We cannot serve two masters:

Matthew 6:24 says, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." If we look at this verse, it clearly states you cannot serve two things at one time. God also says in Ephesians 3:16, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being." It's amazing what this verse really means. Through Christ and his riches, we may be strengthened with his power in us and through us. The joy of living in His presence outshines all other pleasures. God says, He wants us to reflect His joyous light by living in increasing intimacy with Him. Wow. Living in increasing intimacy. Let me just say, God is a jealous God. He is our Father, and for Him to see us serve something or someone else, makes Him jealous. He loves us to the point of watching us worship, serve idols in our lives so that we may realize that we are not made to worship or serve two masters. We come to a point where we need Christ, we need that intimacy with our Father. If God is truly our Master, you will desire to please Him above all others. If pleasing people is your goal, you will be enslaved to them. People can be harsh task makers when you give them this power over you. And if Christ is the master of your life, He will also be your first love. You're serving Christ is rooted and grounded in His vast, unconditional love from you. The lower you bow down before Him, the higher He lifts you up into intimate relationship with Him. This also relates to God's greatest commandment. In Matthew 22:34-40, it says, "Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducee s, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law,tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” The Pharisees ask Jesus what the greatest commandment is, and he says, "You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." The second on is like it; "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Christ makes it very clear all that He asks of us. Which is not very much. Christ also says, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." The word "If," is said, because we as Christians have a fleshly self that may not always love or want to keep Christs commands all the time. We try to fit His love into our lives, when we really need to give our self-pride up and let His love consume our lives. 
The world's way of pursuing riches is grasping the hoarding. I attain God's riches by letting go and giving. The more I give myself to God and His ways, the more He fills me with inexpressible, and heavenly joy. Psalm 29:2, 1 Peter 1:8. Though I have not seen Him, I love Him. Though I do not now see Him, I believe in Him and rejoice with joy. 

You Are Not Your Own

      "You are not your own." The generation now is a hungry generation for things of the spirit; they are eager to learn the gospel, and they want it straight. They want to know about our beliefs, they want to gain testimonies of their truth; they are not doubters but inquirers, seekers after truth. We think that putting a little gospel out their will consume them and bring them closer to Christ. But, it doesn't do as much as we think it will. We do not have to sneak up behind this spiritually experienced generation and whisper religion in their ears; you can come right out, face to face, and talk with them. You can bring these truths to them openly. Youth may prove to be not more fearful of them than you are. There is no need for gradual approaches.

       I found in the Word of Wisdom a principle with a promise. The principle: Care for your body; avoid habit-forming stimulants,tobacco, liquor, and drugs.  Such addictive things do little more than relieve a craving which they caused in the first place.Your body really is the instrument of your mind and the foundation of your character.The things you say, do or act on, reflect who you are as a person and your reputation towards your peers. This also goes hand in hand with a life pleasing to God. In 1 Thessalonians 4, it speaks of how we should walk, act, and treat others that is pleasing to the Lord. There are a few things we ought to do, to teach us to walk and to please God. This is the will of God. 1) Each one of us should know how to control our body, in holiness and honor. Not in the passion of lust. 2) No one transgresses and wrongs his brother. 3) God has not called us to impurity, but in holiness. For we have been taught by God to love one another to aspire to live quietly. 4) To mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands. So that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. 

        We tend to be dependent on what the world thinks, on what others around us think; it causes us to lose focus on what God thinks. As we walk in the way of the flesh, we see nothing of God, but of self-indulgent. We don't understand what's so wrong about it, cause were looking through fleshly eyes. If we depend on the will of the Lord, we might actually see God's blessings and prevision fall like rain into our lives, and our lives drastically changing from flesh like, to Christ like. 

So I encourage you, don't get caught up in what your eyes see, cause Satan will make things like that look real good, but the outcome and consequences are more serious than you think or even know. Just like a movie. You look at the front cover, and it looks really good, and on the back at the very bottom, it says it's PG, but somewhere somehow in small lettering it says something like,"this film has minor language, sexuality, and some crude humor." I don't know about you, but the word "minor" seems to make us think that it's okay to see it even if it does have those things in the film. We have to be cautious of how the Devil works in these types of situations. Satan is very clever and sneaky. He has a way to just make things "okay", and then he starts to work a little harder at figuring out how to attack your mind and then your heart, and before you know it, he is consuming your whole body. Be on your guard, put on the full armor of Christ daily. Fight against the Devil, because in the end, Christ will reward you for your obedience towards Him. Live in Christ, breath in Christ, grow in Christ. 

The whole armor of God:

"Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, etc" (Ephesians 6:10-18). Take up the WHOLE armor of God.." The Bible tells up to stand firm against the evil doings. For we need to take on the armor of God daily. We don't expect us to be in the armor when we got to sleep or when we wake up, we think that if we put on the armor of Christ once a week, were good. But, were not. We are more open to the attacks of the devil and putting ourselves in our own danger. We have to put on the armor of God daily. Not when we feel like it, but when we wake up and when we go to sleep. What is the armor of God?

