A Quick Note.....

Fear. I know all of us we afraid at some time in our life.... am I right?! I know I am because it's normal. Now what is something that helps you get through times when your scared???? I think of 2 things; Alllllllll those verses in the Bible that tells us not to fear , and as long as we're believer's in Christ then we truly do have nothing to fear. The 2nd one I got off of a movie call Facing the Giants. If you haven't seen that movie you need to watch it!!!! Anyway my favorite line in that movie is: " The Lord said in the Bible 365 times do not fear, if He said it that many times then you know it's gotta be true!" I love that part and every time I'm scared I think of that and how much God cares about me and I have no need to be scared because He is watching over me!!!!! Take comfort in that next time your scared. Have a great day! ( I may not be right on how many times but the bottom line is He says it alot!!!!!!)

James 4:11-17

In my Sunday school class we have been going through James. I never really studied this book before but the more we go into it the more I like about it. On Sunday, Mr. F started talking about being critical of other people and not judging. This lesson really never gets old to me, I mean I have heard this lesson taught several times but sadly most people only put it into practice some of the time...including me:( These next points are about judging, criticising, and how to 'judge' in a good way.

Verse 11

• Don't talk down to people.
• Don't be critical.
• Don't judge people

Make sure people behave in church (and if you feel the need to do something about it, be nice and not like a "know- it -all").

Don't judge others by

• Their testimony
• Things they and don't do
• By their appearance
• Who they hang out with

We need to judge with a good spirit.

We should be kind in all we do and say.

I hope these points helped you in some way. The challenge is to not criticise people and and judge them! If you have any more points that you think I should add feel free to say so!!!! I hope you have a great day!!!!!!

Lessons from Nehemiah

I was reading through Nehemiah in my devotions and I was wondering what lessons we could learn from him. Nehemiah was a cup-bearer in Persia for King Artaxerxes. When he found out that his city, Jerusalem, had been destroyed, he asked the king for permission to return to his city to rebuild it. I think the biggest lesson we can learn from Nehemiah is his perseverance. There were several attempts to stop Nehemiah from rebuilding the wall, but he knew that it was God's plan for him and that God would give him the strength to do it. And not only that, he finished it in only 52 days! Nehemiah knew what he was supposed to do and he did it. That's what God wants all of us to do. He gives us our instructions and the strength to carry them out. So the next time your tempted to quit, ask God to give you the strength to keep going!

Actions and Words

Note: My thoughts are WAY jumbled up in this post so I hope you can understand it and that it helps you!
As I was riding in the car a few days ago, I saw a church sign that said "Preach the gospel always; and when necessary, use words." Then a couple days later, I saw another sign that said "Show your faith by your actions as well as your words." These signs reminded me of a song I used to sing in children's choir when I was little. It's called Hippocritter. It goes: Your walk talks and your talk talks, but your walk talks louder than your talk talks. You cannot hide what's inside, it's sure to come out, your words may whisper but your actions SHOUT!" All these things just reminded me that even if we say the right things, our actions are truly the greatest testimony of our faith. We must proclaim to others our faith in Christ, by acting in a way that pleases Him. If we say that we are Christians, our actions must match up with that. We must show others what our faith is all about. We must show them that we are different. Christ has saved and changed us and we will now live for Him.
This post has taken me a while to write (like 3 days), because this is something that I struggle with a lot. It's so easy to just say what we know people want to hear, but not follow it up with the actions that we know are right. We say one thing, but then turn around and do the exact opposite. We need to pray and ask the Lord to help us do the right things. He is the only One who can change us. Being a Christian isn't just about us accepting Christ's free gift of salvation. We must continue to live for Him every day. Every day is a new beginning and we can live for Christ no matter how badly we messed up the day before. If we ask Him to help and change us, He can. He will help us to witness to others through our words AND actions. What we say, how we act, what we wear, all of these things decide what a person's impression of us is. I've heard that when a person sees you for the first time, they form their opinion of you within the first 30 seconds of meeting you. I don't think that you can say much more than "Hello" in that much time, so the main deciding factors are your actions and attitude. I will definitely be praying this week and asking God to help me be a good example to others through my actions and words!
Note: Today (June 23rd) I saw another sign that said, "Preach the gospel always; open your mouth when necessary. I think maybe the Lord's trying to teach me something!! Three signs in completely different towns that say almost the exact same thing:)

James 3:13-18 ~ Wisdom

These next points are negative wisdom and positive wisdom. The negative points show things that are not Christ-like in any way and the positive points show how we can please God and in using our wisdom. I hope these help you. Have a great day! ( these next points were taken from my Sunday school class)

Negative

• earthly, sensual
• devilish (unspiritual people)
• world's wisdom, world view
• envy, selfish, bitter, boasting, lying

Positive

• Heaven (God)
• peace-loving
• gentle
• submissive
• merciful
• good fruits
• impartial
• sincere

James 2:12-13

Proverbs 8:1:36

I looked up James 3:13-18 on Biblegateway.com and found these verses. I will put them up here for your convenience.

