Have you ever questioned yourself? Have you ever felt like you aren't enough or have completely screwed up? There are moments when we, as women, all feel this way. We try to handle all the things, but then something unexpected happens and everything comes crashing down. Have you ever asked yourself these questions?
Am I doing it right? ...praying ...being a Christian
Praying
In the book, Prayer by Phillip Yancey, he discusses how when it comes to prayer "God wants your authentic self." (p.40) He goes on to describe the divided self of man, comprised of the parts of ourselves that we share with others and the part that we keep hidden. He writes, "Perhaps we need three words (to describe this phenomena): one for the image of ourselves that we project to colleagues at work, clerks at the supermarkey, and other casual aquaintances; one for the more vulnerable parts we make visible to select family members and best friends; and a third for the secret places we never make know. That third place is what God invites us to lay open in prayer. Prayer makes room for the unspeakable, those secret compartments of shame and regret that we seal away from the outside world." (p.40)
It is not easy to keep our eyes focused on God 100% of the time. Peter, one of the disciples, was walking on water with Jesus. He became afraid of the storm and began to sink into the sea. He cried out to Jesus to save him. Jesus reached out and took him by the hand and helped him into the boat, saying, "Why did you doubt?" It was difficult for those who knew Jesus in person to trust and obey him. How much more difficult it is for us to have faith when we cannot see or touch Him. Hebrews 11 is traditionally called the "Hall of Faith", as it chronicles several stories in the Bible where people had faith in God and incredible things happened. I encourage you to read about it. For now, Hebrews 11:1, 2 say, "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd."
Personally, the times when I have felt very close to God are the times when I have been pressing in through prayer to God. Similar to the woman's closet in the movie War Room, in college, there was a prayer closet on my floor in the dorm that was specifically designed for one person to go into at a time to pray. There were pillows on the floor to sit on and paper to write on and a small light. I spent a lot of time praying in that closet as I was seeking God's will for my life in regard to my call into ministry, my relationship with Aaron and for my relationship with God to grow stronger. Other times when I have felt that closeness with God have been as I've been recovering from my various medical experiences. I have spent a lot of time laying down, resting, healing and sitting in a dialysis chair; praying for strength, as well as praying for others. My faith in God was increased through those times when I was spending a lot of time praying. As a result, I have more trust in God to take care of me than I did before. Like how a pet develops trust with its human. The human provides food, shelter and love to the pet and the pet learns to trust that the human will continue to provide those things. I have a piece of art on the wall in my living room that says, "God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, nor sun without rain. but he did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears and light for the way." I cling to this promise as I put my faith in God moment by moment, day after day.
Being a Christian
Am I really a Christian? What are you supposed to do as a Christian? Do I do enough good things to warrant considering myself to be saved? These were some question that came up in my small group last night. Let's address some of these things right now.
On Billy Graham's website, Greg Laurie, an American author and pastor, wrote an article saying,
"When you ask someone if he or she is Christian, one of the most common responses you get back is, “Of course I’m a Christian. I go to church, don’t I?” That’s like saying I am a golfer because I own a set of golf clubs. Or I’m a surfer because I own a pair of board shorts. Listen, to be a golfer you need to golf; to be a surfer you must surf; and to be a Christian you need to walk with God!
Now you might ask, “Why is it so important that I be a Christian, anyway? Don’t all roads basically lead to God?”
Not according to Jesus!
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Only Jesus Christ—and no other—died on the cross for your sins. Only He promises you the hope of Heaven. Jesus essentially said the only way you can be certain your sins are forgiven and to know you will spend eternity in Heaven is by putting your complete trust in Him. And there will be tangible results to show you have done that."
Please follow this link and read his full article about what it means to really be a Christian.
https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/october-2010/how-to-know-youre-a-christian/
Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?”
He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?”
He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”
“Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” - Luke 10:25-28
Jesus entered the world with the express purpose of making a new way for humankind to be reconciled to God. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, sin and death were defeated. Jesus offered himself as the sacrifice for all of humankind to be forgiven of sin. In the Old Testament, people went to the synagogue to offer living animal sacrifices (lambs, goats, etc...) to atone for their sins. A living animal sacrifice was no longer necessary because Jesus' blood was spilled to atone for our sins. Continue reading the story of The Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 to learn about how God expects us to love our neighbors.
There is not a set list of tasks that a person must complete in a given amount of time once they become a Christian. Jesus' actions are described in the New Testament as an example of how we ought to behave. What did Jesus do when we lived on the Earth? He did normal human things like eating, drinking, spending time with his family, building things with his hands, etc...He had relationships with people; he had close friends, he showed love and compassion to the poor, sick, rejected and needy. He forgave those who wronged him. He put others first. He loved humanity so much he laid down his life for ours. We should model our lives after Jesus' life.
