Current mood: 
enthralled
Category: Religion and Philosophy
OK guys this just hit me tonight at Mars Hill Church! The "bottom line" of Christianity! I have no idea (ok maybe a few ideas) why it took me so long to realize this but here it is plain and oh so simple! WE CANNOT PLEASE GOD WITH OUR LIVES BECAUSE WE DONT LOVE HIM. Think about it... The FIRST (and most important) commandment is that WE LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL ELSE right? That's because this is where it all starts! Why should we love God? Because HE LOVED US FIRST! He sent His son Jesus to die for our sins (bad things we do) so that we may be forgiven and reconciled with God (go to Heaven) and all that good stuff which we all have heard oh so many times before right? I know, I heard it too so many times but I tonight was only the SECOND time I have ever heard it preached that WE should LOVE GOD. Strange isn't it, since loving God is where it all starts. When we love God, and I mean truly love Him above all else (more than boys/girls, more than sex, more than alcohol and partying, more than anything and anyone) ONLY THEN can we please Him because when we love Him, we will want to spend time with Him (pray), read His Word (THE BIBLE), and most importantly, hang out and spend our time with others that love Him (church). We WILL NOT WANT TO hurt Him, upset Him or disappoint Him by not obeying Him (sinning) because we always want to please and bring happiness to the ones we love. Think of it as a relationship because that is EXACTLY what it is (and should be!) When you love your friends, or a significant other, you want to do whatever it takes to make them happy! You want to spend time with them, talk to them, read the letters they write you, talk about them and hang out with others that also love your friends (like your significant other). You will not want to hurt them by putting others before them, refusing to see them, ignoring them or anything like that right?
Here's my story: I've always "known" and believed in God. I tried to please Him by trying to be good and living a good life and trying not to sin, but I couldn't. I thought I loved Him, but the truth was, I loved other things and people in my life way more than Him and I couldn't put God first no matter how hard I tried. Then about 2 months ago I went to GC (Generation Church) and I heard an amazing sermon on what it meant to truly be a disciple of Jesus. It meant loving God so much that the love we had for ourselves, our families and our friends would look like hate compared to the great love we had for Jesus. Why should we love God so much? Well lets see... HE LOVED US FIRST! He loved us from the moment of our creation! Even though we often lived as if He didn't exist, HE STILL LOVED US! And guess what? We don't deserve this love. We didn't deserve to have Jesus die a horrible. excruciating death for us on that cross... When that began to sink in, I started crying and couldn't stop. I wanted that love... and God gave it to me... In that moment God has completely transformed my life! For those of you that know me, you know how I used to be and the life I used to live... I always wanted to do the right thing but I couldn't because I wanted to do the wrong thing even more! I struggled with immorality, sexual sin, alcohol and just plain and simple making bad choices in life for so long that I began to think that there was no longer any hope for me. That God has given up on me and could never forgive me. That night I realized that God never stopped loving me and was just waiting for me to love Him back! That night was my 180 degree turning point and there is no going back... God has completely healed my heart and my mind. He has restored my peace and joy in life! I LOVE HIM! And because I love Him, I DONT WANT TO do any of the things I used to love doing before! I don't want (or need) attention from guys that I used to crave so much before. I don't want to hook up and mess around with guys! I dont want to (or need to) get drunk in order to be happy! I don't want to do anything that will disappoint the one I love - Jesus... I am FREE from having to (wanting to, needing to) sin all the time! I feel so liberated that I don't want to lie, compromise myself or do anything that is displeasing to my God... He has truly delivered me out of His love which in turn made me love Him! I now know that He is pleased with me and I bring joy to Him because I love Him and live for Him and glorify Him alone in all I do...
You are receiving this e mail because at one point or another our paths have crossed... and it was not an accident... I love you, and even more so, God loves you... and He is waiting for you to love Him back...
Pastor Mark said tonight, "What Jesus has done for you will show up in how He lives through you."
He died for you...
God Bless,
Anna
jubilant 
contemplative 
thoughtful 
cheerful