relationship

in my class we have been talking about God and how He is not limited by our boundaries... the people in Jerusalem believed everyone had to be Jew to be a Christian, they had to obey all the laws and become a Jew to be a Christian... but Paul over and over told them.... God will be God, no matter what boundaries and limits you try to put on Him... He will go where ever He wants to go, to whom ever He wants to appear to... It was no longer Jerusalem where people had to come to experience God in the temple - He could show up and speak to you when and where He wanted... on His terms. Paul's conversion was the PERFECT example of this... He was a jew, he had grown up and obeyed all the laws (pretty much perfectly) and that took him completely far away from God... yet when he left Jerusalem, was nearing Damascus the Lord appeared to Him and he was saved.... yep, NOT in Jerusalem... Thank goodness, God is NOT God on our terms...

I am so aware of this right now in my life.... people make choices, some that are LONG term, and they think they have it all planned out, then God steps in and that choice is no longer an option.... Things are worked out and arranged to where it's not even possible for you to do what you THOUGHT was destined to be... The particular thing i am speaking of, has to do with a very close family member... i can't go into details right now, but o believe me... i will whenever it has all panned out. I can see what i believe to be the Hand of God taking control in this persons life.... Lord amaze us all!

We talked today about what it means to be a "christian"... Paul adresses the arguement about obeying the law... he says it was never the law the saved anyone, it is by grace that we are saved, for it is was possible to be saved through the law, then Christ died for nothing.... Before the crucifixion they observed the law, but now after the ressurection many people are coming to know Christ.... Gentiles included. They are not bound by the law to be saved... they are saved because of Jesus Christ... Paul wasnt arguing that they can go on about their lives doing wild things, he was saying that it is about a Relationship.... Now that Christ has died for us, we are not bound by the law.... we are "in christ", we have a relationship with Him...

He compared it to marriage... he used an example of a couple who was engaged - the man had a problem with his fiance because she had many male friends. She would go hang out with them, go to a movie, all sorts of things, but it was never anything deeper than a friendship... Yet the problem was, she didn't want that to change after they got married. She wanted to be able to go out whenever she wanted, to a movie, to a party, to dance, with these boy friends... even if the husband was not around... It was as if this MARRIAGE - this big important transition in her life meant nothing to her.... no she is not bound by all these laws and rules because she is married... but she is now in a relationship with her husband on a deeper level, and something inside of her should have changed to the point to where she doesn't care about the laws... she just doesn't want to do anything that will hinder her relationship with her husband. O it made what Paul was saying so much more meaningful... Since Christ died for us, it's not about obeying laws anymore... it's about His spirit coming to dwell in us, and causing us to want NOTHING in our lives to hinder our relationship with Him.

We all know this, but today it just seemed to hit home.... what seems impossible in my tiny little brain is so possible with my Savior. When His spirit comes to live in us, we are capable of becoming people we never imagined.... i think Satan is trying to convince me that i can never be who God wants me to be... it's like some little voice is in there saying, "God hasn't given you that desire, dont you realize it... you will never be that person, you will never have that marriage..."

May God amaze me with His power... may He once again shut Satan up... haha! and may i forever give Him the glory for what He has done and will do in my life...