New Blog: Grace and Glory

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are having a wonderful Friday. I just want to let you know that I will no longer be writing on this blog, I've started a new blog with my friend, Joanna, at graceandglory.keepsblogging.com

Please feel free to check it out and subscribe!

God Bless you!

People fail, God never fails

  I can't count how many times someone has said to me, "Don't worry, I've got your back." I've had high expectations from friends and I've been let down. I've expected people not to hurt me but they still do.  We set high expectations for our friends and families and as a result, we're often let down. We fail to understand that human nature is flawed and regardless of how good we are at keeping promises, we're bound to fail someone. We find ourselves hurting and getting hurt. We love to make promises but we often break those promises. People fail but God never has and he never will.

     The Bible says that we should trust God with all our heart, and lean not unto our own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5-6) We should trust in God, not people because people are flawed and cannot always keep their promises. Our intentions may be pure and noble but we are flawed and limited. I can promise someone that I will meet them at the mall tomorrow and my intention may be to meet that person but if my means of transportation become unavailable, I can't meet them. My intention was not to break my promise but still, I found myself breaking my promise. I can promise never to hurt someone but in some way that I don't understand, I can still end up hurting them. Intentional or not, we still fail each other constantly. God's intention is to keep every covenant that He has made with you and He will do just what He said. He promises never to forsake us. (Deut 31:6) He promises to meet all of our needs. (Phil 4:19) God promises to defend His children. (Ex 14:14) Everything that He says He will do, He will do. Though you can't always trust mankind, you can trust God.
  
   Usually, our family and friends don't fail us intentionally but sometimes they do. I can say that there were people who have used me for their own personal gain and when they were done, they forgot about me. There were people who I thought were my friends who let me down. There were people who I expected to defend me who joined in with others against me. Sometimes people do cruel things that we can't understand. It's hard to even wrap your head around it. This is why we should put our trust in God, not people. When people forsake you, God will adopt you. When people reject you, God will embrace you. When you feel lost, God will direct your path.

   There is nothing too hard for God. Many people may have failed you but God will never fail you. He can heal everything inside of you that resulted from broken promises. He can make what was old new again. You don't have to set high expectations for people anymore, just trust God because He never fails.

Stuck on Repeat

   Today is Resurrection Sunday, more commonly known as Easter Sunday. It's a day filled with tradition. Some people partake secular activities such as painting, decorating and hunting for Easter Eggs. Others attend church or mass (probably for the first and last time that year until Christmas comes around) dressed in their best for Easter Sunday. Some people don't even recognize the holiday and for them, everything is business as usual.
   However, most of us try to be pious as this time of the year comes around. I was in a restaurant and heard a woman quickly apologize for cursing. "I'm so sorry, it's Holy Thursday," she said. Most Christians try to give more to God during this time period. Churches are filled on Easter Sunday, people are singing, and people are thinking about the sacrifice Christ made for us. We try to do the best that we can because it is Easter, after all.
   Jesus didn't die so that once a year we can go to church, cry about His death, rejoice about His resurrection and then go back to our old sinful lifestyles. He didn't die for this but unfortunately, this is what so many of us do. We're like broken tape records. We're stuck on repeat. We confess to God that we want to change but then we go back and live the same lifestyle that we told God we wanted to change.
  We go to church on Easter Sunday and we listen to the sermon about how Jesus died, was buried and rose on the third day. We feel triumphant and victorious because Jesus, our Lord and Saviour lives! But we miss the message. He came so that we may have life. In  Deuteronomy 30:19, God says that He has set life and death before us and He tells us to choose life. Death was our only option but when Jesus died, He gave us the option to choose life. Choose life.
    Traditions are great but Jesus' death, burial and resurrection are more than just a tradition. If you are burdened with sin, you can lay it down. Jesus said to take His yoke upon you because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He will take the burden of sin and give you salvation and peace. Don't just take Resurrection Sunday as another tradition. Realize that He died and He can change your life if you allow Him to. He can take your struggles and give you peace.
    Jesus died to give us a new life. He wants you to move forward in God. He doesn't want you to be stuck on repeat, stuck in your sin and hiding behind tradition. You can give your life to Jesus. It doesn't matter who you are. Jesus came for the least among us. 
   Don't just go through the motions. Recognize that He took beatings and wounds for our sins. He took our sins. You don't have to live in yours. He can make you a new creation. Don't be stuck on repeat, give everything to Jesus and live!

What is the anointing?

