How do You Respond to the Call?

            I’ve been continuing through Genesis and have found it much more applicable to the Advent season than I originally thought. Also God has, as He always does, followed through in His promise thus far to teach me something that I really need to hear. Today’s post (or shall I say tonight’s?) is about faith. I’ve been reading the account of Noah and the Great Flood, and find that you can take a lot away from it. It is a great story about faith, and what it means to follow God wholeheartedly. So many times in the beginning of Genesis we get an account of how man has failed God. It is refreshing to see someone who says “yes” when God calls.

            We aren’t asked to build arks nowadays, but maybe God is calling you to something right now. There have been times in my life where I have been forced to make a decision that I found difficult to make. I had to rely on God, and listen to Him to know what I had to do. So far the transition to college has been tough, and Holy Cross has made it tougher than it might have been somewhere else. I am not traversing the word in an ark, but I am weathering a few storms. God has called me here though for a reason, parts of that reason have become clear to me and I am only 1 ½ years into school. There will be many more times when God calls me and I will have to make a choice: do I listen and follow, or do I ignore?

            A new week is starting, try to listen to what God is telling your heart. He may ask you to do something difficult but remember that He gives us the strength that we need to follow His plan. God is faithful, never forget that. 

Brief Thoughts

I realized that I did not post yesterday, so here are some brief thoughts to make up for it. I shall post again later today. Never underestimate the power of friendship. Life can be hard, and going it on your own is never a good idea. Yes we must rely on God for our strength, but good friends can hold us up when we need someone to be physically present. God has blessed me with a few very good friends, and that is all I really need. I ask that you take a look at the people in your life. Personally I find it hard to let people know just how much I care, but that is something essential to a good friendship. Today, and here on out try to do the same. Try to tell people they matter, and try to let people care about you, because this life is too hard to rough it on your own.

A Few Disjointed Thoughts

Before I forget, here is my post for the day. I have a few brief thoughts for the night:

1) We don’t always know why God does the things He does, how He will answer our prayers, or why He allows the things that harm us the most. What we do know is that God is good. I have been dealt a few things in life that make it a bit tougher for me than I would lie—does that mean that God does not love me? Heck no, God has blessed me more than I could ever imagine, and for that I am extremely grateful. We all have it rough at times, and we all have flaws beyond our control. We also have a God who loves us and sacrificed everything just to be with us.

2) Somewhat related to that is that today I read Genesis 4. In that chapter Cain continues the sin of Adam by killing Abel. There are few things we can take from that chapter. One is that Cain did not give God his best. How often do we hold back a part of our lives from God? I do it far too often, and think it is about time I stop. God blessed me, and it is right that I turn and give Him something back. Next, a common theme I have noticed is that God asks His people what they did. God asks Cain where Abel is, just as He asked Adam why He was hiding. God knows everything—He knows that Cain killed Abel, yet He gives Cain a chance to come clean. God loves us despite our sin; some may say that God is far too harsh, but I think that He is as loving as He can be. At times it can feel like we have no one on our side, but always remember that you have God on your side, and that never changes.

Anyway, those are a few thoughts but I must attend to my work. Check back tomorrow for more of my thoughts as I strive for the truth that God wants me to find. Good night, and God bless.

The Plot Thickens

            As I continue reading through Genesis with my friend, I have a few thoughts to share. I thought writing every day would be tough, but I am happy to see that it is not as hard as I thought. God is always speaking to my heart, now that I have my ears open I am finally listening. Today I read Genesis chapter 3, which describes the fall of man. To use a literary term, this is the “rising action” in the Bible. We got the setting, now we get to the heart of the plot. Except this is not just an ordinary book, this is the story of our humanity: it is God’s love song to us.

            My friend astutely noted that if Adam never ate the fruit then there would be no need for the rest of the Bible. That is simple, yet profoundly true. It is Adam’s disobedience of God that caused a need for salvation. After eating the fruit Adam and Eve felt shame before God and hid. That ranks right up there with the saddest moments of the Bible; the point that God’s creation fears Him and hides.  Alongside the first sin was the first blame. When asked why he took the fruit Adam blames Eve, who subsequently blames the devil. We can get caught into that trap pretty easily. I try very hard to never make excuses, but they always slip out. “Oh I’m sorry I was short with you, but I had a bad day” “Oh I’m sorry I said that insensitive thing to you, but how was I supposed to know?” The excuses can go on and on. Adam had one commandment to keep, forget 10 he just had to make sure he never ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. Naturally he is embarrassed and ashamed, and naturally he wants to pretend that it was not his fault. It’s as if I hit a lined out to the shortstop and counted it as a hit because it’s just not fair that he made a good play and if he had not been at that exact spot I would have a hit.