       1. The belt of Truth

       2. The breastplate of Righteousness

       3. The readiness given by the Gospel of Peace

       4. The shield of Faith

       5. The helmet of Salvation

       6. The Sword of the Spirit. (Which is the word of God) 

*Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer given, and supplication. 

The song "While I'm waiting" came on the radio yesterday, and as I was writing some things down, I had to stop and listen. Realizing that the song is not good just because it has a good beat, or a good lead singer, or it is constructed in a good way, but the words itself make the song. "While I'm waiting I will serve you, while I'm waiting I will not fail, even while I wait." If you think about it, I can't even think of a time when I was in a situation where I wasn't irritated or aggravated at the things that were happening. I was so concentrated and worried about the things that were going wrong, that I didn't stop and realize the goodness and faithfulness of God's grace. I am okay, still alive, not hurting physically. I was going to be okay. God had me in a time where He was testing my faith in Him. All I had to do was wait, and serve and love Him while I wait. See, Christ as He was dying on the cross, wasn't worried about what might happen after he died, but what might happen to all the people who were still yet sinners standing in front of Him. That's when he cried out to Jesus saying, "Lord forgive them for they not know what they do." So powerful to think of what a moment that would be. When Christ himself was dying, he was asking God forgive us. Wow. What a sacrifice. 

There are trials and tribulations we go through as Christians daily. But if we have faith, trust and knowing that God is there the whole time, just waiting for us to be broken and come humbly to him, we will be able to stand firm in His righteousness. What if we said these words daily....Even when my world is shaken, I will serve and worship the Lord. Even though things don't go as plan, I still will wait. No matter how hard things get, God is and can do all things in your favor if only I obey. Obedience comes blessings. As we live our daily lives, let us remember that if we have truth through Jesus Christ, and obedience to his will, all these things will be added unto us. Matthew 6:33 says, "Seek the Kingdom of God daily, and all these things will be added unto you." Love with FAITH. At all times. 

Focusing on the truths or lies?

When we focus on what we don't have or on situations that displease us, our mind also becomes darkened. You take for granted life, salvation, sunshine, flowers, and countless other gifts from God. We look for what is wrong and refuse to enjoy life until it is "fixed" so to speak.
Walk in the light with God by practicing the discipline of thanksgiving. (Psalm 116:17; Genesis 3:2-6; 1 John 1:7)
Just like Eve in the Garden of Eden, the Garden was filled with desirable fruits, but Eve focused on the one fruit she could not have rather than being thankful for the many good things freely available.
We have a tendency to focus on the things we don't have more than looking at the things we do have in our lives.   I know I do, all the time. But I have to stop and realize the things in my life and be thankful for the things God has blessed me with. And that is the best way for Satan to get to us. He finds our weak point, the easiest way to make us fall or get angry at another or upset for no reason at all. Those little things in life that aggravate you the most, those moments when you yourself don't know why you're acting the way your acting. Because Satan is using little things like jealousy, and envy to come between you and God, and others around you. This is why God tells us to draw near to Him, to make us stronger against Satan, to build our faith in Christ. So with this, don't be quick to the ways of Satan. It is so easy for him to grab a hold of us and make us his puppet of lies, jealousy and envy. It's not what you want, believe me. Deep down in your heart you want it all to fade away and disappear. But you can't unless you take it to Christ. He is the answer to all questions. Take it to the cross.

Lifeboat of happiness?

If you ask me, the things you have to do in the lifeboat in order to not get left behind are absurd. Here are some things about how to be loved on earth.
1) Security: Athletes will often pound their chests as if to say, Look at me, look at me, Look at what I did. This is why I am important in the lifeboat. And if you think about it, the reason they probably feel so great about doing that is not only because it is difficult to do, but more likely because thousands of cheering fans deem this valuable. Outside of that, it's kind of a dud. You're just jumping into the air to put a ball into a hoop. woohoo! This reminds us of what is so easy to forget. If you win the whole thing, you only get a ring. You can always buy a ring. What we really want is for the jury of our peers to give us a feeling of security.
2) Good Looks: Though it may seem normal for you and me to base worth on looks. What is beautiful, after all? Saying beauty isn't good, because it is; God made it, but using it to compare one person to another is not something I believe, that occurred in the Garden. Beauty became a kind of point system to determine worth when the relationship with God was broken.
3) Wealth: Humans are the only species to insatiably accumulate wealth. Like the show MTV cribs. Why would one individual want to bury himself in so much stuff. Birds don't build six-story nests with heated pools. But I was thinking that in the lifeboat, currency becomes a point system by which we compare ourselves to our peers just like beauty and smarts.
The list goes on. But the things I have mentioned are very true. We see that if we can do these things, we will be okay on the lifeboat and won't fall off or be booted off. This is why a lot of individual young people get so frustrated with themselves and the world. Because of the fall of Adam and Eve, we have to, or think we have to add up to something, something that is valuable or worth while. But here this, to God, you are a diamond. A jewel in the making. And beautiful human being that will, and I hate to tell you this, never be perfect. There is no possible way for us to be perfect. Be who you are, and don't try to fit in. Why try so hard to fit in, when you're born to stand out.

