Patience is a Virtue…

        A girl sat on a stone bench in the middle of the forest.  God showed the girl what was on the other side of the trees, and she was pleased with what God had planned for her.  She got up from her bench, but God told her to sit back down, that the way for her to go wasn’t ready yet.  She needed to be patient.

      So gladly, for the Lord, she sat back on her bench and stared in the direction of her future. Later she noticed that a path had been marked, it was narrow and it was dark, but she didn’t mind…God was with her.  So she got up from her bench, but yet again God said, “No sit back down, not yet.”

      ”When God, when may I go.” she asked.

      “Soon.” and God went back to preparing her way.  The way He knew she would be safe.

      So the girl sat back down again and stared down the path.  And suddenly someone had appeared.  So she got up. But God said to her, “They are not ready, you are not ready, sit back down and wait.”

      So she sat back down, and folded her arms and looked the other way, away from God.  Soon she missed Him and turned back, and saw that on this dark and narrow path there were more people, scattered and in groups.  She stood again, and this time she hears nothing.  She wonders to herself…

      “God has not told me to move, but He did say soon, and it’s soon…right?”  But she had turned in her impatience and learned to ignore the whisper that she had been accustomed to, and she heard a different voice….

      “Go…go girl.” She knew it was not of the Lord, she knew it would be wrong to move, but she did so anyway.  And she started down the path that God had began.

      She walked and walked and walked, and soon she realized that her narrow path was gone, and that for a while she had been crying. In her heart it hurt. Something was missing.  So she sat on the ground and asked…

     “My God, my God, I have disobeyed you. Do you still love me?” And she just sat there with her pain and shame and loneliness.  And when she had had enough of the pain she asked God….”My God, my God, I have sinned.  Do you forgive me?”  And this time she heard something but thought it was only the wind in her little forest.  So she sat there still, and she cried a little more, and she felt her loneliness and shame close around her. So she stood and she screamed….

      “My God, My God, I have disobeyed you, I have sinned, I repent. Do you still love me; do you forgive me?  Come get me and take me to where you are, where I can be what you want once more.”  And then she saw a man coming toward her through the trees. 

      “My child, My child.”  The man said. “I am the Word, and I am here.” And he took her hand and lead her through the woods.  Along the way she noticed many that stood crying and she realized that she was on the path that God had made.  She looked to the man…

      “What must I do?” she asked.  For she knew she was the reason they cried.

      “You were not patient, you turned your back on the Father, and did not listen.” and she turned her head in shame for she knew what the man said was true. ”But He sent me, and I lived, and I died.  It is because of His love for you that I was risen.” And when the girl looked up she saw that the man was gone.

      So she said to the Lord. “My God, my God, if it is true, if we are reconciled, please tell me what I must do.” And there was a woman next to her crying.

     “Love her as I have loved you.” And she did. And when the Lord said to move she did that as well.  Then she was at the end of the forest and she looked back and saw what the Lord had done and she was filled with love and adoration and she stopped and sang praises to Him for what He had done for her. And when she was finished the Savior she had met was with her again.

       “You have pleased the Lord with your service, now come and let me show you what He has promised.” So the Savior took her hand and led her out of the Forest and there was a bench before her, with a man upon it.  “You are not done,” said the Savior, “But now you will have someone to walk with you.” So he led her to the man and the man stood and smiled into her eyes, for he knew her, and loved her. So together they sat on the bench, and when God said to move, they did….hand in hand they faced the jungle before them.

~Amanda~

Christian–r u?

      Well, like the title implies, I am, in-fact, Christian.  Actually I call myself a Believer/Follower of Christ.  Let me tell you why.  Not many people truly comprehend what a Christian is.  They think that anyone that believes in Christ, and anyone who believes in God is a Christian, which really isn’t true. So…what is a Christian? A Christian does believe in one God that goes by many names; Elohim, Hashem, Adonai–just to name a few. 

        

       Well, with or without those names you may be wondering “Who is this God?” Well, both Jews and Christians believe in the same all powerful God.  All powerful meaning just what it implies, He has all power. Now, many people will tell you that God can do anything, but in reality, there are things that he can’t do.  He cannot lie, which makes since, if he’s all powerful, anything he says becomes true.  And, He cannot effect free will, he promised that he wouldn’t, and he doesn’t lie remember? (this accounts for all the evil in the world, but that’s another post) So, one all powerful God. We also believe that he created the world and universe and that he loves everyone on a personal level. All powerful, Creating, Loving, Personal God. 

    

       Christians, all of them, Believe in Jesus the Christ (only Messianic Jews believe in the Messiah). So who is He.  He was born to the Virgin Mary, which means he was born with out original sin–after Adam and Eve ate the “apple,” everyone born after was born with original sin that separates us from God.  And the big point, he is Gods only Begotten Son, John 3:16.  Back when there was no Jesus, the only people that believed in God were Jews, and God promised them he would give them a Messiah–Jesus.  So, Jesus is the Savior that the Jews were promised. Of course you may have heard that a lot of the Jews actually hated Jesus and wanted him crucified. Anyway, I digress, Jesus came for the Jews originally, and because of a Samaritan woman, gentiles were also saved, John 4.  So Christians believe in the same God as the Jews, and we believe in the Messiah, that God sent to cleans of us sin, so that we could be with him in Heaven.  If you believe that, and ask for repentance from sins then you receive salvation, and with that comes life after death in eternal paradise with God. Christians also Believe in the Holy Spirit.  The guider.  He lives in the hearts of the faithful, and leads them in their walk. Read the book of Acts in the Bible and you get a lot of information about the Holy Spirit, and I’d recommend that. (BTW just a disclaimer–Jewish people also believe in the Spirit)

        Then there is the Trinity, which says that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are three persons in One God (I’ll explain this in a later post).

        So you may be asking, “If you believe all of these things, then aren’t you a Christian?”  Personally, I believe the answer to that is No. Belief in these things makes you a Believer/Follower of Christ (if you believe in Christ you believe in God, I can’t remember the scripture, but that’s somewhere in the New Testament). You are a Christian if you live the Christian lifestyle.

      So many people will say, “I am a Christian,” and then go and live an unchristian lifestyle. Christans are not called to judge people (tell people they are going to Hell), they are called to love people.  Now this doesn’t necessarily mean they associate themselves with everyone, but it does mean that they will try to show you God, and they will try to be nice and accepting of you.  I can’t promise that they’ll always get it right, I mean we all are human. But Christians strive to be Christ-like, and Christ was perfect.  He never sinned. 

       So why do I call myself a Believer/Follower of Christ and not a Christian? It’s not because I don’t strive to be Christ-like (which is what Christian means) it is because I believe that others should look at me and determine for themselves if I am a Christian by the way I act. 

~Amanda~

P.S. These are the things I was taught, and the things I’ve discovered on my own. Minus the scripture and facts, and anything that can be found in the scriptures, These are my opinions. Just thought you should know.