"Less of me, and more of you" John 3:30-36

I had a conversation with God this morning

I was talking to him about being less of me and more of him. 

I always want to have my humility come from God, not for my humility to come from me. 

Because then I can use my "humbleness" to lift myself up, use it to glorify my own humility, not the fact that I want him to guide me in humbleness. 

To keep me from thinking that the good things in my life have anything to do with me. 

Also to keep me from thinking anything good that might come from my ministry has anything to do with me doing it, but to point to God and not exalt my willingness to listen as "look at me, I listen to God, I make good things happen for other people". 

"There is no-one good, no, not one."

There is no good human being.. we are all sinful. 

We want other people to look at us and think good things and to see what we do in our lives as great and amazing. 

But life is not about us. 

Our bodies are on loan. 

Any space we take up is air that God gives us. 

We do not deserve the air we breathe. 

That's why we sing.. "you are the air we breathe. you're holy presence is living in me." 

Because when we believe,

When we choose to live out Christ in our everyday,

When we give us our "beautiful" earthly reflection to vow to see God in us when we look in the mirror,

We want to reflect Jesus.

We want to follow Christ's path as closely as we can. 

We can see behind us the missteps and swerves of life as we feebly attempt to do what God says,

because we are imperfect.

But because of the cross, we are made perfect in His sight.

So I will continue to slow down

prioritize my time with Him

stick with His word

and follow where He leads me

no matter how uncomfortable or out of "the box" it puts me, because the box doesn't really exist. 

Society creates the box

and I don't need to live in it.

God creates a home for me.. "I go to prepare a place for you. In my Fathers house are many rooms.." (the Last Supper)

that's where I belong.

---------

John 3:30-36

He must become greater; I must become less.

The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from earth belongs to earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them. 

Performance

We live in a world that rewards good performance.

If we don't do it right, there's no recognition.

If we do it right, we are rewarded in some way shape or form. But it's short lived. 

It's a pass/fail society. 

This can make us think God is the same way, since there's so much emphasis on works in religion. 

It can be hard to think that God doesn't care about our performance, as long as we follow his path for our life. 

Bible verses that are taken out of context and waved in our face "faith without works is dead". 

Now look at this.

We start a relationship with God because we have faith that His is real, that the history of his son Jesus is real, that the death and resurrection really happened, and that God really does forgive and forget when we repent. 

The only "action" there is prayer. 

Repenting and believing. 

We don't have to do things for God to love us. 

He already does. 

We don't have to perform for him. He isn't impressed by our so called "good works", because there is not even one of us as humans that is good and pure. We are sinful. So anything we do will have sin attached to it. Unless we do it because of our love for Him. 

(not to mention, when we don't follow the plan, and also have things what happen to us in our past from other people effecting us, it can also cause trauma experiences. below is a blip about how that feels and what effect it has.)

trauma

always having to perform

God doesn't need that from me

my father figure was unintentional about trauma

he came from a place where he had the same pressure

break the cycle

I don't need that anymore

I don't have to perform

 

We hear voices all the time, but who are we listening to?

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miyfkopV75I

I watched this video on Youtube this morning, and there were/are some great takeaways. 

I'm going to let you in on some things that I took away from it. 

I encourage you to watch it and process it yourself and talk about your takeaways! 

If we don't find what we need in already formed church bodies, we start our own thing. 

We get a bunch of new churches based on "my" needs, and then I begin to look for people who follow "my" opinions. 

We make our faith journey about "us" instead of looking to the Bible and people God already put in charge of His body of believers. 

"church"

"faith"

"belief"

These all start to become selfish things. It becomes about what we think we need to connect to God. 

And we start practicing things that make us "feel things", instead of having a real connection with the Holy Spirit. 

This is another reason there's New Age thinking in a lot of newer churches, because people are focusing too much on what they feel, and finding their own way to "connect to spirituality" instead of studying the Bible and searching and listening to God for their faith connection. 