Living Well ; Understanding Life

“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. 
Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” – Proverbs 4:6-7
Proverbs chapter four paints a picture of wisdom as being a loving woman. There’s a lot of truth to that. If we understand wisdom as being a part of God, then we can understand that it will protect us and watch over us.
Solomon says, “Wisdom is supreme.” Only in the sense that God is supreme and true wisdom comes from God. This is important to know. There are many who think that God’s wisdom is simply one of many truths in the world. But if we are going to take God’s Word seriously, we will come to realize that it isn’t really so.
An Aztec king who lived AD143–172 said “Verily, the gods that I am adoring, what are they but idols of stone without speech or feeling? They could not have made the beauty of the heaven, the sun, the moon, the stars, which light the earth, with its countless streams, its foundations and waters.… There must be some God, invisible and unknown, who is the universal Creator.” (Quoted in Theological Quarterly 10:82, 84–85) 
The tragedy is that while this Aztec king understood that there had to be something greater than his own worthless idols, he never found the true God as made known in Jesus Christ. There are many who live today who are in the same tragic circumstances. Some of them may even live under your roof. You can change that. You can tell them about the God who is the universal creator who also is a loving Father who sent Jesus Christ to live, die and rise again. 
So many men are searching for the truth, the wisdom that will tell them, show them, the way to live well and right. Every decade has their “gurus” who present some program to reveal this wisdom to the masses. Yoga, Dianetics. Even Winsor Pilates! But there is one “guru” if you will that has withstood the test of time. He is Solomon writing by the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit. His proverbs are “Written down so we’ll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it’s going.” (Proverbs 2:1 – The Message). 
That is what these devotions will be trying to tell you. How to live well and right. To understand what life means and where it’s going. These are universal questions. Men from every generation since Adam have asked these questions, have been searching for the answers. The answers lie in being a True Man. 
“Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.” (1 Samuel 9:6) 
Are you such a man? Do you want to be this kind of man? If you answer yes, then you are striving to be a True Man. God has a plan for you. He has called you to be a husband, a father, a grandfather. You’re role is one that has been lost in the previous generations. It can be regained. Your role as a True Man of God as you love your wife, love and take care of your children. As you raise your family you will influence not only the next generation of your family, but also the next generation of this society and culture. 
The power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your life transforms you into a True Man. We’ll take that journey together, you and I. Our church will be transformed. Our community will be transformed. Our country will be transformed. But most importantly, you will be transformed by Christ and leave a legacy to your sons and daughters that God will use to His great glory.

Day 1: Trials & Tribulations

There are trials and tribulations, each and every kind, the highs and lows of situations, but its the peace you gotta find. Everyday we wake up, to some situation that Satan throws our way to make our path a little bit more bumpier and more distracting. Sometimes we let that either get to us and ruin our whole entire day, or look to God and say, God I give this situation to you, do as you will. We tend to take a situation and make it bigger than it is, or interpret it the wrong way and dwell upon it for far too long. Well I have something to tell you, something that can lift you to a place where you don't have to worry no more. God is the God of love, mercy, and grace. He brings your heart to where it can be renewed and overflowed with joy. His joy, and love. He wants nothing but the best for you, and no matter what you may go through, He is doing it out of love for you. He sacrificed his life for you, and took on your sins, and we have so little to give. But if you think about it, we have ourselves to give back to Him, to put our lives in His hands, to follow his will for our lives. And as you do this, as you step into the hands of God and walk by His faith, you will start to see His work in your lives as you wake up and go to bed. You may walk through fire and storms everyday, and wonder why, but stop worrying and look up to God and say God I give it all to you, everything I am I lay in your hands to mold and create. I wrote this song, and it's called "Way back home," I wrote because I was going through Trials and tribulations throughout everyday of my life, battling fear and failure of my own self, and couldn't come to grips of letting it go. So this song I am about to share, is from the trials and tribulations I went through. I pray it speaks maybe to someone that is reading this.