 Last night, at the Grammy awards, Beyonce performed a rendition of "Precious Lord, Take My Hand." Immediately, many began to comment saying that her performance was "dry," that it lacked "oil" and that it wasn't "anointed." As I thought about the anointing, I realized that we get it completely wrong. We associate the anointing with hype, how well someone can sing or how well they can preach. In other words, we associate the anointing with talent or how well someone can do something. I didn't expect any anointing from Beyonce's performance, simply because she is not anointed. Someone who has not been anointed by God cannot minister to others because they just have not been called by God to do so.
   There are 5 different types of anointing, according to Smith's Bible Dictionary. First, the ordinary anointing which refers to anointing the body or the head with oil, according to Jewish customs. It was also a sign of respect that a host gave to his house guests. (Daniel 10:3) Next, there is the official anointing, which is linked very closely to the last two types of anointing. The official anointing was done as a rite of inauguration into the office of either, prophet, priest or King of Israel. (1 Kings 1:39) Next, the Ecclesiastical anointing, which has to do with the recovery of the sick. The sick would be anointed with oil and then prayed for so that they could be healed. (James 5:14) The Spiritual anointing refers to the Messiah or the Anointed, which is Jesus Christ. He is anointed as Prophet, Priest and King. (John 1:32-33, Acts 10:38) Lastly, there is the Spiritual anointing with the Holy Ghost which is given to Christians by God. This is also an expression of the "sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit upon Christians who are priests and kings unto God." (1 John 2:27)
   Luke 4:18 says "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted , to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised..." This specific anointing described refers to commission by God. Luke was sent by God to preach to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to captives, to heal the blind and to set free those that are bruised. As Children of God, we have a commission. It's specific and it's not the same commission that God has given to your friend or your neighbor. An anointed person is sanctified and set apart for God's purpose. 
    When God sent Samuel to anoint David as King, God was setting David apart for purpose. His purpose was to lead. In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul says that God did not send him to baptize but to preach the Gospel. Paul's purpose was to preach. In Exodus 40:13-15, we see that Aaron was anointed and sanctified to minister to God as a priest. Aaron's purpose was to be a priest. 
   When I contemplate what it means to be anointed, I realize that to be anointed means to have a specific assignment or purpose from God. It's not about how well you can shout, how well you can sing or dance or how many people stand to their feet while you're ministering. It's okay if you sing and no one stands to their feet. If you have been anointed to sing, God will allow your ministry to encourage and to break chains. In Isaiah 10:27, the Bible says that the yoke will be broken because of the anointing. The anointing breaks the yoke. The anointing breaks chains and barriers that hold down the people of God. If you are anointed, your ministry will break chains and set prisoners free.  
    Beyonce's performance was not anointed. It couldn't have been. She is a great singer but she is not a minister of the Gospel. She has not been set apart by God to minister. She is a performer and a performer only. 

I Think

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 1 Samuel 15:9

Sin is disobeying God. It's that simple. Saul was told by God to destroy everything from the nation he conquered. Everything, including the good and the bad, the wanted and the unwanted. But Saul thought it would be good to save the sheep, oxen and lambs because he thought they would make good sacrifices. It was a very rational decision. He spared the animals that would make good offerings. He thought he was doing good. Most of us would think the same. I do what I think is good and my life is suddenly pleasing to God. But it's not that simple. 
  
   Saul was right; the animals would have made good sacrifices but God said to destroy everything. We hang on to things because we think they will be good. We think they'll help us. We try to make the best decision for ourselves based on our knowledge and rationality. But sometimes that's where we go wrong. Saul was completely rational. What he did made sense. But God said "no, I don't want you to do this." What may seem right in the eyes of men, is wrong in the eyes of God. God wasn't disappointed with Saul simply because he spared some animals. God was disappointed because Saul disobeyed Him. Saul ignored the voice of God and chose to go his own way against the calling of God. That was his sin. 
  
    If God is telling you to do something, do it. If He is saying not to do something, don't do it. He knows what He is doing and His knowledge supersedes ours greatly. It's not up to us to rationalize what God is doing, we'll only get confused. It is our job, however, to listen to His still small voice. If He says move, move. If he says stop, then stop. You don't have to rationalize it, just know that God said it. 

    Saul got into trouble because he acted according to what he thought, rather than according to the divine wisdom of God. He thought he was wiser than God. Remember that God's plan is perfect. It may not make sense, but it is perfect. In time, His will will be revealed unto you. Though it may seem difficult and you may not understand, follow Him. You don't need to understand, you just need to trust Him.

  

Defining Beauty

  Today's standard of beauty is clouded. By today's standpoint beauty is defined by how much skin is revealed, how provocative the post or how much likes a picture can get. You're expected to be unnaturally thin based on fashion magazines and catalogs but in fact, those models have been Photoshopped and air-brushed to an almost scary and unnatural size. Their thighs, waist and breasts has been altered to fit a flawed standard. Their eyes have been widened, lips enlarged and faces reduced. Unfortunately this standard of beauty compels many to take up unhealthy lifestyles starving themselves to conform to an image they were created to shun.

   Social media has now been made the center of most of our lives. It's easy to paint a picture of ourselves that isn't even true just to get more likes, more followers or more friends. But in the end, why does that even matter? You're not defined by how many friends you have on Facebook, how many likes your pictures get on Instagram or even how many followers you have on twitter. You don't have to conform to the provocative image most people have given into today. You don't have to paint a picture at all, just be who you are and the right people will come. Even if you have to stand alone for a while, stand up for who you are.

