Idol Sickness

In 2 Kings it reads: they followed worthless idols, and they themselves became worthless.  I heard this verse read today - and it literally caused me to stop and think.    


We often times think of "idols" as statues, witch doctors in another country, possessions, or people who we literally worship.  Idols are much more then this.  An idol is anything that takes precedence over God in our lives.  An idol can be food, money, a job, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a spouse, a celebrity, school, you name it.  


In America, we're really good about disguising our idols.  And we probably have more of them in our culture then anywhere else.


We value the fact that we can make our own decisions and choices and yet we're really slaves to the worldly things that consume us.  


We're all longing for that hole in our life to be fulfilled - we all want to be satisfied.  Many of us however, chose to fill that hole with idol after idol moving onto the next when the first doesn't fulfill.  The devil continually looks for ways to fill our longings with things that will ultimately steal, kill, and destroy us.  


Often times, the idol he gets us to follow won't even be something that is blatant, especially within the "Christian" sect.  


For example, recently I found myself thinking often about my future career, and the longing to have a family.  Those two things are not bad things to think about - but they began to consume my thoughts, my ideas, and invade most parts of my day - becoming my idol.  


If we allow ourselves to be consumed with idols in our life - and start to follow worthless things - we will ultimately become those things.  We become what we consume our lives with.  


So whats your idol?  
Food?  Money?  A desire for a spouse/significant other?  A career?  A job?  Technology?  Pride?  Competition?  Music?  Industry?  Reality TV?  A celebrity?  A sports team?


Identify it.  Thats step one.  


Papa God I pray that we are so consumed with You and the things of eternity and of Your Kingdom that earthly things don't even compare.  I ask that You would reveal our idols to us God and begin to revive our hearts with a new passion for You.  Papa, we live to glorify You and make Your Kingdom known.  


In your beautiful son Jesus name,


Amen.  

Tell Someone

Today, I was sitting in Caribou - like any old regular Wednesday evening.  It is my favorite spot to study.  I have coffee, treats, space, light background music, all at my disposal.  I could not ask for a better environment.  

As I sat there, happily listening to my "Jack Johnson/Casting Crowns" mixed Pandora Radio Station, memorizing the 206 bones of the human body, a woman walks up to me.  This evening, it was particularly crowded in Caribou and I happened to have a large table all to myself.  As she approached, I assumed that she was going to ask if we could share tables.  

She stood next to my table.  I took my headphones off, looked up at her, and smiled politely.  She flashed a bright white smile back at me.  I noticed she was dressed quite well for a Wednesday night at Caribou, but I didn't dwell on it that much.  After a moment she asked, "may I ask you a question?" to which I responded, "sure."  Mistake 1.  

She looked very enthusiastic all of a sudden.  It was then I realized the microphone and camera behind her.  The next few moments were a blur.  She said something about being from a news station, and then asked me my thoughts and opinions on the death of Steve Jobs.  

My mind went blank.  I didn't know what to say, so naturally I said "um I'm sorry, who?"  Mistake 2.  She crinkled her eyebrows in disgust and with thick sarcasm and a snappy tone said "are you serious?"  To which I responded with a blank stare, wanting to sink into the chair.

She hesitates, then turns to the man at the table next to me and says, "you know who Steve Jobs is - right?"  And of course, like the rest of the word, he knew who Steve Jobs was.  He not only knew who Steve Jobs was, but continued to eloquently comment on the death of Steve Jobs and his opinions on the company and what was to come.  

She proceeded to make her rounds to all of the Caribou customers - all of who knew who Steve Jobs was.  While I pretended to listen to my Apple iPod - I heard her say from across the room - "you guys know who Steve Jobs is right? I can't believe some people don't!"  

Good grief.  I felt like the worlds biggest idiot.  

After my embarrassment had somewhat passed I began thinking about something more important than who Steve Jobs is.  It got me thinking about who Jesus is - and how many people would know who He is and what He died for if we went and asked them.

Would your family know?

Would your friends know?

Would your co-workers know?

And if not, what are you doing about it?

At the finale of your life - it will be more important that you know who Jesus is, than who Steve Jobs is.  And I'm glad to say that I may not have known who Steve Jobs was, but I know who Jesus is, and I know what He died for.

Get out of your comfort zone.  Ask someone.  Tell someone.  

Remember: 

Knowing Jesus > Knowing ______(insert any human being name)  

Blessings,

Samantha

Learning to Trust

Disclaimer:  I am human.  I don't claim to be otherwise.  This blog may (or better yet will) contain errors.  If you'd like to leave a comment or your thoughts, please do so.  If you have constructive criticism, I'll take it.  If you have just plain criticism, I'll leave it.  I just want to share my heart, and my thoughts.  Thank you for reading:).