I've been walking down this road-
Trying to find a path with every step-
I've been trying to find hope-
But I stumble and fall with every step-
But I'm trying, there's no denying-
I'm trying to find my way back home-

You are the only one who can save me-
You are my one true love, one and only-
You raise me up when I've falling-
You fix my heart when its broken, you are, you are good-

There are trials and tribulations-
Of each and every kind-
The highs and lows of situations, but its the peace you gotta find-
But i'm trying, there'd no denying-
I'm trying to find my way back home-

You are the only who can save me-
You are my one true love one and only-
You raise me up when I've falling-
You fix my heart when its broken, you are, you are good-

A virtuous woman in the eyes of God:

Matthew 6:25 states, "Take no thought for your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor for your body, what you will wear. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment." In this verse we see many different bullet points. 1) Do not worry about your life. 2) Do not worry about what you will eat or drink. 3) Do not worry about what you will wear. 4) Do not worry about your body.
All four of these bullet points are some what things we do everyday throughout our life style. We worry about what we are going to have for dinner when we are eating lunch; we worry about what we are going to wear the next day the night before; and also, one of the ones I really want to bring about is the fourth one, do not worry about your body. Each day we see other girls; skinny, tan, long and beautiful hair, makeup, and name branded clothing, and say 'I wish I could at least have one of those things.' Well here is the sad thing. Some of those girls you will look at that has those things, are sometimes fake, but also are using those things to cover something that they don't want people to notice, and that's true beauty, and sometimes you may not think it's pretty enough for the world, so you go and make it pretty from what the world says is pretty. Our mind set as girls, which my heart is so heavy from hearing girls or seeing girls try to make themselves so presentable just to get the attention they have been seeking there whole lives, is that we don't understand there is only one person we should be trying to present or impress, and he is a pretty special person in my life that has been the center of my life. God not only sees you from the outside appearance, but also from the inside, and let me tell you, God sees the beauty of  a woman's heart and when that woman of God lets her heart shine through her, more than what the outside appearance looks like, that is the most beautiful thing on a woman.
The Bible speaks about a virtuous woman. Who is she? How in His word does God describe her? So many questions are asked with this chapter. 
Verse 11: Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

•• A virtuous woman inspires absolute confidence in her husband. He can “safely trust in her." She is not impetuous, scatterbrained, or unpredictable. Rather, she can be trusted. Her husband can be confident in her. She will never deliberately let him down.

•• The husband of a biblical, virtuous woman “lacks nothing of value”. That is illustrated by some of her remarkable traits in the succeeding verses.

 What are the virtues of a woman of God?

1) A woman of God.
2) A pure heart and mind.
3) Serves God with all her heart.
4) Does not dwell on anything non-pleasing. (1 Peter 2:21)
5) Has an inner beauty that only comes from Christ.

We look at these things, these five things, and think of how in the world can we be like that, a woman of Christ. Through Christ may we be a woman of God. Through faith may we have a pure heart and mind. Through love may we serve God will all our heart. Through Christ, we can have that inner beauty. We, woman of Christ, need to rise up as this generation, and I'm not just talking about just telling people you are a woman of God, but putting action to it. Follow Proverbs 31:10-31. Can you seek God with your whole heart?

Which direction are you going?

The Bible gives us striking, clear, and up-front portraits of God's grace and of a person's
sinfulness and perversion. For example, Hebrews 13:5 states, "Keep your lives free from the love
of money and be content with what you have." and also Matthew 6:33 states, "But seek first the
kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." These
portraits in scripture serve as instructions and warnings to turn us to God and a life of godliness and away from a life of ungodliness. All this brings together the definition, greed, which I believe for a clearer understanding, that greed is an excessive desire, especially for wealth or possessions.The word 'greed' not only holds its place with money, but also has a place in self desires and also in idols we place in our lives. The story of Gehazi is a sad but true story describing him as "the servant of Elisha," the man of God, who was struck with leprosy because he turned away from God to blur the truth of salvation, as Naaman was healed from leprosy because he turned to God in simple faith. This happenes every day, and in the lives of believers to one degree or another. We see the process and consequences of greed or covetousness which seems to hinder godliness and godly service. It is a picture of unfaithfulness, disloyalty, greed, pride to ones self,of human rationalization that seeks to find good reasons for a bad thing, and also rebellion to authority. The sad part about the story of Gehazi, is that he was not a man without opportunities. He had the privilage of knowing this great man of God who's name was Elisha, and a teacher to Gehazi. Gehazi had the example of Elisha's life and the message of his lips as a tremedous source of instruction, challenge, learning and motivation for godliness and a life of service. Yet he failed to grow through this privilege.The Lord carefully warns us in Matthew 6:21, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Your devotion, your pursuit, your goals, and also your commitment. We might add, when our vision is double, we are unable to lay up treasures in heaven. Our lives, like Gehazi's will be missdirected, disloyal and a disaster from God's view point. Where is my
treasure? where and in what is my system of values? there is simplly no standing still in the pursuit of godliness, drawing close to God, or we are regressing, going downhill. Growth is progressing and we never arrive. If we stop the process we will not simply stand still, we will reverse it and begin to regress. Regression is slow and subtle and deceptive. The signs are there, but we often don't see them until it's too late. A person can be a believer who regularly attends church, is around the word, even involved in christian service, but on a downhill slide into regression. An unknown source says this, "There is a sense in which we are growing in our character each day. The question is in which direction are we growing? are we growing toward Godly character or ungodly character? Are we growing in love or selfishness; in harshness or patience; in greed or in generosity; in honesty or dishonestty; in purity or impurity? Every day we train ourselves in one direction or another by the thoughts we think, the words we say, the actions we take, and the deeds we do" (unkown source).
Our thought patterns shape our character, and our character shapes our conduct. In these verses, there is a definite relationship between thought patterns, personal character, and conduct.
From verse 20, we see something of Gehazi's thought patterns which had helped to move him into
the realm of greed or covetousness. This kind of thinking is not only contrary to God's grace, but has it's roots in the attitudes of the world. We see conduct, deception and defection. Most of the dynamic behind the temptation that Gehazi faced stemmed from his attitude. Gehazi became a slave to his lust patterns because he was not content with what God was doing in his life and the things he had. He became disloyal, unfaithful, and in general, a hindrance to the service of Elisha and the grace of God. It's something we all struggle with everyday throughout our lives,
and that is called Greed, or by other word, Pride. It was something people struggled with back in Bible days, and it's something we struggle with now. It is something that will always be a struggle,but if we keep our eyes on Christ and seek the Kingdom first, we are yet closser to our walk with Christ being full of mercy, grace, and His blessing overflowing in our life. This leads me to the question, which direction are you going? What decisions in life are you making, that make you who you are? The only way we can prevent pride and greed from over taking our life is that we seek first the kingdom of God; keep our lives free from the love of money and be content with the things we have, and then we can see clearly the things God has for us.

