Wise Decisions

Hello all, it has been quite a while since I've updated my blog, I've just been busy and haven't really had any ideas for a blog entry, but lately God has been speaking to me about this certain blog entry, for quite a while now, I just needed to find a bible verse to go with the title of this blog, so last night I finally did. It is from the book of proverbs 6:1-5. This is what these verses are saying, "My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou art snared with thy words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. Give not sleep to thin eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler."
In other words, these verses are not a plea against generosity, but is against overextending one's financial resources and acting very irresponsibly, in ways that could easily lead to poverty. It is important to maintain a balance between generosity and good stewardship. God wants us to help our friends and the needy, but he does not promise to cover the costs of every single unwise commitments we all make. It is equally important to act responsibly so that our families do not have to suffer for it.
The main reason why I chose this bible verse was because of God of course, but also because I know a few people who haven't exactly made wise decisions on how to live their lives the way that God wants them too. There's this one person in particular who, I love and care about very much, who chooses to keep going back to her bad past decisions. Every time I see or hear what she's going through, it's absolutely killing me, and I wish that there was more I could say or do to help her make better choices. I've brought her to church and I post bible verses online every night for her to read, with hopes that she'll start changing her way of life, because the Lord and I both know that she deserves so much better than all this. She is truly a genuine,fun, loving person to be around, she's also beautiful, and she needs to see and know that about herself. Anyway, there's also another person who I know that hasn't exactly made wise choices about his way of life either. To see what he's going through, it breaks my heart, because I know that he deserves so much more than this way of life. He is such a good person, great personality, easy to talk to, loving, and affectionate. He deserves to be with a girl who has those same qualities as he does, but the truth is, a girl like that is very rare to find these days, because there are too many girls out there living their lives, hopelessly, and it really sucks and is so very sad. Because of these certain people, this world is very difficult to live in. They as well as the people that I mentioned above, really need to know how to slow down and to stop and think about what they're doing with themselves. They are basically destroying their lives, and that is not a good thing at all whatsoever, so they need to change immediately as well.
The sooner that these people change, the better off they'll all be with their lives. It is so sad to see these people walking around in complete darkness, not knowing what God has to offer them. God has so much to offer all of us, there are just a certain few people who are stubborn as all heck and they won't let God into their lives. Why do you think that I'm so persistent in posting all of these facebook statuses with bible verses every single night, before I go to bed? The reason is because I am trying so hard to reach out to others about what God has to offer them, so that I can pull them in closer to the Lord, the sooner they come to the Lord, the better all of their lives will be. Know what I mean? I sure hope so. I know that I'm a Christian, and that I shouldn't get so mad so easily but I think that I have every right to be when I see what someone I love and care about so much is going through. It is literally a living hell, and none of them deserve to go through this living hell, I speak of. I know what it's like because as I've said a million times before, I have been there and it sucks, I wish that I had come to God sooner rather than later. When I think about it, my life could have been so much better back then, if I had just come to Him sooner, but thank God that I'm came to God, when I did, because my life is so much better now than it ever was before all of that crap that I went through back then! I deserved so much better, and so do you all! You just need to admit to God that you need help, and he will make your life so much better than it is right now. This is Christmas, Jesus is the reason for this season, wonderful things happen when all women and men trust God. Just surrender all of your problems to God, and trust him, he will take care of you fully. Open up your hearts, minds, bodies, and souls to Him, Nothing is impossible with God on your side.
Well, what are you waiting for? Just do it, let God come into your life, and see the many blessings and miracles that he has to show you. Stop being so stubborn, and just do it. Can I get an Amen?!? Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with way more than I deserve, and please forgive me if I don't love it enough, am I right? I think so. May God Bless you all and Have a good night, Amen! Praise the Lord!