Its been awhile since I've last wrote, to be more precise, its been roughly three months.  Why?  I could give all sorts of excuses.  The fact that I worked full time this summer, took a stats class online, and had an internship all at he same time took a hefty stab on my free time and hobbies.  Needless to say, I'm back at it - and happy to be.  I'm going to be a consistent blogger (or that is my aspiration), from here on out. 


Now, on to the blog...


There are two seasons in the midwest; winter - and road construction.  Quite literally.  The other day I was driving down I-35.  It was a lengthy stretch of about 200 miles from Minneapolis to centeral Iowa.  And wouldn't you know it, I ran into road construction.  The nice and speedy two lane interstate turned into a 55mph one lane.  I was upset at this 4 mile stretch which was taking up an extra five minutes of my delicate time, and expressing this as a severe case of road rage.  However, as I looked across to the other stretch of I-35 going north, I saw bumper to bumper traffic for miles.  Not just slow moving traffic, but stop and go traffic that seemed to go on forever.  I laughed as I neared the end of this build up thinking, "You don't even know what's comin!" 


The next thought that popped into mind was "Samantha, lately, I have been like you, and you have been like the person about to hit that 10 mile stretch of ugly traffic."  It was that nice, gentle, voice of Papa God that I had not heard in some time (due to my own fault of laziness - but that is another story).  I was alarmed at this thought.  What could this possibly mean?  God on this side of the road, and me on the other?  I began to sit on this thought for awhile, wanting to dismiss it but unable to.  Finally it came to me.  God was telling me that He knew better then I did what was ahead of me - and that I needed to trust Him, even when I didn't feel like it, because Him and Him alone can see the "block of traffic" that I was about to hit. By trusting in myself I would hit that block of traffic, but by trusting in Him, I could avoid it.  


I realize this not make all that much sense.  It makes sense in my head but then as I write it it comes out in mumbo jumbo.  Let me simplify.  We are a people who love control.  Who love to make our own decisions and put all trust in ourselves.  We think we know whats best, and we believe that our way is the (only) right way.  However, God is beyond the "now" of our lives.  He knows whats best - after all He does have plans to prosper us, give us hope, and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  Then why do we consistently lean on our own (and weak) human strength when God already has a plan, and knows best?  


Learning to trust in God has been one of the hardest, but most rewarding things I have ever done.  Don't get me wrong - I'm still learning, but its getting better every day.  For a long time, I felt the urge and compulsion to control everything in my life.  However, lately I've just submitted and felt comforted by the fact that the God I believe in is much more worthy to trust with my life than I am.  If He has plans to prosper me, give me hope, give me a future, make my paths straight, counsel and watch over me (all promises that the Bible makes, Jer 29:11, Psalm 32:8, Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 145:18)- who better to put complete trust in?  


So here is my challenge.  Trust in the Lord.  Really trust in Him.  Meditate on those verses.  Figure out what areas your not giving Him complete control and trust over.  


Psalm 118:8 “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”

Its About the Relationship

I grew up attending a Catholic church for the first 18 or so years of my life.  I have nothing against Catholics, its important for you to know and understand that right off the bat - but I state it for story sake.  Anyway, continuing on.  

I grew up Catholic, like I said.  My parents were terrific - we said prayers as a family before bed and dinners, we went to church each Sunday, my brother and I attended Wednesday evening service as well as Sunday school, and we were often involved in the church happenings.  I grew up a happy child, in a loving home, with great parents - which I feel extremely blessed for.  However, I failed to grasp something all of those years of my life - relationship with Jesus.  

Growing up, my understanding of God was that he was a big God, a good God, but far far away, in some distant galaxy.  My understanding of Jesus was limited to the fact that He was God's son, and He forgave me.  I understood "religion" as being a good person, being nice to other people, going to church on Sundays, and making sure to confess all of your sins.  That was my limited understanding of it.  

I could go on and finish the rest of my testimony, but today I just want to focus on what I missed out on growing up.  I built up this idea of God, religion, and Jesus, but it was for the most part, all no good - I missed the big picture entirely.  

Relationship with Jesus Christ is much, much more then a church visit on Sunday, a good Bible study, carrying someone's groceries for them, a spiritual high, a memorized Bible verse, a confessed sin, or signs and wonders.

Relationship with Jesus Christ is about pursuing Him wholeheartedly.  This means digging into His word, talking to Him, making Him top priority.  

If Jesus Christ is NOT occupying the top of our priority list and something else is - this is called idolatry.  