Romance Me: Original Song

This song I have posted is an original song written by me and my friend I met here at Lee. The night I started writing it God had placed on my heart that you don't have to be in a relationship to feel loved, or to feel wanted by someone, cause you know who is craving for your attention and love right now? God. He wants to know you, He wants to be with you and to hold you and romance you. And sometimes you may be weak and not be able to uphold the things in your life and God will always be there with His arms open wide to carry you the rest of the way. He is forever reigning in Heaven at the right hand of God, where the angels are singing "Holy, Holy, Holy!"  That's where this song comes in to place.

In this quiet place-
I find my peace in you-
Let your Holy Spirit romance me, romance me-

You say i'm weak but your strong-
Hold me take me into your arms-
Let your Holy Spirit romance me, romance me-

Forever reign, Forever Holy, You stay the same romance me, romance me-

For the Sake of God's Name:

You know the verse that talks about God, saying that we should go unto all nations not just one but all, and preach the gospel of truth. Yeah I thought so. Well I have always been a "Big fan" of missionary work and missions in general. Not just because they get to be supported to fly around to different countries and have the time of their life being in a different culture, but to actually go and serve them, talk to them, get to know those people who have never heard of the gospel in their lives....ever. It kills to know that we are here taking advantage of the things we have and the things we use daily that you may not even think that some people in this whole universe don't get to do that or use the things you have. What is this world coming to? What is truly at the heart of foreign missions? What is going to sustain it? What is going to keep you either supporting or going to the mission field? Well, either you go, send, or disobey. God made it so clear and simple to us, it's not complicating or confusing, I mean...it is written in plain English unless you need me to write it in Spanish I will. But that's beside the point. In the book of 3rd John, it is saying this, "Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God.  It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth." It simply says right there, 'Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God," then it says, 'It was for the sake of the Name.' The sake of the name. The sake of the name? What name? I thought this life was for me, me to live, me to make MY choices and decisions. God says that he chooses to communicate through His name, not because he is self righteous of himself, but so that His name will be glorified among the nations so that they may hear about the one who died for them. See, God doesn't just go about His way everyday waking up and saying 'oh they got this, their strong enough they don't need me'....like we do to Him. No, God says 'do not hesitate to pray when you wake up cause I let you wake up this morning.' See God isn't dumb like some may think, he is actually pretty smart. The power that we have to get our butts out of bed is not from us; the strength to go to work in the morning to face your boss that you may not want to even see is not from you; the courage it takes to take one step at a time to the Kingdom of God is not from us.....that all-surpassing power is from God and God alone. He lifts us up when we are broken and feel as if the world is caving in on us; He fills us up when we feel empty inside cause we aren't getting the love from one another; He loves us even when we do wrong, when we sin, His love is everlasting and is strong. In 2 Corinthians 4:6-7, it says "For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." See we don't need to live our lives for ourselves, for the things we want so bad in life, but live your life glorifying His name. 'I have glorified it, and I will Glorify it again, and again.' So....will you go out for the sake of God's name? 

