The Joy of Christmas (... in August?! ... yup, in August!! XP )

So i know i may be a few months early, but Christ is always our Light and Hope shining in our dark world, not only during the month of December, but every single day of our lives!!  Today i wanted to share with you a beautiful devo written by Spurgeon speaking on the "Joy of Christmas", and what Jesus coming to earth means for us sinners. Be blessed children of God! <3:

The Joy of Christmas 

"The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a Baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”" (Luke 2:10-12) 

Rejoice, you who feel that you are lost; your Savior comes to seek and save you. Be of good cheer you who are in prison, for He comes to set you free. You who are famished and ready to die, rejoice that He has set aside for you a Bethlehem, a house of bread, and He has come to be the Bread of Life to your souls.

Rejoice, O sinners, everywhere for the Restorer of the castaways, the Savior of the fallen is born. Join in the joy, you saints, for He is the preserver of the saved ones, delivering them from innumerable perils, and He is the Perfecter of those He preserves.

Jesus is no partial Savior, beginning a work and not finishing it; but, restoring and upholding, He also perfects and presents the saved ones without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing before His Father’s throne. Rejoice! Let your hills and valleys ring with joy, for a Savior who is mighty to save is born among you.

“‘Twas mercy that filled the throne,
As wrath stood silent by,
When Christ on the kind errand came
To sinners doomed to die.”

- Charles Spurgeon

Gravity

18 DAYS AWAY!!! I can't believe that summer has come and nearly gone so quickly. But just as God has taught us many things this summer, so i feel He has much more to teach us in this coming school year. I cannot wait to see you all! :)

Again, just like last week, i have been extremely busy (and tired :P.. haha), to write my own posts.. but i did want to share a devo that i read earlier today. I am currently following "Lecrae - The Overflow Devo" on YouVersion, and if you like his music, then you'll really like this devotional series.

But enough of my rambling, here is the devo, be blessed! :) :

It’s been said that the vainest things in life are the ones that we expect the most contentment from. We are hedonists and pleasure seekers by nature. We want satisfaction and contentment and seem committed to finding it somewhere on earth. People are constantly asking, "What’s the meaning of life,” like maybe the answer would satisfy their discontent. However, few people meditate on this question, and most would rather pacify themselves with fleeting pleasures.

They wake up every day only to repeat the cycle of seeking contentment, not finding it, and settling for some form of temporary gratification. It’s a virtual Groundhog Day for humanity. King Solomon understood this more than anyone, and he writes in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (ESV).

Earlier in verse two of the same chapter, he calls everything “meaningless” or “vanity” which translates better as “redundant”. Obviously, everything isn't meaningless, otherwise why take time to teach people the valuable lessons in Ecclesiastes? Redundant, however, makes perfect sense.

We, outside of a relationship with Jesus who satisfies our deepest longings, are left to a redundant existence. Were it not for faith in another life to come, we'd have no hope but to look for contentment in power, pleasure, or possessions, only to never find it. Life seems very worthless under the sun, unless your worth is found in the Son.

- Lecrae Moore

And if you do indeed like Lecrae, then take a listen to the song that inspired this devo!

No questions asked.

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." --John 3:16.

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" --1 John 3:1a.

The thought came across my mind today, I am probably one of the biggest atheists around. I say Amen! when I hear that the Lord is always with me and I can trust in Him with everything, yet my mind is constantly bombarded with things that I worry about. I'm a two-faced believer! How could God love me? I feel so dirty! How on earth could God love me? I'm not worthy of the love that God willingly pours out to me.

You may be thinking something similar to this in the circumstances that you're in. If that's the case, STOP!

First of all, God knew that we would be "two-faced believers." He still has a special purpose for us. <<Jeremiah 1:5>>

Second of all, how could He love us? Because we are His creation! God makes us new when we accept Him. He looks past our sin and sees the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. <<2 Corinthians 5:17>>

Third of all, we are no longer covered with the filth that our sin leaves on our hearts. <<Isaiah 1:18>>

Last of all, we will have our downfalls. We have our share of scars from the mistakes that we've made. There's no such thing as perfect people, and we will never be worthy of His love! <<Romans 3:23>>

It all comes down to this: Don't ever let the devil put a question mark where God has already put a period. The Bible has God's promises lined up for us to read. Those promises were kept 2000 years ago. Those promises will be kept today. Those promises will be kept 2000 years from now. God knew we would constantly sin, but look at Calvary. Look at what God sacrificed to see to it that we live! That is true love: a love that we will never deserve but are given willingly every second of our lives.