Suffering and Separation

Hi all, I know that it's been quite a while since I've updated this blog, I've just been busy and going through some life changes, all are good changes of course. Anyway, I was just reading Matthew 26:39, and this verse really spoke to me and made me think of my life and how good it really is. The verse says this: "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." In other words, this bible verse means that Jesus was not rebelling against his father's will when he asked that the cup of suffering and separation be taken away. In fact, he reaffirmed his desire to do God's will by saying, "Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." His prayer reveals to us his terrible suffering. His agony was way worse than death as he paid for all sin by being completely separated from God. The sinless son of God took our sins upon himself to save us from suffering and separation. Now, I completely agree with the above statement, because I know how true it is, and how much it hurts, because I've been there and done that, and wasn't fun at all whatsoever. That's when I learned how to be thankful and content for what I have, even though it might not be much, but like I always say, every little bit counts, right? Right.
In times of suffering people sometimes wish that they knew what the future will hold, or they wish that they could just understand what the actual reason is for anguish and suffering. I've felt like that many many times before, sometimes I still wonder what the reason is and what my future will hold. Anyway, back to the explanation of the above bible verse, Jesus knew what lied ahead of him, and he knew the exact reason why he went through what he went through. Even so, his struggle was very intense-more wrenching than any struggle we will ever have to face. What does it take to be able to say "thy will be done?" It takes full trust in God's plans, prayer, and obedience in every step you take to be shown the right way. Know what I mean? God has a plan for each one of us, just put your full trust in him and literally, "Thy will be done!" Ask and you shall receive, just as long as you ask God for what it really is that you want or need. This bible verse reminds me of a very good friend of mine who was just recently in a pretty bad accident, and who is now very limited to what he can do. I know that it's awful for me to say, but I honestly think that this is a blessing in disguise, because it's God's way of saying to him, "slow down, wake up, come to me, and I will change your life radically." I wasn't exactly in any bad accident, but the way I used to be was my wake up call to slow down and to come to him, and letting him take over my life. As soon as I gave full control to God, my life really did and will continue to change radically. I'm the happiest that I've ever been in pretty much my entire life. God is good all the time, all the time God is good, so Amen to that! Now, this leads me to my next bible verse, which is Ephesians 5:20: "giving thanks always for all things unto God and the father in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ."
In other words, it means that when you feel down, you may find it really difficult to give thanks to him. Take heart-God works all things out for good if we love him and are fitting into his plans, not our plans, his plans. Thank God, not for your problems but for the strength that he is building in you through the difficult experiences of your life. You can be sure that God's perfect love will see you through everything no matter what happens. I 100% agree with that statement, I wrote about above. It's basically telling all of us that no matter how difficult things get, God will always be there for you, carrying you through all the good times and bad ones too. You need to learn how to be thankful and praise God that your still alive and that nothing else more serious has happened to you. That's what I did, and my life is so much better now that I've accepted Jesus, as my light and savior. He's not a crutch to lean on so to speak, he is the perfect example of how we all should be living our lives. We need to learn how to be more like Jesus, and the only way to learn that is for you to go to church, read the bible, pray, listen, and start living your life the way that God wants you to live your life, and not living your life the way that you want to live your life. You have to have a life similar to Jesus' life, before he ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God, the father almighty. Yes, we're not perfect, but God doesn't expect any of us to be perfect, he just wants us to live our lives according to his plans, not ours. It's always on his time, not on our time. In a sense, we are perfect, because God made us in his image. God does work all things out for good, it just takes a lot of time, before he unveils the answers to us about our anguish, pain, suffering, and separation. All you need to do is hang in there, stay strong, stand firm, and let nothing or no one move you. Be like Jesus, act like Jesus, the sooner that you do, the better you'll feel and your life will be. You need to keep praying and listening, and do what God wants you to do. Amen?!?! Yes, Amen indeed! Thank you, Lord, I love you, Amen!

Lack of Faith

"Believe, ask God for a "mighty work" in your life, and expect him to act. Look with the eyes of faith." ~Matthew 13: 58. This bible verse occurred to me while I was reading my devotionals the other night and I decided to write my thoughts and reflections on it, so in here, I'd like to share with you all my thoughts and reflections on it. Here goes: "Lord, my thoughts and reflections on the above bible verse, is the fact that, I'm trying to believe, but it can be incredibly difficult sometimes, and sometimes I wish that I felt differently about certain things. Lord, I'm not perfect and never will be. All I can really do is to be a better and more improved version of myself, even though it's a major challenge a lot of the time. I'd really like to change that, but how can I change that,Lord? Honestly, Lord, I really have no idea on how to go about doing that, I really don't. I need your help, Lord, please help, thank you, Lord, I love you, amen!"
Jesus did few miracles in his hometown "because of their unbelief." Lack of faith blinds people to the truth and robs them of hope. These people missed the Messiah. How does your faith measure up? If you can't see God's work, perhaps it is because of your unbelief. Now, I couldn't agree more with that written statement because there was many times before where I was blinded by my disbelief and couldn't see or do what God wanted me to do back then, but then I came to God a few years later and my blinders were taken off and I could see almost everything, but still to this day, I feel like i'm still blinded by certain things. So, what I do is keep reading all of my devotionals and keep praying to God, so that I will no longer be blinded. I want to be able to see everything that God has planned for me, but sadly, I cannot. But then again, if God showed me everything that he has planned for me, then there would be absolutely no point in reading devotionals and talking to God about the devotionals and things in general.
Without God, none of this would be possible, and also without God, none of us would be here today talking about him and fighting for him with other Christians, and to reach out to those who aren't Christians yet, but can be as soon as possible. They all just need to stop being so stubborn and they need to let God come completely into all of their lives and give him all the control. The sooner that they give up all of their control, the better off they will all be,and they will no longer be blinded by all of their stupid disbelief about God. They need a serious reality check and they need to look and depend on God for every little thing that goes on in all of their lives, no matter how good or bad it might be. No matter how bad or difficult things might get, they need to rely on God and look at him with faithful eyes. It is just so sad to me, to see other people walking around here acting like they have no hope,and that they act as if there is no God. There are so many times where I have been so tempted to get out of the car and smack them upside the head to help make them realize that there's more to life than just walking around and feeling hopeless,and lonely. I've been there before and trust me, it wasn't fun. It was horrible!
There were so many days that I've woken up and said to myself, "man, this day is going to suck, God help me!" Know what I mean? Sometimes I still have days like that,and wish that I could stay in bed all day and sleep, but God wouldn't let me sleep, he wanted me to get up and out to preach the good news about God to all of the others who are feeling sad and hopeless, just like I once was. But God has changed my life for the better and I can only hope and pray that others lives will be touched and changed by God, like mine has been. Thank you,Lord, I love you, Amen! Goodnight and God bless all!