No one can serve two Gods:

Matthew 6:24
"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
Pre-write:
I believe the first sentence says it all, you cannot serve two masters. Two things of a different kind have a different outlook on things of this world. For example, money has an outlook that it can "buy" happiness. And God, has an outlook that says "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." You can either hate God and love money, or you can love God and hate money. And im not saying don't use money or be against using money or havig money, but be wise and make wise decisions with your money. ALso, in Proverbs 28:25 it says, "A greedy man stirs of strife, but the one who trusts in the Lord will be enriched." What is enriched? to be blessed? to be happy with what the Lord gives and takes away from you? It's yet so simple to understand that having faith is also apart of this mess. If you do not have faith, you will fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge us into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:9)
Freewrite: Personal definition:
Destruction. To destroy. To ruin. A powerful word that has a dangerous meaning to it. When I think of destruction, I think of someone or something being torn apart or torn down by a situtation or desire in that person's life. I have been in that situation of feeling like something was destroying my life, in a matter that I started to feel worthless and the only thing I had to do was get rid of that desire to release the destruction in my life, but it's easier said than done.
a. Destruction- something destroying or ruining a person's faith.
b. Destruction - To fall from the hands of God into harmful desires.
c. Destruction - Leads to strife and unjust gain.

We Are The Light Of The World-Kari Jobe

Every secret, every shame
Every fear, every pain
Live inside the dark
But that's not who we are
We are children of the day

So wake up sleeper, lift your head
We were meant for more than this
Fight the shadows conquer death
Make the most of the time we have left

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine

We are called to the spread the news
Tell the world the simple truth
Jesus came to save, there's freedom in His Name
So let his love break through

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine!

Amazing lyrics by an amazing artist by the name of Kari Jobe. She has been such a blessing to me, with her lyrics and songs touching my heart and life every day I just turn on one of her songs, it doesn't have to be a specific one cause they all are beautiful and portray such amazing truth. This song expresses what our generation should push through to do everyday of every minute, "We are the light of the world.." God has given us a reason to be on this earth, and sometimes we take it for granted and get caught up in the moments of the world and emotions and feelings that make us feel content and happy and good. But God can be your light, your strong hold, the one who lifts you up when you have been thrown or pushed to the ground and Satan is tearing every part of you up in pieces and you are bound up in fear and anger and lies. "We are meant for more than this, fight the shadows conquer death, make the most of the time we have left." I don't know if you have noticed, but time is right now, its passing by so fast that when the next day comes around, it makes me sick to my stomach to think I have wasted 19 years of my life just flying by the seat of my pants and not realizing that we have a young generation coming up at this very moment and we, WE as young adults need to raise up this generation as Christians under God. We need to stand up for what we believe and not be ashamed for what we believe in. That time is now! so why waist it?

John 15:4-7 A life of regret? or a life of fulfillment?

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing."

Wouldn't you feel more prepared if you knew your future? I would. I'm the kind of person who wants to know whats going on next and have to have a schedule to let me know when and where of things. I have been struggling with this for a few years now, and haven't been able to let this go. Its so hard for me to just say 'God, you have this day, allow the things to happen that you have for me.' But God says, 'I know exactly what this day will contain, whereas you have only vague ideas about it. You would like to see the map, showing all the twists and turns of your journey, you would feel more prepared if you new the things.' See, this is the kind of thing God shares in John 15:4-7 and Exodus 33:14. We will never know what is to come each day. These past days for me have been spare of the moment things that have happened that I didn't even think would happen. It made me upset, scared, and just mad sometimes, but then I realized, God does things to equip me for my journey that lies ahead of me. It like he tests me through things, and God will never give you things that are more than you can handle. More than so, God says He will not show us what is on the road ahead, but He will equip us through for the journey, His living presence is our companion each step of the way. He also says to stay in continual communication with Him, whispering His name whenever you need Him to redirect your steps. Walk through your days with your focus on Him. In Luke 12:15, it talks about possessing "things" in life that we as humans put first before us that maybe drag us into a situation we don't want to be in, or something that is maybe taking your focus off things that you want to pursue, but you can't cause you love that "thing" too much. Many thoughts on this can be debated. But I, as a human love music, all kinds and listen to it, play it, write it, you name it. And sometimes I go about my day and that's all I think about. But one thing that we have to realize here is that putting something that we love so so much, like music for instance, can be a dangerous thing. Now days, young adults live their lives through the abundance of the possessions of this world. Maybe it's time for us to raise our eyes to the one who did something so much greater for us all and live for Him, than to something like music or art, or basketball, or football, or dancing...etc. If we realize that God can supply and bless us through His love more than anything can ever make us happy on this earth, we would be joyful, peaceful in our decisions made, and our hearts would be filled with His love and mercy and grace. It's a challenge I know, but it's a challenge I want to take and I dare you too as well. Think about it....Living for God and being content and full of Him for eternal, or living of this sinful world winding up feeling like the only one who understand yourself and being depressed and rejecting everything and anything in life.

