what im walking through with God: =)
before Jesus came the only way anyone could enter into the presence of God was by following strict sacrificial orders and if they didn’t do it correctly then they would be struck dead when they tried to enter the tabernacle where the presence of God dwelled. if the Israelites’ sacrificed correctly however, their offering would be known as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. but fast forward to Jesus years when God came down from Heaven in human form and eradicated ceremonial sacrifices as the FINAL fragrant sacrificial offering-paying the price for all of mankind. so following Christ and trying to obey often looks like trying to please God; trying to do things the best possible, correct way so that He actually likes our worship and offerings, but this very thing is what Christ was sent to eradicate; as the FINAL fragrant offering- He came down to Heaven and flipped religion on its head, making it so that our heart posture is the only thing that matters. nothing we can do will please God because that isn’t what He looks for anymore. no deed and action is capable of pleasing God. He took the 10 commandments and compacted them down into 2; love God and love others- out of these 2 commandments, everything else flows. all we’re called to do is love. THAT is the pleasing aroma to the Lord. THAT is how to best worship God. by simply letting Him love. we were created to be loved!
i got a necklace with a “giving” key on it prior to going on the worldrace and the word that was put on the key is “loved.” not until this recent epiphany of the fact that the only thing i am supposed to be in this life is loved by the Creator of the universe did my necklace make sense.
i catch myself trying to do all these so called “Christian” things because i think they’ll please God-to try to get on His “right” side but He’s revealed to me that i can literally go through this entire earthly lifetime without ever evangelizing to one person, without ever playing with orphaned children, without ever donating money to a missionary, without ever stepping foot in a church, without ever reading my bible, without ever doing anything christianesed and i would have a dwelling place in the Lord’s sanctuary as long as my heart and soul is willingly loved by God. all these “christian” things flow out of being loved. they are amazing things, i vouch for all of them + more wholeheartedly but i needed this realization so desperately because i tend to go through short bursts of hide and seek with God. a time where i feel like i’m the only one pursuing anything in our relationship, like He isn’t even there-which is the biggest lie ever. He asked me to put my bible away when we got into Ethiopia and i did for a day and He spoke to me so evidently but then i picked it back up because i had to go through with my reading plan huullllooooo! and as soon as i picked it up it was like God had vanished. i couldn’t find Him anywhere. all because i was being disobedient to what He was asking of me. then He reminded of what i was asked to do-put my bible away and just talk with Him face to face. so 3 days later, annoyed and frustrated because God is good at hide and seek when He wants to be, i put my bible back away and the Lord eradicated the lie i’d been believing about Him only pursuing me on occasion and showed me every way He’d been pursuing me for the past 3 months; all the way back to Battambang, Cambodia when He wrecked my bike and told me to just chill out for second. He’s been trying to get me one on one for 3 months-without any distractions, without any “religious obligations”-like reading the bible.
the Lord desires relationship. one on one, true, intimate relationship. He wants us to sit and talk to Him like a friend, like a spouse. it’s wild how crazy that statement is. i have always viewed God as a reigning lord over me; like He is so high and out of reach & i’ve got to do all these things and live my life as a goody-two-shoes or He may spit me out into the fire. whether or not i’m going to Heaven has been a sort of wonder in my mind because i couldn’t get everything right & i thought that’s how you get to Heaven but that isn’t true. it is all in your heart posture. our salvation resides in our hearts, in our true belief, not in our deeds. Jesus was the FINAL fragrant offering. the FINAL one. no one else is fragrant to God due to deeds and ceremonial action anymore.
God is good. He invites freedom, never bondage. He meets you right where you’re at, in your heart. you don’t have to do anything. He is so so pleased with you. you are His child, His precious beloved. He is so fond of you. <3
