Writeous Living http://writeousliving.posterous.com Most recent posts at Writeous Living posterous.com Sun, 13 Feb 2011 23:57:36 -0800 Sick of My "Self" http://writeousliving.posterous.com/sick-of-my-self http://writeousliving.posterous.com/sick-of-my-self That's right...I'm sick of my "self." I'm sick of how she acts. For the past few weeks, I have been living Paul's conundrum. You know, the one where he says, "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate" (Romans 7:15 NLT). What is this all about? As good as our intentions may be, we still do what our "self" wants to do in the end. Paul says, "...I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway" (verses 18b-19). Why, at times, does this seem to be the headline for the story of my life? For a long time I prided myself as being the girl who did what she said and knew what she stood for. But that girl got saved.  Pride went out the window. Now, as the developing of a Godly woman ensues, there is no shortage of struggles or distractions in the way to deter the progress. So what's wrong with me? Why can't I just get my act together? How long will I continue to fight the same battles and struggle with the same things? Paul - "I have discovered this principle of life - that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?" (verses 21-24)... All I have to say is, preach it! My circumstance may be the same or very different from yours...if you struggle with binge drinking (or anything else that is so common today) - that's no different from filling my schedule with every pointless activity under the sun (which I tend to do) and leave no room for God (which happens far too often). No different from my surrendering something and then holding onto the corner of it in order to maintain some kind of control. What is the difference? Neither of us are getting to know God any better because our "self" is getting in the way and doing what s/he wants to do. "Self" is inhibiting our ability to trust God. So, what can we do??? I can't stay in this trap...I'm sick of it. I'm growing restless and...angry. There is more to life than what currently is. "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin" (verse 25). Jesus already forgave us for letting our "self" run wild...but that doesn't give us the excuse to continue. Let's bust out of this joint because I'm sick of spending time with my "self"...I need Someone better...Someone who can teach me about the things I can only dream about. Are you sick of your "self" yet?

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Fri, 21 Jan 2011 22:50:17 -0800 9 Reasons Why I Used to Be a Christian http://writeousliving.posterous.com/9-reasons-why-i-used-to-be-a-christian http://writeousliving.posterous.com/9-reasons-why-i-used-to-be-a-christian  
Living in the United States allows us the freedom to choose a religion (at least by law). Although we are granted the freedom legally, there are many reasons why we choose (or choose not) to follow a religion. The following are reasons I have used to justify being a Christian.
 
