Miley Cyrus & her VMAs performance

Since I have read some comments about Miley Cyrus and her performance on the VMAs, I thought I would share my opinion.

 

Miley Cyrus is a young entertainer. It was an MTV awards show. What do you expect from MTV? Instead of complaining about something that is distasteful/trashy/inappropriate, look for something that will instill values you want to see/live by.

 

I think we view celebrities sometimes as "role models" instead of what they actually are: entertainers. They are in the entertainment industry. The key word being "entertainment." They are being paid for a service which is to bring us entertainment.

 

Media outlets (TV/radio/magazines, etc.) can sometimes paint an unrealistic/untruthful portrait of what celebrities are ACTUALLY like. We don't know them personally. Media tells us what to think about them. I don't look to celebrities as "role models." Rather, I look to family and friends for positive influences and being "role models."

 

On that note, Miley Cyrus was performing as an entertainer. That's all it was meant to be: entertainment.

be still

"Wait for the LORD,

       be strong and take heart

         and wait for the LORD." -Psalm 27:14

 

 

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him..." -Psalm 37:7

 

"He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God." -Psalm 46:10

 

According to these passages, I am commanded to be still and wait for God. How hard this is! I'm always in a rush but these words force me to examine my life and where I am in my relationship with Him.

 

Do I wait for Him? Am I still in His presence?

 

Or do I rush through my "quiet time" like one more item on my to do list?

 

God demands more of me. He wants all of me.

 

And He can't have it all if I am constantly rushing through my days thinking about what is "practical" rather than what is satisfying to my soul-the part of me that will live forever.

 

Also, I have experienced intimacy with God in the stillness, not in the busyness of my life. As Psalm 37:7 states, I am to be still before Him and wait patiently. It's in the quietness that I hear God speak to me.

spiritual nourishment

Just like I can't survive without food and water, I can't survive without the living word of God. So many days I go without even pausing to feed my soul with His word. I keep on living but I'm dying on the inside.

 

I recognize I'm desperate for His spirit to flood the deepest parts of me. I won't let myself take a step toward Him. My fear is paralyzing.

 

I fear change, intimacy, conviction.

 

To get past all this fear, I know I need the spiritual nourishment that only come from the word of God.

 

I not only need spiritual nourishment, but I must also ask God for receptivity: to respond to what He is trying to say to me in His word. I put into practice when God reveals what I must do. That leads beyond spiritual nourishment to spiritual action.

a life of believing God

I know I believe in God but do I truly, in the core of who I am, believe God?

I want my life to go beyond the surface of believing in God to believing God.

There is a distinct difference. Beth Moore explains in her devotional Believing God four (4) qualities (or motivations) of a life of believing God:

(1) Incomparable power

               Ephesians 1:19

                          "and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as       the  mighty strength."

                      Since I belong to God, His power lives in me and is executed when I believe that same power is always in me. I live in that power God gives to me.

(2) The pleasure of God

                Hebrews 11:6 (a)

                            "And without faith it is impossible to please God..."

                  Faith is essential for my journey as a follower of Christ. It is impossible for me to live a life of believing God without the existence of faith.

(3) Reward

                 Hebrews 11:6 (b)

                            "...because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

Seeking God follows faith. When I come before God in any form: prayer, meditation, solitude, journaling, I must believe He exists. Reward follows when I seek Him relentlessly. But do I? On a daily basis, do I make my number one priority to come before His presence, to seek His guidance, provision, direction, or anything else I might need that given day?

I know how I would answer that previous question and I can't honestly say that seeking God is my number one priority. I get caught up with my job and I have different priorities any given day. and if I don't feel like seeking Him or His heart, I won't. Simple. I need to be honest with myself before God can initiate any change.  God acts according to my level of faith which leads into the last motivation.

(4) God will often act according to our faith

                 Matthew 9:29

                         "Then he touched their eyes and said, 'according to your faith let it be done to you."

 

                 My level of faith influences how God will work in my life, others I am in contact with, and also my future.

 

At any time I can ask God to increase my faith.

In a more simplistic sense, faith is a quality of the fruit of the Spirit (Romans 10:17), and faith comes through hearing the Word of God (Luke 17:1-6)

 

Believing God verses believing in God will be credited to me as righteousness. My goal is to live a life of believing God.

recommended reading

Reading is one of my favorite things to do.

I have compiled a list of some of my favorite books:

Nonfiction:
*Crazy Love
*Forgotten God (both by Francis Chan)
*Boundaries
*Not a Fan
*Radical
*The Ragamuffin Gospel
*The Air I Breathe
*Jesus Calling (devotional)
*Rachel's Tears

Fiction:
*The Help
*Nineteen Minutes
*Safe Haven
*The Time Traveler's Wife
*The Book Thief
*To Kill a Mockingbird
*My Sister's Keeper

Most of the previous titles can be purchased through www.amazon.com

Happy reading! :-)

i am free

I know true freedom comes only from God. Here are a few things I am free to do in faith:

 

*I am free to be compassionate.

*I am free to enjoy.

*I am free to be renewed.

 

*I am free to write.

*I am free to surrender.

 

*I am free to be passionate.

*I am free to be on fire for God.

*I am free to commune with Him.

 

*I am free to be called.

 

Compassion, enjoyment, renewal have their source in God.

He (God) gives me the words to write and the strength to surrender when I hold on just a little too tight.

Passion fuels intimacy I have with Him, then I am in communion with the one my heart loves.

content in God

Psalm 119:81-
"My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
But I have put my hope in your word."

Psalm 130:5
"I wait for the Lord,
And in his word I put my hope."

The author is proclaiming his soul cries out for God to be His salvation. His hope is in the word of God.

Real living comes from saturating my time in the word of God,  developing a deep respect for Him.

Also, I feel real living is being content in any circumstance whether it is positive or negative, discouraging, happy, etc. with a knowledge God is completely sovereign. Additionally, I believe real living is being content in God.

I ask myself daily, "how can I be 'content' in God?" I can be content in Him by realizing I'll fully understand why He works in the ways and methods by placing my trust in Him even when it doesn't make sense to me.

I also find it easier to write I need to trust Him. than to actually put that same thought into practice. However, if I consistently pray, "Help me, God, to trust You.", it will become a reality in my life.

When I begin to trust in Him despite what I see (or can't see), that is a start to becoming content in God and where He's placed me.