~Emily

Temptations

I'm going to start off this blog with a bible verse and then after the bible verse is posted, I'm going to share with you all, my thoughts and reflections on that bible verse. Here's the bible verse: " Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to our sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." ~1 Peter 3: 24-25.
Now my thoughts and reflections on the above bible verse are probably the exact opposite of what the thoughts and reflections really are. Lately I've been looking back to my terribly bad past and then looking ahead to my much better present life and I've been comparing the two and I've come to the conclusion that I haven't really changed much at all and that's because some days I wake up feeling hopeless and depressed because of the stupid things that I still do now at this very present moment just like I did back then. For example, I still can't say no to certain temptations that I'm still facing today with a certain person, and it's the absolute worst feeling in the entire world. Today, resisting all of those temptations is harder than ever. In my mind, I keep thinking that God is still very displeased with me and that I'm not going to heaven to spend my eternal life with God and that since I keep messing up, I will never be able to go to heaven like I want and am hoping to go when I die. God, please forgive me for I have sinned against you in my own thoughts, words, deeds, & heart's desires. Lord, I really don't want to go to hell, please Lord don't make me go to hell,I don't belong there Lord, I belong in heaven with you Lord. Lord, what else can I do for you to make sure that I'm going to heaven,where I belong?
Lord, life down here on earth is so difficult , & I don't want to be here any longer. Lord, I just want to be with you & not with Satan, because he'll make my life an even more living hell than it already is right now at this very moment. As a matter of fact, Lord, I want Satan to be away from me and out of my life forever. Lord,Satan is really bad news for all of us, please Lord, Make Satan disappear from all of our lives completely and permanently. Lord, please please help us all to be better followers,better obeyers, and better listeners for you oh Lord. Help us to always come back to you Lord, after we've messed everything up time and time again. Lord, these things need to stop ASAP! Starting right here and right now. Please help us to keep on going and moving forward with our lives no matter what, in a happy, healthy, positive way. Please help us to stand firm & to let absolutely nothing move us, so that we have more time to spend with good friends and family more often than not. Please let our yes be yes and no be no. Please Lord, help us to not fall anymore for anyone or anything. Help us to just fall for you, Lord. Lord, please help us to stay strong and to be confident in knowing that you have a plan for us, but before you reveal the plan to us, we need to let you be in complete and total control of our lives, so that none of us need to worry about anything anymore. Lord, we are the broken and you are the healer, you are the potter, we are the clay. Please mold us and make us into who and what you want us to be. Thank you for everything Lord, we love you, Amen."

~Emily

How Many of us Really Love Jesus?

