NA 08

Talk to yourself.
Have God's word ready to talk to yourself and others.
God loves you.

Those are three little bits that i would like to apply to my life. Well, really 2. "God loves me!" is a concept. It's something to inform your whole life, not something to apply like the other two.... so here i go.

Talk to yourself, don't listen to yourself. I was so happy when C.J. informed me that i was not the only person who constantly talks to herself... apparently everyone talks to themselves, and everyone listens to themselves even more. But listening is bad... John Piper helped us to further understand the art of talking to ourselves when he pleaded with us to memorize scripture so we could fight with it... to fight temptations such as doubt, fear, anxiety, uselessness, quitting, greed, bitterness... Piper and C.J. reminded us that it is the word of God that informs our joy, and when we listen to ourselves we find our soul troubled and overwhelmed by impossible odds... but the word of God informs us with the truth we need to employ the power of the Spirit in our lives.
basically... listen to yourself, and your soul will be troubled. talk to yourselves with the word of God and you will find your joy.

now... for the message that overwhelmed me...
God loves you. You are adopted. You are a child of God. God loves his children.
God loves me.
All throughout C.J.'s message i just kept singing "Jesus loves me this I know/ For the Bible tells me so." and i got why C.J. gave us this message... because God loves us. and we only know when we read the word of God.

I don't even have words to to describe how this effected me, because i don't know. C.J. said at the beginning of the message that this message was for those of us who were more aware of our sin that of the love of God. i felt like jumping up and down and saying... THAT'S ME!!! right here... i have issues. I know He loves me and sent His son to die for me... but He loves me because He has to... doesn't He?
No... He loves me because He is a loving God. I only love Him, and others, because i am created in His image... i am created to love...
i may sound like a hippie, but it is still true.

.... i shall post more later....

selah

EM