G. O. D
This past week I was a JH Ranch with my dad, and each night we had a Bigtop talk from one of the leaders. During each talk I took notes in my journal and can't wait to share some of the amazing things I learned so that we can all have a better understanding of how to have a relationship with the Lord, and TRULY love him with our whole heart.
In the midst of adversity in life, we may come to think of the Lord as a dictator rather than a lover. However, human relationships can reflect our relationship with God. In life when we become hungry for something, everything else in our life gets pushed aside, including the Lord. We are distracted with three O's in our lives: obligation, offense, and ownership. We become obligated to try to life by a certain set of rules, and start to have an over attention to the self. We become offended by certain circumstances, wondering why God would ever put these challenges in our life, and we feel stuck. We start to to have ownership over everything in our lives, and try to control the world around us. Sure when times are good in our lives it is easy to praise him and give him thanks, but turing troublesome times, we must make a sacrifice to stay near to him. God's law of diminishing returns tells us that "the more you do anything the less it satisfies." This is a perfect example of how easy it is to become distracted by the things of the world and take our eyes off of Him. God's creation was intended for our delight but never to satisfy our desire. God's joy is enough to fill us, where we will not have to find other things in life to satisfy. In Exodus 20:3 we are told "You shall have no other Gods before me". Most times when we hear this 1st commandment, we think of "no other Gods" as him telling us we shall not worship other mythological Gods. This is perfectly true, but is also expanded into "Gods" we may not tend to think of. God's such as: phones, clothing, friends, popularity, looks, etc. Sure all of these things are perfectly fine to enjoy and have, but when our identity is placed in these things, the enemy will stray us away from what really matters. For the Lord is the giver of our identity. So, how do you love God in the midst of these challenges? By having a heart of gratitude, a soul of obedience, and a mind of dependance. In order to have a heart of gratitude, we must rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. By rejoicing always we are trusting that the Lord's plan for our circumstances is greater than our own, and that we are giving him total control. When we pray without ceasing, we are including him in every situation, letting him know our lifeline is him. We must also give thanks in every circumstance because "all things work together for the good of those who love God". God is more interested in developing our character rather than our comfort, and when we have a heart of gratitude, we will then have a readiness to give thanks no matter the circumstance we face, because of what we know about the Lord. The second thing needed to love God is a soul of obedience. In order to have a soul of obedience, we must obey the ten commandments which the Lord has left for us. When we make these our priorities, we will then be able to find true joy and purpose. John 14:15 - "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" Lastly, we must have a mind of dependance. Alone we can do nothing, but with the power of God within us, we will bear much fruit: "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch will bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me"- John 15:4. The more you begin to abide in him, the more fruit in life you will bear. With a mind of dependance, you will grow in fruits of the spirits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Although it might be hard at first to go to God for everything life faces you with, as you begin to depend on the Lord you will see a transformation that will last forever. JH Ranch's memo describes this journey you can begin perfectly: "I heard and I forgot. I saw and I remembered. I did and I understood."- Confucius. You can hear these words spoken and see these words written, but you will not truly understand what will happen when you begin to love God with the steps of G.O.D until you finally put them into place in your life. The Lord wants YOU to step out of the path you are on right now and give everything to him. You can trust him, he will never leave you, you can ask him questions, and don't listen to anybody's voice but him. He will be your guide, but you must give him all control.
Romans 12:2 - "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will"
Daily Dose Of Jesus!
XO,
Frances
