It is not my intention to make anyone angry, although this blog will, I am sure. Before you continue reading, please whisper a prayer for wisdom. My humble prayer is God will use this as a call to repentance--not to inflame or spark hostility.
Along with the rest of America, and possibly the world, I have spent the past few nights awake, stressed and teary-eyed. Reality has shown me the limits of my own imagination, as I cannot possibly conceive the evil it would take to slaughter the innocents at Sandy Hook Elementary this week. My heart is heavy and sick because of this black tragedy.
At one point in one of my sleepless nights, God reminded me this is not the first time in mankind's history that this has happened. In fact, it happened during the time after the birth of Christ in order to stamp out God's plan for man's salvation by an evil King. That same demon that swam through the veins of King Herod reared his ugly head again in Connecticut.
When we give evil a foothold, we cannot be surprised when it grabs us with a strangle hold to choke the life from us. In America, we have given evil more than a foothold. We have swung wide the front door and invited it in and offered it coffee.
When I started Kindergarten, every morning we said the Pledge of Allegiance (under God was not an issue) and opened our day with prayer. Our Christmas programs had songs about Baby Jesus, and no one complained. When I graduated high school, our school song included lyrics thanking God for our school, we opened football games with prayer our commencement ceremony was filled with ponderings of God's plans for our lives. No one complained.
Now, teachers fear for their job if they mention Christ in the classroom. We call same-sex marriage okay. And we legally kill our own children. People are offended when we say Merry Christmas or "under God" in our pledge. America is gradually removing all traces of Christ from our nation.
I wish there was away for everyone to clearly see the connection between the evil times we live in and our shutting God's ways out of our lives. If you read scripture--it clearly states that a nation who turns it's back on Christ cannot survive. I Corinthians 5 tells us that if a believer just simply refuses to quit living in sin that he will be turned over to Satan "so that his sinful nature will be destroyed, yet the spirit will be saved." I believe the same ideal applies to our nation. God is interested in our character--not our flesh.
I would expect to see more tragedies that knock us to our knees and steal our sleep at night. Sin will always take with it the innocent along with the guilty. My plea is this: America please, let us return prayers to Christ to the school; let us call homosexuality wrong and not call it Holy Matrimony; let us return to the God of our salvation and not dilute our faith with other idols; let us quit killing our innocents; let us take better care of our homeless and poor; let us shred all forms of racism; let us love one another as Jesus loves us.
I pray for a supernatural comfort for all the parents, grandparents and families who lost children this week. God loves your children very much. Rest assured this did not take Him by surprise and He was prepared to offer His most heart felt welcome as your children arrived into his care. May the warmth of His love surround and steady you in the days ahead. You are being held high by millions of believers--draw close to Christ and be comforted.
I also pray for the families of those who lost a hero. The teachers and staff who bravely protected those children at the cost of their own lives inspire all of us to rise up for good. Be comforted in knowing that. Help us to remember them forever.
I also pray for the many children left with fear and questions. May the peace of God still their little hearts and protect their little minds.
And I pray for our nation. May we repent.
"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
II Chronicles 7:14
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Lost In Thought
I was lost in thought one day and had a hard time finding my way back home from my journey.
I began thinking about the possibility of a culture that had no knowledge about God. No knowledge about Christ and had never discovered the massive sacrifice that He had made, even for them, who knew nothing of Him.
And I wondered and supposed that a lone missionary traveled to their land equipped with only the Bible. And all he did was present them with the book and its contents. Suppose this missionary only read scripture to them, without any agenda, without any personal opinion, without any tradition, without any exterior regulations. Suppose the only doctrine that was formed was what came to life from inside the covers of the Bible.
What if this culture's only vision of Christ came from scripture and simply from that they were able to clearly and concisely see how to be saved, how to develop as believers and grow in their faith.
Suppose the Holy Spirit taught them from the inside and the love of Christ naturally manifested itself on the outside because of the change in their hearts.
Can you see why I was lost in thought? I have a feeling that the resulting church that would erupt out of such a pure education of God's word and would look nothing like our American Christian Church.
According to Christianity Today there are over 41,000 Christian denominations worldwide. Forty-one thousand. So many divisions from a faith that is supposed to bring unity. Why?
