"I am with you"
I know - I said I would try to leave out the Bible in these postings. I lied just a bit - forgive me. If you look on the bright side, some of you don't own a Bible, so this may teach you something you never knew before right? The bottom line is nothing I have to say is original. I steal it from God. Sue me.
This is fascinating. Stick with me. There is a book in the Bible called Haggai. God speaks through Haggai to get the governor of Judah and the people to rebuild the House of the Lord (the Temple). There is a world of wisdom and insight from this book, but I will stick to 1 main point. The people obeyed the word from God to rebuild the Temple, but they were full of fears and insecurities. They had to trust that Haggai was truly from God, and that they could actually complete the task of rebuiling the Temple.
But then all of a sudden....
Haggai 1:13-14 - "Then Haggai, the messgenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, saying, I am with you, says the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month." --June 24 which was the release date of Zero & 1ne - interesting sidenote if they were using the same calendar year :-)
There is an infinite difference in the way we live when we know and believe that God is with us. God being with you is the difference between you settling for a boring existence, or getting into a life beyond your wildest imagination. God being with you is the distinction between marrying someone that is average, and marrying the person that will complement your destiny while giving you so much joy. God being with you gives you a reference for making first class decisions. When God is with you, you do not conform to what the world wants to carve out for you. You would not dare to be casual about your potential once God is with you. You would not dare sleep around with whomever you choose looking for love once God is with you. You would no longer see what people can do for you once God is with you. You wouldn't put too much stock in human methodologies and human logic. The odds and statistics that are against you don't place that much weight once God is with you. Your identity and center is based on the fact that God is with you. When people ask you questions, you answer from the place that God is with you. When someone asks what your name is, you know God is with you before telling them what your parents gave you as a name. When someone is romantically interested in you, you know God is with you before you choose to move forward. When someone is luring you, you know God is with you before choosing into temptation. When the lights are off and the doors are closed, you know God is just as much with you in the secret as He is in public. When you can get away with hustling the system and you will never get caught, you know God is with you before and after you reap the small rewards of cheating. When your father, mother, brother and sister all disown you, you know God is with you. When you have no money or food to eat, you know God is with you. When every voice tells you that you are not good enough and can never amount to anything, you know God is with you. When your husband beats you, you know God is with you. When your wife cheats on you, you know God is with you. When your mother dies of cancer at age 9, you know God is with you. When you are forced to leave your own country because the government hates you, you know God is with you. When you get a girl pregnant, you know God is with you. When you are pregnant and your boyfriend leaves you, you know God is with you. When you are under buildings because an earthquake ravaged your country and Pat Robertson says it is because your people made a pact with the Devil, God - the God that loves you so much that He would stop time and move mountains to rescue you - that God, my God, your God - He is with you.
Peace and much love to you - John Baptist.
This is fascinating. Stick with me. There is a book in the Bible called Haggai. God speaks through Haggai to get the governor of Judah and the people to rebuild the House of the Lord (the Temple). There is a world of wisdom and insight from this book, but I will stick to 1 main point. The people obeyed the word from God to rebuild the Temple, but they were full of fears and insecurities. They had to trust that Haggai was truly from God, and that they could actually complete the task of rebuiling the Temple.
But then all of a sudden....
Haggai 1:13-14 - "Then Haggai, the messgenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, saying, I am with you, says the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month." --June 24 which was the release date of Zero & 1ne - interesting sidenote if they were using the same calendar year :-)
There is an infinite difference in the way we live when we know and believe that God is with us. God being with you is the difference between you settling for a boring existence, or getting into a life beyond your wildest imagination. God being with you is the distinction between marrying someone that is average, and marrying the person that will complement your destiny while giving you so much joy. God being with you gives you a reference for making first class decisions. When God is with you, you do not conform to what the world wants to carve out for you. You would not dare to be casual about your potential once God is with you. You would not dare sleep around with whomever you choose looking for love once God is with you. You would no longer see what people can do for you once God is with you. You wouldn't put too much stock in human methodologies and human logic. The odds and statistics that are against you don't place that much weight once God is with you. Your identity and center is based on the fact that God is with you. When people ask you questions, you answer from the place that God is with you. When someone asks what your name is, you know God is with you before telling them what your parents gave you as a name. When someone is romantically interested in you, you know God is with you before you choose to move forward. When someone is luring you, you know God is with you before choosing into temptation. When the lights are off and the doors are closed, you know God is just as much with you in the secret as He is in public. When you can get away with hustling the system and you will never get caught, you know God is with you before and after you reap the small rewards of cheating. When your father, mother, brother and sister all disown you, you know God is with you. When you have no money or food to eat, you know God is with you. When every voice tells you that you are not good enough and can never amount to anything, you know God is with you. When your husband beats you, you know God is with you. When your wife cheats on you, you know God is with you. When your mother dies of cancer at age 9, you know God is with you. When you are forced to leave your own country because the government hates you, you know God is with you. When you get a girl pregnant, you know God is with you. When you are pregnant and your boyfriend leaves you, you know God is with you. When you are under buildings because an earthquake ravaged your country and Pat Robertson says it is because your people made a pact with the Devil, God - the God that loves you so much that He would stop time and move mountains to rescue you - that God, my God, your God - He is with you.
Peace and much love to you - John Baptist.
I guess the question, then, is... if God is with us, and then we still f*** up and behave as though God is no longer with us, is God still with us? Or does he run and hide?
ReplyDeleteHow do we get God to stay...? Or first, how can we know--REALLY know--that God is with us?