Know God. Know Love. No God. No Love

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Jeremiah 32:19

“great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to all the ways of men; you reward everyone according to his conduct and as his deeds deserve.”

Psalm 37:4

“delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Open my eyes. Open my eyes to what you may ask?

I once was blind but now I see. Blinded by what? What am I talking about?

We at one time or another, are blinded by sin. It is what separates us from God. Sin also acts as a barrier that holds us from knowing and carrying out His plan and purpose from which God intended for our lives.

Sometimes, we are so blinded by the world, indulging in unrighteous lifestyles that God sends storms into our lives to get our attention to “open our eyes.” These unrighteous lifestyles not only include living the sinner’s life but also putting what you may think are more important “desires” or interest above God. These include relationships, career, money, how you spend your time and even personal obsessions.

One of the few awesome things about God is that He always give us more chances to make our paths right even if we don’t deserve it. In Isaiah it says “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” He loves us and showed that by sending Jesus to die for our sins so that we don’t have to suffer to sin and death.

It starts with acknowledging what kind of lifestyle you are living and acting in faith to alter it for the better good. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. So, open your eyes and get closer to Him.

Jesus Loves You

chris laporga photography

contributed by

Sarah Mae Burdios

I’m a girl, with a broken past but even brighter future. I’m overjoyed by the magnitude of God’s love for me. I go astray, but he always rescues me before I get too far (Ezekiel 34:12). You hear this all the time, “God is so good!” But seriously, isn’t he? At times I get frustrated when I see or hear people down-sizing God: as if he can’t read your mind or know your thoughts before you think them (Hebrews 4:13). They challenge his majestic power and doubt his promises. Then I remember that I was just like that not too long ago; I assumed that my life would be nothing more than meaningless, but I never “needed” something better.

God has come through way too many times for me, and yeah, I’m not worthy of any of it. But he wants to come through for us because that’s the kind of God he is, self-less and merciful. God could’ve stopped a long time ago; he could’ve let me live a mediocre life. But he didn’t. I sometimes ask, “Why God? Why are you so good to me even if I’ve failed you over and over again?” Then he replies, “Because I have loved you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3). Isn’t it amazing? That the creator of the universe makes time to listen to our complaints and fulfill our needs! That despite the endless amount of issues going on around the world, he still chooses to care about us. That means that despite our failures and disappointments, NOTHING will be able to separate us from his love. That amazes me every day.

I’ve realized that the pace of life is becoming more rapid and we’re running out of time. We need to have a sense of urgency in our hearts… to endure harships like a good soldier of Christ (2 Timothy 2:3). If that means creating awkward moments by introducing yourself to a classmate behind you, then DO IT. If it means asking a childhood enemy for forgiveness, even if it’s been years, then DO IT. If it means letting go of a relationship that doesn’t glorify God, then DO IT.

Nothing great is ever achieved without a bit of sacrifice.

I’m honored to serve alongside with you and can’t wait to see his promises revealed in all of our lives. Keep seeking and searching; our God is so majestic that even until the day we die, we’ll never truly grasp how great his Love is for us.

Just a little heart to heart action.

conclusion to the series.

3 questions to see if your course is on the right track.

1) Is my heart set on God’s plan?

Colossians 3:1-2

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

2) Are my thoughts pleasing to God?

Proverbs 21:29

“A wicked man puts up a bold front, but an upright man gives thought to his ways.”

3) Is my lifestyle pleasing to God?

Romans 2:6-7

“God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.”

In this series, we looked at the life of the prophet Jonah who ran when God revealed his plan and purpose for his life due to fear and disobdience. When he ran from God, he was thrown overboard a ship and shallowed by a whale where he finally understood his purpose in life. When he accepted his purpose, Jonah went to the wicked city of Nineveh and turned the entire kingdom from being wicked to living righteous and accepted God.

So, what are you going to do when God reveals himself to do? Remember, the closer we draw to him, the more we recieve his vision for our life. So I leave you all with this..

Jeremiah 29:11

^“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jesus Loves You

chris laporga photography

concluding the “charting your course” series next post

Romans 8:28

” ²⁸And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

F.A.I.T.H.

Full Assurance In The Heart.

I woke yesterday morning excited to see Nick Vujicic and knowing that a lot of friends would be coming to service. Then before you knew it, I was hit with all these thoughts that told me “don’t you wish you could go back to your old life?” and “is what you’re going through, busy life really worth it?” I knew that wasn’t from God and I just couldn’t seem to pray it out of me.

So I picked my friend Amanda up and headed to service where the gang was waiting for us to go in. Nick’s story was truly inspirational (but i’ll save that for another post) and during the end of his message, he asked those who wanted to recommit their lives to God to be bold and stand up.

I was praying silently and looked up to see all my friends standing. I was like “whoa!” As I layed hands upon them, I began to feel this warm sensation over my body. I shivered a little, stopped praying and swear to Jesus heard God say to me “is it worth it now?” I could sense the entire room tearing and in that moment, as strong as I am to control tearing, teared up in total surrender.

It’s true. I look at what makes me happy now. It’s no longer shopping, going out partying, clubbing, but watching the ones I love grow in Christ. I love watching you grow and there is nothing that can compare to it.

I also received a word from Nick after service. I told him about the blog I write and the people I’m trying to direct, my constant battle against the enemy and the thoughts I had when i woke up.

He responded with this. I’m glad you’re here. I saw you in the crowd and was hoping to talk to you. I see a lot of myself in you. I see the fire, determination to help others. You don’t need to go on a mission field to stretch yourself, continue to do it here. When you are getting attacked, do not fear because there is no fear in God. Jesus loves you and I want to share this verse with you.

Philippians 1:6

” being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

God has a plan not just for me, but for all of us, we just need to listen.

Jesus Loves You

“chart your course”

Jonah 2:1-2, 9-10

“From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. He said:  “In my distress I called to the Lord,  and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry…

But I, with a song of thanksgiving,  will sacrifice to you.  What I have vowed I will make good.  Salvation comes from the Lord.”  And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”

Proverbs 16:9

“In his heart a man plans his course,  but the Lord determines his steps.”

In the first part of the series, we saw how Jonah was obedient to God because he didn’t want to go spread the word in the wicked city of Nineveh. Due to his disobedience and not doing work God had in store for him, he ran away and was thrown into the ocean by the fishermen as an offering to make God stop the stormy weather and then was eaten by a whale.

Wow. Sucks to be him. In the belly of the whale, Jonah realized a few things: 1. You can not run from the all knowing God 2. Salvation comes from the Lord 3. If God tells you to do something, do it.

In Jonah’s case where fear and doubt came into his life when told to go to Nineveh, he was not fully trusting in God. God will never forsake nor leave us and He has plans to prosper us, not to harm us. So no matter where we may be sent, know that God is always by our side.

Besides being obedient to Him, God wants us to spend more time with Him and develop an everlasting relationship. We can do this by making the necessary lifestyle changes that honor God. In John 18, it says to “leave our life of sin” and and we must do this to receive transformation from Him.

Jesus Loves You