Turning Back To God

Hello everyone! I hope y'all are making it through this crazy time with Coronavirus. I know life has been flipped completely upside down and everyone has been having to stay at home for the last few months. 

I pray for healing for everyone with family members and friends that have Coronavirus. 

I also pray for comfort and peace for the family members and friends that have lost loved ones during this time. I know God is in control and I pray that we will all come out of this being spiritually stronger than when it started. 

My church has been doing drive in church services. Drive in church is where everyone stays in their cars and the church has services outside. Today my pastor started a new series called, "Perspective: Seeing things differently and living differently." I just wanted to share this message with y'all today.

Our pastor said the definition of perspective is "point of view." Perspective is the way you see something. 

There are two interesting things about perspective:

1. We can both look at the same thing, but have different opinions about it.   
2. Sometimes you can change your perspective. 

We read some verses from Psalm 119 during today's service at church. 

In Psalm 119, verse 71, it says "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees." 

The word afflicted means to suffer. 

The word afflicted is also in verse 4 of Isaiah 53. In both of these verses, the word afflicted refers to what God does to us. Afflicted is also used in Psalm 119, verse 67, and it says, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word." The writer of Psalm 119 is saying that it was the hard times that made him turn back to God. 

Maybe you started the year off reading God's word everyday and talking to God everyday, but then life got busy. I know thats what happened to me. At midnight on New Years Eve, I was at Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta, Georgia ringing in the New Year with 65,000 other college students who decided to start the year off with God. It was an amazing experience and I left feeling so on fire for Jesus. I came back home and was committed to reading God's word and talking to him everyday and I did for awhile, but then life got busy. 

I started to wander farther and farther away from God and then I let the busyness of life consume my time and distract me from my relationship with God. Then Coronavirus came and I knew it was time for me turn back to God. I knew that it was time to set my priorities straight and make my relationship with God more important than anything else in my life.

I am not saying that bad things only happen when you stray from God, but when you stray from God, he knows how to increase the pressure until you feel the pain. Sometimes it takes these hard times for us to turn back to God. 

We also talked about whatever captures your attention, will determine your direction. We read Colossians 3, verse 2, and it basically says that God wants us to not let earthly things capture our attention and determine our direction. For example, I have let striving for good grades and success become more important than spending time with God. It is okay to want to have good grades, but just don't let it get in the way of your relationship with God. God wants us to focus on him and let him determine our direction. God cares about us and the direction of our lives. God is always working for our good, even when it hurts.  

Ways to not let earthly things capture our attention and determine our direction:

1. Make spending time with God a priority. 

• Schedule time everyday to spend time with God in his word and in prayer. 
• A good prayer to pray everyday, so you aren't lead into temptations is a verse from Matthew 6:13. 

      2. Make your time with God intentional and personal. 

• Don't make reading God's word and praying just a routine thing, but let your heart be in it. 
• God wants us to grow in our relationship with him, so talk to him like you would to a friend. 
• Be honest with God. Share your struggles with him and thank him for the good things in your life. 

      3. Write down bible verses on index cards that target and fight the specific temptations you struggle with. 

      4. Get an accountability partner. 

• Let them know in what ways they can pray for you. 
• They can also check in on you once a week and see how you are dealing with certain temptations. 

     5.  When temptation comes, refocus your mind and heart with praise. 

• Find scripture like Psalm 147 that praises God and pray those scriptures. 
• Create a Christian playlist and listen to worship songs and praise God. 

So what perspective really is is when you can look back on your pain and problems and see a purpose. 

What affliction did for the writer of Psalm 119:

1. It increased his loyalty to God's word. 
2. It helped him clarify what was best in his life. In Psalm 119, verse 72, the writer realized that he treasured God's word more than anything else in his life. 

We need to see God's purpose in the midst of the pain and if we have strayed away from God, it's time we turn back to God and ask for forgiveness. Turn back to God, he will welcome you with open arms. Also get back in his word, because his word is something we should treasure more than anything else in our lives.  

Even though we are all separated right now, we are not isolated. As I mentioned last time, if you need someone to talk to or pray for you, I am here for you. I have a place on my blog where you can submit prayer requests and I will definitely pray for you. There is power in prayer. 

Everyone stay safe and remember that God loves you! Love you guys. Till next time.