So at this point, you may be like, "Lauren and Ariel, why are y'all trying to push us closer to God? Why do I need to have a relationship with Him anyway?"
Before we dive in too deep, I wanna give you a disclaimer: you gotta feel and experience God for Who He is yourself; it's not something I can make you feel. Once you accept Christ as your Savior (yes, that part is mandatory), you begin to develop a relationship with God. That's when you feel it. Okay, cool. Now that that's established, let's go back to the "why God is so freakin dope" part. It's impossible to put God in these little categories of Who He is, but there are a few main points I wanna hit on here: 1. God is love 2. God is a God of promises 3. God is all-powerful When Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden (and don't blame it all on Eve - Adam was right there listening to the serpent, too), the FIRST thing God did was come through the garden looking for them and say, "Where are you?" God loves us SO MUCH, His first inclination when we sin is not to say, "Ya don' messed up, Lauren," but instead it's to say, "Where are you?" Did you know God is pursuing you? Do you realize God is patiently waiting for you to accept Christ in your heart and assume your natural role as a child of the Most High God? "Lauren, to be honest, I think I'm doing just fine without getting anything from a relationship with God." Let me break this down for you: you already receive from God whether you thank Him for it or not. Every good and perfect gift is from God (James 1:17). Let me say that again... EVERY good and perfect gift is from God. You over here thanking the universe and good luck for the great things you've gotten in this life... Do you really think they were just plopped down on you by chance? Nah. God's love for you is SO GREAT, He blesses you even when you don't want to acknowledge Him. A lot of people have grown up with this perspective that God is this authoritarian, punishing being. That all God does is smite you when you've done wrong. (If you want a deeper analysis of Who God is, I HIGHLY recommend reading The God-Shaped Brain by Timothy Jennings. It changed my life. You can borrow my copy.) That's not the case. Let's back up here. Remember when I told you God is love? That all He wants is a relationship with you, His child? That's Who God is. Perhaps the most popular verse ever is John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not die but will have eternal life." It's a great verse. But people often don't understand its true value. The world was a terrible place before Jesus came. Like perhaps even worse than it is now (hard to imagine). God had already done the flood thing with Noah building the ark to try to restore some good in the world. But, of course, we as humans are inclined to sin. We are born sinners. We have to accept Jesus in our hearts to truly be set free from sin. When Jesus was born to descendants of Jews AND Gentiles (that's important because He is the God of not just Jews but non-Jews as well), He was born into this world to be of both flesh (that stuff that makes you wanna sin) and of the Spirit (God-like). I'll delve more into Jesus later (He deserves His own post), but the cool thing here is that God planned this all out VERY precisely. What other God gives you a Savior you can relate to so well? What other God allows His SON to be sacrificed and slain on a cross - the punishment of criminals - for the sins of people who may or may not even accept Him into their lives? What other God can move mountains and break down strongholds for you in this world. NO OTHER GOD!!! Okay, so at this point, you're either convinced or you're 'bout to stop reading. I hope it's the former. On to the promises part. God loves us SO MUCH, He makes promises to us. And He ALWAYS keeps them. If you're like me, at one point in your life, you dealt with stress, anxiety and worry (this is a longer post). But what's incredible about God is that He will ALWAYS be there for you. There isn't a problem you're experiencing in this life that He doesn't care about because it affects you. You can't say to God, "Oh, God, this problem is too small and trivial for You to waste Your time on - I know You don't care," because if it's important to YOU, it's important to GOD. So often in this life, we get caught up in the circumstances of the world, but we don't focus on God's promises to us as His children. If you are a child of God, you don't stress. You don't grow anxious. You don't worry! Some of my favorite promises are: He will never leave us nor forsake us. He holds us by His righteous right hand. His peace transcends all understanding. ALL things work together for good for those who love Him. I can trust in Him with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. He didn't give us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. He is faithful, and He will do it. He is my rock, my refuge. God claims me as more than a conqueror. And, most encouraging, John 16:33 gives us these comforting words from Jesus: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Y'all - that's what being a child of God is! His promises promise us a life of peace! There are numerous other promises in the Bible, but these are the ones I recite in my head when I feel lost or scared or uncertain. And as you affirm them, God comforts you in your time of need. Y'all still with me? Okay, good! Lastly, God is all-powerful. Like --- He can do ANYTHING. When most people think of God's ability to perform miracles, they think of Moses parting the Red Sea. They think of Jesus feeding feeding 5,000 people with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread. But what a lot of people fail to realize is that God didn't stop there. He didn't call it quits back in the days of the Bible. I've seen Him work miracles in my life and in other people's lives in the here and now. I've been there on my knees calling out to Him to do things that ONLY HE has the power to do. Miracles happen when your faith and God's power collide. (I stole that from Pastor Trav, so don't attribute it to me lol) Do you really think God was like, "Mmm I'ma stop my miraculous works in the 2000s...It's too late for them...?" No way, man! I told myself I would always be real with y'all, so here it is. To go along with His ability to work miracles in your life, we also have to get real about His wrath. This isn't a series of paragraphs to scare you into knowing God, but let's be honest here - Jesus is coming back one of these days. Probably soon. We know not the time nor the hour, but He'll be back. And your good deeds, your great morals, your love for other people and all of the other things people think will save them are NOT gonna get you a first class ticket through the gates of heaven. Shoot - even Zephaniah 1:18 notes that your money can't save you from the end of times. If you're thinking you don't need God in this life because you're ballin' and you got a great job and you're happy with everything... none of that is going to matter when Jesus returns on that white horse. But fear not, child! That's why Jesus is here for ya. That's why we've been given the privilege to know Him and accept Him into our lives. By His wounds, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5)! Whew! That was a lot. But I pray everyone who reads this post will get something out of it. I just want you to experience God in all of His glory. I want you to experience All He can do for you. I pray you'll feel the love He encompasses you in, His greatness and His faithfulness. If you ever wanna talk about it, we're all ears. [email protected] Like a fine wine with a delicious dinner, here are some good musical pairings for this post. "Made a Way" - Travis Greene "Do It Again" - Elevation Worship "How He Loves" - David Crowder Band - L
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