Bits O' Wisdom

These are little bits o' wisdom I have gained during my tenth grade year:

1. Girls, never tell your boyfriend your deepest, darkest secret.
2. Not every hill is worth dying on. (meaning, don't waste your time stressing out over problems. Instead, look to the LORD.)
3. When you choose to become a christian, you are choosing to choose everyday to be one. When you ask Jesus into your heart, you aren't just choosing Him today, you are choosing to choose Jesus everyday.........it makes sense to me. Ask me if you don't understand. :)
4. There's a need but not always a call.
5. When there are boys and girls in a room, be careful what you talk about. (Mixed company) -Brian B. :)
6. I have really learned that God's strength is perfect.
7. Let the LORD work through you. Always. Otherwise, you will regret it.
8. Cain killed Abel.
9. Live and talk as if Jesus is coming back tomorrow.
10. Nobody plans to fail. They just don't plan not to. -Brian B.
11. I AM NOT THE SAVIOR.
12. The more time you spend in God's presence, the more joy you have. This was a really neat realization for me.
13. To be like Jesus, you need to be willing to do what others are unwilling to do (in terms of acts of service)
14. The joy of intimacy is committment.
15. Your body is a temple of the LORD, so what you wouldn't do in a church (also a temple of the LORD), don't do to your body.

The Disciple Is A Servant

For 30 weeks, I had been working through a devotional by Andy and Kim Harrison called The Discipling Cycle. This is a great book and I really enjoyed it.



I was very excited about this particular study because the week before, I had been reading my leadership book. One section was about servanthood and its importance, So I was ready to hear more insight and dig into this topic of servanthood. An exerpt from the first page of the study says this "Everything we do and are encouraged to do by the world's standards brings the result of making us look good. We study for tests to make good grades, which of course we could hardly do for another person. But we also work hard to make first string, to win our latest love interest, to keep up our car payments, ect,. The issue is where we pour our energy. When was the last time making someone else look good was on your list of things to do?" This really touched me because I realized how often I tried to make myself look good. For example, looking good in front of the boys, in soccer, or in choir. This is not the heart of a servant. A servant in the form of a wife makes her husband look good. A servant in the form of a friend makes her peers look good. This is how strong relationships are built. I make Jesus look good to the world because when He died on the cross, He made us look perfect to His Father. When He died, He showed us He wanted a strong relationship with us because of His love.

On Day 2 of our study, we read the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet. (John 13:-1-15) Because of this story, I learned the value of being a servant by the example of Jesus. He tells His disciples in verses 14-15 to follow His example by washing the feet of others. He desires His children to be servants the way He was. Matthew 20:28 says "For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." To be like Jesus in this way, we must be willing to do what others are unwilling to do. Sweeping the floor, taking out the trash, or vacuuming the car are all practical ways to be a servant.

I decided to make a personal purpose statement out of 2 Corinthians 4:5. As a servant of the Lord, I will not preach about who I am or what I can do; rather, who Christ is and what He can do.

Finally, 2 Timothy 2:24-25 taught me that serving is a lifestyle. A lifestyle that will, in fact, make us like God.

Always Focus on the Goodness of the LORD

Always focus on the goodness of the LORD.



Have you ever had your breath taken away? Maybe you are thinking "Ya, I hyperventilated once." But no....not like that. Have you ever been so in awe of something that your breath is taken? One Sunday, I was completely awestruck. God revealed to me a portion of His marvelous works and I would love to share it with you.

During the service, we studied James 1:16-18.
Verse 17 says "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Heavenly lights who does not change like the shifting shadows."

• God, who created the world and the lights of Heaven is GOOD. The grass or dirt that is around your house is made by the Good God.

While my pastor was leading us through this passage, he showed us that if the earth was a tiny tiny bit closer to the sun or a tiny tiny bit farther away from the sun, we would die. Instead, the earth is positioned perfectly for the world to have perfect living conditions. I dont know about you, but that shows me that God cares about mankind. He obviously wants us to live. Otherwise, He would have just put the earth somewhere in the universe. But I am here to tell you that God is so in love with you and wants you to have life abundantly and we know this because He allows us to live.

Verse 18b: And we, out of all creation, became His prized possession.

• Now, how wonderful is that?! Go back to verse 17. God made everything. He is the Good Creator. So....if God has made Heaven and Earth, sun and moon, rain and snow, animals and humans, why then has He chosen us to be His prized possession? We are not the ones who praise Him every second of everyday like nature does. The sun and moon praise Him. The flowers and the trees sing of His great works everyday. Yet, He has not chosen them to be His prized possession. Humans curse Him everyday. Mankind rejects Him. And lets remember who killed His Son. It sure was NOT the stars. It was us. It was the humans. But He has chosen us over everything to pursue relentlessly. Praise the LORD because He chose us.

