Love vs. Hate: A Powerful Outcome

Can you imagine being taken from your family and country then becoming a servant to the commander of the army that took you? This happened in 2 Kings 5. A young girl was taken and was given to be a maid.  It ends up being a great story of healing but I want to focus on the impact of this nameless girl.

For most people if they were in this situation the last thing on their mind would to love the people who took you from everything you knew. But this girl sees that her master has leprosy and instead of hating him or talking behind his back, she tells him that there is hope for his leprosy. She tells him that there is a prophet in Samaria that could heal him.

This is crazy! She is literally helping and having compassion on the enemy! What a crazy radical love she displayed. Because she did love, her master was totally healed of leprosy, experienced the power of God so much that he would never serve another God again. What an impact her love and compassion had! He was the commander of an army and friends with the king! I can image her master told everyone what God did for him. Those who knew him before could not help but notice his healing. He was a walking, talking testimony! Generations were impacted…A because of a girl who didn’t let hate blind her. That is powerful!

Do we love those who have hurt us? Are we willing to look past those things and just love? In our

world today we could care less about helping our enemies. Why on earth would we help those people?

Well it could change everything, it could impact generations. When people experience God, change will happen. So we have to be willing to lay down our pride, bite the bullet and love. Our enemies might laugh in your face, totally ignore you or even kill you. With love, nothing is wasted.

We are to love because God first loved us. We love people because God loves them. How dare we not love those who are precious to God?

Whatsoever Think

Have you ever loved your enemy? What happened? How did you feel? Comment below!

P.S Happy International Woman's Day!

Put Off The Robe & Grab Those Nikes

Ah the weekend! I’m drinking coffee with the windows open, eating my sisters’ wonderful homemade granola and I’m wearing my red snowflake robe. It’s a good morning! Once my coffee is gone I realize the rest of the day waits…or not.

Here is a little tidbit about myself: If I am in my robe I could win an award for most lazy (ok maybe not an award for 1st but maybe a close 3^rd?). I mean I will get like nothing done, then at the end of the day I’m like “Wow a whole day and I’ve done nothing.”

While nothing days are great and well needed everyday cannot be. So knowing myself, if I want to get anything done I have to go put on my Nikes. It’s a proven fact; there will be more productivity if I simply get out of my robe!

So as Christians sometimes we are be in our “robes” too long. We get comfortable and lazy (note I’m not talking about resting in the Lord, our work in the Lord should be done from rest) sit back in our armchair with our coffee and wait for the Lord to do something. When really the Lord is always doing something and has already given us a list of things to already do. It’s like we want a personal invitation from God, to get up and do something. I am preaching to the choir! I can get the mindset of waiting, but doing nothing in the process. He calls us to:

• Pray for the sick
• Cast out demons (there are demons in America FYI)
• Care for orphans and widows
• Love all people with your time, money and energy
• Encounter Him daily

And that is the short list! We don’t do these things to earn favor or love. We do them because of love. He loves us, we love him and then we love people. No matter if you are stuck at home or traveling the world you can do something for God. It doesn’t have to be in front of thousands. Love the one in front of you. Get on Facebook and look for people who aren’t feeling well and pray for them! I love praying for people over social media! When you’re at games or at the store be aware of Love! God is big inside of you…let Him be big on the outside of you too!

So metaphorically speaking…get out of your robe and put on your Nike’s and see what God will do through you!

Whatsoever Think

What are your favorite ways to love people? Comment below!

Are Passive Christians Doing a Disservice to the Homosexual Community?

Note: This is my belief. I am not pushing this on anyone. All I’m asking is for you to simply think about what I am saying. Hear me out. I am not a hater. Actually I am a lover and love speaks the truth, even when it is hard and unpopular. However if you do read this and totally disagree, then that is your right as it is mine to simply share my belief. 

Let’s say you are being chased by zombies. They are closing in fast but you aren’t afraid because you know that just ahead is a force field dome that you can take refuge in. You are close to safety when you see someone looking for a hiding place. You call out to them to join you. They agree and start running with you. Now the zombies have you both in their sites. Just a few more feet! You reach the dome and you run right through the force field into safety, your new friend bounces right off the dome though!  You try to pull them in. But it’s too late. You new friend is now infected…slowly they turn into a zombie.

Death chases each one of us down hoping to take us out. As Christians death has lost all power over us because of the blood of Jesus. So when the end of our lives comes and death is closing in we don’t have to worry. We just enter into our rest. For those who aren’t washed in the blood they will not be able to enter in. They will face death for eternity in hell. It’s pretty black and white.

So what does this have to do with homosexuals? I believe that passive Christians are doing a disservice to the homosexual community. How so? Well let’s look at scripture first.  The Bible is clear that the unrighteous (or those who do wrong) will not inherit the kingdom. 1 Cor. 6:9-11, 13, 18-20 says:

“9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 13But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.

18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”

And Revelation 22:14-15 says: 

"Blessed are those who wash their robes. They will be permitted to enter through the gates of the city and eat the fruit from the tree of life. Outside the city are the dogs-the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murders, the idol worshipers, and all who love to live a lie."

Like I said before, I believe that passive Christians are actually doing a disservice to the homosexual community. By saying things like “We love you, we accept you. “ “You don’t have to change because God says don’t judge” Christians are being just like the one headed for safety, inviting the lost in only to have them killed in front of the dome.

This revelation of falsely leading people to heaven only to have them die forever and ever really makes me sick. I love these people who have chosen this lifestyle. So much that I can’t deceive them by saying they don’t have to change. Then one day they don’t get to enter into the kingdom of heaven because I was afraid of telling the truth.

Now, I am not “hating” on the gay community. Take a look at those verses again.  Who else is mentioned? That list is pretty steep and covers a big group of people. But in our world if someone is a thief or has terribly abused someone then we say it’s wrong and they need Jesus.  If you are gay though? No problem! But homosexuals are in the same list as liars and thieves of those who will not enter into heaven.  Why are most Christians waving it off? Also how is it that we get to decide what is a sin and what is not? Especially since it’s right in the bible?  

Did you notice that Revelation said that they are living a lie?! They are deceived. That is the beauty, if you will, about deception. You don’t know you are deceived. You need someone to tell you the truth in love.

We are to welcome people into the family of God. And part of that is to tell them the truth in love. The life style that they are living isn’t right, they need to change the way they think (true repentance).  Once true repentance has taken place then they will be able to enter glory with you.  We have become afraid to tell people the truth, because it’s not “loving”. But how loving is it to lead people to an eternity of torture and never ending death? That isn’t love!

Some say that homosexuality was only not permitted in the Old Testament. So that means since Jesus got rid of the law then it’s ok! That is just silly. I just gave two New Testament references that say homosexuality is a sure way not to enter heaven. But the church is saying “Come one come all! Free ticket to heaven! You don’t have to change, you won’t be judged come join the party!”

There is also a belief that since Gods word is alive (it is living and powerful) he isn’t done speaking. Meaning he could evolve and change his mind. So my question is what about when the Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today and forever? Does forever only mean a few centuries? Um, no sorry. He never changes.

What about gays who say they are Christians? The very word Christian means little Christ or like Christ. It was a word to describe those who followed Jesus… it wasn’t a nice word. Why were they being called that? Because they were resembling and being LIKE Jesus. Jesus was pure and holy and the perfect image of the Father.

Another belief is that those who are gay were born that way. To me this is the silliest of beliefs. If God says that homosexuality is wrong (he did) and if God created people (he did that too) why then would a loving God make them gay only to kill them off? They would be created with no chance of having a relationship with God and spending forever with him. That would be a total opposite of the gospel. Jesus died for all, so that all could be saved. Why would Jesus disobey his father by saving those who God created gay?

Some people like to quote John 3:16 and that is their answer. Just because Jesus died for the world doesn’t mean the whole world is saved. We have to accept the gift Jesus died for and then walk out the life he has called us too.

We have all sinned. ALL. Our sin just has a different name tag. Sin is sin however you look at it. So why do we sugar coat it?

“We aren’t to judge people though! That’s in the bible too! Only God judges! It’s not our place.”

God has already judged homosexuality as wrong (along with the greedy and drunkards). So it is our place to declare the truth in love. You have a responsibility to the world. They need the truth. But we are often too scared to offend anyone or feel uncomfortable or be an outcast.

If we don’t tell them and give them a chance to repent and change they will not go to heaven.

I don’t beat people with the truth. I do tell the truth though. If I don’t then it is like my zombie story. So I say the truth, at the risk of being called a “small minded hater of the gay community who has totally missed Christianity all together”.  I was called that after sharing my belief and in the same paragraph they said we are to love all people (side note: calling me a hater and then calling me names does nothing to prove your point). We are to love people. Never are we to look down on people because of sin. In fact if we aren’t loving people then we are against God.  We are to love one another yes…but were does it say we are to promote sin?

