Crazy about Us!

  Think back to when you were a kid.  What are some of the Bible stories you remember? There are so many stories that I "know" but only parts of.  Only the parts that really show how amazing God is.  The parts that my Sunday school teacher or curriculum had picked to share with us.
  Now that I am a little older and I am reading back through these stories I see how the details are so...I don't even know the words to use. They don't seem to make sense. Let me explain.
  Lets start with Abraham. He and his wife, Sarah want a baby so bad. Sarah can't have one, so what does she do.  "OH, here my wonderful and loving husband.  Take my servant and have a baby with her."  WHAT!  (I know that the culture was different then and multiple wives and all that were OK but really!)  Now, look at Mr. Abraham's response.  "Oh well, OK honey, if you insist" (obviously my words not his, but this is what it boiled down to)   If he love God and God speaks to him.  Why isn't he asking if this is something he should be doing?  Needless to say he has babies with ladies that are not his wife, Sarah.
  Even after this God does bless them (Abraham and Sarah that is) with a son, Isaac. Abraham sends a servant back to their home place to find a wife for his son, Issac.  God sends an angel to go before the servant and pick the lucky lady.
  As a child or teen, this is so romantic.  A match made in heaven.  Our minds wonder off.  They will have it so good.  It will be so amazing. It has to be, their story made it into the bible after all. Well that's misleading!
  Isaac finds and married Rebekah.  They have twins....Jacob and Esau.  Yep you know them.  Mommy (Rebekah) loved one, Jacob. Daddy (Isaac) loved the other, Esau.  Do you know the story? Rebekah, the woman that God lead Isaac to, manipulated and lied to her husband.  She cheated her son, Esau out of his birthright.  She all but said I love Jacob more than you.
  As a mom today, that wouldn't/doesn't fly.  It's not OK to lie to your husband.  To trick him into things.  To choose one child over another.  Yet the story remains in the bible.  Why?
  Over and over in these stories are times when the wives, that these men love and feel God telling them to be with, can't conceive.  The wife feels so bad. They tell their husbands to go out and sleep with other women.  When the other woman has a baby, the wife hates the other woman.  She is jealous.  Why are these stories in here?  What is it that we are to learn?
  These men look like fools.  Or at least to me they do.  When your wife feels like she is failing you and offers you her maid, a beautiful young girl, to take her place, what should your answer be?  I'll tell you, "Honey, I love you so much.  God has said that we will have more family than we can count.  You are  more than enough for me.  I don't want any other woman."  Guess there is a reason I didn't write the bible.
  OK, lets move on to Jacob.  He loves Rachel. He goes to her dad and says," Sir, I will work for you for 7 years.  Then you give me your daughter Rachel to marry."  Deal.  7 years go by. He gets the man's daughter. Not Rachel.  What does Jacob do? Wait and work for 7 more years for Rachel? Yes, but in the mean time he keeps daughter #1, Leah. Confusing, right?  As a kid this story was so wonderful.  He worked 14 years for the woman he loved....but where does that leave Leah?
  How did these girls feel? These SISTERS feel? Leah knows she is only to "tide him over" till he gets the one he really loves.  And Rachel is just sitting and watching as he makes a home and family with her older sister.  Really?  Is this really something that is supposed to be in the bible?  These are the men God is blessing.
  Honestly the more I read the more I tilt my head to the side and say "huh"?
  As I ask God to show me why these details are in these stories. I feel him saying.  My chosen ones.  The ones I love have never been perfect.  The husbands were passive.  The wives were sneaky and controlling.  There has always been dishonesty, lust, anger.  I still chose to send a sacrifice.  I still chose you!
  There are a few definitions of the word crazy, it depends on how you use it.  Here are some of the descriptions. "senseless, impractical, intensely enthusiastic, passionately excited, very enamored or infatuated."
  In our very human minds God's love for us doesn't make any sense.  It isn't something we can explain.  He is crazy about us.  He tells these stories so that we know we are normal...whatever that is. Imperfect and totally helpless.  He knows that we make stupid decisions.  He understands that we aren't going to always understand His ways.  Still he paves the way.  Sends the only truly perfect sacrifice and says "I love you, please, don't forget that I am totally crazy about you"
  Lets not forget that in claiming this amazing sacrifice, comes much responsibility.  To share that with others. To live it out in our own lives.  To be more than just the Sunday Christian.  Doing more than just the minimum...lets be crazy about Jesus Christ, cause he is CRAZY ABOUT US!