This blog was inspired by reading one of my daily devotionals last night before bed. The title of it was this: Lovest Thou Me? When I began reading that, it really made me start to think long and hard about the decisions I've made in the past and present, then the question of "How many of us really love Jesus popped into my head. A lot of people say that they love Jesus, but in reality they don't really. If they really loved Him then they wouldn't have gone about their daily lives sinning left and right. I know I should practice what I preach because I'm not perfect, nobody is. All I really want to do is be happy and content with what I have rather than what I don't have. Know what I mean? Without God, I would have never been able to be who I am today rather than the way I was back then. So,thank God for that! Anyway, while I was reading Romans 5: 2-11, I began thinking more about my love that I have for Jesus and I'm questioning myself, Do I really love Him? If I really love Him then I wouldn't have made all of these terrible decisions in the past and present. I'll admit that it's incredibly hard to be a full on follower of Jesus, but like I always say, in the end it is always worth it. We all fall sometimes, but if it wasn't for God and Jesus, then we wouldn't be able to pick ourselves back up and go about our daily lives as strong believers of Christ. When we fall, God picks us back up and holds us in His arms and tells us that it will all be okay and not to worry, because he's taking care of everything, it just takes His perfect timing. So, please be patient and wait upon the Lord.
In verses 2-5 it says this " By whom also we have access by faith into His grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the Glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy ghost which is given unto us." In other words, faith, hope,and love are at the heart of your christian life. Our relationship with God begins with faith, which can help us realize that we are delivered from our past by Christ's death. Hope grows as we learn all that God has in mind for us; it gives us the promise of the future. And God's love fills our lives and gives us the ability to reach out to others and pull them in closer toward the Lord, because whether they know it or not, they desperately need the Lord. This whole entire world needs the Lord, this world is like a living hell. None of us want to be here any longer, this world is just a big, sad mess and it needs major help from the Lord. None of us even belong down here on this world, we belong in God's world which is probably full of love and happiness and ya know what? I can't wait until I get to go there sometime soon. God is not finished with me yet down here on earth, He put me here to try and help out others by pulling them in closer to the Lord and I've been trying, and let me tell ya, it isn't an easy task at all. It's a major pain in the butt, but I do it anyway because that is what the Lord wants me to do with my time down here on earth.
In verses 3-4 it says that for first century christians, suffering was the rule rather than the exception. Paul tells us that in the future we will become, but until then we must overcome. To overcome means that all of these experiences that we're going through may be difficult but it's the difficulties that help us grow. "Glory in tribulations" means to rejoice in suffering. We rejoice in suffering, not because we like pain or deny it's tragedy, but because we know God is using your life's difficulties and Satan's attacks to build your character. The problems that we face will develop into our patience- which in turn will strengthen our character, deepen our trust in God, and give us greater confidence about the future. You probably find your patience being tested in some way every single day of your lives. You should be thanking God for those opportunities to grow, and deal with in his strength. None of us know what the future holds, but when we get to the future it will be the best thing that has ever happened to us' and I am very excited to see what the future holds not only for myself, but for my family,friends,job situations,our church, etc. It's actually really cool to think about. So for your own good please stop dwelling about your past and help God and yourself with your future. The future is yours, so lets make it happen! I am ready, are you?
In verses 5-6, it's saying this: " and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for us the ungodly." In other words it's saying that All three members of the Trinity are involved in salvation. The Father loved us so much that he sent His son to bridge the Gap between us. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to fill our lives with love and to enable us to live by His power. With all this loving care, how can we do less than serve Him completely! We were helpless because we could do nothing on our own to save our lives. So,someone had to come and put a complete stop to it. Christ came at exactly the right time in history-according to God's own schedule. God controls all of history, and he controlled the timing, method,and events that surrounded Jesus' death. God's timing is always perfect, so we need to be patient, even though a lot of the time none of us have patience to deal with anything. I've had my fair share of dealing with rude people,and quite frankly, I'm sick of dealing with rude people, they just completely ruin my day. There are some days when I just want to scream and set certain people straight, but I don't because I know that God is taking care of them and their own lives. So, God is telling me to stop looking at other people's lives and start looking at my own, and do something about it. I go out on a limb to help people out, but I barely receive anything in return, so I wonder why I even bother with things like that. It's clearly pointless and I shouldn't ever expect anything in return,even though I do a lot of the time, but I shouldn't. I just need to stop with it and start focusing on my God,my family, and myself. It's just not worth it for me to keep dealing with other people's crap. Enough is enough! Time to move on! I am done!
In verses 8-11 it's saying this: " But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." In different words it's telling us that God sent Jesus Christ to die for us, not because we were good enough, but because He loved us so incredibly much. Whenever you feel uncertain about God's love for you, remember that He loved you way before you even turned to Him. The love that caused Christ to die is the same love that sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us every single day. The power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that saved you and is available to you in your daily life. Be assured that, having begun a life with Christ, you have a reserve of power and love to call on each day for help to meet every challenge or trial that you might have to face. You can pray for God's strength and love as you need it. God is holy, and He will not be associated with sin. All people are sinful, and all sin deserves punishment. But instead of punishing us with the death that we deserve, however, Christ took our sins upon himself and paid the price for them with His own death. Now we can "joy in God." Through faith in His work, we become His friends rather than being His enemies and outcasts.
A lot of the time I question God's love for me, even though I really shouldn't. But every time I'm questioning God's love, I always end up praying and talking to Him about my feelings for all the crap that I've done and how He always makes me feel better and comforted by just being in His presence and becoming good friends with Him. He's my heavenly father and he's like my best friend. I just wish that more people would come to Christ and be good friends with Him just like I am and several others are. The sooner the people do that, the better off they'll all be. It's definitely worth it, so just take that first step and do it! The first step is always the hardest, but the sooner that you take that first step, the much happier this world will be. Don't be afraid, just do it, he's ready and waiting. I want you all to know that no matter how big your problems are, God can handle it. He's working in you all as we speak. Stop living in the darkness and come into the beautiful light of the Lord, you'll be glad that you did. To conclude this blog entry, I just want to say a quick prayer to God, will you all please join me? "Dear God, thank you for all that you've done and will continue to do, please bring peace,serenity,joy,love, and happiness into the people's lives that need it most, help them to rejoice in you and turn away from their old ways,and let them be content with what they have and not wanting more. They should want more of you, God, not more of anything else. Please help them to rid them of their selves and help them to do good and be good,please be with those who don't know you yet and pull them in closer to you, so that they can have this amazing relationship with you, like I do and my church does. Thank you,Lord, I love you, Amen." Well goodnight and May God bless you all.

