I'm Still Standing Here

While listen to K-Love, I heard Colton Dixon's song, "Never Gone". I love how he took an experience that he had as a kid and connected it to his relationship with Jesus. Colton said that when he was younger, he would run and turn the lights on when he was in bed, to make sure everything was still there. This is like when we have a struggle in our lives and we ask if Jesus is still there, and we turn on the lights. I love the chorus of this song that says, "I'm still standing here. No, I didn't disappear. Now the lights are on. See I was never gone." Deuteronomy 31:8 says "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discourage." In both the song and the verse, the word never is used. In life you can't trust when someone says never because it is easy to break, but when Jesus says never He means it. So what ever you are going through take comfort in knowing that Jesus will NEVER leave you, so you don't need to go rush and turn the light on, because Jesus is still standing there.

Here is the song by Colton Dixon if you wanted to watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRbWgiSPAcw

Pay Attention

So recently I got my drivers licenses. And boy do I see things differently. Growing up, I didn't really notice all that happened around the car. But when I got my licenses I noticed how fast cars fly by, and how many close calls happen. When you are driving, you have to pay attention to everything or else you could wreak and hurt yourself or others. The same thing goes with God. You need to pay attention 24/7. That way you can get everything He tells you. Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, 'I find no pleasure in them'" Even one second of not paying attention to God can cause you a world of hurt. One moment of ignoring God, can end you up doing something that you don't want to do. And once you start it's hard to stop. In a car when you hit your breaks, you don't stop immediately but skid forward into someone else. Even if you get back to paying attention to God, it may be too late.
When you get into a wreak, the driver of the other car may not forgive you for not paying attention for a second, God does forgive you. He understands that we are human. That's why He sent His son to die for us, because God knows how easily distracted we get.
So are you paying attention to God or are you flying past Him?

What You Can Handle

I play field hockey. This is my third year playing it. I love the games and most of the practices, but I do not like the running. Wednesday, our coach increased our running by a lot. We now had to do 2 laps and stairs, and then we had to do forty yard sprints. With my asthma it was difficult to complete all that. God knew that. So on the laps. I only did one lap and stairs and then my asthma got really bad that I had to stop and take medicine. This gave me enough time to rest, before the sprints. But I had to stop during the sprints because I couldn't breath. That night I pretty much went home in tears because of how much my body and lungs hurt. I got home, and before my shower I tried to find anything in the bible that could help. I found Mathew 10:29-31 saying, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very own hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." This verse meant to me is that God knows everything about me. He knows I have asthma, and that it gets hard for me to breath. He knows how much my body can handle before it shuts down. God gave me asthma problems on the first lap because He knew I would come off and get medicine. He did this so I wouldn't totally die in the sprints. If you are struggling with something, and it feels like everyone else is better than you, just know that God knows. He knows that maybe you struggle with school, or sports, or relationships, and God wants you to give it all to Him. When you do, He can do amazing for you. The practice on Friday (had a game Thursday), the coach said if you want to do conditioning then come an  half hour early to practice. I didn't go because I knew how much work it was. It's not that I'm being lazy, it's just hard for me to run for an half an hour with my asthma. I gave the practice on Wednesday, and He made it to where I didn't have to go and run, because he knows how difficult it is for me. And Friday I was able to run the whole two laps and stairs without stopping, because God knew I didn't have to do sprints. So what can you give to God this weekend, so He can work it so that you can handle it?

School!

So for many of us, school has started or it will start soon. Now some of us love school, and some of us don't. But it is important to remember, that growing up that our job is school. We are there to learn and to grow, so that one day we can go out in the real world and have a job, and provide for our self, or a family. Luke 2:52 says, "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." When Jesus was on this earth, he had to do what everyone else did. He went to school, and when he started a job, He wasn't placed in the highest position but He worked his way up. Every where He went, He would grow in wisdom. So as we grow in wisdom, either from school or from God, remember that as you grow you will find favor in God's and men's eye. So take school seriously and put an effort in. One day it will pay off.

Dancing with Jesus

So recently I have had a cool experience with Jesus. I was in my basement, upset because things weren't going my way that day. After listening to some other songs, I finally turned on "Praise You in the Storm" by Casting Crowns. When I looked up from my Mp3 player, I saw Jesus standing right in front of me. When the words came on I just started singing to Him with all I had. During this He slowly came towards me. By the time of the chorus, Jesus grabbed my hands and we started to dance. I closed my eyes and I let Jesus lead. There were moments when I didn't fully trust him, and I opened my eyes to make sure I didn't run into things. But as the song progressed I trusted him more. Not once did I run into a table or the couch or the walls. At the end of the song, I opened my eyes and Jesus was gone, but I felt completely at peace, and I didn't worry about anything that when on that day.
A couple of weeks later, I was thinking about this experience and I realized that life is one big dance routine with Jesus.