A Holy Sacrifice

    At church our pastor has been talking about sacrifice.  What do you think of when you hear that?  Sacrifice?  Well, let see....giving up the things I love.  Going that extra mile (possibly dragging my feet the whole way.) Is there anything positive when we think of sacrifice?  

  

  Honestly, I know that as a "good Christian" I should be saying "Oh yes, I love to give, I would happily give anything God asks me to." Reality is, I think that we all are afraid to really seek what God has for us sometimes.  Why? We are afraid what it will cost us. Will it be to great?
  

  We like to live our comfy little lives.  You know, do what is on our life goals list and check it all off as we go. Get married. CHECK! Get good job.  CHECK! Have a family. CHECK!  Is that bad? Not necessarily.  Is it good? Hmmmm, not sure it is.
  

  What if one or more of these things take more time than we thought.  There is no "CHECK." Who's list is it?  Do I need to reevaluate?
   

  Satan knows where in our lives we are  missing those check marks.  Then he uses people and circumstance to take his evil little thumb and push on those sore spots and really make us squirm. We settle for the boyfriend that isn't really someone we want to be with.  We compromise our values.  Lie just a little.  Decide that maybe a little nudity in a movie isn't that bad, I'm an adult, I can handle it. Saying a word that is less than desirable is ok when I am REALLY upset.   All the while we are allowing Satan to crack the foundation of who we are in Christ.  

  If Jesus was standing beside us would we let that word slip out?  Would we be embarrassed to watch that movie with him? Would we want him to see the man/woman that we chose to give a piece of our heart to? 

   So what do I do with all this? Do I need to rebuke the devil?  Our job is not to send Satan back where he belongs but to claim the victory we have in Jesus! " I am a daughter of the king!  If you have an issue with that you can go talk to Jesus about it." Bet Satan will flee at the very name! Isn't that wonderful!
  As a daughter of the most high I am filled with Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Goodness, Faithfulness and Self Control.  These will be the fruits of my spirit and I  will not allow him take them away!
  I often feel that I need to focus on defeating Satan at his game and in reality, Jesus already did that.  I don't need to talk to Satan.  I just need to repent of the sin and claim the characteristics that I now possess as a "new creation" in Christ Jesus.  Let Jesus fight the battle.  The battle is won.  He never asks me to fight a battle on my own.  Why?  He knows I don't have the strength on my own to win.  I need him.  I forget that.  How do I forget that?  

  Satan tricks me into thinking that I need to deal with all my "stuff" before I can come to God.  The truth is, I can't deal with my "stuff" UNTIL I come to God.  When I come and lay it all down, he restores me.  Makes me better than I was before!
 

   Jesus wants us to come just as we are and offer our lives. We are the sacrifice.  Jesus devoted his whole life to telling everyone he saw about his father in heaven.  He was willing to be called a liar.  He was willing to be beaten.  Nowhere in my bible does it say that he stood up for himself.  He didn't call them unfair.  He didn't try to challenge the scoffers in a court of law because he was being discriminated against.
  

  Jesus went to the cross and for each and every man woman and child said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"  He died so that I could live.  He suffered so that I could be free.  He gave all.  Yet I still hang onto the "stuff" I seem to hold so dear.
  

  What if we gave all?  What if we all could see ourselves through the eyes of Jesus.  To have just a glimpse of his plan for us.  

  Would I regret giving all?  Or would I find  myself blessed beyond measure.  With faith that could move mountains.  The touch of my hand, healing the sick and making the blind to see? Why do we sell ourselves short?
  

  Jesus wouldn't have given his life for someone that wasn't worth it.  He gave his life, so that we in return, would show the fathers love to others.  He isn't asking us to sacrifice anything more than he already sacrificed for us.
  

  Who could ask for a better daddy than that?!  He sent a savior before we ever even knew we needed one!