Doing Good

While I was reading 1 Peter 4: 3-6, it inspired me to write this blog entry. So, here goes. Verse 3 is saying that for the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we chose to walk in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. In verse 4 it's basically saying that people whose lives change radically at conversion might experience contempt from their old friends. They might be scorned not only because they refuse to participate in certain activities but also because their priorities have changed and they are now headed into the exact opposite direction. Their lives incriminate their friends' sinful activities. Mature christians should be trying to help new believers resist such pressures of opposition by helping them to be faithful to Christ, surrounding them as new friends, and encouraging them to develop all new habits and kick all old habits and help them to find activities that are not only enjoyable but positive for their new found spiritual growth. Now, I completely agree with what I just wrote previously because I'm not the type to go out and party and such. I've always been a homebody and I prefer it that way. I have found so many new things to do, that I'm incredibly excited about and it's helping me to stay in God's word. For example, I'm using my talent for writing to try and reach out to the unsaved. Those of you who are not saved, there's still time. It is not too late. Come on, what are you waiting for? Stop holding yourself back and stop letting other people and things hold you back as well. We have to learn how to be bold in Christ. The sooner that we learn that, the better off that you'll all be, trust me. As soon as you do so, you'll be saying to yourself, "why the heck did I wait so long?" "This is awesome!" "God is awesome!" The way I see it, there's just one God and one God only. Why do you like to go out and party and drink? It's not my idea of fun. You'll go home that night, pass out in bed, and then wake up in the morning and not remember anything that happened last night. Now, I don't know about you all, but I'd much rather wake up the next morning remembering everything that had happened the night before. That's how really good memories are made and you will treasure them forever, just like you should treasure God forever. I know from my own personal experience. I'd rather be who I really am than be something I'm totally not. It's all about being true to yourself and true to God also. Stop lying to yourself, and have some respect. Jesus loves you and he wants you to have a really close relationship with him. So, stop waiting, and just go for it! Anyway, sorry to get off subject here, lets go back to the bible verse. Ok so, Verse 5 says this: "Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. Verse 6 says this: " For this cause was the gospel preached also to those that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. In other words, verse 5 is trying to say this: The basis of salvation is whether we have believed in Jesus, but the basis for judgement is how we have lived our lives according to Jesus and his teachings. All people will be judged: believers for the rewards they will receive; unbelievers for punishment. Those who inflict persecution are marked for punishment when they stand before God, so we must be completely ready. This might give you a new perspective on your activities and actions today. Are you prepared to explain them to God? I think I am. In other words verse 6 is saying that, many people who were in the early church had several concerns about life after death. In Thessalonica, Christians worried that loved ones who died before Christ's return might never be able to see Christ. Peter's readers needed to be reminded that the dead ( both the faithful and their opressors) would be judged. The judgement will be perfectly fair, he points out, because even the dead have heard the Gospel. The Good News was first announced when Jesus Christ preached on the earth, but it has been operating since before the creation of the world, and it affects all mankind, the dead as well as the living. I guess the point that I'm trying to make here is that no matter how badly your suffering, you must remain fully committed to God with all of your heart. He will never let you down, He's always there when you need Him, but first, you must call on Him, and He will fully take care of the rest. I already did, and I've never felt better, God is amazing and so are you, and let nobody tell you differently. You are who you are, and if people don't like it, then screw them, they're not worth your time and they're not worth crying over. When something doesn't exactly work out the way you were hoping it would be, don't whine about it, be happy about it because it's really a blessing in disguise, and because God has other plans for you, no matter how big or small they might be. We all must praise the Lord no matter what we're going through. To conclude this blog entry, I just want to tell you all that no matter what your going through and how hard it is, keep your chin up, keep smiling,stay strong,stand firm, and be persistent with God. Don't worry, be happy, you will get through this. May God Bless you all and goodnight.

My Sermon

What’s The Next Step?

John 6; 28-40

Good morning everyone,

I was just reading John 6; 28-40 and it really made me think about what our next step is as a congregation. Verses 28 and 29 are talking about how many sincere seekers there are for God, and that are puzzled about what he wants all of them to do, and sadly all the other religions of this world are certain people’s attempts to answer this question: “What is the next step?” “Where do we go from here?” Jesus’ reply is very brief and simple: We must believe in the person that God has sent to us whether it is a boy or girl because Jesus was the one whom God sent to us to know his truth and what he’s talking about. We are trying to pull people in closer to Jesus, not scare them away. We want as many people saved as possible, because hell is very hot and I’m pretty sure that nobody wants to go there. It’s awful. I know that I wouldn’t want to go there; I’d rather be with Jesus and not Satan. I prefer to live my life the way that God wants me to live it, no matter how difficult any of the tasks are. I will do what his will is for me. I am not scared, because I know that Jesus is always with me whether it is day or night. He’s the one who raises me up, when I am down. He is my shoulder to cry on. Because of the Lord, I am strong and can do anything with God on my side. He’s the one that’s fighting the war for us. In addition to this, satisfying God does not come from the work that we do, but from whom we believe in. The first step involves accepting that Jesus is exactly who he says he is. All of our spiritual development is built on this very affirmation. We all must declare in a prayer to Jesus, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God,” and embark on a life of belief that is satisfying to your Creator!

Verse 35 is saying that the people eat the bread to satisfy their physical hunger and to sustain their physical life. We can satisfy our spiritual hunger and sustain spiritual life only by the right relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. It’s no wonder he calls himself the bread of life. But the bread must be eaten to give life, and Christ must be invited into our daily walk in order to give us our spiritual life. I don’t know about you all, but I am very glad that I’ve let Jesus into my life. To me it seems easier when we have the Lord in our lives. He’s the one who makes our lives breathable every single day, no matter how difficult the day turns out to be. I’ve had my fair share of very trying days, as I’m sure you all have experienced those days as well. Nobody ever said that following Jesus would be easy. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, trust me, I know from experience. When we make mistakes we just need to make sure that we learn from them and try not to do it again. As a matter of fact, we should stay far away from that, it just leads us to much more trouble than we need to be in. God wants us to stay on the path to righteousness, so that we don’t suffer for all eternity. Verses 37 and 38 are saying that Jesus did not work independently of God; instead he works in union with God. This gives us even more reason to be assured that we are more than welcome to be invited into his holy presence and to be protected by him and only him always, for the rest of our lives. Jesus’ purpose was to do the will of God, and not to satisfy our own human desires. When we follow Jesus and only Jesus, we should have the same exact purpose for being down here on earth. Jesus was the one who put us all here in the first place and that reason is to fulfill his purposes only. We do not belong to this place; we belong to Jesus and only Jesus. We are heirs to his kingdom in heaven, but first we need to have our lives centered on Jesus and only Jesus. We need to resist all of our temptations as humans and do what is pleasing to Jesus, even though it may be difficult at times, but when it’s done with, it will be more than worth it, believe me, I’ve gone through a lot to get where I am today in my walk with Jesus. Jesus has completely changed my life forever. It is amazing to me how Jesus can change someone or something so much in a matter of days, hours, months, and even years. Our God is an Awesome God! He’s always working behind the scenes in each of our lives, even though some of us don’t see it yet, but you will, it just takes time, everything takes time. It is not on our time, but on Jesus’ time for things to begin to unravel for the future. You just need to have faith and to have full trust in God; after you do that, God will take care of the rest. Remember: “He is for us and not against us.” “With God on our side, nothing is impossible.” “If God is for us, then who can be against us?”

Verse 39 is telling us that Jesus said he would not lose even one person that the father has given to him. We are his sheep and he is our shepherd. We must always stay near him and never drift away from him. For anyone who makes a sincere commitment to believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior will be secure in all of God’s promises for our eternal lives that will hopefully be spent with him in heaven where we’re all supposed to belong, but sadly some of us don’t belong there, we belong elsewhere and it isn’t pleasant, trust me. I feel like throughout my life I’ve been there, and sometimes I still feel like I’m there. However, these are only minor stepping stones to get where you’d actually rather be. Our life down here is only temporary, and although a lot of the time we feel as if it’s permanent, it’s not, believes me. Also a lot of the time I feel like the world is against me, even though it’s not. It feels as if the weight of the whole world is on your shoulders, but it’s not. The truth is, the entire weight of the world is on God’s shoulders, not ours. That is why we have to keep putting the weight back on his shoulders, because we tend to want to take the weight of the world on ourselves and we can’t handle it. But please don’t fret because God is already working on making this world a better place to be in. He’s working on it as we speak. So stop worrying, and know that God has already taken care of it. Anyway, Christ will not let his people be overcome by Satan and let them lose all of their salvation. Verse 40 says that those who put all of their faith in Jesus will be resurrected from physical death to your eternal life with God when Christ comes again and it will be soon. So, we all have to be ready and prepared for his arrival. He will come like a thief in the night, so be aware of all your surroundings. He can come at any moment of any day. Now is the time for us to put all of our differences aside and work together as a church family pulling more and more people in closer to God. They need to know that Jesus loves them and doesn’t want them to suffer any more than they already are. It is not too late to come to know God. “Come to me all you who are weary.” He’s ready and waiting, so come on don’t let anything or anyone stop you. You can do it. “I can do all things through he who strengthens me.” “We all must walk by faith, and not by sight.” In conclusion, I believe, with my whole heart, that everyone can believe in God and Jesus, if they choose to let Him into their hearts, minds, bodies, and souls. I see the proof of our work in every new person that joins our congregation with an open mind and an open heart. Jesus can and will perform miracles every day, and I believe that if we believe in him wholeheartedly, that our congregation will grow by leaps and bounds, and with that our vision to spread the word of Jesus far and wide will be realized. May God bless you all, and Have a good day. Amen!

Heart Break and Worry

I was just reading Deuteronomy 10: 16-19 and I think it made a whole lot of sense to me about how we should obey God and do what he wants us to do with our lives. In verse 16 it says to circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. In other words this means that God had required all male Israelites to be circumcised, but he wants them to go far beyond performing the surgery to actually understand its entire meaning. They needed to submit to God inside, in their hearts, as well as outside, in their bodies. Then they could really begin to imitate God's love and justice in all of their relationships with other people. If our hearts, are right with God, then our relationships with other people can be made right, too. When your heart has been cleansed and you have been reconciled to God, you will begin to see a difference in the way you treat others. I fully agree with what I just wrote. It's impossible to have a good relationship with others if both your hearts are not reconciled to God. If your not right with God, then nothing else will be right with God. It will be a long and difficult path without being reconciled to God. That long and difficult path will lead you to absolutely nowhere other than hell. So, my point is that without God, nothing will be right with yourself or anyone else around you. You need to learn how to treat others the way that God wants you to treat them. With God,I find my true happiness, because without him,I'd be totally and completely lost. He is my strength to get through each day without crying, without pain, without any heartbreak, and with resisting all of my temptations. Verse 17 says this: " For the Lord your God is God of Gods, and Lord of Lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. In other words this means that in saying that the Lord is God of gods and Lord of lords, Moses was distinguishing the true God from all the local gods worshiped throughout the land. Then Moses went a step further, calling God "terrible." God is "terrible" in that he has such awesome power and justice that people cannot stand before him without his mercy. Fortunately, his mercy toward his people is unlimited. When we begin to grasp the extent of God's mercy toward us, we see what true love really is and how deeply God loves us. Although our sins deserve severe judgement, God has chosen to show love and mercy to all who seek him. I agree with that verse as well, because when I finally seeked God, everything in my life has been going pretty well for me, except for one thing, I haven't found my true love yet. I'm still waiting. So, God if he's out there, send him my way, because I am ready and waiting. Thank you Lord, I love you, Amen. In verse 19 it says this: " Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." In other words, it means that just as the Israelites' ancestors were at one time strangers in a strange land, so they were to be friends to foreigners who were seeking a new life with them. Likewise, we are commanded to love foreigners. By showing genuine love, we may bring those who are not yet Christians to Christ. We must remember that all of us were brought to Christ through someone else's loving concern. Now that statement is very true especially in my life. I was brought to Christ by another person's reconciled life to Christ. Without him, none of this would have been possible for me to do. So,thank God for him. This certain person still holds a very special place in my heart, and I hope that he knows that and if not then, please God, tell him that. Thank you Lord, I love you, amen. I was also reading Philippians 4: 7-9 and that verse also makes a whole lot of sense to me. In verse 7 it says, "and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." In other words it means this : "God's peace is different from the world's peace. It is not found in positive thinking, in absence of conflict, or in good feelings. Real peace comes from knowing that because God is in control, our citizenship in Christ's Kingdom is sure, our destiny is set, and our victory over sin is certain. Do you want to worry less? I sure do. So, all you have to do is pray a lot more! and worry a lot less! Whenever you begin to worry, just stop and pray. God will take care of the rest, trust me, he will. "Time heals all wounds." Verse 8 says, " Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. In different words, verse 8 means this: " What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions. Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report,virtuous, and praiseworthy. Do you have problems with impure thoughts and daydreams? Examine what you are putting into your mind through television, the internet, books, movies, and magazines. Replace the harmful input with wholesome material. Above all, read God's word and pray. Ask him to help you focus your mind on what is good and pure. It takes practice, but it can be done. I strongly agree with that as well. Lately, my mind has been on other not so good things and I feel like I just destroyed everything I've ever worked for in these past 2 years. It's just that I was doing so well,and I fell. Now, it's time to pick myself back up and put all of my focus back on the Lord. Verse 9 says this, " Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." So, in conclusion to this, I just want to say that putting your focus back on God will not be easy, but with a lot of hard work, it will more than pay off in the end. I know this because I've fallen may times before, but God always somehow picks me back up and sets me on the right path to the future with him. Keep on smiling because you never know whose going to be falling in love with your smile. Thank you and May God Bless you all abundantly.