   Everything doesn't have to be seen and everything doesn't have to be revealed. Anything you post on the internet stays there, believe me. That picture that got you so many likes may one day be seen by a future employer, your spouse our even your children. You don't want them to see a picture that you used to paint a story of your life that wasn't even true.

   You have countless cosmetics that are meant to stuff that you don't even understand but all you know is that it will make you beautiful. You don't have to hide behind layers and layers of make-up. People want to see the real you: the beautiful you. Don't mind those who make fun of or criticize you. They don't matter because the right people will appreciate who you are.
  
    You're not defined by social media. You're not defined by those who don't appreciate you. You're not defined by those who encourage you to conform to a flawed standard of beauty. You don't have to show skin to be appreciated. You're a human being not a piece of meat, so don't let anyone treat you like one.

  People need to see you. You are more than your body. People need to see your soul. The world needs to see your smile not your thighs. They need to hear you laugh with joy not cry out with frustration. They need to see your beauty - your true beauty that lies deeper than the surface created by society. 

   Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the beholder is Jesus. He's made you the way he wanted to be from the beginning. You don't have to conform to flawed standards of beauty - you can be yourself.

Where is your mind?

It doesn't really matter whether you're in church or not, if you're mind is far from God, the devil already has you. It's easy to look around and judge and decide on who has backslidden or who isn't living right. As human beings, we have no real difficulty finding fault in others. The real difficulty lies in recognizing our own faults.

We serve God with our mind. The transformation takes place within and is then manifested without. Your dress, your speech and your mannerisms are all a product of the transformation that God has begun within you. So, since we serve God with our mind, that's where the devil wants to attack. He just wants your mind to be so clouded, so occupied with other things, that you cannot serve God. It doesn't really matter if it seems like you're serving God - the devil doesn't care about what it "seems like." He just wants to make you far from God.

I'm calling for self examination. A thorough scan of our entire being; leave nothing unturned. We can sit in church every Sunday and sing and clap, and maybe occasionally dance, but if we're just going through the motions, it's not really worth it.

If we're just singing just to sing, lifting our hands because it's the right time to, or shouting when the preacher says to shout, then it's not really worth it. God wants a relationship with us. He sees beyond our show and He really wants us to take on that struggle and press beyond the show. Just like the woman with the issue of blood for 12 years who literally crawled through the crowd to just barely touch the hem of Jesus' garment. Just like the sick man who was brought by his friends through the roof to see Jesus because the front door was crowded. God is calling for us to push beyond the noise and the routine and to seek Him with our whole heart.

 Jeremiah 29:13 says, And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. You have to give your all. God is not hiding away somewhere far away. There's no tricky puzzle that you need to solve to meet Him. You just have to seek Him. You have to want Him so badly that you won't let anyone get in the way of you finding him. And, if that means clearing your mind of school, the bills, and the job for a while, that's what you have to do. If that means closing your eyes and tuning out the distractions, then that's what you have to do. If that means forgetting about what people may think of you, then that is what you have to do.

Your mind has to be at the place for you to truly worship God, withholding nothing. When Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman, he told her that the time has come for true worshipers. It is difficult to be a true worshiper when your mind is racing with thoughts of all of your issues and struggles. Leave them at the door and let God take care of them. Truly, if your mind is captured, you're captured. So protect your mind.

Crush the Idols

 

Anything I put before my God is an idol. - Jimmy Needham

  We all know of when the children of Israel, frustrated that they couldn't see their God, decided that they needed a god they could touch and feel instead. They told Moses to create a "Golden Calf" to be their god. Countless times they have fallen from grace and have absorbed themselves in idolatry. They wanted what the surrounding nations had - the customs, the practices and the idols.

  But, before we point fingers, we should assess what an idol actually is. In it's simplest form it may be an image, such as the golden calf, that one sets up before himself to worship. But, it's more than that. Anything I put before my God is an idol. Anything that I love so much that it distracts me from my purpose in God is an idol. Anything that takes up the time that I should be spending with God is an idol. Anything that causes me to compromise my faith just so that I can have it is an idol.

   So, that girl or that guy that you can't stop thinking about can be an idol. That job that prevents you from going to church and giving God the glory. Or maybe that car that you think is too beautiful for anyone to even touch. The truth is that anything that arrests your mind is an idol.

   Have you ever wanted to pray and all that comes out of your mouth is the routine prayer? You follow the protocol and you pray how you're expected to pray but you never really tell God anything.  And when you say amen and you get up off your knees you get up with the same problem that you went to pray about in the first place.

  It's time to be real and open with God. We pray for material blessings: money, good grades, success.  And while we pray our fake prayer, our souls are dying. It's rotting from all the junk and dirt that we've filled it with. All the hurt and pain, the guilt and the shame. We can't really share our pain because we know that all we'll get in return is fake smiles and secret judgment. So we carry our pain. We carry all the weight and the shame and we stray further and further away from God.

 We sing the songs, read the scripture and listen to the sermon. Yet we go back home with the same pressing issue. We're still dying and nobody knows and it seems like nobody cares. Just moved but never changed.

