A Foreigner

Accepting the invitation of Jesus Christ to the great feast can be lonely 

Foreigner

I haven't heard this word discussed in awhile in christian groups, so I thought I'd blog about it :)

I remember in earlier years, which I refer to as B.C. (Before Christ), I used to answer questions like these with ease:
"What did you do this weekend?"; "Did you go out?"; "Who are you dating?"; "What is he like?" <- and unfortunately with this one, they were not referring to his personality.

A.C. (After Christ) these questions were not....well, easy to answer.  They were startling and rather shocking because I thought my responses to these questions would be different than majority of the responses of my peers (which they were).  I did not want to be different from my friends or my family members that I was so close too.

But the truth of the matter was, I was different, am different.

"Behold if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has past and the new has come" 2 Corinthians 5:17

"And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Galatians 5:24

I was, and am 'born again' with a new spirit, God's Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14) to walk in newness of life, not in the old manner in which I used to live.

After awhile, it became easy to answer these questions...I really began to believe, the more I read the Word, of my new identity in Jesus Christ.  For example, someone would ask me:

"What did you do this weekend?"

My Response:  I went to three bible studies and spent hours in prayer with the love of my life, Jesus Christ. (HUGE SMILE)

I knew I was different, apart of a group called the 'peculiar people' (1 Peter 2:9).

But sometimes, I GET TIRED of being different because it is lonely. period
I love Jesus and everything to me is about Jesus.
I get called weird, radical, different, you name it..

but the reason I get tired is because I am looking for a 'home', a place where
I am understood on this Earth.  The major problem with this search is this is not my home.
The kingdom I belong to is not of this world.
As Paul says, "my citizenship is in heaven" Phil. 3:20
and the second part of that verse says:
we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ

that is where my hope and longing should be for

Holy Spirit, direct my heart into the hope of deep longing and waiting for Jesus
where I will find my home and no longer be a foreigner

Living and Discovering God

I used to think of the wisdom of God, and then immediately cower in fear.  If your reading this, you may think GOOD, you better Fear the Lord, or you may not be thinking anything at all :D.  However, I believe the fear that I held deep in my heart was negative because I feared God in an unhealthy way.  I was afraid to read the book of proverbs because it would cut me up; in fear, that I would feel so utterly horrible about myself and would not even know how to pray to God for help.  I did not understand the intention of God's heart behind His correction and wisdom.  


"For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights" Proverbs 3:12


Basically, God corrects us because He likes us.  He see's our inadequacies, but does not define us by them.  He defines us by His blood, the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross for our sins.  His focus is to make His glorious perspective of us a REALITY.


Another thought, or rather a lie is that: God's wisdom is impossible to incorporate in daily life.  How can I think on God's truth while walking and chewing gum at the same time.


mHmmm... :) good question.


Proverbs 3 [in parentheses, are my words]: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding [your own wisdom], In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. [so thinking on Him in everything you do] Do not be wise in your eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil [Respect God and do what He says] --- OKAY stop! Overload.  Let's summarize:

• We cannot use our own wisdom to solve our problems
• We have to think about God all the time, which appears kind of burdensome
• We need to turn away from all evil and do everything God says

but check out verse 8, a promise that comes after these commands:
"It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones"


It gets better.  The rewards of taking heed to God's wisdom looks something like this:


"How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.  For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold.  She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her.  Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor.  Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace.  She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And HAPPY are all who hold her fast." Proverbs 3:13-18


This is the abundant life that Jesus describes in John 10 that He desires us to live "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly" 10:10


KEY POINT:  There is no way we are going to always turn away from evil and always do what God says.  He wants us to believe that He is Lord and the Messiah, that died and conquered sin.  He wants us to let His Holy Spirit that is given to those whom believe in Him to live through us, so we can live this life with true freedom.


The whole concept of taking heed to the Lord's wisdom is not that IF we do NOT do everything He says, God smites us.  It is NOT listening to the accusing voice of the devil that tells us of all our sins and that tells us we need to be perfect, which drives us to be a perfectionist in everything we do and be COMPLETELY discouraged at every failure. 


It IS:


listening to the voice of God, the gentle voice of wisdom that God speaks to us.  God desires to have dialogue with us.  The Holy Spirit gently tugs on our heart, showing us our sin, so we can repent of it and turn it over to Him.  Then, the Holy Spirit inside of us works in us to understand the Word (as we read the bible) and live it out loud in our lives with power.  In this process, we become more intimate with God, meaning we receive more of His pleasure and joy "..In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand there are pleasures forever" Psalm 16:11.  And He continues to give us the power and desire to obey Him more and more as we seek Him (Philippians 2:13 - "For it is God working in you, giving you the desire and power to obey Him" )


God's wisdom brings healing, joy, and truth to our heart

It's like dancing with butterflies...


‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ Jeremiah 33:3


He tells us to call to Him and learn from Him- from His wisdom "Come unto Me, all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" Matthew 11:28-29


He calls us gently with mercy and lovingkindness.


God is humble.  He understands and can sympathize with our weaknesses:
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15


and He loves us.  He loves us enough to die for us.  and He loves us enough to guide us to the life that our hearts truly desires. He knows the eternal desires of our human heart because He put it there: He has also set eternity in the human heart.." Ecclesiastes 3:11 


The Creator knows His creation...


So let us listen and hear what He has to say:
 I will hear what God the LORD will speak,
         For He will speak peace
         To His people and to His saints;
         But let them not turn back to folly. Psalm 85:8


and let us trust Him, and obey.


:)