The Necklace-Part One

This week has been amazing. It has been so amazing that I'm breaking it up into three posts. It all started with my Theory of Knowledge class. We had an assignment for our art unit when we had to bring in a favorite piece of art, that we either made or we admired. As soon as our teacher said this, I immediately thought of a new design for I necklace. So I went home that night, and made it. It wasn't exactly how I envisioned it in my mind. That weekend I went shopping with my family at Hobby Lobby and I found the perfect piece that would tie my necklace up nicely. Later I went home and redid the necklace, and it turned put perfect. 

Now there is a story with the necklace. In a nut shell, it is kinda my testimony. I made it so that you “read” the necklace like you read a book. From the left the beads are black, representing how dark it was before I had a true relationship with Christ. The beginning of the relationship is represented by the cross. As you continue to the right side, you see that the necklace has more strands to it and it is very colorful. This represents the hope I know have and how my life has been so much more then I could expect, and I’m only 17. Imagine what can happen in the future with God’s help. Every time that the necklace breaks out to three strands, the colors, or the shapes of the beads are different, that represents how my life is never going to be the same twice in a row, and God has something for me around every turn.

Over the course of this week, I challenge you to think of someway that represents you, that could help you tell your testimony. Mark 5:19 says, “Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”  God wants us to tell people how he has impacted our lives through our testimony. We all have a story, and there is someone out there that can relate, and by that relationship you are able to show God’s love to that person. So take time this week to come up with a way to share your testimony.

The View of Sin

We all know that sin is in the world. We are all born sinners, and we sin everyday, and we can see sin everywhere we go. But how we view that sin is very important. I have chosen three sins that we all know to compare how God sees sin, and how the world sees sin. The three sins I chose are lies, lust, and murder. Lying is something we all do everyday, sometimes we don't even have to think before we lie. Lust can range from cheating on your girlfriend, or having sex before marriage, or committing adultery when you are married. Murder is a tragic event that most people don't want to have happen to them. Below is a graph that I made to show how the world views the three sins listed.

It is clear that the world views each sin differently. The consequence for lying might be your phone taken away, or you are going to be grounded. The consequence for lust might lead you to prison, or to broken relationships. The consequence for murder could be death, or life in prison. You aren't punished equally for each of these sins. Many of us can lie and get away with it, but you can't get away with murder or lust.
But God views these sins differently than the world does. Below is a graph representing how God views each of these three sins.

God views each of the sins the same. And not only that the consequence for all of these sins are the same. James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." You can't just chose to not to lust or murder someone, but then you tell a lie in every sentence that you say. According to God, when you lie, you also commit murder, and lust, and worshiping other gods, and gluttony, and every other sin in the universe. The consequence for each sin is death. Now we are lucky because Jesus died for our sins, all of them. But this doesn't mean that you can keep sinning, because every sin that you commit is another sin that Jesus has to carry to the cross, and that is another sin that Jesus has to die for. 

30 Days - May - Week Four

My 30 day challenge this month is to memorize a new bible verse everyday.

Monday: Philippians 4:5 "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near!"

Tuesday: 1 Corinthians 6:18 "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits is outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body."

Wednesday: Romans 14:13: "Therefore lets us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister."

Thursday: Psalms 25:4-5 "Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

Friday: Psalms 110:1 "The Lord says to my lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."

Saturday: Proverbs 23:12 "Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge."

Sunday: Matthew 21:9 "The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, 'Hosanna to the Son of David'         'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord'                    'Hosanna in the highest heaven!'"

The Power of Prayer

Prayer is a powerful thing. Prayer is the best way to tell God how we feel, whether it is with a debt of gratitude, or a boatload of worry. God loves to hear both kinds of prayers, and everything in between. But I find that most of us pray those small prayers of gratitude, but we don't really cast our cares to the Lord. We would have control of everything in our lives, and we don't want to lose that control. But Psalms 55:20 says, "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." If you take the time, and you give up control of everything of your life, the Lord will sustain you, he will not let you fall. You are casting your cares in the best hands possible, and he wants you to cast your cares on him.  And the cool thing is, God always hears you. You can pray about a friend, and he hears you; you can pray for a test you have, and he hears you; you can pray for anything and God hears you. Another thing is God always answer your prayers. It may be "Yes" which might be what you want to hear, but it could also be "No" or "Wait." This doesn't mean that God doesn't care about you, he is just able to see more of your life than you can, and at the moment the best thing for you maybe a "No" or a "Wait." I often find the most difficult one is wait, because many of us are impatient. but then I heard this amazing phrase from a friend that goes, "God wait is better than your today." That simply means that if God was to give you what you wanted on the day you ask, it would not be as good as if you were to wait. But no matter what God always hear your prayers, and he will answer you, you just need to take the time to pray, and to give up control/cares of your life.

