God Made Time

Going into college, one of the biggest questions is  “Who Am I.” Through school up to this point, we have been told what to take, when to take it, and what we should learn from the course.  When you get to college, you get more freedom in what classes you can take, and you get a lot more freedom with what you can chose to fill your free time with. You can very well sit in front of the TV for hours on end, or you can do something that has significance to your growth as a person. How you use your time, shapes how you will use your time in the future, and it shapes what exactly you are going to do as a career. I am writing this as I am sitting in Falls Park, Sioux Falls, an hour away from college. I came out here, to take pictures of the falls, but also to spend time in God’s creation and enjoying what he has made. Now I could have spent time with God in my dorm, and I could have taken pictures of the campus, but there is something in setting aside time, to break up a routine that has been set that helps you grow as a person. Ecclesiastics 3 talks about how there is a “season” and a “time” for every “matter under the sun.” Sure there is time to do school work, and time to do TV, but there is time to explore who you are and who God made you to be. There is also time to break the routine that you may be stuck in and try or go somewhere new. Trust me there is enough hours in the day to explore who you  are and who you are going to be, you just may need to use your time more wisely.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for giving me my interests. I pray that I can use my time wisely to use my interest to glorify you. Thank you for the free time you give me, and I pray that I can make the most of each minute, whether it is studying, sharing your love, or just relaxing. Amen.

Still a Hero

I don't know why but recently I have been feeling pretty nostalgic. I was looking through some older post of mine, and I found this one. It was written a couple of years back, and as I read it, I wonder if it still could be applied to my life. I wrote it when I went to a public high school, but I am now going to a Private Christian college. It was about being a hero in a dark world, but that couldn't possibly apply to me now that I am with a community of Christians. It still does apply, because even a Christian School, there is still brokenness and sin, and you can still be a hero to some one who already believes. So I don't know where you are in your life, or what type of school you are going to, but I pray you take encouragement to be a hero for the people around you.


Growing up, we all watch the princess and hero movies, and we all imagine that one day we could be a hero and do awesome things, and save people lives. When we grow up, we realized that we won't be able to fly or to become invisible, and that we aren't going to be locked up in a castle waiting for Prince Charming to come. What really happens is that we fall into a routine. We wake up, go to school, come home and do homework, and then we go to bed. The isn't much of a chance for us to be that brave hero that comes in and saves the day.

 What would happen if I say that in everyday life, you have a chance to be a hero. It may not be a big action, crime fighting hero, but you can save someone's life. Casting Crown's new song, "Heroes" explains how we can all be heroes. The second verse goes, "He walks the halls, against the flow / He sees his high school as his mission field / He’s broken ‘cause he knows / The hopeless road that they are taking / The empty feelings they are chasing only lead to futures wasted / So he’s willing to stand alone / He lives what he believes when they all say it’s not worth believing / Every night on his knees, he prays “God, won’t / You please help me reach them?”" You can be a difference in your school. It may require you to stand alone, but you can save someone's life from eternal separation from God. Now it may be hard to think of ways to reach your school, so I'm going to list some things that my bible study at school thought of, and some bible verses to go with it.

Positivity-When you can stay positive though what ever you are going through, people start to wonder why are you so positive. This then creates a good platform to share the gospel. 

Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me,"

Loving on People-When Jesus was on Earth, He went around loving on people. Some ways you could love on someone might be as easy as introducing yourself, or sitting with them at lunch.

John 13:34-35 says, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

Speaking Up-When your class talks about something that you don't agree with, stand up for what you believe in. You may not win any argument, but you can get some minds thinking abut what they believe.

Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Standing Out-When you see people you are close with doing something that you shouldn't be doing, don't take a part in it. That way people can see that you mean what you believe and when they ask why, you can share with them why.

Ephesians 2:8-10 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

Honor Your Parents/Obeying Authority-No matter how uncool this sound, God put them in charge of you for a reason. When you do what they ask, no matter how uncool, people will start thinking and asking questions and this gives you a great opportunity to share with them.

Exodus 20:12 says, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." 

Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you."

Reading Your Bible-This is killing two birds with one stone. You are growing in your faith, and when people ask you what you are reading, it gives you a great platform to share the gospel with them.

Psalms 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Pray-When you pray in school, people can clearly see the God you serve.

 Mark 11:24 says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours"

This is just a list of some of the things that you can do. Some of them will be easier then others, but when you start to show God's love in your school, you are bound to be a hero. So, how are you going to be a hero at your school?

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the lessons that you teach us that can be applied to any part of my life. I pray that I can be a light for people no matter if they are a believer or not, because we all need a little reminder every now and then. Thank you for your constant love. Amen.

Song Break Down - Right Here

I haven't heard of Ashes Remain before, but they kept coming up on my Pandora, and then I found a video that I loved that was to their song. I am actually going to write about the song that was used in the video, "Right Here." When I first heard this song, I couldn't help but get emotional because it speaks so much truth in it. The song “Right Here” talks about that no matter how much your life is changing, God’s love is always constant and he is always by your side.

The first verse of the song sets up nicely that we all struggle in life. We break down and cry because of the scars and the brokenness. We become fearful for we don’t know what is up ahead of us. The first verse goes: “I can see every tear you've cried / like an ocean in your eyes / All the pain and the scars have left you cold / I can see all the fears you face / through a storm that never goes away / Don’t believe all the lies that you’ve been told” God sees the pain you are going through, and he understands it because he was here on Earth and he dealt with pain, betrayal, you name it, he faced it. He understands all the pain that you are going through, and he can see all the hurt that the storm is creating for you. This happen suddenly and our lives can change in an instant and God understands that and the pain that comes with it.

The second verse, however, shows us God’s love for us. The last line of the second verse is “Let me love you when you come undone.” God wants to love you, and the song describes some of the ways he demonstrates his love: “I will show you the way back home / never leave you all alone / I will stay until the morning comes / I’ll show you how to live again / and heal the brokenness within” He wants to guide you back home. He wants to stay with you until the storm clears. He wants you to live your life, and not be chained to the brokenness. He is willing and waiting to do all this for you, but you have to let him. I know that it is difficult when everything else is changing to put you trust in God, but no matter the situation, he still wants to love on you.

Now the chorus is my favorite part. “I’ll be right here now / to hold you when the sky falls down / I will always / be the One who took your place / When the rain falls / I won’t let go / I’ll be right here” I love it because there is so much truth in there and there is verses in the Bible to back it up. My favorite part is “I will always / be the One who took your place” because he is the only one who can take your sins away, which is what he did on the cross. John 19:30 says, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” When Jesus died, all you sins were taken from you. Jesus said that it is finished, because he took away all your sins, and replaced it with his love which is never changing. Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” God always loves you, and there is nothing that can change his love for it is always constant. And finally Hebrews 13:5b says, “For he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” God love is never changing, and he is never leaving your side. The words “right here” have a connotation of being in closeness to an object. By God being “right here” he is close to you, and he is never going to leave that closeness, no matter how much your life changes or how far you try to push him away.  

God loves you, and he wants to love you through the storms in your life. There is a line in the bridge that I love: “reach for my hand.” You have the choice to take God’s love or not, but know that all you have to do is reach out to him, for he is right there ready to love on you. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for always being right beside me during the storms in my life. I know that I can always reach out to you and you will be there. Thank you for you constant love and forgiveness. Amen. 

Audio Video
Right Here

Hope vs. Fantasy

Many of us at some point in our lives have fantasied about what our future will be like. What car we will drive, who we will marry, how many kids we will have. But as we grow older, we convert our fantasies into what is actually real. We then end up gaining a pessimistic view on life, from the struggles and conflicts that fill our lives.
The thing is that even as grow older, we may lose our fantasies but that doesn't mean we lose our hope. I was talking with a friend who is going through a tough time in life, and I emailed her, and I was so filled with hope for the situation. She responded "I don't live in a fantasy." It breaks my heart that as a whole we see hope as a fantasy, something that is our of reach, something that we can't have. God came to Earth to give us hope in the hopeless situations, and we don't have to earn this hope either. God offers it freely. Its not living in a fantasy if you are hopeful in a situation. There are days where it is that hope I have in the Lord that gets me though the day. I am hours away from home, in a new situation, not sure of my future, not knowing anyone coming in, but I still have hope that God has a plan for me here, and that he is there for me, and so far college has been amazing. Sure there are it's ups and downs, but I have learned so much already, and I hope that as I continue this new journey that I can continue to learn and continue to grow. Having hope is not the same as having a fantasy.
If you are in a hopeless situation right now, below are some Bible verses for you to meditate on, with a specific goal to give you hope that can help get you through what may be going on in your life.

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope"

Philippians 4:13 "For I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." 

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the hope that you give each one of us. Thank you for the plans you have for our lives, and for always being with us. Lord I pray that you will be there beside us to give us hope in the hopeless situations. Amen.

A Short Note

So far college is going great for me. Dordt College is an amazing college, and I enjoy all my classes. I am still however, still trying to get adjusted to college life, and that includes when I will write my post for my blog. For example, the time where I had roughly planned to write my blog, I instead got invited to go to a karaoke party with some of the girls from my hall. So some of my posts are going to be short for a while as I get use to finding the time and the words to say what I want in my blog, and I say thanks now for your patience.
One thing that I have noticed at Dordt so far, is how they hold every degree program up to a standard of serving the Lord. Many people think that the only way to serve the Lord through work is by being a pastor or a missionary, but Dordt focuses on everyone bringing glory to God no matter what major you are. Colossians 3:23 came to mind as we talk about this, and it says, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." This verse talks about how we are to work for the Lord in whatever we do, it doesn't matter if we are a pastor or a janitor. 
This is just an interesting topic to think about, because we all can glorify the Lord in a way that is unique to us. I plan on going more in depth on this topic in the future, as well as talking about how to glorify God in my specific major. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
You have called each and everyone of us to a specific vocation and we each have a different skill set. I pray that I can use the skills you have given me to glorify you in all that we do. Amen.

A Way to Glorify God

As Christians know, we are to show God's love in all that we do. This is a shirt I made. It looks like a note that was written from God to his child. I love it because not only can the wearer be encourage, but the other people around can also be encourage. It is small things like this that can bring glory to God's kingdom in everyday life. For those who can't see the shirt it says:
My Child,
You are unique and wonderfully made. Nothing in this world can take my love away from you. I see the plans I have for you, and your future looks so bright. I'm here to bring light to the darkness that surrounds you. I will never leave nor forsake you.
Love,
You Heavenly Father 

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your love and mercy everyday, I pray that in what ever I do in life, that I can glorify you, Thank you for always being with me. Amen.

What is Love? Story

This is the story part of this whole series. Sorry that it is long.

I worked at the movie theater near my house over the summer, and I became friends with one of my co-workers. We instantly bonded over courses that we took in high school, even though we were in different schools. From then on, we always talked while we cleaned the theaters, and he became a really close friend. We talked on all sorts of topics, and even though we may not have agreed on every subject, we were still able to hold an actually discussion. We would tell each other a lot about our lives, and I never felt like he was judging me once. It just that for the first time in a long time, I had someone to talk to who didn’t judge me, and he listened, and I felt like there are people out there who do care to know what I have to say. Don’t get me wrong, I had friends who I trusted and who I know are there for me, but it was the first time that I could just be myself, and I had the best time hanging around him.

There were, however; two big difference between us: religion and gender identity. He is an Atheist, and he identifies as trans-gender. Now I’m not one who discriminates on who my friends are, and we had great conversations on religion and identity. He knows I am a Christian, and he knows where I stand on many subjects. Normally, I would argue my points in conversations with non-believers, but he was different. I couldn’t get him out of my mind, and I one day prayed “Why did you put him in my life God?” I knew God had a purpose for this friendship, and I would soon figure out a part of the reason why.

