Day 13 + 14

I'm only going to gloss over 13.. partly because I really like Day 14 hehe.

"God wants all of us." and Jesus even says it in the book of Mark - that God wants all our of hearts, all of our spirits, and all of our minds, and all of our strengths; after all, He gave it to us in the first place.

Matt Redman wrote a song with lyrics saying:

I'l bring You more than a song,
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within,
Through the way things appear,
You're looking into my heart.

Song and praise isn't the whole package. Anyone can sing and anyone can praise. Anyone can also worship with their entire heart, soul, mind, and strength, but the thing is, are they willing and trying to?

Warren says "Passive worship" is an oxymoron. Being this rather seclusive person I am, for a while I actually thought in my head "Passive worship is okay, because I'm a quiet person" (= ="...). Well, it depends how you define "Passive worship" I guess, because I know worship is done in everything we do - from speaking to thinking to eating to walking to writing to EVERYTHING!~ But I do not want to be a passive worshiper :[ I'm not really open about my relationship with Christ, other than on here and a few other places - not even in church where it's a perfect chance to be open. D: Is that bad?

Warren asks us to consider "Which is more pleasing to God right now - my public worship or my private worship? What will I do about this?" I admit I do need to go to church constantly to 'replenish' my spirit, but sometimes, I'd rather just worship and have alone time with God, one-on-one.

Is that BAD?! D::

[So much for "glossing over" x_____x]

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DAY 14 :]

"God is real, no matter how you feel."
No matter how much you feel God is distant from your or maybe you feel He's even abandoned you - He HASN'T. He's there! He's always there! He's too loving and gracious to abandon us without reason!

"What do you mean 'without reason', Tiffany?"

WELL (obviously I don't get this knowledge from myself xP), God tests us many times throughout or lives to see how faithful we can remain. We may search for feelings, but God wants faith and trust of him, not the feeling of his presence.

"He has promised repeatedly 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' But God has not promised 'you will always feel my presence.' In fact, God admits that sometimes he hides his face from us."

I guess we all need to recognize that this is a test of our faith and a development for our relationship with God. Job said "I go east, bu he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find him. But he knows where I am going. And when he has testmed me like gold in a fire, he will pronounce me innocent."

Even when we feel everything is stripped away from us - praise God! Warren lists because that He is good and loving; He is all-powerful; He notices every detail of my life; He is in control; He has a plan for my life; He will save me. "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." It's also a test to see how mundane we are or are not? I remember when in 'Reba' the character Van said something similar to this xP And I always though, hmm that's a reasonable way to leave this earth haha.

Okay I HAVE to quote these three giant paragraphs because they are just so TRUE:

"Unfortunately, we forget the cruel details of the agonizing sacrifice God made on our behalf. Familiarity breeds complacency. Even before his crucifixion, the Son of God was stripped naked, beaten until almost unrecognizable, whipped, scorned and mocked, crowned with thorns, and spit on contemptuously. Abused and ridiculed by heartless men, he was treated worse than an animal.

"Then, nearly unconscious from blood loss, he was forced to drag a cumbersome cross up a hill, was nailed to it, and was left to die the slow, excruciating torture of death by crucifixion. While his lifeblood drained out, hecklers stood by and shouted insults, making fun of his pain and challenging his claim to be God.

"... as Jesus took all of mankind's sin and guilt on himself, God looked away from that ugly sight, and Jesus cried out in total desperation, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Jesus could have saved himself -- but then he could not have saved you".

I wish I could share all the teeny details of the things flowing around in my mind, but now I will actually respond to today's reading. I guess when we are in suffering, when we are in any kind of pain, it's okay to feel bad, but it's not really okay to begin to lose faith in God. He knows what He's doing! I am faithful - and I have been running to Him with any trouble I have had lately. I want people to do the same (is that selfish?), well I want ANYONE to do the same - mostly because we're not suffering the most painful thing in the world. The most painful torture was done on Jesus Christ! He drank the world's sin! That's disgusting! Yet He could care less of all this sin, because of His love for us He wouldn't break. (why does it take pain to get my emotions running .__.)



"Jesus gave up everything so you could have everything."