  1. Escaping Hell. Anyone who knows anything about hell would understand why becoming a Christian would be an intelligent decision. Since John 3:16 says that all I had to do was “believe” in order to escape hell, I had decided that I believed.
  2. Lack of Responsibility. Hell was taken care of because I believed. If I sinned, I knew Jesus would forgive me. So, no matter what I did – I believed that I wasn’t going to hell.
  3. Expectation. Since I was raised by a family professing to be Christian, naturally – it made sense that I would also proclaim to be one. It was the religion I was most familiar with and I knew the traditions and practices of the faith. Besides, I was confirmed so I was obligated to be a Christian – right?
  4. Being a Good Person. Aside from my family expecting me to be a Christian, I wanted to be considered a good person. Most good people are “Christians” and so if I was a Christian – that automatically made me a good person. Jesus was a good person, so following Him means I had to be a good person too. While being a good person, I often looked at those who weren’t and pointed out how much better I was because I did what was good.
  5. Rewards. Good people are often rewarded. If I prayed and asked for something, God would give it to me – right? Why wouldn’t He? I’ve heard a million times, “ask and you shall receive.” Who doesn’t enjoy gifts? Bring them on!
  6. In-Crowd, Identity. Who doesn’t want to belong? Since the U.S. has a history of being a Christian nation – it has been safe to be a Christian and easy to find others that identify themselves in the same manner. To be a Christian has been to have a recognizable/familiar identity and to have a network of “brothers” tied together that were always “available” to help you.
  7. A Fix for Bad Times. Who really wants to keep walking through bad times? Let’s face it – realistically, we are a people who like to complain…especially if you live in the tundra like I do. So, if God is a healer or provider – I will go to Him in hard times and ask for help. When things are going well though, I didn’t need Him as much though.
  8. Singing and Dancing. I started dancing to country music (I didn’t have a choice in the matter) when I was just a young lass and I started singing in choir when I was in third grade. Music has always held a special place in my heart. Attending a church that allows you to sing and dance during worship was like hitting the jackpot. If that’s what being a Christian meant – I was hooked.
  9. Supernatural Works. Who wouldn’t want to make people come alive after they’ve already been pronounced dead? Who doesn’t want to be able to tell the future? I do! Who doesn’t want to be able to make an arm grow back? This stuff all sounds like magic. Magicians are typically credited as being amazing! I wanted this kind of attention.
Hell sounds crazy scary – naturally we would want to escape it. We want to meet the expectations of others and please our family/friends. Being considered a good person is important to us, but there are plenty of bad people who call themselves Christians – or…plenty of Christians who do bad things. No one wants their efforts to go unnoticed, we all like to be recognized. Everyone wants to be accepted instead of ostracized or alienated. Where do we turn when we experience pain if no one is around? I need someone to help me when times are hard – I need some comfort and relief. I want to jump around and sing at the top of my lungs sometimes – just because I can. And I want to do crazy things that people have never seen before. But we all want to do that stuff…we all want this. But for me, these reasons weren’t enough to keep me around very long. These things are what most people know about Christianity and they don’t stick around either. As a people, we want more – and if this is what it means to be a Christian, it's too cheap of a religion. Count me out, I don't want to be a Christian.

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Sun, 02 Jan 2011 18:31:19 -0800 Keepin' It Real...24:7 http://writeousliving.posterous.com/keepin-it-real247 http://writeousliving.posterous.com/keepin-it-real247 Think about the biggest stressor in your life right now. Got it? Now, listen carefully – the thing you are most worried about may not be your biggest problem in life. In fact, the real "biggest" problem we face is something we’re usually least worried about…Wanna guess what it is? Here’s something to get you thinking…

We talk ourselves into loving someone within a matter of minutes - but we don’t have a clue how to love the One who loved us first – the One who has always loved us. We spend hundreds of dollars on clothes to make us feel attractive and feel like we belong – but we don’t know the One we belong to and we allow ourselves to remain distanced from Him. We can spend hours with someone we care about (or are interested in), but we only have a few minutes for Him before we need to get other “stuff” done. We have a list of things we’d like for Him to do but are unsure if we have time or if we would be willing to do what He asks. We get riled up at football games but worship with one eye open and sing between yawns.

Here it is, as real as I can be – Jesus Christ thought of me and all of the junk I've done to mess things up. His love was strong enough, and my sin was great enough to keep Him hanging on my cross. He gave up His life to put our behinds back in line, enabling us to keep walking forward with Him…even though we’re a mess. Oscar de la Renta can’t design something more beautiful than this and it’s something Bill Gates can’t afford to buy. My biggest problem isn’t finding a job or waiting for my husband to come and get me. My biggest problem is not being honest with myself or Him about my apathy…and I fear that many have fallen short alongside of me. It’s easy to become wrapped up in our daily struggles…but the biggest problem we face? Not knowing who He is. About the time we start feeling like we have a handle on our relationship with Him is about the time we need to be hitting the floor on our knees because we’re walking the tightrope of apathy. Jeremiah 24:7 says,

“I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.”

Praise God that we don’t have to try and get our act together on our own because I’d give up. He said He’ll give us the heart (the desire) – if only we recognize His place in our lives. I’m preaching to myself here… When you feel you’ve messed up too many times, or if you feel that your current circumstances are about to swallow you up – just remember to “keep it real,” 24:7. Let God put our priorities back in check.

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