What To Do When You Are Bored With Your Faith

"Somehow, many Christians have come to believe continuing a lifeless spiritual discipline is more important than finding new ways to experience a life-giving God."

The human brain craves stimulation. When we don’t receive proper stimulation, boredom creeps in. When boredom is left unchecked, disgust forms. Things get worse from there.

Boredom, in small doses, is actually healthy. Boredom protects you. When you engage in monotonous tasks, listen to mono-toned speakers, or join an organization that accepts mediocrity, boredom acts as a red flag. This red flag compels you to go deeper, start something new or get more creative.

But if you’re not careful, boredom can easily creep into your faith. Worship gets unfulfilling. You wake up every day content with just going through the motions. You start feeling cynical.

Why is it that God offers people a life to the fullest, yet many Christians seem to live on life support?

Don’t just accept complacency. If the red flags are up and you are feeling bored with God, here are a few things you can do to refresh your faith.

Disrupt Your Spiritual Rhythms

Many Christians continue to read a Bible every day that does nothing to their heart. They pray, and their words mean nothing. Somehow, many Christians have come to believe continuing a lifeless spiritual discipline is more important than finding new ways to experience a life-giving God.

Think about it: Do you feel guilty on those days when you don’t open the Bible? I often do.

Several weeks ago, I had an “aha” moment. I was reading like a good Christian boy, and I came across the story of Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14:22-33). I finished reading the chapter, closed my Bible, and started praying. Then I had a realization: I’d become so familiar with the passage that it didn’t even amaze me that Jesus walked on water!

For the next week, I didn’t read the Bible. It was the longest span away from Scripture since my baptism.

You see, the Bible tells stories of a God who speaks the world into existence, floods an entire earth, makes the sun stand still and walks on water. These stories are designed to paint a picture of God’s character. And the picture should cause you to bow down in worship and jump with joy at the same time.

One of the greatest threats to faith is feeling too familiar with an all-powerful God. When you read stories like a real man taking steps on open water, it should cause you to stop and think. If it doesn’t, you may need to find new and fresh ways to encounter God, rather than being enslaved to your regular spiritual practices.


Spend Time in God’s Creation

In his book "The Nature Principle", Richard Louv says for the first time in history, more than half of the world’s population lives in cities, rather than rural environments. The result is “nature-deficit disorder,” which Louv defines as “a diminished ability to find meaning in the life that surrounds us, whatever form it takes.”

When I read this, I think about Paul’s words in Romans: “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities–His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20).

The more you disconnect from God’s creation, the more you disconnect from God. And, let’s be real, most of us would rather play video games or watch Netflix for an entire day than spend time outside. We are pretty disconnected from nature.

Every inch of God’s creation reveals something about his character. There is a certain peace and “completeness” that comes with being outside.

Turn off the Xbox. Put down the phone. Go for a walk. Sit outside. Go camping. God’s invisible qualities are waiting there for you.


Invest Time in Meaningful Relationships

I bet every dollar I ever make that the most bored, cynical, pessimistic people are the ones with the fewest meaningful relationships. You were created for social interaction. God, after all, lives in community with the Trinity. He has for all of eternity.

I see this in my life. I am an introvert, and there are seasons when I disengage from people as a way to deal with stress or disappointment. Ironically, the more I disengage from meaningful conversations and neglect important relationships, the more stress I feel.

Don’t come into a church building one hour a week, then wonder why your relationship with God feels fickle.

You must invest in relationships with other people to experience a full understanding of God.


Spend More Time Being Alone With God Than Doing Things for Him

As I said, boredom isn’t a negative emotion. In fact, a recent article found that boredom is essential for human development and unlocking creative potential.

To avoid a life plagued by boredom, you must have intentional periods of boredom. Call it the paradox of boredom.


Here’s what it means for Christians. If you want to avoid a discontent, overwhelmed existence, the rhythm of your life must include periods of resting. You must be still and know that God is God.

