Crawling. A short thought.

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given..."

... think about that verse for a little bit.

Do you know who you are? Who you are physically? - a body mass?

Who you are expectionally? - a success? - a failure?

Who you are eternally? - a child of God? - a nothing?

How about your gifts, talents or passions? What is it that u have been given?

What are u doing on daily basis? Are u using ur most inner passions?

What gives u life!?

"...and then sink yourself into that."

Sink, is a deep and courageous word... if u visiually imagine it, it might be a risky, scary and a 'deep' step to take. Do that one thing that God has given u... completely. Do it with passion... Do it. Really.

And while u're doing it:

"Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others."

Do it. It's been given to u. It will give u life. A deeper life. Filled with passion. Filled with desires. Filled with joy. Filled with challanges. Filled with adventures. Filled with pleasures. Do it. It's urs.

DEMONSTRATION/ REVELATION.

Today I observed a baby who just in that one moment began to CRAWL! It scared me for a second, but then it touched my heart. I was so praoud of him! I wanted to rejoice! In once minuted his life was taken to a new level. This ability to crawl, which lead to the ability of walking and then running and perhaps even, winning some races, has been given to this child.

What did the child do?

Crawled! Crawled! Crawled!

He did not stop and say: "hey I can crawl!" He simply crawled.

I on the other hand was super happy! I wanted to talk about it! I wanted the world to stop! I wanted to make it known to everyone! I wanted to sing, and dance and celebrate.

The baby, without wasting the time... used the gift... and crawled. Went on with his life and continued to make dirty diapers!

MORAL.

U and I tend to take our dear time and many times, spend it on wasting the opportunity presented to us. We need to take the step and sink oursleves into the gift that God has put in front of us. If the baby stopped and said: "hey, I can crawl! Cool but also, Creepy! Should I even be doing this... what if...?" he would either go into existencial crises or be so fearful of what's ahead that would stop this new experience right then and there! How tragic!

It is the parents' responsibility to offer to kids the opportunity to learn and devolp, and the child's to do the best it can, even creatively with his own life. Check it out:

Each of you must take the responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.

Gal. 6:4-5 M.Remix.

To Live Deeply in Christ.

“Stay with what you heard from the beginning, the original message. Let it SINK into your life. IF what you heard from the beginning lives deeply in you, you will live deeply in both Son and Father. This is exactly what Christ promised: eternal life, real life! “ 1 John 2:24-25

I absolutely love my God. I even more love the fact that he lives in the hearts of my jr. high kids! And I love who they are in Him and who He is through them! Last night we had our Bible study and we discussed the verse above. We talked about the idea that Christ wants to live deeply in us, and the meaning of letting the Word of God sink into our lives. I want to be so thirsty that the Word of God sinks into me, as much as a cup of water is consumed by dry Sahara! Christ has promised us eternal life; He calls it the real life for a believer. I cannot wait for it!
I asked the girls if they really believe in this invisible eternal life, that He so deeply promised to us and how do they envision it in their minds and hearts. I challenged them, because, it is difficult to teach something, if we never stop and think about our own stand on the issue. So the girls stopped and thought about it. Here are some of their responses:

“I believe in the eternal life and I envision Jesus coming back in skinny jeans, with black and red checkers Vans, Volcom shirt, aviators and a guitar.”

“I think eternity looks like a big white room filled with love, and people – like a family reunion, only with smiles. And Jesus sits on His throne with a book of lies and will ask each of us about one lie that we have said, as lines of people are waiting to enter the room. “

The reality of the eternal life in all of the responses couldn’t be more authentic to us! The girls got excited about their future in Christ and began to ask questions, and here is my one favorite one:
“I wonder if Jesus will take me on a walk on water, or on the walk on clouds.”
This was the best question, because it shows you one’s faith in the reality of whom Jesus is and the power of His anointing! If you and I stick to what we heard from the beginning about our God, and if we stop and think about it and let it sink into our hearts, then we will truly live deeply in Christ and He in us! Then we will see the promised eternity and those around us will be blessed, by the light shining from within who we are in Christ Jesus, our Messiah and Redeemer!

May you be joyful, for the knowledge of the eternal life in Christ should give you joy, if you truly believe in His Word. And may the Word of God live deeply within you today, as this day has been given to us by the God Almighty who so desperately is in love with you and I, and all we can do is to respond and breathe His glory in, and out. And may that breath out, be oen of a praise.