   The truth is that God already knows what you're going to ask even before you ask it. He knows what you need. And it may seem difficult, you may not even want to utter it for fear of someone else hearing, but He wants you to tell it to Him. He wants you to lay it at his feet and leave it there. You don't carry yourself, He carries you.

    So, you may be overwhelmed with countless pain and you feel that God does not understand. But the apostle Paul reminds us that our High Priest can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. He not only understands your pain, He feels your pain.

   You may be distracted from your purpose in God right now but don't feel that you have to stay that way. Countless times the people of God have turned away from Him and when they returned, as with the prodigal son, their father welcomed them with open arms.

    I'm not just speaking to those who have backslidden and left the church. I'm speaking to everyone, including myself. It's so easy to look the part - dress the right way, sing the right way and testify the right way. Do all of that and you can fool just anyone, but not God. So you may be reading this and thinking of your unsaved or backslidden friend, but understand that it is time for all of us to return.

  The truth is that we all have an idol or two. We all have something that takes our undivided attention away from God. And it weighs us down. But God is calling us to a place of reflection. It is time for us to shine the searchlights in every corner and every crevice of our being. It's time for us to look into ourselves: our thoughts, our actions, our speech. It's time to crush the idols.
  

   

Stand

"...When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Isaiah 59:19

    I've heard this so many times spoken by so many different people and yet, I never really considered what it meant. It means that God will immediately solve every problem that we encounter and we just stand there and do nothing? No. 
      In ancient times, the emperor would carry a standard, or  a flag, into battle. The standard would be raised to signal to the soldiers that it was time to fight, it was like a green light. So, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up  a standard. We are in a war and God has lifted up the standard - it's time to fight. 
   The standard is not lifted so that the soldiers can enter into the battle unprepared. God has not sent us out to battle alone, He has equipped us with power. He's there with us. We are His ambassadors on earth and He's looking for us to carry the gospel to the world. What are we waiting for? The standard means "go." 
   We have a great responsibility. We are on the front lines of this battle. It takes place at school, in the streets and at work. There are so many lost and broken people and there are also those who are trying to  deceive others. You have atheists saying there's no God, the government legalizing gay marriage and schools trying to teach us evolution. It's time to take a stand. 
   When David heard that the "uncircumcised philistine" was defiling the name of his God, he didn't hesitate. He didn't just arbitrarily take up five stones, he took up five stones and went in the name of the Lord. Sometimes, we want to stand up against things but we don't go in the name of the Lord. Sometimes we try to do it our own way, thinking that we know what's best. David went in the name of the Lord and we should too.
   The standard has already been lifted and we are already in battle, it's time to fight.

Carried to the table of the Lord

    Think back to medieval times. Imagine a wealthy ruler of a great kingdom requesting that a peasant man come and feast with him in his palace. The invitation is not just any, it's written on a scroll and the king's finest servant delivers it. Not only does this peasant man feast with the king, he has access to all the king's luxuries. If he would like to go into the king's garden and pick fruits from the best tree, he may. If he would like to wear the king's finest purple robe, he may. But isn't it absurd for a king, with all the wealth he needs, to request of a man with absolutely nothing to dine with him?

   I was listening to a song, "Carried to the table," by Leeland and it says, "I've been carried to the table, seated where I don't belong. I don't see my brokenness anymore when I'm seated at the table of the Lord." This King, Jesus, is like no other. No medieval king, or any other earthly king for that matter would request of a peasant to dine with him. But, Jesus, seeing who I was, carried me to His table and gave me a seat in His kingdom. He had everything and I had nothing, yet He gave everything for me. Why? I will never know, but I am ever grateful.

   That invitation is extended to you and to everyone that hears it. He's saying "Come, I am preparing a feast and you are invited." He's calling people all over the nations, all over the world to come and dine with Him. Regardless of our upbringing, what we have done or who we are, He's still calling for us. In spite of our dirtiness, He's still calling. If you hear His call, and you answer, He will not reject you. This invitation is not just extended to the 'righteous,' it's extended to the sinner. He will wash you, you don't have to be perfect to come. As Leeland says, "I don't see my brokenness anymore when I'm seated at the table of the Lord." None of that matters, just let Him carry you to His table.

I will receive you

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2 Corinthians 6:17

    Sometimes its easy to forget that you're not of the world. It's easy to want everything the world has to offer because it looks so good. You feel as though you need it but then you try it and you realize that it's poisonous venom. Now,  you're covered in shame and guilt because of what you allowed yourself to get into and you're too ashamed to tell anyone or do anything about it.

    God is saying that you don't have to stay in that lifestyle anymore. You're a child of God and yes, children of God do make mistakes. Your mistakes does not mean that you're life is over or that you're going to perish. It means that you're vulnerable and weak but God is strong.
 
  Pride can be a killer. You wear a facade, a mask, each day and you hide your pain and your guilt. But God is saying surrender. He says, Let it go, and let Me handle it. You cannot do it alone.

