To Know You More [11/26/13]

Heavenly Father, 

I want to know you more. I want to discover more of you - more of your character - that I may truly mean it when I say "I love you, Lord." I desire to fall deeply in love with you. I desire for you to be on my mind all day long, I wish to seek you in every waking moment and dream of you as I sleep. Reveal to me your character; help me get to know you! Father, show me who you are through scripture, through testimonies, through nature, through all of your creations. Show me, so that I can fall more and more in love with you with every passing day. 

In Your name, 

Amen. 

For the past couple of months, this has been my prayer. I want to know him more and more because as I do, I believe I will fall deeper in love with him and he will continue to surpass the limited human expectations I have placed on him. As I have been praying this prayer, he has truly been revealing himself to me. He has revealed many of his characteristics that I had previously heard of, but had not really known or understood.

Most recently, God revealed more of himself to me through the book of Deuteronomy. Specifically, through chapters 28 and 30 when Moses knows he is soon to be taken by the Lord and he speaks to the Israelites the commandments, blessings and curses. I encourage you to read them now :)

In chapter 28, what God showed me was his wrath against sin. Moses is speaking of what happens when the commands are obeyed and when they are disobeyed. First, the blessings are spoken of in the first 14 verses. But then, the curses are described from verse 15 to verse 68. The heavy emphasis of what happens to those who disobey the Lord stirred up a new fear in me as I sat in my bed reading. The wrath of God follows sin/the sinner everywhere it goes. Wherever you go, whatever you do, whatever you desire. Anything you take pleasure in or find joy in, will be taken away. As I read line after line, there was only one thought in my head: God hates sin. This passage is when the fear of the Lord began to make much more sense to me. But we'll get back to that later.

Now. Jumping to Deuteronomy 30, I found hope, and another characteristic of the Lord! Two chapters ago, Moses had been describing the blessings that will be given to those who obey, and the curses that fall open those who don't. But in chapter 30, he begins to describe what happens to those who return to the Lord!

Deuteronomy 30:1-4

And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse,

which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among

all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 

and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey

his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart 

and all your soul,

then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you,

and he will gather you again from all the peoples where

the Lord your God has scattered you.

If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven,

from there the Lord your God will gather you, and 

from there he will take you. 

Our God is a compassionate, forgiving and gracious God! For even those who have gone to the lowest of lows, who have strayed the furthest and who have hid the longest have still not gone low enough, far enough, or long enough to be out of God's reach. If, and when, we choose to return to the Lord, he receives us! He does not reject us and leave us, but accepts us and guides us back to the right path. For in verse 6 it says, "and the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."

He himself guides us because he desires for us to turn back to him. He desires for us to love him and trust in him! This desire is shown in verse 14 when it says, "But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it." This very verse is later quoted by Paul in Romans 10:8, but in it he weaves in the gift of the new covenant: Jesus Christ. If we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, then we are saved! Just as Moses and Paul say, to be saved is not an impossible feat. In fact, God has made it very achievable for us because he loves us. He is such a merciful God.

He revealed so much of himself to me through these passages, and as I continued to research and seek, there was more that he revealed. The next thing he helped me to better understand was what it means to fear the Lord. This fear was explained through a sermon I was listening to that described it in a way that made it much clearer!

I'm going to paint a picture for you, so imagine it with me :)

You have some well-earned vacation time and you've gone on a trip to see Niagara Falls. It's your first time going and you're very, very excited as you have heard so much about it but never had the opportunity to witness the majestic beauty with your own two eyes. As you approach the waterfalls you can hear the water crashing down and you can't wait anymore, so you run to the railing! You stand on that little cement block the railing is built on and you lean slightly over the railing to get a better view of the breathtaking waterfalls. But suddenly, since you were so caught up in the moment, you realize you've leaned a little too far. You feel yourself losing balance and you know you're about to fall in. That's when the thought, "I'm about to die," jumps into your head. (If you've ever had a near-death incident, you know what I'm talking about.) But as soon as the thought crosses your mind, somebody grabs you and brings you back to safety. You grab on to them, but you haven't forgotten the sound of the crashing water, the feel of the cool wind on your face, the distance from the railing to the water. Your legs are still trembling and you still feel the fear from what almost happened even though you know you're safe. You grab onto the person who saved you and you never want to let them go.

This is what fearing the Lord is like. As sinners, we were destined for the wrath of God (remember the anger God has towards sin in Deuteronomy 28) - a life of misery and separation from the creator. But the Lord loves us and because of this love, he gave us the choice to choose life over death by accepting and believing in Jesus Christ. This is a gift that I have taken for granted... One that I want to appreciate more, and that has been another one of my prayers. I pray that God will allow me to realize what he saved me from! I believe that as I begin to see and realize what I was rescued from, I will love the Lord my God more and more.

Day by day, I learn more about the one who rescued me. I'm continuously learning and I'm excited to share with you what I'm learning :) Let's share together as we learn more and more about our creator! Don't be afraid to comment, message me, talk to me in person, or whatever method of communication you prefer.

Thanks for reading!

-kjoosaurus out!

Memory of a goldfish [6/4/13]

Hi everybody! :) 

There has been a question in my mind for a few weeks now... And I really can't figure out the answer to this question! 

Is it summer yet? 

