9AM: You Will Be Tested

You Will Be Tested

My journey though the Bible has been tedious and a practice in discipline. The words are foreign, the text feels heavy, and the stories are old. But I have uncovered some nuggets.

Today, I am in the book of Exodus. The people of Israel have pleaded and begged for their freedom from Pharaoh and God gave in.

Moses and Aaron lead this large group of people towards the promise land. They are young, old, and diverse in their backgrounds. I think some truly believed in God and the others are along for the ride. They have already seen God do astounding things, such as, parting the Red Sea. Even so they are human, compliancy and forgetfulness have a tendency to set in.

Let the testing begin.

Exodus 16: 4 The Lord said to Moses, “Behold I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

Why does God test? What purpose does it have in our lives?

The answer is simple but difficult to accept when some people are tested with cancer, illness, and the loss of a child and death of a friend or loved one.

God test us so that we see our faith lived out.

Think for a moment, how can we say that we have faith if we never have the chance to apply it? It is the same faith that we place in our closest relationships. We know that the people in our lives love us and we place our faith in them because situations have tested the relationship.

The testing has made the relationship stronger!

I know God needs to prove nothing to himself, so the testing is not for him but for me. It is to make me stronger. It is a chance for me to live out the faith that I claim to have. It is the chance to stand in the middle of storm and yell, “come what may, I am not afraid, I will not back down.”

With the right perspective what an opportunity. 

@earlinagreen

9AM: What We Believe Matters

What We Believe Matters

When an individual is deeply invested in their beliefs you will not win them over with reason because you are asking them to go against the very thing they believe.

Beliefs are important.

For instance, one might reason that people who call themselves lovers of the peace movement would not succumb to rhetoric that is fervently for war.  An individual who believes they are a Christ follower has certain character traits and so on.

We should pay close attention to beliefs because they dictate thoughts our thoughts steer our actions.

My question, how do you alter beliefs?

How do you and I shift the very foundation we build our entire life on? We live and die by our beliefs – even if they are wrong.

We loose the principle of truth as a foundation for our beliefs because we cannot agree absolute truth exist. My faith teaches that there is absolute truth. Truth is found in Christ, scripture, and seen through creation. 

My belief in an absolute truth lays the foundation for how I treat you, respond to hate, and live my life. But, this is my truth, and no matter how bad I want that truth to be the truth of the world, it is not.

Other belief foundations that we witness today are those around abortion and homosexuality, money, and power. It appears the foundation is centered around the belief that your life is your own and you do what you will. But I have known people who did what they will as it pertains to life, love, their body, and relationships and it has led to pain.

How do we decide on a central and absolute truth?

The place to begin would be the beginning but we would all have to agree on the starting point. We would have to agree on the starting place of our existence and creation, a beginning in which man was created.

The reason we don’t know where to look for the answers is because we have lost our starting point. Truth is subjective and our beliefs stem from the days newspaper headlines.

I hope we can come to an agreement before we harm each other further with our “beliefs”.

@earlinagreen

9AM: A Profound Truth

A Profound Truth

The rumor is that being a Christian is boring. I’ve heard people say the faith is all about rules, mandates, and consequences. People have said that life is to be lived by the heart and to follow the heart wherever it may lead. I have heard that people who believe in an all-knowing being are better off believing in aliens. 

All of this is simply not true.

I was a young woman who lived the way I wanted to in my early twenties. I followed my heart wherever it led and my life was a wreck. I entered relationships giving more of myself than I should. I lived in a high-rise condo and had all the money I needed but I was miserable.

Giving my life to Christ has not only freed me from my own hang-ups, family history, and past choices but I have better relationships with my friends, sisters, and the people I work with. I don’t sweat the small stuff and when I do I have a group of girls around me who remind me of a better way to process my emotions.

I marry my best friend in a few months and it would not be possible without first recognizing who loved me first, why he created me, and my life's objective. 

Christ pursued me.