Too many Christians are sucked into the speed of the world. The world responds to boredom by going faster and doing more. After all, what other framework does the world have?

But Christians should be different. Maybe you need to learn the practice of holy boredom. When was the last time you observed the Sabbath? How long has it been since you spent an extended amount of time with God?

The mouthpiece of God is silence. So, if you’re feeling discontent, maybe you need to disconnect from the noise of the world.


Credit:Frank Powell

What happens in heaven?

 “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”-Psalm 16:11

In high school, I once overheard some friends say that they’d rather go to Hell instead of Heaven. I was like, “WHAT?!” That seemed crazy to me!

So I listened in on their conversation to find out why. It turned out they wanted to go Hell because they thought Heaven would be boring.

Even today, this breaks my heart. But honestly, I can’t really blame them for thinking that way.

Like when someone once told me that they thought Heaven would be a never-ending church service… depending on your church experience that might not be too fun. Thankfully, though, heaven is not like that.
 

So what is heaven like?  

Well, first you have to know something about heaven. This may come as a surprise, but heaven is not the place where believers spend eternity with God. (Say what?!)

Yes, heaven is where God lives now (Matthew 6:9). And it’s true that if you’ve put your faith in Jesus you will go to be with Christ when you die (Luke 23:43). But heaven is just the first stop. It’s not your final destination.

The Bible tells us that after God’s final judgment, God will make a new heaven and a new earth. It’s there that followers of Jesus will live forever. So when people talk about living in heaven forever, what they really mean is living in the new heaven and the new earth forever.
So the real question is, what will we do in the new heaven and the new earth?

For that question, Revelation 21:1-4 gives us some answers:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

From these verses we learn three things about the new heaven and the new earth:

1.     First, the new heaven and the new earth are like a city (v.2)
2.     Second, God lives there with his people, and he is God over everything (v.3) 
3.     Third, there is nothing bad there (v.4)

How does this tell us what we will do there?

Since it’s described as a city, we can expect to do city-like things there. For example, Zechariah 8:5 paints a picture of children playing. The Psalms describes people dancing, laughing, and making music (Psalm 30:11-12, 126:1-2, 150). Other Bible verses describe people eating (Isaiah 25:6), drinking (Revelation 21:6), and singing (Revelation 15:2-4).

Like word pictures in poetry, not all these images are meant to be taken literally. But they are meant to point to a very real truth. That the new heaven and the new earth will be a place of peace, a place of joy, and place of worship.

This is what David knew when he wrote the words of Psalm 16:11: “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” God’s presence is always a place of joy and great pleasure. This is something to look forward to!

We don’t know everything about what we will do in the new heaven and the new earth, but we do know one thing is for sure: whatever we do, it will definitely not be boring and it will glorify God.

 Credit:fevr.net

God's Dream For Me is Bigger Than My Own Dreams!

“God can do anything, you know — far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (Ephesians 3:20 MSG)

God’s dream for your life is exponentially bigger than your dream. It’s eternally significant.Read More below.

There are a lot of dreams you could have that may seem big, but they wouldn’t be significant. You could dream of being a millionaire by a certain age, but for what purpose? 

Do you think God put you on this planet to live for yourself? Of course not! God’s dream for your life is bigger than your dream.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “God can do anything, you know — far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (MSG)

I’ve never been accused of small dreaming. I have big visions in life. Yet God says, “Rick, think of the greatest thing I could do in your life, the greatest way I could bless your life. Dream the biggest dream, the greatest vision — and I can top that!”

You have no idea what God wants to do in your life. You are living such a small fraction of what you’re capable of. You are doing with your life such a small portion of what God wants to do in your life.

God wants you to dream big. He wants you to base your dream not on what you think you can do but on what you think God can do. He wants you to use the imagination that he gave you, because dreaming big honors him. It shows faith. It shows trust.

Many years ago,Our  Church purchased 120 acres of land for our campus. That’s bigger than Disneyland! When word got out, people said, “What kind of church is this that’s going to go buy 120 acres of orange county property? Who do those people think they are?”

