Peace

Many of us get a time in our lives where we are anxious about something. Whether it is a big test coming up, or a speech, or maybe the championship game, we all get anxious about something. With that, we tend to worry or get angry or just get plain out confused. So over this past week, these verses have came up a lot and they fit the situation on which I'm writing on. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious in anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ." This verse is saying that when we get anxious about anything, we need to let God know and give the situation to Him. When we pray to God and thank Him for taking care of our anxious hearts, He gives us peace. With this he will guard your heart and mind from anxious thoughts. If you don't give God your anxious heart, then there is no way for Him to guard you and give you peace. And for me personally, I would like to have peace, than an anxious heart filled with worry, and hatred, and confusion. So what ever you are anxious about, just give it all to the Lord.

You Got Me

So, I was working on a digital arts project for school, while listening to music. The song "Carry Me" by Josh Wilson came on, and I immediately knew what I could do for a project. So this is what I made.

 

Now let me explain this picture, so you don't think that it is a surfboard going through my brother. I got inspiration from the song "Carry Me" by Josh Wilson. I took the lines from the bridge that say, "I'm at the end of my self. I know I got nothing left. Feels like I'm stuck in the valley of the shadow of death. And I've been down here so long, I just can't find my way out. Oh, God I don't stand a chance unless you carry me out." So I position my brother so that he looks like he is in the fetal position, but he is looking up at Heaven for God's help. in the background you see God's hand, which is white because God is holy. Then above the hand you can see my brother's shadow. This is symbolizing how God is carrying him. God may not physically come carry you, but God will carry your spirit. God won't let his spirit fall because he has it in his hands.

 

I did this for a project because I know that we all have a point in our lives that it feels like we are walking in the valley of the shadow of death. Psalms 23:4 says, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." Just as God is carrying my brother's spirit, God will do the same for you. God is always with, even in the valley of the shadow of death. So what ever you are going through in life, look up to God for help.



Sharing the Gospel

 Special: I know that this isn't when I normally post, but this was to important to wait until Saturday.

So at my school's bible study we are doing a series of sharing the gospel. The first week we talked about what the gospel was. I went in front of the club and shared the gospel, and to me it proved that I knew what it was. So the second week, we broke into pairs and practice sharing the gospel. This was to figure how we would start the conversation. That is when I really started to freak out. I can easily get in front of a group and share the gospel any day of the week, but when it comes to having an actual conversation, and one that I would have to start, I just panic and crawl into my shell. So
I just was thinking what am I going to do. I have tried for the past two years just trying to invite a person to come to our club and that hasn't happened. So I told my self that I was going to do it. That night I told myself, "I would rather fail miserably trying, then to spend my whole life in regret."
So over the weekend I was reading my bible, and God showed me a couple verses that I needed to read.  The first is Jeremiah 15:19a which says, "Therefore this is what the Lord said: 'If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worth, not worthless, words, you will be my spokesman.'" This comforted me because I knew that every word that I spoke was going to be used for God's plan. The next one was Jeremiah 1:6-8 which says, "'Ah, Sovereign Lord,' I said, 'I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.' But the Lord said to me, 'Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah was speaking, and God was asking Him to go before Jerusalem because they were not obeying God's commandments. Jeremiah had little confidence that he could do it, but God said to trust him and he would put every word that was needed into his mouth. That goes for all of us. We may not feel like we can do what God wants us to do, but God always have a way.
So today, the club met and prayed before we broke out into teams to go spread the gospel. I was with two of my friends, who are younger then me. So we went into the caferteria, and we found the girl who we wanted to talk to. So the other two decided that I sould go up and start the conversation because I was the oldest. Now the other two are much more outgoing then me, but all three of us were afraid. So I went up said hello, we introduced ourselves, we got her name, and  then we were suposed to to share the gospel. So the youngest of the group, had the paper with the basic outline of the gospel, and she handed to me. After passing it back and forth, they played the you are the oldest card, so you should share it. I ended up sharing it, but I didn't use the paper because I already knew the gospel. Afterwards it got awkward fast, so we ended up leaving.
Our first go at sharing the gosple failed misarably, but it was also successful. I mean we did share the gospel with her, which was the goal, but it was awkward and we did just leave her. By having the you are the oldest card played on me, forced me to step outside my comfort zone. If they didn't do it, I would not have spoke a word the whole time. And because I steped outside my comfort zone, I now know what I need to improve on for the next time. Also, a little humilty in my life isn't a bad thing either, it is a way to bring me back to the fact that I'm can't do everything.
So if you are scared of sharing the gospel, just go do it. After we shared the gosple, my group went back to the club room where they were talking about their fears. They were saying that fears aren't from God but the devil. so during one of my classes, I came up with, "The devil only puts fear in your life to stop you, because he knows that if he doesn't stop you, then you can do  a lot for the Kingdom of God." So if you don't let those fears rule your life, then you can actually do a lot for the Kingdom of God. And we will fail along the way, like my group did, but you can only get better from your failures. I can't wait to take another swing at sharing the gospel, because I know that God is with me, and that I am stronger from my failures.