I've been on this journey for a few years now. A journey in which I’ve turned to run away from the truth of my soul but I was pursued with love and kindness. Christ pursued me through my church community group, through the Bible, and through complete surrender of the life I wanted for myself.

That’s when it happens.

That is when life opens up. The Bible says in Matthew 16:25, “whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” You and I gain Him and the full revelation that comes with being in relation with the creator of the universe.

My life is far from boring and uninspired but free, revealed, steady, peaceful, filled with love, and hard times that are meant to further grow and define my character. I’ve realized that every occasion is an opportunity to live out the grace and love that has been given to me.

Life still isn’t easy but it’s not hard either.  

it’s worth it. It’s worth it because the life I lead is more authentic and better than the “life” I could have created for myself. It’s worth it because even when things go bad I can see the bigger picture. It’s worth it because all my striving to “be”, to exist, is now laid at the feet of Christ and he happens to be a better captain.  

It’s worth it because when death comes, I will welcome it, knowing that I ran the race with full understanding of what the sacrifice of Christ meant and how he changed my entire life. 

@earlinagreen

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Short Story: The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Location: Restaurant, Texas 

She looks around trying to remember why she gave up her life for marriage and a child. Her young daughter coughs and screams throughout the restaurant and the mothers subtle reminder to cover her mouth goes unheard.

Two younger women chat in the corner next to a window about life and exam scores for college acceptance. The woman with the young child looks on with a regretful gaze.

She whispers to herself, "why ever did I decide to get married?" 

She plays with her wedding ring as if to remind herself that she had someone. She was not like those young girls because she had someone to love and care for her. 

"Life is better this way", she whispered. 

 "They will grow lonely and old, with beauty fading, and their stories outdated."

The little girl continued to cough up her lungs without her hands placed firmly over her mouth. \\

@earlinagreen

9AM: When Man Had Everything

When Man Had Everything

Our search for absolute truth will not be easy because there is so much in our way. Life, advertisements, our personal history, the present, and our unforeseen futures all stand in the way of hearing the truth and responding.

Fact, truth is hard to hear and even harder to understand because life is, well life. Who wants to hear they think too highly of themselves? Who wants to hear the boyfriend of girlfriend that one chooses is not a good decision? No one. We want our decisions and life choices confirmed and celebrated, not questioned.

Yet all still must be said in love and truth.

Looking at the scriptures God opens our journey for truth in a big way -- through creation. He leaves nothing to the imagination as he speaks all kinds of stuff into existence, the sky, the oceans, night, day, animals. Last but not least, out of his divine thought he says let us make man in our image. The greatest words ever spoken because in that moment you and I came to be. He molded and shaped us out of dust and breathed life into us.  

What a moment. We were originally endowed with all the things immortals are created with. The power to create, name and claim, shift and conquer, we were to rule over everything. As I read from scripture and write this I can almost feel the magnitude of that moment.

It was still unfinished. Just as the animals had mates so man needed one as well. God places Adam into a deep sleep, removes one of his ribs and creates Eve.

The story hinges on the significance of Eve and her role in the fall.

God had one commandment for these two. They could eat; frolic, and rule over everything in the garden but to steer clear of the tree of life. A tree that endowed man with the knowledge of good and evil.  

God gave man everything and had one command in return.

The enemy, our enemy to this day, convinces man otherwise in the greatest lie ever told. That lie plays on repeat in many of our lives today. God is not good, his word cannot be trusted and we know a better way.

We loose.

Our ancestors lost heaven and an eternity with God for all us but in the same position I would not have chosen any better.

The book of Genesis reads on, Cain kills Abel out of jealously, man rebels time and time again and still God provides by taking in men like Abraham, Noah and Joseph.

What we take from it today is that even when we have it all, the heart seeks, wonders, and demands more.

Can you reflect on an area in your life where you had what you wanted and still wanted more?

The Bible is as relevant today as it was then. Can you hear it? Can you hear the truth of your story playing out in the individuals that lived back then?

Will you listen? 

@earlinagreen