When I heard that, I said, “That’s the wrong question. The question should be, ‘Who do we think God is?’”

 We were dreaming big because we knew God had a big plan for Our Church.

Let the size of your God determine the size of your goal.
 

Action Points

1. If you could have one dream come true in your life, what would it be?
2. Do you have a hard time accepting that God’s dream for your life is bigger and better than your biggest and best dream? If so, why?
3. Take some time to pray and ask God how he wants you to expand and refine your goals so that they reflect your trust in his great vision for you and for the world.

P.S:"Our Church" is used to depict Saddleback Church in this context.

Credit:Pastor Rick Warren

Happy Great New Year.Welcome to 2016!

Hello dear readers,2015 has been a great year for You and I especially for the Grace of God that has been abundant on us each day,each season,each year.We are all grateful for the gift of life,peace and tranquility among us and in our homes.We are most grateful for all he has done for us amidst trials,persecutions,crisis and pain.God has been so Faithful.Let us cerefully look back on what he has done.He is so Great.

In 2016,let us make it a priority to praise God amidst trials and troubles,appreciate Him for who He is and what He has done.God's Word for you in 2016 is in the book of Isaiah 41:8-20 says,

8“But you, Israel, My servant,
         Jacob whom I have chosen,
         Descendant of Abraham My friend,

9You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
         And called from its remotest parts
         And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
         I have chosen you and not rejected you.

10‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
         Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
         I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
         Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

11“Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
         Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.

12“You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
         Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.

13“For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand,
         Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’

14“Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;
         I will help you,” declares the LORD, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

15“Behold, I have made you a new, sharp threshing sledge with double edges;
         You will thresh the mountains and pulverize them,
         And will make the hills like chaff.

16“You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,
         And the storm will scatter them;
         But you will rejoice in the LORD,
         You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

17“The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none,
         And their tongue is parched with thirst;
         I, the LORD, will answer them Myself,
         As the God of Israel I will not forsake them.

18“I will open rivers on the bare heights
         And springs in the midst of the valleys;
         I will make the wilderness a pool of water
         And the dry land fountains of water.

19“I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
         The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree;
         I will place the juniper in the desert
         Together with the box tree and the cypress,

20That they may see and recognize,
         And consider and gain insight as well,
         That the hand of the LORD has done this,
         And the Holy One of Israel has created it.


Do not forget Him in 2016 and He will not Forget You.More Grace for all of us in the New Year.Amen

Can My Faith In the Son Guarantee Me to Make Heaven?

 The conventional wisdom about what happens when you die is that you will stand before God, and if you did enough good works that outweighed your bad works, then you get into heaven, because heaven is for good people. And good people go to heaven.

Then the other belief is that if you have done enough bad things that outweigh your good works, then you will go to hell, because hell is for bad people. Heaven is for good people who get in by good works, while hell is for bad people who do bad things.

But that is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that hell is prepared for the devil and his angels (see Matthew 25:41); it isn’t prepared for bad people at all.

Heaven is the dwelling place of God, and the way you get into heaven is on the basis of what you did with Jesus. What God will want to know is did you believe in Jesus Christ?

Even if you have lived a wicked life and sinned throughout all of it, if on your deathbed you were to call out to the Lord Jesus Christ in genuine repentance, you would go to heaven. But if you lived a good life and have been a relatively moral person and have done good deeds, but you have never put your faith in Jesus Christ, then you would not go to heaven. And by the way, your good works never would outweigh your bad works. So be thankful that is not what you will be judged for.

The assurance that we will go to heaven is not as our culture often sees it, but this is as the Bible teaches it. It is the Son question—not the sin question.

Our going into 2016 should be with a heart of Faith in God,in His Son and in the HolySpirit.

God Bless Us all.Happy New Year in advance.


Credit:Jesus.org

CONCENTRATE ON YOUR GOD GIVEN WORK.

"But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body".         