God says in Exodus to not have any God's but Him, and to not worship false idols.  

Sometimes I think that when we think of idols we think of statues of pagan gods, greek gods, sacrifices  rituals, or something of the sort.  I know that when I thought of "idols" I always thought of stone statues and people bowing down to them.  

The scary reality is however, is that there are probably more idols in our day in age then ever before. 

I realize this is a bold comment to make, but think about it.  Facebook, Twitter, texting, money, relationship status, technology gadgets - iPods, iPads, iPhones, cars, homes, fashion, food, singers, actors/actresses, books, models, movies, and so much more can be constituted as idols now - and we probably don't even realize it.  

Even seemingly "good" things can become idols.

My challenge to you is to take a serious look at your life and really examine if there is anything in your life that could constitute an idol.  Mine personally, was getting to be Facebook for awhile there.  I'd choose it over reading Scripture, soaking, spending time with God, ect... Before I realized it it was the first thing I checked in the morning and the last thing I checked at night.  Finally, I woke up to the reality that it was taking up more of my time then God was - that is an issue.  

Enough religion, more relationship.  More intentional, spirit-filled, wholehearted relationship with God.  

More reading His word - and less Facebook status's.

More talking to Him - and less texting, Facebook chatting.

More soaking in worship music - and less soaking in reality tv and movies with less then God-glorifying messages.  

To all in my generation: its time to take a stand!  The devil lures us by all of these "innocent," seemingly "less destructive" idols.... time to say no.  The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy.  Our God comes with plans to prosper, and bring love in peace... 

More of Him - less of the worldly.  

It may seem radical, it may seem harsh - but in the end, all else fades, and one thing remains.  

In Him,

Samantha 

Love for Enemies

Tonight, I just wanted to share a piece of whats been on my heart.  And I truly want to get better at this blogging thing, since I just noticed I haven't blogged since March!  So much to tell, and so little time.  I am committing to get better. 


Luke 6:27-36 has been on my heart lately.  Quite a bit.  Here is the Scripture:


 ²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.
   ³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.


In the Christian culture it is said "love your enemies" - and everyone says it like its the simplest thing to do.  It is not.  Doing good to those who hate you, blessing those who curse you, and praying for those who mistreat you are definitely not the easiest things - at least not in my book.  


For a long time now, Jesus has been teaching me how to love other people.  And I mean it - love.  Not just tolerate or put up with but -  L-O-V-E.  


Our lives speak volumes to those around us.  If we begin to show others the love that Christ has for us, what a testimony that will be to others about Jesus.  


People don't want to often times listen to our words (take it from someone who makes public attempts at evangalization) - BUT - they can't help but gaze at our actions.  I say that with the intent of keeping Jesus at the forefront of everything we do.  


Challenge: try loving your enemies.  Really loving them.  Not out of self righteousness, not out of pity, or expecting anything in return...just genuine, heart-felt love.  


I will post soon - much to tell about YATEC! (Young Adults Together Encountering Christ)


In His name, 


Samantha

The Ultimate Treasure Hunt

So I've been reading this book lately entitled: "The Ultimate Treasure Hunt" by Kevin Dedmon.  Excellent book by the way, check it out if you have some free time.  Anyway, so the book describes a treasure hunt for the ultimate treasure -- people!  Its a treasure hunt like no other - thats for sure.  So tonight, along with a few close friends, we decided to go out into the city of Willmar and try it out for ourselves.


Simply put, each person prays and has his/her own list.  You write down six locations, six names, six appearances, six things people may need prayer for, and six unusual things that come to mind that God reveals to you.  After this, you start hunting.


So our first location came up to be Wal-Mart.  We did some neat things there, but nothing hit me personally there.  Then onto Cashwise.  This is where I really saw God start moving and revealing "treasure" to me.  Keep in mind, before this, I had hardly done any evangelizing and I was scared half to death.


One of my friends had "Abbie" on his list.  We knew our friend Abbie was working so we went to see if she  needed prayer.  Turns out, she was having knee pain - which of course - happened to be on his list.  Three of us prayed for her knee, right there smack dab in Cashwise.  As we were praying, her knee "popped."  Healing?  Perhaps.