Consumed in God.

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that..."
Galatians 6:4-5. M-Remix.

The other day, I was rushing out the door to get to church and to speak to a group of young people there. I was not fully prepared to talk, as my week has been filled with everything, but a diligent time dedicated to be with God. I had just enough time to ask him to inspire this empty heart of mine for that morning, trusting that even though I tend to fail him, he would not abandon me.

I rushed outside the building and on the lawn I saw a squirrel, doing what they usually do: eating a nut. I thought to myself: I wonder how close I can get to it? As I have always wanted to have one as a pet, or to catch one, or even just to touch it for a second, because I always hear the stories of how others have done it. So, I began to slowly walk toward it… I got about 3 feet away from it and it would not move, then I was about 1.5 feet away from it, and it still wouldn't move! So I stepped away, as this was enough to make my day! I was impressed! I think this was the closest I have ever gotten to a squirrel. You see, this squirrel had her face hidden deep in the hole where the nut was, and didn't want to simply abandon her royal breakfast, because a human like me was approaching. This food was her source of energy for that day; her source of life, really and who would want to give up on that?

Automatically, I smiled at God and said: thank you. He was communicating with me something very encouraging for that day. Can you imagine being like that little grey squirrel, so consumed in the source of your life, that you are willing to ignore every distraction around you, and put your whole face- your whole sight, into that one thing? Can you imagine what knowing, that this source will truly give you life, would do to your senses; the trust that you would have? What is more important: getting fed and living, or running away and surviving on someone else's scrums? What kind of life you and I could possibly obtain, by sinking ourselves into the life giving God? What if you and I were so consumed in our God that it would be so hard to get us distracted, to scare us away or to even take our life away from us? If you and I get so consumed in our God, like that squirrel in her source of life, we would develop a trust for him, knowing that he would protect us if some kind of evil was approaching us, as long as we sunk our face deep into God, and directed our sight toward that him!

This story encouraged me to know, that God has not left me, and that he desires for me to be like that squirrel – consumed in him alone; the ultimate source of my physical and spiritual life. He is my food while I am calling myself a Christian, my source of energy in everything that I do that day. I need to consume him daily. The concept of being consumed in God, just like that squirrel was consumed in her food – think about that and imagine it! I told this story to the kids that Sunday morning, and to my surprise they loved it, perhaps because I was so inspired by it and so built up by the ever giving God. I know that when I leave this place where my food is waiting for me, I don't do well that day; I cannot love my friends and I merely live on other's scrums. What kind of life is that? A life of desperation…? A life of constant waiting for something more, while the true "nut" is right in the hole right in front of us, where many times, we have hidden it ourselves. Digging into it can get your fingers a little messy, but who cares, your face will be so focus only on that deliciously delightful food, that you will have no thoughts of looking at your fingernails! Only one thing will matter, and only one thing should matter – the kind of food that you receive; the life giving food.


"I ask – ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory – to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him – endless energy, boundless strength!" Ephesians 1: 15-19. M-Remix.

Being Simple with God.

Exodus 3:
“Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father in law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up. Moses said: “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?” God saw that he has stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” He said: “Yes, I am here!” God said: “don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.” Then he said: “I am the God of your father: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.”

“Afraid to look at God!” How fascinating! Moses’ first encounter with the all knowing God, and Moses finds it amazing! Never the less, he is afraid of looking at God! I wonder if I would risk my life to see God’s face? I wonder if I would be afraid? I would probably faint knowing that God’s very presence appeared before me, in the midst of my work day! The story continues, and Moses finds out to be the chosen one to lead God’s people out of Egypt where they were persecuted. The very fact that Moses was alive is a gift of God in itself, as when he was born, baby boys were supposed to be drawn in the Nile river, well only the Hebrews’s babies, such was Moses. Talk of a beginning to becoming the world’s greatest leader! But then his mom saw something special about this Moses baby and hid him. Long story short he ends up in Pharaon’s very house and is raised by his daughter. Then in protection of one of his borther’s- a Hebrew man- he kills an Egyptian man- one of the Pharaon’s guys and he runs away for his life. He runs into daughters of one of the Priests’ and because he protects them from naughty shepherds, he is being rewarded to marry one of the daughters. His life continues and he is able to speak with God about his people; call God out on things; unleash 10 plagues; separate the waters and in the end, lead the people out of Egypt.