I am aware that these answers will cause more questions to come to mind. Please feel free to engage me in conversation in the comment section below, on Facebook when I post my update or in person. I am available to meet with anyone over a cup of coffee to chat anytime. I definitely don't have all the answers, but I have a lot of good resources that I have accessed to write this response. Please continue to ask questions to discover a deeper understanding of prayer and what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Am I doing it right? ...praying ...being a Christian
Praying
In the book, Prayer by Phillip Yancey, he discusses how when it comes to prayer "God wants your authentic self." (p.40) He goes on to describe the divided self of man, comprised of the parts of ourselves that we share with others and the part that we keep hidden. He writes, "Perhaps we need three words (to describe this phenomena): one for the image of ourselves that we project to colleagues at work, clerks at the supermarkey, and other casual aquaintances; one for the more vulnerable parts we make visible to select family members and best friends; and a third for the secret places we never make know. That third place is what God invites us to lay open in prayer. Prayer makes room for the unspeakable, those secret compartments of shame and regret that we seal away from the outside world." (p.40)
It is not easy to keep our eyes focused on God 100% of the time. Peter, one of the disciples, was walking on water with Jesus. He became afraid of the storm and began to sink into the sea. He cried out to Jesus to save him. Jesus reached out and took him by the hand and helped him into the boat, saying, "Why did you doubt?" It was difficult for those who knew Jesus in person to trust and obey him. How much more difficult it is for us to have faith when we cannot see or touch Him. Hebrews 11 is traditionally called the "Hall of Faith", as it chronicles several stories in the Bible where people had faith in God and incredible things happened. I encourage you to read about it. For now, Hebrews 11:1, 2 say, "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd."
Personally, the times when I have felt very close to God are the times when I have been pressing in through prayer to God. Similar to the woman's closet in the movie War Room, in college, there was a prayer closet on my floor in the dorm that was specifically designed for one person to go into at a time to pray. There were pillows on the floor to sit on and paper to write on and a small light. I spent a lot of time praying in that closet as I was seeking God's will for my life in regard to my call into ministry, my relationship with Aaron and for my relationship with God to grow stronger. Other times when I have felt that closeness with God have been as I've been recovering from my various medical experiences. I have spent a lot of time laying down, resting, healing and sitting in a dialysis chair; praying for strength, as well as praying for others. My faith in God was increased through those times when I was spending a lot of time praying. As a result, I have more trust in God to take care of me than I did before. Like how a pet develops trust with its human. The human provides food, shelter and love to the pet and the pet learns to trust that the human will continue to provide those things. I have a piece of art on the wall in my living room that says, "God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, nor sun without rain. but he did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears and light for the way." I cling to this promise as I put my faith in God moment by moment, day after day.
Being a Christian
Am I really a Christian? What are you supposed to do as a Christian? Do I do enough good things to warrant considering myself to be saved? These were some question that came up in my small group last night. Let's address some of these things right now.
- How do you know if you really are a Christian?
On Billy Graham's website, Greg Laurie, an American author and pastor, wrote an article saying,
"When you ask someone if he or she is Christian, one of the most common responses you get back is, “Of course I’m a Christian. I go to church, don’t I?” That’s like saying I am a golfer because I own a set of golf clubs. Or I’m a surfer because I own a pair of board shorts. Listen, to be a golfer you need to golf; to be a surfer you must surf; and to be a Christian you need to walk with God!
Now you might ask, “Why is it so important that I be a Christian, anyway? Don’t all roads basically lead to God?”
Not according to Jesus!
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Only Jesus Christ—and no other—died on the cross for your sins. Only He promises you the hope of Heaven. Jesus essentially said the only way you can be certain your sins are forgiven and to know you will spend eternity in Heaven is by putting your complete trust in Him. And there will be tangible results to show you have done that."
Please follow this link and read his full article about what it means to really be a Christian.
https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/october-2010/how-to-know-youre-a-christian/
- What are you supposed to do as a Christian?
Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?”
He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?”
He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.”
“Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” - Luke 10:25-28
Jesus entered the world with the express purpose of making a new way for humankind to be reconciled to God. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, sin and death were defeated. Jesus offered himself as the sacrifice for all of humankind to be forgiven of sin. In the Old Testament, people went to the synagogue to offer living animal sacrifices (lambs, goats, etc...) to atone for their sins. A living animal sacrifice was no longer necessary because Jesus' blood was spilled to atone for our sins. Continue reading the story of The Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 to learn about how God expects us to love our neighbors.
There is not a set list of tasks that a person must complete in a given amount of time once they become a Christian. Jesus' actions are described in the New Testament as an example of how we ought to behave. What did Jesus do when we lived on the Earth? He did normal human things like eating, drinking, spending time with his family, building things with his hands, etc...He had relationships with people; he had close friends, he showed love and compassion to the poor, sick, rejected and needy. He forgave those who wronged him. He put others first. He loved humanity so much he laid down his life for ours. We should model our lives after Jesus' life.
I am aware that these answers will cause more questions to come to mind. Please feel free to engage me in conversation in the comment section below, on Facebook when I post my update or in person. I am available to meet with anyone over a cup of coffee to chat anytime. I definitely don't have all the answers, but I have a lot of good resources that I have accessed to write this response. Please continue to ask questions to discover a deeper understanding of prayer and what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Comments
Post a Comment