After this, we traveled on some more.  I was getting excited now to find a treasure of my own.  I spotted a young boy wearing a sea blue sweatshirt.  That was on my list.  I trembled.  What do I do now! I thought to myself.  I selfishly ignored it - and walked on.  Minutes later, there he was again - right in my path.  I ignored it a second time.  I didn't see him again until we were about to leave.  We entered the video section and there he was once again, looking at video games this time.  I panicked.  Okay God - I thought - I'll do it, I'll do it!  So with the help of a friend, I approached him.  We began talking and it became easy.  By God's grace I knew he was in 7th grade and my friend Andy knew he liked math, this made the conversation more interesting.  Also, the three of us had all grown up going to St. Mary's church - another interesting connection.   Finally, I spat it out.  I told him that his sweatshirt color was on my list and asked if I could pray for him...he agreed!  Woofta.  So, I did just that.  Andy and I both felt like the young guy was going to be a leader so we just released God's blessings over him and said goodbye.


Now, I was really on fire.  I wanted more of God and I wanted to reach more people with the good news of the Kingdom!


Next, we went to Culvers.  Immediately I noticed a young gal (mid twenties maybe) wearing a bright pink shirt.  Sure enough, I had bright pink on my list.  I heard someone call her name - Sara - also on my list.  I asked her how she spelled it due to the fact there are a few ways to spell Sara.  She spelled it for me just as I had wrote it not an hour before.  I proceeded to tell her that I was on a treasure hunt, then handed her my list and asked her if she related to anything on it.  She held it for quite some time, really taking into consideration everything on it.


She then began to tell us a story of how her mom lost her job because of a false "money" stealing accusation.  And how her and her mom were low on "money" and how she was the only source of income currently.  And wouldn't you know it -- I had "money" under "things people need prayer for."  She allowed me the privilege to pray for her out loud.  After that, we began sharing Jesus with her....


God is so very good...and He is above the rules and the boxes we try and put Him in...

A Generation Deceived

One of the biggest lies that bombards us from the media is that women, especially young women, must be THIN.  Not just average, but thin. Average, is no longer good enough.  Average is the ‘new’ overweight. This thinking has led to the destruction of many young women and the increasing advancement of bulimia and anorexia.  Currently today, two-thirds of underweight twelve-year-olds consider themselves fat. 

The media purposefully alters images of women on the front of magazines.  Why?  So that women will fall for the trap and be deceived by the lies.  The lie that we are indeed too large for our own good.  The lie that we are indeed not yet beautiful enough but must buy their new “must have” product in order to make ourselves look and feel more beautiful. Their goal is to make sure that you feel the need to buy their products.  And they will push any angle in order to get this accomplished. 

Take a look at the latest magazine covers. Almost always you will find something on the cover to help alter yourself.

“Abs in under 5 minutes” …because your not “sexy” enough…

 “5 tricks to dieting” …because your not “thin” enough…

“Making the cut” …because your not “athletic” enough…

“How to make him want you more” …because your not “desirable” enough…

“Turn your B’s into A’s” …because your not “smart” enough…

“10 steps to a better you” …because your not “good” enough…

Here is a glance into the life of a twelve-year-old girl.  This story is taken from “Lies Young Women Believe.” 

Caitlyn was twelve when she began to believe that she was fat.  At fourteen she began to do something about it.  Most days she just didn’t eat.  She scheduled her high school classes so she wouldn’t have a lunch period.  If she ever caved in and ate, she ate a lot.  Then she felt forced to throw up…and to demand a four or five mile run of herself.  By the time she was in high school she’d starved herself down to eighty pounds; her period had stopped, and doctors were concerned that she’d have a heart attack.  While she was getting treatment, she couldn’t stand the weight she was gaining, though she was still considerably underweight.  To punish herself, she stuck a rusty nail in her arm and left it there for days.  By the time it was discovered, the infection was so bad that the doctors feared Caitlyn would lose her arm, if not her life.

Believe it or not, I knew many girls that went to these kinds of extreme lengths, even in my high school.  Girls I was friends with would often push food around their trays, making it look like they were eating.  Others would just skip lunch entirely, opting to hide out in the locker room or other areas.  


Currently, I hold a job at a local gym and I see young girls come in and workout for hours at a time when I can see the bones in their legs and arms and they look as if they could fall apart at any instant.  My heart yearns to reach out to these girls, but most of them don’t even know they have a problem.  One young girl comes in each day and works out for roughly four hours at a time.  She looks breakable and spends the entire four hours doing a pure strenuous cardio workout.  I understand marathon runners who have to train sometimes hours at a time (mostly because I am a runner), but this is not anything remotely similar.  This is abusing her body because she doesn’t feel that it is currently good enough the way it is.  This, is dangerous.  And this, is a lie. 

Back to the story in Genesis – Eve.  Eve cooperated by listening to the lies that Satan was feeding her.  The first lie that Eve, and we, are prone to make is sticking around long enough to actually listen to the lies that Satan tells us. 

