Don't Forget About God...

Hello everyone, I pray that all is well and that you are all being prosperous throughout this week and favor has been following you around lately. Now then, don't be alarmed by the title of this post, just bare with me here. Some may read the title and say "how can I forget about God?" well dear readers, it's actually more common in the Body of Christ than we think. The majority of us have busy lifestyles, whether it be juggling a career and children, building a home while finishing school, running around in ministry or whatever your situation may be, we are busy! Now, most people reward others who have a busy lifestyle because they believe that that is accomplishing a goal and moving up in life. But see, the thing is, if whatever you are wrapped up in is keeping you so busy that you forget about God, are you really moving forward in life? Or has the world tricked you into thinking that you are? See as believers of Christ, there are certain things we should be doing on the DAILY basis. Such things as, praying for our neighbors (whether they are believers or not), praying in our heavenly language, fasting to kill off our flesh, evangelizing to the lost, spreading the Gospel & more. Now then, as we know, in order to spread the Gospel, we must KNOW the Gospel and how do we know it? BY READING THE WORD OF GOD. We as believers of Christ need to know that ministry doesn't just happen inside the building, it happens on the streets and at corner stores, in alley ways and clubs, parking lots and much more. Now, yes sadly there are those out there in the world who claim to love God but they put themselves on a pedestal and frown upon the hookers and drug dealers etc. Real believers have a story too so they aren't afraid to approach the drunkards or the addicts because they know that it was nothing but the grace of God that changed their lives so they know He can change others as well. Now I know it seems like I'm just spilling everything out and you're probable reading like "uhhh what does this have to do with forgetting God?" Well, as I have stated before, one of the things we as believers should be doing is spreading the Gospel. In order to do that we've got to know it by reading the Word of God. We must know the Word in order to help those who need salvation, we can say God loves someone all day but if we don't have Word to back it up with why and how then how will that seed of faith be planted into the next person. Here is how I almost felt as if I was forgetting God.

Please note that this was a personal conviction and that it may not be serious to you but it held a heavy weight on me. Now then, to be real with y'all, I have access to 2 bibles. One being a bible app on my phone that became very handy and a physical bible that I study and read from. I remember a very long time ago, I wanted a bible in a specific translation (NLT) to read from, at the time, there was never really a moment where I could just buy one so I kept asking God for one and one day someone blessed me with it. It was exactly what I wanted and I began to cherish it and dove into it quickly. I remember that I used to carry it around almost everywhere I went and I never hesitated to pull it out no matter where I was at. I cannot remember the exact time this started but one day I began to put it to the side more often and I leaned on my bible app more. Now don't get me wrong this bible app is very useful, from different translations to bible plans, it comes in handy but at that time, I began to misuse it and it became my crutch. I had noticed that each time I put my physical bible down, it took days before I picked it back up and began to study. Time and time flew by and the app was now only being opened when I was reading a bible plan which wasn't enough but I would read through for like 2 minutes and then go about the rest of my day, not praying as much or even thinking twice about reading more. It only began to weigh on me heavy when I went to a bible study that is usually held at my church on Wed. & Thurs. nights. On this particular Thursday night during the discussion part of class, many names from the bible were being brought up and to keep it real with y'all, some names I knew but didn't know the story behind them and some names I didn't know at all. After that night, that experience didn't sit well with me. It felt like a weight was being added onto me and it happened again on a Sunday. During the sermon one of the main things that was getting repeated was "read your bible" and I just knew I had to get back to doing it, not for anyone else but for me. I had to start reading again and learning more about the Word so that my relationship with Him could become stronger. 

From then on I realized that being busy had slowly made me forget about God a bit. I remember there were days when I would start praying but it felt like I could barely pray and I would just be shocked because I would pray a lot but see if you don't take care of something on the daily basis, it becomes old and rusty and eventually it breaks. That's what my prayer life began to feel like and it made me squirm. Now before all of this, I was praying a lot and asking God for things and I was reading but I noticed that once I received a blessing, I put more time and effort into that blessing than I did my duties as a believer of Christ. How many people know that when God finally blesses us with that thing we've been asking for, we've got to keep working and pushing for Him. We aren't supposed to slack off on our duties as believers just because we got that job or into that school. Just last night I was in the book of John and a lot of things jumped out at me but the main thing was this: "Don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your time seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of approval" (John 6:27 NLT) This was Jesus talking to the others and he called them all out on how they just wanted to follow him because he fed them and not because they understood the miraculous signs he did. This stood out to me the most last night because we always love on the Lord for what He can give to us but we should really be loving on Him for who He is! Oh don't worry, I'm talking to me too! We always want the blessings and yes they do come but above all else we are supposed to seek God and develop our relationship with Him on the daily basis.

Today, as I write and share this with you all, I know that I can no longer allow myself to get comfortable with doing the bare minimum, in order to reach out and plant seeds of encouragement, I have to know the truth, and the truth is the Word of God. We can't keep trying to shove the Bible down other people's throats if we don't even read it ourselves, then we could risk leading someone astray or worse, having blood on our hands. The people who are in the streets and clubs or even homeless, they need raw, real encouragement. We can't just tell them they are loved and not tell them why. There are people out there who want to come to Christ but because they feel unworthy or not clean enough, they stay away. As believers we have to reach out to others and not be afraid of where we walk or who we have an encounter with. Yes, we need to use discernment on where to go and who to approach, we must also know in our hearts the Word of God so that people will fall in love with Him and not just our own words. Some people will latch onto everything you say just because they admire you in some way, shape, or form. It's sad that there are people out there who take advantage of those who admire them but real believers know that we are here to grow the fame of Christ and not ourselves.

Don't make your lifestyle an excuse not to pick up your bible or pray and minister. Someone out there needs encouragement from the Lord and if you have the heart to reach out to others then you've got to be equipped and ready to not only spread the Word but to defend it as well. Your lifestyle wouldn't even be busy if God didn't give you those things you put so much time into. He gave you that promotion, He healed your children, He blessed you with transportation and a place to sleep. There is no excuse to forget about God in our daily lives. Many people scream that God is first in their lives when their actions show that He's actually last in their lives. Don't worry, if this is you, it's time to get back to your first love. Read His word, think about your own testimony, think about those who need to come to Christ, think about His grace and mercy. I'm talking to me too! Don't forget about God!

As Always: Stay Blessed & Encouraged :)