WELCOME TO SOUL CRIES

WELCOME TO SOUL CRIES

by | Feb 26, 2021 | If There’s a God, What’s He Like?, Podcast Points, What Does a Relationship With God Look Like?

LET’S GET SOME THINGS OUT IN THE OPEN

None of us are perfect

So, no one here at Soul Cries can point fingers at anyone. We’ve all failed in many ways, and we’re big enough to admit it.

Each of us at Soul Cries has discovered that God isn’t into pointing fingers either. We’ve all experienced in varying measures his lavish love and can attest to the fact he longs to express his love to you as well. Right where you are. But his immense love won’t leave you where you are for long because he wants to give you a life you could never imagine, filled with peace no matter what you face.

But being God, he also requires you to want to know him and not just impersonally beg for his gifts. Like any rational person, he longs for a healthy relationship with you where you seek his best as he gives you his. There’s no such thing as a one-night stand with God.

To summarize this point: We aren’t perfect and God doesn’t expect you to be perfect either. He’s into building relationships and so are we. That’s it.

We’ve all experienced messy lives

None of us at Soul Cries are novices at life. From those being interviewed to those doing the writing, we haven’t led pristine lives so don’t expect the best ten tips for making life rosy. We know better.

Although each of us has experienced different messy places we all have one thing in common, we’ve also experienced the love and power of Jesus Christ, which has changed our lives.

Having said that, we also want you to know we aren’t here to shove anything down your throats. So if you want to hang around a while and just see what we’re all about, you are welcome. And if at some point you wish to dialogue, there will be plenty of places and times to do so, without criticism. Do know, we will tell you the truth, and that truth includes a God who loves you and wants so much more for you than you already experience. We’ll also share with you a God who’s powerfully able and willing to take whatever life has thrown at you and transform it over time into something more beautiful than you could ever imagine.

SOME OF OUR UNIQUE FEATURES

This space is a safe environment where you can share your stories, questions, and doubts with us. Please feel free to do so. That’s why we’re here.

We also offer you a variety of means to explore what a relationship with God void of religion looks like. He may be very different than you expect.

  • Music selections that speak to your pain and God’s heart and hope for you.
  • Blog posts that offer biblical answers and volumes of hope because God is for you.
  • Interviews with others who’ve met Jesus and discovered the power of God in their lives, as well as resources from professionals who’ve met Jesus but can also offer professional help.
  • Resources that allow you to seek answers from experts and scientists in their fields, people far more educated than I am. (I can’t fully vet each resource and all they have written, but I am familiar with each to some extent and so feel comfortable sharing them at this time. Each holds to a biblical view but has the expertise to answer questions in ways I can’t.)

THE SOUL CRIES PODCAST

You can find the podcasts from the home page. You can also find them on Sound Cloud @ “Soul Cries Robin L Seaton”

THE BIBLE’S PLACE HERE

We recognize some have been beaten by the Bible. I’m so sorry as it should never be. We will always attempt to share the Bible with the immense love and compassion for you that was intended by God. Jesus spoke harshly about anyone who misused his Word and caused people to lose their faith in him. He said, “It would be better for them to have a millstone hung about their neck and be thrown into the sea.” We take how we share God’s Word seriously.

In saying that, we also want you to know that God’s Word the Bible matters to us and so will always supersede our personal opinions. For we have found the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ recorded in the Bible to be the most faithful means by which God has expressed his lavish love for us. Also, the Bible, when used by God’s Spirit, powerfully speaks to all cultures through all languages and to all strata of society, unlike any other book in history. One of the Bible’s authors stated, “Our ministry is not based on the letter of the law but through the power of the Spirit. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit pours out life. That is our aim–to pour out God’s powerful Spirit of life to you.

None of us who contribute to Soul Cries are licensed professionals, and so any advice we may give is solely from our own personal experience. We are unable to give professional advice, nor do we assert any information we give to be equal to professional advice. We may on occasion interview a professional, and if we do, they and we will identify them as such.

I Just Want To Be Known and Loved

I Just Want To Be Known and Loved

by | Oct 10, 2023 | Is There Relief for the Pain?, Places for Hope and Healing Resources, What Does a Relationship With God Look Like?

Do you long to be loved because you are known, and not because someone only wants something from you?

Before my first husband passed, one of the last things he said to me was, “I wish we had more time to get to know one another.” We’d been married just over twenty-five years, but to me his words meant the world. We had both loved one another but often spent more time assuming what we knew than sitting down and becoming known.

I just want to be known and loved

Jesus looks deeper than what others see

Too many in the religious world assume we know someone by their surroundings, their actions, or the way they think and respond. For too long I judged the same. I’m grateful Jesus doesn’t. Jesus sees all that’s happened that led you to where you are today. In that, he knows why you think the way you do, and the turmoil that causes you to cry out to really be known and loved, way down deep. Without the judgement.

He remembers all the times you thought love finally arrived only to experience it was just another cheap shot by someone who only wanted your body.

Jesus isn’t like all the others

There’s a story in the Bible about a woman whom Jesus insisted on meeting, although he knew his fellow Jews, and even his own disciples would frown. She wasn’t even someone her own people wanted to associate with. She felt alone, unknown, and unloved.

The Bible states that Jesus went out of his way to meet this unnamed woman. He knew she’d be at the well, alone, battling the heat. He also knew why she chose this unusual time of day. He waited by the well until after his disciples left to get some lunch as he wanted to speak with her alone. He knew his disciples were discovering who he was and why he came, but also knew they had so far to go. They wouldn’t understand, and so he sat alone, waiting for her to arrive.

