You Don't have to Believe in God

This is a re-posting from last year.  I saw it this morning and thought that someone needed to read this again!

A billboard has gone up in Grand Rapids and several other cities in America. 

Personally, I don't know how to hope, care and love without God.  I have been walking with Him since I was 14 years old. Everything I have learned about caring for others has been modeled for me by other Christians and through God's loving care for us. 

According to livingwithoutreligion.org Atheists can hope, care, love and live, all without God. I am positive that they can!  Every person has the ability to portray these attributes, because they were created in the image of God.

According to their website "there is one major difference between the hopes many religious people have and the hopes the nonreligious have: the nonreligious do not look to God to fulfill their hopes. There is no supernatural being to make sure everything will turn out OK. Nothing is guaranteed."

Dictionary.com defines Hope- the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. 

The bible speaks about hope many times. The Hebrew and Greek words that are used for "hope" can be translated to mean "a strong and confident expectation." What we hope for is something that we are confident of. 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what  is seen was not made out of what was visible.

  Hebrews 11:1-3

The title of the website, "Living without religion" intrigues me.

I too try and live without religion. 

I want more than rules, affiliation and titles. 

I want a relationship!

I want to be known by the creator 

I want to have a personal relationship with Him. 

I want to rely on His wisdom, strength, grace and forgiveness

Many who claim to not need Jesus say that they can do it by themselves.  That their hope is in themselves. 

A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. Psalm 33:17

I know that I can NOT do it by myself! My hope is not in myself. I am fully aware that God is bigger and smarter and wiser and more gracious and more faithful etc. etc. than I could ever be. 

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 

So although it is true that You Don't have to believe in God, 

You don't have to put your hope in Him,

I wouldn't,

couldn't,

even think of,

doing life without Him!

Workout Accountability

"5 more minutes!" I grumble as I hit the snooze button. Right then, the self talk begins.  

The playlist includes:

You worked out yesterday.

An hour more of sleep will be good for you.

It's too early!

You can go tomorrow.

Not going, love my pillow too much!

Fortunately for me, my husband knows this self talk game that I play so well. On go the bedroom lights, workout clothes are thrown on the bed, and my husband gets fully dressed expecting me to join him. Then he leaves the room to give me time to respond to his sly accountability.  

It works! Groggily I get dressed, stumble into the hall, plop into the car and drive with my husband to the gym. Had he not held me accountable, I would have missed a great workout today.  Thank you honey for turning on the lights! :)

We all need accountability.  

Sometimes we resist surrounding ourselves by people who keep us on the right track.  Somehow we think that we can do it all by ourselves. The sad truth is that whether we are exercising our bodies, or our faith, we  need other people. 

•  We were not meant to do this life thing all by ourselves. Genesis 2:18
•  We can be encouraged by others faith.  Romans 1:12
•  We are accountable to tell others of danger.  Ezekiel 33:6

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24

I have been so blessed to have a group of women who have come along side of 

me to spur me on!  They encourage, cheer me on, stop me in my tracks, pray 

me through, exhort me to keep going and occasionally they remind me that I am

 not always right! Thank you dear friends!