My God is Greater!

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 

I John 4:4

 

Man, my mind is racing with so many things after reading chapter 3 in Genesis, but what I continue to think about is that Satan is no different today and we are no different than Adam and Eve.  Satan will do anything in his power to convince us to do something destructive and make it seem like what we do will be for our benefit---that he is really looking out for our best interest!  Yeah right!  God does not call him the father of lies for no reason---what a liar he is!  He not only lies, but he steals, kills, and destroys.  So how do we stop his evil plan?  Well, we can’t, but God can! 

And aren’t we just like Adam and Eve, we think what will it really hurt, it can’t be that wrong, and you know they just ate an apple and not even the whole thing, just a bite---really, compared to the sins now, how minuscule is that?  Well, let me just say that I have always read that a sin is a sin and I have always heard that sin is sin, there is no big or little, but you know that human part of us that looks at the ‘level of sin’ and determines for ourselves how bad a sin is.  However, this got me thinking tonight and it’s true---sin is sin and when we disobey God, whether it is taking a bite out of an apple or killing another human being, we are sinning against God.  Now I know that I am not perfect and I certainly don’t always obey every command of God, but when I think about that my sin hurts God as much as it does me---now that stops me in my tracks.  While I do desire to be good to others and to do the right thing, I also know that it is not just about being good. God not only created man, he sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die for me.  He died---he suffered great persecution---so that I may have life, so that I may have a way to God.  Why would I not want to live every moment for him?  Why would I not want to obey his every command?  I know that Satan does everything in his power to prevent me from following Christ, but because my life is no longer my own, because I have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside me Satan has no power over my life.  There is no doubt that Satan is a powerful force, but there is also no doubt that the power of my God can make Satan melt with fear.

One Flesh

So this could go in so many directions, but as I read through Genesis 2 several times all I could focus on was the beauty of man and woman.  How the connection between a man and a woman was meant to be strong from the very beginning.  That woman is truly from man and that man should eventually leave his mother and father and become one with woman.  What a connection---a connection that was God’s plan from the beginning.  So why is the divorce rate in the United States at an all time high?  In fact I actually looked up some statistics on divorce rates and I was more than shocked.  I am sure you have heard the phrase “50% of all marriages end in divorce” and while that is not exact, it is pretty close.  The fact is 50% of first marriages, 67% of second marriages, and 74% of third marriages all end in divorce, while the people between the ages of 20-24 have the highest rate of divorce.  All this is according to http://www.divorcerate.org/.  When I looked at the worldwide divorce rate I was even more shocked.  With the average divorce rate being 49% for the US, we were ranked 12^th in the top twenty countries with the highest divorce rate---yes you heard me right---there are 11 other countries with an even higher divorce rate than the US.  How sad and disappointing is that.  So what is the problem?  Why is something so ordained by God falling apart?  I believe the answer to this problem goes to the very root of each of us---selfishness.  The top 3 reasons for divorce are money, infidelity, and lack of communication---all of these involve some form of selfishness.  We are more concerned about how much money is in our accounts than how much love we are showing our spouse.  Instead of finding solutions to problems with our spouse we just look for someone new.  Instead of trying to talk things out we just don’t talk.  It saddens me deeply to think about all this, but then it also makes me realize how blessed I am to have such a wonderful marriage to such a great man of God.  To be raised by both parents in the same house is even more of a blessing than I have ever realized. 

Even knowing all this I look back at the words in Genesis 2 and continue to see the beauty of the creation of man and woman.  God created man in his own image and then he uses a part of man to create woman---he knew that we would be lonely without a partner---he knew we would need someone to love---he knew we would need someone to lean on during difficult times---he knew and still knows what we need.  I have often wondered if there were any truth to finding a ‘soul mate’---having that one person that makes you whole, but I can say now I do.  Just look at Genesis 2:25…Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Webster’s defines cleave as ‘to adhere unwaveringly’---how powerful is that? And to not only have a partner, but to become one flesh---even more powerful!  So to me that means: when my spouse hurts, I hurt, when my spouse is happy, I am happy---we are one and when we are one there is no room for selfishness.  However, none of this will work as planned until God is put first---until God is at the center of it all---until the will God and the concern for another is put first.  God created man and woman out of love and there is no doubt that it is designed to work with that same love!

Much Given! Much Required!

For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required;

and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Luke 12:48

Been thinking about this scripture all day and I certainly feel like I am the person that Jesus is talking about here.  I have been blessed with so much, I have been given things that I don’t deserve, and I feel like my life is overflowing! So am I fulfilling my requirement? Of course not!  Am I doing the best I can for Jesus? Of course not!  Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the Lord and I have moments when I feel like I am doing exactly what he wants me to do and it is in those moments that everything feels perfectly right.  In those moments I just feel right, but there are plenty other times when I am not.  It’s not even like I am doing something wrong, I am just usually being a little selfish and giving in to my flesh and doing what I want to do.  Now I know that I will never be perfect and live every moment perfectly for the Lord, but shouldn’t I be striving to anyway?  Should I ever be completely satisfied with how I am living or should I always be trying to do more, to do better?  Well this is how I look at it, I can never do as much for God as he has done for me, but I should always want to try.  So will I ever be completely satisfied with how I am living---I hope not!

Don’t get me wrong I am not down on myself; I am just inspired to do more!  For example, I know God has called me to write---not for everyone to read, but for me to draw closer to him.  As you know when I first started writing it was and continues to be like therapy to me---it is a time that I feel closer to God, that I hear His voice.  The fact that others get something from it as well is just another blessing from God.  However, lately I have not been writing and I can tell a difference in my life.  Oh, I have had plenty of excuses, but none of them really matter---the bottom line is I am not doing what God has called me to do and I know without a doubt that I am missing things in my life because of my selfishness.  I am not spending this time with God, I am not getting the message out, and I am missing all the blessings that come along with doing God’s will.  Which leads me back to the scripture in Luke---“to whom much is given”---that’s me---“much will be required”---and that’s me too!  So even though I am not doing all that God has called me to do, He loves me so much that He continues to bless me abundantly above anything that I could ever ask for!  Why would I not desire to do more for my Lord!