She sauntered toward the well wrapped up in her own thoughts. Suddenly she noticed the man sitting quietly and so cautiously walked toward the well, approaching as though she were a dear awaiting a trap. She’d never seen this man before, and she could tell by his dress and demeanor that he was a Jew. Jews hated Samaritans, and she didn’t even consider herself an upstanding Samaritan. Yet she had to draw from the well for her day’s needs, so she guessed she’d have to deal with whatever this man dished out.

New Mexico mountain scene

Jesus already knows and loves you

She expected curses and hate-filled words, for even a Jewish man would understand why she was there so late in the day. Yet, his first remarks were kindly asking her for a drink. She instantly shot back, “Why would a Jew ask a Samaritan for anything? We all have no questions about what you Jews think of us Samaritans. Nor do we have better to say about Jews.”

Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

“But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”

Jesus then responded in a way that totally caught the woman off-guard.

“Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.

“I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.

Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

Jesus isn’t offering you a new religion but a relationship

Stunned, the woman replied that Jesus must be a prophet, because he knew things no stranger would know. Suddenly she realized that if he was truly a Jewish prophet, he would be able to answer her long-held questions about why there was such a divide between the Jews and Samaritans. Jesus knew her questions were  valid, but chose not to debate with her. His purpose for meeting her wasn’t to hound her to accept the Jewish religion, or to debate whether her religious beliefs were right or wrong. Rather, he wanted to offer her a new way of life not based on certain religious dogma, but upon a relationship with the God who made her and knew her all along.

[Jesus answered] “…God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!” [The one whom God promised would come for the purpose of setting captives free.]

The woman was so excited that she left her water jar behind and ran back to the village to tell her fellow Samaritans,

“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

New Mexico scene

I too have experienced being loved and known by Jesus

I too, like this woman have met Jesus, the one who knows everything I am and loves me anyway. And like this woman, I have also experienced his power to uncover my shame and free me from it’s hold by his lavish love. I can without question tell you that Jesus longs to visit you where you are. He’s willing to meet you in your

  • Rejection, and offer you a place in his forever family
  • Loneliness, and fill you with a belonging you have never experienced
  • Questions, and offer you a life you may not yet understand, but a good life beyond your current comprehension
  • Anger, and grant you healing
  • prison cell – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, and extend to you his key to freedom, without the hangover, the aftermath, or the numbing

He’s not put off by your surroundings, your (fill in the blank), or your past. He’s madly in love with you and offers you a place of standing in his kingdom of light, right now, if you will give him your allegiance. It’s as simple as asking him to give you the power to turn from your current state and make you new. At that very instant, you will become a member of his kingdom, for he turns no one away. Ever.

May I pray for you? Dear Lord, I may not know this one who’s reading, but you do. You know everything about them, and you love them extravagantly. May they in this moment experience your love and power to free them from from their dark place into your amazing light. You are so good and kind, and I ask they would feel your presence right now. Draw them to yourself, as you have a million time drawn me in my pain. I also ask, that if they choose to give their allegiance to you, that you would lead them to others who’ve experienced your gifts to teach them. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Jesus sees everything about you. He's offering you a new life, in a new way, and relationship with him him truth. He's the King and has the power to change things.

Here is a song I recently discovered that may bless you today:

 

Please feel free to contact me as well.

All the quotes above are from John 4:1-28 (NLT)

A Church Girl’s Desire to Relate with Doubters, Skeptics, and Atheists

A Church Girl’s Desire to Relate with Doubters, Skeptics, and Atheists

by | Jan 29, 2023 | What Does a Relationship With God Look Like?

I’ve been reading a book entitled, “The Doubter’s Club” by Preston Ulmer, and it has made me do a lot of thinking about how I relate to doubters, atheists, and the deeply wounded. I realize that many of those wounds come from the church, making faith-based dialogue something you don’t want to get into. Yet, this book has given me hope that respectful, honest dialogue is possible and even beneficial even when parties disagree. This is an area where I greatly desire to grow and make an impact both in the church and community.

I HAVE A LOT TO LEARN ABOUT HOW TO RELATE WITH THE DEEPLY WOUNDED

My now deceased husband and I adopted our son with autism at five years old. Because of his trauma he has always struggled with his faith. I understand now, but when he was a child I was often clueless about how to relate with him in his pain. One particular conversation is seared into my memory. I read the Bible to him daily, and on one particular day read Psalm 139 and told him, teary-eyed with joy, that God fashioned and knew him intimately. I assumed he would be as comforted as I to hear he wasn’t “a mistake”. However, the revelation that God made him with autism on purpose only made him angry and began his descent from singing “Jesus loves me” to “O how I hate Jesus” much to my grief and dismay.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

I THOUGHT I’D COME A LONG WAY, BUT…

I had a conversation on IG over a year ago with an atheist. I was as nervous as all get out because I didn’t want to do something dumb. I was proud of the fact God would entrust me with such an “assignment”. (I told you I have a long way to go.) Our discourse over a few weeks was polite and respectful on both ends. Much to my shame, when he eventually asked, “Is your god powerful?” I assumed he figured I’d never seen God’s power. Delighted to be able to proclaim God’s power, I replied, “Yes, I have found him to be so.” I never heard from him again and took his lack of response to mean, “I didn’t expect that answer, and am dumbfounded.”

However, months later (sometimes I can be dense) I remembered that some of his posts recounted (if I remember correctly) he had been molested during childhood by a trusted church member. Had I been less quick to answer and more desirous to show compassion, I would have realized where he was coming from. “If your god is so powerful, why didn’t he stop this person who called themselves a Christian from doing what they did to me?” In my zeal to proclaim Jesus to an atheist, hoping to wow him with my answers, I failed to see his pain. Even today, my lack of compassion brings me deep sadness.

I don’t believe I won any brownie points. I now realize that my selfish, arrogant motives grieved God because I failed to recognize this man and share in his pain. I failed to respond as Jesus would have, in anger and grief that someone whom he and his family trusted destroyed him in Christ’s name.

I should have grieved with this man. Yet I left him reassured that Christians are jerks and God hates him.

HOW I WISH I HAD RELATED TO THE ATHEIST

So today if I were to have another opportunity to relate with this man, I would do things differently. I would grieve with him for all that was destroyed in those hideous, reckless, thoughtless, selfish acts. I would hope to be quicker toward compassion and slower to answer with statements that would only increase the pain. I would try to see him rather than “an assignment”, Were he reading, I would say, “I’m so sorry for how I treated you. It was shameful and so wrong. Please forgive me.

Were we sitting over coffee, I would weep and rage with him over what happened and grieve how poorly I treated him.

HOW MY SON AND I RELATE NOW

My son is now thirty. He has found some comfort in walking with Christ. Yet, he still understandably struggles with his faith.

He and I continue to have faith discussions, and I now recognize he’s been through so much more than I could ever imagine. He’s a strong young man, and although we continue at times to struggle in our relationship, I’ve learned so much from him. I’ve changed so much because he is in my life, and I’m grateful.

MY DESIRE IS TO RELATE WITH YOU

if you’ve read any posts on this website, you will realize I have a long way to go in relating well to doubters, skeptics, atheists, and those deeply wounded. I’ve written to the Christian audience for a very long time, yet because of my own deeply wounded family members, and needing to work through my own pain, I really want to learn. Reading “The Doubter’s Club” has helped. It’s a start.

My husband and I also made a total life change this past year, and it has offered me the opportunity to relate with many others who are very unlike me. It’s changing my life.

My hope is to have meaningful faith discussions with you, yet I I’m not looking for notches in my Christian belt. I want to build relationships that discuss faith-based topics without discarding people when they disagree. Jesus came for the broken, and unfortunately we in the church have often failed to live that well in the world. I’m sorry. I want to change that.

IN ORDER TO BETTER RELATE

Would you be willing to critique this and any other post you wish? Not to bash me to pieces, please, but to begin dialogue that matters.

What do you think?

Robin

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Colossians 3:12-14 (MSG)

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Colossians 3:12-14 (MSG)

Why Would Anyone Choose the God of the Bible?

Why Would Anyone Choose the God of the Bible?

by | Nov 27, 2022 | If There’s a God, What’s He Like?, Is There Relief for the Pain?, Places for Hope and Healing Resources, Stories of Transformation, Where’s the Evidence?

Our world regularly decries the God of the Bible as at least a myth, and at most a monster, begging the question, “Why would anyone choose the Bible?” This article takes the stories of those who chose to follow the God of the Bible despite the odds.

NATIVE AMERICANS CHOOSE JESUS CHRIST DESPITE PERSECUTION

My husband pastors a small rural church comprised of mostly Native American followers of Jesus. They choose to follow Jesus Christ despite generations of oral stories proclaiming the atrocities of being forced to convert to “Christianity”. This time no one forced them.

Some congregation members tell stories about a time prior to choosing to follow Jesus. They readily joined in with family members who mocked those who followed Jesus Christ. Years later, finding no hope themselves, they too cried out to Jesus and discovered why their relatives had been willing to endure persecution for their faith. They too now suffer willingly for their faith in Christ.

Why would people choose to leave their Native religion and face persecution to follow Jesus Christ?

A YOUNG MAN CONTEMPLATING SUICIDE EXPERIENCES INSTANT TRANSFORMATION

As a child, my husband’s parents would send him and his siblings to church but they didn’t attend. There he would hear about the love of Jesus that included the realities of hell. Once he got into high school, however, he stopped attending church regularly, rejecting all he’d been taught as a child.

At the age of nineteen, a severe breakup with his fiancé left him suicidal. He recalls that those Sunday School stories of hell kept him from driving into bridge abutments “moments before steal hit concrete”.

Unable to find relief, in desperation he finally cried out to God, “If you’re real, just give me a reason to live and I’ll do anything for you!” Instantly he felt an overwhelming peace. He soon found a Bible-believing church who loved and taught him the Word. He grew in his faith and eventually went into the ministry.

How could someone’s life be so dramatically changed in an instant?

POST TRAUMA, FILLED WITH QUESTIONS, HE CHOOSES GOD AGAIN

My husband and his first wife spent twenty-six years together in ministry. In their twentieth year of marriage, his wife’s health began to deteriorate, and after six years of illness she passed away one night while he was at work. He found her the next morning, his boys waking to him screaming her name over and over as he attempted to revive her with CPR.

Having seen people miraculously healed throughout their years of ministry, he strongly believed she too would be healed. So when she passed, he experienced intense doubt and questions to the point that he left the ministry. Although he struggled with feelings of abandonment by God, he now states that he also found solace in spending time with God through prayer and worship.

Two years after her death, and four years after the death of my first husband, Gary and I were married.

Years later Gary realized that as her health failed and his workload intensified, he spent far less time in God’s Word, the Bible, which contributed to his “crisis of faith”. He now believes that had he spent more time with God’s Word back then, his crisis of faith would not have been as severe. Not because God was angered, but because he now realizes that his time with the Lord may have strengthened him during those extremely difficult year after her death.