1 Corinthians 12:18-20

Several years ago, I got suckered into buying one of those pocket knives that has everything on it you could imagine. It has a can opener, about five different sized blades, tweezers, a toothpick, a nail file, and screwdriver heads. If there was something you could use a pocket knife for, this one claimed it could do the job.

But here was the problem: none of the tools on the knife worked very well. The blades were dull, the tweezers and toothpick fell out and got lost, and the screwdriver heads were so small that I couldn’t use them to turn a screw.

The tool was so versatile, but didn’t do anything well. And as I look at a lot of Christians today, they’re a lot like that knife. So many are multi-talented and well-rounded, but they rarely commit to doing one thing really well. They’re spread so thin that their impact is minimized.

As you step into 2016 this week, put your focus on one thing you want to do well in the coming year. Resolve to make a deep impact in one place. Do what you do well, and you’ll make a tremendous difference for the Kingdom in the coming year!

CONCENTRATE ON ONE AREA OF KINGDOM IMPACT IN THE COMING YEAR AND WATCH GOD WORK THROUGH YOU IN A POWERFUL WAY.AMEN

God Bless You.

Credit:PowerPoint with Jack Graham

God's Plan For My Life is in His Will.

Success attribution sometimes come from our minds,e.g, "i did it myself","i deserved that crown,yes i did deserve it".Well most of us have forgotten that the best place to know God's mind is in the Bible.His will is in the Bible,His Purpose for you is in the Bible and not all of us really care so much about the Bible like we do to our telephones,mobile phones,smartphones and the likes.We depend mainly on our interest in God - what he has for us .Not what he wants us to do for Him.When you get that revelation of pleasing the Father and not serving the Father ,you get a real turn around.The Scriptures say,"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works(2 Tim 3:16,17,KJV). Now that's talking about me and you.We should be well equipped with the Word of God to get God's Will for our lives.Let us continue to search the Scriptures and it will be well with us.Amen.Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life(Prov 4:23,NLT).

Read below devotional on how you should  plan your life according to God's Will.

“God will ensure my success in accordance with His plan, not mine.”

– Francis Chan

Knowing God’s Will

You will never know God’s hidden will until you obey His revealed will. In other words, you cannot know God’s will for your life until you obey God’s will in your life and you can know His will because the Bible tells us plainly what they are. When people ask me “What is God’s will for my life?” I say, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God” (1st Thess 4:3-5), so the will of God for their life (and ours) is to live in holiness, not a life of perfection, but certainly abstaining from any sexual immorality, and that includes of the mind (Matt 5:28).

Finding God’s Will

Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” If you have your mind renewed by having the mind of Christ (2nd Cor 2:16), then you’ll be able to “discern what the will of God” is for your life and that will “is good and acceptable and perfect” for you! Don’t you want that!? Another part of God’s will doesn’t even need to be discerned and that’s to “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1st Thess 5:18).
 

Obeying God’s Will

Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15) or show me you love me in the way you live. The Apostle John made it clear that “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments” (1st John 5:1-3a). John is saying that the acid test for profession is obedience.

Follow the Will of God

Following the will of God is following God. That is, just like the disciples “left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:11b), we must leave our old lives and everything in it behind us and follow Him. It will be costly. You may lose some of your closest friends, some of your family members, some offended co-workers, and even those of your own household. Peter wanted Jesus to know what it had cost him in following Him by saying, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:28-30). That’s worth following, isn’t it?

Glorifying God is His Will

If we follow all of the principles in the previous paragraphs, then we are fulfilling God’s will for our life and part of our being created was so that God would be most glorified in us. Isaiah wrote long ago that “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made” (Isaiah 43:7) meaning that we and even the universe was created for His glory (Psalm 19:1) so we should glorify God in our bodies since we were “bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1st Cor 6:20).

Conclusion

One thing we know for certain is that God will ensure our success in accordance with His plan, not ours and no success may ever come if we’re not obeying the will of God. With obedience come many blessings.

Credit:Christian Quotes