Do you remember when you were young, and as you would fall asleep, you would cling to a stuffed animal? Then in the morning the animal would be at the foot of your bed, maybe on the floor, or even clear across the room?
I've noticed that in many ways this is like one's relationship with God. One day, we're clinging to God, praying, reading the Bible, worshipping. The next, you're slacking. Not making the right choices, not praying, you skip the Bible.
Pretty soon, your whole life is like that. One day, your clinging; another you're slacking.
This is something I need to work on. I need to work on reading my Bible every day, praying more often, and stuff like that --- for me. I am getting better. I pray every night and every morning. I am praying more each day. Doing these things keeps me focused on what really matters.
What a lot of people do (and this is not a good thing) is they are only really close to God during hard times in their lives. Then, they go back to their old ways after the bad times have passed. It shouldn't be that way. We should be willing to pursue a relationship with God at any time.
God is pursuing a relationship with you all the time. It's just a matter of when you are ready to complete the circle.
God wants more than anything for you to know him as a Father. When you die, and you're standing at the gates of heaven, He wants to be able to say He knows you. And He wants to let you in.
But it's your choice, not His --- isn't that amazing? Are you going to gladly walk through the pearly gates? You decide; it's your decision, and the most important one you'll ever make.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Left Behind
I'm currently reading the "Left Behind" series. And I love it! But the books really get you wondering, "What would happen if the rapture were to happen right now?" But we push the idea from our head right? It's ridiculous, it won't happen right now. It can't; I have my whole life ahead of me.
If you start thinking like that, you're heading into a dangerous place. Maybe you think like that because you are young, but that brings us to the issue: How old are you when you can't get into heaven free anymore?
Well, first of all, I believe that except for babies and young children, no one gets into to heaven free.
(The Rapture is the concept of God taking all the believers and real Christians to heaven, all material is left behind. But the non-believers stay on earth until the 7 year treaty is signed, and the last 7 years the planet will ever see begins.)
It is right around the time of late preteens-early teens, when getting serious about your walk with God is really important. There is no specific you-can't-get-into-heaven-free-anymore-because-you-are-this-age rule. It is all about innocence. Once you learn the importance about believing in Jesus, you are all set to take on a life-long responsibility.
Now, I don't have to worry about being left behind, I love the Lord with all my heart. That's why it's my job to help others to Christ. I do what I can to help others with that. But it's difficult when others don't care. Either they don't know anything about God, or they don't want to be involved because Christians around them are so mean.
Which brings us to another problem. Christians think they are so right, that they can force non-believers into loving God. But most of the time, the non-believers are pushed away from the truth because that reason itself.
Back to the Rapture, the Rapture used to scare me a lot. It scared my sister, too. Sometimes, just to scare each other, we would try to trick each other by changing our clothes when the other was out of the room, lay our others clothes on the ground neatly (as if we were "taken up but our clothes were left behind"), and hide.
It never worked.
But there was one time when I really believed I had been left behind. Then I would see my mother and father around me. If the Rapture had happened, they would have been taken too.
Now, I have no worries about not getting into heaven. And I can't wait until that day comes, but now that I'm secure and confident, I need to help my friends and my younger siblings to my position as well. And I have no doubt that we will all walk together in Christ.
If you start thinking like that, you're heading into a dangerous place. Maybe you think like that because you are young, but that brings us to the issue: How old are you when you can't get into heaven free anymore?
Well, first of all, I believe that except for babies and young children, no one gets into to heaven free.
(The Rapture is the concept of God taking all the believers and real Christians to heaven, all material is left behind. But the non-believers stay on earth until the 7 year treaty is signed, and the last 7 years the planet will ever see begins.)
It is right around the time of late preteens-early teens, when getting serious about your walk with God is really important. There is no specific you-can't-get-into-heaven-free-anymore-because-you-are-this-age rule. It is all about innocence. Once you learn the importance about believing in Jesus, you are all set to take on a life-long responsibility.
Now, I don't have to worry about being left behind, I love the Lord with all my heart. That's why it's my job to help others to Christ. I do what I can to help others with that. But it's difficult when others don't care. Either they don't know anything about God, or they don't want to be involved because Christians around them are so mean.
Which brings us to another problem. Christians think they are so right, that they can force non-believers into loving God. But most of the time, the non-believers are pushed away from the truth because that reason itself.
Back to the Rapture, the Rapture used to scare me a lot. It scared my sister, too. Sometimes, just to scare each other, we would try to trick each other by changing our clothes when the other was out of the room, lay our others clothes on the ground neatly (as if we were "taken up but our clothes were left behind"), and hide.
It never worked.
But there was one time when I really believed I had been left behind. Then I would see my mother and father around me. If the Rapture had happened, they would have been taken too.
Now, I have no worries about not getting into heaven. And I can't wait until that day comes, but now that I'm secure and confident, I need to help my friends and my younger siblings to my position as well. And I have no doubt that we will all walk together in Christ.
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