A year ago, God opened a door for us to return to ministry. Gary now readily proclaims that although he still has questions, serving God fulfills him as much as it did before his family’s trauma.

Why would someone who’s endured such trauma choose to serve God after all they’ve been through?

Religion says earn your life. Secular society says create your life. Jesus says,

WHY I DAILY CHOOSE TO FOLLOW JESUS

My life experiences have included:

  • Feeling desperately alone as a teenager
  • Losing my rock and comfort of twenty-five years of marriage to cancer at forty-eight years of age
  • Experiencing intense loneliness while raising a child with autism and mood disorder

I experienced such feelings of loss and depression in my pre-teen years, that had I not already known Jesus, I wouldn’t have made it. I have often said that without Jesus I would have either committed suicide, ended up on drugs, or flung myself at any man that came along. Throughout the loneliness that wracked the years I raised our son with autism, and then through the pain of losing my husband, I also was able to remain steady through the peace and presence of God. Had Jesus not chosen me as a child to walk with him, and had I not chosen throughout life to continue to walk with him despite the intense pain, I would have a very different life now. I seldom deal with depression and anxiety. I feel fulfilled. I continue to grow in my relationship with the God who loves and cares for me.

God longs for you to experience the transformed life through Jesus Christ that we have found. A life worth living despite the trials and struggles. I would even say that if this interests you at all, he’s calling you to cry out to him for help.

Maybe you’ve cried out to God before, to no avail. Would you now be willing to yield as my husband once did when he cried, “God I’ll do anything if you’ll give me a reason to live”? Why not try? If you’re willing to honestly yield as Gary once did proclaiming, “if you’re real, give me a reason to live and I’ll do anything you ask” God will listen and respond. Jesus said so right here:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Wish to read more about this Jesus and my story with him? Here are a couple more articles to consider:

Facing Loneliness (This is a longer than normal post)

Caution, Emotions at Play!

I have also written at length about my experiences raising our son in a chapter of “Life Repurposed” by Michelle Rayburn. My story is found on page 123 “God in My Loneliness”.

You may find comfort from this article about Jesus’ interactions with two blind men who desperately wanted their sight.

Suddenly, Today is So Very Different

Want to Know Your Purpose, the Bible Tells You

Want to Know Your Purpose, the Bible Tells You

by | Jun 24, 2021 | If There’s a God, What’s He Like?, Why Am I Here?

Have you ever wondered what your purpose for being on earth is? Did you know that God wrote the Bible, in part, to answer that question?

Second post in the series:

WHY WOULD GOD WANT TO SPEAK TO HUMANITY?

About two months ago while packing our car after a hotel stay, a couple crossed the parking lot to meet our dog. During the conversation, the woman stated she had a new puppy named “Nova,” which means “new star.” She then explained she chose that name because she loves astrology.

 

As she spoke, I felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit to pray with them, and let them know that the God who made the stars loves them deeply. As the conversation ended, I asked permission to pray, and she heartily agreed. I then prayed as I had been led.

 

As I finished praying, I saw tears roll down her partner’s face as he commented, “That the prayer affected me deeply.” He then added almost apologetically, “Don’t get me wrong, I believe in a higher power, but I’ve never taken much time to think about it.” I then asked, “But if there is a higher power who made you, don’t you think it would be of great importance to find out if there’s something he wants to communicate to you?” He agreed it would be.

Are you someone who:

  • believes in a higher power, but have never thought beyond that belief to what it means for you?
  • looks at the world and wonders if there’s someone out there who sees and cares about the world’s pain?
  • hopes that you are more than a random combination of chemicals and synapses while questioning if you have a purpose for existing?

Maybe you’ve never entertained such questions, but are you someone who:

  • believe in UFO?
  • spends hours a day playing video games that include deities with super-human powers?
  • enjoys “fantasy” that includes gods, angels, and demons that have other-worldly capabilities.

If you answer “yes” to any of the above, then may I ask what hinders you from envisioning the reality of a God who powerfully exists and desires to communicate something of great importance to you?

God, why am I here?

THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY BOOK THAT FULLY AND COMPLETELY EXPRESSES…

 

GOD’S PURPOSE FOR HUMANITY’S EXISTENCE

The first pages of the Old Testament book of Genesis allude to the purpose for which God created humanity:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….”

Genesis 1:26 (ESV) Emphasis mine

Looking at the original Hebrew for this verse, we discover it means that God created us to represent and model him. (Hebrew for image: tselem, is masculine, and means a representative figure; Hebrew for likeness: damah, is feminine and means similar to or modeled after).

Since God created us to represent and model him, it makes sense then to assume that later verses might outline how and when we are to represent him.

HOW GOD MADE US TO REPRESENT AND MODEL HIM

In Genesis 1:26-31 the Bible expresses three ways in which we are to represent and model God:

In wielding power:

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 (ESV)

God tasked humanity alone with dominion over his creation. That means we are to model and represent God accurately in any arena where we have authority whether it be in our jobs, homes, communities, or relationships.

Questions to ponder…

  • How can we model and represent God accurately in these areas if we don’t know him personally?
  • If we’ve never taken the time to figure out how he would do things, how can we have dominion over God’s world and treat it as he would?

Jesus himself claimed to be God and represent him in all areas of his life. Therefore, in looking at Jesus’ life, we see how God wields his power. (John 14:8-10, Matthew 20:25-27, Philippians 2:5-11) Do these verses express a different view of God and power than you’ve envisioned? If so, how?

