God is Always With You

I want to be more faithful to this blog. I know the time between my posts is too long. I want to change that, but I need God’s help.

These past few months have been some of the hardest of my life. Memories can be triggered by a song, by a picture or something someone says. And my wounds are pierced again.

People say, “Only by the grace of God…” What does that mean? That only by God working inside you and for you can you make it through something you thought you never could.

In Psalm Chapter 94, verses 17-19, it says:

Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” Your love, O Lord, supported me.

When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul.

Thank You, Lord, for never leaving me alone. Thank You for Your concern for me. Thank You for loving me.

These are 2 of my favorite verses. There is so much strength and power in these words!

Psalm 27, verse 1:

The Lord is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27, verse 3: 

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

I have been silent on this blog for a while. I’ve had long pauses between posts before, many times for lack of discipline.

But this time is different. I have suffered a severe emotional blow, and I am heartbroken. I’m dealing with a situation that I never wanted to have to deal with. I can’t go into detail. What I can tell you is that I have been shaken to my core.

Every time I’ve read these verses in the past, I have always loved them. To tell you the truth, I think they’re pretty bad-ass!:)

But now that war has broken out against me, I need this Scripture and the Lord more than ever.

God has made bearable the unbearable for me. He has done for me what I cannot do for myself. He has lifted me up from deep waters of devastation. I have felt only a portion of the pain dealt me, because He has kept me from hitting the bottom.

He has remained faithful to me, even as I have tried to find other ways to escape this pain. I have neglected my Bible, instead pouring myself into distractions.

But His concern and His care for me hasn’t wavered. He doesn’t hold my faults against me. He still loves me even when I have pushed Him away.

I don’t know how to end this post. Words are failing me, but God never has.

I want to say, first and foremost, that death is a very difficult subject for me. My mother died suddenly when I was a few months into thirteen. She was a single mom to me and my sister. She worked hard and made a good living. She had no help from my father, she stood on her own two feet. 

She was an alcoholic who worked all night and partied all day. The more she submerged herself in her addiction, the more she pulled away from us. She paid the bills and provided for us very well. She did her best. But she wounded us with her neglect. She lost her grip on being a mother as she lost control over her alcoholism.

In the end, she was dead under suspicious circumstances, with her drunk and violent boyfriend. They were alone on a deserted county road when (he says) they had an argument, and she was opening her door to get out of his truck. He says he swung around as she opened her door, the force throwing her down on the pavement. 

The way she left our lives, it happened in a moment. She was there and then she wasn’t, and there was nothing that could change it. 

The shock of her death, how unbelievable it was that she was no longer alive, was the rawest introduction to what death does–it forces separation, there is no choice and no going back.

My mother’s death changed my life for the rest of my life. 

From a young age, we begin to understand death. We see that insects die. We see roadkill. With great sadness, our pets pass away. Devastatingly, people we love die.

Death means loss, something or someone is taken away. They don’t come back. In this life, the one we are all currently living, death appears to be a brick wall.

People try to comfort each other at funerals by saying the dead are “in a better place.” Believing that “good” people go to heaven is a spiritual default position. Plenty of “good” people still do wrong.

I am a very kind person. I help people and encourage them. The pain of other people pains me. I wear my heart on my sleeve, I am sensitive and I am loving. But I have still done plenty of wrong. I have hurt people with my actions and my words. I have been selfish and greedy. I haven’t taken some opportunities to help people because it would inconvenience me or I was afraid they would depend on me too much.

These are but a few of the things that would disqualify me from being a “good” person. I try, I really do. But I don’t always succeed, even though I want to. I’m not perfect, far from it.

God doesn’t require us to be perfect, He requires us to believe that He is Who He says He is–the One True God. No other “god,” no other “higher power” or life philosophy is true. God is three persons joined together as One–God the Father; Jesus, His Son; and the Holy Spirit.

It can be hard to understand, I know. That’s why it’s so important to get into the Bible so that you can learn about God and start to know Him. At first, the Bible might be a tough read. But the more you read the Bible, the more God will help you understand it. This is supernatural, and it reveals the power of God!

In John Chapter 5, verse 24, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him Who sent Me (God the Father) has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” [NIV Bible]

In John Chapter 11, verse 25, Jesus said to her (Martha, the sister of Lazarus), “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies {NIV Bible]

Who can stand up to death? Only God can. Who can change it? Only the One True God.

Don’t put off turning to God. There is no better time than right now! We have all made plans to start something new and then forgotten about it or lost our momentum to change.