I think I have found the answer--it is inside of me and my own attitudes toward worship and service. In America especially, we are power-hungry and self-centered. We want what WE want--even from the church. That describes me. I feel certain I am not the only one, especially as a listen to my fellow believers devour each other with their tongues and attitudes. We can be mean in the name of God. And although I do believe there are times for flat truth-telling no matter what the consequence--it needs to be based on scripture--not opinion, not tradition, not personal agenda to maneuver a more favorable climate for our climb to the top.
And we all want different things--which is why we have so many different denominations arguing about who is right concerning the things of God.
Whether it is a legalistic congregation that has a set of rules that are implied for one to fit within the boundaries of righteousness or a group of believers who are free and unbound and imply that God has given them something that He has not given me--making them a little better than me. I do not believe anyone has it 100 percent right--especially me.
We are more worried about appearances in our pseudo worship and our pseudo serving of the poor. Our motivation is not altruistic. If we serve God because we want praise, or because we want to be well thought of among our Christian peers, or because we think our works will earn us our salvation or out of guilt, or because we think it makes us better than our brothers (spiritual pride) --our motivation makes our work dead. We need faith to breathe life into it.
The only motivation that matters is for the love of God. That is the only thing that should make us get up and go to Sunday school. Not guilt or duress. Adoration and appreciation are the only things that should move us to worship--not because we like the song. A desire to see a lost and dying found by our loving Saviour should be what prompts us to preach and serve and live a live of sacrifice--not having the most in VBS or high attendance Sunday.
You cannot change anyone from the outside in. The change must come from the inside--and humans do not possess the ability to impress this kind of change on anyone--we can't even change our own hearts. Christ and Christ alone is the one who changes the heart. And when the heart changes--the rest will follow.
In John 12:32 Jesus said that when He is lifted up (on the cross) that He will draw all men to Him. The only thing that we need to do is lift up Christ to His place of honor and glory in all our attitudes, work and worship and He will handle the drawing, the changing, the conversion of the lost. How simple is that for us? Lift up Jesus and He will draw all men to Him.
I began thinking about the possibility of a culture that had no knowledge about God. No knowledge about Christ and had never discovered the massive sacrifice that He had made, even for them, who knew nothing of Him.
And I wondered and supposed that a lone missionary traveled to their land equipped with only the Bible. And all he did was present them with the book and its contents. Suppose this missionary only read scripture to them, without any agenda, without any personal opinion, without any tradition, without any exterior regulations. Suppose the only doctrine that was formed was what came to life from inside the covers of the Bible.
What if this culture's only vision of Christ came from scripture and simply from that they were able to clearly and concisely see how to be saved, how to develop as believers and grow in their faith.
Suppose the Holy Spirit taught them from the inside and the love of Christ naturally manifested itself on the outside because of the change in their hearts.
Can you see why I was lost in thought? I have a feeling that the resulting church that would erupt out of such a pure education of God's word and would look nothing like our American Christian Church.
According to Christianity Today there are over 41,000 Christian denominations worldwide. Forty-one thousand. So many divisions from a faith that is supposed to bring unity. Why?
I think I have found the answer--it is inside of me and my own attitudes toward worship and service. In America especially, we are power-hungry and self-centered. We want what WE want--even from the church. That describes me. I feel certain I am not the only one, especially as a listen to my fellow believers devour each other with their tongues and attitudes. We can be mean in the name of God. And although I do believe there are times for flat truth-telling no matter what the consequence--it needs to be based on scripture--not opinion, not tradition, not personal agenda to maneuver a more favorable climate for our climb to the top.
And we all want different things--which is why we have so many different denominations arguing about who is right concerning the things of God.
Whether it is a legalistic congregation that has a set of rules that are implied for one to fit within the boundaries of righteousness or a group of believers who are free and unbound and imply that God has given them something that He has not given me--making them a little better than me. I do not believe anyone has it 100 percent right--especially me.
We are more worried about appearances in our pseudo worship and our pseudo serving of the poor. Our motivation is not altruistic. If we serve God because we want praise, or because we want to be well thought of among our Christian peers, or because we think our works will earn us our salvation or out of guilt, or because we think it makes us better than our brothers (spiritual pride) --our motivation makes our work dead. We need faith to breathe life into it.