The first mistake we make is to actually listen to something that is a lie. 

You don’t have to touch it, like it, believe it, agree with it, repeat it, - you just have to listen. 

Caitlyn was an athletic middle student then became a fashion&beauty image-obsessed beauty queen. It just takes the initial listening…She began feasting on magazines that gave her advice on men, friendships, social issues, and contained images of sensual photographs of half-naked young women, pro-homosexual articles, and advice on sex…she made the mistake many young women make, believing the lie that “It can’t just hurt to look, …right?” 

We need to run from anything that would send us in a direction that is contrary to God’s purpose for our life. 

“Flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies” (2 Timothy 2:22-23)

Flee. Run. Get away. Sprint. Go. Hustle. Hurry. Escape. Bolt. Fly. Breakaway.                     
From anything contradictory to God’s TRUTH. 

It is hard because our culture has a way of convincing us that it is not harmful to listen to music, books, read magazines, date non-Christian men, watch movies that are indeed harmful to us.  Of course not all books, magazines, movies, and music are bad.  But I think we need to be more cautious.  We know we’re not supposed to lie, do drugs, get drunk, have sex with multiple people, and yet many Christians enjoy watching television programs that flaunt these themes, listen to music and sing popular songs with unwholesome lyrics, flock to theaters to see a movie with “just one little sex” scene.  Why? 

We know we shouldn’t have idols, spend excessive money, and be consumed by physical beauty but yet we buy Teen Vouge, Seventeen, are obsessed with jean labels, and spend over an hour working on our hair and face every morning.  Why?

DON’T cooperate with Satan.  Steer clear of the lies and the mess and destruction he wishes to impend on your life.

After listening to the lie, we DWELL on it.  And let it soak.  This is mistake #2.

We begin to dwell on what we can’t have and can’t do rather than focus on the amazing and abundant gifts God has already given us.  God is a generous, loving God – that is truth. 

In Deuteronomy 6, God reminds us WHY he places “rules,” not to suck the fun out of our lives but to prosper us.  He has our best interests in mind. 

Do you believe this? Do you believe God has given his children “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3) or do you dwell on the boundaries He has placed in your life and forget that the limits for your protection. 

Enough focusing on the forbidden – more focusing on the blessings!

Messages fired at you constantly tell you that “your not beautiful” and “your not enough” …is it any wonder that our generation struggles with the sense of self-worth and identity?  We can’t afford to dwell on this to lose even a minute of focus on God’s goodness.

Time to listen, read, study, indulge in, relish, love, adore, GOD’S TRUTH which is found in HIS WORD. 

God’s word is an essential part of our armor against Satan’s subtle attacks.

But sad to say, much of this generation doesn’t know Scripture.

Many Christian teens are not falling outright for Wicca, Buddhism, or Scientology.   BUT many Christian teens are being influenced by them…often times integrating half-truths from them into  the Christian faith because they are not well grounded in what God says. 

I fell for this mistake. 

When I began college at age 16 I was not grounded in my faith because I grew up thinking that religion was about practices and rules, not a relationship.  So when I entered college I was quick to fall for Satan’s trap of lies.  I began doing things to merely fit in with the crowd.  I still went to church every Sunday and assumed I was Christian because I was following the “practices” and because my parents were Christian.  I was entirely wrong however.

One girl said this:

“I don’t want to be challenged to read the Bible by my youth pastor or to fast from something in my Christian school chapel.  I want to hear from God myself.  And right now, I just want to hang with God.”

Scary.  In order to hear what God’s saying to you and to understand His plan and purpose for your life, you have to be reading and dwelling in His Word.  You don’t have to search mystically for His voice, he wrote it down for you. 

If your going to win the battle Satan is waging against you, you have got to be getting yourself grounded in Scripture and be able to speak it accurately to those who are parroting Satan’s lies in our culture. 

If you are not filling your mind with God’s truth, you will end up believing his lies whether you want to or not.  And what you believe will determine the way you live.

You may find yourself skipping class or talking back to your parents.

You may be prone to lying or looking at porn.

You may overeat or starve yourself.

It doesn’t matter how we act it out, every sin begins with a lie.  And these lies will eventually become patterned.

Eve listened to the lie: She got close to the Serpent and entertained his suggestion.

Eve dwelled on the lie She conversed with him and considered what he said.

Eve believed the lie: She believed the Serpent’s promise was more trustworthy than what God had said.

Eve acted on the lie: She ate the fruit. 

You can chose to feel differently.  Spend time retraining your mind with TRUTH.  You can win this battle. 

Start diving into God’s word…