God's Immeasurable Love and Forgiveness

     I found the ninth chapter of Nehemiah to be an interesting read. It told how disobedient the people of Israel were in the past and how God forgave them over and over again after they repented. He loved them like a loving Father and he punished them for the bad things that they had done and then he forgave them after they asked for his forgiveness. The ninth chapter of Nehemiah told about God's love, patience and long-suffering for the nation of Israel. It showed me just how immeasurable God's love and forgiveness really is.

     Nehemiah 9:9 "And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea," Nehemiah goes on to tells us the story of the exodus in verses 10-15 that God parted the Red Sea and cast their pursuers into the depths. Then God led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God gave them the ten commandments by Moses. He gave them bread from heaven to eat and water for them to drink. But after all what God did for them, they still disobey him and made themselves a golden calf to worship. 

    God punished them for their rebellion by sending them out into the wilderness for forty years but he also kept an eye on them and helped them to survive. Nehemiah 9:17-19,21 "....But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them ¹⁸Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, 'This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,' and had committed great blasphemies, ¹⁹you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness...." ²¹Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell."

     After they were in the wilderness for forty years, God let them enter the promised land. Nehemiah 9:23,25 "You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess." 25"....So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness." But their obedience to God did not last. Nehemiah 9:26,27 "Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. ²⁷Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies." 

     Nehemiah goes on and tells us that these people again went back to sinning and then God punished them and they again repented and God forgave them. This cycle of disobedience, punishment, repentance and then God's forgiveness was repeated over and over again showing God's unlimited patience, love and forgiveness for his people.

     God's love for us is the same today as it was for his people long ago. Psalm 103:17 "But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children," Psalm 100:5 "For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." Why does God have this kind of love for us? Because God is love (1 John 4:8). Who is always shining down his love and forgiveness upon us, because he cannot be any less than a loving God. He can see pass our imperfections. And in his infinite mercy gives us the opportunity to repent and have everlasting life through his son Jesus Christ. God's love and forgiveness for us is truly immeasurable.                                                                                               (ESV) 

History of My Personal Blog

     When I started my blog I was kind of naive. I wanted to share God's word and change the world by doing it. Well I guess I still haven't changed, I still want to share God's word and change the world by doing it. Mostly I just wanted to tell the world how I felt about God and how he is so important in my life. I got so tired of keeping it inside of me and needed to find away to express it more openly. So I started my blog and it did made me happy, for now I had a way to express myself.
     When I release my blog, it did not have that global impact that I had imagined. A lot of people did not read it. My blog was virtually unknown. ugh! My naivete was broken. Oh well, life goes on. I stilled enjoyed writing my blog, even though it was not getting the results that I hope for. I met some musicians in a band once, they to wanted to change the world with their songs. I believe that most of us want to do something to change our world and make it a better place to live.
     Anyway, I will continued to blog. I did take a year off of blogging. I think I was a little disillusioned about how big my blog was going to be and how it turned out to be. I read stories about bloggers hoping to make big money from their blogs and it did not turn out as they excepted and they quit blogging. I never wanted to make money on my blog but I did want to touch people somehow with my writings and tell them how I felt about God and his word. Some people say that the scriptures are like God's frozen spirit, when people read it, it thaws out within their hearts. I just wanted to point people to his word, so that the spirit of God could change them and make a difference in their life as it had in mine.
     My expectations of my blog has changed, I no longer feel that I can change the whole world with it. lol. What a blow to my ego, but I have to let go of my fantasy and be realistic. I do love my blog, it gives me so much satisfaction. It is about my journey through God's word and my discovery of it's meaning to my life and to our world. I find that God's word has so much depth and with it so many views to its meaning, thus causing so many denominations in our world. I like exploring it and theorizing about it. Through this exploring of God's word, I want to expand my knowledge about God, to apply it to my life and grow to be a more spiritually mature human being. I want to be who God wants me to be because he knows a whole lot more about me than I know myself. His way has always been the perfect way after all he did create us, our world and the entire universe, you have to admit, he does know something.
     I will continue to blog even if others do not think much of it. I do have many other things that I can do with my time but none of them gives me as much satisfaction as this blog. When I look into God's word it has so much wisdom that I cannot find anywhere else. Every post that I write, leads me to another. When I find one answer, I find I have many more questions to follow. It is an endless journey but for me it is a most enjoyable one.
   

