Is Jesus your BAE or NAH?

I remember the first time I heard the word BAE. I’m like ok Kerel, you are getting old, what the heck is BAE??  I knew instantly  I had been single for a grip, because the last time I was in a relationship the  word “BAE” didn’t even exist and like most people I said well when the time is right I will be able to use this slang too (“Well I shall have a Bae as well!”  *In my best stop liking man voice*) At this time I still didn’t even know what the word BAE even stood for, I just was going to be like everyone else and use the term when the time was right. Funny thing about choosing Christ, you weren’t designed to be like everyone else.....

When I found out that BAE stood for BEFORE ANYONE ELSE. It took me a while to say whoa, do I really want to speak that over a person in my life. Most people would just say, it’s just a word it’s really not that serious….but it is though. Life and death is in the power of the tongue and if I am going to say that my significant other, who isn’t even my husband, is BAE. I am in a sense declaring that he will come BEFORE ANYONE ELSE! Someone I just met 6 months or maybe even a year ago comes before my parents, my family, my job, my friends and most importantly before Christ! I’m sorry this is a problem for me, because when I truly evaluated myself, I realized that Jesus who when I accepted I promised to keep first, wasn’t really first anymore. Jesus wasn’t my BAE!

If you are beginning to question whether or not Jesus is your BAE, if you are sleeping with your significant other and they are not your spouse, Jesus is not your BAE. If your friends can convince you to go somewhere that you know God is convicting you from going, then Jesus is not your BAE. If you only call on God when you want something from him, but never spend time getting to know him by asking him what he has called you to do for Him, Jesus is NOT your BAE!

This may mean nothing to you, but for me this crippling reality means everything. This weekend God wrecked me, because he called my card. He told me “Your religious “works” mean nothing to me and they won’t earn you favor when your mind still belongs to the enemy,  You still want what you can get for me, instead of just wanting to be intimate with me”. This word burned me to my core, because it was true. Christ wasn’t Before Anyone Else in my life. He might have been a close 2^nd on a good day and a 3^rd or 4^th when I really wanted things to go my way, but he wasn’t BAE.

I heard that God wanted intimacy before but I had no idea what it meant. I didn’t want to be Lukewarm with God anymore, but I had no idea where to start to develop this intimacy. God however allowed me to stumble upon a sermon by Andy Stanley that outlined the intimacy that I had been missing with God so beautifully.  Andy stated that if you wanted to be intimate with God you have to give him….

Time, Transparency and a Surrendered Spirit

Time: God wants our time. Imagine if you were dating someone or married to someone who only called you when they needed you.” I just need you to help me start my car” and then the next time you hear from them is when they need you to help them get a job that they had been praying for. How fast would you leave this relationship? God wants daily conversation with us. He wants us to read his word; He wants us to serve and fellowship with other believers. I usually spend time with God in the morning,”There you go Lord a whole 15 minutes and 30 on a good day, aren’t I a good Christian?” God says I want you to talk with me all day. My praise shall continually be in your mouth. There is no way we can really intimately get to know someone unless we spend time in their presence. God wants your time.

Transparency:  God wants us to be real. He doesn’t want us to pretend that life is perfect. He doesn’t want us to pretend that it’s easy to do the things we really don’t want to do. Jesus begged God to take the cup away from him, he didn’t want to die, he however said that if it was God’s will, he would die for our sins. God isn’t looking for perfection; he already knows what you are feeling, he is just waiting for you to tell him. You ever had someone you love tell you, “I knew something was wrong with you, I was just waiting until you were ready to talk about it.” God is looking for an honest reflection of what your heart is experiencing, whether its doubt, hurt, confusion, jealousy or anger. God wants you to admit your truth, even if your truth is “God I want to serve you but it’s hard, I’m jealous, I’m obsessive, I’m hurting and I need you”. God wants you to know He will listen and He will comfort your fears. Today is National Best friend’s day.  However have you ever really thought about what makes that person your best friend, is it the fact they know the good, the bad and the ugly about you and still love you anyway. Well those are the things God wants to know, because he desperately wants to be intimate with you too!

Surrender: Andy said something so simple, yet so profound. Why don’t you trust God to provide the best for your life? God told me straight up, you will not see fruit in a certain area of your life until you release it and surrender it to me. Even though I thought I did, God gave me evidence after evidence of how I still tried to control my own life. We think sometimes God just wants us to be boring. Go to church, sit home and read the Bible. But God says your life can be filled with so much joy and purpose if you just learn to really trust me. I remember going out to a concert at nothing o clock in the morning and as soon as I walked in, actually from the minute I agreed to go I felt a knee jerk in my spirit, telling me it wasn’t where God wanted me to be. However I did my best to ignore this still voice. So while standing next to a friend at the concert she asked me, do you think my future husband is out here?  I immediately said “Well I hope not” and she quickly agreed. So the Holy Spirit then replied to me, if you don’t want the man you or your friend would marry to be out there, why are you there? #shade #wrecked. We attract what we reflect and if we refuse to give God certain areas of our lives, he’s not going to bless us with what we are claiming to want. God says give me all of you or none of you, but when you are Luke warm all I want to do is spit you out of my mouth. God doesn’t want us to decide when we want to spend time with Him or be obedient to His will.  He wants us to completely surrender to Him, simply because we love Him.  

"If it's God that I'm after I just can't serve two masters... No GRAY!"

Christ revealed to me He needed my time, my transparency and my willingness to surrender every piece of me to Him. Not so that I could have the blessings he has for me, but so that He could be glorified and that others will come to know him through me.  So you see when I chose Christ, I had to make Him BAE. Now when I get married, my husband can be #earthlybae,  #baenumber2 , #baesgifttome or maybe I’ll  remain old fashion and just call him my favorite term of endearment “My Beau” ! However, no matter what I choose to call him, Jesus will always be my “BAE” BEFORE ANYONE ELSE! 

John 15: 4-5: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

If this blog has touched you in any way or you just want someone to pray with you or provide encouragement to you, please email me at kerelpinder@gmail.com and let me know.I would love to hear from you :).