Scattered thoughts on my mind

"In the darkness, God's light shines. Christ forever glorified."

-In the hard times, the struggles, and the pains, tears, wounds, praise the Lord, for He IS good. He is holy. He is the source of all that is beautiful.

Sometimes you just have to LET IT BE.


<-- Not so much this.

<-- More like this

John 4:1-24
Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

The Lord says: Now, and even more in the future, my children will worship me in spirit and truth -- with my Holy Spirit and my Word. The most real, full life one can lead is to to have the foundation of your life in the Word of my Lord, and be intimate with Him through His Spirit.

What do we hold back from God? Better yet, what boxes do we keep ourselves in?

Are you meant to go to college just because that's what you always thought you would do? Are you meant to get married just because that's what is the normal way society works, because it's expected, because you want to? Are you supposed to go into full-time, career ministry because you've always thought that's how God uses people best? Are you meant to get a job with a growing company because you want security and your parents did that?

Where do we get our ideas of what our lives are supposed to look like? Do we get that picture from ourselves, our desires? From the society we live in (a society that does not acknowledge the Lord)? From what the "normal" Christian life looks like?

Read the New Testament and meet the normal Christian life...
-Hearing from God in tangible ways.
-Sacrificing your life for His kingdom
-Prophesying over God's children, receiving His word for other people and through it giving encouragement, comfort and support.
-Being anointed with His Spirit.
-Actively listening for the Lord to tell you when to move and what to do, being His hands and feet.
-Praying His heart, His desires instead of our own.
-The normal Christian life is not marrying unless you must and He tells you to.
-PURSUING God and His gifts as if its all you were made to do...because it is.

Live in the FULLNESS of what the Lord wants you to have.

Cheryl Beckett

This applies to everything, but I've got a couple examples

Meaning makes things stronger.

When there is purpose in my relationships, they are stronger - automatically, without words, it just becomes a stronger, better relationship. I don't have to say "you're my best friend" or "I love you" in order to lay it out in clear terms. I don't have to say "I care about you more now than I used to" or "I feel like our bond is stronger now than it used to be." Instead, as I seek the Lord's face in relationships...as we talk about Him and our purpose in Him; as we encourage and build each other up, indeed how the church should, we find more purpose and depth in our interactions. Without words, we mutually know that we each care about each other deeply.

When my emotions are shallow and based on circumstances, they are still very real, but when my emotions are based on meaningful things they are much stronger. So in one situation I would be happy because I get to go on vacation. But in comparison, when I am joyful because the Lord has just given me more of a revelation of His love, or because a friend just believed in the Lord, I am filled to OVERFLOWING with joy that can't be overshadowed.

When I cry because my feelings have been hurt, it's not the same as when I cry because I see someone the way the Lord sees them and they are so far from Him. I could cry a huge amount of tears when I've been hurt by someone and my heart is heavy. But even if I only shed a couple tears over someone that is lost or hurting, my heart is torn and instead of a little weight it is completely crushed. Complete emotional exhaustion comes faster when it is truly meaningful.

So relationships are stronger when they are meaningful, and emotions are stronger when they are more meaningful. But what is meaningful?

I have a test. I ask myself one question to determine what to do...how to react...whether something matters: In the light of eternity what does it matter?