Because I made you for a beautiful purpose, God

Through our gender:

So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (ESV)

Questions to ponder…

  • How clear is God about the division of gender?
  • Could it be through both male and female genders that God is best represented? I think the scriptures bear this out:

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. Psalm 103:13 (NLT) (father in Hebrew: ab, masculine)

As a mother comforts her child, so will I (God) comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:13 (NIV) (mother in Hebrew: em, feminine)

  • Is it possible that God’s purposes for us are best fulfilled when we function within the DNA designation we were born with?

What if you long to identify with your genetic DNA but feel unable? If this describes you, then I recommend www.changedmovement.com. There you can meet people who have found change possible through a relationship with Jesus Christ. You may also wish to listen to Rachel Gilson’s story. She speaks with great compassion and empathy toward those struggling with their gender DNA.

If that’s not where you are there’s no condemnation here. But I would be remiss if I didn’t allow those who want change to know there is hope.

God, why don't I see that purpose?

In our sexuality and in raising our children:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Note that God’s purposes are not only for the first man and woman but to all who would come after them, including us. God’s purposes are unchanging.

To fully understand God’s intentions for our sexuality we must also read Genesis 2:15-25 and other Bible passages such as Ephesians 5 (relationships in general); Ephesians 5 (marriage relationships); Ephesians 6 (relationships between parents and children). Also, if you have never read the Old Testament book, “Song of Solomon,” I’d highly recommend it. It’s a dialogue between two lovers, from early courtship through maturing marriage. It’s graphic enough you don’t want your kids reading it.

These passages all point to a God who is deeply concerned about our representation of him in these areas, for several reasons:

  1. Our sexuality is to express God’s beautiful, sacrificial love for a rebellious world as well as his unwavering commitment to his own people. (1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 4:17-21)
  2. The parent-child relationship is to express God’s commitment to and patience with the children he has adopted into his family. (Romans 8:17)
  3. God’s command to multiply and replenish the earth was given to humanity while their relationship with him was unstained by rebellion. Therefore, God’s command to multiply and replenish the earth equals Jesus’ command to make disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20)

Thoughts to ponder…

  • If you long to represent and model God but don’t know how, would you be willing to talk to God about it, and possibly utilize some of the resources on this website to help you in your endeavors?
  • What if you aren’t married? Whether this is a goal or not, if you have questions about how to best represent and model God in being single, I found Rachel Gilson’s book, Born Again This Way, to be very helpful.)

Get to know me through my Word and Spirit and you will. God

OUR UTTER DEPENDENCE UPON GOD:

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. Genesis 1:26-31 (ESV)

These additional verses are extremely helpful in seeing the truth of our dependency: Hebrews 1:3, Acts 17:28, Colossians 1:17, Matthew 5:44-45

WHAT WOULD GOD’S PURPOSE LOOK LIKE FOR ME?

Everyone is uniquely made and gifted by God. How would your unique gifting and abilities look if you fully yielded them to God’s grand purpose to represent and model him to a very hurting world? Do you think yielding yourself to his design would make a difference? Why or why not?

Blessings, dear one.

Robin

WANT TO SEE OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES?

Post One: The Bible – Historic? Or a Direct Communication

The Bible – Historic or A Direct Communication?

The Bible – Historic or A Direct Communication?

by | May 19, 2021 | What Does a Relationship With God Look Like?

(Within our secular culture, many argue about the validity and usefulness of the Bible. Even many who call themselves Christians disagree as to how the church should interpret it’s words. Is the Bible only an historical account that we can embrace or disregard with no real consequences to ourselves or society? Or is it direct communication from a God who longs for us to experience a life of hope through knowing him?

PART ONE IN THE SERIES: Why Should You Consider the Bible?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE CLAIM ABOUT ITSELF?

Interestingly, the Bible has a lot to say about itself, and its emphatic claims are either absurd or other-worldly true. If its claims are false, then we may ignore them without concern. If they are true, it is essential to lasting hope that we regard them.

From the Old Testament pages through the end of the New Testament, it is pretty clear what the Bible says about it’s authorship, purpose, and power.

What does the Bible state about its authorship?

Those who penned the Bible’s words said they did so by inspiration from God or by having him speak directly to them:

OLD TESTAMENT

These are the last words of David:

“David, the son of Jesse, speaks—
David, the man who was raised up so high, David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, David, the sweet psalmist [song writer] of Israel.

“The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue. The God of Israel spoke.”

2 Samuel 23:1-3 (NLT)

THE ABOVE WAS WRITTEN BY KING DAVID, THE GREATEST KING IN ISRAEL’S HISTORY, FORMERLY A SHEPHERD/SINGER

Then the Lord said to me,

“Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others.

Habakkuk 2:2 (NLT)

THE ABOVE WAS WRITTEN BY A MAN NAMED HABAKKUK WHO WAS TASKED WITH SPEAKING FOR GOD TO GOD’S PEOPLE (ONE OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE KNOWN AS PROPHETS). HE LIVED IN A VERY VIOLENT TIME IN ISRAEL’S HISTORY AND FOUND HIMSELF QUESTIONING GOD’S JUSTICE AND SEEMING LACK OF CONCERN FOR THE STATE OF HIS PEOPLE. THE ABOVE BEGINS A DIALOGUE BETWEEN GOD AND HABAKKUK

NEW TESTAMENT

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

2 Peter 1:20-21 (NLT)

THE ABOVE WAS WRITTEN BY PETER, ONE OF JESUS’ FOLLOWERS, A WITNESS TO HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. HE WAS ALSO ONE OF THE LEADERS (KNOWN AS APOSTLES) IN THE EARLY CHURCH WHO WAS FORMERLY AN UNEDUCATED FISHERMAN.

