Spotlight For Me Please!

Romans 3:12 "All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one  who does good, not even one." But wait, I go to church EVERY Sunday. I help out at church in my free time, I hang out with all the "good" kids at school, and everyone in my town adores me. Sometimes as Christians we get an attitude about ourselves. We think we deserve a spotlight and a halo, and judge all of those who may be at a different point on the path with Christ than ourselves. No. No. No. You are missing the whole concept of being Christ like. Nobody is good and we have all fallen short. To be like Christ is sometimes not about condemning and more about loving and showing by example who Christ is. I don't believe anyone has ever had God shoved down their throat and come go Christ. I know that if I wasn't a follower, the whole God concept would sound far fetched. I also wouldn't be willing to give up the sinful behavior in my life for something I don't even believe in. So, take that into consideration. Get down off of your stage with your spotlight and truly love others. Love others like you want to be loved and pray. Pray that others will come to Christ through the love you have shown. Be the change. 

Are You Okay With Complacency?

By definition the word complacency means a feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of trouble, danger, or controversy. Now when we use this in terms of Christianity, we are usually referring to someone who goes to church every Sunday but their relationship with God stops there. They live the other 6 days of the week for themselves. Their bible sits on their bookshelf to collect dust, the only time they pray is along with the congregation, and life goes on. And yet, they are completely unaware of the danger they are in. It says in the bible in Romans 2:13 " For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous." God has not called us to live for our own wants, but to take what he has given us and live a life pleasing to him. It's about our own wants to please the flesh and choosing to fill the soul with Godly things. It's about searching for the broken and loving them just the way they are. It's about showing the world that we are different then the average person. That we care more and love deeper. They may ask why and you know what we will say, it's all because of Christ. He fills us up so much that it overflows in all areas of our lives. So, are you okay with complacency and putting eternity on the line or is it time for a change?

The Song from my last post-Listen!

Oh The Things He Tells Me and Learning To Be Okay With Joy

So, I am sitting in my room, listening to All Around Me by David Crowder Band and all of the sudden a thought creeps into my head. Thoughts of all my depression, all my past, everything. Flooding my brain. Like a dam broke that had been holding it back for some time now, allowing me to heal. I know the dam was God and satan was definetly the one trying to break it. But, no worries guys because God is great. He gave me words to fix the dam, words not to dismantle everything I have made progress from. He said, " Depression can't go deeper than the love of God can reach. Hand over your scars, hurt, pain, and pills over to Him and let real healing begin." I felt all of the holes in my dam seal back up and an overwhelming peace come over my soul. For awhile, I struggled with how to accept the joy of Christ. This seemed so foreign to me. You can be joyful, even when times are hard? No. That has to be a joke. But, it't the truth. If we fully surrender to the will of God, He will give us so many uplifting thoughts, so many releases from our anxieties, from everything. I know this sounds corny, but let go and let God. Accept the peace He brings and live a life that would glorify him.

My Little Men of God

doing the craft that goes with the bible study

prayer time(:

proud of the finished product(:

About to shoot some hoops!

Today, I had the opportunity to babysit my little brothers all morning. God has definetly transformed my attitude on that topic because I used hate doing that. Then, I realized that God could use me to minister to even those in my home. So, I borrowed a bible lessons book from our church and do bible study with them everyday. I love them so dearly and I am so glad they are in my life. Here are a few pictures from this afternoon.

Attitude Check..

So, I have made a habit of using at least part of my first mod study hall to take time to read and reflect on my bible and today God really checked my attitude. There is this one girl, who will remain nameless for the sake of not creating drama, and without even realizing it she hurt me so much. To this day, I still say how much I dislike her and get all bent up when I see her. So she just happens to be in my study hall and of course after she walked past I gave the usual response of how much I can't stand her and what a jerk she is. After this, I proceeded to take out my bible and start devotions for the morning. You will never guess what two verses God gave me- Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Also He gave me Ephesians 4:31-33 "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Bam. That hit me in the face. I was just like okay God I give my attitude towards this girl to you so you can give me a new one. So, today ponder the way we treat people and check our hearts to see if God would be pleased. Showing God's love is one of the major ways we can win over people for Christ. And an extra thought-instead of complaining about how awful someone is, just pray about it. 

Sharing Pieces of God

So, today I was just thinking and I decided that I will start sharing with you guys pieces of God. What I mean by this is when I do my daily devotionals, I will start sharing some verses that pop out and my personal ideas about how they can relate to my life or people I know. Sometimes maybe even how they have helped me. I have recently kept a journal of bible verses and reflections of how they made me feel, helped, or how I could apply them. I started the journal after I read Psalm 1:2 "But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." When I really started to break that apart I felt like God wanted me to create a thoughts journal and through that he has laid things on my heart and has spoken to me. If you are looking for spiritual growth I would so start one. So be looking forward to more posts(: