The difference between being a Christian and a Christ follower

Response to Christian v/s Christ follower:

No matter if you consider yourself a Christian or a Christ follower, no matter where you go to church, no matter if you don't go to church but consider yourself a Christ follower or a Christian..... we are all judgmental of what the other people think because we all think our systems, our way of doing things, or the way we think (our perceptions) are the right way to think.

I AM

Is there anybody out there that would like to know that someone out there actually loves you unconditionally with no strings attached?

I'll answer: I do!

I was going through a tough time a couple weeks ago. I do this quite often in my thoughts. I think so hard about what others are thinking of me or what others want me to do or what others expect of me and sometimes, as a woman, I get very overwhelmed with the expectations placed on me. Now, I must admit that some.....okay, maybe MOST of the expectations placed on me are actually my own expectations of myself. But, that's not the point. The point is that I have alot of expectations put on me. Keep the house clean, keep Bree growing in the right direction, keep my marriage good, keep my lesson plans up, blah, blah, blah. Of course, the list is way more extensive than this but I don't want you to get overwhelmed too so I'll keep my list short.

Every once in a blue moon I really, really need to know that even if I was paralyzed from neck down and could not get out of bed and could not do or "perform" the tasks that I do in 24 hours that someone out there will still love me and still think I am great just the way that I am. Just as a human being that has a heart beat.

Well, check this out.

The other morning when I was feeling all gloomy and pitiful about having all these expectations placed on me, like I said, placed on me by myself, I started thinking about it. I kept saying over and over in my mind, "I wish somebody would just accept me and love me just the way that I am." "Love me just the way that I am." "Just the way that I am." "Way that I am." "I am" "I am" "I AM!!"

I read a book a few months back called "The Echo Within" by Robert Benson. It talked about how when God made us he breathed into us. (⁷ the LORD God formed the man ^{e]" [e]} from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.(Genesis 2:7NLT)) Well if it took his breath to make us he's still in us. Made sense to me. It also said that one of those little voices inside when we become believers of Christ is God speaking or breathing within us. That makes sense too.

So, I want someone to love me just the way that I am, right?

I remembered that somewhere in the Bible God refers to himself as "I AM." So, I went to the Bible to find it. I attached it here but before you read it I want to set the stage.

Stage setting: Moses was called by God to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Why did the Israelites need to be brought out of Egypt? Because they were slaves there. Moses didn't feel like he was the man for the job. I just love God's response to him. Read the following excerpt from the Bible, Exodus 3:11-14 NLT

¹¹ But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
¹² And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you ^a]" will worship God on this mountain."
¹³ Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
¹⁴ God said to Moses, "I am who I am .^" This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
I hope you are making the same connection that I made the other morning. I need someone to love me and accept me just the way that I am. God is I AM. I AM is living inside of me. He breathed life into me. So, OF COURSE GOD LOVES ME just the way I AM! Isn't that the best news ever? It is for me!
What is so cool about this wonderful news is that is not just for me! You say it. Say it loud! God loves me just the way I AM! and believe it!
Dear God, thank you for loving me just the way that I am. Thank you for showing me that Moses doubted his ability, like I doubt mine, and realized that he needed you to come into him and be the I AM. Thank you for your wisdom regarding this. Please be my I AM.
Living Loved,
Elizabeth

Perceptions

This is why I know that I really don't know anything.......because my perceptions have changed more than once.

I'm re-reading one of my all time favorite books called, "He Loves Me" by Wayne Jacobson.

This statement caught my attention this week, "Because sin was consumed in Jesus on the cross, there is absolutely no condemnation or guilt for anyone who lives in him. You can taste this miracle of the cross every day. Now you can be with your Father just as you are, still in the process of transformation, and NOT have to hide anything. You can share with him your darkest secrets as you learn from him how to walk free of them. He knows you CANNOT FIX YOURSELF and only waits for you to RECOGNIZE IT and invite his help." (emphasis added)

Let's be honest here shall we? How honest are you really? Do you really act how you feel or do you act how you think you should feel? I'm here to tell ya, this gal acts like she knows she should feel.

Huh? Do what?

Or I act like I think I should act because somebody told me to. Or the Bible told me to. Or a book told me to. Or my husband told me to. Or peer pressure told me to. Or my kindergarten teacher told me to. You get my drift.