   The scripture says, "Come out from among them..." God says when you come out from among them, He will receive you. He won't pull you out of your sin, He's waiting for you to give the sinful lifestyle to Him. You may think, there's no way this is going to leave but He is able. God says come out from among them and I will receive you. You can't continue to live in the lifestyle that you're living in and expect that God is going to change you. You have to give it up, let it go, repent and surrender.

    Like the father of the prodigal son, God is calling you to return. You tried the lifestyle and it seemed good at first but then you found yourself eating pig feed.  You want to come home so don't let your pride and shame get in your way. That's just the adversary's way of keeping God's people bound. Don't be ashamed to talk to God about your struggles and your pain, He hears and He is a deliverer. You don't have to live in sin anymore.

   God says, come out from among them and I will receive you. I will receive you but you have to come out of it.

Speak to your mountain

   In Mark 11:23, Jesus says unto his disciples "... whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." A mountain is indeed a large, seemingly threatening object. It momentarily delays or even hinders your progress. According to the world's philosophy, you can either walk around the mountain or climb up the mountain, both processes causing great delay in one's goal. Jesus, however, instructed us to believe and to speak to the mountain and say "be thou removed." This means that we can and should, speak to our situations and the obstacles in our life.
    In essence, you have three options: walk around the mountain, climb the mountain or speak to the mountain. Both "natural" choices, walking around and climbing, can represent  choices we make when faced with a spiritual obstacle.
   The first choice, walking around the mountain, represents an obstacle that one tries to deny or suppress, rather than confronting it immediately.  For example, you struggle with depression. Rather than acknowledging that you are depressed, you deny it. You suppress it. If asked, you merely laugh and say, "Me?" But deep down within you, you know that you are depressed, that you cry at night and lack the happiness you used to. You say that the problem will eventually resolve itself and that things will go back to normal, but it never does. Ultimately, the choice of walking around the mountain only gets you back to the place where you started and no change or progress is made.
    The second choice, climbing up the mountain, represents one taking matters into their own hands and relying upon their own strength to get them through the situation. You and I are nothing without Christ and we can do nothing without Him. My strength cannot get me through my situations, I need the grace of God. Jesus, in fact, says that "My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." It is in your weakness that the uplifting, redeeming strength of God will be revealed. You don't need to rely on your strength, rely on the strength of God because He is able to keep you from falling. If you go up that mountain alone, there is no guarantee that you won't fall but if you wait and trust in God, you will never go wrong.
    These two choices, although seemingly logical in our own eyes, only lead to destruction. You walk around the mountain to find yourself returning to the same problem that you thought could simply be avoided. You climb up the mountain to find that your strength is not enough to carry you through. So, what then do you do? You speak to the mountain.
    When you speak to your mountain, you exercise faith. A problem will never go unless you tell it to go. Put it into the hands of Jesus and He will see you through. You don't have to climb or walk around because in every child of God, there is power to speak to the mountain.
    You can make it through when you put your trust in God, the creator of the universe who holds this world in His hands. When you look to God, you will never fail. Bebo Norman sings a song which says, "I will lift my eyes to You," meaning that I will put my trust in God who is able to keep me from falling.
   

Do you ever feel forgotten, rejected or alone? Do you feel like no one, not even God, can hear your cries? Do you ever feel afraid and lost? Many of us feel that way from time to time. Some of us feels it more harshly than the other, but I believe we all feel it. Many days you might feel like you pray and God doesn't hear your voice. You might feel like Christianity is a lie. You've probably prayed so much, but nothing has happened. Well, nothing that you can see that is.
   
  God is always working things out for you. It may not be the way that you would like it to be or as quickly as you want it to be, but God is working it out and you have to be patient and trust Him. Don't lose faith in Him. He hears you but things won't work out on your time, but on God's time. You can't abandon the truth. You can't abandon the knowledge of the love of God. Once you know His love, you can't forget it. Don't turn from Him. Despite what others may be saying to you, you have to trust Him.

    "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen." There are two things in life that you have to hang on to. Faith and hope. If you've lost hope, you've lost everything. You have to keep believing in God. Whatever He tells you He will do, He will do even if it takes 100 years. You have to trust Him.

Why choose Jesus?

You've probably heard preachers preaching about God and have wondered what is this about? You may have wondered what benefits you can gain from following Christ. Maybe you're saying right now, "Well, God is good but I don't really care to follow Him. Why should I choose Him?"

   First of all God loves you. That's the bottom line. He has loved you from the beginning of time, even before you were born. He knew exactly who you were going to be, the mistakes you would make and the failures you would face but he loved you and still loves you 100%. His love for you is not about how good or bad you are its about a God who loves you regardless of who you are. He'll never condemn you because of what you've done. His arms are open and the moment you are ready to receive Him, He will receive you. I know you may be wondering, why does God love me when I've done so much wrong? The fact is that He loves you because of who He is. From the beginning he has loved you and He'll never stop loving you.