And while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

A Very Merry Christmas: 2000 Years Ago

In years past, I have never really dug into Christmas the way I have this year. I knew that the LORD was supposed to be the center of Christmas, but it was all very surface level. I did not look into it too much. This year though, I wanted to see what this was all about on a deeper level. I picked up " The Purpose Of Christmas" by Rick Warren and began reading four days before Christmas, causing me to finish on Christmas Eve because of the sections. He talks of celebration, salvation and reconciliation. It really is a wonderful little book and I highly recommend it. Especially if you want to dig deeper into why Jesus came.
Many of you, like me know that Jesus came and made Himself known on December 25, about 2000 years ago. How many of you have asked the question "Why exactly did Jesus come?" Well, He came for a very special reason. For YOU. For ME. For the WHOLE WIDE WORLD. He came to bring us salvation; to save our souls from eternal death. Jesus came to free us from sin, worry, guilt, death, and the world. To be free from them means we do not have to live with them anymore, or they are no longer a part of us. Instead, they can be apart FROM us. All thanks to the LORD!!!
So, now that you know why He came, take a look at how Jesus entered the world. The little LORD Jesus came to earth as a lowly, modest baby. He was born in a stable with animals. As you know, animals stink. They were probably flies hovering over their waste products, and the animals themselves. Normally, there are not opulent mattresses, silk sheets or even soft pillows in a stable. There was hay and flies and the stench of dirty mammals.
Before Jesus was sent, He was on His throne, ruling the world and celebrating with the others in heaven. In fact, He was the very one they were celebrating. He is God and He can do anything, but He limited Himself to a human body. Of course, He was still God, so He could still do anything. He lived on the earth and grew in wisdom and stature. (Luke 2:52) Though Jesus was tempted all His life, He never sinned. Jesus is PERFECT! Imagine being His parents! They were responsible for raising Christ up from childhood-going through puberty and lustful temptations, trying to help Jesus understand just exactly who He was. Pretty weird...
On the very first Christmas, God sent us the ultimate gift-His Son, who would one day die for the world and their sin. Only to be raised from the dead three days later!!! If Jesus, would not have risen, Christmas would not have meaning. PRAISE GOD HE DID!
This unassuming birth has wonderful potency to those who dig into it and discover the true meaning of His birth. I am so glad I have done that this year. It is very rewarding. Seek and Find. The true meaning is not so much GIVING as RECIEVING. God has given you gifts of love, joy, peace, salvation, celebration and so many others! My prayer is that with every Christmas present you open this year and next, you will thank the LORD for these gifts He has given to you. People give because they love you and they love to see the joy on your face when you unwrap your surprise. Well, Jesus is the same. So many of us do not take the gifts God gives freely to us. Take them. There is still time. You do not have to wait for Christmas.

Fun Facts:
1. We give gifts on Christmas because of God's gift to us 2000 years ago. Jesus! Our Saving Grace.
2. "Jingle Bells" was written for Thanksgiving and then became popular for Christmas.
3. If you recieved all the gifts from "12 Days of Christmas", you would have 364 gifts!

Alcohol, Drugs, Band-aids and Trust.

Ok, so guess what?! I finished reading my Bible. I went all the way through and it took me about two years. I finished on December 13, a Saturday. I didnt really know what to do after that, but my mom suggested writing. I love to write so I thought of some things that I learned reading through my bible and what would be beneficial to you as a reader.

There are so many of you who are Christians, yet have forgotten your committment to the LORD. You see, becoming a Christian is more than putting on a sign that labels you a religious person. To be a Christian means to follow Christ. To follow Christ means to go where He goes, to do what He does and go behind Him and let Him lead you to your destination. Not only getting directions, but going with Him until you reach the end.

I dont know why you are straying from Christ exactly. Maybe the pressure in high school is too much, or home life is unbearable, or you and your friends or boyfriend/girlfriend are going through a rough patch. Whatever it is, going out to forget about them by shoving them down, and going out to drink, smoke or even cuss shows that you do not trust God to fix your problems. So, you put down the Bible and begin to pick up the worldly magazines ( you know the ones: scandals, affairs, gossip-round-the-clock, and the ones telling you how to be loved by someone by using looks, scents or actions). All those do is cover up whatever you're going through that is painful. They are just band-aids. They don't fix the pain. They only hide it.

I have got a secret...................
Life Hurts.................................God Heals.
God is not like alcohol. God is not like drugs. God is not like a band-aid.
Instead,
God cares. God nurtures. God heals.