Why Does Life and Love Have to be so Complicated?

How many of you have ever asked yourself, will this ever end? That's a question that I've been thinking about for a while now and so far, no answer. I feel like God will never give us a break. It's like things have gone from bad to worse. In Job 3:23-26, it says this " Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in? For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came." To me, this bible verse makes a whole of sense to me, and I can sort of relate to how Job was feeling. As you all know, in these past few months, my family and I have been going through a lot of trial and tribulation. Some bigger than others. For example, my dad's back has just gone from bad to worse. He feels like it'll never get better. My mom and I feel as if we're all fighting a war, and that the war will never be over. We all have spent many nights up really late due to all that has been our minds lately. In times such as this, we often find it very difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It feels like it's taking forever to get here, and we're all running very low on faith. It's as if we're lost and stuck in the dark. I just want us all to be able to move forward from this, but it feels like we're stuck here and not going anywhere fast. It's as if everything is crumbling all around us. Our life is not given merely for happiness and personal fulfillment, but for us to serve and honor God with all of our hearts. The worth and meaning of life is not based on what we feel, but on the one reality no one can take away- which is God's love for us. Don't assume that because God truly loves you, he will always prevent you from suffering. God's love cannot be measured or limited by how great or how little we may suffer. Romans 8: 38 and 39 teaches us that nothing can separate us from His love. Romans 8: 38 and 39 say this " For I am persuaded , that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor death, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." I truly believe in this bible verse, but like I said above, sometimes it's really difficult to not let things separate us from God, because of all that I've been through. Some good, some not so good. But the truth is, I always end up coming back to God no matter what I had just been through. In all honesty, I feel like I have gone through hell and back. Sometimes,I still feel like I'm in hell due to all that has happened recently. I think that we've all suffered enough, and I think that the suffering should be over for us permanently. I think that it's time for a whole slew of good things to start happening, like now. Seriously, enough is enough! I've had it! It's just so frustrating ya know? None of us deserve to be going through what we're going through right now, it is seriously a living hell. It's not fun. It's ridiculus and stupid and causing us more pain than we deserve. We've been through enough. Stop the world, I want to get off. May God please help us all, because we desperately need it. I don't know about any of you, but I am so sick and tired of walking around in this world full of pain,angst,stress,heart break, worry, etc. I am so sick of walking around and trying to be happy and act happy, I've just had enough. Something's Gotta Give and soon! It feels like I'm being pulled in two completely different directions. I feel like I need to get away from here for a while. Do any of you have those days where you just want to be alone and not ever bothered? I've been feeling a lot like that lately, it's just crazy and really stupid. Certain people in this world, really suck. I've dealt with some of them everywhere I go. I also hate feeling helpless and useless, like a waste of space. I also hate not being able to drive to go to places that I want to go. It's like i'm stuck and can't go anywhere. It's so aggravating. It's like I want to get up and do something and go somewhere without relying on anybody else to take me. I know this is only temporary, but this really sucks, it needs to end now. I know that I have God, but things are just getting more and more difficult to deal with. I absolutely hate being stuck in the middle of everything. I'm praying to God every night, but does he hear me? Will he answer me? That, I do not know. I'm not sure if I'll ever know about anything anymore. I'm listening for what he's trying to say to me, but I'm not hearing anything. Is he really speaking to me or am I just imagining that he's speaking to me? I don't know, I just don't know anymore. Is He happy with me? Am I doing anything right? Am I pleasing him? I'm getting absolutely no answers at all whatsoever. It's getting to a point where I just want to give up on everything. It's just absolutely ridiculus. I think i'm on the verge of a nervous break down. God, help me please. God, give me the strength to get through all of this and carry on with my life in a happy, healthy way, Lord, help to hear and understand what your saying to me and help me to do what it is that you want me to do, because I don't know what to do anymore, Lord, Help me, please help me. Please help me to be strong and remain positive, and help us all to see the light at the end of the tunnel, help us all to move forward with our lives, help us all to put all of our differences aside and work together as a family, help us to forgive and forget, Help us all to work these things out. Thank you, Lord, I love you, amen! So, in conclusion to this, I'm sorry for venting to you all, but I've just been holding it all in so long, that I just needed to get it all out with hopes that things will slowly start to get better not just for me, but for my family also. Thank you, and God Bless.

~Emily j. Pica