Never doubt your worth. In God's eyes, you are worth more than gold.

God bless!

Praise Changes Things

The other day i came across a devotional, all about giving praise for the 'victory' even before the victory has even happened. I thought this was quite an interesting devo, so i thought i'd share it with you all :) :

"Then Jesus looked up and said, 'Father, I thank You that you have heard Me.'" (John 11:41).  

"This is a very strange and unusual order. Lazarus is still in the grave, and the thanksgiving precedes the miracle of resurrection. I thought that the thanksgiving would have risen when the great deed had been wrought, and Lazarus was restored to life again. But Jesus gives thanks for what He is about to receive. The gratitude breaks forth before the bounty has arrived, in the assurance that it is certainly on the way. The song of victory is sung before the battle has been fought. It is the sower who is singing the song of the harvest home. It is thanksgiving before the miracle!

Who thinks of announcing a victory-psalm when the crusaders are just starting out for the field? Where can we hear the grateful song for the answer which has not yet been received? And after all, there is nothing strange or forced, or unreasonable in the Master's order. Praise is really the most vital preparatory ministry to the working of the miracles. Miracles are wrought by spiritual power. Spiritual power is always proportioned to our faith." --Dr. Jowett

"Nothing so pleases God in connection with our prayer as our praise, and nothing so blesses the man who prays as the praise which he offers. I got a great blessing once in China in this connection. I had received bad and sad news from home, and deep shadows had covered my soul. I prayed, but the darkness did not vanish. I summoned myself to endure, but the darkness only deepened. Just then I went to an inland station and saw on the wall of the mission home these words: "Try Thanksgiving." I did, and in a moment every shadow was gone, not to return. Yes, the Psalmist was right, "It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord."" --Rev. Henry W. Frost

He Will..

"If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

You've gone a whole week without looking at that website..
You've stayed from the bottle for an entire 7 days..
You've kept from the cigarette, and stopped your mouth from cursing for a week..
You've resisted, and by God's grace, have overcome these addictions.. but then you failed.
You looked at that website and lusted, you drank to numb your pain, you smoked and cursed to make you feel 'better'.. all the while growing further and further away from God.

Failure is hard to deal with, especially after a great period of victory. And when we do fail, we feel as if the whole world was ending because of it. The guilt and shame piles upon us, and we become heavily burdened. We know what we have to do.. we have to run back to God, confess our sins, repent, and trust Him that we truly are forgiven.

Most of the time, when we do this, we 'feel' different. We can literally feel the burden has lifted, and is no more.. but then there are times when, even after we confess, we still feel guilt and shame. This is a scary place to be in, and many doubts could rise in your mind.

• Am I truly forgiven?
• Does God even want to hear from me?
• Have I went too far?
• Am I even being sincere in my repentance anymore?

But do not fear, for God says otherwise. His word says that "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). It doesn't say "He'll think about it", or "will consider it".. no.. it says "He will".. without fail!

So the next time you fail, ask for forgiveness.. and even if you don't 'feel' different, you 'know' that you truly are forgiven. Your Father cannot wait for you to come back home! (Luke 15:11-32)

Just like Paul and Silas...

To all my brothers/sisters in Christ, the saints of God,

Recently, a few of my friends have been going through some pretty tough stuff in their lives. It seemed as if they just got through a certain struggle, only to discover that the battle had only just begun. I know that this has been the case in my life recently as well. And I know that all who are reading this right now are going through some sort of battle, whether that be with relationships, struggle with sin, etc. everyone has their own. But even in the midst of the pain and darkness, there is still a reason to praise God. And this is exactly what I wanted to talk about today.

There are many examples throughout both the Old and New Testaments of great men/women of faith, who despite their struggles, have sung praises unto the Most High. But perhaps the best example I can think of this is the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16.

Paul had just recently departed on his second missionary journey around Asia Minor and Greece. He had just arrived at a city called Philippi, where he was able to share the Gospel with many hungry hearts. There was a certain slave-girl who could "predict the future". We are not told why this girl was doing this, only that she was possessed by a demon. Paul then got fed up with the demon and said "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" The spirit had no choice but to listen and obey.

