I was thinking about a conversation I had with a friend the other day. We'd been singing a couple songs at church and they had words like "everyday", "I'll do..."! Not a bad thing, but in some cases, not humanly possible either! And the conversation was around the fact that in some cases we sing lies to ourselves in the hope that one day these things will be a reality!
Ooh - did I just say that we sing lies to ourselves? Ok, from a different perspective we are "speaking it into being"... Yeah right! Sorry, I don't hold to that! To me, certain things are simply wishful thinking! And thus, a lie! And I don't particularly care if you agree or disagree!
In the real world I am not going to read my bible everyday! Its a fact! In the real world I am not going to pray for hours on end everyday! Its a fact! God gets that I am human, its how He created me! While He wants me to change and be more like His plan for me, He's not into ramming it down my throat with a ram rod! He's a gentleman!
Whats more, He will enable the change! If one is needed!
Oh and I haven't yet found a verse that says we need to read several chapters of the bible every day! While it will help! It is not absolutely necessary! There are verses that say to meditate on the word, which is chewing over, thinking about and dwelling on pieces of Gods word!
Here's something that might just shock some... When I sit down and read the bible "because I have to", it is dead boring, meaningless nonsense, that sends me right off to sleep! Ooh, did I say that out loud? Yes! However, when I read a verse or chapter or whatever that God has stuck in my head, it has meaning and life and actually makes sense, and I can read it without falling asleep!
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to give you an escape clause for not praying, worshipping or whatever! I'm just saying that its best if you sit down with God, discuss yourself with Him and come to an agreement (this is not bargaining or haggling with God, this is simply hearing His terms and agreeing to them!) He made each of us in a different way!
Over this last year (2013), I've had people tell me I pray "wrong", because I don't babble, cry, wail like a banshee, moan, groan, roll around on the floor, pray/speak in tongues, stomp my feet, pray for 15+ minutes at a time (out loud), or pray from a sheet the same thing each day! God has been telling me that I will know when to pray and who to pray for, I just have to shut up and listen to Him! He told me to "toss out the lists"! "Toss out the typed up prayers, they become meaningless repetition, and follow My lead!"
Awesome - I can do that! The rest of that stuff, can't do! And trust me, I've tried it!
Your life is a relationship with God! Tell me something. When you go have lunch with a friend, do you pull out a list and go over the same old crap? Ask the same old questions? Do you roll around on the floor? Do you cry and wail like a banshee? If not, then why, when you spend time with God (who should be your best friend) do you do that? Oh, no - that's being spontaneous and spontaneity is scary! Rubbish! Let go and fly by the seat of your pants every once in a while - see just how exhilarating life can be!
Granted, if you're a list person, and lists come naturally to you, then spontaneity probably will freak you out! It could be how God made you! Discuss it with Him!
If you're a night owl, what on earth are you doing awake at 5am? You've been in bed, what, two hours? Go back to bed! (God did make some us to function in the dark hours!) If you think that you should be awake at 5am reading your bible and praying (between naps), maybe you should discuss it with God! See what He says!
Here's something... Humans can give us advice - we don't have to listen! However, if God gives us advice - we really should listen!
Just because that TV evangelist tells you to be awake at 5am, pray for three hours and read 6 chapters of the old testament and 6 chapters of the new, doesn't mean you should half kill yourself attempting that feat of human endurance! You're putting yourself under mans rule! Throw that stuff off! Talk about you with God! He should have the final word! After all, it was He that made you, not that TV evangelist on the other side of the planet, who doesn't even know you exist!
Go call a family meeting, request that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all be present. Have a good chat with them! See what they say about you! Discuss that weird stuff with them! Tell them that you really can't do something, and see what they say! Maybe, just maybe, they might be able to help you in your relationship with them far better than you ever dreamed possible!
If you get to know how you were made, then you will learn that you have things you're brilliant at, and things you probably should stay away from!
If you're like me, can't sit still to pray for more than maybe 15 minutes at a time! My prayers are spread throughout the entire day (going to an actual prayer meeting is somewhat hard, but I do try).
When I read the bible, literally 3 or 4 verses in, I'm falling asleep! However, if God gives me a verse or two (sometimes an entire chapter or more) I can strangely stay awake! Because its not by my effort! The Holy Spirit has stopped by, enabled me to read and understand! (He is simply amazing at that!) When I pray, I mostly write it down (helps me keep track, not forget and I can write answered prayers later)... The ones I get to pray out loud are usually short and to the point! 30 seconds to a minute at best! (I've been told I have a way of putting things...) I think the longest out loud prayer I've ever prayed was a minute and a half to two minutes! I don't pray in tongues! I don't (normally) cry, though I have gotten a little teary occasionally, showing emotion is not my thing! Unless I am absolutely overwhelmed!
My point is, you gotta sit down with God and work out what is best for you!
If you have a car, you're not going to take it to a pastry chef to get it serviced! You need to take yourself to your creator for regular services, check ups and advice! He knows best for you!
You can moan all you like about songs that are filled with empty promises that become nothing more than lies! Its not going to solve the problem! Get off your butt, go discuss it with God! And I'm not meaning complaining about the songs sung in church! I'm meaning that you need to have the guts to say to God, "I'm here to discuss me with You!" He'll possibly say something along the lines of "about time"! Well, at least, He did with me!
Oh, and this discussion thing - its not a once off thing! Its a every however often thing! The however often bit depends on you, how He made you, how often you feel you need or want a check up, how often you want to hear what He has to say about you! No pressure!
