TeRuAh'S ThOuGhTs

I have to go off on a tangent for a minute and express my thoughts about something...forgive me if this offends you, but please first consider why you are offended. Is it because this actually resonates with you? Are you someone who uses this excuse as well? Or is it because you think my opinion is way off?

So here it goes... I have had many conversations with Christians from all over, in these conversations I often hear the following statement:

"This is where God has me right now and I am just on the path

that He is having me to go down."

or

"Well I know that I am where I am because I just haven't figured

what I am not doing or what I am doing wrong so I can be blessed

and be able to have and do the things I really want in and for my life."

(in response to the 1st statement)

Now all in all that is not a bad response BUT when it is your only response as to what you are doing or going after when you are totally unsatisfied with your life and where you are. As well as an excuse for not having the guts to go after your dreams. Then in that case, that response really pisses me off! I'm sorry but it does! It is an absolute insult in my opinion to such a creative, loving God that sacrificed His only Son so that we could be free.

It is for FREEDOM that we have been set free!

It also makes God sound like some entity that doesn't really care about your dreams, desires, or interests. It gives people the image of our God as a God who doesn't want His creative creation to have a brain for themselves. That He just wants robots to "go down the right (only) path" even when they are completely dissatisfied. I'm sorry but that is not the kind of God that I serve.

I am so grateful for the time that I have been able to spend at Bethel Church in Redding, CA.(http://www.ibethel.org/) It has completely rocked my image of who I thought God is. My God not only created me to serve Him and fulfill His purpose on earth, He created me to co-create with Him. Meaning we are partners with The Creator! That means that we get to have a mind of our own. We get to dream. He didn't give us a mind so we could just be brainwashed and simply follow commands. He gave us a mind that is SANCTIFIED, HOLY, and free to DREAM.

Yes I believe that God has a specific destiny for each of us. But again we were not designed to be robots and simply follow commands. He has written our destiny but we get to make choices how it ends up being carried out. We have the freedom to fully explore everything that interests us. He wants us to try and dream even bigger dreams then He does for us. You know Christ was our example, and with an example that means that it is just a prototype, it is not always going to look the same. He healed the sick, raised the dead, set captives free, challenged the scholars and religious heads of His day. And you know what He said in the end? He said this is only the beginning..."you will do greater things than I." He wants us to dream with Him! Ask for greater, experience greater and do greater things.

(in response to the 2nd statement)

In part that second statement has some truth. But again if it is your understanding as to why you are not seeing the things that you are praying and fighting for then you have totally missed it. Yes there is such a thing as reaping and sowing BUT again God is not a ruler who sits on His throne deciding whether you have jumped through enough hoops so that He can finally bless you. He sets us up every day of our life to receive His love, gifts and blessings. It is His greatest desire for you to be blessed way beyond measure. How else would you explain grace if this is your image of God. Grace is something we are given that we do not deserve or could ever earn! Why would God go through the trouble of creating someone in His image if He constantly had to be judging whether they were really good enough to receive His goodness. He created us for relationship with Him, He wanted to share intimacy and His entire Kingdom with man. Why, because it is our choice to have that relationship with Him. We get to choose to love Him. Isn't it so much better to have a friend you can share everything with that willingly, without force has chosen to be that friend to you?

Free will doesn't just mean that we get to choose whether to follow Christ or not. Free will means that we have an overall destiny but we get to choose to take road A, B, C, D or E (and on) to get there. Have fun, remember this is a journey, an adventure!

It is for FREEDOM that we have been set free!