If you haven't accepted Jesus into your heart, it's as if you are trying to do a partner dance without a partner, and that is very difficult, because you don't know what to do, and it is hard to do tricks in the dance.
If you have accepted Jesus, but it's still new, it's like you are dancing with each other but your an arms length away. It is still difficult to do tricks, but at least now you have some direction.
The closer you draw to Jesus the closer you will dance to him, until it is like you are on his feet. As a child many of us stand on our parents feet as they dance around the room. Matthew 18:2-4 says "And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" This means that you completely trust Jesus that you will not fall flat on your face. But we occasionally fall off and that is like a slip-up that we make in life. But Jesus has your hands and every time you fall off his feet, he can pull you right back on.
The calm parts in our life are like a high school slow dance. Everyone is rocking back and forth, and it is calm and quiet.
The struggles in life, are the lifts in the dance routine. You have to trust your partner completely. You also don't get the lifts on the first try. You have to keep trying and working on it. It can be hard but God always has you through this part. When you finally get through the struggle, it's as if you have completed the lift which can only add to the dance routine.

After I thought about this, it put my whole life into perspective. I love to dance, and if I am doing a routine with Jesus, I want to know more about Jesus, so that the routine can be more known to me. The more of Jesus that I know, the more of the routine that I will know too.

So I ask, how is your dance routine with Jesus coming along?

Siblings

Many people have siblings and they can either be your friend or your enemy. Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." A different version of the Bible says, "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." God puts certain people in your life not to be enemies but to be a friend and help you grow. It can be great to have a sibling as a friend. They know what is going on at home. Also because siblings normally live in the same home, you don't need an invite to come hang with them. My brother and I are friends. We love to hang out in our basement, and we generally love the same shows on T.V. We each help each other with our homework. Of course we fight, but fights can happen between anyone. If you look at some of the bands out there, they are comprised with siblings. The Jonas Brothers are three brothers, and R5 has four siblings in it. When siblings work together, they can do some amazing things.
But when siblings don't get along, it doesn't only effect the siblings but it can effect their parents or their kids. My mom really can't stand one of her sisters. At the beginning of summer our family was supposed to go to California to go visit our grandpa. But our aunt that mom doesn't like was going out too. so we had to change all of our plans and go later in the summer. That upset my brother and me because we had to wait, and it upset grandpa, because he didn't understand why we switched the date.
Siblings can be a friends and help build each other up, or they can be enemies and cause problems to the whole family. If you have a sibling who is your enemy, it is never to late to make them your friend.

Guarantees

We have all heard in our lives that there are no guarantees. Something can change on a dime that effects your life. It can be as small as a date being canceled, to as big as someone dying who is close to you. But there is one guarantee in life. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says, "Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He has anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."  God's guarantee is that if you believe in Him, there will be many benefits to enjoy in heaven. As a down payment on the benefits, He has sent the holy spirit to live in you. So no matter what you are going through, you always have one guarantee to look forward to.

Holding On

One of the greatest commandments is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) When it says "with all your strength" it doesn't necessarily mean to see how hard you hold on. The Greek word for strength is "echo." And most of us know what echo's do. If you yell in a cave, the echo goes on, and on, and on., and the sound holds on. So holding on with all your strength means, holding onto God everyday. When you hold onto this world, the echo turns into a noise that goes two feet in front of you and falls to the floor. But when you hold on to God with all your strength, then you have an echo that goes on forever. So which one are you holding onto?

Distracting

In our day to day lives, teenagers have a lot going on. If it's not school, then it's friends, or jobs. Some days we can feel overwhelmed and feel like we have no time for a break. But how often do you take time out of your day to focus on God. Some days it is easier then others, but it is still important everyday. Luke 10:38-42 says, "AS Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, 'Lord don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'
'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it  will not be taken away.'"
Mary dropped everything to listen to Jesus, while Martha was busy working. Martha chose to do something that is only temporary, while Mary chose to do something that is eternal and it won't be taken away from her. So in our lives, are we choosing to worry about things that are only temporary, or are we dropping everything to have time to focus on God. In the end, it does mater about how you did in school, or how many friends you have, or how much money you make, but it matters if God was in you life everyday.