I cant believe how much for granted I take our Lord and Savior.  I have been reading quite a lot lately and when I hear the passion of the Jesus they talk about, I wonder.  Why is it that I cannot let myself fall in love that way with him.  I hear of people who pray on their knees, until the point of scarring.  They kneel and pray for their loved ones, for those that are lost and for the world.  I sit back and I worry about things that really are not that important, but get frustrated if a prayer isn’t answered right away.  We take God for granted so many times and never slow down to think He has whats best for us in mind.  You know what friends there are going to be hard things we struggle with and for the most part they are not going to disappear from your life.  It’s not that the prayers don’t work or that God doesn’t care, it is because there is a bigger purpose for your life.  That struggle is something you can bare and you need to allow God to carry the burden of it.  Just because someone carries something for you doesn’t mean you still cant see it.  Our struggles are apart of our brokenness, but they are also the reason for our redemption.  Jesus is more than a savior, He is the great re-constructor of our faith and our alter.  We have to stop bringing God to our struggles and hope that something will change.  When I place myself in a safe place and hope my struggles won’t find me there because I am busy or “hiding” guess what, they will find you.  It is not until we stop taking our God for granted and take our struggles, hearts and lives to Him that we are in His freedom.  I have learned that this life is hard and not fair, but  I have also learned that my hope is in Heaven and in a God who wants to consume me with all of His love and grace.  When the tough times come, we will respond like we are supposed to, however, in our grieving and repentance there will be something that others will want.  Please be warned that when you choose to draw nearer and more intimate with Jesus, the heat is turned ON!!!  Stop taking Him for granted, stop just praying when you go to bed or in your car.  Treat Him like you treat someone you are in love with and create time for Him.  Get on your knees and pray, pray in submission and in awe of a Mighty and Powerful and Loving God.  Allow the Holy Spirit to fill you with the gift of God’s mercy and grace and let your life be His.  We are spoiled in America and we limit Jesus with are entangled thoughts and actions.  When you see Jesus outside of America, you see the Jesus that was in the Bible, People who have nothing seem to have everything because they allow God to completely fill them and change their lives.  They may live in a dump, but smile everyday, even knowing they may not eat because they trust and know in a God that loves them and steps into their darkness.  Even in the face of evil, they allow God to love them and protect them.  They make commitments and vows of Faith and guess what they come true.  Its not because they know Jesus better than we do, it is because they do not take Him for Granted! Selah