• Alcohol makes you feel better temporarily until you wake up in the morning, sick as a dog, and your head explodes with every throb. Alcohol gets you by for a night.
• Drugs give you a good feeling about life as though you were carefree. Later, you gain stained teeth, nails and possibly lung cancer. You age and look older than you really are and sound raspy as though you have been screaming for two years straight.
• Band-aids keep out dirt and cover up you imperfections. Until you hop in the shower and it loses its stickiness. They have absolutely no healing power. It only covers.

I'm here to tell you that God is different. He is not alcohol, drugs or band-aids. He is not a cover up for your pain. God is the only one who loves and cares about you enough to heal you. Alcohol is a temporary escape, like drugs. Band-aids are temporary cover ups. They dont love you the way God does. In fact, they do not love you at all. They have no feelings. They are to do their job and nothing more. Neither of these can talk to you and comfort you after a hard day. They are false. But the LORD is the ONLY TRUE ONE. There is no one/thing like Him. Hallelujah!! God cares for you. He cares about your pain and wants to fix it, but you have to open up and give your problems to Jesus. (Plus, He wants them out of your hands and into His.) Why though, would God want our problems? He's got bigger things to handle, right? NO WAY. He loves us and knows we have pain and wants to take it from us. He desires for us to be free. So, give Him your troubles and He will throw them to the bottom of the sea.

Temptation: Its a common thing.

Hello Fellow Pursuers!

I would like to state my opinions on things that might step on toes. And I mean all this in the most loving, Christian way possible. But, I have to get it out.

MTV, VH1, BET. What do they all have in common? They all try to put into our heads nasty images and that the earth has to be dramatic at all times to keep spinning. Now, really?! Is that what we need to be putting our time into? I have watched it. I dont know who probably hasnt tried it before. Its temptation and it seems to get the best of us. God says to run from temptation in 2 Timothy 2:22: "Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace." Go after the things of God. Want them. And ya know what? God knows that temptation will come. After all, satan tempted Jesus in the desert in Matthew 4, Mark 1:9-15, and Luke 4. But God gives us a way out. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that the temptations in my life are no different than yours. God is faithful and He will always provide a way out if you do not want to fall into that temptation. He will not let us be tempted more than we can bear. Isnt that awesome!?! Now, I can think of some times when I have actually wanted to be tempted. Cause it is fun sometimes do just give in and do what you want and I have totally experienced that more than once. But just so you know,....God gives you a way out when you want it. And I hope you will take advantage of it. All those tv programs are about temptation. The people behind them want to attract people like us. Teens. And it works. But why do we watch them? Because they are interesting. I hope that when you are tempted this week that you will remember how Jesus was tempted and praise Him because He has never given in. HE IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. I also hope that you remember the verses in this post and know that God is with you. All the time. He loves you so much. Have a good week!

Testimony

Basically, the very day I was born, I was put into a crib at my church. Haha! I have only missed church being sick, or on vacation with my family. I have had a very sheltered and great life with my parents, brother and dog. I sort of knew the great commission Matthew 28: 19-20 and knew John 3:16 by heart. Even my preschool and kindergarten classes were at my church. After that, I went there for daycare after school in my elementary years.
I was only a non christian for 5 years of my life, so i wasn't in horrible trouble. I was sinful, but only as sinful as a 5 year old could be, being exposed to so many Christian examples and me teachers. i did however, know i needed God because He spoke to me through my parents and teachers and my pastor. I wanted to know Jesus and I wanted to be with Him in His glorious heaven forever.
How do we get into heaven? Well, not by our deeds. God tells us that we only enter heaven if we are saved and by His Son, Jesus. If we turn and run from our sin trust God to provide for us, and take away all of our sins, God saves us. Surrender your whole self to God and He will save you. I don't remember most of my salvation experience, but I know God saved me. Trusting God is so vital. So essential. God loves it when we trust Him because it gives Him the opportunity to prove Himself faithful. Also, repentance is important because just apologizing for sinning doesn't count if you don't TURN from it. Its ugly. Its evil. Get away.
Like I said, I have sinned, I have done wrong, and I have acted wickedly. 2 Chronicles 6:37
But I am human and I will sin. It is inherited nature. Fortunately, God's mercy is great. God's mercy has played a huge role in my life. There was a period when I was not humble and then, I was convicted. After that, the devil got his hold on me and made me think I was a horrible person and I had taken conviction too far. I had started mentally beating myself up for being conceited. Well, at Falls Creek, we listened to a song about God's mercy and how we don't have to beat ourselves up, but instead get up because God has forgiven us. I have learned to let God forgive me and not let Satan take my convictions too far. He is still helping me today and I am continuously learning how to be humble and forgive myself.