I Trust in Jesus

I saw the cutest post on Facebook and I had to write about it. In it there is Jesus and a girl. The girl is holding a teddy bear about the size of her hand. Jesus is holding the same teddy bear but this one is the size of the girl. He is holding it behind his back so the girl would have to trust him. Jesus is saying “Just trust me, and the girl is saying, “But I like it.” The girl doesn't want to give up her bear because she likes it and it is comforting, but she doesn't know how much more she would like the bear behind Jesus’ back. We have all stumbled upon a time where Jesus asked us to do something, but we didn't want to do it because it would be leaving our comfort zone, but we can’t see what Jesus has in store for us. Jesus only wants what is best for us. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jesus isn't standing there will something behind his back that will hurt you. He is standing there will something that you need, you just have to trust him before you can get it. I know that it is scary, and that it is hard sometimes to leave your comfort zone, but when you do trust God amazing things can happen. I challenge you to think about a part of your life that you are controlling, and give it to God and trust that he can do amazing things with it. He might just surprise you with what he can do.

30 Days - May - Week Three

My 30 day challenge this month is to memorize a new bible verse everyday.

Monday: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient, love is kind. it does not envy it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonors others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.

Tuesday: Philippians 2:14-15 "Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure "children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation." Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky."

Wednesday: Psalms 100:4 "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."

Thursday: Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Friday: Psalms 31:2 "Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me."

Saturday: Proverbs 31:30 "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Sunday: Proverbs 17:27 "The one who has knowledge uses words with retrains, and whoever has understanding is even tempered."

The Vine, the Gardener, the Branches- The Result

As I wrap up my mini series, I want to take a look at the end of "The Vine and the Branches" section, which goes, "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. (John 15:13-17)" Now that is a lot to take in at one time, so lets break it down, going from the end to the beginning.

"This is my command: Love each other." Jesus made it really clear that we are to love the people that are around us. He loved us so much that we are to take the love that He gives and reflect it onto other people.

 "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit--fruit that will last." I love this statement because it shows how much God does love me. God's the gardener, and He chose me to be one of the branches that bear good fruit. And the fruit I bear will last forever. And He didn't just choose me, but He chose all of us who believe. We will all bear good fruit that lasts forever.

"So that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you." He wants you to know Him better and better, while having the ability to ask Him anything and knowing that He will respond. It may not be what you want to hear, but you know that your friend has your best interest in mind, and He won't give you anything less then you deserve. The Father will shape us so that I we will be able to bear as much fruit as possible.

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business." This is mind blowing to me because when I think of a servant, I think of one who does the household chores, and they don't interact with their master. To know that I am more then just a servant is a great feeling.

"Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. " When Jesus says that he calls us friends that opens the door to a world of possibilities. When Jesus calls us His friends that means that he wants a relationship with each one of us. He isn't too big that we should be intimidated to go to him. He wants to get to know us and have a close relationship with everyone of us.

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." To add to the greatness of the friendship Jesus wants with us, He also laid down His life for us. Not many of us would lay down our life for our friends if it came to it. But knowing that Jesus did die for us even though we didn't deserve it shows how much He loves us.

As I wrap up this mini series, I hope you see how loved you are, and how over time, God will shape you to bear good fruit for the entire world to see.

The Vine, The Gardener, The Branches- Fruit of the Spirirt

I'm doing a mini series based around John 15. Last time, I talked about how God shapes us to be beautiful, so we can bear much fruit. Today I'm going to discuss what it means to grow fruit. This doesn't mean that an apple is going to sprout out of your head. When John 15 says "fruit" it is talking about fruit of the Spirit.  Galatians 5:22-23 describes what the fruit of the Spirit are, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." This is the kind of fruit that God is trying to grow in all of us. When we grow these fruits in us, then people around you can start to see them as well. Below are just someways that you could show each of the fruits of the spirit.

Love- A great example for this is by loving your enemies. If someone really is on your nerves, or they bully you, you have the choice to continue to love them. This could be as simple as talking to them when you see them, or just giving them a polite smile.

Joy- When life is difficult, and everyone in your class is down in the dumps, and they complain 24/7; you could smile and have a positive joyful attitude to raise people's spirits

Peace- In the middle of all that you are going through, just taking time out of your day to pray, and read the bible, and ask God to just provide you with peace, you will seem a lot less stressed out.

Forbearance- This is also known as patience. If you have to explain something a couple of times and you keep your cool, and patiently explain it again, you are then really good at forbearance.