Why

Many of us have heard the saying, "Bad things happen to good people." And it is true. Things can happen in our lives, that we don't plan or want, that can change the world that we have created for ourselves.  For example, my dad was driving to work in his jeep and he slipped on some black ice. He lost control, went up onto the grass, hit a tree, and took out a power box. Now Dad wasn't seriously hurt, but the jeep is totaled. When he called us saying he wrecked, Mom started to panic so she took my brother and I to school, because she didn't want me to wreck on black ice too. And because my car wasn't at school, mom had to pick me up on my off period to take me home. For that day, our whole world was shaken. God lets things happen in our lives for certain reasons. Romans 8:28 says "And we know all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose." Now standing here today, I don't know what God's purpose was for wrecking the jeep. If you ask different people, they will say for different reasons, but I know that God is going to use this in our lives, and we just have to wait and see.

AHHHH!!!

There are some times in our lives, when things get overwhelming. Between school, work, sports, friends, we hardly ever get a chance to catch our breaths.It is always go, go, go, do, do, do it is hard to get our bearings. I know for me, life feels like a game of catch-up in math. Math is my strongest subject, but I keep bombing tests. I know the teacher says not to pay attention to the grades, because the test are harder on the AP test. I know he purposefully makes the tests hard, but it hurts when people have way higher grades then me.  It gnaws at me because my math grade is low for me. I know the church answers, "You shouldn't find your identity in anything else but God," and "God made you perfect," but it hurts when you try to follow the church answers, and you come up short. And yes I know, "We will all fall short of God's mark," but sometimes people through phrases around that I have heard a billion times doesn't make me feel better.
So after math, I had digital arts which is using a computer for an hour and a half. The first thing I did was look at my email, and I saw K-Love's Encouraging Word of the Day which was Psalms 46:10 which says, "Be still, and know that I am God." Then I went to Pandora, which is what I normally do during digital arts, and clicked on Casting Crowns Radio, and the first song was "Everyman" by Casting Crowns which is my favorite song of all time. I immediately felt relaxed, because I felt God's presences in the room. After that song ending, other songs came on like "Set me Free" by Casting Crowns,  "In and out of Time" by Colton Dixion, and  "Yours to Hold" by Skillet. I was still, and I listen to God.
I know that sometimes throwing words at a person doesn't help them feel better. But if you sit still and let God throw himself at you, it really helps. God wants to help you, but with our busy lives, we don't allow time for God to help us. So take sometime out of your day, and just listen for God's help.

Nature

It's fall and that means that the leaves are changing on the trees. In the Rocky Mountains, when the leaves change it is so beautiful. but many times we forget to thank God for creating all of this. Psalms 148:7-10 says "Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all oceans depths, lighting and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and small birds." We are suppose to praise the Lord for his creation, and how beautiful it is. So take some time today just to sit outside and enjoy God's creation.

If you can't view the trees changing in the mountains here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Jealousy

Many of us, throughout the course of our lives, have felt jealous. Whether it is because someone had more money then you, or cuter clothes then you, or the cuter boyfriend then you. I know for me, I am jealous every time I walk into my school's bible study. At our bible study, we have people who get up and share what's God is doing in their lives and I would so love to do that, but so far this school year, I haven't done it yet. So one day after the bible study I was flipping through the bible and I found this verse.