You inhabit the praises of your people:

It is impossible to Praise or Thank our God too much. Sometimes our adoration is a spontaneous overflow of joy, in response to radiant beauty or rich blessings. A thankful heart has plenty of room for God. God says, "My sovereignty is a show-piece in invisible realms. Fill up the spare moments of your life with praise and thanksgiving." 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." First of all, what is the meaning of 'everything'? Not in some things, or most things, but in ALL things. God wants us to acknowledge Him in everything we do. As we go through our days of busy schedules and trying to just get through the day, or if we are in sticky situations and things aren't working out as planned, we can look up and say God i'm putting this in your hands and letting you have it all. That's the great thing about God. He looks down and says "child, don't stress or worry, give it to me and trust me to take care of you." We have to learn to let go of the things that are holding us down and making us dwell over things that we don't need to. God can and will help you no matter what happened and what you go through.... thats what He wants to do for you. He loves you too much to just tell you to take care of it for yourself like most of our mothers and fathers are doing to our teenagers now days. That should show you right there that God loves you, and will never let you go. He wants you like a burning soul in a guys heart wants a girl who he is passionately in love with.

So I will say this: don't stress over the small things or worry over the big, God is in control of everything and will take care of you through the good and the bad. He will never let you go no matter what the problem or situation is. He is passionately in love with you and will pursue you all the days of your life.

I WANT YOU TO LEARN A NEW HABIT:

Try saying "I trust you, Jesus," in response to whatever happens to you. Try and think about the depth of God's loves for you. I dare you to at least let Jesus come across your mind at least once every day. If you can do that, you have mastered the the first step in knowing Him. There is one thing about knowing God and knowing about God. See, knowing about God is knowing when He came into this world, when He died, and what He did while He was still on this earth. But then there is knowing God, knowing how much He loves us, knowing His heart, His Power and Glory, knowing His every plan for you for your life. It's very exciting if you think of it. It's like God romances you every time you spend a little more time with Him and get to know who He really is. God wants us to see Him in every situation, acknowledging His sovereign control over the universe. When you view events from this perspective, through the light of my universal presence, fear looses its grip on you. Adverse circumstances become growth opportunities when you affirm your trust in Him no matter what. You receive blessings gratefully, realizing they flow directly from His hand of grace. Your continual assertion of trusting Him will strengthen your relationship with Him and keep you close to Him.
Psalm 63: 2 says, "So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. "See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and He rules with a mighty arm. See His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. He tends His flock like a shepherd, He gathers the lambs in His arms, and carries them close to His heart, He gently leads those that have young." 


So as we are making are way into a new Year, maybe we can learn a new habit, rather than struggling with the fear of letting go of the old. God is right there with you through everything, His hand of grace will help you through it all. You can do this. You are a child of the King. You are loved and special and made in the image of God. Nothing can stop you. make a change and learn a new habit...I dare you.

Romans 12:2

Jesus says, "Come to me with a teachable spirit, eager to be changed." Do we want to be changed? How can we be changed? A few questions of what any person would ask. I believe being changed involves being transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you will prove what is good and acceptable and perfect in the will of God." This reminds me of a quote a friend had said to me, "Be in the world, but not of it. " We live in a world of differences, of beliefs and different morals. If you think of it, I do not believe any of us will ever see eye to eye with things of the Word of God or dealing with morals or beliefs.

This generation is coming up to be a selfish world dealing with parents who don't give much care to their children, or children who think they can do and say what they want to their parents. Do you think things would change with our young people if we trained up our parents to teach and disciplin their children to obey and do right? Maybe, maybe not? But i believe our parents have a mind set of still wanting to persue their dreams that maybe they did not get to live. They want to worry about what they want, rather than to take time with their kids and what they might want to do. And that leads the children to go and search for someone or something to be interested in them and what they want to do. I believe that is why there are so many problems with teenagers being in relationships and getting themselves into situations they don't want to be in, because our parents are so wrapped up in the "American Dream," the want to still be young and pretty and have close friends like in high school.

Our children are reaching out for something tangable, something real, something or someone they can trust. They can see fake from a million miles away. They don't know what to look for cause us "Christians" are sitting on our butts doing what WE want to do for ourselves. What would Jesus do? It says Jesus spent all of his time with the low of lows. He spent time with the poor, the weak, the stealing, the ones who we look at today as "Bad, sinnful" people. They are bad and sinnful because they are yet still sinners, they do not have what we have. And we keep it bottled up inside as if we are too scared to make anyone feel uncomfortable or better yet we are too afraid to feel uncomfortable. Jesus also says, "Go! unto every nation preaching the gospel, and making desciples among nations." Are we doing that? Are we even close to doing that? We are too focused on what people might think or what they will say if we even step into something that might make us feel uncomfortable. It's sad. We don't have the guts to make a difference. We talk and talk and talk about it, but don't put what we say into action. Come to think of it, it's amazing how we can gosip all day about someone or something that has recently happened with someone, but yet we can't talk about the things that God is doing in our lives or how blessed they are at having a life or being able to be apart of Gods amazing beauty on this earth. This world is taking reality into a perspective that is hitting us in the face and not realizing what it is doing to us. It's tearing families apart, breaking the hearts of young teenagers, and making people bitter against the ones that have hurt them. Forgiving is out of the question for families. I don't even think forgivness is a choice anymore when it comes to it.

