When God Sees A Rainbow

Long ago in Bible times, after God flooded the Earth, He put a rainbow in the sky. I always thought the rainbow was for us. A covenant with us that He would never flood the Earth again. And yes, it was for that, but when you read it closely you see that it was for Him too.

Read Genesis 9:14-16 with me:

14 When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, 15 and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” (NLT)

Notice He says, "When I see the rainbow in the clouds I will remember the eternal covenant…"

God commanded a rainbow to appear after every rain to remind Himself not to give up on His creation. He knew that even this new generation of people beginning from Noah would still struggle with sin everyday. He knew that His heart would be troubled and broken over and over by the sins of His children. He knew that He would need that reminder, that rainbow in the sky to calm the storm and bring hope and promise back to Himself.  
God hates sin, so Praise the Lord He made rainbows, because without them, we probably would've been wiped off the Earth already! I know I would've.

So when I first researched why the rainbow was the sign of gay pride I was angry. How could they use something made as a promise from God and turn it into a representation of sin? But after reading in Genesis today, I think the rainbow is the best possible thing they could use to fly above their heads and cover their profile picture with right now. Because when God sees it, it reminds Him to have grace and to not destroy His creation.

Maybe when WE see that rainbow symbol when can also remember that we need to have grace and mercy- and LOVE for that person; not judgments, anger, and destructive words.   You know by my other posts of course that I am not saying to support the sin, (you won't see me changing my profile pic to a rainbow) BUT every time I see one I will pray for that person. I will also pray for myself, that I would not let negative thoughts or judgement come into my heart.

Today we learned that God not only made the rainbow for us, but He also made it for Himself. So if the God of the Universe felt He needed a reminder to show grace to His people, then how much more do we need that reminder?

To My Fellow Christian

In regards to my last post entitled, "Do You Call Yourself a Christian?" AND in regards to what is happening in America today,  I feel the need to leave you with a passage from Romans. 

But first,
If you call yourself a Christian, then you are claiming you believe and obey what is written in the Bible, NOT the ways of the world. Yes we are to LOVE others, but if "loving" turns into direct disobedience to His Word then it becomes a sin. We need to love others GOD'S way, not the world's way, even if we get persecuted for it. Jesus got persecuted too, in fact He hung on a cross for being Himself. He came to SAVE the world, because He knew that sin leads to DEATH, and He didn't want us to die. 

He loves us too much. 

Fellow Christian, I love YOU too much to watch you walk so blindly any longer. For the unsaved I pray, "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do." But for the Christian I say, "God help them see the truth in Your Word and be brave enough to stand for it, even though it is not popular and is viewed as hateful by the world. God help us to be bold for you!"

Romans 1:16-32:

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.[g] 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”[h]

God’s Anger at Sin

18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.[i] 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. (NLT, bold emphasis by me)

And don't forget, to know God is to love God, and to love God is to obey God.

1 John 2:3-6 says,

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. (NLT)

Do you call yourself a Christian?

I am seeing a ton of Facebook posts from "Christians" that don't seem to line up with what being a christian actually means.

By the dictionary's definition it means: one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. (http://www.merriam-webster.com)

Yes, I agree with that, but it is so much more.

You see, to know God is to love God, and to love God is to obey God. (read that again, slowly)

That's pretty much it, in a nutshell.

Do yourself a favor and read the book of 1 John (it's only 5 chapters long, you can do it.)

1 John 2:3-6 says,

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. (NLT)

So….if this isn't making it clear…a Christian is someone who obeys God, and lives as Jesus did.

Are you doing that? It's a good question to ask yourself if you claim to be a christian.

Are you supporting things of this world and living in a way completely opposite to what God commands in His Word? Are you not even sure what the Bible says about certain topics, like sexual immorality, divorce, and other issues?  If that's the case, it sounds like it's time to crack open that Bible and start researching. There are A TON of people out there professing to be christians,  yet are living the complete opposite.  They do not even know right from wrong! The world is lying to us constantly, so if you spend more time listening to the world than the Word, then you will be one confused "christian."

When we die and come face to face with God,  He will say one of two things. Either, "Well done my good and faithful servant" (reference form Matthew 25) or He will say, "Depart from Me, I never knew you."  Yikes.

Matthew 7:21-23:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

WOW. Scary stuff! You could totally think you are a christian, going to church every sunday and be living your life just fine, and then WAMO!! He might say He never knew you, because you were down here living what you THOUGHT was christian, because you listened to the world more than Him.  

And just in case you are skeptical of what I am saying, maybe you don't even know if God is real, well consider this. The Bible says that someday we will ALL come face to face with the Creator.
Romans 14:10-11 says,

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

EVERY KNEE and EVERY TONGUE, that means every world religion, all the atheists, Mormons, Buddhists, every religion you can think of, EVERY single person will be on their knees in His presence after they die, and they will KNOW He is God. There will be no more doubt, or twisting of who He actually is, they will KNOW.

So if you are reading this, then please, take a look at what you believe. If you realize that you are not living up to what God defines as a christian, then just know It IS possible to come back to Him. You can turn from any sin, any addiction, any religion, and any confusing sexual feelings. IT IS POSSIBLE, but ONLY with God, because He is the ONE that makes it possible. He gives you the courage to turn from those desires, He gives you the mercy you need, and He can fill your mind and soul with His love so that you can recognize the truth from the lies, the light from the dark. 

Repent, Turn from your selfish ways, and Follow Him. (Matthew 16:24)

And remember, to know God is to love God, and to love God is to obey God.  

It's simple, if you love Him you will obey Him. And it all starts with knowing Him. So open up that Bible and get to know Him. He will guide you and make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6) :)