Struggling to live for God
I know it has been a long time since I posted. I have been going through a lot of struggles recently and haven't wanted to write anything. I have been questioning a lot of His will, not seeking him when I should and finally just to the point of giving up. Struggling with sin and temptation, telling myself, I deserve to feel good after all I have gone through, allowing that lie Satan told me to become my way of living. Worse of all, pretending that everything was ok and lying not only to myself, but to everyone around me that everything was fine. I won't go into details of my struggles. Well just when I thought that there was no way I could be brought back, God revealed some scriptures to me and reminded me of His love.
There are tons of other scriptures that talk about loving God and following his commandments. Paul spent a lot of time writing letters to different churches telling them the correct ways to act. Most of the new testament is devoted to his letters that he wrote, why? So we can learn from history and their past. So we won't make the same mistakes. To not live by the sinful nature, but by the fruits of the spirit:
After God showed me more of what his word said, I prayed for a good long while. Knowing that giving up sin is not as easy as just saying "No More". Your flesh desires it and when you give it room, it desires more. Just like with poison ivy. If you just keep itching and itching and giving into that itch without treating it, it will eventually spread over your entire body (trust me I know cause this happened to me...LoL) Now it is much worse to treat and fight the itching cause you didn't nip it in the bud earlier. Now that I had let sin in, it was going to take some time to kill the desire in me.
So I took some time and praised and sang my heart out to God. The songs I usually praise to are on my playlist, which is on my website. Click here to see the playlist and the songs.
Now today, God has been showing me so much more. Mark showed me a video that he came across of a song by Casting Crowns, that is not very popular yet, but it will be. It really touched my heart. The song is just beautiful, but the video with it made me really think. We never think how our actions will affect us or the people around us. There are many times we want to turn back time and undo the mistake we made, or sometimes even turn the clock forward to see what the outcome will be. But this video reminded me that we can't do that. No matter how much we wish, or want to, we can't. So we need to be careful what steps we take, what we look at, what we do, cause what we do will have an effect on us and others.
Before I close this, I want to post another video that I remembered God showing me through my best friend Sarah. I still cry every time I see it. It is a beautiful picture of God and his love for us. It is a drama put on to the song Everything by Lifehouse. Please realize this, God loves you...and He suffered a tremendously horrible death (which does not even begin to describe what he went through for us) just so we could live. All He asks is that you follow Him, which includes listening to what His word says and doing it. We all want to say we love God and that we are Christians...but do we REALLY love God? Would you do what He did for Him? He is not even asking you to do that. He is just asking you to follow Him.
"Such a tiny offering....compared to calvary...."
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
There are tons of other scriptures that talk about loving God and following his commandments. Paul spent a lot of time writing letters to different churches telling them the correct ways to act. Most of the new testament is devoted to his letters that he wrote, why? So we can learn from history and their past. So we won't make the same mistakes. To not live by the sinful nature, but by the fruits of the spirit:
Galatians 5:13-26
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
After God showed me more of what his word said, I prayed for a good long while. Knowing that giving up sin is not as easy as just saying "No More". Your flesh desires it and when you give it room, it desires more. Just like with poison ivy. If you just keep itching and itching and giving into that itch without treating it, it will eventually spread over your entire body (trust me I know cause this happened to me...LoL) Now it is much worse to treat and fight the itching cause you didn't nip it in the bud earlier. Now that I had let sin in, it was going to take some time to kill the desire in me.
So I took some time and praised and sang my heart out to God. The songs I usually praise to are on my playlist, which is on my website. Click here to see the playlist and the songs.
Now today, God has been showing me so much more. Mark showed me a video that he came across of a song by Casting Crowns, that is not very popular yet, but it will be. It really touched my heart. The song is just beautiful, but the video with it made me really think. We never think how our actions will affect us or the people around us. There are many times we want to turn back time and undo the mistake we made, or sometimes even turn the clock forward to see what the outcome will be. But this video reminded me that we can't do that. No matter how much we wish, or want to, we can't. So we need to be careful what steps we take, what we look at, what we do, cause what we do will have an effect on us and others.
Before I close this, I want to post another video that I remembered God showing me through my best friend Sarah. I still cry every time I see it. It is a beautiful picture of God and his love for us. It is a drama put on to the song Everything by Lifehouse. Please realize this, God loves you...and He suffered a tremendously horrible death (which does not even begin to describe what he went through for us) just so we could live. All He asks is that you follow Him, which includes listening to what His word says and doing it. We all want to say we love God and that we are Christians...but do we REALLY love God? Would you do what He did for Him? He is not even asking you to do that. He is just asking you to follow Him.
"Such a tiny offering....compared to calvary...."
Comments