Value May 28, 2012

Looking at myself through God’s eyes is something I have been struggling with. People tend to get their worth from things such as their appearance or their accomplishments.  I am trying to get my value from God.  Value is defined as the relative worth or importance of something.  Basically, an object’s worth is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it.  If we apply this to ourselves, we are priceless.  God paid the highest price for us. Our price was Jesus’ blood.

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.     1 Peter 1:18-19

When I think about how He paid for me, how can I not value myself? What makes the price He paid even more exciting? No one can ever top his price. We will always be His.  I don’t need to define myself by anything but what He says I am.

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings   in order that we may also share in his glory.   Romans 8:16-17

God calls us many things such as, blessed, renewed and righteous. The best thing he says about us is that we are his children. I want God to define who I am and what my worth is, His measure of me is something I could not fathom.  He treasures us. He will always be there to encourage us and to tell us who we really are. We are His.

Seek and You Will Find January 11, 2012

So I had a month off of school. I decided at the beginning of break to ask God to just show me his love. I wanted to develop a love for Him so much deeper than I have ever known before. It has been an amazing month. God is so incredibly amazing. He delivers. If you seek him you will find him.

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. – Jeremiah 29:13

If you ask Him to reveal Himself to you, he will. He is so faithful. The more you press into Him the more he will reveal.

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. – Matthew 7:7-8

One verse that has parcicularly stuck out to me is this:

The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  I will advise you and watch over you. – Psalm 32:8

Not only will he guide me, he will give me the BEST pathway for life.  I have no idea what the future holds for me, but I know that HE does and that is all that matters. I can put all of my trust in Him.  He wants the best for my life.  He will advise me and watch over me to make sure I go along the BEST pathway for my life.

Tonight was All Worship Night at my youth group. These nights are always awesome. God always shows up in a big way. I realized tonight that I am just so happy. I am overflowing with joy and peace. God has been doing awesome things in my life during this time off.  We sang the song “Solution” by Hillsong United. The words really stuck with me.

“Politics will not decide if we should rise And be your hands and feet , God be the solution.” – With the upcoming presidential election, this hit me. This is probably obvious to some people but no person running for office can fix our country, only God can. God is the solution to every problem we face. (click the picture below to hear the song)

“We will be your hands
We will be your feet
We run this race for the least of these
In the darkest place we will be your light, We will be your light “- I want to run this race so everyone can hear about Him. I want to be a light so bright that no one can put it out.  I want people to see something different about me. I want them all to know of my love for God.

Battle Field October 18, 2010

We all have to fight battles in our lives. I have been involved in a seemingly endless  battle.  Of coursethe enemy does not attack our stengths. .  The enemy attacks the weak spots of our armor. One of my weak spots is trying to accept my calling and knowing that I can do it. 

John 15:16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

The little voice in my head tells me that I can’t do it.  Who are you to think that you are special?  The voice says that someone else could do it so much better.  God could not possibly have chosen you. You are ordinary and average.  No one likes you.  He does not attack my relationship with God but who I am in God. 

The simple answers like I am a child of God, he chose me and paid highest price for me don’t cut it in these battles.  The enemy does everything it can to get inside my head.  I must put on all of my armor and stand my ground.  The victory is already mine. 

 Romans 11:29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.

When the enemy comes to battle we must be prepared.  If we do not have ourselves ready it will not end well.  We must have our armor on.  The enemy’s weapons are thoughts and ideas.  We must be armed with God’s word.  God is on our side.  You will never encounter more than you can handle.  Keep fighting the good fight of faith.

Devos September 14, 2010

Until about 2 years ago I had never really heard about devotions.  I can not believe I went that far into my Christian life before knowing anything about it.  Sometimes I feel like I have no time or I just don’t feel like it.  Over the summer I participated in S.O.S. (Summer of Service) at my church.  When we were there we had devotional time set aside.  It was so awesome.  I had nothing to do but to get to know God better. 

During the summer I was so excited and encouraged to do devotionals on my own.  However, once school started and S.O.S. ended so did my devos.  I have since started up again, though.  Everything seems to go so much better when I am constantly getting into God’s word.  I have decided that no matter how tired I am or how busy I am I have time.  How could I have time to play games for an hour but not time for the God who created me?

The other day I was driving and God broke down some of my walls.  I found myself asking some questions:

1. Who would sit beside me as I cried?  Most of my friends and family would.
2. Who would sit beside me and listen to all of the horrible things I have done?  The number shrinks.
3. Who would look at me the same way after all of this?  Only God.

God is the only one that I can depend on no matter what the situation or what the time.  Pretty much every time I do devos I find something so exciting and powerful in God’s word.  Sometimes it is just a little reminder of how much he loves me other times it breaks down walls in my life.  Some of my latest nuggets are:

• Isaiah 43:13 “Yes, I am God. I’ve always been God and I always will be God. No one can take anything from me.  I make; who can unmake it?”
• Isaiah 42:16 But I’ll take the hand of those who don’t know the way, who can’t see where they’re going. I’ll be a personal guide to them, directing them through unknown country. I’ll be right there to show them what roads to take,  make sure they don’t fall into the ditch. These are the things I’ll be doing for them— sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute.”
• Isaiah 43:2-4 When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down. When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end—Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back,  trade the creation just for you.

Devos may seem like not a big deal but God wants to reveal himself to you! He is in love with you.  As I have heard a couple of times: God doesn’t just love you, he likes you.  Spending time with God makes everything better no matter what you are going through.  Take time out of your busy day and spend time with the God who loves you more than anything else.  If you put Him first, everything else falls into place.