What strikes me most about this man, is the simplicity of his nature. Right away when God calls him to be the chosen one, he tells God that he is not good at speaking, because he stutters and thus will not be able to speak well even if God gives him words to speak. God of course fixes that problem by sending a well-spoken man, Aaron to act as Moses’ mouth! Can you believe that!? Then, when Moses is asked to lead God’s people, he argues with God, saying that he is a mere man, not able to deal with thousands of people, pointing out that it is God’s responsibility to take care of them! So, if this was not enough, God responds by agreeing with this man and promising that he will never leave him! So the argument continues in Exodus 33, and Moses demands God’s presence to always be with his people, so that they know how special they are to God. Again, God agrees with Moses saying that from very beginning he has known him by his name. So finally, as if Moses was testing God, the famous words come out of his mouth: “Please, let me see your glory.” And what does God do?! He let’s Moses see His very glory! Because he is special to Him; because he asked for it; and because God’s promise to us, is to give us the desires of our hearts.

How simple is this man Moses? His relationship with God is so real, so honest and so deep, because he responded to God by stopping and looking at what God put in front of him; he dared not to look at God’s face out of reverence; and he called God out on things, because he knew he was just a man who needed God’s leading and protection, before becoming a leader himself. You and I can learn from this the very fact that God wants a relationship with that you and that me, who we are right here and right now. We can be honest with God, tell him what hurts us, tell him what could be changed and ask him to show us his very glory. We don’t have to pretend in church to be someone we are not; we don’t have to act as if we wanted to impress our parents, and we can’t fool God by our “scripted” prayers. The best prayer Moses ever prayed in my opinion was this: “Please, O Master, if you see anything good in me, please Master, travel with us, hard-headed as these people are. Forgive our sins. Own us, Poses us.” And God answered him with nothing less but a greater promise: “In full sight of your people, I will work wonders that have never been created in all the Earth, in any nation. Then all the people with whom you’re living will see how tremendous God’s work is, the work I will do for you.” [Exodus 34: 8-12]

When You Are Stubborn with God.

A man named Balaam was one of those who had the privilege of directly hearing God’s voice, and I mean directly hearing God. In old days God would appoint certain people to be prophets- the ones that would mediate between God and His people, such prophets were Moses and Jeremiah. In the story in numbers 22, Balaam is asked to do as God is telling him to do. At first, he is obedient to the will of God, and probably finds it exciting, to be able to hear His very voice… but then he slips a little by trying to get ahead of himself; by trying to get things done by his own hands.

Isn’t it interesting that when we first become Believers, it seems so easy to do what God tells us to do? It is fun to be a Christian first few weeks. But then once we learn more and more about the grace of God and his unconditional love, and the purpose he has for us; we tend to go back to our own desires of doing things our own way…. Because God’s grace is so unconditional, right? And because his purpose requires our obedience and perhaps a time of waiting?

Well in the story, Balaam knew the time was not right to go…. And yet he saddled the donkey and off he went. But God knew Balaam’s heart beyond this act of self-righteousness, and sent this marvelous angel- with a sword- to give this man another chance… to save him. And what does Balaam do? At first he is so blinded by his own desires that he cannot see the signs of God’s presence trying to lead him. Only the donkey is able to see God’s angel, standing and blocking the road with a sword and if Balaam continues to move forward, the angel will kill him. Poor donkey… while trying to save his owner he got beating for nothing! So after a third time, the donkey speaks up! God gives speech to the donkey as a last chance for Balaam to give up and truly focus here…

Donkey asks: “why have you beaten me these three times, have I ever done anything to deserve that?”!!!! Oddly enough Balaam, answers the donkey, as if it was their casual conversation! I think if I heard the donkey speak, I would get the message right then!

After few sentences, the angel becomes visible to Balaam, the man falls to the ground, face in the dirt. He gets the message and repents.

Balaam is asked to simply DO as God is telling him to DO- nothing more- and nothing less. But since it is our desire to get ahead of ourselves, of God’s plans for us, we run as though – [silently] it was in our own power that we can win the race set ahead of us. We have become so self-inspired and so independent, that waiting on God, that simply doing as he tells us to, many times requires intentional prayer for mere patience and other times, God’s very intervention to re-focus our hearts and re-direct our steps, so instead of running, we start to walk again…. So instead of speaking… we listen… and instead of arguing a case, we love others for who they are.