The only motivation that matters is for the love of God. That is the only thing that should make us get up and go to Sunday school. Not guilt or duress. Adoration and appreciation are the only things that should move us to worship--not because we like the song. A desire to see a lost and dying found by our loving Saviour should be what prompts us to preach and serve and live a live of sacrifice--not having the most in VBS or high attendance Sunday.
You cannot change anyone from the outside in. The change must come from the inside--and humans do not possess the ability to impress this kind of change on anyone--we can't even change our own hearts. Christ and Christ alone is the one who changes the heart. And when the heart changes--the rest will follow.
In John 12:32 Jesus said that when He is lifted up (on the cross) that He will draw all men to Him. The only thing that we need to do is lift up Christ to His place of honor and glory in all our attitudes, work and worship and He will handle the drawing, the changing, the conversion of the lost. How simple is that for us? Lift up Jesus and He will draw all men to Him.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Christian v Christ Follower
From a young person at church last night: "You do not have to follow Christ to be a Christian." And although this person probably didn't mean it exactly the way it came out (I hope I hope), my observations lately among the American church would say that this is exactly what we think. We have watered down the meaning of the word Christian to a point where it doesn't cost us anything to be one.
We are only interested in doing the bare minimum in order to escape the penalty of our sin--which is Hell. We do not operate out of a motivation of love and devotion toward a holy God who launched a courageous and heroic campaign to save us from that penalty--simply because He loved us and we couldn't do it for ourselves. Our motivation is to be comfortable, rich and content.
The truth is we MUST follow Jesus in order for Him to consider us His. And His opinion is the only one that has any merit. If He doesn't count us as a Christian, then it really doesn't matter if we think we are.
Being blessed with material wealth feels good to the flesh, but it doesn't do much for our spiritual health. Most of us do not need to the point of crying out to God. I believe that is why Jesus is moved to compassion for the poor, the brokenhearted, the weary--because they need and they know it.
Look at your actions. Are there any good deeds among them. Are you loving God with all your heart, soul strength and mind? Are you loving others like Jesus does? What is your motivation for your service to others? Is it to get a thank you, or a pat on the back, or to look good for your church buddies? Or is is a swelling of desire in your being of appreciation and love, gratefulness and devotion to Christ because he first loved you and saved you?
Do not be deceived--you must follow Christ to be a Christian.
Luke 9:23 NKJV
Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me."
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Jesus
I saw that a neighborhood in Longview, Texas was causing a battle of the enlightened on Facebook today. A picture showing a red and white yard sign that simply read "Jesus" was the topic of a post by a local news station. The post suggested that this particular neighborhood was protesting the construction of a Mosque by placing the Jesus signs in their yards.
This may or may not have been the intentions of the sign bearers. Some may just be so excited about God that they planted a sign in their yard.
Opinions began to fly. And armchair theologians along with well-meaning atheists fired up their keyboards to chime in their profound sentiments. I read them all and then looked again at the photo. "Jesus."
Many of the posts made the comments about Jesus' tolerance toward other religions and the worship of others and how mean Christians are by doing something as brazen as putting a Jesus sign in their yard. It made me wonder what they were basing this opinion on.
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me," Jesus. Does that sound like religious tolerance? (John 14:6)
"You shall have no other gods before Me..." again, not very tolerant. (Exodus 20:3)
"I AM." Not Allah, not your TV, not your boyfriend -- "I AM," God. (Exodus 3:14)
"Worship the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind..." (Matthew 22:37)
"I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End..." There is no other name by which we can be saved. (Rev. 22:13)
Our sin state leaves us in such a dire way that nothing and no one can help us. It is only by the way of a perfect sacrifice that provision for salvation can be made. Jesus the Christ is the only one who is capable to provide that sacrifice, to pay that price. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He is intolerant of false religions because He knows they cannot provide the cost of our salvation. He loves us and does not want us to be mislead.
His intolerance is formed out of a desperate love for us to know and accept the truth--not from hate. And as believers and followers of Christ we must do the same. There is a right way to show our love through intolerance. I think displaying a Jesus sign in your yard is an amazing way to promote truth. If people see that as a protest of a false religion--okay.
