God's Answers

Last night, I was talking to a dear friend, getting advice. It was a very small, insignificant problem of mine, or at least that’s how it seemed to me. Despite that, she gave me advice. There was one piece of her advice that I remember most clearly. She said: “Pray on it. He doesn’t care how small [your problem] is. If we ask for help, He’ll give it…”
I realized that I don’t really pray on my decisions. I usually take the weight of whatever problem I have on my own shoulders. Very rarely do I pray to the LORD, lifting up my problems. I realized how hypocritical that is. I’m sure you have noticed how often I preach about the LORD always being there, but here I find myself not listening to my own advice. Life would be so much easier, less stressful, if I just lifted my problems to the LORD. He always answers our prayers. The second piece of advice I remember is this: “…Be prepared to not like the answer, though.” As I said, the LORD always hears and answers our prayers. That doesn’t mean his answer is our favorite. I know I’ve written about this many times before, but I just find it one of the most important things we need to know about the ever-mysterious ways of our LORD. We must remember that He has a plan for us, and He has had that plan since before we were born. If you ever find yourself wondering why you are going through a hard time, remember this: it is the LORD’s doing. That is not to say that our God is trying to bring us pain. There’s just times in which one must go through an amount of pain to reach something great. Consider these two examples:

For out first example, let’s think of a sport. We’ll use football, as it is a physically demanding sport. As a former football player, I can testify that practices weren’t always a blast. There were days that were very tough. Why would one put up with that? Well, the answer, in this example, is game day. A player puts themselves through the tough practices to reach the thrill and rush of game day.

For our second example, let’s look to the Bible. Alas, I cannot give a specific verse or chapter, but I know that Jesus said somewhere that, in order to follow him, one must drop everything in order to follow him. That must have been really hard, but, in the words of a Relient K song: “The ends justify the pain it took to get us there.”

Though it may be hard to see this, we must remember that the light of the LORD shines at the end of every dark tunnel. Everything, even the bad things, happens as part of a greater plan. We must trust God by lifting up our problems, letting Him answer them, but remember: we must also be prepared for an answer that we may not like. Just trust that it is for the best, because it most certainly is, for the LORD our God is loving and merciful. Amen.

Keep the Peace,
Kyle

Separation

Spanish is my second language. I'm in Spanish IV in school, and I'm semi-fluent. There's a curse that comes with being fluent. I quite often find myself translating english to spanish in my mind during everyday conversation. I was doing just that the other day while talking to Alyssa on facebook. I mentioned it to her, and she offered to help. She said she would pull up a translator and I would talk in spanish, and she would turn that into english. I happily accepted her offer, so we talked like that for just over half an hour.

Once I spoke all the spanish I could take, we switched back to english. My mind, however, was still in what i called "spanish mode". It was, believe it or not, a tad bit difficult to think and type in english. I began to wonder if that must be the curse that comes with fluency, or if, once one is more fluent than I, they can "turn off" whichever "mode" they're on, kind of like what some artists do. They sometimes have to turn off their "artist's eye", otherwise they will see even the smallest things as beautiful, and marvel at the simplest of objects.

That brought my mind to religion, and I realized I, and many more Christians, have separate "modes" in our lives. We go to church and enter "God mode". For that hour we are true Christians. We focus on God; give him all of our attention. Once we leave that church, though, like an artist leaving her painting, or a linguist changing languages, we go into what one may call "life mode". We all too often separate God from out everyday lives. I e-mailed my Pastor a few weeks ago. I was having trouble with the fact that my relationship with the LORD was melting away. Between work, school, and other obligations, I didn't have time to read my Bible or write a new article (as I'm sure you know). I asked him how I'm really expected to juggle all of that, and add God on top of everything else. His reply was this:

it can be helpful to see and live in a way that school, work, and musical are your witness and your service to God. Not to separate our God life from our everyday life.

Truer words have never been spoken. Amen.