  Second, His promises NEVER fails. Joshua 21:15 says, Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to. God made a promise to Israel and not a word from that promise failed. He has a promise for you and not a word from that promise will fail. I don't know what those promises for you are but I know they're great. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, "I know the plans I have for you... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." This doesn't only apply to those people back then. It applies to you. You may feel hopeless, as if your life will never have meaning but God has a plan for your life. All you have to do is walk into the plan. 
   When God makes a promise He keeps it. It may not happen immediately, it may even take a while but God will keep His promises. If he says He will do something, He will. There's no doubt. In contrast, many people in this world make promises but those same promises are broken and you're left heartbroken. God won't leave you heartbroken. 

  God can heal you. I don't know the problems that you face. I don't know how horrible and painful your past has been. I don't know what haunts you at night. But I know that God knows and He will heal you. The physical and emotional pain that you go through every day will not last forever. God will deliver you. The loneliness and the sadness that you face will not last forever. God will heal you. He will take your sorrows and give you joy. There's nothing that you face that God cannot solve. All you need to do is believe and trust Him. 

  He is your "friend that sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24) When you feel alone, like you have no one to talk to, God is there and you can talk to Him. He will listen to your problems and He won't judge you. He can also relate to your pain. He has felt betrayal and sorrow too. He knows your pain. 

   Without God, you are nothing. There's a quote that says, "Without Jesus your life will never make sense." You can try everything from drugs to sex but nothing will fill the void that's meant for Jesus to fill. You can spend your life running from Him, but He will always be gently calling. The fact is that when you accept Christ, your life will be different and more meaningful - it will be a better life. When you choose Jesus your life begins to have purpose. You're no longer a wanderer, searching for meaning because you know exactly who you are and why you're here.

Lastly, God is not just some man in the sky. He's real and He's personal. He cares about you. He cares about your success. He loves you 100%. He pursues you and He will always pursue you.

Don't lose hope

A few years ago, I was standing near a fence at the school I went to. Suddenly, I began to feel pain. I could handle that, and even as it got increasingly worse, I wasn't too worried. Soon after, I began to lose my sight. First everything around me turned to yellow blobs and then eventually I was in total darkness. That was when I began to panic. When you can't see what is in front of you and around you, you're completely lost. You don't know where you're going to go or where you are. You can't make a step forward because you can't be sure you're taking the right path. You question the things and people around you because you can't see them. In the dark, we're usually more afraid than in the light. If you put a young child in a closet and lock the door, they will begin to panic. But as soon as you open the door and allow them to see the environment that they're in, they become calm. When someone loses their sight and vision, they become lost. They're dreams and aspirations are halted. You may lose everything else in your life: your friends, your family, your health but when you lose your vision you lose your hope. Don't forget God's purpose and plan for you. Don't forget that He's going to make more of you than what you are now. Don't be comfortable in your present situation. Always hope, always dream, always look forward. Never give up. Never turn back. Even when it seems like your back is against the wall, keep your faith and don't lose hope.

What she says... or what God says.

  At least once in our lives, we've been put down, looked down upon or mocked by someone else. I'm sure that at least once you've been picked on, laughed at, and called horrible things. Some people face that day to day. Sometimes the weight of this causes you to cry, and worse feel horrible about yourself.

  I don't know exactly how it happened for you, but this is how it happened to me. When I was younger, in elementary school, I was the laughing stock of a group of people. They picked on me and said horrible things to me. I felt alone because no one else was on my side. It was me against everyone else. Day to day, as I went to school, I would feel this pain of being ridiculed and mocked. I prayed that it would stop but it never did. You would wonder, would God really allow this to happen to me? Why won't He make them stop?

   I thought I needed them to change and stop tormenting me, but what I really needed to do was change my perspective. The pain and the tormenting finally stopped when I changed, not when they changed. They still laughed at me, mocked me and ridiculed me but it was as if I had a shield on that deflected every word meant to destroy me. That shield was the Word of God and His truth.

   Genesis 1:27 says that God made man in His own image. God is perfect and pure. He is holy and righteous. He made us in His image. So as they continued to call me ugly, I continued to remember that I was made in the image of the most high God. And when they said that I wasn't worth anything, I remembered Jeremiah 29:11, which tells us that God has good plans for us: plans of good and not evil to give us an expected end. When they said that I should die, I remembered John 3:16, which tells us how God gave His Son to die, so that we might have life. God loved me so much that He sent His Son to die, to give me life. How could I ever believe that I should die, when the King of kings has sacrificed Himself so that I could live?

   We all have a purpose on this earth. There is a reason why you're alive. There's a reason why you've been ridiculed: it's to make you stronger. I became stronger through what I faced because I learned to trust in God and in His word. I learned to trust the voice of God over the voice of others. The voice of God matters most in your life. When someone says that "you're not good enough," listen to that still small voice saying "my grace is sufficient for you... my strength is made perfect in weakness (2 cor 12:9)" The grace of God can carry you through anything that you will ever go through. His grace will never leave you. His grace is enough for you. You may be fighting the biggest battle in your life but His grace is sufficient. He will keep you. You don't have to keep yourself, just let Him hold your hand and take you to where you need to be. You may feel like you're fighting a battle alone against a multitude but just open your eyes and look behind you. God and a multitude of angels stand behind you and are ready to defend you. God is holding you in the palm of His hand. Don't be afraid to trust Him. He won't let you go.

