Let Love Be Genuine.

My heart is so burdened with so many things that I wish I could shout from a mountain top without looking like a mad woman. I have found such peace in my heart that I cannot explain just how wonderful it feels. I keep trying to find the words and there are none. Nothing in this world can compare. I'm still the same ole human that was born nearly 31 one years ago. I possess the same blood type and eye color as I always have. I walk upon the same feet and shake your hands with the same hands that I've always had. I may have changed a little physically but, my heart and my mind are so far from who I've ever been that you'd barely recognize me if you could see them. 
I feel like I've been swimming through quicksand my whole life... is that even possible? Probably not. It's the best I can describe it, though. It's like I was stuck... but still moving. I had hope because I was still moving... but I was still stuck. I kept pushing. I never gave up... but I was still stuck. 
I never quite grasped what it was like to be a Christian. Even typing that made my chest tighten a little because I know this is going to step on some toes. I can't deny the truth, though. I am not going to hold back for anyone's sake. The whole truth is that it was never fully explained the way it should have been. Christianity isn't just about asking Jesus into your heart. It isn't about going to church regularly. It isn't about saying the right prayer at the right time. It isn't even about posting about God on Facebook or proclaiming that you are a child of God to the world. If you have to publicly say, "I am a christian," before anyone knows you are a christian, you are doing wrong. Yes. I said it. You've got it all wrong. If you only talk to God when a loved one is in the hospital, you're doing it wrong. If you only say, "Praise God," when you hear good news about someone surviving a car wreck, you're doing it wrong. I'm a Christian and I've been a Christian for most of my life but I have been doing it wrong for so very long. First, we must stay fully immersed in the word in order to stay on the right path. It's so easy to get carried away in worldly things. Just like before... I had no respect for people. I had no real love for strangers. I didn't really care about who lived or died if they weren't in my circle. People are cruel, mean, harsh, and hateful. I didn't want to be anywhere near that. I separated myself from it as much as possible and judged them. That's not what being a Christian is about. We are supposed to love everyone. I'm no better than anyone. My sin is still sin. What is my purpose as a Christian? it's right there in the name... Christ. To be Christ-like! To be a witness. How can we be a witness if we separate ourselves from the ones needing to be witnessed to. How can we help others if we don't even know who needs help? Going through life being angry and hateful toward your neighbor isn't helping anything. Complaining about the world isn't helping anyone. Being negative about everything that doesn't go your way isn't helping anything at all. I have people that I consider friends that completely disagree with everyone of my beliefs. I still call them friends. I still pray for them even if they don't believe in prayer. Their lack of faith does not affect my ability to have faith. 
There are so many things in life that the devil uses to pull us further away from God and we don't even recognize it on a day to day basis.... but it's there and it's everywhere. 
To worry is to doubt God's ability. To complain is to go against His word. To judge, to hold a grudge, to hate someone, to gossip about others... all of these things go against the Lord and these are things that we do all the time. Enough is enough. I have decided to put a stop to it. I will no longer let evil ruin my day or my life. I refuse to let the hate of others affect my heart. I will love my enemy as much as I love my best friend. I don't necessarily like every person or every decision that someone makes but my love for them shall be like my God's love. I still make mistakes. I still have pain and obstacles to overcome. I still cry. I still hurt... but I still have faith and my God helps me through all of these things.
I have so much on my mind and I hope this all makes some sort sense... I could go on and on but I'll spare you the rambling. 
I just have one more thing on my mind to say..
even when you do good deeds or make progress within your own life... stay humble and remember who got you to where you are. Do not shout to the people,
"Look what I have done." Shout to the Lord, "Thank you for what you have done!"

Lastly, I'd like to post Romans chapter 12. It goes along with most everything that I've said today and really lays out a good guideline to follow as Christian.
This is what I strive to be... not hope to be... but STRIVE.

With lots of love, 
 -Natalie

A Living Sacrifice

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.[b] 2 Do not be conformed to this world,[c]but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[d]

Gifts of Grace

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For as in one body we have many members,[e] and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,[g] serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.[h] Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Seek Him and you will find your peace...

I feel led to share again this morning. I’ve had so much on my mind and my heart is burdened. You will probably be seeing me share more and more in the near future. I have reached a point in my life where I can no longer sit back and watch people slander my God’s name or make lite of the importance of faith.

I’ve grown up in and out of church my entire life. I decided to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior at the age of 5. Did I fully understand the impact this would have on my life at that age? Absolutely not. Did I understand what it truly meant to ask Him into my heart? No doubt about it. Even at such a young age, I could feel a difference from that day forward. There was an instant innate ability to tell wrong from right and doing “wrong” always made me feel VERY uncomfortable. Was I a perfect child? In no way, shape, or form. Did I tend to steer clear of things that I KNEW were evil?? You betcha!

My relationship with God hasn’t been much of a real relationship. I always knew he was there and I talked to him as if he were with me all the time. There was still something missing. It wasn’t until I reached my lowest point(about 3 years ago) that I realized I had to be proactive about it and fully SEEK Him. It was then that I realized simply praying and praising His name was not what an actual relationship with Him was like.

I started attending church here and there which eventually led to going every Sunday morning. When I started out, I sat with family but then decided that I needed to sit away from family to make it more about the message and not the ability to feel comfortable.

I needed to feel uncomfortable.

I needed to shake things up. I needed to be there to focus on MY relationship with the Lord… not anyone else. Let’s fast forward to today. I still sit away from family. I sit and listen and take notes. After the message, I speak to others and catch up a bit but it’s not until then that I do so.

My journey with God has finally led me out of the darkness.

I have hope.

I have ZERO worries.

I have an inner peace that is completely unexplainable. Do I have a perfect life? Nope. But am I worried about the days ahead? Still a big NOPE. Why? I know that through seeking Him and staying on the right path, He will never fail me.

I WISH that I had the words to express how it felt because I want EVERYONE to know what it’s like. It took a long time to reach this point but I had to realize how important church attendance was FIRST.

I want to clarify a few things about church, though.

Did church save me? No. Does simply going to church make me a better person? No. Does walking through those doors wash away all my sins? Not even close.

So what DOES going to church do?

It challenges me. It makes me want to learn more. It pushes me to do better and strive to be better. It puts me in a place where like minded people are also striving to be better. It’s a positive environment. What could possibly be so bad about going to a place where people are simply striving to be a better version of themselves?? Being a Christian or going to church does not make me better than anyone. I am still a sinner. I simply make a daily effort to be better than I was yesterday and, through church, I know that I have a support system that I can run to if necessary.

Everyday I try to love like my God loves.- unconditional, unwavering love. This is my daily challenge.

Today I want to challenge you to look at why church is important and why the RIGHT church is important. Not all are the same and, yes, there are false prophets all around(Matthew  24:11). Seek Him and you will find your peace.

Todays references:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says

James 1:22

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Romans 10:17

And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

Matthew 24:11

I hope you all have a very blessed day.

Sending lots of love!