Kindness- Giving someone who doesn't have any lunch, or a coat to stay warm, is a good way to be kind.

Goodness- You can show goodness by just doing what your parents/teachers ask of you.

Faithfulness- By staying loyal to a friend and not spreading rumors about them throughout the school shows how faithful you are to them.

Gentleness- Instead of getting angry or annoyed with a situation, you could approach it with a calm/gentle heart.

Self-control- When you want to go up to someone to curse them out, and you hold back, this is really good self-control.

You can only grow these fruits if (1) you are connected to Jesus by believing in him and the fact that he died on the cross for your sins, and (2) if you let God prune you with tests and trials so that you know that the fruit that you will bear will be good fruit, pleasing to the Lord. This won't happen over night, but with time each of the fruits listed above will start to grow. Some will grow faster then others, but you need to make sure that if you are lacking in any fruit that you ask God to help you grow that fruit.

30 Days-May-Week Two

My 30 day challenge this month is to memorize a new bible verse everyday.

Monday: John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart you can do nothing."

Tuesday: 1 Timothy 2:3-6 "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is on God, and one mediator between god and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time."

Wednesday: Psalms 56:3-4 "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose name I praise--In God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?"

Thursday: John 15:15 "I no longer call you a serpent, because a servant does not know his masters business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made know to you."

Friday: 2 Corinthians 12:9 "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Saturday: Daniel 12:3 "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."

Sunday: Job 23:10 "But he knows the ways I take; when he has tested me I will come forth as gold."

The Vine, the Gardener, the Branches- Topiary Effect

I'm in a mini series based off the passage found in John 15. One thing that I love are topiary. A topiary is a tree that can be cut into different shapes. It takes a lot of time and precision to cut the branches into the shape you want. With time and precision, one can create great sculptures.

God does the same thing with us. John 15:2 says, "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." Just like the gardener did with the topiary above, God shapes his vine to be like he wants. If you are an unbeliever, to God you are a dead branch, which bears no fruit, in his beautiful vine that God cuts off. If you are a believer, then he takes the time to prunes you. When he prunes you, he cuts all the unnecessary little twig off. When he does this we are shaped so that we are able to bear more fruit. Up close it is a very long a tedious process, and sometimes, the process of pruning is to painful, because we have a lot of  unnecessary twigs that need to be cut off. But from far away, we are a beautiful topiary, one that is taken care properly, and it looks like an amazing piece of work.

The Vine, the Gardener, and the Branch - Intro

Spring time is in the air, and around this time the flowers are blooming and everything is beautiful outside. Some of us have a green thumb, and some just don’t.  But there is one who is the best gardener of all and that is God. John 15:1 says, “I am the true vine, and my father is the gardener.” Jesus is talking about how when we believe in him, we are connected to him, the vine, and his Father, the Gardener, is the one who shapes us and turns us into something beautiful. He shapes us, and molds us through trials and tribulations, to get us to bear much fruit. As the gardener, he also cuts the dead branches of the vine, to allow for the good ones can grow. If you don’t believe in Jesus, then you will be cut off from the vine, because you would bear the fruit that God wants. For the next two weeks, I’m having a mini-series about the vine, Jesus, and the gardener, the Father, and the branches, us, and how we can bear good fruit for God’s kingdom. 

30 Days - May - Week One

For this month, my 30 day challenge is to memorize a Bible verse everyday.

Thursday: Jeremiah 1:17-19 "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land- against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, the people of the land. For they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.

Friday: John 1:12-13 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to be children of God- children not of natural descent, or human decision, or a husband's will, but born of God.

Saturday: Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God is with you,he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

Sunday: Amos 5:4 This is what the Lord says to the house of Israel: "Seek me and live."

Memorizing the Bible

Many of us know that reading the Bible is important. But many of us don't take time to memorize the Bible. Now I bet a lot of you reading this are freaking out because you need to memorize 1000+ pages. I'm not saying that you have to memorize the whole, Bible but memorizing parts of it will help. Psalms 37:31 says, "The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip." It is one thing to just read the Bible, but it is another thing to put the Bible in your heart. When you have memorized scripture, let's say on how God values you, then when you are tempted to believe that you are worthless, and not meant for anything, then you could just say back the scripture you memorized to strengthen you. Ephesians 6:17 says, "And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." The word of God is to be used as a defense weapon , and if you don't know at least parts of the Bible how are you ever going to defend yourself. I know that it is hard to memorize verses, but when you memorize ones that actually pertain to you and what you are going through, they actually become useful quite often. 
For my 30 day challenge this month, I'm going to be memorizing a new Bible verse everyday, and I encourage you to try to do the same with me.