However, the slave's owners seen that they would be out of a way of profit (for they were using her possession as a means to gain money), and took Paul and Silas to the local court, where they were sentenced to prison. After they were stripped, beaten, flogged, and had their feet bound up, they prayed and sung hymns to God (note that Luke mentions that "the prisoners heard them" we will come back to this). As a result of their faith, God sent an earthquake that would end up providing them with freedom, and would result in the salvation of the prison guard and his whole family.

Now that we have the long background laid out, I can give you this very, very short message, haha :P

• Just like Paul and Silas... bad things may come our way, and we may feel like we're in a "prison". Whether it was ourselves, somebody else, or circumstance that put us there it does not matter, we are still hurting. But please remember that God cares deeply for you, and hurts when you hurt. (Isaiah 63:9)
• Just like Paul and Silas... you will always have a reason to praise God for His great love and providence in your life. (Romans 8:28)
• Just like Paul and Silas... by your faithfulness in the midst of pain and confusion, God will breakthrough and perform wonders in your life that will result in your deliverance. (Acts 16:26)
• Just like Paul and Silas... when you suffer, you are given a great opportunity to both glorify God and save both those who are around you and even the one who was your "enemy". (Acts 16:25-34)

When the dark clouds of life cast a shadow over all you know, sing until the Son shines through.

P.S. While writing this, a close friend of mine sent me a text: "Psalm 136:23"

Find confidence in HIM.

"Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory." --Psalm 50:15 (NLT).

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." --Matthew 11:28 (NIV).

"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." --Isaiah 41:13.

When we are distraught, whatever the reason, He wants us to run to Him first. I know in my life, the first person I talk about my problems to is not God, and that is a problem. A quote that I've read often is "Do you pray about it as often as you talk about it?" Why wouldn't we run to God with our broken heart? Look in the New Testament with all of Jesus' miracles: if he can make the blind see, the deaf hear, and the lame walk, he can help us with whatever is causing us grief.

Yes, friends are good to have: they give us encouraging words and reassurance that things will be alright, but that is only temporary. The permanence of God's peace is what we should strive to receive, and He will grant it to us! All we need to do is ask through prayer. The Lord knows our hearts and minds better than any other being in eternity. Even though that's the case, He still loves it when we come to Him on bended knee, telling Him everything. Jesus Calling says this in today's devotional:

"Bring Me all your feelings, even the ones you wish you didn't have. Fear and anxiety still plague you. ... Affirm your trust in Me, regardless of how you feel. If you persist, your feelings will eventually fall in line with your faith. ... Bring your anxieties out into the Light of My Presence, where we can deal with them together. Concentrate on trusting Me, and fearfulness will gradually lose its foothold within you."

 I'm one for worshiping God with music, and there are many places you can see artists showing us the powerful meaning of running to His arms:

"I believe that He's wanting you to know you will be safe in His arms. The arms that hold the universe are holding you tonight!"

Run to Him! Find peace in Him. Tell Him all that is troubling your heart. He will give you rest.

God bless!

Within Reach of a Miracle

Hello fellow Living Proofers! I hope that you are all having a blessed week! And please feel free to send in prayer requests on this page.. Whatever it is, we will all gladly pray for you! :) Today I wanted to talk about persistence in prayer, and how when we are on our knees, we are "within reach" of a miracle. I got the idea for this topic from a song I just recently came by, "Something Beautiful" by NEEDTOBREATHE. In this song, the lyrics that stuck out to me the most are:

"Hey now, this is my desire

Consume me like a fire'

Cause I just want

Something beautiful to touch me

I know that I'm that I'm in reach'

Cause I am down on my knees

And waiting for

Something beautiful"

I thought that the way they worded it was quite interesting, because when we are down on our knees, praying to God, we are in a better position to receive blessings and miracles from God. Our Lord Himself taught about the importance of persistence, especially in prayer, in Luke 18:1-8:

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

How many times do we want something really really bad, pray about it, then just move on and never pray about it again? I know I do this all the time! It is important to bring all of requests to God, but it is also very important to continually do this.. daily!

The more you pray for something, the more you show God how important it is to you. So when God doesn't answer a prayer right away, it may not be because your request is unimportant to Him, it may be because it's not important enough to you! 

Lessons from Grapes

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard. My Father examines every branch in Me and cuts away those who do not bear fruit. He leaves those bearing fruit and carefully prunes them so that they will bear more fruit; already you are clean because you have heard My voice. Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. A branch cannot bear fruit if it is disconnected from the vine, and neither will you if you are not connected to Me." (John 15:1-4, The Voice)

Have you ever in your life been constantly confronted with a passage of Scripture over and over again? Like you read it one day, the next day you hear it on the radio, the next day you hear people discussing it, the next day you find out that you've actually been living it! That was my story very recently.