This leads to saturation of people in the faith community (online, small group gatherings, megachurches) that don't hold to the truth of the Bible, water things down, "don't want to offend anyone" instead of preaching the true gospel. 

No wonder we can't think straight and we're so confused. 

Not to mention this whole acceptance of the law of attraction "whatever you say will be will be", "speak good things and good things will happen" which is the same of bad things, saying "I am" statements that are all about me me me and not about God at all. (wouldn't this be considered heresy? possibly blasphemy?) 

So.. the title of this blog.. 

We hear voices all the time, but who are we listening to?

What voices are we listening to?

Now we have to weed through the voices to find truth. 

......................

Unity is not the opposite of uniqueness. 

It's the community of people who are truthful and holy and receptive that together create unity in the body of Christ. 

I am not God. I don't know how to judge properly. I point people TO him, because I am NOT able to save them! Only He is! 

"I am just the receptionist. Get people in the room with the Great Physician, He will open you up and show you things about yourself." - Francis Chan

We point at each other and say "how dare you be involved with (him, her, them)". But that's what Jesus did. We are supposed to be in the world, being Jesus to other people, not OF the world, acting like people who don't KNOW and FOLLOW Jesus. 

John 13:17 - Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 

Faith and action together. 

We learn about Jesus, we learn God's word, and then we are to act on what He tells us to do. 

When we speak what God gives us, other people receive Him. 

If we do what God says to do, we bless others. We become part of the blessing that God wants to give.

Get alone with God.

Listen.

Stop talking.

Be intentional.

It's good to know we are wrong! Because then we look and listen for RIGHT! For TRUTH!

Ephesians 4

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 

2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 

3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 

5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 

8 This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high

he took many captives

and gave gifts to his people."

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 

10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,

12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 

13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 

15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 

16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Instructions for Christian Living

17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.

18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 

19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

20 That, however, is not the way of life you learned 

21 when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 

22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 

23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 

24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

26 “In your anger do not sin”[d]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 

27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

"Onward Christian Soldiers"

2 Timothy 2:3-4

Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 

No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding office. 

When we were kids in Sunday school, we sang "Onward Christian Soldiers". 

Lyrics

1. 1. Onward, Christian soldiers!

   Marching as to war,

   With the cross of Jesus

   Going on before.

   Christ, the royal Master,

   Leads against the foe;

   Forward into battle,

   See his banners go!

2. [Chorus]

   Onward, Christian soldiers!

   Marching as to war,

   With the cross of Jesus

   Going on before.



(There are 3 more verses, but this is the one that sticks out as the main one.)

Christians are soldiers of Christ. Placing the mission first is the mindset and commitment that God expects from anyone to serves him. 

As a follower of Christ, we are to do what he says above all other things. 

He is Lord of our life.

He is in charge, like the leader of an army. 

In the Great Commission in the book of Matthew, God tells us what to do, as his followers, as people in his army. 

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

God gives us instructions, and tells us he will be with us on our journeys, until the end of time. 

So he gives us instructions, going into war against evil in the world and bringing his light, and he will be with us the whole way. 

That's an amazing promise. 

Planning - what we decide we're going to do versus what our future really holds

James 4:13-15

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 

14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 

15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

You have no idea what your life is going to bring. We can make all the plans we want, but it's not necessarily going to go that way. Our life doesn't last that long. 

Daniel 3:13-18

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 

14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 

15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 

17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 

18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Our God IS ABLE to deliver us, and he will. 

But EVEN IF HE DOESN'T - even if we have to go through whatever you decide to do to us - God will still be with us. And we will still only honor Him, meaning will not bow down to/worship anyone else. 

Sinners

So

Sin

We all do it

We are the reason Jesus died

The reason He was tortured

Sin isn't a fun word

People don't like to use it

Instead of saying we've sinned, we say we've done something wrong.

Maybe not even that, we say we made a bad choice.