The weather has been up and down and all around and it seems as though I can no longer pinpoint what season it is. How confusing! But you know what's cool? Although our walk with God seems to be hectic at times, and there are periods of time when God feels more absent than others, he is always constant and he is always there. No matter what! 

In the past week and a bit that I haven't posted anything, a lot has happened and God has, as usual, been working and revealing new and old things to me! I no longer label my faith as a roller coaster ride, because thankfully, my faith has become more constant. The only roller coaster ride in my faith is how struggles come and go! But I try to welcome these struggles as I am able to participate in the sufferings of Christ and will be overjoyed when his glory is revealed! (1 Peter 4:13) The past couple of weeks have been a test of welcoming new struggles as they have been marked with different struggles where I was tempted let go of my trust in God and tried to deal with the problem myself. 

I love, love, love it when I am able to see what God has been doing my life. I love it when he reveals his plans to me and shows me what he has been teaching me and how he has been doing it! 

Today, I was spending some much needed time reading the word of God when I was lead to read Exodus 14-17. This specific part of Exodus is where the Israelites cross the Red Sea, and rejoice, then seem to forget what God has done for them when they complain for food and water. In Exodus 14:31 it says, "And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant." 

If I were them, I would be exactly the same! What other man or god could split the Red Sea in half and allow us to pass through with safety!? What else is capable of doing this impossible task? From my knowledge, the answer is nobody. There is no one else capable of such amazing works! None but our God! 

As I continued to read Exodus, I read Exodus 17:7 where it says, "And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarrelled and because they tested the Lord saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?" The meaning of Massah is testing and the meaning of Meribah is quarrelling and in my opinion, is that not slightly embarrassing for the Israelites that their lack of trust in God was so significant that they actually named the place after their doubt? 

From fear to testing - what a distinct contrast between Exodus 14 and Exodus 17! When I read this, I actually started chuckling a little bit. How inconsistent and foolish humans are. We say we fear the Lord one moment, and the next moment we test him? You would think that once you walked through a parted sea, you would always fear God and trust in him and his provision. But nope! We always end up doubting him and sometimes forgetting the amazing things he has done for us! 

As I read Exodus, God was gently telling me that I am no different from the Israelites. I as well have seen God do amazing things in my life, only to forget the next week and go back to my foolish ways of doubt. And I think this is the case for many people! If this is you, then you are not alone! We are often called to trust in God, in his provision and trust that his plan will be unraveled in his time, but we still end up worrying about whatever situation is causing us to struggle and we try to put things in our own control. 

So brothers and sisters, I want to encourage each and every one of you to remind yourselves of who our God is - how powerful, wonderful and caring he is. We should also encourage one another in these times (and all other times)! As I have had several different struggles entering my life recently, I was blessed to have brothers and sisters that continued to remind me to just trust in the Lord - be constant in prayer and thanksgiving to the Lord for what he does in my life. Praise the Lord!

May we trust in the Lord always! :) 

- kjoosaurus out!

His Perfect Timing [01/24/13]

Hello all! 

It's another freezing cold day here in Ottawa and according to the Ottawa Citizen, "Ottawa was colder than Iqaluit on Wednesday, as the windchill-adjusted temperature hit a low of -40." Being from Vancouver where the climate is generally warmer, this cold weather has the tendency to bring my mood lower and lower and lower... Just like the temperature! I then tend to become very impatient with people and react unreasonably, but today as I was going about with a frown on my face, God was gently reminding me to be patient and loving to everybody rather than rash and impatient. 

In this modern society, we are always so busy with the distractions of life. We have to go to work, school, some have kids to take care of, others have extra-curricular activities to attend, and the list is just never-ending! Also, there's the topic of technology. Everything is instant. We have high-speed internet, we can text people, and we get frustrated when things begin to lag and slow down. We begin to grow accustomed to this speedy life and we become impatient with anything that doesn't move at the same pace as the rest of our life.

Do you find yourself getting upset when somebody is taking their precious, sweet time to make your coffee in the morning? Do you find yourself getting frustrated when the line at the grocery store is so long and you've already been standing there for five minutes?

Just like the way I expect everything in my life to be instant, I also expect everything from God to be instant. I often find myself expecting him to answer my many prayers right away. I want him to tell me exactly what to do as SOON as I pray, and when he tells me to wait, I get impatient and frustrated! 

But, although it may be difficult to remember, God's timing is always the best timing possible! 

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

God already has a time set out for everything and we have to wait for his answer before taking action. If you're like me, this doesn't happen very often. There are times when we can become extremely impulsive. We rely on our own knowledge and strength and we take matters into our own hands. 

Just as we act impulsively, there are many figures in the bible that acted impulsively as well. An extreme example might be Moses.

Exodus 2:11-12¹¹ One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. ¹² Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 

Like Moses, we become blinded by our emotions. We react impulsively and we do it without consulting God. Even though our heart may be in the right place, the actions we perform might not be suitable for the situation! We're so used to acting in the present. When we see something we don't like, we want to change it right away but that isn't always what God has planned for us. Sometimes God might want us to act right away, but his method may be different from our own. We should always be looking up towards him instead of around us! 

God has perfect timing for everything, and all we have to do is ask him when to do what and how. He will tell us! He might not always answer our prayers right away, but he will never leave a prayer unanswered. :) 

Thanks for reading~

-kjoosaurus out!