"So that I can show My goodness."

The other day, I was going for a walk in the gorgeous weather, when I was taken aback by the beauty all around me. I couldn't believe how richly BLUE the sky was, or how vibrantly GREEN the grass was.... or how intricate the heads of grass were.

Yes, these are pretty normal things, and things that I see every day, but today it was different for some reason. It was like a veil was lifted from over my eyes, revealing a world that I recognized, but never with such clarity and overwhelming amazement. It was kind of like a baby being outside for the first time. Or a child delighted and curious about every site, feeling, and smell that is outside. Everything was so AMAZING. I don't think we take enough time to really SEE all that we take for granted...

So as I was walking along, gaping at everything, I asked God;

"God, why did you do this? Why did you decide to make this all so detailed and intricate and vibrant and beautiful? "

And He said; "So that I can show My goodness." (It was unmistakably God. It was so clear and definitely not something that I had concocted in my head.)

That amazed me. (...And I thought I had had enough amazement for the day! ;))

Once I was over the realization of how TRUE that was, I asked God;

"But, what about the bad things in nature?"

And He said; "Zoe, that's not Me. That's sin."

...

Man, it took me forever for that all to sink in. It was one of those things that is so TRUE that you feel it gradually sink into your soul, and then stays planted there never to be uprooted. Maybe after a while, it'll get buried somewhat, but it's THERE nevertheless.

God is not some old man up in the clouds looking down on us, judging our ever move with a frown. Yes, He is to be revered... but He is also to be LOVED. And so He wants to show that He is worthy of our love and that we have a reason to love Him. God is good... And He shows that goodness so that we can love him at our own choice. 

I love you, Father!! :D

Soaked and Overflowing

Yes, I am bringing LIFE back to this blog!! :D

Last night I had an INCREDIBLE time with some friends. I'm telling you, it was friendship in it's fullest glory; sharing, talking about what God is showing us, talking about God in general, reading His word, PRAYING, listening to Him, laughing, and just...... being. Hanging out, but with God THERE.

I really wanted to get together with some people, just to hear what God might be saying to each of us. And to encourage each other. God designed us to be in companionship with fellow believers, so that we can help each other out, but He also uses someone else to say something to you. It's just like how He designed the human body... with a head, hands, feet etc. When all the parts are together, then the body works wonderfully. So, when all the different parts of the Church's body (people) are working together, then it's complete! (And we can bring God's kingdom!)

"Truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” - Jesus (Matthew 18:19-20)


I saw this ^ happen last night!! We specifically prayed for God's presence to come, for us to hear His voice, and for Him to lead our discussion. AND HE DID! He was THERE, and He SPOKE to me (by giving me a picture - and I don't normally get pictures like that! It was incredible!), and He LEAD OUR DISCUSSION! Looking back on it now I'm realizing how everything tied together so perfectly. The random passages of the Bible we read and what we were talking about really clicked together. I really felt that God was leading it all. Which is the whole point.


Haha, it's funny because I was actually kinda nervous about it all beforehand. I hadn't really done anything like this before and I really wanted God to lead it all. To be honest, I was afraid that we wouldn't be able to hear Him. But we prayed for God to open our hearts to hear Him, and HE DID! :D


Anyways, this morning, as I was biking back from the neighbour's farm (I'm taking care of it this weekend - so much fun! :D), I was thinking about some of the things we talked about last night (there was so much, that I need a while to process it all!). Then I got a sort of revelation!! 


I was thinking about what we were discussing about our motives behind being good. Do we want to do what is right so that we can feel good about ourselves? Do we want to be righteous, or SELF-righteous? If those are our motives than we will just become prideful. However, it is important that we try to be good/do good things, but we should only do it if our motives are right. So what is the right motive? To honour God... to obey Him when He says to "Love your neighbour as yourself" and to "Love the Lord with ALL your heart, mind, strength and heart."


So here's the sort of revelation I got when biking in the rain: 
Honouring God is different than trying to please Him. Nothing we can do can make Him any more pleased with us than He is. Nor is there anything we can do to EARN His grace, favour, and love. We never deserved His goodness towards us in the first place, and we can't even BEGIN to deserve such amazing gifts that He gives us. But (to quote Reliant K) "The beauty of grace, is that it isn't fair." He still has grace, and He still is pleased with us. The picture I had was exactly that; Jesus was laughing and playing with us, like we were all his little children. He smiles with us. He is delighted in us (no matter how messy we are). haha!!! That's so cool. :) But it's neat because I didn't think of this. It was God showing me....


So I don't think honouring God is about pleasing Him, but more about THANKING Him! When someone does so much good to you as Jesus does, than one can't help but praise Him. And when you spend time with Him, in His presence, then His goodness fills you up! Till you're OVERFLOWING, that it's just NATURAL for good things to come out of you. When you spend time with God, then His Spirit fills you up, and SEEPS THROUGH. Then the good things you do isn't you anymore, but GOD!! Then naturally, all the glory goes to Him... because you know it wasn't you! Isn't that incredible?


Haha. I love that whole concept. I was laughing as I was getting SOAKED during my bike-ride.  


Sooo....
> Being 'good' means to honour God 
> Honouring God means showing gratitude to Him, (thanking and praising Him)
> We show gratitude to Him BECAUSE of all that He does! 
> And we become open to the good that God does when we SPEND TIME with Him.