Love That Never Fails

I was struggling with depression. I found every day hard to manage. I believed in God but didn’t know Him. One night I was alone in my bed. I started praying to God. “God, if you’re real, help me.” All of a sudden, I felt love so powerful I can’t describe it. Every little thing faded away into nothing. All I felt was love!

Are you struggling with depression? Are you finding each day hard to manage? Pray to God and ask Him to give you more love. He is very caring and would love to hear you ask Him!

James 4:8 says ‘Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.‘ Rather than being distracted by everything around me, I choose to draw near to God and meet Him where I am.

Not Quite According to Plan…

Last night I led the discussion for a bible study. To say it didn’t quite go to plan is an understatement. By my measures, it was a complete failure! There was no flow, no depth, no participation. After the night was over and everyone left, I talked with the other leader and discussed what went wrong. What we discovered were many reasons that all added up. In the end, though, we decided not to let it get to us. The experience especially shook me, but I had to get over it! Life is not perfect, but God and His love for me is! My worth is not found in how well I lead, but God’s love for me!

Jeremiah 29:11 says ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.‘ God has plans for me, and He does not restrict them because of one failure.

Luke 12:6-7 says ‘Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.‘ God sees exceptional value in me, but not only me; His love is for everyone!

I am encouraged that God loves me just the same, and no matter what other people think, that will never change. God’s love is not just for me, though; it is for everyone!

Surrender

When I was in school, I liked to follow the path of least resistance. This path is simply choosing the most comfortable option for every decision. When I should have studied, I chose to read a book, or play outside, or talk to family, or do anything but study. The problem is, this behaviour made me undisciplined. Later in life, I would have to face this problem.

It is always convenient, but not beneficial to pick the path of least resistance. Why do you think fast food exists? The most comfortable choice always looks very appealing. The life God has for me does not have much in common with the path of least resistance. This life, one filled with love, is not easy to follow. Every day I choose to surrender myself to God. I accept what His plan is for this day.

Galatians 2:20 says ‘I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.‘ Surrendering each day may not be easy, but it is worth it.

I now live by faith in Jesus!

The Good Shepherd

When I was in high school, my teacher asked me what I aspired to do when I grew up. I wanted to make a lot of money, so I considered training to be an astronaut, a mechanic or an IT professional. The problem was, these careers were all my idea of success. They were good ideas, but not necessarily God’s idea.

Ten years later, I am praying every day that God will place his desires for me in my heart. I ask that He leads me and directs my path. I know I will never find fulfilment and meaning by chasing my dreams. The world tells me to do what makes me happy, but the problem is that what makes me truly happy is not what I want to do, but rather, what God wants me to do. I only find real purpose in God.

Psalm 23:1 says “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” This verse brings me peace because it reminds me to trust in God as he leads me on the path He set for me.

Choosing the Narrow Path

When I was a boy, I found many ways to test my parent’s patience. I examined the boundaries while trying to find a new way to be entertained. One day I thought it would be fun to ‘prank call’ the police. Afterwards, I thought nothing of it until an officer came and visited the residence to find out what happened! As it turned out nothing was wrong, he left.

Now I am older I know not to create false alarms just for fun, but sometimes I find myself looking for the next fun thing. I know I don’t live for pleasure, but the way of this world is to live this way. As a Christian, I need to choose the narrow path of discipline, love, compassion and following God.

Matthew 7:13-14 says “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.“

Forgiving Like Jesus

Today I was reading the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis. As the story goes, his brothers are jealous of him and exchange him as a slave. He is taken to Egypt and sold to work for the rest of his sorry life. At this point, he has a choice to make. He can hold a grudge and hate his life; He has every reason to hate his brothers, and every excuse to be angry. On the other hand, he could choose to forgive his brothers and make the most of his situation. He chose the latter.

In my life, I have had to choose between forgiving and holding a grudge many times. Although I haven’t been sold out by my brothers, people I care about have hurt me deeply. I had to learn to forgive my parents, even though they didn’t deserve it. (There were many problems at home, and eventually, my parents divorced.) Because I chose to forgive, I am now able to love again.

The path of forgiveness is hard and long, but very important. I forgive by taking each negative thought captive and turning it into a positive one. For example, when a thought comes, that says ‘I can’t believe [this] happened. How could mum or dad do that?!’ I stop and think. ‘Yes, that bad thing happened, and it shouldn’t have, but I forgive them, and I love them unconditionally because that is how God loves.’

Challenged, or Changed?

I attend church every week, and each week a new message is taught. The problem is, I find I often don’t think about what was spoken until I prepare for the weekly Bible study (my church calls it a community). The question I have to ask myself is this: If I’m not thinking about the message, how can I be actively working on my character in that area?

I find myself going to church each week, coming away challenged, but not investing the time each day to review what was spoken and working throughout the day to achieve that higher standard. Distractions are stopping me from applying the truths I learn!

