Getting Past The "Good" Life

Many of us were were raised with basic morals; to treat others with respect and how you would want to be treated. But Jesus took living the good life a step further. He showed us that there is so much more available to us when we get past living the good life.

The problem with focusing on doing good is that doing good can only go so far.

I definitely saw that happening in my own life.

I was focused on living a "good" life that even when I was hurt and angry at others, I would still force myself to do nice things just for the sake of looking nice and loving.

I asked God, "How is it wrong for me to show love and kindness to others even though deep down I know it's forced?" I mean, I was still living a good life right?

But God's answer to me was simple and direct: That's what a Pharisee does - they do for the sake of doing, and nothing good comes out from it.

It was at that moment when I realized that what I was doing may have looked good, but it wasn't producing any real goodness to my life and anyone else's life.

1 Corinthians 13:3 says, "If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not love, I gain nothing." We give to the poor and do good things because we want to show love to others, but if our intention of giving is just to look like we are loving, then we have gained nothing except a false representation of love.

Why spend all our time and efforts for nothing? Yes, you are living a good life when you give to others regardless of what you may feel inside, but you definitely are not living a Godly life.

God calls us to be Christ-like; to love with no boundaries. 

The problem with living a good life is that once someone does wrong to us, we are no longer obligated to love them. But when we live the Christ life, love no longer has any boundaries and we are still obligated to love.

In John 13:34, Jesus says, "A new command I give to you:..As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Jesus showed us what true love was, so we too are obligated to love others in that same way.

We are not called to live a good life, but to live Christ-like. Jesus was falsely accused, spat upon, and crucified, yet he still loved. In fact, his very last words were, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

Jesus fulfilled his calling from God to show the world what true love is. God is also calling each of us to fulfill a greater purpose that goes beyond living a good life; that is to show others what true love is by displaying it in our own lives.

We tend to put love in a container labeled "good people", and hate in a container labeled "bad people". However, God wants love to be put in a container labeled "all people." Will you get past the good life and choose to live the Christ life? Will you answer to the greater call in your life?

God has made great plans to use your life, but that can only be fulfilled when you choose to make Christ real through your life. So remember, get past the good life and get to the Christ life.

What's Your Plan?

Life is like one giant puzzle that we all strive to figure out. We have big goals and dreams, but where do we start? How do we get from where we are now to what we want to become? How can we be sure that our plans will work out? What's your plan?

I don't know about you, but I'm the type of person who needs to plan things out. Whether it's about what I'm going to wear the next day or how my life will look like in 5 years, I'm need every hour of my life planned out.

I find it frustrating to go through life without a plan. But here's the big issue with that: My plan will not get me to where God wants me to be. 

For us to reach our God-given dreams, we must follow God's plan. However, God's plan is not like any typical plan that we would make. His plan doesn't always give us the details of what will happen tomorrow or what the next step will be.

God's plan is simply for us to obey him one step at a time. God might not tell us what he wants us to do tomorrow, but he will always tell us what he wants us to do today.

If you're like me who needs to go through life with a long-term detailed plan, then it will be hard to accept God's plan. But the beauty of following God's way is that his way is always good, pleasing, and perfect (Romans 12:2).

Life is one big puzzle that we all are trying to figure out. We frustrate ourselves by trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together, when God just wants us to follow his directions one puzzle at a time.

God will show you where to put the right piece of the puzzle that will build his beautiful plan for you. It's when we try to figure it out on our own that messes up God's beautiful picture for you. To get where God wants you to be will require his help and direction. What is God calling for you to do today?

God will never tell you the big picture of your life then leave you to figure it out on your own. He wants to walk life with you and lead you every step of the way. Proverbs 3:6 says, "In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Many times we make things more complicated by trying to figure things out, when God is only asking us to obey what his tells us to do, and to trust the rest to him.

Joshua is a perfect example in the Bible whom we all should follow. He knew his calling and purpose in life which was to lead the Israelites to the promise land that God had promised. Instead of setting up a detailed plan to accomplish this big task, he sought God's direction and had complete faith in everything God asked him to do.

Every command God gave, Joshua would do. No matter how ridiculous God's request were, Joshua obeyed and kept his faith in God. Whether it was trusting God in crossing the Jordan river to marching around Jericho seven times blowing trumpets, Joshua did it all.

Because Joshua obeyed every direction from God, God opened the way for him to go through the Jordan river on dry land, and to conquer the city of Jericho. Joshua 5:1 says, "Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites..their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites."

Joshua was able to fulfill God's plan for him because he followed God's plan, and not his own. May we all be like Joshua and follow God with faith and boldness. It's when we start thinking about "how"we are going to do things that stops us from doing anything.

God says "do"and he will take care of the "how".

