Bumble Bee Part Three

Once again I found a new spot which as near one of my friends , we will call her Jane. All of a sudden I heard the buzzing of a bee and I immediately prayed, " I'm ready God." Then the bee came and buzzed back and forth right next to each ear for about a minute. The bee would come up real close to left ear and then go around to my right ear, then stop for a second and start again. Finally it got to be more than I could bare and I shot up and yelled, "I can't take it anymore!" Jane got up and ran over to me and held me tight. We stayed locked in an embrace for a minute or two when we let go and I walked far away. I walked over 5 minutes and decieded I was far enough away that no bee would find me but as soon as I sat down I heard another bee. The second I heard I freaked out and quickly walked away. I ended up making it all the way back to camp and no matter where I went a bee was always there, the time the bee landed on me seemed so long ago. This is so often how our relationship with God goes, He protects us once but then we just can't seem to find it in ourselves to trust Him again. Like it is said in Zephaniah 3:17, "The Lord your God is with you, He is might to save, He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."

Bumble Bee Part Two

A few minutes after the ladybug came the bee returned, but I tried my best to remain calm. However, I was unable stay calm when the bee came close, I freaked out and ran away. As I was running to find a new spot I had this feeling that I was running out on God, and I didn't like that feeling. I found a spot a good ways away from my previous spot and sat down. Not long after I sat down a bee came which reminded me that no matter where we go there will always be danger or trouble, we can't run from it. The fact that we can't run away from our troubles and danger reminded me just how much we need God. We can run all we want from the many trials we will experience through out our life, but they will always catch up to us. The only thing that can help us with our struggles is God and again all we have to do is ask Him to help us and He will. Like it says in Psalm 34:17, "This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all of his troubles." The Bible actually says the exact same thing in that same chapter, Psalm 34:6, and if the Bible says it twice in the same chapter then it really means it.

Bumble Bee Part One

I went to a retreat with my church last month and during it we were told to be silent and just sit somewhere and listen to God for one hour. I went off of a path and found a cliff where I could be by myself with no man made things in sight. I sat that for a couple of minutes waiting for something to happen, I didn't really know what to expect. All of a sudden there was this bee buzzing around and, I am very freaked out by bees. The bee buzzed around me in circles and I prayed to God to protect me and not let it sting me, and also for it to go away. Shortly after I prayed that prayer the bee left and I sat back down on the most comfortable rock I could find, which wasn't that comfortable. Then suddenly something yellow buzzed around me and it landed on my shoulder. I turned slightly and saw a yellow ladybug, I've never seen a yellow ladybug before and took it as God telling me, "I love you and will protect you." God wants to protect us, He wants us to run into His loving arms. All we have to do is trust Him, which at least for me, is the hardest part.

Learning Verses

I have been in church all my life and it has always been greatly emphasized to memorize verses, but I never truly understood how much of a good thing learning verse was. The other day I was talking to a friend of mine about a particular belief of I have that he greatly disagrees with. We have talked about this before, but I was never able to accurately justify it until that moment. My friend, who we shall call him Joe, said something to the extent of, 'every human being does this'. In response to that I quoted a verse right off the top of my head, reference and everything. It was probably one of the most outright acts of Christianity I have done in a long time. I will never be able to fully tell you just how good it felt to have the ability to refer to the Bible like that. Now every morning when I read my Bible I try to find a verse or two that I can memorize and stow away in my heart. Just like the people in my church did I strongly encourage you to memorize verses from the Bible and keep them in your heart, so that you can defend your beliefs no matter what the circumstance.

Frustrating People

It's unbelievable how frustrating people can be and not even care. You know those types of people, they're the ones who laugh when you fail, or give you a hard time with what you believe or how you handle different situations. I deal with a person like that everyday pretty much, we shall name that person Will. Will is that person who twists my believes and tries infuriate me. The only way I have found to deal with Will is to remember that he is going to get what he deserves in Heaven and that God will dish out the punishment and I don't need to worry my pretty little head about it. Even though Will is difficult to get along with most of the time, I have to remember that God loves him, heads over heels in love with him and I need to love Will too, and continue to try to bring him to Christ.

The Painting

One of my friends recently struggled with wanting to know the end and what God had in store for her. I didn't know how to answer since, I don't know the end results either, so I simply gave her this analogy. All of our lives are like a painting with God as the artist. When God paints He paints with slow, deliberate strokes never making a single mistake. We don't know what the picture is going to look like nor can we rush our artist, but the end result is worth the wait. The final picture is a breathtakingly beautiful masterpiece that reflects the God who made and loves each and everyone of us equally and without hesitation and only wants the best for us. Like it says in Matthew 6 31-34, "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Go

In the Bible it says numerous times to go out unto the world and spread the Word of God. Yet Christians everywhere say they're waiting for God to call them. I feel like yelling, "Hello! Christ has called you! It's in the Bible, and what's in there applies to you now as much as it applied to people back then." All Christians are commanded to go, but like I said in retrospect to how many people claim to be Christian hardly any go. Like Kieth Green once said. "This generation of Christians is responsible for this generation of souls on the earth!" What do us as Christians do with that responsibility? We blow it off thinking someone else will minister to those people. But don't you understand? You are the answer to someones prayers. Millions of people, including myself, pray for their loved ones. We pray that God would put someone into their lives that would bring them to the Lord, because our loved ones have shut the door on us. We're praying for you to step up and share your faith with those around you and be a minister. And how could you not? The God of the universe asks everyone to help Him, how can we say no? I don't know. It might be because we can't see God, we can't touch, we can't hear Him. That is faith though, faith is beyond reason. Faith is knowing that God will be with you every step of the way and will help you when you do His Will.

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of then Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
~ Matthew 28:19