In Christ,
Kyle

He Knows

The other day, I was sitting on my bed and looking out the window. I looked up and saw the stars, and it amazed me. To think that God knows exactly how many stars are in the sky. Then I thought of the verse that says God knows the exact number of hairs on your head. That just amazes me so much, I try to count the hairs on my head and get lost at like 50, and it is not even 1/26 of all my hair! Wow, God knows everything, how many stars are in the sky and how many hairs are on your head. If He knows that, how would He not know how you are feeling, or the answer to a problem you have? Ask Him your questions, He WILL know the answer.

Love,
Elise

Butterflies

Have you ever heard the story of butterflies before? It's really quite amazing. A butterfly starts its life as a crawling slug-like caterpillar. Usually dull-colored and boring, they spend their days simply eating and crawling. Eventually, they go through an amazing, impossible metamorphosis into the beautiful creatures we call butterflies. They go from dull caterpillars to colorful, free butterflies. After being confined to the ground, they are set free into the air, free to travel and go as they please, bringing smiles to little kids.

Butterflies are God's way of showing us that He gives second chances. We all start off as caterpillars. Confined to the dull ways of this Earth. We may do things we are not proud of, things that we regret. Amazingly, God gives us a second chance; He turns us into butterflies. He can open our eyes to His love and glory, showing us the light in the world and the Heavens. Isn't it amazing??

I know some of you reading this now may feel like a caterpillar, but that's OK. We are all there at one point or another, and sometimes more than once. God may not have opened your eyes yet. He has a reason for doing that, just like He has a reason for doing everything else. God always forgives you for what you have done. And He doesn't only give second chances, but third and fourth... seventh and eighth... Just believe with all your heart that Jesus was given to die for your sins. Believe that God is ever-present and ever-loving, and you will recieve his endless mercy.

In the words of PD: Keep the Faith.
Kyle

Prayer Requests

I'm thinking about starting a weekly prayer chain. If anyone would like to put in a request, you can comment here, on facebook, or e-mail us at godswordsaves@gmail.com .

God Bless,
Kyle

Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin

From the Gospel of Luke. Chapter 15: 1-10

Parable of the Lost Sheep
1Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people- even eating with them!

3So Jesus told them this story: 4"If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won't he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying. 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.'
7In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!


Parable of the Lost Coin
8"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, whe will call in her friends and neighbors and say, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.' 10In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents."
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Who are you in these parables? It's plain to see that God is the shepherd and the woman. His people are the sheep, and the coins. But there are two different kinds of sheep. Two different kinds of coins. There's the lost and the found. Which one are you? If you're one of the found, that's great, be happy! The LORD God calls you His. But maybe these Parables are aimed at the lost. For the lonely, wandering sheep. Or the old, dusty coin hiding under the bed. Are you one of the lost? If you are, don't be afraid; don't worry! The LORD is searching for you. Yes, He loves all of those whom he has already found, but He chooses to search for the lost, so that they may be saved! He does not give up, nor does He tire. All day and all night he is searching, holding out His hand. Take it! It's such an amazing feeling, being one of the found. I know this from experience. My Father found me in July at Lifest in Oshkosh, WI. He reached out His hand and I took it and held it firm. I still have not let go, and neither should you. When I first came to the LORD, it was such an amazing feeling, but that can easily fade if you tuck that experience in a box and put it away. But here's some advice: don't put it away. Keep it with you always.
To all those lost sheep: don't be afraid to come to the LORD, your Shepherd when He calls you, for all the heavens and the earth will rejoice when you are found!
Now, to all those already found: keep holding on; keep a strong faith. Don't look down upon those who have not been found. Try giving them a nudge. You know the way to God, so point them in the right direction.

Now... which one are you?

Kyle

E-mail List

I'm going to start an e-mail list for anyone interested. I will e-mail you when there are any major changes to the blog, or new posts (just let me know when you would like me to e-mail you.) To get on the list, e-mail us at godswordsaves@gmail.com . Include your name (or a screen name) and your preferences for when you would like to recieve your e-mails from us. Now I'm hoping to get some mail!

In Christ,
Kyle