    Jesus hung on the cross for you. His arms were wide open with love. He bled for you. That's how much He loves you. You can be sure that He'll never leave you. He showed his love for you by hanging on the cross. Jesus is all that you need. He can mend your broken heart and He can make you whole. He can take away your pain and your fears.

    Don't believe the lies that the devil shoot at you. Let the word of God define you, and no one else. If God said it, it matters more than whether or not "he/she" said it. God matters more. He cares for you, they don't care for you. They want to hurt you. God wants to heal you. Let Him heal you. Listen to the Voice of Truth, and live. 

   

Why do we celebrate easter?

 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Bunnies. Eggs. Flowers. Is this what you think of when you hear the word Easter? Maybe you think of a week off from school or work and a day of eating chocolate bunnies and spending time with your family. Well, that's all great things to do and to think of but when it comes to Easter we are celebrating three things. These three things are the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It's important to understand this because it is the reason why many of us are alive today. It's the reason why there are churches in the world and the reasons why preachers stand in pulpits and preach the good news. If it wasn't for this season, Easter, we would all lack hope.

    I know you're asking, well why does this matter to me? Why did Jesus even have to die? It all started in the beginning: Adam was given a commandment from God not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam disobeyed God and ate of the fruit when his wife, Eve, urged him to. Because of Adam's disobedience man was separated from God. Man and God no longer had the same relationship as they did in the Garden of Eden. Man now had a knowledge of Good and Evil, so people began doing evil things that displeased God. When you look at the story of Cain and Abel, you see that good and evil coexists. Abel believed that he should do whatever he could to please God, so he gave his best offering to God. Cain, on the other hand, gave God an offering that was not his best and did not come from the heart. Abel received a greater blessing than Cain did because he sacrificed more. Cain was angry and murdered his brother, Abel. He was envious of Abel's blessing and killed him because of it. So, good and evil coexisted from the beginning of time.

    God saw the corruption of man and how far we were from Him. He still loved us so very much so he decided that he had a plan to redeem us. Years after Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve, God sent his son, Jesus to die for us. For man to be redeemed blood had to be shed and someone had to die. Not just anyone could die for our sins. Not even the greatest prophet that walked the face of the earth. Not Elijah, or Jeremiah or even Isaiah. This person had to be free from sin so that a pure and ultimate sacrifice could be made for our sin. This person had to be God Himself. This person was Jesus Christ.

   You may be asking, well, why couldn't God just make us free from sin? Why did Jesus have to die?  We needed an advocate, someone who would take our sin upon Himself and cleanse us from our sin. This person had to be sinless, and he had to wash us from our sins by taking on our sin and by dying on the cross, our sin would also die. A little over 2,000 years ago, Jesus came to earth and became the sacrifice for our sin.

   His death was not just a "quick" or "simple" death. Crucifixion was the highest form of execution in that time. Jesus endured mockery, shame, and pain for us. Two nails were put through His hand to nail Him to the cross and one through both of His feet. The Bible says that he was wounded for our transgression and crushed for our iniquity, by His stripes [whipping] we are healed. So imagine that: for every need that you have ever had or will ever have, Jesus took the beating of the Roman soldiers. For every time that you make a mockery out of this holiday, remember that he was spat upon for you. For your healing, he was beaten. For your sin He was wounded. He was bruised for our iniquity. That means that for every evil thought that you think, He was bruised to set you free from that.

   Easter is not a light holiday of bunnies and eggs. It's the day that is set aside to commemorate all that Jesus has done for us. It is a day to commemorate life. He died to give us life; he died to give us freedom. Jesus took your place upon the cross. We deserve to be hung upon that cross for all of our sin; we deserve to hang there in shame. But the Bible tells us that, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him, should not die but have everlasting life.

   The good news is that if you believe in Him and accept Him, you will have everlasting life. You will reign with Jesus in paradise. He suffered on the cross so that we all could have free salvation. The great thing is that if you will only call upon Him, He will save you. You just need to believe and open your heart to receive a blessing from Him. He loved us so much, that He died to give us a hope for paradise in the future. As you are with your family and friends, celebrating during your week(s) off, just remember the sacrifice made on the cross for you.