There is power in the name of Jesus. The name alone can break one man's heart and incite anger in another, a fact that is clearly displayed on the news stations post.
A sign in someone's yard with simply the name "Jesus" on it is probably one of the most loving things they could say to me or to anyone. The fact that so many people or offended by just the name posted in a yard makes me see how far we have fallen. We are not becoming more enlightened, because we know that Jesus is the light of the world. We are drifting into a darker mindset and most of us do not even realize it.
No matter how the Jesus signs make you react, one thing is certain, there will be a day when we all agree on who Jesus really is.
This may or may not have been the intentions of the sign bearers. Some may just be so excited about God that they planted a sign in their yard.
Opinions began to fly. And armchair theologians along with well-meaning atheists fired up their keyboards to chime in their profound sentiments. I read them all and then looked again at the photo. "Jesus."
 |
| Sign posted in a yard in Longview, Texas |
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me," Jesus. Does that sound like religious tolerance? (John 14:6)
"You shall have no other gods before Me..." again, not very tolerant. (Exodus 20:3)
"I AM." Not Allah, not your TV, not your boyfriend -- "I AM," God. (Exodus 3:14)
"Worship the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind..." (Matthew 22:37)
"I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End..." There is no other name by which we can be saved. (Rev. 22:13)
Our sin state leaves us in such a dire way that nothing and no one can help us. It is only by the way of a perfect sacrifice that provision for salvation can be made. Jesus the Christ is the only one who is capable to provide that sacrifice, to pay that price. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. He is intolerant of false religions because He knows they cannot provide the cost of our salvation. He loves us and does not want us to be mislead.
His intolerance is formed out of a desperate love for us to know and accept the truth--not from hate. And as believers and followers of Christ we must do the same. There is a right way to show our love through intolerance. I think displaying a Jesus sign in your yard is an amazing way to promote truth. If people see that as a protest of a false religion--okay.
There is power in the name of Jesus. The name alone can break one man's heart and incite anger in another, a fact that is clearly displayed on the news stations post.
A sign in someone's yard with simply the name "Jesus" on it is probably one of the most loving things they could say to me or to anyone. The fact that so many people or offended by just the name posted in a yard makes me see how far we have fallen. We are not becoming more enlightened, because we know that Jesus is the light of the world. We are drifting into a darker mindset and most of us do not even realize it.
No matter how the Jesus signs make you react, one thing is certain, there will be a day when we all agree on who Jesus really is.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Never Too Young To Rebel
My relationship with my 14-month-old granddaughter Addison entered into a new plane today. And I do not like it. Babies are not born innocent the way we like to pretend they are. Oh sure when they first arrive they are tiny-- very easy to manipulate and control. We dress them the way we want putting hair bows and what-not on them. We hold them when we want for the most part. Their demands are simple: feed me, burp me, change me and let me sleep.
The day Addison turned a year old I noticed a difference in her attitude. It seemed she instantly developed a self-centered awareness coupled with a seed of defiance. It was cute on her birthday. And even cute since then. After all, it is not my problem--it's her mom's and dad's place to correct her rebelliousness.
But today, that all changed. You see I keep Addison Mondays-Fridays while my son and his wife work and I love it. It's like I had a hidden calling in my heart that didn't become evident until she was born. Today, both our hearts broke.
She has a room at our house, with a bed and her toys, a chest-of-drawers with some clothes in it--her stuff. And she knows it. There is also a treadmill in this room which is not hers--and she knows it. Even though it is unplugged, she is not allowed to play on it. But today, she decided since it was in her room, it must be hers. I walked into the room and she was standing on like she was about to start a 5K.
"Addison, you know better," I said as I scooted her little bottom off the treadmill back to her side of the room to play with her toys.
Ninety seconds later she was standing back on the treadmill. When I saw her I remembered her middle name.
"Addison Elizabeth Haddox! Did you hear what Bubbe said?" I scooted her off and this time patted her leg for good measure. She laughed. Then she pointed her two inch long finger at me and shook it saying something that it is probably best I couldn't understand. "Do not be a bad girl," I added not exactly sure what the best course of action was. After all, I wasn't sure what she had said.
Now with my son, at this age, I would have already beaten him and went about my business. It is very different with grandkids. You want to pretend their motives are pure and innocent in every situation. As I scratched my head wondering if I was getting my point across, I looked up and she was on the treadmill.
