cheyannenichol

[cheyannenichol]

A Great BIG Lie.

First and foremost when calling out a lie, irregardless of the size, let us start with what I like to call truth therapy.

Joseph King of Dreams

The story of Joseph is in Genesis 37 and 39-42 and in this story there is a man name Joseph and he is one of 12 brothers. God blessed Joseph and came an spoke to him in his dreams. In those dreams God was telling Joseph that he would one day be above all of his siblings and rule over them. When Joseph tells his siblings about his dream they become very angry with him and sell him into slavery. While he is in slavery he becomes the head of all the slaves because God is with him(39:2-6). As a slave his master’s wife trying to get him to commit adultery and when he refuses she lies and has him sent to prison. In prison Joseph is still obedient and faithful to God so god continues to bless Joseph and he is put in a place of authority within the prison(39:21-23. Then by a grace of God Joseph is released from Prison and the Pharaoh places Joseph as the second in command over all of Egypt(41:39-43). After Joseph becomes second in command over Egypt God gives Joseph the revelation that there will be seven years of famine so Joseph prepares the country for this time. When the famine comes Joseph”s brothers have to come into Egypt to get rations for their families and the dreams God gave him years before of Joseph being above all his siblings Comes to pass. 

Im not sure about you but I see SO MUCH of God’s blessing in this story. It is so powerful and a true picture of who God really is. If you have never heard this story before I highly recommend that you go and read it because a very important aspect of it is that Joseph doesn’t lose faith. He presses into God and God rewards him. He denied the desires of his flesh and God blesses him. This is the same for us. God wants to bless us like he blessed Joseph but there ARE going to be obstacles and typically those obstacles don’t come from God 

Another in the Fire 

the next little piece of truth i wanna give you comes from the book of Daniel. Its about these three men who defied their king in order to serve God. 

The king Nebuchadnezzar commanded that his people (even those who were under him due to being captured) had to bow down to a golden statue or they would get thrown into a burning fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (who were Jews) refused to bow down to a false Idol and Nebuchadnezzar  ordered them to be thrown into the furnace. But the three Jews seem to be otherwise indifferent and simply respond with faith that God will deliver them (3:16-18). Unshaken by their faith the king throws the men, bound into the fire. Once they were thrown into the fire the king’s advisers notice that there are four people in the fire and they unbound (3:24-25). The king has them removed from the fire and promoted them above Babylon.

This story is incredible because not only were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego unharmed in the fire but The Holy Spirit was stood beside them in the fire. beyond that they defied the king and because of the protection of God they ended up serving WITH the king. God-who is the same yesterday, today and forever- will still protect and bless us the way he did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego when we put faith in Him above all other things. But it wasn’t just that God protected them He was also with them in the fire. He never left their side even in the fiery furnace. God is always with us no matter how far away we turn or how close we are to Him. He never leaves our side!

There will Be Trials

The final Truth i want to bring to the table is that there will be difficult times. Even Jesus, the Son of God, faced trials on earth from temptation to death. He also warned us that as we get closer to the end times the more we, Christians especially, will face difficult situations. 

Luke 21:12-36 is when Jesus is telling the Disciples about the signs of the end times and He flat out tells them that Christians will be hated because of Jesus (21:17) but that if Christians lean into faith in God that they will be saved (21:18-19)

The Great BIG Lie

That leads us to the actual point. In all of those testimonies it never once says “God will cause us to have hard times” or “God will put you through the fire.” The truth is that it is the result of sin and unbelif in God that caused the bad things to happen to the people of the Bible. Joseph was sold into slavery because his brothers didn’t want God’s word for him to come to pass. Their own selfishness told them that their younger brother would not rule over them. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to comit the sin of worshiping an idol and were thrown into the fire. It was a result of the kings sin and anger that they were endangered but God delivered them and was with them. But I want to bring to your attention a statement that MANY Christians like to use to strengthen themselves in times of hardship:

“If God brings you to it He will bring you through it” 

Now a lot of people quote that from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where it sates

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Note: I added the bold to bring attention the part we are referring to it is not actually noted like that in the bible

If you read that it may seem like God wont give you more than you can handle. But read it carefully because it does not say that He will give you temptation. instead it states He “will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able” and also He will “make the way of escape so you can bear it.” it doesn’t say He is giving it to you in face He is very clearly not letting it overtake you. He is giving you the tools handle it. The Bible, Prayer, Holy Spirit. These are all things that are at our disposal to bear temptations and trials. Moreover the verses that precede it give examples of sins that caused trials and temptations. Temptations and trials are a direct result of sin in the world and can be traced very clearly back to Genesis where Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the Garden. 

instead here is where that idea actually stems from

God does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. To its credit is what it earns, and against it is what it commits. “Our Lord, do not condemn us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not burden us as You have burdened those before us. Our Lord, do not burden us with more than we have strength to bear; and pardon us, and forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Lord and Master, so help us against the disbelieving people.”

