ME, ME, and ME ONLY.
Actually its about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit PERIOD.
I remember I would listen to Pastors preaching about "dying to yourself" and "solely giving your life up to the Lord" so you can find the fulfilment that you've been missing and I would just stare and think what the heck are they talking about? First of all how do you kill yourself without committing suicide when your told to die to yourself? Thank you Pastors for the confusion of an odd analogy. :) Then the selfish heart can be a stubborn nuisance, which in my case caused a blockage in my relationship with God.
It's a sucky feeling when you know friends or people in general only call you when they need something from you. You know what I'm talking about, free loaders and the users and abusers. But we've all fallen into that name at some point in our lives. How do you think God feels when your praying only about yourself? Or when you go to church because you need something from him? Then when we're happy and we got our prayers answered, we're fine and we act like we don't need him. Our prayers become routinely and our drive to serve becomes less of a priority. I was free loading God and was completely oblivious to why I couldn't feel the Holy Spirit. God became an option to my problems and I was treating him like chocolate. I only eat it when I want something sweet and when I'm having my girl moments. :/
God slapped me in the face with an amazing sermon that made me realize how selfish I was being. A lot of changes are happening in my life and I was having trouble letting go of the dreams I created for myself. The funny thing is that for the longest time I was praying how I wanted to serve and commit, but I wasn't allowing that to happen because I was living for myself. I let my dreams be my priority and I was asking God to make it happen for me. But why would God do that if I wasn't loving him only using him? Then I read this simple yet powerful verse that broke my oblivion.
Matthew 22:37-39
37 Jesus replied:"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it:"Love your neighbor as yourself."
Pretty deep and straight to the point. I love Jesus for his forwardness and way for shutting me up.
So I get the whole dying to yourself mantra and I'm completely okay with that because I found something better than my dreams. Giving up a dream can sometimes be the best and unquestionable thing to do. I killed my dream but birthed a new one: Living and Loving God. I found an unexpected journey with God filled with blessings and a promising future. So dying to yourself is not a bad thing but living for God can never go wrong. God is not a free loader but his love is definitely free, and he is willing to give more than what we can imagine if we truly seek and love him. I know if we do this first he will see our hearts and do what he promised.
Look Psalm 37:3-4
3.Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.4.Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
SEE!!!
I hope you find this encouraging in your personal struggles with your dreams, passions, and relationship with God. No matter where we stand in life we are called to love God and love people. Now that is a great start to a great dream and promising future. :)
Love,
Tanya
P.S. For your beauty sleep.
Proverbs 12:17
Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you.
Please be kind :) I don't like mean people :(
I remember I would listen to Pastors preaching about "dying to yourself" and "solely giving your life up to the Lord" so you can find the fulfilment that you've been missing and I would just stare and think what the heck are they talking about? First of all how do you kill yourself without committing suicide when your told to die to yourself? Thank you Pastors for the confusion of an odd analogy. :) Then the selfish heart can be a stubborn nuisance, which in my case caused a blockage in my relationship with God.
It's a sucky feeling when you know friends or people in general only call you when they need something from you. You know what I'm talking about, free loaders and the users and abusers. But we've all fallen into that name at some point in our lives. How do you think God feels when your praying only about yourself? Or when you go to church because you need something from him? Then when we're happy and we got our prayers answered, we're fine and we act like we don't need him. Our prayers become routinely and our drive to serve becomes less of a priority. I was free loading God and was completely oblivious to why I couldn't feel the Holy Spirit. God became an option to my problems and I was treating him like chocolate. I only eat it when I want something sweet and when I'm having my girl moments. :/
God slapped me in the face with an amazing sermon that made me realize how selfish I was being. A lot of changes are happening in my life and I was having trouble letting go of the dreams I created for myself. The funny thing is that for the longest time I was praying how I wanted to serve and commit, but I wasn't allowing that to happen because I was living for myself. I let my dreams be my priority and I was asking God to make it happen for me. But why would God do that if I wasn't loving him only using him? Then I read this simple yet powerful verse that broke my oblivion.
Matthew 22:37-39
37 Jesus replied:"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it:"Love your neighbor as yourself."
Pretty deep and straight to the point. I love Jesus for his forwardness and way for shutting me up.
So I get the whole dying to yourself mantra and I'm completely okay with that because I found something better than my dreams. Giving up a dream can sometimes be the best and unquestionable thing to do. I killed my dream but birthed a new one: Living and Loving God. I found an unexpected journey with God filled with blessings and a promising future. So dying to yourself is not a bad thing but living for God can never go wrong. God is not a free loader but his love is definitely free, and he is willing to give more than what we can imagine if we truly seek and love him. I know if we do this first he will see our hearts and do what he promised.
Look Psalm 37:3-4
3.Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.4.Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
SEE!!!
I hope you find this encouraging in your personal struggles with your dreams, passions, and relationship with God. No matter where we stand in life we are called to love God and love people. Now that is a great start to a great dream and promising future. :)
Love,
Tanya
P.S. For your beauty sleep.
Proverbs 12:17
Your kindness will reward you, but your cruelty will destroy you.
Please be kind :) I don't like mean people :(
God works in mysterious ways... He leads you to others both good and bad. However, he leaves it up to you to decipher. He waits to see how you treat others, especially those who reach out to you. Although you may not realize it at first... Even if you only reach out to him only every time you need something... He is always forgiving and always there for you. So when he waits to see how you treat others he places in your life, he waits to see if his love truly does live within you. Always remember... You are the light of the Lord...
ReplyDelete