These distractions remind me of the parable of the sower in Matthew. Matthew 13:20-21 says “The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” In this parable, I believe it is easy to be the rocky ground. Although I agree with the message and find it frees me, if I don’t apply it to my life every day, it will have no lasting effect. If there is no lasting effect, am I only attending church for a good feeling? Am I a Christian?

I have started making the community a place to be accountable. I think it is fair to say most people struggle with similar problems. Because of these struggles, we can relate and have grace toward each other. We encourage each other to apply the word and acknowledge when we aren’t living up to what we should be. We create strategies to overcome the hardest obstacles.

Can you relate to this? Do you notice yourself going to Church but not always applying the teaching? The best way to turn from being challenged to changed may be to find a Bible study that keeps you accountable.

The Struggle With Pornography

I’m going to get real; I struggle with pornography. I have struggled with it from a young age; I started watching it around the time I was 11 years old. This time was when all my hormones started going crazy! I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew I liked girls!

I didn’t ask my parents for help during this stage, and because my parents homeschooled me, I never learned about sex. Being so curious, I started exploring everything online; This was a terrible move! I quickly found online pornography and got addicted. It escalated so fast, I found myself watching it for three to four hours every day!

At the age of sixteen, I found God and realised this habit needed to stop. So I quit for one day. Then I started again. I didn’t know how hard this would be, and I didn’t realise how long I would struggle.

The number of times I have tried to stop is too many to count. The number of times I have prayed asking God to take it away is also too many to count. I have tried many different techniques to help fight it. Some techniques helped, but none have stopped me from going back. Over time the amount of pornography consumed has decreased significantly (2 – 3 hours/week, down from 21 – 28 hours), but the last push to completely stop feels beyond my human ability.

I have had many thoughts of doubt and judgement. I have often thought I am not good enough to be a leader in any way because of this sin in my life. I have experienced incredible shame. I have felt isolated and alone. I have cried to God for hours on end – crying to the point my eyes hurt even to open them.

I get strength from Romans 7:15-20 which says “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin living in me that does it.”

I will not give up. If you are also struggling with this, don’t give up. I believe God will empower us to overcome! If you are comfortable, comment below on your struggle and how God has helped you so far.

One Simple Way to Hear God Speak

Ask Him! Okay, but what happens if God doesn’t answer? How do I know God is speaking?

If you find that God isn’t speaking to you, ask the following questions: Am I praying daily? Am I listening? A conversation is two-way. Ask God your questions each day. Keep in mind that He loves persistence. (Luke 18:1-8) When it comes to listening, I find it natural to use my ears. (Duh!) The thing is, God doesn’t usually speak to us this way. He likes to use dreams, visions and the Bible. Dreams and visions are awesome, but the Bible is possibly the simplest way to hear God speak. It can be very black and white. “Love your neighbour” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” are simple, yet profound truths. Too often I have found myself looking past these powerful words for something ‘more spiritual’, forgetting that these words are inspired by God, filled with life and power! When I read the Bible, I stop regularly and pray short prayers, asking God to help me understand it and live it out — praying while reading God’s Word opens up my heart to listen.

Whenever I am unsure if a thought is from God or my own, I judge it against the Bible. If it follows God’s heart, shown in the Bible, I can be reasonably sure it is from Him. However, if the idea is contrary, I will dismiss it.

Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.“

I encourage you to read one chapter or more each day to improve your hearing and discernment.

Overcoming Fear

From a young age, I remember experiencing nightmares. These nightmares weren’t just scary dreams; they were torture from hell. In any given night I would find myself running. I was running from hungry animals: wolves, dogs, bears, lions or snakes. These animals were after me to devour me. After running and hiding as much as I could, eventually, these animals would find me and would tear me apart, limb from limb and eat me alive. I remember waking after each dream covered in thick sweat, my little heart pounding inside my chest violently. At that waking moment, I realised I was in a dream, but the fear was just as real after waking. At that time, I would find I had wet myself. From age 4 through till 8 I was afraid to fall asleep because I knew I wouldn’t find rest. Home life was far from ideal, and after a stressful day at home, I would experience an even more terrifying night. This stress led to bad sleeping habits and wetting the bed every night up until age 7.

Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there; I would go on to discover God’s love for me and the power it has to overcome fear. At 15 years old I started praying that if God were real, He would find me and help me. At 16 during one of my prayers, God’s love came and ‘washed over’ me. It is a feeling hard to describe, but I will do my best. This feeling of love was so powerful that I couldn’t stop crying. The crying was extreme. I couldn’t control it. At that moment I knew I was loved. I knew I was important and not forgotten. All the years of neglect and abuse vanished in an instant. My built up hate toward others was also taken away. All my fear became empty and vanished.

In the Bible, 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” This verse is right in my life. If I ever feel fear, I pray and worship with everything I have.

If you have a problem with fear, you have a problem with love. Pray that God will show you the love He showed me.

Prayer: God, I ask that you show me your love. I want to know you more intimately and want to be free from fear. I know that fear is never from you, so I pray that you would free me from it. Let the love you show me flow through me to others that they may also know your love. Amen.