Trust that God has the perfect plan for you. It's when you don't follow him when life gets complicated. Wait on God and let him walk in front of you, guiding you wherever you go. Isaiah 26:8 says, "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you.." God has great plans for you, but it starts with you getting up and doing what he calls you to do everyday. So remember, make your plan to be God's plan. 

A Love That Fuels

We all desire to love others, but why is it that at times we find our love to be dry? Loving people can be exhausting if we are fueling our love from the wrong source. What source are you fueling your love with?

There have been times when I found myself struggling to love those around me, especially when they did things that hurt me.

It happened recently with a close loved one of mine. I had expectations from them, and waited for them to give me the love that I desired.

I waited...waited..and waited, and at the end I found myself left deeply wounded and not loved.

I simply just didn't have the motivation to love anymore.

I wanted to love them, but why couldn't I love them? It was at that moment when God revealed to me the reason why my love was running dry: I was using the wrong source and motivation to love.

I was depending on the other person to be my source and strength to love. But the problem was, I was waiting on a person to love and fill me when they were never made to love and fill me. Only God was made to love me.

When we come to know God more, we will see that his love is satisfying and overwhelming. God's love overflows in us so that we can pour out his love to others. If we wait on others to love us first before we love them, then we will find our love for them at a constant dead end because their love was never made to fuel our love. Only God's love was made to fuel us.

God's love fuels us to love others. 

It's when we accept Jesus's unconditional love that we can then love others back. We can't give someone what we don't have. We can't pour out love to others when we ourselves don't have love in us. And that perfect love can only come from God. 

God loves us even when he knows we can never be good enough to please him. God chooses to love us even while we were sinners, and he calls us to love others the same way. We must love others even when they do not deserve it. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

God gave us the example of what true love is, and that is choosing to love others despite who they are or what they did. True love is loving without expecting anything back from the other person. Jesus loved us not because we were holy or would had something to give him, but because he chose to love us. 

Once we have received God's love, we can then pour that love out to others. Let God be the source and strength for your ability to love others. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love because he first loved us." We can love others despite them hurting us when we experience God's love for us. God's love is greater and will surpass all the pain we experience from others. 

You can love others because God has loved you. Before you try to go our there and love people, be sure to receive God's love in your heart first. You are all called to be the light of the world, and that can only be done when you have a heart that has been changed by God's love. God's glory shines even brighter when you love the undeserving. 

May we all be overfilled with God's love so that we can pour it out onto others. We can love others as God has called us to when we stop expecting love from others, and start taking in the love that God has given to us. So remember, God's love is a love that fuels. 

A Past That Can Be Erased

We all have past mistakes that we would love to erase from our lives. Unfortunately, in this world our mistakes cannot be erased; they are either marked in our records or written in people's minds. However the good news is, through Jesus we can have a past that can be erased. 

I've made a lot of mistakes in my life - some were small ones, and some were big ones.  There have been moments when I would wish that I could go back in time and change my previous ways. I'm sure you have had those moments of walking down memory, wishing for this and wishing for that. 

But the good news is, we don't have to have helpless wishes to change our past because we have a God who has the capability to erase our past so that it no longer defines who we are. 

Isaiah 43:25 says, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more." 

How beautiful is this, that God himself is the one who blots out our transgressions. He chooses to cover our sins with the blood of Jesus, so that when he sees us, he no longer sees the sin in us, but sees the holy blood of Jesus covering us. 

Even when we don't deserve his love and mercy, he freely gives it all to us. He blots every offense we have made against him by the blood of Jesus. 

God chooses to not see you as sinful so that you can be untied with him. That is what I call true love, forgiveness, and mercy. We don't have to force God to forgive us, because he chooses to forgive us. Just as the verse says, he chooses to forget our sins for his name sake, so that his glory can be displayed in us. 

God erases our past mistakes and sees us as a new and clean canvas with potential to display his beauty. 

God doesn't see you by what you did, but sees you as a clean canvas with potential to display his glory to this world. God chooses to give you mercy so that you can be transformed and free to live out the purpose he has made you for. 

How many offenses have you made to God? You might have counted each offense you have done to God, but God does not count any of them as long as you confess your sins and change. Don't stay guilty with your past mistakes, because even God himself sees them no more.  

We would never be worthy enough to carry the gospel and God's glory to this world if it wasn't for what Jesus did on the cross. For we all have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but because God chose to sacrifice Jesus for us, we have been made right with him. 

John 3:17 says, "For God did not send his son to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Whatever you have done or whatever you are going through, know that Jesus is never there to condemn you, but to give you hope and a way out so that you can live life to the fullest. 

God has empowered you to live with no more shame. He has set you free not so that you can just waste your life away, but so that you can have another chance to pursue your God-given purpose in this world. 

His mercy has the power to transform your life. He chose to blot out each mistake you have made so that you could have another chance to experience his love and fulfill your purpose in this life. Don't let your past hold you down, because God has made a way for you to be free. So remember, you have a past that can be erased.