            I am being somewhat hard on Adam, but I’m only attempting to make a point that we are sinful, and often as Christians we can be extremely hard on ourselves. With the first sin came the first sacrifice; God made coverings of animal skin for Adam and Eve. Something had to go through pain for their sin to be wiped away. A sacrifice is needed to save us. While the serpent was correct that Eve would not die immediately, he lied in that Adam and Eve suffered a spiritual death (always read the fine print). That is what Jesus is for, that is why we celebrate this Advent season. Humanity was pretty much done for, God had tried everything and nothing really stuck. Then He made the ultimate sacrifice and came down here to earth.

            We never really think about how amazing that fact is though. How often do you sit down and think, “Wow, I am saved by the blood of Christ.” In Genesis we didn’t just get the story of our creation; we got the beginning of the story of God’s love and involvement with His creation. The past few months have been hard, but my faith has gotten so much stronger than before. Sure I’ve had my highs and lows, but even in my lowest moment I am still loved by God and saved by His sacrifice.

He Loves Us Always

            As promised here is my post for the day. I believe that God spoke to me today, and that I am one step closer to where He wants me to be. I have begun a private Bible study with a close friend (another goodness God has done to me!) and have chosen Genesis. It’s an interesting choice considering we are in the Advent season; my friend brought it up, asking why don’t I choose a book from the New Testament. When he first brought it up I did not have an exact answer, I don’t even remember much of it other than that I did not convince myself. Today I think I found my answer: it is because I need to realize that I need saving and am not forgotten by God.

            I am currently suffering under a bout of anger that refuses to give me peace for more than a moment’s time. It has driven me away from God, and my friends. It is this anger that has caused me to be ashamed of the fact that though I, Tay Tay, am a strong believer in God, writer about His word, and self proclaimed ambassador of Christ, I feel that I have fallen from God’s grace. Reading the beginning of Genesis has shown me something though: that is what we, as people, do.

            I am imperfect, and am in no way going to be close to the standard that God has set for my life. When Adam and Eve bit into the fruit they gave themselves knowledge of the law, and thus the ability to sin. Did they die? Not physically, but they did spiritually. With sin comes separation from God, and that is why Jesus came here on earth. God did everything He could from Heaven, and then tried one last thing: coming down here to live among us and eventually die for us.

            Does that not amaze you? That though we are imperfect, heck though we consciously choose to separate ourselves from God He always reaches out to love us and be with us. I may be in a fog, but I am in no way forgotten by God. He is watching over me, and whispering His guidance into my ears as I type. I allowed myself to be taken away from God’s light, now I need to do everything I can to run back to His open arms. God spoke to me today, and He told me that I am imperfect, but loved despite that. It truly is a miracle. 

A Resolution of Sorts

            So I’ve been thinking about a change that I want to make in my life. I thought to myself, “gosh, it’s too bad that New Year’s is a month away, otherwise I could make a resolution.” Then I remembered that I don’t need to wait, I can make a change now. This blog often suffers when I go through a time of spiritual dryness, but aren’t those the times that I should be writing most about? This blog was not started to follow me through my journey with God, but over the past 5 years that is exactly what it has done. So, I am not going to hide away, instead I am going to write more often than before so I may arrive at an answer to my essential problem: there is a sadness that has settled on my soul that I cannot find the root of. 

            I have seen worse than this—I lost my faith in God, nearly lost a family member, and was deeply hurt by a friend. Have those things stopped me though? Have they kept me from God’s love? The answer is no. So, I resolve from now to whenever I see fit to blog at least once a day. They may not be long, multi-paragraph posts. Heck, they could even be one sentence but I will write and pray and find the answers God is whispering to my soul.

            I have started to read the Bible over again. Over the years the mystic and wonder has left my eyes as reading the Bible has become commonplace. I have read through it in entirety about 4 times, and the New Testament an additional 2 times. With that a familiarity has settled. Now I am starting again with Genesis to recapture that wonderment, to truly understand what God is telling me with His word. He had it written down for a reason, now I must examine it and meditate on it to find out what God wants me to know. The Bible is the ultimate love story: it is a story of God’s love for His people, and His struggle to win us back. Well, I’m going to run back to Him, and that starts now.

            I have thought that my current struggles are something that I should not be going through. I have written many posts over the years, and know that I have at least part of God’s truth and wisdom in my heart. Still I am facing a challenge, and that is nothing to be ashamed of. I am not ashamed to admit that I need prayer and help. Above all I am hopeful and trusting in God’s good grace that He will show me the way. When I reach the point God is leading me to, I will have grown closer to becoming the man God wants me to be. I readily admit that I am weak, or at least I am weak without God’s strength. Until tomorrow I am signing off as I have plenty of homework to do.