   

Being a hero

   There's a song that I like to listen to called Hero. It speaks about doing what's right, not just for ourselves but for the people around us. The artist describes a boy who is bullied, a girl who is isolated and a boy who looks up to his brother who is a bad role model. There is a question that we have to ask ourselves: Am I going to be comfortable and happy or am I going to go out of my way to help someone else, and to what extent?
     We never really know exactly what anyone is going through, especially if it's someone we're not well acquainted with. It's hard to help someone when we don't know how to, right? Although that is true, there's something we have to consider.  Think about the things you say and do to others. Maybe you're not a mean person but sometimes you do mean things that can hurt someone else. Maybe you walk on the street and you see a girl and in your mind you're better than her so you scoff and look down at her. Maybe you have a coworker that isn't very attractive so you whisper to your friend about how ugly you think she is. Most of us do these things and we're not bad people, but these things on top of twenty others can throw someone over the edge. These things do hurt people. A great way to help someone that you may not be close to is by refraining from saying something mean about them or to them.

     At many High Schools, seniors like to trick the new freshmen at their school. They are vulnerable and they don't know the routine of the school so they are easy targets. That may seem like your normal senior year ritual, but it can actually hurt someone. We never really know.

   Always try to help someone as best as you can. You don't have to chase someone down trying to help them but something as simple as giving someone directions or saying hello can make their day.
  
    In the song called Hero by Superchick, there is a boy described who is picked on and bullied daily. One day he finally has enough and he takes his dad's gun and shoots himself. There must have been bystanders and witnesses to this daily action but no one did anything. They just watched because they were either enjoying seeing someone in pain or they were afraid of getting hurt also. It might be hard but if you see someone being bullied do something. Tell someone in authority or tell the bully to stop. You might just save a life.
   
   To make a difference in the world, you don't have to do much. You just have to be like Jesus and show love. It may be small but what you do can impact someone's life for ever.

Rise

People will laugh at you, mock you and make fun of you. They'll make you feel terrible about yourself. They'll tell you that you're ugly or stupid. They'll try their best to make you feel bad about yourself, only to make themselves feel better. They'll do all sorts of things to hurt you. They'll kick you down to the ground and you'll feel like you can't get up. When they do all of those things, there are two things that you have to ask yourself. Will you sit and take it? Or will you rise?
   When others try to put you down, something that you really have to know is who you are and what your worth. God sees you as someone special and beautiful. You are someone worth dying for. That's why Jesus died on the cross. He died so that you could be free; so that you could rise.
   Rise above sadness, pain, fear, and shame. Those people who try so desperately to hurt you, are hurt themselves. They need to feel the love of Jesus. If you know the love of Jesus, show them. They need that love. Don't retaliate negatively, because that will only make things worse. If you ignore their comments and help them when they need it, you're doing a great thing. Sometimes it's hard to ignore that person that hurts your feelings, and on the opposite hand sometimes we feel so fearful that we sit in a corner, doing nothing, hoping that they'll stop and they don't. Always remember that they're only human, and greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. You've got Jesus on your side. Be strong and put the situation in his hands. Don't retaliate negatively, but don't sit down and feel sorry for yourself either. Put your situation in the hands of Jesus, because He can help you. He knows what you're going through and He's holding out His hand.
   Jesus is always there for you. You are never alone. Even when you're in your darkest situation and you feel that you're all alone, just know that you're not. He's there and He always will be. He promised never to leave you alone. You may not feel Him there sometimes, but He's there. Have faith in Him. Maybe you pray and it feels like He's not listening; if you feel that way, know that He's always listening. He'll come to your rescue in time. Trust Him, God can be trusted. We see so many situations in the Bible of Jesus showing up on time.

   Lazarus was dead for three days. While Lazarus was sick, Jesus was called to heal him but Jesus didn't go. He showed up after the three days was passed and by that time Lazarus' body was beginning to deteriorate. Everyone was wondering why Jesus chose to show up then; nothing else could be done is what they all thought but Jesus proved them wrong. Jesus showed up that day and called Lazarus from the grave. He said "Lazarus, come forth." and Lazarus came forth but he was still wrapped in grave clothes. Jesus loosed him. He raised Lazarus from the dead.

   Your situation might seem terrible but there's nothing too hard for God. He can turn the impossible into something possible. No one can comprehend how great God is. When you pray and you feel that Jesus isn't listening, just remember Lazarus. Jesus will show up in your situation, don't worry. Trust Him and when He says rise, rise.

Self Control

I was listening to the radio, and someone made a really good point. We might think of self control as “behaving” or “being good,” but self control is more than that. It’s controlling yourself. It’s having control over what you do and don’t do, instead of letting someone else or something else influence you. Self control is very important. If you don’t have self control, someone can simply tell you to do something and you’ll just do it. You have to know who you are and what you’re made of. You have to know what you stand for, what you believe in, what’s right and what’s wrong and you should always choose right and good. 

   Self control is directly related to how you react in certain situations. For example, if someone hurts your feelings or upset you, would you yell at them and say rude things to them? Or would you just walk away? The person who has self control most likely will walk away or tell the person to stop, instead of being rude. I know that personally I would most likely want to  say reply negatively to that person’s comment, and that’s where I see self control in my life. I try my best to ignore what that person has said or done to me. 

  When you have self control, you are able to control your behavior, attitude,etc. You’re able to control what you do and don’t do. Sometimes self control could even be the difference between life and death.