Some facts (and opinions): as a Christ follower I already know that the devil is the master of deception. For the longest time, I believed that all of my problems in life had nothing to do with me. I blamed everybody and everything. Yes, I was the victim. I blamed my parents for not raising me a certain way, I blamed my husband that I had a bad marriage, I blamed my friends for making me be bad....blah, blah, blah.

Then one day I woke up. Or let's say that God took a layer of mud off my eyes. I realized that I was to blame for my junk. I started reading books and really looking inside instead of outside. I really wanted a better life and I was going to get it by changing myself. I started reading books about marriage, books about parenting, books about this and that. Life is getting better and it's because I looked inside and started to change myself. Wow, I am so disciplined, it's incredible.

Now follow this conversation that I've had with many, many other women in the past few years....

"I just don't know what I'm going to do. My husband is such a jerk. He never does anything right." she said.

My reply, "Have you really looked in the mirror? You know if you want to change your situation you really need to look at yourself. It must be something that you are doing wrong. If you do what your supposed to do then it will all work out."

(Okay, this part is in my mind ONLY) How can these people be so blind to their stuff. Why don't they just wake up and see that they are also to blame. I got to see my stuff, they need to see theirs. I saw my stuff and I fixed it. I did it. I made my marriage better by changing myself.

I am so much better because I was able to fix myself!

I know what your thinking because I'm thinking it too....."How judgmental and stupid can you possibly be Elizabeth??"

Okay, back to the main point! Again, I can see! Another layer of mud comes off. God has opened my eyes, yet again. Who says that God doesn't heal the blind today. He heals my blindness quite often!

Have you ever noticed how when YOU decide that YOUR going to CHANGE something about yourself it seems pretty darn short lived? I have. I've decided to respect my husband, I've decided to love my children unconditionally and bring them up in the instruction and discipline of the lord. I've decided to stop being a glutton and stop worshipping anything but God. I've decided that I'm going to put others first. I've decided that I'm going to love God with all my heart, mind and soul. I've decided alot haven't I? I can tell you this....I haven't mastered not ONE of those things. Not ONE! I might can do some of those things part of the time, but all the time?? Forget it!

My realization: I really think that God wants me to be real! He wants me to be real because he already sees who I really am! He already knows my true deep down feelings inside. He wants me to realize that I'm not perfect and realize he is and realize that HE can FIX ME! When I allow God to fix me then I'm depending on God for my righteousness. Ouch, that stings for someone like me who likes to do it herself or depend on herself or compare herself to others because "by George--- I did it---, why can't you??!!" Yes, I'm still judging. You know why?? Because I haven't really repented for that and I haven't asked God to change me. Maybe I'm scared! Who knows.

What's crazy about this whole thing is that I truly believed that to have a better life was to look in the mirror and change myself. (yes, another lie told to me by you know who!)

My current perception on the matter is that the Holy Spirit will lead me to the mirror! The Holy Spirit will tell me what to pray. I feel my Spirit telling me to pray, "heal me from the inside out." Now, do I have to be specific in what I'd like to change about my heart? I don't know. I do feel like when it says in the Bible that the Holy Spirit tells us what to pray that it does just that.

So, what do we do from here? I'm not 100% sure. Maybe we don't do anything. Maybe we wait for the Holy Spirit to show us where we are trying to fix things in our lives. I do believe God is waiting for me to figure out that self-effort will only get me so far. That it takes him to carry me all the way, to fix me all the way. The only thing I know to do at this point is ask God to show me the stuff inside of me that needs to be healed and then ask him to heal me there.

Just one more reason I love God, he waits for me to realize I can't fix myself and then waits for me to ask for his help. I love God!

Thank you God for waiting for me. Thank you for allowing this blind woman to see. Thank you for your unconditional love for me. Thank you for your unconditional love for my husband and my children. Thank you for your unconditional love for those that read this blog! Thank you for your unconditional love for everyone that you've created! Thank you for loving me no matter how I really feel inside. Thank you for loving me through the process of transformation and for loving me through all of my distorted perceptions of you and of life in general! Again, I love you!

Living Loved,

Elizabeth