The Sunday before we both left for college, it was his last day of work. If you know me personally, I love writing little notes when something ends, just saying thanks for going through this with me. So I wrote him a note, wishing him well in college. But I had a nagging feeling that I had to do more, and as I was praying to God about what I should do, I got this crazy idea. I remember in many of our conversations him talking about how much CU Boulder cost, plus the cost for the injections for the trans-gender. I knew he was hurting financially, and while I couldn’t pay for everything, I knew I could help. So I wrote a check for $250.00, and I put it in the note, and his last night of work, my family went to see a movie, and I snuck away at  the end, and I stuck the check and note in his hat and left. I actually didn’t expect to see him, and I gave him the money, knowing that he couldn’t pay me back.

The thing that I didn’t expect was how much that it meant to him, and how much it would affect me. All I did was show some gratitude for him, and helped him financially. But God knew how much it would mean to him, and how much the whole experience would mean to me too. I gave to him not expecting to be paid back, but I did away, like it talked about in Luke 6:34 about lending money. The thing is that he didn’t cash the check. He actually laminated it because the thought means so much more than the money. Then you have the story of the Good Samaritan, who went out of his way to help a man. I went out of my way to make sure I went to the movies that Sunday so I could give him the note, a few sentences that he valued very much. Lastly I talked about Philippians 2, and I put his interest before mine. I was more worried for his financial need than mine, because I know that God has me covered when it comes to paying for college. The thing is, this was one event of me reflecting God’s love, and I take none of the credit, because it was the Holy Spirit who moved me to do this, knowing what both he and I would get out of it. God’s love has a way of changing both people that are involved, and from my side it is incredible. I did something small, compared to what Jesus did, and if I feel good for loving on my friend, I can’t even imagine how God feels every minute of every day that he loves us. This whole summer spent with my friend was amazing and I wouldn’t have changed it for the world, for the growth in my self-esteem, but also through the Holy Spirit in becoming a little more like Jesus. 

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your love everyday. Your love is constant and always there for me. I pray that I will be able to reflect your love onto others. You always know what you are doing, and I trust you with what you have for my future. Thank you for the friends that you place in my life. Amen.

What is Love? Verses

These two posts this week, plus whatever may carry over into next week, all go together. I was working on my post for today, and as I was typing and typing and typing and it got way too long. So I broke it up into two, maybe three, days. Today is just the Bible verses that I am going to be referring to during this time, and they will be mentioned in the upcoming post, so I encourage you to read them and my interpretation of them, but also find time before Saturday to read them on your own to develop your own understanding of these verses. The parts in bold are what I think are important, and they are what correlates best to the story on Saturday.

                                                                                            

The first verse I am going to use in this “What is Love” series is taken from Luke 6: 27-36.

 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also.  Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.  Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!  And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.” (NLT)

These verses are about loving your enemy, but I believe that they can be taken farther than that and applied to loving everyone. The verses in bold I feel can especially be applied to any situation. You can lend friends money, and not worry about them paying you back.  You can treat your friends like how you want to be treated in a friendship. You can show love to them, even if things may be a little hostile, and you can always show compassion. To me, this passage talks about going above and beyond what society believes how we should treat people, and loving anyone, even if they love us back or not.

The next verse that I want to examine more closely is Luke 10: 29-37

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (NIV)

Many of us know that this is the parable of the Good Samaritan. I chose this one because the Good Samaritan (in bold), went out of his way to help a man he didn’t know. He gave his money, time and possessions to this man that was on the side of the street. The Good Samaritan also didn’t feel obligated to help the man, but he did it out of love and compassion for him.

The last verse that I am going to use is Philippians 2:3-9.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name, (NIV)

I chose this last one, because it shows the love that God had when he sent his Son to Earth to die for us. It also shows how Jesus was here not to be served, but to serve. He put our interest before his, and died for us. We are than to take what Jesus did for us, and put others before ourselves and our needs.

These are only a select few of the verses to demonstrate God’s love for us. There are so many more, but I feel like these three fit well with the story I am to tell on Saturday. Please take time to read these and to understand them yourself and for your life, because they are great verses.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your love that you give every new morning. I pray that I can reflect your love onto other people. I pray that I can step outside society’s expectations and show the world what love truly looks like with your help. Amen.