He is Jealous

[You are] jealous for me
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of [Your] wind and mercy
When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
I realize just how beautiful you are
And how great your affections are for me

Artist: Kim Walker
Song: He Loves Us


The first line alone should be enough to have us on the ground. Think about it. He is jealous.... for us? How could someone so mighty be jealous for someone so insignificant? He is wonderful for even creating us let alone loving us when all we do is wrong.

Tonight this verse actually clicked with me, with the help of my Praise Team Director. Because God is jealous for us he doesn't want us to make anything in our lives more important than him. Just as fast as he gave us everything we have he can take them away! The job, house, friends, money, family, education. All of it can be gone before you're done blinking. You and your friends may become distant or your loved ones may die. Everything in your life can come crashing down all at one time and you have no idea why nor what to do next. It's all to show you that no matter how hard you try nothing in life is safe from destruction except for you relationship with him. We're stubborn and sometimes have to learn things the hard way, but I believe that God doesn't allow for what he knows we can't handle. That's the great thing about having an omnipotent father! He knows everything about us even when we have no clue.

God's jealousy show's how much he loves us. His jealousy is holy and pure and nothing like the jealousy mankind has for other's. The jealous nature of God comes from his love for us and the desire he has for us to make the right choice to trust and love him just as he first loved us unconditionally without us doing a thing. God loves us because he is jealous, and is jealous because he loves us.

Because God loves us so much we have to try our best in order to please him by not allowing anything Earthly (Spiritually, or Emotionally) come between us. God should come first in all that we do. I know that it's hard sometimes to put God first in everything but nothing in life is more important than he is. He is so great and all he really wants from us is to let him into our lives and have a special home in our hearts.

My challenge for me and anyone else reading is to let God come first. We always, at least I do, seem to push him back when life gets hectic but it should be the opposite. We need to want him more during those times because without him how do we expect to get through all the stress and frustrations? In whatever way you praise God, do it. Give Him the praise He deserves in your daily lives in all that you do.

-:- PeaceLoveHarmony -:-

Childlike Faith

Last week was my spring break and I spent it at home with my family. My mother told me a story about when I was a child:

During a few of my elementary years I would go home with the niece or cousin of a family friend because my mother was working when I would get out of school. I would spend the afternoon at her house until my mother was ready to pick me up. Out of the blue the girls mother just kicked me out and told me to walk home because she claimed my mother was home. Till this day I still do not know what possessed this woman to kick out a 6 year and make her walk home alone. I don't remember how I felt at the time but I can guess I was very confused because I kind of recall walking back and forth. She had her daughter walk me as far as their street corner, but I still had to walk 5 - 10 minutes in order to get home.

When I got home I told my mother what had happened. She was so concerned for me, but with my oh so innocent eyes I looked up at her and said "I wasn't afraid because God was with me."

This morning I read Psalm 16 and I paused on verse 8:

"I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me."

I just thought about those two sentences and quickly remembered the story my mother told me. That one-sentence I gave my mother many years ago left my heart as I started to get older. I knew that God has always been with me and I knew that to be true at an early age. But then I grew up. I got caught up. Deep down I always felt this but never really acted like it was true. At age 6 I should have been in a ball crying but I wasn't. I knew that I was being watched over. But as I grew up I believed less with my actions and would cry or be afraid when there was no need to be because God was with me. I have a big brother keeping me safe and being protective and I have a father who will do anything for me as long as it is what is needed in my life. I remember that now and am trying to get back to that childlike faith and back it up with me actions.

-:- PeaceLoveHarmony -:-

Passage
Psalm 16 (NLT)

Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge
I said to the Lord, "You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you."
The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!
Troubles multiply for those who chase after other gods. I will not take part in their sacrifices of blood or even speak the names of their gods.

Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine
The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!

I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.
I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave
You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

An Attitude of Christ

This being the first ever entry for Sapfire Letters, I feel like it would be appropriate to start off with the concept of having a Christ-like attitude. Some of us don't know what that really means but Philippians 2 sums it up perfectly. I read this passage this past month and loved it, but I feel as if God was telling me to look deeper into it because it came up during bible study tonight.

Having an attitude of Christ means that we don't just care about ourselves or even just our family and friends. We should care about the people we don't know. Whether it is a stranger you are passing by on your way to the mall, care for and love them. A simple smile of acknowledgment could be the very thing that makes someone's day go from bad to good.

Even though Jesus was God, he thought of God as being greater than himself. And that is how we must think. We are not supposed to feel as though we are better than anyone, in fact verse 3 tells us to think of others as being better than ourselves. That doesn't mean to think you are worthless because we all have value in God's eyes. I think its the way God spoke to Paul as to how we remain humble. If we believe we are better than others then we may soon believe we are too well off to need God in our lives. But that is so far from the truth, because without God we are nothing! Without God we absolutely truly SUCK!!! Just look at the world. Everywhere you turn you hear about another child who was molested, another woman struck or even killed by her husband or boyfriend, or even another young man who was gunned down because he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Humbling ourselves means that we live in obedience with God's plan for us. A slave cannot lead his master, for it is the master who feeds the slave. God is our master and provides all that we need and all he ask for is that we obey him. If we had really known all that God has done for us then in a heartbeat we would fall to our knees. But for the fact that we aren't as humble as we think we are this isn't the case.

Knowing and understanding that God is above us, He will bless us with much more than we have.

-:- PeaceLoveHarmony -:-

Passage
Philippians 2: 1-11 (NLT)

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with eat other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.