God's Plan

     I love this topic God's plan, whenever I hear it preached or when I read about it. It gives me so much hope that one day our world and our lives will be made so much better when Jesus Christ returns. Generation after generation of Christians have been waiting on his arrival with open arms. Even though I may not see his return in my lifetime, it still makes me feel better about my own future and that of our world's. When I see and hear about so much trouble and badness that is going on, I am not brought down entirely by the news because the word of God tells me that a better world is on the way. God's word reassures me that the devil will not win and Jesus Christ will be triumphant in the end. Just thinking about makes me feel better already.
     Why did Jesus Christ come into our world? Because it was part of God's plan to redeem us from sin and death and to bring us back into a perfect paradise condition. Ephesians 1:4,5 "even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will," God with his far reaching sight, saw us holy and blameless before him and he saw us brought to him through Jesus Christ's sacrifice.
     God had a plan at the beginning. God told the serpent right after it deceived Adam and Eve that Jesus would come to bruise it in the head and it would bruise Jesus's heel (Genesis 3:15). This meant that Satan was behind Jesus Christ's crucifixion, it was like that he gave Jesus a minor wound to the heel because Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Whereas, Jesus Christ will give Satan a fatal wound to the head, when he throws the devil into the lake of fire forever (Revelation 20:10). God has not forgotten about us, everything that he has said, did come true and will come true.
     A lot people act like Jesus Christ is not returning at all. Its like when Moses went up mountain to receive God's ten commandments and those people who were waiting for him thought he was not coming back, they started to rebel against God and made themselves a golden idol (Exodus 32:1,8). As for us, the apostle Peter tells us the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise. 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." A vision(a revelation) has it's appointed time. Habakkuk 2:3 "For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay."
     I am not a rebellious person, even if the Lord does not return in my lifetime I will not be doing wrong against God or to others. I do not see or feel that upholding Christians values as burdensome, nor that I only do it because I fear God's punishment. On the contrary, following Christian's principles has help me a lot in my life. It has brought me to have little to no regrets in my life. The word of God has brought me hope and comfort during the sad times. And through prayer I have been strengthen to carry on. I am not a perfect man, I have on occasion got my fingers burnt by sin and that is why I hold God's word even closer for its wisdom and protection it gives me.
     God's plan is a wonderful plan for us. A home forever in paradise under our loving Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Why would anyone want to rebel against it. No more suffering and pain but only pure love and happiness for us all. Yes, I will eagerly wait on the Lord's arrival as long as it takes, for what else can compare to God's plan.        
       

The Blooms and Sunsets that no one will See

     I was thinking about how many flower blooms and beautiful sunsets that come and go without anyone seeing them. Flowers seem to give it their best even if there is no one around to applaud their efforts. So does the sky above give us something beautiful to look at, even if we are not around to see it. Nature does the same thing with it's colorful birds and creatures that roam the earth. It seeks no approval or reward it just does what it does best all the time.
     I was wondering why can't I be more like the flowers, the sky and nature, and just do my best without wanting to show it off or to seek some kind of reward or approval? Why is there some kind of vanity within me that wants to be noticed and to say to others look what I have done? I would like be to able to make something beautiful, make a masterpiece and be satisfied within myself, then walk away without wanting to show it off to someone for some kind of positive feedback. I seem to have some vanity, where nature has none.
     Will a person do their worst if no one is around to praise him? I think not. What painter will make their paintings ugly just because no one is around? What singer will sing their worst because he or she is not on a stage? People who are trying to created something will still do their best even if they are all alone. There is something within them that makes them want to achieve a perfect expression. So people are doing wonderful things that I will probably never hear or see, just because they love what they do.
     Each of us that have something to express will create their own blooms and sunsets to present to the world. Maybe some will get noticed and be applauded for their good work. However many others will have to make do with less. But we have to asked ourselves why are we doing it in the first place? Are we doing it because we love doing it or are we just trying to get noticed? Even still, I think a little vanity runs through all of our veins and we want people to love what we love to do. We want their approval and praise for the work that we have done.