A lot of people struggle with being real. I have struggled with this throughout my life, but within the past few years I have learned to be myself and to stop being fake. I hate how this world is like a game. It tries to suck you in. It tries to make you play the game of "life" and then you lose because it's not ever going to get you anywhere. The worlds game of life goes a little bit like this....
You have a some great friends. You play the happy, best friend forever, game. But yet, the world sucks you in, gossip starts, and booooooom, another friendship is killed because of the betrayal. But guess what? The devil is cracking up at how we fell in the trap. Ooooohh my, how he loves the gossip game. I have really learned lately how much gossip can do. It can break up friendships and families. It can destroy....It doesn't sound like one of those harsh words like murder or stealing....but that one simple sounding okay word---gossip---can cause a ton of damage.
"A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much." Proverbs 20:19
"A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends." Proverbs 16:28
"'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:16
Yes, I am guilty of this whole gossip thing. It's hard, I admit. Every conversation seems to have gossip in it. That is how sly the devil is. It has destroyed some of my closest friendships. It has also hurt me in many ways when I am gossiped about. When you are talking about someone it seems painless, but when you are talked about....that is when it is extremely painful.
I write this today, because I am hurt. Many things have gone on recently for me to feel this hurt. Gossip is everywhere, everyday, and almost uneatable. It causes strife among the brethren. I absolutely hate that.
Here is a word of advice...
“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:15-20
We should not gossip about someone if you don't know if it is true or not. We should go to that person. No matter how hard that can be, do it. I am guilty of gossiping and not going to that person first. I have learned to stop the trail of gossip, go to the direct person, and talk everything through, and let me tell ya, it's the best thing ever. Why? Because it's God's way of doing things and His way is the best. Even if that person still sins against you and gossips you know that you are in the right for going to that person about the issue, even if the gossip is about you. Go to that person and figure out what is going on. This is my new favorite thing. Anything that I hear, I go to the direct person, or call them and figure out what the deal is/was and God blesses you for that.
My last post talked about "love". It all goes back to loving one another. We should look at how Christ loves us, and what He would do in that situation. So please, don't take this from just me, take this from the Word of God. Let's stop gossiping, lets be real, lets stop acting and hurting, and lets love.
As I quoted on facebook...."I'm going to smile through this. I'm going to love through this. I'm going to forgive through this. I'm going to learn through this. I'm going to grow through this. I'm going to hope through this. I'm going to have faith through this. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28"
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Love
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
This verse is stated a lot, but really it is taken for granted. Are we ALWAYS patient? kind? Do we ever envy someone? Could you say that you have never boasted? That is hard. Love is not proud...that is very difficult ("God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."). Do you ever rush around so much that you actually forget respect for people and just act rude? For example, you could be rude by passing someone on the highway and then cutting someone off. Or, you could be buying groceries and not even smile at the cashier who is being so sweet and kind. When we are rude, the end result is usually that we are seeking ourselves...(self-seeking). Love is not easily angered-- "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips." Colossians 3:8 Lastly, we should not keep any record of wrongs. God tells us that we should delight in the truth and stray away from evil. I can look at myself with all of these, and I fail on a lot of them. Love is a hard thing to do in this perverse world that we live in. Let's dig in to some more scripture.
"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 1 John 2:15
The world creeps in a lot into our lives. We live in a place that is corrupted. We turn on the TV and radio and hear corrupted things. We go to the store and deal with worldly people. We have to try to protect ourselves from this and fill our lives with Christ. If something, or someone is in our life and is not building you up to live for God, then we need to weed out those people in our lives. I understand some of those people might be our family, and yet we have to love them, but that does not mean we have to be around them all the time and make them a soul part in all of our decision making. We have to follow God's Will because no matter what, in the end, His Will will be done. Are we letting the world influence us, or are we influencing the world for Christ?
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7
Within the first few seconds of meeting someone you can put your own perspective on who that person is. It is pretty easy to determine if someone loves God or not. Are we shining our light for Christ at all times, or are people looking at us and thinking that we do not have the love of God in us? That would not be a good thing. God's Word says "everyone who loves is born of God and knows God". If we don't love, we must not know God. He clearly shows His love, and how to love in the scriptures. Are we lacking in this area?
"No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." 1 John 4:12
"We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." 1 John 4:16
"I am giving you a new commandment to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another." John 13:34
"We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death." 1 John 3:14
Love, resulting in life or death. That is powerful and shows us how much more we should start loving one another with the love Christ has shown us.
I hope some of these scriptures will strengthen you to love more and to show love to others. Don't just skim through these, take these to heart. Think about them. Think about your life and how you are putting to practice these things. Think about how you treat others and the discipline that God will perform because of your actions.
"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:16-19
"Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" Matthew 22:37-38
"“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:27-36
God is such a wonderful God and the number one love act He did was sending His ONLY son to die for us. Think about that for a second. God sent His ONLY....ONLY Son..to die for me and you--wicked as we are..not loving like we should..betraying God everyday in things that we do and think....yes, He sent his only Son do DIE, for us so that we might be able to live eternally according to the riches of his grace....
