Is Loving God Really A Sacrifice?

Today as I was speaking with my best friend Barbie God gave me a revelation. We were talking about a friend who continued to ask for advice on their walk with God but refused to listen to what we were trying to tell them. As we were talking about why this person might be so against what we were trying to tell them God began to reveal something in me.

We as people are creatures of comfort especially when it comes to our daily routines and lives. Its no different when we think about our walk with God. Many people find their comfort zone in God and don't want to move out of it for fear of where God will take them. I recently described a similar situation I went through in my last post. To put it short, God was pulling me out of a comfort zone I'd been in and I spent a brief period of time trying to turn away from that pull. But through that I realized that my love for God was stronger than my fear of the future. I was scared of the sacrifices I may have to make for God, as many of us are. I didn't realize at the time that that sacrifice wasn't truly a sacrifice as I saw it. It was simply a way for God to grow me closer to Him.

We are often not taught that when we come to Jesus that sacrifice is necessary. The church has failed in properly spreading the word of God. We are scared of telling people that they will have to give up lifestyles, things, ideas, and actions. When we evangelize we tell people that they can be saved and have eternal life but we leave out all the important bits of salvation. If we as a people want to get closer to God then we must follow Him in all things and not try to twist His words to fit our beliefs. We will have to give things up and make sacrifices. Many pastors and evangelists are afraid of telling people this and as a result we are surrounded by Christians who don't know the gravity of what they have decided. Christians who believe that they have a form of "Life Insurance" instead of a relationship with God.

The lie that we as a people fall into is that the sacrifices we make for God will hurt us or be negative in some way towards us. But as I said that is a lie. Once we've experienced the love God has for us we become even more obsessed with Him. Our love for God grows along with our desire to get closer to Him. In our desire to grow in Him we begin to lose our desire for the things of this world. I'm not saying that we completely stop enjoying these things or that it's simple to give some things up but it is easier. Once you've experienced the love of God what is there to compare to it? What could you possibly go back to that could measure up to His love and mercy?

People who have not yet experienced God's love, or even learned to accept His love will fall back into their old 'comforts' and habits in an effort to keep from the fear of uncertainty like my friend has. But if you've felt God's love then you can try to turn away from God but He is a jealous God and will always draw you back through His love and through your desire to know Him more. If you wont speak about sacrifice than you don't know God's love truly. In John 15:14 Jesus tells us that "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." Jesus showed us the ultimate sacrifice in dying for us. His sacrifice was not only a sacrifice itself but it was love. Love for us, and a desire to see us closer to Him.

We can try all we like to satisfy ourselves with this world, but really comes of that? It is meaningless in the end if it is not for God. Ecclesiastes says it best when it says that everything is meaningless, and that everything under the sun has been done before. The entire book goes on like this describing the many things we could give our time and attention to in an effort to find meaning and fulfillment in life. Each time the writer describes the task as meaningless. The only thing he finds that has any meaning or sense of fulfillment is in the Lord. Not only does he write that we find our meaning in the Lord but every good thing in our lives is a gift of God and should be enjoyed and treated as such.

So what I'm trying to say is don't be afraid of sacrifice, it only leads to a greater love and a greater walk with God. You can try the things of this world, but until you begin to seek after God with everything in you and become willing to give up the things He's asking you to give up then you will only find emptiness. When you do begin to follow through with what He desires for you then life will take on new meaning and you will find breakthrough in the things you are struggling with. Give your all to God and see where He takes you. I dare you.

More Verses:

The book of Ecclesiastes in general

Wrapped Up In Fear

We are all scared of something, and sometimes we are even petrified by that fear. I’m personally terrified of cockroaches and anything that looks remotely like one. If I spot one I’ll stare it down until I can work up the courage to smash it into oblivion. But I don’t let the fear of the bug stop me from dealing with the situation or handling the problem. Many times the presence of the fear drives me to put more effort into dispelling it.

This same thing happens in our spiritual lives. We can allow irrational fears to hold us back in our walk with God. When I was younger I let the fear of eternity and what would happen to us after we died keep me from pursuing a deeper worship relationship with God. I know that probably sounds odd to you, why would any Christian be afraid of spending eternity in Heaven? But to me when I was younger the simplest thought of eternity terrified me. Somehow I’d gotten it into my head that when we went to Heaven we would spend eternity worshiping God like robots. I didn’t want to be a robot with no free will and I was not looking forward to having to be that way. I let this fear tear at me secretly for years. It got so bad that I would walk out of the room if anyone even mentioned the end times or eternity.

But finally one day my youth pastor at the time began to speak on eternity and tell us how we were being prepared on Earth for our Heavenly jobs and the purpose that God had for us in eternity. He told us that he believed that Heaven wasn’t simply going to be a big party but that we would have assignments from God to do even there. After hearing this message I felt a sense of peace wash over me that I’d never experienced before. This was an explanation of eternity that made sense to me and my fears were relieved. From then on I found myself able to worship with a newfound joy and my walk with God has blossomed because of it. Now there are few things I like better than locking myself away for a few hours and just spending time worshiping and praying to God.

Do you have fears that eat away at you like mine did? Is it something that you’ve let hold you back from getting closer to the Lord? Don’t let those fears control you any longer. Get in prayer with God and ask Him for revelation about them you could also go to a seasoned believer who you trust and tell them the fear and ask for advice. Psalms 56:3-4 tells us, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?” Fear can be a crushing device of the enemy and it will hold you back from the purpose God has for your life.

