God – Page 3 – trippingdifferently

February 17, 2012February 11, 2012

The danger of trying to please God

Being a Christian is not an issue of doing but being… you don’t do this or that and viola! You are a Christian!

No, being a Christian is about being… being who God created us to be – His Child!

God loves us. Period. God loves each and every single human being who ever lived, who is living now, who will live in the future. The Good, The Bad, The Rich, The Poor and everyone in between.

Tobias at 5 months — Just as you look at this baby and can't help but love him, so God looks at you and can't help but love you, just for being you.

Like a parent looks at his/her child and loves the child, just because he/she is his/her child. It is the same with God. We just have to be His Child. We have to accept our position as His and His alone.

Just as a parent wishes and is most pleased when a child is obedient, so God is glad when we obey His Commandments. But it is not our obeying which makes Him love us, just as it’s not the child’s obedience which triggers a parent’s love. The parent loves the child even before the child is able to obey.

So here’s the order it should go in… at least, here’s the order i believe it should go in:

God Loves Us. We accept His Love; accept that we are His Children – this is Faith. Then we respond in Love, and this is where Obedience to His Word comes in and following the leading of His Holy Spirit and the rest, they say, is HIStory 😉

Sounds easy? Well, its way harder in reality because we have our human natures working against us. The human nature which says that if we do not do, then we are not moving forward and moving forward is very important. It says if we do not do, then we are not. False.

What is true is that we are, simply, because God made us to be… to be His, for His Glory, to worship Him and live in harmony with Him and the wonderful plans He has for us. And we are not helpless, He sent us His Spirit to guide us; all we have to do is listen and follow.

Below is the article which inspired these thoughts.

The danger of trying to please God | Rick Thomas.

i know i have reduced it to rather simplistic terms but in my mind that’s how i got it worked out.

syc

PS: i’m not the “Sandra” in the article… in case u misunderstand, but i am (to borrow a friend’s words) a recovering people-pleaser.

PPS: That cutie in the photo is my beloved son at 5 months. 😀

February 1, 2012February 1, 2012

Blessings for You…

As Paul prayed for the Thessalonians in 1Thessalonians 3:12-13, so i pray for you…

blessings20120201 — Closeup of red flower - gift for Christmas 2011.

May God’s Blessings be poured out in your lives.

May His Glory shine upon you.

May you reflect this glory and be a blessing to others.

May His Holy Spirit continue to strengthen you

and give you courage to follow the path God has laid out for you

as you walk this earth with Jesus Christ by your side, looking Heavenward.

syc

January 21, 2012January 21, 2012

Fear of Success,Am I Worth It?

i came across this blog called, FindingMyWorth – Realizing A Woman’s Worth. It is a blog which is definitely worth the time spent reading it.

At the moment, this is my favourite post (see title of post, link to the full blog post below).

i read it and i went “OMG, that is me!” You see, i have always been very content to just go with the flow of life. One of the things i used to always say (and likely still say it a fair bit) is “If life throws you lemons, make lemonade.” Now there is completely nothing wrong with the saying. It is a great saying which encourages one to make the best of life and we do need to do that so that we can move forwards instead of wallowing in self-pity. But after reading this piece, i feel that maybe sometimes, with regards to certain things, i have just been letting things slide; i have not been going out there, not doing something about making my dreams come true.

When she spoke about the reasons why we may not have successes in our lives is:

1. Fear

2. Worth

i looked at myself and realised – YES, that is soooo very true. i have been afraid of success, afraid of changing the status quo because truth be told, my life is good. And i Thank God each day how wonderful, how blessed my life has been. But if… if i move forward and go for gold, what would happen? Would my family and friends still see me as the same person? Would the success make me change and become someone i would not recognise or even dislike? i admit it – i have also placed a great emphasis on what people think of me – i am a people-pleaser (now that is yet another post). And of course i fear what everyone normally does, failure – what would they think of me if i failed? Would they think “oh she’s so silly to have gone for it in the first place.”?

Why do i think that way? Because i never thought very much of myself – my self-esteem was low. That is the second point she makes. Now i have to say this – my parents are fantastic parents, nothing short of absolutely marvelous, and yet somehow i got it into my head that i am not good enough. Oh, it was subtle the way this “not good enough” crept into my mind without me even knowing, let alone realising, what it was. So that’s how i ended up getting “approval” from others around me and i have not really lived my own life.

selfworth20120121 — Lotus Flower (Hardy Water Lily) one of the most hardy plants around - i wanna bloom like this.

Fear of Success,Am I Worth It | findingmyworth.

i believe that if God had not been a part of my life, i would have been so very lost, lost trying to find my worth in this rather harsh world we live in. He gave me a direction in my life and He told me i was worth so much that He sent His Only to die for me. Thank You Jesus.

syc

PS: Even though the post speaks directly to women, i firmly believe that both men and women need to hear this – People you are all precious and worthy of love and success. So go get it!