At that time, I had been experiencing the most excruciating pain in my entire life as a result of giving up something that I held so dear to my heart. But the passage that always recurred in my life had been John 15, the parable of the Vine and the Branches. Especially verse 2 where Jesus says "My Father examines every branch in Me [Jesus] and cuts away those who do not bear fruit. He leaves those bearing fruit and carefully prunes them so that they will bear more fruit;" I had felt God's pruning in my life then.

Trials of any kind, whether it be moving somewhere, the loss of a family member/friend, or when you are called to sacrifice something so dear to your heart, are definitely not easy, and sometimes they can even hurt so much that you can barely move! But rejoice! Even though it may seem like there is no point to your pain, remember that God is pruning you to bear even more fruit!

God is glorified while you go through pain, not because you go through it. God is allowing this pain in your life right now for your benefit. He has in mind what is best for you, and is now shaping you to be the best you can be. God is the Master Vinedresser, let Him prune you!

Gravity wins: Not now. Not ever.

In order to create a successful story, there needs to be a solid introduction, a juicy middle, and an ending that makes the reader's mind explode from surprise yet set their mind at ease because everything is wrapped up perfectly. Our lives as believers, in essence, is a story: a story of how God took our lives--something that we saw without purpose--and, as the rising action progressed, gradually showed us otherwise.

We have the introduction down: our story begins when we take our first breath. We can check off the ending, too, but I'll talk about it later. What about the middle part? What is the bridge that mends the gap between the beginning and end?

Here's something to start the rising action: life as a Christian is tough. When we pray to accept Jesus into our hearts, we are enlisting in spiritual warfare. It's easy to simply say "I don't want to deal with this. Why do non-believers get to live life easily? I wish I could have that," but we shouldn't envy them, "for their hearts plot violence, and their words always stir up trouble" (Proverbs 24:2, NLT). As members of God's Army, we will face hand-to-hand combat with Satan's soldiers--his demons.

That is where the falling starts. Satan knows about our strengths and weaknesses and uses them against us, causing the very ground under our feet to collapse. As we get closer to helping bring people to Christ, the devil works harder at trying to sweep us off our feet. Falling on our faces, we feel defeated, which is exactly what he wants, but "God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him" (Philippians 2:13, NLT). When we fall, God gives us the strength to get back up again.

Here's where the excitement comes in: this battle that you're facing may look hopeless, but God has already won the war! Want to know how I know that? Just look at the cross and what it symbolizes! Jesus Christ died on that cross, taking all of our sin and shame with him to Hell, but he DID NOT STOP THERE. That right there, my friend, is how we are able to stand in the victory circle. That is how we know we are going to stand before our Father when He takes us Home to live with Him forever.

The juicy middle is what keeps us from being a stoic character in our story. God walks us through these trials so we are stronger than we were before--so our trust in Him is stronger as we draw closer to Him. We need to trust God's will and God's wisdom. He knows what's best for us and keeps that in mind constantly. My New Living Translation Bible commented this about the first three verses of Psalm 23:

David compares God's concern for his people to that of a shepherd. When we allow God to guide us, we experience peace and contentment. Our Shepherd knows the "green meadows" and "peaceful streams" that will renew us. We will reach these places only by sticking close to him like a sheep would to a shepherd. How close are you?

 Even though Satan throws you to the ground, don't let his stabbing and kicking you while you are down keep you down. Find strength in your Heavenly Father, and get back up again (you're maybe knocked down but not out forever).

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4).

God bless!

The Side Not Seen

People around the world are bashing Christians because of the things we are against, like homosexuality, greed, and gay marriage, but they aren't seeing what Christians stand FOR! Throughout all of the Gospels time, and time again we see Jesus show compassion and love towards those who were "sick" or the unrepentant sinners; yet we today show hate and nothing but.

I challenge you to do as Jesus did, BREAK THE CHAINS of the people around you and show the true colors of The Almighty and Glorious God that we serve... Love, compassion, forgiveness, and mercy.

"For Jesus did not come to this world to condemn the world, but to save it." (John 3:17 paraphrased)

Even the lost are kind to those who are kind back, but I ask of you this. Show even those who frustrate you a smile, show them a friendly face, show them the compassion of Christ Jesus to the best of your ability.