God has great plans for everyone. He has written everyones story for them and it has a beginning, and an end. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future." This is true. God has great things for each and every person. Even you. He will always love and persue you everyday you wake up and everyday you go to sleep. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He loves YOU!

What does God have for you?

First, God asks you to give yourself fully to this adventure of increasing attentiveness to His presence. If you are not going to give yourself fully and commit to what God has to offer you, then there is no point in reading what I am about to say.

What is attentiveness? The easiest deffinition is: respect, thoughtfulness, and commitment. He simply asks us to commit to something that he offers us, free to us. Christ died for us all, for our sins and for eternal life given to us from God's son, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:6 says, "For when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly." God commandeth His love towards us, and while we were sinners, doing wrong and not on the path God has for us, God sent His son, and Jesus Christ (God's son) gave His life for us, to have eternal life with Him. Such a sacrifice, and obedience He had towards His father. A fearing attitude of respect and honor. If you look at the word FEAR, what is the first thing that pops into your head? Being scared? afraid? cautious of someone or something? Well...yes that is right, but this is a different kind of fear. A fear that you will only come across with your parents and God. It's a fear that allows one to have the obidience of Moses, and the humility of Paul. To surrender yourself for the love of someone else. To give yourself up to serve another. To say "Here I am Lord, send me," and give everything you are and have become, to the Lord. Let me tell you, it's easier said than done. I look back on my life and see where I have fallen and stumbled amongst the brokeness of my life, but it's because of Gods grace that I am here today where I am. The love of God is not through the bad things that happen to you, or the situations you go through, but the promise of God. That He will always be there, always, to pick you up and tell you how much He loves you and that everything is going to be okay. He will never leave you, and never forsake you.

Joy, the result of obedience. John 15:11 speaks of God giving us joy in our hearts, and that our joy might stay full. And then goes on to talk about love, loving one another out of joy. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13. This also intertwines with the word Agape Love. Selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. Agape Love is the kind of love Jesus Christ has for His Father and for His followers. Jesus lived out agape by sacrificing himself for the sins of the world by spending time with the ones who knew nothing. God has so much for our lives, and also for our eternity in Heaven if we dare ask Him into our hearts. John 14:2-3 says, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I got to prepare a place for you."....."And I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and recieve you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also." God loves us enough to prepare a special place for us in heaven, for US, little ole sinners here stuck on this never ending sinnful world until Jesus comes again to recieve His children.

Mission to a Foreign Country

Around July the 1st of 2011, I was getting ready to go on the most amazing trip of my life where I could make a difference in other peoples lives, yet was unaware of my life being changed. I was was ready to embark on this journey across sea's, but little did I know that so much was to come and my heart was not at all ready for what was going to happen within those few weeks of a month being away from everything I was used to. It came to the 9th of July, where I was packing up my car getting ready to drive over to where I was meeting all of the people I was going on this journey with. My mind was going a mile a minute as to what extra things I would need to bring or if I was forgetting anything that I might need. It didn't sink in that I was leaving the United States to sacrifice all that I have here to go and minister and serve in another country, until I stepped foot on this foreign ground by the name of Budapest, Hungary. A place where not only did they speak another language, but a place where they layed down their lives for others, as I started to notice right when I met our leader for the trip, who was Hungarian. As I said before, nothing sank in that I was going into another country until I got there, and boy was I in for a shock. Going from driving through Atlanta to where I can read and understand the signs to, driving down there highway packed in a mini van with 9 to 10 other people with no air conditioning glancing out the front windshield to foreign language written on the signs on the side of the highway. I then started to freak out. I was finally realizing what I was getting myself into. I kept my thoughts to myself as we were driving down the small back roads of this small town called Baja but said "Boyo" Very interesting language they had. I learned that none of the vehicles had air conditioning unless it was a wealthy family, and also that they would do anything for others and weren't scared to just walk up to someone and start a small conversation. It was very different.
As the days passed, I began to struggle with a few things and each day began to be a challenge for me as I began to get into the daily motions of there time. And let me tell you, it was hard to get acustomed to their food, time, and activites. But I thank God for getting me through each day with His mercy and grace.
I learned so much as I began to spend time with the children and the parents. They had such a heart for others and people who were struggling and hurting. I got involved into their lives as I started to understand what they were going through and their testimonies and the love. It was life changing and God was working through these people to reach others around them. I believe God can use people as broken and hurt and needy as these people were to reach out to others around them and minister. God has great things planned for them as they keep seeking the Lord every day and praying and believing God can do amazing things!