"Addison get off the treadmill," I commanded firmly in the most authoritative voice as I looked down at her. She didn't budge, but instead gave me a look that would put most teenage girls to shame. She was dripping with defiance and it was obvious in her eyes that she was not giving in. I repeated myself not wavering from my position as the Bubbe.
However, instead of getting down off the treadmill she turned her little back to me and stood there. I couldn't believe it. I calmly walked over and turned her around and swatted her diaper five times --which I can promise you hurt me more than her.
I had made my point. She cried heartfelt tears. And so did I.
We are all naturally rebellious. We do not have to teach our kids how to be bad--it comes naturally. We are born in to a greasy sin nature and Addison's countenance today reminded me of mankind's helplessness. Without Christ's intervention at the cross we would be stuck in that state, with no future.
He provided us with the sacrifice required to redeem us from that pit by leaving his throne in Heaven, living a sinless life and willingly suffering and dying, shedding his blood. And then he kicked death in the teeth when God resurrected him from the grave.
All because of love. He loves us. And if you believe, trust and repent and follow you are counted among the redeemed.
But sometimes, we believers act like we do not belong to him turning away, rebelling. We desire what we want and we do not care what God thinks. Kinda like Addison wanting on the treadmill, not caring what I thought. In such cases, a little swat on our diapers will be in order. Scripture tells us God chastens the ones he loves. God is more concerned with our character than our flesh.
My prayer for Addison is for God to capture her heart and make her his own. That she will learn right from wrong and fall in love with right. And that she follow Jesus where ever he leads her.
My prayer for me is the same.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
I love it when God speaks VERY CLEARLY to me because when He doesn't, I have a tendency to act out of my own pitiful motivations--pride, selfishness, jealously, personal glory or gain. When He tells me what to do, then I know it is out of obedience I act--when I actually obey.
Last January, I felt I was being led to do a Daniel Fast with a sister church in the area. I had observed one of my best friends do it the year before and saw the impact it made on her spiritual walk with God. So I set out on going 21 days with only vegetables, fruit and water designed after Daniel when he declined the king's delicacies in lieu of a died of only vegetables, fruit and water--what he normally ate. (Daniel 1:5-15)
This is not an unhealthy way to eat normally. In fact, it is very healthy. Calling it a fast is misleading. Most of my meals consisted of still way more food that the average poverty-stricken person or third-world country plate holds. Still we called it a fast.
It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Headaches, fatigue, cravings were some of the battles during the fast. However the physical issues were well worth the growth and closeness I experienced with God. And before 2011 ended, I began to think upon and pray about doing it again to start 2012.
Although I really needed a personal revival and wanted the benefits of doing the fast, I was not very committed to the discipline it takes.
Then Bro. Mark announced that the church would be called into a fast. Not just our local church, but churches across the state. Confirmation. I would do the fast.
The hardest part is the lack of caffeine because you get really bad headaches. But I had already decreased my caffeine intake tremendously so I didn't experience much of that this time. However, the cravings have kicked my tail.
My family knows that I have no will power when it comes to cake. I love cake. Wedding cake, birthday cake, carrot cake, Italian creme cake--any cake. But especially chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I can push my face in the middle of a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and suck back to inhale the whole thing. I love chocolate cake with chocolate icing.
On Sundays, I usually cook a lunch for my family to come and eat after church so we can visit and dissect the sermon. I didn't want to not cook because there are only two us in my family doing a food fast for 21 days, everyone else is fasting from what they feel God told them to fast from--TV, Facebook--whatever.
So I made chicken salad last Saturday night and put out all the trimmings for Sunday's lunch. Usually someone brings drinks and desserts. Today my sweet daughter-in-law brought chocolate cake with chocolate icing (even now--my mouth is watering). I watched as most everyone cut themselves a piece of cake and rolled their eyes back in Heavenly bliss. I just quietly and ate my baby carrots.
