Does Paradise Entice You?

OhMaGosh, if heaven started tomorrow, would you be satisfied?
Think of all the things that are great in your life, all the things you want to experience, all the things that bring you joy. If tomorrow those things were instantly replaced for something greater (God in His purest form), would you be excited?
Honestly.
If starting tomorrow, as Christians, all we had was God himself and all we did was praise Him & be in awe & bond with Him, WOULD THAT BE ENOUGH??

Does heaven truly excite us?
Think about it. I can just hear some of the answers that you subconsciously whisper in your minds.
- " Heaven? Of course! I mean after all, isn't that our goal?"
- " Yup, that's why we got saved isn't it?"
- " Yes it sounds like a nice place because it's perfect!"
I remember my answer to that question. It was " I'd be excited about going to heaven, yeah, sometime in the future when Jesus comes & all that stuff happens." But then God asked me, "What about now? Would you be excited to go now?"
"What God? Why would I need to think about going now?"
He gave me time to search my heart but tonight He came back for an answer. What I found prior to His visit scared me.

If God came & whispered to you, "Hey, Come on. Heaven starts tomorrow" would your heart race with excitement or would you be like "um ok cool"? Would you happily let go of your present joys? Would you secretly be just a tad bit disappointed because you were just two years away from the perfect job? Or because 2010 was supposed to be your year to shine? Would you ask God for a bit more time here because you hoped to be married in a few years or maybe so that you could experience the miracle of childbirth first? If God said "Heaven tomorrow", would he be interrupting our lives?

After searching and seeking, the truth saddened my heart for I realised just how wrong this sounded if as Christians, heaven did not truly excite us NOW. I realised that if God ALONE is not really & truly ENOUGH for us right now, then it is impossible for the idea of Heaven to genuinely excite us NOW.
That thought scared me.

Is God only enticing when He shows up with the accessories of life? Does God only appeal to you because he has promised you something great in the future or because your life is currently an excellent reflection of his abundant blessings?
Don't think for a second that we accepted Christ because we were truly desirious of Him. We didn't even know Him, remember? We accepted because we realised that we need Him. We accepted him because HE CHOSE US... & it's great that He did & it's great that we then chose to seek Him that we may be blessed and whole. But if Christ called you to live with him, without the things, dreams & relationships we have here and just glorify Him with complete contentment, would - you - be - thrilled?
We do realise that that's what Heaven is like right? Have we realised that Heaven is so perfect because all that exists is God, his angels, his children, perpetual praise and a satisfaction & joy that is immortal?

So I found my answer just in time.
" Yes Lord, the thought of Heaven right now would delight me."
I have learned that extreme pain will be experienced at some point because this is the flawed version of life, but thankfully God is greater than all pain. I have also learned that the joys of this life are exquisite but they are merely a sample of The Real Thing.

Unconditional Love

There's a part of me that has always craved love.
A love that would fill the gap when parental love just could not suffice.
A love that'd make me feel like a Queen
who, in her finest gown spins on the dance floor
& the world watches - amazed at her grace and glory.
I've longed for a love that would occur naturally;
a love that would not dare let me go.
A whisper so sweet, it calms me.
A touch so enchanted, it revives me.

But when oh Lord, did I get here?
When did You become more than enough??
I need not search for You professed your Love a long time ago.
It was I who was on your mind when you hung from that cross!
Oh... what love so Divine.

How Great is your desire for me that you should
woo me & serenade me,
comfort me & heal me,
fight for me & even... die for me.

As I reach for your face my Lord,
I ask that you fill my cup.
For once I have your love,
I will thirst no more.

The love of others wanes in comparison to yours.
The touch of man dwindles and fades when compared with yours.
For ONLY you can truly satisfy.

You never left, even when I lost faith.
You complained not once
when I indecisively ran to and from you...
Your comfort is incomparable to any I've known.
Your embrace... stills my soul.

Withold from me no portion of your love dear God!
For I am yours...
&
You
are
mine. :-)

Be Bold. Stand Up for what you Believe in.

"Stand up for what you believe in." Hmm, this becomes a little difficult when we're not fully sure of what we believe in doesn't it? If we have nothing that we will adamantly stand by then we have nothing to stand up for. And "if we stand for nothing..." well you know how the rest of that saying goes.
But are you comfortable with falling for anything? Is that why you question everything? I notice that we've become a very "safe" people. You see it's safer to stay in the middle; to stand on the fence...or so we think.

We were all made with an innate desire to worship; to give praise to someone or something outside of ourselves. Most people can admit that but we seem to want to play it safe because having 100% faith in God seems confusing and maybe even impractical; but just because we don't fully understand something or cannot fully explain it, doesn't mean that it's not true. That just usually means that it's simply beyond our comprehension...that's all. So go ahead, dare yourself to believe...To have Faith.He is a God of Faith. That's what He requires- faith.

What reward should we get for believing in only what we can see or understand? What should be granted unto us for simply believing only that which we can explain? What's so superior about that?
How much would we/ could we credit God if He were so simplistic & visible & tangible & audible that we had absolutely no questions? If how He did what He did and continues to do, was easily explainable and comprehensible by all, would that not lower His standards or bring us closer to His level? But maybe that's what we want right? Is that why we continue to question? Are we looking for a means to console our badly bruised egos or our bitter hearts because we realise that WE fall short?? That we infact are inferior?

We try to ignore our spiritual side but we fail to recognise that we are spiritual beings & that aside from the world that we can see and feel, there is also a spiritual world. We all belong to someone. God's arms are wide open, ready to accept those who will surrender. Why should we have to make a decision to do so, you ask? If He made us shouldn't we automatically be His? Well... we are all His creations but not all His children. Seeing that Lucifer rebelled, we now all fall short and now must choose to be His child through accepting Christ (the bridge between man & God, who is ALSO God). Sounds a tad bit confusing right? And so that's how we now have people questioning Christ and the Trinity, because according to one, "It makes almost no sense." But umm excuse me... did God saying "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." and it being so, make sense to you? Did Jesus' miracles make sense to you or Jonah's survival in the belly of a large fish? I'm sorry but when exactly did we come to the concensus that it all HAD to make sense?

That is the beauty of our God! He does what is beyond our imagination, intellect and ability YET made us superior to His other creations. And as His creations, it is our duty to submit to the Creator and to seek Him for ourselves. I can't spell, describe or draw God for you. Each man must embark on his own journey to seek the Lord. As Jeremiah 29:13 says "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."Sure I still have a few unanswered questions about what's really important and what to believe but I'm holding very dear to me His words : "Call to me & I will answer you & tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." - Jer 33:3.

I've mentioned before that I am on a mission and I mean it. I believe that there is only ONE TRUTH and as bold of a statement as that is, I will stand by it.

What are you choosing to stand by?