This quote is not Biblical. You WILL NOT find it in the Bible. 

Why Is that? Oh because I took this quote directly out of the Quran.

The Quran, which is at least 500 years newer than the Bible and not written by anyone who lived in the Time of Jesus or served with Him, states that God “does not burden a soul more than it can handle” instead “credit is what it earns.” This is a stark contrast to the idea of what Jesus did on the cross. In fact the idea of this is completely discredited over and over in the Bible.

So if you are a person that has believed in this statement I encourage you to not only take my word for it but stead explore the Word for yourself. Pray bout it, ask God for His take. Search for alignment in scripture.

[cheyannenichol]

I Wanna be like You

I was not raised in a legalistic church, in fact I wasn’t really raised in a church going household at all. So when I felt the call of God on my life I knew it was a personal, intimate call on my heart. But the more I am walking with the Spirit of God I am learning that there are many people that do not know God in the way I do. 

Chris Tomlin and Lady A recently released a song called “Who You are to Me” and it hits hard. In the spirit of that song I want you to take a moment to think of who God is to you. Maybe He is far away and dishes out to everyone what they deserve. Maybe you know Him super well and are actively seeking new ways to get close to Him. Maybe you have never heard the name Jesus before an you are looking for anything to heal your broken heart. To me God is my King and I am His Princess, His second in command with all the authority over evil and destruction. He is a doctor, He mends my broken heart and heals all my infirmities. He is the bright Arizona Sunshine, warm on my skin, as spring turns to summer. He’s the comfort of a whole pint of Ben and Jerry’s after a horrible break up(minus the calories). God is all the good things in my life but most importantly God is my best friend. The one person I don’t have to explain myself to because He already knows my whole heart, in fact He designed it.

So by this point you are reading this and shouting “Amen” because you know exactly what I am talking about OR you are still a little skeptical of this whole “Called to Jesus” thing. So let me tell you WHY;

John 13:1-17

13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” 8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” 9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” 12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

In that time there was no asphalt, or sidewalks and the servants of the household would wash the feet of the masters and the guests when they would enter the house. Now answer me this: what far away God would come to earth and wash the dirty feet of the people who are supposed to be following Him? Soak in that. If God was this far away God that just judges us and gives us what we deserve why would He come to the earth and wash the feet of His followers? EVEN FARTHER THAN THAT! At this point Judas had already decided that he was going to give Jesus away to be put to death Jesus KNEW that he was going to die because of him. Jesus still loved and shower Judas compassion and mercy, Jesus still loved him. 

Verse 15-17 Jesus spells it completely out for us. 

15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

He is calling us to be like Him. To “Do as I have done”

I want you to experience the closeness of God that I have experienced. I don’t want you to see Him as the far away God that sees us as pawns on a chessboard. He wants an intimate and close relationship with you.

If this is your first time feeling the love and presence of Jesus please join me in Salvation and pray these words as I did several years ago.

Jesus,

I accept you into my heart. I know that you came to the Earth to die for me so that I could have eternal life in Heaven with You. I know that even when I was still living in sin You humbled yourself and washed my feet. I accept the gift of eternal life with You. I couldn’t earn it and i didn’t deserve it, but you give it to me anyway.

Amen

[cheyannenichol]

As a baby christian I knew exactly what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I knew where I was going to school, what I was going to school for, how I was going to serve God while I was there, and what nice car I was going to park in the driveway of my perfect home. But you see the problem with MY plan was that I knew exactly what I was going to do with MY life. I didn’t take into consideration the plan OF GOD over my life. You see the more I grow with God the more I can see all the ways that enemy tries to hijack our destiny, he will do anything to separate us from what God has already planned for us, and he is not above using our own free will to do it. 

See the problem with MY plan wasn’t so much that it was My plan as much as it was my mom’s plan for me. I was a good student by nature and was typically successful in anything I went after so a handful of times I enrolled in school, got good grade, and then gave up because “something didn’t feel right.” I know now, after five years of driving my own destiny, that I was because I was looking toward the worlds idea of success. I wasn’t taking into consideration the plan OF GOD in my life. Even in my workplace I would be recognized for extra hours I put in or the hard work I did but still it didn’t feel right. It wasn’t because I didn’t earn the recognition it was because it was the ideology of what the world saw to be worth praise and not the plan OF GOD for my life. 

But once I decided it was time for me to ride shotgun and let God take the wheel I could finally take a look at the map on the dashboard and see where we were headed.

I believe that there is a fork in our journey. The path to the left if the path of our own desires. We can still be saved and take that path. We can still be successful and take that path. But it is not the path OF GOD in our lives. But for me, my plan is to follow the path OF GOD.