Your fear may be of a different kind. Recently I’ve been growing much closer to God at an amazing rate. But I began to become afraid of my future in God, just where was He taking me? What was He going to ask me to give up that I wasn’t ready to? And was I really ready to devote the kind of time to God that He needed to take me to the place He wanted me to be? This fear caused me to briefly throw myself into a form of escapism, devoting far too much time to videogames, tv, books, and the internet while giving God very limited time. After only a day (thank the Lord) of this I grew sick of it. I felt terrible and weighted down by exhaustion. Trying to run away from God was far more exhausting than anything I’d ever done. The very next day I threw myself back into God and found myself immediately refreshed. I realized that my desire to grow closer to the Lord and fall more in love with Him was stronger than my fear of the future. 1 John 4:18 tells us that, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” Once we’ve experienced God’s perfect love all fear should be cast out of us. Fear is a tool of Satan to try and keep you from moving forward in your walk with Christ.

Whatever your fears may be remember not to let them control you. Have faith in the Lord and take them to Him. God will always take care of you. Psalm 139:2-3 says, “You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them…You know thoroughly everything I do.” He knows everything about you and will be with you always. He wants you to grow closer to Him and fear can hold you back from that. Give your fears to God, seek advice, and push through those fears that strive to hold you back. An excellent quote on fear I found is from A. B. Simpson who said, “Fear is born of Satan, and if we would only take time to think a moment we would see that everything Satan says is founded upon a falsehood.” This is so true the bible says in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” How better to accomplish this than to put fear into your heart? With fear the devil can steal your joy, kill your dreams, and destroy your future. Don’t let him fool you into fear, let it make you strive to grow even closer to God. I dare you.

More Verses to Consider:

Romans 8:15

Deuteronomy 31:6                

Psalms 27:1

Matthew 21:21-22

2 Timothy 1:6

Psalm 34:5

Luke 1:37

Stop All The Worrying

When it comes to doing things for God we waste a lot of time trying to figure things out. I’m currently attending a bible college and recently we had a guest speaker and his wife speaking on prophecy and on letting God work through you in order to further His kingdom during our lecture hour. One day they asked us to get with a partner and pray over them then ask God to reveal something about them to us that He needed/wanted our partner to hear. When I did this exercise I spent most of the prayer time worrying about what God wanted me to tell my partner. When it came time for me to tell my partner what God had spoken into me I froze up, I had no idea what He wanted me to say. It was terrifying, thankfully once I got started talking God began to move and I was able to tell my partner what God wanted me to say in the first place. I had wasted so much time worrying that I almost missed what God wanted me to say.

This is a problem Christians face every day. We are asked by God to do something for Him and we blow it by trying to figure out what He wants us to do. It’s not just when we are telling someone what God wants them to hear but when God prompts us to speak to someone about Him or when we feel like we should give money to a visiting missionary or even when we feel like the person sitting in front of us needs a friend. We waste time wondering things like, well what if they don’t want to listen? What if they cuss me out? Will I have enough money for the week if I give to that person? Will they turn me away? Sometimes we worry that we won’t know what to say when the time comes. We think that we need to know exactly what to say and because we don’t then its not going to work. But that’s not how God wants us to follow Him. Sometimes its just best to act now think later when it comes to listening to God. In Matthew 6:30-33 (NKJV) Jesus tells us,

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

He is telling us here not to worry about the little things, as in what were going to wear and where our money is going to come from. As long as we are doing what the Lord asks us to do then He will provide for us. Not only does the bible tell us not to worry about our finances and daily needs but it also tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:12 “Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech” Here we are told to be bold for Christ because of our faith in Him.

The next day of classes the guest speaker finished they asked us to find another partner and we were going to put into practice what he’d just spoken on. This time we weren’t going to pray over the person first but we were going to declare what God wanted to tell them. The guest speaker asked us to think of one thing that we needed breakthrough for in our lives and to tell it to our partner. You can imagine how I felt faced with this new task, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do this exercise but I had faith that God could and would give me the word He wanted my partner to hear. I was partnered with a person that I’d never met before, she was a wonderful young lady who was bright and outspoken, but she was having problems giving her testimony to someone God had told her to share it with and wanted breakthrough in that area. The preacher asked us not to pray over the person but to say “I command that in the name of Jesus you will have breakthrough over…” and to let God’s word flow through us after that. When it came my turn to speak over my partner I took a deep breath and said the words, as I said them I felt the Spirit of God moving through me and before I knew it I was speaking words over her life that I’d never even thought to say. I didn’t waste time trying to figure out what God wanted me to say I just said the words we’d been told to say and then everything came naturally.

I almost lost my chance to do what God wanted me to do by worrying about not saying the right thing and worrying about what I was suppose to say. But the second time I didn’t worry, I simply trusted God and my partner was blessed for it. How much more would we get done for God if we simply trusted Him when He asked us to do something? How many people would be touched and changed for Christ if we would just open up our mouths and tell them about the love of Jesus? God is not asking you to talk to that person because He wants to see you fail, He wants to see them changed and He knows that you are the person who can help them. The bible says that God will never give you more than you can bear and He will never send you some place your not ready for. Romans 8:31 (NKJV) says, “What then shall we say against these things? If God is for us who can be against us?” So why worry about failure when God is with you?

If you are stuck by fear or even doubt then even after reading this then I challenge you to think about how much that person NEEDS the love of Jesus in their life before you let the opportunity slip away. Go out and talk to someone about God without worrying about it. I dare you.  

More Verses to consider:

Luke 12:31
2 Timothy 41:5
 Psalm 111: 5

2 Corinthians 9: 10

Luke 12: 24