Remember, religion has rules to tie you up! Jesus came to set you free!
May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!
Ooh - did I just say that we sing lies to ourselves? Ok, from a different perspective we are "speaking it into being"... Yeah right! Sorry, I don't hold to that! To me, certain things are simply wishful thinking! And thus, a lie! And I don't particularly care if you agree or disagree!
In the real world I am not going to read my bible everyday! Its a fact! In the real world I am not going to pray for hours on end everyday! Its a fact! God gets that I am human, its how He created me! While He wants me to change and be more like His plan for me, He's not into ramming it down my throat with a ram rod! He's a gentleman!
Whats more, He will enable the change! If one is needed!
Oh and I haven't yet found a verse that says we need to read several chapters of the bible every day! While it will help! It is not absolutely necessary! There are verses that say to meditate on the word, which is chewing over, thinking about and dwelling on pieces of Gods word!
Here's something that might just shock some... When I sit down and read the bible "because I have to", it is dead boring, meaningless nonsense, that sends me right off to sleep! Ooh, did I say that out loud? Yes! However, when I read a verse or chapter or whatever that God has stuck in my head, it has meaning and life and actually makes sense, and I can read it without falling asleep!
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to give you an escape clause for not praying, worshipping or whatever! I'm just saying that its best if you sit down with God, discuss yourself with Him and come to an agreement (this is not bargaining or haggling with God, this is simply hearing His terms and agreeing to them!) He made each of us in a different way!
Over this last year (2013), I've had people tell me I pray "wrong", because I don't babble, cry, wail like a banshee, moan, groan, roll around on the floor, pray/speak in tongues, stomp my feet, pray for 15+ minutes at a time (out loud), or pray from a sheet the same thing each day! God has been telling me that I will know when to pray and who to pray for, I just have to shut up and listen to Him! He told me to "toss out the lists"! "Toss out the typed up prayers, they become meaningless repetition, and follow My lead!"
Awesome - I can do that! The rest of that stuff, can't do! And trust me, I've tried it!
Your life is a relationship with God! Tell me something. When you go have lunch with a friend, do you pull out a list and go over the same old crap? Ask the same old questions? Do you roll around on the floor? Do you cry and wail like a banshee? If not, then why, when you spend time with God (who should be your best friend) do you do that? Oh, no - that's being spontaneous and spontaneity is scary! Rubbish! Let go and fly by the seat of your pants every once in a while - see just how exhilarating life can be!
Granted, if you're a list person, and lists come naturally to you, then spontaneity probably will freak you out! It could be how God made you! Discuss it with Him!
If you're a night owl, what on earth are you doing awake at 5am? You've been in bed, what, two hours? Go back to bed! (God did make some us to function in the dark hours!) If you think that you should be awake at 5am reading your bible and praying (between naps), maybe you should discuss it with God! See what He says!
Here's something... Humans can give us advice - we don't have to listen! However, if God gives us advice - we really should listen!
Just because that TV evangelist tells you to be awake at 5am, pray for three hours and read 6 chapters of the old testament and 6 chapters of the new, doesn't mean you should half kill yourself attempting that feat of human endurance! You're putting yourself under mans rule! Throw that stuff off! Talk about you with God! He should have the final word! After all, it was He that made you, not that TV evangelist on the other side of the planet, who doesn't even know you exist!
Go call a family meeting, request that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit all be present. Have a good chat with them! See what they say about you! Discuss that weird stuff with them! Tell them that you really can't do something, and see what they say! Maybe, just maybe, they might be able to help you in your relationship with them far better than you ever dreamed possible!
If you get to know how you were made, then you will learn that you have things you're brilliant at, and things you probably should stay away from!
If you're like me, can't sit still to pray for more than maybe 15 minutes at a time! My prayers are spread throughout the entire day (going to an actual prayer meeting is somewhat hard, but I do try).
When I read the bible, literally 3 or 4 verses in, I'm falling asleep! However, if God gives me a verse or two (sometimes an entire chapter or more) I can strangely stay awake! Because its not by my effort! The Holy Spirit has stopped by, enabled me to read and understand! (He is simply amazing at that!) When I pray, I mostly write it down (helps me keep track, not forget and I can write answered prayers later)... The ones I get to pray out loud are usually short and to the point! 30 seconds to a minute at best! (I've been told I have a way of putting things...) I think the longest out loud prayer I've ever prayed was a minute and a half to two minutes! I don't pray in tongues! I don't (normally) cry, though I have gotten a little teary occasionally, showing emotion is not my thing! Unless I am absolutely overwhelmed!
My point is, you gotta sit down with God and work out what is best for you!
If you have a car, you're not going to take it to a pastry chef to get it serviced! You need to take yourself to your creator for regular services, check ups and advice! He knows best for you!
You can moan all you like about songs that are filled with empty promises that become nothing more than lies! Its not going to solve the problem! Get off your butt, go discuss it with God! And I'm not meaning complaining about the songs sung in church! I'm meaning that you need to have the guts to say to God, "I'm here to discuss me with You!" He'll possibly say something along the lines of "about time"! Well, at least, He did with me!
Oh, and this discussion thing - its not a once off thing! Its a every however often thing! The however often bit depends on you, how He made you, how often you feel you need or want a check up, how often you want to hear what He has to say about you! No pressure!
Remember, religion has rules to tie you up! Jesus came to set you free!
May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!
No comments:
Post a Comment