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ." Ephesians 1:3-10
God didn't just send His only Son to die, but to live, and He lives today waiting for His people to love Him and to love others. Do we have that love? Are we loving God and loving others? Are we showing the world the light and love of Christ in our lives, or are we being two faced? There are too many people today acting one way at church and one way every other day. It is time to wake up and realize the love for Christ we should have.
Lets stop talking, and start loving.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Hope.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
We have such a great hope. God is going to come back and save us from this perverse world. Wow. Sometimes it's hard to wrap your mind around that concept, that God is going to come back here on earth and rescue us. Why would almighty GOD want to come here and rescue ME? I can't wait until that day.
"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth." Colossians 1:3-6
I love the verse above. It contains faith, hope, and love. Our faith and love will be seen through the hope we have in Jesus. If you don't see faith and love in people, then they must not have hope. This verse also talks about how the Word of God was bearing fruit and growing just as it was doing to the people since they heard it and understood God's grace. When we come to know God's grace we should be bearing fruit (life). If we do not bear fruit we must be dead. The way that we can bear fruit is by digging into the scriptures and learning more and applying it. Oh yes, APPLYING is the key. We can read the Bible all we want, but if we don't apply it, then it is not affective. Although, I don't know how anyone could just read the Bible and not be affected by it.
"here is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:4-6
This shows the unity we have as christians through the hope we have in Jesus. How great is that? We have one Lord, Jesus, one faith, the belief and hope we have in Jesus, and one baptism, when we are clothed in Christ and forgiven of our sins. God set this perfect plan up for us and He wants us to be united in this plan. Although, most people do not believe in this exact plan that He set up. We need to share the hope we have.
"Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God." 1 Peter 1:21
God sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for us so that we could have this great hope of eternity through our faith in God. WOW!
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:1-5
"Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" Revelation 7:12
We have such a great hope. God is going to come back and save us from this perverse world. Wow. Sometimes it's hard to wrap your mind around that concept, that God is going to come back here on earth and rescue us. Why would almighty GOD want to come here and rescue ME? I can't wait until that day.
"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth." Colossians 1:3-6
I love the verse above. It contains faith, hope, and love. Our faith and love will be seen through the hope we have in Jesus. If you don't see faith and love in people, then they must not have hope. This verse also talks about how the Word of God was bearing fruit and growing just as it was doing to the people since they heard it and understood God's grace. When we come to know God's grace we should be bearing fruit (life). If we do not bear fruit we must be dead. The way that we can bear fruit is by digging into the scriptures and learning more and applying it. Oh yes, APPLYING is the key. We can read the Bible all we want, but if we don't apply it, then it is not affective. Although, I don't know how anyone could just read the Bible and not be affected by it.
"here is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:4-6
This shows the unity we have as christians through the hope we have in Jesus. How great is that? We have one Lord, Jesus, one faith, the belief and hope we have in Jesus, and one baptism, when we are clothed in Christ and forgiven of our sins. God set this perfect plan up for us and He wants us to be united in this plan. Although, most people do not believe in this exact plan that He set up. We need to share the hope we have.
"Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God." 1 Peter 1:21
God sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for us so that we could have this great hope of eternity through our faith in God. WOW!
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:1-5
"Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" Revelation 7:12
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Faith.
I created this blog to talk about life, things I have learned, and of course, the Bible.
God has truly blessed me. Words can't describe how truly grateful I am for all that God has blessed me with. It wasn't all that easy to give up myself and my selfish desires, but oh boy let me tell ya, it is so worth it. Let me start from the beginning....
I grew up in a great Christian home. My mom started out by sending me to public school, kindergarten through third grade. She gave up everything--she even shut down her in-home daycare, to home school me. Oh home school....it was a very hard change. My mom definitely pushed me to succeed (which was great). I had to wake up every day at 8 am, take a shower, and get ready for my day. It was a very rough first year since the public schools were letting me get behind. I pushed through and was able to catch up to my grade in every subject. I couldn't play until all my home school work done. My mom had a bible study with me every morning and taught me to hide God's word in my heart by memorizing it. We also read "I kissed dating goodbye" which really helped me to be who I am and my views today.
In 10th grade my mom and I decided that we thought it would be a good idea for me to go to a christian high school to see if I could handle the load and also to learn English and how to write papers, since my mom was not good in that area. The private school helped me a lot educationally, but hurt/helped me spiritually. Funny huh? It hurt me spiritually through all the students being hypocrites. It helped me by being able to search the scriptures in order to defend what I believed. That year was the one year that I think all teenagers have to go through. I hung out with some girls who I knew I shouldn't hang out with, but I did to "fit in". My younger sisters in Christ, let me tell ya something....DO NOT do things just to make you FIT IN! Stick to what you have been taught and what you know is right!! Don't fall into the lies and the gossip. Anyway, the girls were bad news and that is the year I got to be rebellious, not horrible, just a learning experience. I fell into the trap of "you have to have a boyfriend". Guess what? You don't. But guess what? I thought I did, just to fit in. That summer I had my "boyfriend" that didn't last of course. I knew I needed to change and just stop following this deadly world. The beginning of eleventh grade was the start. I only went to the private school for 2 classes and I was home schooled for 2 classes. I gave up all of my "friends" that were leading me in the wrong direction. IT WAS SO HARD! I felt lonely, but guess what...that was the best thing ever because I turned to GOD for everything I needed. After I made that change, I was not lonely anymore. I had God, he was my EVERYTHING, all I needed. I didn't need to chase after boys to make me happy. I had God and HE alone made me happy.