It's too harsh to say or hear that we've sinned.

Because for one, that means we have a moral compass.

That means we believe in something.

Or that we believe something.

It started when Satan told Eve that the punishment God told her about wasn't real. 

Basically Satan called God a liar, and Even believed Him. 

Now that moment of belief cost her.. and all of the rest of humankind.

She sinned.

She realized what had happened after the fact. 

She didn't know what sin was.

Now WE have the advantage (this is the silver lining) of knowing what sin is.

We have a choice.

Unfortunately, we will make the choice subconsciously to do things that aren't right.

We are human.

That means ever since Adam and Eve acted on Satan's promise, we are presupposed to do the wrong thing.

We call it "making a mistake". 

We call it "oops" and say "I'm sorry" and think it will go away.

It won't go away.

But thankfully there is freedom from it.

It's actually okay that we make mistakes.

We aren't meant to be perfect.

That's why Jesus came.

So He could live a blameless life and take everything wrong we do and cast it away from us forever.

People that make mistakes don't need forgiveness.

We all make mistakes, we are always going to make mistakes.

But Sinners need forgiveness.

Because sin separates us from God.

The list of sins includes everyone.. every single person who has lived and will live.

This includes you.

You know it. I know it. God knows it.

But God is willing to forgive us.

Jesus already paid the price, all we have to do is tell him that we know we sinned, and we want to be forgiven.

It's that simple.

It's done.

Because we have sin, God can't be in a relationship with us until we ask.

Until we admit it.

It's like having a boundary and someone breaks it.

If someone breaks your boundary, they have to own up to it.

They have to say they know they messed up.

Trust is hard to earn.

But when we are honest, and truthful, and lay it down, we are forgiven.

This is when the relationship can continue and mend.

And your sins are forgiven.

This doesn't mean you won't sin anymore, but at least you know how to have a relationship

with the God who made you.

What is a creed?

 

A creed is a set of beliefs or aims which guide someone's actions.

The gospel is the creed for Christianty. 

"We believe in God the Father, Son and Spirit, all three entities in one being, 

who has no beginning and no end.

We believe that Jesus was God in human form, who was born of a virgin, lived a blameless life, 

died and rose again, and will come back."

Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed | Reformed Church in Americahttps://www.rca.org › ... › Creeds and Confessions

"We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God."

The Apostle's Creed

Apostles' Creed | Christian Reformed Churchhttps://www.crcna.org › welcome › beliefs › creeds › a...

"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting."

What is stoicism?

Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions; the philosophy holds that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason (logos).

It is a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world.

The Stoics often identified the universe and God with Zeus, as the ruler and upholder, and at the same time the law, of the universe. The Stoic God is not a transcendent omniscient being standing outside nature, but rather it is immanent—the divine element is immersed in nature itself.

www.wikipedia.com

Stoicism is a school of philosophy that hails from ancient Greece and Rome in the early parts of the 3rd century, BC. It is a philosophy of life that maximizes positive emotions, reduces negative emotions and helps individuals to hone their virtues of character.

www.holstee.com

The Stoics elaborated a detailed taxonomy of virtue, dividing virtue into four main types: wisdom, justice, courage, and moderation. Wisdom is subdivided into good sense, good calculation, quick-wittedness, discretion, and resourcefulness.

iep.utm.edu

Another large appeal of Stoic philosophy today is that its techniques have a rational foundation and don't require a belief in supernatural forces. For this reason, modern Stoicism is very popular with secular humanists and atheists, but it's equally popular with religious people and the spiritual but not religious.

www.stoicinsights.com

“It is the power of the mind to be unconquerable.” The ultimate goal of Stoicism is to develop the mind to such an extent that the practitioner would reach a state of being called eudaimonia.

www.orionphilosophy.com

The Stoics viewed death as natural, a return to Nature. It is the value-judgments we place on death which makes it as terrible as it is. This is the existential dilemma we all will face at one point or another in our lives. It often appears after the passing of a loved one or someone close.