 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 says, "For the body is not made up of one part but many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. And if an ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be/ If the whole body was an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arrange the parts in the body, everyone of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is there are many parts, but one body." I think this verse lays it out clearly that, we can't be all the same part. God has each put us in our parts of the body, so that it would benefit the body of Christ.

Now it is common fact that a speaker speaking to no one isn't telling anyone what he is saying, and an audience without a speaker isn't receiving anything. In the case of me presenting in my bible study, maybe God created me to be a part of the audience right now. I so want to be up there speaking, but if everyone was a speaker, then there would be no audience. God knows how much I want to speak, but if he has me in the audience, then that is fine, because I know that he has a plan for me to speak in the future. Just knowing that I am helping the body be sitting and listening, is rewarding enough, and is no reason for me to be jealous of the speaker.

So where ever in your life you might feel jealous, just know that God has you right where you should be. And even though you may not have a big role in helping the body, you can know that you are in fact helping. God would not set you in a place where you are useless, even though it can seem like that at times. So ask God how you can get over your jealous thoughts, and start helping the body of Christ.

God's Will

During our lives, I bet many of us feel like we are going in circles. It feels like day after day, you do the same thing, and you make the same mistakes, and you weren't any farther then you were before.  It's like you are stuck on repeat and there is no way to turn it off. We often wonder why God would let us walk around in circles, day after day. I know that I often feel like He was busy with someone else, so He put me on a circular track so I can't run away. So I typed in on my Google search bar "Bible verses about God's will." The first thing that came up was yahoo answers with 10 bible verses about God's will. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of the ones that stuck out to me.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you.' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.'" Now I have heard this verse over and over again, but every time I didn't get the true meaning of it. I don't know the exact definitions of "welfare" and "calamity" So I looked them up and I found...
-Welfare is the health, happiness, and fortunes of a person.
-Calamity is an event causing great and often sudden damage or distress.
When you put these definitions into the verse it says "plans for health, happiness, and fortune and not for sudden damage or distress." Now realizing that God wants me to be happy, and healthy and have a fortune shows how much God loves me.
All of us might go through some small thing in life that we don't like, but that is apart of God's plan to bring happiness, health, and fortune to us. This is how we are given hope because all God wants for us is what's best. So it may feel like you are just going in circles, or even backwards, but we can have hope for that God has plans for welfare and not calamity, so that we are given hope and a future.

Tests

Test are an everyday part of going to school. It's this constant cycle of studying for a test, taking the test, and then reviewing what we missed on the test. Sometimes we pass the test with flying colors, and some times we completely bomb the test. Our relationship with Christ is also a never ending test. The difference is that Christ's test are worth more then a grade on a high school transcript. Psalms 139: 23-24 says, "Search me, O God and know my heart: Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting." Now there are many parts to this verse. The "Search me" part, is the part of finding out what we don't know. This is right before you take the test. The next part, "Test me," is the actual test. God will put some event in your life, to test you on how will you react. The last part, "Lead me," is the part where you review the test and fix your mistakes. Now if you go through the whole test and you don't try to review and fix your mistakes, then the test is point less. God wants us to learn where we need to grow, that is why He gives us these test.
I know that some of our least favorite this to do in life are test, but are you taking God's tests  seriously enough to change your life?

Beauty

If you look at the covers at all the magazines, you see young woman that look super skinny, and super beautiful. Then some of us try our hardest to look like them. We would do anything, like starvation or surgery or a ton of make-up. But that isn't the beauty we need to be focusing on. God doesn't see the outer beauty when He looks at you, but He sees your inner beauty. Proverbs 31:30-31 says, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." God sees what is in you heart. If your heart is pure and righteous, then God would consider you beautiful. If your heart is full of hatred and evil, then you're not as beautiful to God. God wants us to be like Him. This doesn't mean to look like Him on the outside, but to look like Him on the inside. If you look like God on the inside you will receive a great reward that won't go away because it is forever. If you focus on your outer beauty and not your inner beauty, then your reward is only temporary and will fade away.
So which beauty do you have, inner or outer beauty?