How would you react if God sent you a speaking donkey? For me that speaking donkey was a friend last week. I tried to run ahead of myself, of God’s desires for my life… I lost my focus… I tried my own magic to create something, only God could create… once you have a relationship with such powerful and loving God, he will not let you run and lose... he will allow you to take a few steps on your own, but after that, he will send you a stubborn donkey to stop you from moving any further, and if that doesn’t work, because you are fighting your way through it… he will give speech to that donkey… and if you try to argue with that… your vision will be restored and with that, you can never argue, only fall face down and wait for further direction.

"I'm in love and I don't care who knows it!"

Do you recall watching “ELF” the movie? If so, there is a part where he runs into a meeting room and joyfully exclaims: “I’m in love! I’m in love! And I don’t care who knows it!” Of course he gets in a little trouble, as the meeting was in process and he interrupted the – let’s call it- Common Sense of the men in that room. And yet, he did not care who knew of his love. How awesome is that?!

Have you ever been in love? Perhaps you cannot sleep, because you think of that special other; perhaps you cannot eat as you are filled with this overwhelming feeling of belonging to someone so great, that they fill you with all you need! Constant desire to talk to them; to tell them that you love them; hopes of seeing them soon; and willingness to in a sense give all you have to that other person. They literally seem to complete you. Love is a beautiful experience, make it short or make it long, but when present, it changes something in us and about us. You cannot hide it! People around you will notice it.

Have you ever told someone that you loved them, with what seemed an everlasting love? It is the kind of love where you are so consumed by the moment, and cannot possibly imagine the end of that relationship. Love is a relationship. It is not perfect. It is a process of growing and learning; of change and of joy. The other day I felt so in love with God that I literally did not care who knew it. I wanted so deeply to verbalize it and look in God’s eyes telling Him that I love Him.

Have you ever experienced being loved by God? It is the same thing: you cannot sleep wanting to praise him; you cannot eat as you are so filled with his overwhelming joy; your heart is changing as you walk around singing songs of your love for him; you tell your friends about this relationship you have with him. It is a reality so real, that you have no doubt you have been filled with the gift of his love; a romance with the divine and eternal source of ALL good things. At that moment this romance enters into your heart and you see things in a new perspective; troubles cease as there is more hope; faith takes over and you dream so high that your dreams actually come true; you develop trust as your heart yearns to be with that beautiful lover of yours. Being loved by God is the most precious gift.

Have you ever received a love letter? Well, the Bible is the most beautiful love letter, in the whole history. It talks about the beauties of love, describes the gifts we can receive from the loved one, talks about the process of change in our hearts while we go through troubles and it warns us of any potential danger our decisions might get us in, because the Author of this letter loves us and desires to protect us and keep us close to himself, just like any good parent will with their kids, or a husband with his beautiful wife. And yet at the same time, it allows us to make some mistakes and always welcomes us back, because His love is that everlasting love, where he cannot possibly imagine the end of this relationship with each one of us. He wishes us well at all times.

How is your love life? Non-existing, because you don’t have a physical and romantic relationship with the special other? Then let me ask, how is your inner Love Life? In Romans 8:5-8 Paul says that we need to constantly be thinking of God. Constantly means without taking break; non-stop; always having him on our minds, in our thoughts. And if you are so filled with his love, you will literally always, constantly think of him and his goodness; singing him songs; telling your friends of his love; making him smile; you will rejoice. In your hearts and mind, you will have an ongoing conversation with your greatest friend and most desirable lover of all. Read his love letter; pursue this relationship he has offered to you by the very gift of your life today. Respond to his love; there are no accidents; make this life a worthy of singing songs with all that you are!

“I’m in love! I’m in love! And I don’t care who knows it!”

My Dearest and Most Precious God. I owe you my life and my eternity. I love you, knowing that my love is only a mere approach of responding to who you are to me. Oh, I love you and I want to show it to you. This mere love of mine for you is the greatest gift you filled me with. My Jesus, thank you. Please receive this little gift of my love for you, and thank you most deeply for this life of your love for me and the relationship which you give to each one of us, because you love us so deeply and unthinkably of in our state of human comprehension.