No matter what your background is, no matter if you’ve been skeptical about there being a god, or you’re bitter toward God about the suffering you’ve gone through, wherever you are coming from, God will welcome you!

The Lord Almighty says, “Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God and there is no other.” ;NIV Bible Isaiah 45:22]

Habits are hard to break. When we do something over and over, our brains and our bodies come to expect it. We start to feel less control and more controlled.

We might want to end behaviors or patterns that we know hurt us. Or, we might want to start doing something new, maybe something we’re afraid we can’t do.

In either case, God is the answer. I say that God is the answer a lot in this blog because there are many situations that can’t be fixed by human hands. There are entanglements, impediments, and albatrosses that only God can handle.

In John 15,verses 1-8, Jesus says, ” I am the True Vine, and My Father is the gardener.He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the Vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.. ‘I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. {NIV Bible]

God is able to do more than change us, He can mold us! He can prune away the self-destruction we put ourselves through. He can bring about change that transforms our lives!

To receive the blessings of God, get to know Him by reading the Bible. You can do something different–you can start to believe in the One True God– the Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit, who will personally teach you about God as you read Scripture. Open a Bible app on your phone or computer, buy a bound Bible, or do both! The more you read and study the Bible, the more you will see God in your life.

In Luke 18:27, Jesus says, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

God changes the unchangeable.

We take pride in being independent, making our own decisions, using our own resources to help ourselves. We are quite happy not to ask anyone for help.

Independence is not only highly valued, it’s required! It goes without saying that we should exhaust all of our options before asking a favor.

God wants us to depend on Him. He doesn’t want us to do our very best alone first, and then come to Him for what we can’t do. He wants to be there with us from the beginning, so that He can guide, strengthen and help us.

In Proverbs, Chapter 3, verses 5-6, it says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. {NIV Bible]

In order to depend on someone, you have to be able to trust them first. When you trust someone, you believe they will do you good. You don’t have to do the things people do when they don’t trust someone–be suspicious, worry that they’ll be hurt, and fear betrayal.

People can be trustworthy, but God is always trustworthy.

In John Chapter 14, verse 1, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me.” [NIV Bible]

Isaiah Chapter 26, verse 3-4, it says: You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal. [NIV Bible]

I know I can depend on God, because He shows His presence in my life on a regular basis. He counsels me through the Bible. He guides me and warns me. He helps me cope with the deep sadness and regret I struggle with. He is always with me, seeing everything and still loving me.

If you commit to believing in God, reading the Bible, and praying to Him, God will show Himself to you more and more. He will bring change with Him. He will strengthen you. You’ll handle adversity better, because God will be with you, backing you up. You’ll feel more confident about the future, knowing you have someone to turn to, someone to talk to, and someone who understands you.

Who is better to guide you? Who is always reliable, always trustworthy, and always there?

No one, except God.

You only live once isn’t true. We all will have a life after this one. Death in our bodies does not end our lives. Our eternal lives begin as soon as our bodies die.

We all know that this life is temporary. Death is shocking, even when it’s expected. Death separates us from the people we love. Death feels final, irreversible, absolute.

So what can we do about it? We can’t stop it from happening. The only real answer, the only true answer, is God.

In John Chapter 3, verses 16-18, it is written: For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son [Jesus] that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. [NIV Bible]

In 2 Corinthians, Chapter 5, verse 21, it says: For God made Christ, Who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. [NLT/New Living Translation]

Jesus had to be sacrificed for our sins because He, and only He, was capable of living a sinless life. That qualified Him to be the perfect, sinless sacrifice that God the Father required in order to create a way for us to be reconciled to God, even though we sin.

Our eternal lives, the ones we will be living forever, have to be our focus. In John chapter 6, verses 28-29, Jesus is asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”  Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One Who He has sent.” [NIV Bible]

Jesus is the One God sent! He is our Savior because He took our sins unto Himself, He  died in our place, and He reconciled us with God the Father. Believe in Jesus! He is real, He is Lord!

Believing in God is an urgent matter. This isn’t your only shot at living. But during this life, this is the time God gives you to turn to Him and believe.

The beginning of the year is an exciting time. You can literally turn the page to a time that you’ve never lived before. The past can’t be changed, but the present is full of opportunities to do what we haven’t been able to do before.

Losing weight, eating better, making exercise a habit that lasts longer than a few weeks…:) Quitting smoking, getting sober…

A new year can be a clean slate, the perfect time to get something new off the ground, something you can be proud of, something you won’t end up regretting.

