#1 - An overwhelming gratefulness to live in America, such a blessed, rich country & FREE! A freedom that cost many lives.
#2 - A curiosity of the heart of the Zambian Christian... I found myself watching them, their expression as they sang & DANCED LIFTING THEIR HANDS to worship our God, our creator. Something we rarely see in American culture. Many scriptures & songs state to lift our hands in praise to God, but seldom do we do it... WHY not?
You see, many of these Zambian people walked for days & some weeks to get to the Bible conference at the Mission. Yes, WALKED! How many of us, including myself, would walk to church??? I'd say very few in our culture. The Zambians are SO hungry to be under the preaching of the Word of God & to be with fellow believers, to share in their grief, sorrows & blessings.
Most of us walk around, or stay inside our 4 walls hiding our grief & sorrow, hording our blessings.
We base our faith on what we have...or don't have!
If all is well & there are no struggles or strife's in our life then we are praising the Lord...as we should... however when pain & suffering come our way generally our first reaction is to lift our hands to God but with clinched fists shaking them at God saying "WHY!" When things don't go our way we quickly turn our back on Him... forgetting all He has done for us... Most importantly He gave His Son, Jesus Christ for our sin.
The Word says that His name ALONE is worthy to be praised... He didn't have to die for us... He CHOSE to, so that He could be with us, guide us & be our deliverer.
Will we still praise Him...Worship Him as the Zambian people that I saw in Africa... if we only had maybe a small bag of belongings called our possessions?
Why do so many of us have a conditional relationship with God???
Why do so many parents show their children conditional love??? If they perform the way expected then they are affirmed & shown love. What happened to unconditional love?... is this why so many marriages are in trouble... our marriages are based on conditions... not a choice to love unconditionally... for better or WORSE... so many people want to bail out when hard times come...
Why do children begin to love their parents conditionally as they grow up??? As long as mom or dad are giving them everything they want then the love is pouring out...when the gifts are cut off or mom & dad make one bad decision or even mess up royally... the kids say, "I'm DONE with you" the child cuts off all communication & ends the relationship with the parent... forgetting all the blood sweat & tears mom & dad invested into their lives... Are all of our relationships hanging on by one bad decision...one wrong choice... does that mistake define who we are???
WHY OH WHY DO WE LOVE CONDITIONALLY??? Where are we learning this?
God does not love conditionally! HE IS ALWAYS ready to receive us... no matter what kind of mess we have made of our lives.
He doesn't always clean up our mess, most times we get to do that... but OH HOW HE LOVES US!
Can we love each other the way God loves us??? With OUT conditions Let us give it a try!
God's love is: read them slow, think about the depth of the words-
- Everlasting Mercy Psa_90:2, Isa_54:8, Exo_34:6
- Does not faint & is not weary Isa_40:28
- merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Exo_34:6
- Patient, longsuffering & Joyful Col_1:11
- Keeps His Word & promises 2Pe_3:9
These are just a few... so let us start here!
Love your spouse this way,
love our children this way,
honor our parents this way,
Worship our God this way!
The song 'Even If'' by Kutless is a great addition to this post!http://www.facebook.com/kutless?sk=app_376874179052648
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