The truth is sometimes uncomfortable, unpopular, and underrated. But it’s the truth. So I will show love, which leads to truth itself…Jesus. He is the truth and what sets us free.

Don’t be a passive Christian. Don’t be afraid to tell the truth. Jesus was never afraid to say something. So be like Christ…

Whatsoever Think

God Gives Pain and Sickness To Those He Loves

Today my mom, sister and I were out shopping. A man was highlighted to my mom so she asked him if he was in pain. Come to find out the man had bad sciatica pain( and a lot of other problems). My mom asked if we could pray for him. He and his wife both said they believed in healing and that they had been pastors. We were also in a Christian book store, standing by the bibles and worship music was playing. We thought that you couldn't ask for anymore! This will be easy then!

We prayed and asked him to check it out and his pain went down! But immediately the couple said that they believe that sometimes God chooses to not to heal people for the purpose of teaching the afflicted and others around them.  They then continued to preach their warped belief of God. But wait there is more! The man said that in a few years everything would be ok because Medicare would kick in and everything would be ok and he would be "fixed".

The three of us just stood there…the man felt God take away some pain, but decided to believe that God had given him the pain and that in a few years Medicare was going to heal him. Wow.

This belief is common in the church. The church believes that our loving God would hand out sickness and pain. And what puzzles me is that the church defends this belief! They say "Well Paul had a thorn in the flesh so that must mean it was from God." I'm sorry, but would please go read your bible? If you took the time you would see that the "thorn" was not from God but the devil (2 Corinthians 12:7).

Even so the church wants to say that that one verse trumps what Jesus did on the cross. I was under the impression that Jesus paid for everything on the cross once in for all. He defeated death. Sickness and pain is slow death.  So why would one verse from the bible cancel out all that Jesus did on earth and the cross? Why would you even follow the belief system that states  that God punishes people with pain and sickness in order to teach you something?

Another thing the church has done is say that their pain/sickness has been given to them so that they can have a ministry. Ok if that was the way it went, why didn’t Jesus have pain and sickness all the time? Think about it.

Why would a unbeliever want to join a belief that says God puts cancer on those he loves? Just to simply "teach" them a lesson?

"If you believe that God wants you to be in pain so He can teach you a lesson, then you have a twisted and warped view of God. Just saying it how it is."- J.M. Schiele

 God is love. He has always been a God of love. There is no evil in Him. He is a father who loves His children. 

My heart hurts for people who believe this.  As Christians we hold the answer to all sickness and pain. That is Jesus. He lives inside of us!  There is hope for every single person. His life paid the price so we could live a full healthy life.

Whatsoever Think.

Anxiety: A Part Of Life

Last week I was told that anxiety was a way of life whether I realized it or not.  I was also told that since I’m young I probably haven’t experienced it yet…but just wait it will come.

Once I heard this I knew it wasn’t the truth, that we can live in as sons and daughters of God. But I also recognized that anxiety has touched my life and so many others. So what’s the deal? I decided to look up what “anxiety” really means:

[ang-zahy-i-tee]
noun, plural anxieties.
1.       distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune.
2.      Psychiatry. a state of apprehension and psychic tension occurring in some forms of mental disorder.

Synonyms
3.      1. fear, foreboding; worry, disquiet.

British Dictionary definitions for anxiety
1. a state of uneasiness or tension caused by apprehension of possible future misfortune, danger, etc; worry
2. (psychol) a state of intense apprehension or worry often accompanied by physical symptoms such as shaking, intense feelings in the gut, etc, common in mental illness or after a very distressing experience.

So what I am seeing here is that anxiety is fear based and it can become so bad that it is a disorder!

This is not the life we were meant to live. Yet anxiety is a large part of people’s lives. I looked up some facts and I can’t believe what I found: 

•   Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older (18% of U.S. population).

 Wow! That's crazy! So next I looked to see what the Bible says about anxiety I love what the Bible says about it!

^“ Don’t be anxious about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.  And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” - Philippians 4:6-9

The Bible also says: 

“No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.” -1 John 4:18

The Bible  is clear, we don’t have to live in fear because we have a perfect love that gets rid of fear in our lives! Anxiety as no hold on a person who lives in love. 

And what about mental illness? There is power in the name of Jesus. There isn’t a mental illness out there that cannot be healed. Jesus died once and for all, for every sickness. 