Book Review: Mastering the Silence August 7, 2010

Mastering the Silence by Doug Jones was an awesome book! I would highly recommend it.  It is short and an easy read, but the information in it is vital. It is all about the battles within our minds.  Doug Jones will teach you who the enemy is, how he attacks, and how to defeat him!  Some of the key points that really stuck out to me were:

• The devil is our enemy.
• The devil acts the same way every time.
• We can know that he uses thoughts, ideas, and suggestions to attack us.
• Our armor is the armor of God. 
• The armor is knowledge of the parts of the armor.
• Each thought has life and death attached to it.  We need to examine every single thought.
• The devil does not come with a flashing neon sign that says, “I am the devil, beware.”  His suggestion seems good at first.
• Each thought comes with friends and proof to back it up. In order to defeat the bad thoughts we need our good thoughts to have friends and proof (the word of God) as well.

Doug Jones really knows what he is talking about and you can hear his passion throughout the book.  He wants you to be armed and ready to fight, because the enemy has already started a war. We need to be ready to go to war or we automatically lose.  The enemy does not wait until we are ready, he comes when we aren’t ready.  This  book really shed some light on the area of my mind.  Mastering the Silence will help you to fight the battle in your mind.

There is Hope! August 1, 2010

Everybody feels depressed at some point in their life.  Why?  We have hope that everything will be amazing.  God loves us, we have his love and his life.  What more do we need? Nothing can ever separate us from his love!  He makes everything work for our good. God promises us the victory!   He is on our side, and He never loses.

 Rom 8.38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom 8.28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

1 Corin. 15:57 But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round-up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Even in the midst of struggles we can know that He is with us and that no matter what is going on He makes it work for us.  No matter what the devil throws at us, God uses it for our good. Nothing can ever stop God! And he is with US!I just felt like encouraging everyone! Nothing can stop us! We are here with a purpose, no matter what anyone says.  As Chris Tomlin says, “If our God is for us, Then who could ever stop us? If our God is with us, Then what could stand against?”   Chris Tomlin Our God

Word. July 25, 2010

Everyone says things that they don’t mean.  But, we need to start taking our words seriously! Our words have a huge impact on who we are and what happens. Our hearts should be telling our lips what to say. No matter what situation you are facing God is bigger than it!

 Proverbs 16:23 The mind of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning and persuasiveness to his lips.

Proverbs 18:21 The tongue can bring death or life;  those who love to talk will reap the consequences.

We need to accept responsibility for our words. If we are always saying think like “I am fat,”  “I will never do anything with my life,” or “I am a failure.”  These things will be true.  An example of how important our words are, look at salvation. It takes our words to ask Jesus into our lives.

Romans 10:9  That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Before I knew about the impact of our words I had already used my words to create my future. When I was in 4th grade I decided that I would be the Drum Major (the one who conducts) of our marching band someday.  I kept saying it over and over again and I really believed it.  When I was in 9th grade and the auditions were being held for Drum Major and that is unusually young for that position.  I am convinced that my words (of course with the help from God) got me the position. Take the time to proclaim amazing things over your life, believe them, and see your life change!

Book Review: Following God’s Plan For Your Life July 18, 2010

Following God’s Plan For Your Life by Kenneth E. Hagin is definitely a book I would recommend.   It covers all the major areas about following God. 

Some of the things that really stuck out to me were:

• It doesn’t cost to obey God, it pays! It may cost you sickness and disease, but it will give you everything you need.
• You need to pray not only about what His plan is, but also about when and how.
• If you know what God wants you to do, don’t wait around for more spectacular guidance.
• What is happening in your life, good or bad,  is a result of what you have or have not prayed out.
• Maintaining  a Spirit-filled life will affect you in every area of your life. 
• Lastly, I learned about love (Love the Ultimate Commandment).

I would definitely suggest reading this book.  It will help you learn how to follow God’s plan for you and help you in ways you did not even know it could.

Love- The Ultimate Commandment July 8, 2010

I’m currently reading through a book called Following God’s Plan For Your Life, by Kenneth E. Hagin.  He talks about love.

1 Corin. 13: 13 And so faith, hope, love abide , these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I knew about that one already, but what I didn’t know was this verse.

Romans 13:9-10 The commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill,  You shall not steal, You shall not covet,  and any other commandment, are summed up in the single command, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.  Love does no wrong to one’s neighbor [it never hurts anybody]. Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law.

By simply obeying this one law, to walk in love, you keep them all! Love is the ultimate commandment! If you walk in love towards everyone you will be walking in God’s will for you life.

Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up contentions, but love covers all transgressions.

Impact Camp ’10 July 2, 2010

Youth camps are all different and can give you a different experience.  Impact Camp was awesome!  Everywhere you looked you could see God working.   My favorite part from camp was a class I took about Worship. 

The class was taught by Jody Carson.  One of the main points he had was that worship is a response to God.  We are NOT the initiators of worship!  It’s all about who he is  and what he did.  Worship creates passion in your heart.

Lately I have been struggling with trying to determine what I should do in life and what my major for college should be.  I have always had an idea of what my gift is.  However, people would make me doubt if that was right for me.  Jody said that we can know without a doubt what we are called to do!  God gave you a specific gift, but it isn’t ours.  We have to surrender it go God so he can perfect it!  What you like to do is what God wants you to do!  Decide to give God the glory for your gift!