For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

1 Thessalonians 2:11-13 (NLT)

THE ABOVE WAS WRITTEN BY PAUL, ONE OF THE MAIN WRITERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. HE WAS A VERY EDUCATED, FORMERLY RELIGIOUS MAN WHO DESPISED JESUS AND PERSECUTED HIS CHURCH. ONE DAY HE MIRACULOUSLY MET THE RISEN AND ASCENDED JESUS ON HIS WAY TO IMPRISONING CHRISTIANS IN A TOWN CALLED DAMASCUS. THE ENCOUNTER TRANSFORMED HIS LIFE AND HE EVENTUALLY DIED FOR HIS FAITH.

The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (TLB)

THE ABOVE WAS WAS WRITTEN BY TIMOTHY, A CHURCH LEADER AND PASTOR CONVERTED BY PAUL AFTER JESUS’ DEATH AND RESURRECTION. HE WAS A TIMID MAN RAISED IN A MIXED RACE/MIXED RELIGIOUS HOME

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE ABOVE BIBLE VERSES AND THEIR AUTHORS?

The above Bible verses are only a few of many Bible passages that record God communicating directly with people for a given purpose.

We learn that:

WHAT THEN SHOULD WE CONSIDER IN LIGHT OF THIS?

Since it appears that God more likely speaks to those willing to listen and follow what he says, it would be helpful to know if the Bible has anything to say about how to develop a relationship with this God for the purpose of him speaking to us. There are several Bible passages where God himself promises that anyone who seeks to discover him for the purpose of knowing and following him will find him:

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:24-28 (NLT)

Also: Deuteronomy 4:29; Proverbs 8:17; Jeremiah 29:13; Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9

IS THERE ANY EVIDENCE THAT GOD SPEAKS TODAY?

My experience

Through over fifty-five years of walking with God in a growing, thriving relationship I have discovered that he does speak today through the Bible, directly to his people, and at times to those who don’t yet know him.

I don’t hear audible voices but experience a sense and a knowing that comes from outside me. I’ve been comforted, given directions and instructions, received rebuke, and have experienced corresponding emotions which relate with each interaction with God as though we were conversing face to face.

The stories of others

I am not alone. Millions of people in this century, and in past centuries have attested to hearing God’s voice as I have stated. Also, something I have not directly addressed is that many including me have had dreams where God either revealed himself for the first time, gave instructions, offered warnings, or infused comfort.

My mother tells the story that when my uncle was serving in Vietnam, there would be nights when my grandmother would awaken with the direction to pray for him. Months later she would learn that at the very time period she was directed to pray he was somehow in danger, and was miraculously rescued.

In the third podcast episode, coming soon, you will hear the story of a friend who was given the offer of hope through a dream that changed her life.

Although God speaks directly to his people, he most often speaks through the Bible. Yet when God does speak directly he will never contradict the Bible. The more we spend time seeking him through reading his Word, prayer, and listening for his voice, the more clearly we will hear when he speaks. (Proverbs 31 ministries has a wonderful article on hearing God’s voice.)

THE QUESTION BECOMES, “WHAT WILL YOU DO ABOUT IT?”

If you have any interest in knowing God for who he is then know he’s interested in speaking with you. All it takes is just asking something like, “God, I’m not certain you are real. I want to get to know you if you will speak to me.”

Then begin reading the Bible. Start with the book of John in the New Testament. As you read, ask God to show you what he thinks about you, your world, and himself in relation to you.

God wants you to know him and experience a life filled with hope through developing a relationship with him. One of our free resources is a short Bible study entitled “Six Tools for Building Healthy Relationships with God and People.” It takes about ten minutes a day for six days and will help you develop a vital relationship with God.

Click on “Resources” to get your free tool.

Id’ love to hear how this post has affected you.

The next post will look more closely at God’s purpose in giving us his words through the Bible.

Blessings dear one,

Robin

Associated posts:

What Do You Mean, “God Loves You”?

What Do You Mean, ‘God Loves You?’

What Do You Mean, ‘God Loves You?’

by | Apr 13, 2021 | If There’s a God, What’s He Like?, Is There Relief for the Pain?, Podcast Points

Blog post from the podcast transcript of episode 002

During the first episode of the podcast, I often referred to God’s love for you as one of our core beliefs. Yet it dawned on me that many of you may struggle with the idea that God loves you, much less wants a relationship with you. The pain of life and the traumas of existence have left you feeling both unloved and unheard.

WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT GOD’S LOVE

When looking at God’s love, surprisingly we can go back to the very first pages of the Old Testament where we are given a glimpse of God’s thoughts and longings as he designed the first man and woman.

I understand some of you may hold to beliefs other than a literal creation. I respect you in your opinion, but please follow me a few moments as though listening to a story. I’m going somewhere you may not expect.

Yahweh-The-Lord-The-God-of-compassion-and-mercy-I-am-slow-to-anger-and-filled-with-unfailing-love-and-faithfulness.-Exodus-34_6-NLT.jpg

God’s love was portrayed in his choices toward humanity

Nothing was left out as God carefully took earth and sculpted the man’s body from the pattern of his own being, both in image and likeness. As he finished, he placed his mouth over man’s lifeless lips and exhaled God-life into his lungs, and man became a living soul. Later, so the man would have someone like himself, God formed the woman from Adam’s side, for his delight, their mutual enjoyment, and for procreating and ruling his new earth. God stepped back and for a moment viewed his new designs as though looking at a finished masterpiece. The Bible states that “God saw all that he had made and it was very good.”

