• They talk to me all day about anything and everything
• They seek out my knowledge and wisdom as they learn
• They run to me when they’re scared
• They rely on me to help them even when they can do things themselves

Being like children goes beyond simple innocence and faith. It’s as much action as it is attitude. Do we actively act like children when it comes to God?

What do you think? Do any of these thoughts resonate with you? I’m still contemplating a few of these myself.

On a side note, that picture of the clouds above? Isn’t that a cool formation? I took that picture from my car back in December. I wanted something personal for this post and when I saw this picture in my camera roll, I knew it was the right one. To me it also represents God’s careful planning. I took a picture of a cloud formation I thought interesting. He knew I’d use it for a blog post a few months later when He molded that formation. God’s cool like that.

Happy Tuesday!!