New Year, Same Love

So, the other night, I was just talking to one of my friends on my couch, and they told me this crazy story. Long story short, there was a woman on her deathbed who was not a Christian and before she died she saw Satan crawling towards her ready to take her soul. Needless to say, she became a Christian real quick after that. I do not know the accuracy or reliability of that story, but it got me thinking about how the devil pursues us just like God. 1 Peter 5:8 says “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Sometimes I forget that just as much as God wants the best for us, the devil wants us to disobey God. However, what I realized while my mind was processing these thoughts is that it is not only important how much we are pursued, but why we are pursued.

Satan only pursues us because he does not want us to follow God. It is almost like the devil is that kid who gets mad and takes his ball home so no one else can play. He is not necessarily concerned about his ball, he just does not want anyone else to play with it. Satan wants us because he hates God. But God wants us because He loves us. Think about the magnitude of that statement. God does not pursue us for any ulterior motives. He made that clear in 1 John 4:9-10 where it says, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” The Lord made a way for us not because we are perfect, which we are not, and not because He hates the devil, but because He loves us.

I think I forget this simple truth a lot. It is crazy to think about how anyone could love you as much as God does. It says in Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” How many people in your life do you know that delight in you or who will rejoice over you with singing? It humbles and amazes me to know that there is someone always out there that is cheering me on; someone who loves me so much that they take delight in me just being myself. And to tie this altogether, the Lord loves us and rejoices for us because he created us and calls us His children, but the devil is only happy for us when we are doing things that upset God. Satan is conditional, but the Lord is unconditional. I think this is an important fact to remember going in to the new year. The year may have changed, but God, and his love, never will. If you are ever feeling unloved or unwanted, know that there is a God out there who pursues you relentlessly and loves you more than anyone on Earth can. “Give thanks to the God of Heaven. His love endures forever.” – Psalm 136:26

Life Without An Aux Cord: Who You Love

Here’s the deal, this is the last day of Spring Break, and it is not like I did not have time to do this blog during the break, I just did not want to do anything, so I didn’t. Therefore, I am having to rush to actually get this one done this week, with only two hours left before I fail my challenge of blogging every week. So, this weeks is gonna be another short one.

First off, my Spring Break was awesome. Went to SXSW to start the week off and tracked down celebrities and had fun for a few days in Austin. Then I went back to the glorious land of Pottsboro and chilled for a few days, and finished the week with an Extreme 30 Hour Survivor, which is where a group of us competed in Survivor-like challenges, accumulating points based on how well each team performed in the challenge, and the team with the most points wins. My team won, no surprise. Then I had a rest day and came back to Waco today. This paragraph has some purpose, just give me a minute to get to it.

Now, about what the blog is actually about…the song for this week is Who You Love by John  Mayer. It is not a shocker that John Mayer is on the radio, because he is pretty popular, and this song is only about a year old, so it is a typical jam that I would expect to hear. The song is about a couple in love, but for my purpose, I am gonna use it as a statement to everyone in my life. I am not picking out a specific verse or anything crazy like that. I am just gonna stick to the essence of the song, which is, you love who you love.

All that being said, after hearing this song I began to think of everyone I love, and I realized that after I go home for a weekend or a break, like Spring Break (this is where that paragraph comes in), on the day I leave, usually a Sunday, like today, that day is always filled a ton of people I love. It starts with me going to church where I see most of the people at GBC and in the GBC Youth, who I love, and I get to say hi and bye to them one last time before I leave. Then, normally, me and two of the guys I am close with in Pottsboro go to Chipotle after church and eat. It is almost like a tradition on my last morning in town. However, it does not always happen, like today one of them could not go, which was a bummer, but I still love getting to do that almost every time before I leave. Then, I go home and hang out with my dad and sister, who I love of course, for a few hours as I pack and make final preparations to leave. Then, I leave Pottsboro and head to Sherman. There I stop in and hang out with my mom, another person I love, for an hour or two, then I begin my trek back to Waco. I never really have set plans for every Sunday I come back, but every time I do come back, I always end up hanging out with a few of my friends here to catch up and talk about the break or weekend. I actually just got home from doing that. I love all my friends here and love getting to catch up with them to finish my day. It is a jam packed day, but I would not trade it for anything because it is filled with some of the most important people in my life who I love. I think sometimes we do not acknowledge how much we care about those around us, so this is my way of doing that. Therefore, if I mentioned you kinda specifically in this or you fall in one of the categories (GBC, GBC Youth, family, Pottsboro friends, and Waco friends), just know that I appreciate our friendship and I love you.

Okay, I’m done with the sappy stuff. Sorry if that got too emotional for you, but that was just something that has been on my heart recently. Well, that’s it for this week. Look out for a better post next week…maybe. Also, check out the new “Let’s Chat” link at the top of the page. Feel free to click on that and send me messages and vote on how you like my blog. I would love feedback and to feel popular by having a ton of messages, but whatever

Life Without An Aux Cord