Questions to ponder as you consider this scene from Genesis one and two:

  1. Are you an artist or designer? Maybe a baker or possibly a writer? Maybe a new mom or dad? If so, what did it feel like when that which was only in your imagination became real?
  2. Relate this to how God must have felt in that moment and those first days of Adam and Eve’s lives. Could there be similarities?
  3. How could the choices God made as he fashioned the man and woman show his love for them?

However, the Bible states that he only spoke the rest of creation into being, period. Only the man and woman were created in his image, and only they received God’s breathe of life making them living souls.

Further questions to ponder:

  1. Even if you believe otherwise if you were God why would you go to all the effort to make something so like you and so different from everything else you had made?
  2. Could it be that all humanity was made with a special place in God’s heart? Could it be that they were made for a different purpose and plan from the rest of creation?
  3. Could it be that God created humanity, including you, in a way to be able to relate and enjoy a relationship filled with his love?

God’s love chose to allow us to choose

With Adam and Eve in mind, God’s love created a garden, unlike anything we’ve ever seen, and placed them in it. He filled it with only good things.

For their protection, he gave them one rule and warning not to eat from the tree called “The Knowledge of Good and Evil.” My paraphrase: I’ve given you every good tree to eat and enjoy, and every flowering plant. But that tree – it’s bad and eating its fruit will kill you.

I imagine some of you are now asking, “If that tree was so bad, why would a loving God include it in his garden? Great question!

It would have been easier and less painful for God had he just programmed humanity like robots to return his love train them to obey his one command. God had every opportunity to do so.

Questions to consider:

  1. In wanting a healthy loving relationship, can you deny the other party the ability to choose or reject you? What is it called when relationships are forced?
  2. Could it be that God’s love provided the forbidden tree to offer the man and woman the freedom of choice?
  3. Could it be that God did so not to force them to love and obey him as God but to offer the man and woman (and therefore all of us) a chosen relationship with him?
  4. However, what is the possible result when offering someone the ability to choose? Have you ever been in the position of being the one rejected? Can you use this experience to relate to how God must have felt as he placed that tree in the garden, knowing what they would choose?

Their choice

Within a short time, the man and woman were shown the beauty and desirability of the forbidden tree by a talking snake and chose to eat from it because they came to believe that a proper choice required them to know all the options. They were told and chose to believe the tree they’d been forbidden to eat from offered things their good God had forgotten to provide.

Before they ate the fruit from this tree, all they’d experienced was God’s goodness. Yet as soon as they ate the forbidden fruit, their newfound knowledge of evil caused them to immediately begin to experience evil and everything that comes with it. Death. Destruction. Pain. Heartache. Brokenness.

Love covers a multitude of sins

Love means even God feels the pain of our choices

The tree was no threat to anyone if left alone. The talking snake was inconsequential as long as it was ignored and they followed God’s loving warning. However, as soon as they disregarded God’s warning and chose their own way, defiance against God caused evil to enter the world, and marred all of God’s creation through its natural consequences. Evil entered humanity’s core and destroyed their desire for God. Like an addict looking for a fix, feeding their passions became their goal as they died inside to all that was holy and good.

We make the same choices daily to disregard God’s warnings and do as we please, with the same effects.

Going our own way as Adam and Eve once did leads us down a road away from knowing, seeing, and being loved by the God who made us. And since all goodness still comes from God, the only way to experience goodness void of the effects of evil is to return to him. For apart from God there is no good thing.

Questions to ponder:

  1. How would you feel if you designed and created a magnificent piece of art, or built a building beyond anything made before, and someone came along and marred it beyond recognition? What would you want to do to them?
  2. Can you use your feelings to relate to how God had every right to feel when Adam and Eve’s choice brought pain and suffering into his pristine, spotless, pain and shame-free world?

Some of you may be asking, “Is that why God gave up on us?” No, friend. God never gave up.

God’s love chose to forgive and restore their relationship

Moments after their devastating choice, God stepped in and decreed that one day a champion would come and set all things right. And no matter how the world or God’s people treated him, throughout the rest of the Old Testament God continued to proclaim the champion was still coming to bring forgiveness and restoration of relationship with God.

And in the proper time, Jesus, God’s son, someone born like us but without rebellion came to fight on our behalf. He came to bring life and light into a very dark world. He lived as God’s representative full of love and faithfulness. He dwelled among his people as God had always wanted. He then gave his life for all who knew they needed rescuing so that we can experience what it’s like to be known, seen, and loved by the God who made us for this very purpose.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NLT)

God’s love longs for you to choose him by reaching out for his Son Jesus. He still offers each of us the choice to choose or reject him with all its consequences. Love must give us a choice.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted,

The Soul Cries Core Values

Love, Commitment, and Relationship bringing Hope. God loves you unconditionally and longs for you to experience the beauty of a committed relationship with him through his Son Jesus. The totality of his Word and the life of his Son is the fullest expression of his passionate love for you.

But he waits until you desire the same with him. Healthy, loving relationships always set boundaries. No one wants to share their intimacy with a third party, and so God won’t be used or taken for granted. Nor will he share you with the evil and rebellion that mar his world daily through our rebellious choices against him.

However, if you at some point wish to begin a loving relationship with God, your commitment to seek him above all else will unleash powerful lavish gifts for you to experience with him. And some of his greatest gifts will be to empower, strengthen, and give you hope as he walks with you through this world’s pain.