It wasn't until everyone had left that I realized there was a little more than half of the chocolate cake with chocolate icing left. I could smell it when I walked into the kitchen. I looked at it and it looked so good. Normally, I would eat all that was left--no problem. I would just pick up the plate and a fork and go at it. Which, by the way, is gluttony. And gluttony is every bit as much a sin as drunkenness, adultery, gossip, thievery and murder in God's eyes. Gluttony will as surely lead to death as drug abuse. But it is the only sin that the church openly condones. Eatin' meetings = church sanctioned gluttony.
I could not believe how much I desired the cake. I was strongly drawn physically and emotionally to toss this fast and binge on the cake. I listened intently for God to say, "Okay--you have gone a week, go ahead and end this fast and eat the cake."
But he didn't. What he said was, "Wow, I wish you desired me the way you are lusting for that cake." I still feel the sting of that slap in the face.
The thing is this--chocolate cake with chocolate icing is a trivial thing. But it is the trivial things that are coming between us and an intimate relationship with Jesus, our savior, our Lord. My eyes are opened and I looked around my house, my world and my life and saw myriads of trivial things like army ants crawling into my relationship with Jesus. I want to desire God more than chocolate cake with chocolate icing. More than physical pleasures. More than human relationships. I want my relationship with Jesus to be so intimate that I know His scent and it draws me physically and emotionally and spiritually to Him.
Last January, I felt I was being led to do a Daniel Fast with a sister church in the area. I had observed one of my best friends do it the year before and saw the impact it made on her spiritual walk with God. So I set out on going 21 days with only vegetables, fruit and water designed after Daniel when he declined the king's delicacies in lieu of a died of only vegetables, fruit and water--what he normally ate. (Daniel 1:5-15)
This is not an unhealthy way to eat normally. In fact, it is very healthy. Calling it a fast is misleading. Most of my meals consisted of still way more food that the average poverty-stricken person or third-world country plate holds. Still we called it a fast.
It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Headaches, fatigue, cravings were some of the battles during the fast. However the physical issues were well worth the growth and closeness I experienced with God. And before 2011 ended, I began to think upon and pray about doing it again to start 2012.
Although I really needed a personal revival and wanted the benefits of doing the fast, I was not very committed to the discipline it takes.
Then Bro. Mark announced that the church would be called into a fast. Not just our local church, but churches across the state. Confirmation. I would do the fast.
The hardest part is the lack of caffeine because you get really bad headaches. But I had already decreased my caffeine intake tremendously so I didn't experience much of that this time. However, the cravings have kicked my tail.
My family knows that I have no will power when it comes to cake. I love cake. Wedding cake, birthday cake, carrot cake, Italian creme cake--any cake. But especially chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I can push my face in the middle of a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and suck back to inhale the whole thing. I love chocolate cake with chocolate icing.
On Sundays, I usually cook a lunch for my family to come and eat after church so we can visit and dissect the sermon. I didn't want to not cook because there are only two us in my family doing a food fast for 21 days, everyone else is fasting from what they feel God told them to fast from--TV, Facebook--whatever.
 |
| I could smell it when I walked into the kitchen. |
It wasn't until everyone had left that I realized there was a little more than half of the chocolate cake with chocolate icing left. I could smell it when I walked into the kitchen. I looked at it and it looked so good. Normally, I would eat all that was left--no problem. I would just pick up the plate and a fork and go at it. Which, by the way, is gluttony. And gluttony is every bit as much a sin as drunkenness, adultery, gossip, thievery and murder in God's eyes. Gluttony will as surely lead to death as drug abuse. But it is the only sin that the church openly condones. Eatin' meetings = church sanctioned gluttony.
I could not believe how much I desired the cake. I was strongly drawn physically and emotionally to toss this fast and binge on the cake. I listened intently for God to say, "Okay--you have gone a week, go ahead and end this fast and eat the cake."
But he didn't. What he said was, "Wow, I wish you desired me the way you are lusting for that cake." I still feel the sting of that slap in the face.
The thing is this--chocolate cake with chocolate icing is a trivial thing. But it is the trivial things that are coming between us and an intimate relationship with Jesus, our savior, our Lord. My eyes are opened and I looked around my house, my world and my life and saw myriads of trivial things like army ants crawling into my relationship with Jesus. I want to desire God more than chocolate cake with chocolate icing. More than physical pleasures. More than human relationships. I want my relationship with Jesus to be so intimate that I know His scent and it draws me physically and emotionally and spiritually to Him.
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