The stand.

"So the last will be first, and the first will be last." --Matthew 20:16.

Twenty-first century life is very competitive: sports teams are shedding sweat, blood, and tears to see who is the best; people are rushing through doors to see the number one movie on the charts; and résumés are being polished to fight for the position in a business. Although this arms-around-the-neck-of-the-opponent atmosphere is in the worldly parts of our lives, we shouldn't let our competitive tendencies be a trait of our spiritual lives.

There are no winners or losers of faith. In God's eyes, we are all equal. How could it be any other way? We cannot make God love us any more or less than He already does, no matter what we say or do:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

So wait... what's the talk about being first and last then? When I run to call shotgun and my sister gets to the car after me, does that mean she gets shotgun? I know that's how I've been exposed to that particular verse, but that's taking it way out of context.

The true context is a parable in Matthew 20: A landowner goes to town to find people to tend to his land for the day. He promises every person that he hires a denarius for the work they do. At the end of the day, each person hired gets a denarius, but the problem is that the people who were hired earlier in the day--and, in turn, worked longer--saw that the people who were hired later in the day--and, in turn, didn't work very long--getting a denarius, so they assumed that they were going to get more. The landowner's response to such reaction to his generosity was a question: "I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?" (v. 13). It was the landowner's money to give, not the men's, so they didn't have any right to judge.

This parable was explaining how the kingdom of Heaven is: God lines us all up and gives us the gift of live through His Son, Jesus Christ, no matter how long we have been following Him in faith. Whether we have been Christians for fifty-five years or five seconds, we receive the gift that God promises us. He even loves those that deny Him. We have no place to say that someone doesn't deserve God's love.

Every one of us have been given our lives: lives that are perfect in God's eyes. We shouldn't be dissatisfied in any way. We all have fallen. We all deserve the penalty of death because of our sin, but we have all been redeemed through the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord and Savior. Thank the LORD for the life He has given you, for it is a life that could never be replaced.

God bless!

Seek First the Kingdom

I have found in my life that sometimes God acts as the "Great Reverser". By this I mean that several times in my life I have planned to do something in order to achieve something else, only to then have God reverse how it is to be done. For example, I went to college with a career focus hoping to grow in life through this pursuit, but God reversed it and told me "No, through focusing on growing in life you will learn what your career is to be." Next I wanted to grow as a Christian, and then I would be able to help others. But again He reversed it and told me "No, it is through helping others that you will grow as a Christian." Next, I really wanted a partner in life, one that I could love and one who could love me in that special kind of way that only husband & wife can. I thought that when I finally had a girlfriend, then I would grow closer to God.. but again God told me the opposite of what I was thinking: "No, take time now to grow closer to Me, and then through this you will find a partner." 

So I guess the only reason I tell you this story is because I want to let you know two things:
1) Every "No" from God is for you good, and every "No" is to guide you to the best He has for you.
2) When we worry about the things we don't have more than we look to God, we will not find the answers to these problems. Instead, by looking to God first and making Him first in your life, then you will given these things (Matthew 6:33).

Role Models (NIV 1 Timothy 4: 11-16)

As we are growing up, we [subconsciously seek role models in our lives] look to others to see a role model. Most would look towards a parent or older sibling, but those are not always the greatest. A healthy role model is someone who seeks after a holy life for God: someone who is selfless, loving, kind, and has a heart for the LORD. As a Christian, you would be looking for someone who is spiritually healthy, just as Timothy did towards Paul. Without these healthy role models in our life or those in the Scriptures we lose the goals that God has given us. Paul shows Timothy how to be healthy a healthy role model in Christ in 1 Timothy 4:11-16

                  11 "Command and teach these things. 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.

15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."

(Bold added for importance)

Going through these bolded parts, each has importance:

Command - set standards and don’t lower them no matter what

Teach - inform everyone of these set standards

Set an example - Show the standards through you in speech, actions, love, faith, and purity.

Devote yourself - Prioritize

Public reading of Scripture - It’s not just tradition, but important to grow with those around you

Preaching and Teaching - Showing others, through words AND action

Gifts - God gave you something amazing as a gift. USE IT!

Diligent - Be an expert in Scripture--in holiness

Give yourself wholly to them - Put your all into the LORD.