May I please pray for you?

Dear Lord, I come to you on behalf of this dear one. You see their pain and you care about every tear they’ve cried silently in the darkness of their own space. You see their hopelessness and longing to be embraced right where they are. I ask in Jesus’ name that you meet them where they stand, with whatever questions they have, and let them know that you are real and that you love them beyond compare. Please powerfully express your love to them right now in a way they will comprehend. Thank you, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Your next steps

Ready to take steps toward experiencing God’s love in a relationship with him?

Are you willing to look further into the matter? If so, then a simple conversation with God may go something like this, “God, if you’re real, give me a reason to live and I’ll serve you.” Many years ago my husband prayed such a prayer as he contemplated suicide. He later stated that instantly he was filled with peace and knew God was real and had heard his cry. It radically changed his life forever.

And so you know, one of our free resources, a very short Bible study about building healthy relationships with God and people (with short Bible passages and questions similar to the ones you found here) can be obtained for free through a subscription to the monthly newsletter. Head over to the home page to click the link entitled Resources.

You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. CS Lewis

Want to dialogue further about your questions and doubts?

If you aren’t yet ready to commit to anything with God but would like to discuss your questions and doubts, there are several ways in which we can dialogue. Throughout the website, there are ways to contact me through email. You also may leave a comment at the end of this post and I can get back to you. I’d love to begin a chat about any questions and doubts. It’s a safe place here. We will offer the truth, but we force no one. God gave us all the gift of choice, and we honor that.

You will always be respected and honored, because God’s love for you is as real today as it was when he made you.

 

What if You’ve Misjudged God?

What if You’ve Misjudged God?

by | Apr 9, 2021 | Is There Relief for the Pain?, What Does a Relationship With God Look Like?

So often people assume the pain and suffering in the world are the results of either an absent or uncaring Father (God). However, there are so many Bible verses that speak to God’s tender care over his children. Why the discrepancy between what we seem to see and what God states about himself?

Psalm 23 is one of the passages in the Bible that compares God’s tenderness and care of his people to a shepherd. It made me wonder, what this psalm (or poem) would look like if the sheep wanted to choose their own way rather than follow the shepherd? How would this psalm change and how could this help us possibly gain a different view of God?

This post takes a tongue-in-cheek look at what that might look like and then examines the promises God gives for those who follow the shepherd’s voice.

PSALM 23

God my shepherd! I don’t need a thing.

I don’t need a thing? What about all the stuff I want? God, why are you so legalistic?

You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction.

But I wanna go where I wanna go. (I don’t understand why I feel so anxious.)

Even when the way goes through death valley, I am not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.

God, where are you now? Why have you allowed this pain? This says you go through it with your sheep, so why don’t I sense you anywhere? Why do I feel so unprotected and vulnerable?

You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing.

I like what the world offers better. It tastes better, feels better, looks better. But why do I always end up wanting more? When it gets quiet and I have time to think, why do I feel so empty?

Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of my God for the rest of my life. (The Message Translation)

I have a lot of things chasing after me. Drugs, alcohol, sex, status, and possessions, but nothing ends up like what you say you offer me. What would it look like to have God’s beauty and love chase after me? Is it possible? Would he be willing to welcome me in his home?

Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I am back home in the house of God. Psalm 23:6

WHAT IF YOU’VE MISJUDGED GOD’S HEART TOWARD YOU?

Isaiah 53:6 states, “All of us like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s path to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him [Jesus] the sins of us all.”

Could it be that:

  • What you are now experiencing isn’t the result of God’s neglect but your own choices to go your own way?
  • Could it be that your pain is compounded because others in your world have done the same, all focusing so much on their own way they hurt everyone around them?
  • Have your judgments about God come through your longings to go your own way rather than on the reality of who God is?

WHAT IF YOU’VE MISJUDGED GOD’S PATH FOR YOUR LIFE?

Psalm 23 depicts God’s intentions for you. But God’s intentions can only be realized if you follow his personal shepherd. Making a personal choice to refuse results in natural consequences even God may not have chosen for you because makes no promises if you follow another shepherd or venture out on your own. God’s appointed shepherd is Jesus Christ:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for hte money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.

John 10:11-19 (NLT)

Could your current pain be caused by misjudging God and going your own way? Could it also be your pain has been caused by others who have misjudged God and therefore misrepresented him to you? Not everyone who called themselves by Jesus’ name actually know him. You will know someone has met Jesus, the great shepherd, when they speak the totality of God’s Word in love and grace, and when they act like Jesus.

Peace be still...

GOD’S LONGINGS FOR THE LOST AND HURTING

In Psalm 23, God likens himself to a loving shepherd. In the New Testament, Jesus calls himself the good shepherd. He had a lot to say about those who considered themselves shepherds of God’s “flock” but don’t act as God would toward his children, causing others to misjudge him.

One day Jesus told a story to a bunch of religious people who thought they spoke for God, but didn’t, because they had no heart for lost sheep. Many misjudged God because of it. Jesus came to set the record straight:

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people – even eating with them!

So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to sarch for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Luke 15:1-7 (NLT)

Do you think maybe you’ve misjudged God? Do you feel like a lost sheep in need of being found? God’s good shepherd, Jesus, is right here. Right now, So simply tell Jesus that you are ready for a shepherd and you want to become part of his family. He’ll make certain your request is granted. He and his father love lost and hurting sheep.

Want to dialogue further, Comment below or contact me privately at soulcries@rlseaton.com.