I started hanging out with some friends who I had dropped for my self seeking self. I realized who my true friends were and wow...what a change. God let me have that point in my life to help me realize that He is all I need and He will always bless me with the right friends.
My senior year I chose to be home schooled. It was the best thing ever. I was able to do everything at my own pace. Even better, I met the love of my life at a revival in Winchester, where we both were going to seek God and God led us to each other!! It was the perfect timing. Even better I found out he was a preachers grandson and preachers nephew! His family is amazing and became really great friends with my family. God knew exactly what He was doing! How great is that. God worked even bigger in our lives. Ryan lived in VA and I live in DE. We did not know how God was going to bring us together considering I would be getting free college here in DE. God opened all the doors. 100%! Ryan looked into a university here and they accepted all of his credits and transferred them. Next, God opened the door for my parents to buy a property and put a double wide on it for Ryan to live in and for us to rent from them for a few years when we get married. Every single door was opened all by having faith and patience.
To conclude, Ryan and I got engaged on 10.10.10 and will be getting married on 11.11.11. How cool is that?!?!?!?!
I have learned to have complete faith in God throughout my life. This is just a snap shot of how my life has been. God has worked tremendously and I am so thankful.
Have faith, God will work.
God has truly blessed me. Words can't describe how truly grateful I am for all that God has blessed me with. It wasn't all that easy to give up myself and my selfish desires, but oh boy let me tell ya, it is so worth it. Let me start from the beginning....
I grew up in a great Christian home. My mom started out by sending me to public school, kindergarten through third grade. She gave up everything--she even shut down her in-home daycare, to home school me. Oh home school....it was a very hard change. My mom definitely pushed me to succeed (which was great). I had to wake up every day at 8 am, take a shower, and get ready for my day. It was a very rough first year since the public schools were letting me get behind. I pushed through and was able to catch up to my grade in every subject. I couldn't play until all my home school work done. My mom had a bible study with me every morning and taught me to hide God's word in my heart by memorizing it. We also read "I kissed dating goodbye" which really helped me to be who I am and my views today.
In 10th grade my mom and I decided that we thought it would be a good idea for me to go to a christian high school to see if I could handle the load and also to learn English and how to write papers, since my mom was not good in that area. The private school helped me a lot educationally, but hurt/helped me spiritually. Funny huh? It hurt me spiritually through all the students being hypocrites. It helped me by being able to search the scriptures in order to defend what I believed. That year was the one year that I think all teenagers have to go through. I hung out with some girls who I knew I shouldn't hang out with, but I did to "fit in". My younger sisters in Christ, let me tell ya something....DO NOT do things just to make you FIT IN! Stick to what you have been taught and what you know is right!! Don't fall into the lies and the gossip. Anyway, the girls were bad news and that is the year I got to be rebellious, not horrible, just a learning experience. I fell into the trap of "you have to have a boyfriend". Guess what? You don't. But guess what? I thought I did, just to fit in. That summer I had my "boyfriend" that didn't last of course. I knew I needed to change and just stop following this deadly world. The beginning of eleventh grade was the start. I only went to the private school for 2 classes and I was home schooled for 2 classes. I gave up all of my "friends" that were leading me in the wrong direction. IT WAS SO HARD! I felt lonely, but guess what...that was the best thing ever because I turned to GOD for everything I needed. After I made that change, I was not lonely anymore. I had God, he was my EVERYTHING, all I needed. I didn't need to chase after boys to make me happy. I had God and HE alone made me happy.
I started hanging out with some friends who I had dropped for my self seeking self. I realized who my true friends were and wow...what a change. God let me have that point in my life to help me realize that He is all I need and He will always bless me with the right friends.
My senior year I chose to be home schooled. It was the best thing ever. I was able to do everything at my own pace. Even better, I met the love of my life at a revival in Winchester, where we both were going to seek God and God led us to each other!! It was the perfect timing. Even better I found out he was a preachers grandson and preachers nephew! His family is amazing and became really great friends with my family. God knew exactly what He was doing! How great is that. God worked even bigger in our lives. Ryan lived in VA and I live in DE. We did not know how God was going to bring us together considering I would be getting free college here in DE. God opened all the doors. 100%! Ryan looked into a university here and they accepted all of his credits and transferred them. Next, God opened the door for my parents to buy a property and put a double wide on it for Ryan to live in and for us to rent from them for a few years when we get married. Every single door was opened all by having faith and patience.
To conclude, Ryan and I got engaged on 10.10.10 and will be getting married on 11.11.11. How cool is that?!?!?!?!
I have learned to have complete faith in God throughout my life. This is just a snap shot of how my life has been. God has worked tremendously and I am so thankful.
Have faith, God will work.
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