What is God to you?

To some, God is … a daily vitamin. They are satisfied with 1 or 2 routine intakes.
 
To many, He is … a curse word.
 
To others, He is … a lucky charm; merely something to keep handy in case of bad luck or circumstances.

To the believer, He is (or at least He ought to be)… a Lifeline.
 
Is God your “Backup” or “Lifeline”?

Backup
· Definition: that which takes the place of another

Lifeline
· Definition: support that enables an individual to survive or to continue doing something, often by providing an essential connection
 
To experiment, why don’t you take a deep breath, and hold it. Hold it. Hold it.

For 15 minutes!

No? Why not?

You have plenty of air in you. But only to last for a few moments, right? Why? Because what was enough for that moment wasn’t enough.
 
Isn’t that how we treat God?

We take or accept what is needed for the moment

He is Enough…  for the moment.

He is Enough…  to survive.

When do you go beyond surviving to living as a Christian???
​When God becomes your Lifeline.

When He is your absolute reliance to live.

When the God that is Enough becomes Everything.

When God becomes your Everything, everything changes.

Your view changes, your attitude changes, your life changes.
 
As an example, God’s Word was David’s life source. He was often found reading, writing, or singing God’s Word. Is it no surprise that he became Israel’s hero? His well-known story took place because He made God Everything.

The smooth stones were not enough. If that were the case, anyone else could’ve been the hero.

David isn’t known for merely being a survivor. He’s known for being a conqueror. 

He went beyond enough.

Because he had faith in his Lifeline, he conquered.

This time of year there's many expectations and emotions about love, or what we believe is love.
There's a big push and promotion for those warm, fuzzy feelings one gets when they are assured of having a special someone in their life. The stores certainly make good use of the amount of items they sell with big read hearts or short poems about that special "Valentine". Or maybe it's just a day where we've made a habit of giving everyone in our lives a pre-written, valentine card with cheezy sayings about love, whether you really like them or not. Right?
Valentine's Day is here again - a day when many people exchange cards, candy, gifts, or flowers with their special "valentine". It's also called "A day of romance". Did you know that Valentine's Day is originally a day to remember a Roman Priest called Valentine?

It actually began as a time of blood and imprisonment. In the 5th century, the Roman Emperor, Claudius, placed a ban of marriage among young people because he wanted more soldiers for his army and believed that they fought better unmarried. Valentine was a priest who believed that marriage was very sacred between a man and a woman for life so then attempted to perform marriages in secret. He was caught, thrown in prison, tortured, then was sentenced to death by beheadment. (Read more on the story here...)

Now, doesn't that give you those warm, fuzzy feelings?!

When we were in school, everyone was our valentine according to our little folded cards with the heart stickers. As you grow older, you secretly (or not so secretly:)) desire to be cherished and chosen by a special "valentine". It's natural, it's normal, but I know how difficult it can be to be satisfied with your relationship status no matter how old, or young, you may be.

It makes it even harder when you watch your friends and coworkers receive lovely flowers, boxes of delicious flowers, showered by beautiful gifts or sought after by a handsome man. There you stand empty handed and wonder, "When will it happen to me?".

Then something occured to me during one of those pity-party moments, "Is it all about love, or is it all bout me?" Did my dissatisfaction have to do with a lack of love or a lack of attention? 

Love is necessary for salvation.

God SO loved...​
Without the love that God had for us, we would have no hope of eternal life, no hope of freedom from sin's bondage​. Without the love that God has for us, we are miserable and feel an empty void in our hearts.

Love has been cheapened.
People take their ideas and expectations of love from movies, romance novels, and wordy cards that show up mostly around V-Day. You can proclaim love to multiple people to attempt to find your true love but mostly what it leads to is emotional entanglements, false hopes, and bruised hearts.

Love is also dangerous.
Love is not a path you can casually walk through. If our heart is naturally wicked, should we always trust it? (Read Jeremiah 17:9) Nothing disgusted me more than seeing a girl do all in her power to get the attention of a man in an effort to win his heart. It doesn't work that way. 
First of all, let me say it is NOT up to us women to do the "wooing" or "chasing". ​Your character will win his heart unless he's only seeking a pretty face. Your character is developed IN your heart (1 Peter 3:4-5)​ You must prayerfully step your way through, not hurriedly. Even the wisest man in the world (Solomon) was stumped on this issue and he had how many women? 300 mistresses & 700 wives! Talk about stress and never-ending drama!
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When it comes time to choose your spouse, begin in prayer. Then seek advice of your pastor and parents over your peers.​ Listen to the warnings if they are given because we can be so easily blinded by emotions. It is dangerous to fall into the pressure of finding out what society's version of love is. You don't have to have a boyfriend to be considered beautiful or cherished. If you have to stand alone among your peers to remain pure, stand strong. You may end up being the only one NOT living in regret. 

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GEM Lesson given by Sonia E. Vargas