www.medium.com

raw sugar.. what is real?

 https://www.foodrenegade.com/will-the-real-raw-sugar-please-stand-up/

A highly refined sugar extracted straight from the cane juice: Raw sugars are made close to cane fields in a sugar mill, by crushing the freshly harvested cane. ... The juice's water is then evaporated, and a single-crystallization process results in sugar crystals covered with molasses.

www.whatsugar.com

Raw sugar isn't even really raw. It's just slightly less refined, so it retains some of the molasses. But there's no real health real benefit from it. "There's no more nutritional value in raw sugar than there is in white sugar or brown sugar," Nonas said.

abcnews.go.com

The evidence suggests that eating too much added sugar and too many refined carbohydrates causes inflammation in your body. Over time, the inflammation caused by poor dietary habits may lead to several health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, liver disease and cancer.

www.healthline.com

Raw sugars generally have a hint of molasses flavor and are slightly more moist than white sugars, but dry enough to be free-flowing and not clump like brown sugars tend to do. They are easy to scoop, spoon, and pour.

Raw sugars are produced in several crystal sizes and molasses content. Medium-size crystals are slightly larger than table sugar and have a blond color. Coarse crystals do not readily dissolve, have pale brown to brown color, a crunchy texture, and an attractive sparkle.

How to Recognize Raw Sugars in Stores?

• When in the supermarket, look for terms such as those listed below: 

1. Turbinado sugar

2. Demerara sugar

3. Raw cane sugar

4. Washed sugar

5. Natural cane sugar

6. Evaporated cane juice

7. Dried cane syrup

8. Dehydrated cane juice

9. Less processed cane sugar

10. Single-crystallization sugar

www.whatsugar.com

Because coconut sugar is a plant-based, natural sweetener, some people feel it is more nutritious than regular table sugar. In reality, coconut sugar is almost identical to regular cane sugar in terms of nutrients and calories.

www.webmd.com

What's more, studies that feed people low-glycemic foods don't find much benefit anyway. Bottom line: Coconut sugar is no better than honey, agave, maple, turbinado, or any other added sugar.

www.nutritionaction.com

Romans 5:3-5 and James 1:2 (not 3).. wait, what?

Romans 

3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 

4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

5And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

James2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Wait.. not verse 3, only verse 2. 
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.Wait.. what?
Consider it joy when you face trials. NOPE. READ IT AGAIN.
Consider it PURE joy.. PURE joy. Pure joy can only come from something that makes you ecstatic, creates of urgency of happiness and positive energy that can only be explained by the child inside. (my definition, not Webster)This is the kind of joy we are supposed to have. This is the king of JOY we are supposed to have. Joy.The of the movie Inside Out. Joy was smiling and cute and just exuded this spark that makes you want to be near her, because you want what she's got. 
This is how we are supposed to be. In the middle of trials. 
When you face trials of MANY kinds. What kind of trials? How many trials?All of them.MANY kinds. Let's think of the kinds of trials we go through. Losing our house, divorce, losing a job, house being wrecked by forces of nature, car accident, kid failing school, body starting to fall apart, can't afford groceries, taking college classes, burning the midnight oil.. you name a few! There are SO MANY different kinds of trials. 
And we are supposed to consider these experiences pure joy. End of discussion. We are children of God. We know, as followers of Christ, that we are supposed to, going to, you cannot call yourself a Christian unless, you go through trials. It comes with the territory. The world does not like us. But they need us.. because they need Him.. and we have the answer. 
So consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, when you go through every single trial in your life.They give you the opportunity to test your faith and develop yourself as a person, fully trusting in God, and leaning on His promises. Telling Him you believe in the promises He made. We have God's Holy Spirit inside of us, guiding us and speaking to us on His behalf. We learn to keep going, keeping the faith, no matter what is thrown our way.