New Year’s resolutions are notorious for not sticking. Big changes are a lot of work, requiring physical, emotional and mental shifts. A lot of times, we start very enthusiastically, burn out quickly, and give up the ghost shortly thereafter. 🙂

Bring God into your plans to change. God can give you strength and help you persevere when the hard parts come.

In Isaiah, Chapter 40, verses 28-31, it is written: Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. [NIV Bible]

“Hoping in the Lord” means that you are looking to God for His help. God will renew your strength as you trust Him to help you change. Instead of relying only on your will power and determination, include God this time.

How is this done? First things first, you have to believe in God. God can’t help you if you question His existence. He’s really there, and He can work through you and take you farther than you’ve ever gotten on your own! Pray, telling God plainly what you want to do differently. Ask Him to give you His strength. Tell Him that you trust Him to work on your behalf. Put your concerns in the hands of God, and see real change happen in your life!

Most people fear death. They fear the death of the people they love and they fear their own death.

Death is our biggest obstacle. It’s a brick wall. The uncertainty, the never knowing, the way lives change in one dying moment.

A close family friend died on December 16th. He had fought a long battle with lung cancer. He, his wife, and their children lived with the specter of his death for three years.

He passed away suddenly and unexpectedly after attending a scheduled appointment with his doctor.He wasn’t doing well, so his doctor sent him to the ER. They tried to help him keep breathing, but his body shut down, and he took his final breaths at the hospital.

I don’t know what his specific beliefs were about God. I’m encouraged by knowing that he was a member of a Christian church, but going to church doesn’t translate into going to heaven.

There is only one way to get to heaven once we die. Jesus is that only way.

In John Chapter 3, verses 16-18, it is written:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. [NIV Bible]

You can’t earn your way to heaven. You can’t just “be a good person.” You can’t just believe in a “higher power.” Believing that God exists isn’t the same as believing in Him.

Read the Bible and your spiritual life will awaken inside of you. You can trust what you read in the Bible because it is God’s truth. The Bible will never mislead you.

Also referred to as “The Word of God,” the Bible will inspire your faith and lead you to God.

Hebrews Chapter 4, verse 12, says: For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. [NIV Bible]

The Bible is alive and active! Reading it will change you! Don’t make the mistake of rejecting Jesus as your Savior.

We don’t know how long our lives will be. Death can happen in an instant. God is our only true security.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGaUmSbXJ-A the lyrics appear below the video; click “see more” to see the full lyrics 🙂

“That’s Why We Praise Him” is a song written by Tommy Walker, and in this case, performed by Rich Ochoa and the Maranatha! Promise band. It appears on “i Worship, A Total Worship Experience,” a double CD of Christian music.

This song describes Jesus’ mission and who He is. It is a direct and sincere testimony about Christian faith. This song really stirs me inside, especially when he sings, “He came to go prepare a place for us.”

That’s a reference to what Jesus said in John Chapter 14, verse 2-3: “In My Father’s house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.” [NIV Bible]

I hope you enjoy this song, and I hope some day soon you’ll be able to sing along, “That’s why we bow down and worship this King, ’cause He gave His everything!!!”

God will do for you what no one else can–He will be there for you every day, every night, every hour, every minute. Anything that concerns you concerns Him!

He knows all of the details of your life. He wants you to respond to Him by coming to Him. Pray! God hears you, whether you pray out loud or in your mind.

Prayer is a conversation with God. Prayer is not a script to be read. It is you, talking to God in your real voice, in your own words.

There is no one you can be more real with than God because He already knows it all! What a relief not to have to pretend, to put on a face, to have an image to keep up with!

You can be straight with God. He can handle your frustration and anger. God is durable! He can handle hearing whatever you pray about.

It’s hard to be honest with people. There are things about me that I know people will judge me for. This blog sometimes poses a challenge for me, because my purpose is to turn people toward God, to inspire people to want to know Him. But that requires some risky honesty from me.

People that I know, friends and family, aren’t necessarily who I want to be reading this, because I want to be open about my flaws and who I am really am. I can’t be that candid with just anyone. Revealing my website to people who know me can threaten my ability to be honest here. But I know God has called me to do this. And I know I have to sacrifice my image to other people and they may judge me.

I will leave you with this–I can bare it all to God. He still loves me, knowing all the truth about me. And He still loves you too!

We can all be harshly critical of ourselves. If you are waiting to live up to some standard you’ve set for yourself, understand that God isn’t a perfectionist! 🙂 He’s ready to accept you today! He will forgive you, He will restore you, and He will stand by you!