Watch - Pay Attention

Life - The way you live

Doctrine - What you believe in

Persevere - Follow through, and NEVER give them up.

Just as Timothy had Paul to guide the way for him, who do you have in your life to do the same? A sibling, relative, or maybe even a friend, but I would recommend an adult the church, if not a leader, or a pastor. Someone who is older and more wise, so they would be able to give you sound advice in times of trouble, and just words of encouragement because they’ve been in your shoes before. I challenge you to find a mentor or a role model if you do not yet have one, because it will change you.

You're not alone!

"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." --1 Thessalonians 5:11.

There are times in our lives when we feel the most alone even though we know that God is always there. Don't deny it. I know I'm not going to, but what's awesome about God is that He shows how much He loves us through the people that are in our lives: our brothers and sisters--the Body of Christ.

This is the crucial part of our relationship with Christ. Once we make the decision to accept that Christ is Savior and sincerely believe that God is the Creator of the universe, that is just the beginning. There are stumbling points along the way, and the great part is that we don't have to struggle alone "because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1 Peter 5:9b). What an encouragement to have! Yesterday, today, and forever, there will be believers going through the same struggles that we are personally experiencing, and you can read yourself how the story ends. God wins!

We are created by God to be social beings, and by creating relationships with other believers, we build each other up:

"I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong--that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith" (Romans 1:11-12).

 No one person's walk with Christ is the same as another's. They're just as different as our gifts are that God has given us; however, we do not want to boast about the strengths that we have! Do not feed your ego by putting other people down. When they are weak, show them Christ and encourage them to make them strong, for "your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8b).

While looking for Scripture to suit this sort of topic, I was looking on Bible Gateway, in particular, for verses that had the words "encourage" and/or "companion" in them. What I found that was interesting was that Isaiah 41 came up for both:

"[T]hey help each other and say to their companions, 'Be strong!' The metalworker encourages the goldsmith and the one who smooths with the hammer spurs the one who strikes the anvil. One says of the welding, 'It is good.' The other nails down the idol so it will not topple" (Isaiah 41:6-7, emphasis added).

What is going on here? These people are making idols to worship! Alright, so people that turn their backs away from God also encourage each other, so how are we to show society that we are different from everyone else? We ought to act better than pagans do, but how? Matthew 5 helps a lot with the answer to this question. Let's break it down:

How do we stand out from the rest in regards to our relationships with people?

 "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (vv. 44-45).

 Why should we love those who persecute us? They persecuted us!

"If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" (vv. 46-47).

I don't want to be a tax collector or pagan. What do I do?

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (v. 48).

Let's encourage the Body! Let's love like Jesus and encourage the world!

God bless!

 

God's Plan vs. Our Plan

 Often times God’s plan is a lot different from what our plans are. We could spend days, weeks, months, and even years planning something, but if it is not what God wants, then we should definitely not do that thing. I feel as if many people struggle with why God sometimes says “no” to a certain prayer, desire, or dream. I know for me personally, when God says no, I get kind of upset, and even angry. But this should not be our response. Please remember that God only says “no” when He has something better in store for us.

It’s kind of like when you go on a vacation, and you plan out the whole entire trip: activities, entertainment, adventures, restaurants etc. But all of a sudden, one of your dear friends comes by, looks at your itinerary, and says “how about this instead..”. You are hesitant to hear them out, but you do anyways just because they are your friend. “How ‘bout you go do this activity.. go see this movie.. go hike this trail.. and go eat at this restaurant instead. You’ll really like it.” But you don’t like the sound of it.

Time goes on, and the vacation is near, when all of a sudden, things get messed up and you have to go do what your friend suggested. You’re not too happy about this, in fact you’re really upset because you don’t get to do what you wanted. And it’s really not the fact that you can’t do it that you’re upset, it’s just that you invested so much time into these specific things. But, you take your friend’s advice and it turns out you have a blast!! And you realize that it was SO much more fun than what you had originally planned.

This is what it’s like with God. Sometimes in life, we will plan and plan and plan something. We will invest so much into it only to have God tell us “no.” But please listen to Him longer, He doesn’t just say ‘no’, He says “no.. I think you will enjoy this even more. Why don’t you give this a try?” And if you do give it a try, I guarantee that you will like it even better. You might even have a blast!!

Please remember Romans 8:28, and declare it's truth in your life today!

(Was not posting Rom 8:28 my way of making you pull out your Bible?? idk :P haha)

Be blessed everyone!