So know that I know all of this, I am going to have to change the way I think. If I start to feel anxious than I know I’m not living in love. I’ve moved out from under that love. It’s easy to step back into. But a lot of times I think we like living with problems. …Weird stuff!  You don’t have to live with anxiety, you can live in the opposite which is:

 certainty, serenity, tranquility.
 

You can live anxiety free! It doesn’t have to be a way of life. It’s not a grown up problem that you just have to deal with. It’s a lie from the devil. You don’t have to spend countless dollars or pop a pill to be free. All you have to do is live in the Love of God. Get into His presence, learn to rely on Him for everything. I still have times where I don’t do it right. But this week I was reminded that I don’t have to live this way and neither do you.

Whatsoever Think…

Below is a song I did for anxiety and any other darkness:

https://soundcloud.com/janellschiele/darkness-is-bound

Facts from: Dictionary.com , ADAA.org  and Biblegateway.com

Times Change: Be On Your Guard

“If you were to move to another country you wouldn’t be able to meet your future husband.”

 This morning I was getting ready and I had this thought. At first I was like oh my goodness…what if? Not even a minute passed and I realized this was not a thought from my Abba Father. No this was the voice of a major looser…and I almost fell for it.

In this season of my life it is all about change. This year alone I have been to Australia, Mexico, Belize and in a few months I will be going to England. I am being stretched and taking a step into the unseen, a place where true faith is required. And the loser doesn’t want us stepping out because of what we are capable of.

That looser knows how to push our buttons, hitting us in our weak spots. But when you spend time with the Father God you can learn the difference from the Fathers voice and the voice of the ultimate loser. I know that one day I will get married! God has the right man for me, I have no doubts. As a single girl though, this topic is close to my heart.

So I turn to what the bible says in John 10:3-5:

"The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

As sheep we learn our shepherd voice and when a stranger’s voice comes we can run from it! We can stand firm.

So as the times change I have to make sure that I am staying close to my father so I know his voice.

The devil cannot tell the truth. So when he tells you something you can just throw it in the trash and laugh in his face.

Times are changing; we have destinies that God wrote from the beginning. Inside each of us is the ability to change the world. Inside of us is a part of God that the world has yet to see.

Be on your guard! Judge your thoughts; make sure you are believing in the right voice.

Talk to you later I’m going to go laugh at the loser now! Haha!

A Response: Why People Don't Sing In Church Anymore

We all have passion and one of mine is worship. Bring up worship and we could talk for hours. Bring an instrument and you will make this girl happy! We will worship for hours. I love being able to worship the creator of the universe. It makes my heart so full!

Recently I saw a blog about why people don’t sing in church anymore. I found the title interesting so I clicked on it. After reading it I was so upset and baffled that I went to my room and worshiped God and prayed “God where are your worshipers?”.

Worship is not a song. Countless blogs say why people don’t sing in church. In my option if our focus is to just get people to sing, making worship just a bunch of songs to be sung, then we are worse than I thought. When worship becomes just another song it’s likely you’re lacking relationship with the one that your called to worship.

Worship is and has always been a lifestyle. Singing songs to God is just one avenue. You can worship him with your life, money, relationships…well everything! Worship looks like a lot of different things. The woman who poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and then wiped them with her hair was a act of worship. She did it because she was so in love with him. Some might think it’s over the top. But Jesus loved it.

I have traveled around the world and been in countless worship serves. I don’t speak all the different languages but that doesn’t stop me from giving my god adoration. People say songs now days are hard to sing, cheesy, aren’t the “original” songs and unbiblical. So they don’t “sing”. Haha have you gone through a hymnal lately (I love hymns don’t get the wrong idea)? Just saying… There shouldn't be any excuses.

I have been around lots of people like this: “Oh I wish they would play that one song, then I’ll sing". So here is my question: Is your worship to God dependent on what song is being played?

I’m ready for a generation to rise up and truly worship God selflessly. No matter the song or circumstance, that they consider it all joy to exalt him. I’m ready to see worship like it was in the tabernacle of David. There were people worshiping all the time with excellence and with a heart toward God (proof that excellence in worship is ok).

My heart burns for God. I long to worship Him not only on Sunday mornings but every day! We should worship because of who God is, plain and simple. He alone is worthy of all our praise. He the reason we even have songs.

I will be His worshiper and I will be a voice to this generation. It is time for the true worshipers arise. I see a people who will hold nothing back because they are so in love with Jesus.

Whatsoever Think