A. James 3:13 : James 2:18

B. James 3:13 : James 1:21

C. James 3:14 : James 3:16; Acts 5:17; Rom 2:8; 2 Cor 12:20; Gal 5:20; Phil 1:17; Phil 2:3; Rom 13:13;

D. James 3:15 : James1:17

E. James 3:15 : 1 Kgs 22:22; 2 Thess 2:9-10; 1 Tim 1:4; Rev 2:24

F. James 3:17 : 1 Cor 2:6-7

G. James 3:17 : Heb 12:11

H. James 3:17 : Luke 6:36

I. James 3:17 : James 2:4 (GK)

J. James 3:17 : Rom 12:9

K. James 3:18 : Prov 11:18; Isa 32:17; Hos 10:12; Amos 6:12; Phil 1:11

L. James 3:18 : Matt 5:9; Gal 6:7-8

How to Lead Your Heart

One of my favorite quotes from the movie Fireproof is "Don't just follow your heart because your heart can be deceived; you've got to lead your heart." Proverbs 4:23 tells us "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life." So, how do we lead our hearts? Here's how.

1) Speak right (For more information on this, you can see my post on the tongue.)
2) Keep your focus straight
~Keep your goal and focus on Christ
3) Walk Carefully
~Think about your daily choices
~Think about your life in light of God's Word.
4)Obey God
~Remove your foot from evil.
~We must receive God's grace through humility
~Draw near to God and he will lift you up.


*The outline from this post was taken from a message I heard at BJU Summer Camp 2009*

The Armor of God

I know Breanna did a post on spiritual warfare a couple days ago but I wanted to go in depth about the weapons we have to fight Satan.

As Christians, we are told that we will definitely face trials. These aren't the result of Christ turning His back on us, they are actually helping us grow in our faith(James 1:3). But these trials are still hard. Thankfully, in Ephesians 6, Christ gives us spiritual tools to help us fight.
Christ starts out in verse 10 by telling us to be strong in the power of the Lord. In verse 12, He tells us that we aren't fighting against physical enemies, but against Satan: our spiritual enemy. Fortunately, our Heavenly Father gives us six weapons to fight with. They are: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit.

Belt of truth- Just like a belt holds together loose clothing, truth should hold together all of our spiritual loose ends.
Breastplate of righeousness- Righteousness should be our protection for our heart, just like a breastplate covers our physical heart.
Boots of the gospel- These should protect our feet while we travel to spread the good news- the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Shield of faith- Faith is our protector for our whole body from Satan's temptations and deceptions.
Helmet of salvation- The knowledge of our salvation protects our minds from Satan's doubts.
Sword of the Spirit- This is God's Word, our weapon against even Satan's most powerful devices.

I hope these thoughts are helpful to you as you prepare for battle!

Prayer

This is an outline from a message I heard preached on prayer.

1)Why should we pray?
a)God commands it.
b)Prayer glorifies God.

2)How does prayer glorify God?
a)We acknowledge that we don't have the power to grant the request that we have presented before God.
b)When God answers our request, we in turn give Him the glory and honor.

3)What happens when we commit to the Lord?
a)We desire what He wants for us.
b)He gives us what we need to do His will.

4)How does prayer affect us and our relationship with God?
a)Prayer is a part of God's plan for what He wants for us.
b) Prayer helps us to accomplish God's will, make us like Him, and glorify Him.

I hope these thoughts are helpful as you spend time in prayer this week!

Spiritual Warfare

This morning in church Pastor Dan was talking about spiritual warfare. I have some points from his sermon I would like to share with you. I hope this encourages you.

Ephesians 6:10-20 : Spiritual Warfare

• We can overcome our Spiritual War with Christ's help.
  
• Verse 14: the truth of God's Word - an attitude of truth --become a person of faithfulness and commitment.


• We need to keep ourselves faithful to the cause of Christ.


• If we live in a Christ-like way, it should show in our actions and our attitude.


• We should not say we are Christians and then turn around and act like the world.


• Believer's should not have conflict with God, we should be at peace with Him.


• We should have confidence in who God is


• God is always in control.


• We should have total trust in Jesus Christ.


• Faith is our shield against temptations.


• Our struggle with Satan will not last forever and we will have victory with Christ.

Psalm 73:25

Psalm 73:25- Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides You.
I came across this verse today and it was just a reminder that even when we feel like we need earthly pleasures to be happy, our only true happiness comes from God. He can supply all our needs and give us the desires of our heart!!

Defeating Satan

Here is an outline from a message I heard preached by Ron DeGarde at the WILDS camp during summer 2008.

Satan is aimed for us!!
Luke 22:31
1 Peter 5:8
Matthew 26:41

I) Warning Signs of our Enemy
A)After a spiritual victory
Joshua 7:1 (The Israelites had just had a great victory, but then sinned.)
B)When you're all alone
Numbers 32:23 (What you do when you're all alone will eventually be found out.)
C)When you're physically weak
Matthew 4:2 (Satan tempted Jesus when he was weak.)

II)Weapons of our Enemy (2 Corinthians 2:11)
A) Lust of the flesh
B) Pride of Life
C) Lust of the eyes (Ephesians 5:11)

III)The Weakness of our Enemy (This is the important part! It tells us how to overcome Satan!)
A) Scripture/God's Word
Meditate and Memorize God's Truth to defeat Satan!

So, in order to defeat Satan we need to follow the principle of Psalm 119:11 and "hide God's Word in our hearts, so as not to sin against Him."

His Way Is Perfect

I was playing piano this morning and found a song called 'His Way Is Perfect'. As I was playing this song I read the words, they were very encouraging. I hope you find them encouraging too! This song is from the WILDS book and is by Betsy Kistler.

" When my way seems dark and drear and the future I don't know, My heart feels so empty as the tears unending flow. When my heart breaks with sorrow and a tempest fills my soul, This one thing I know for sure: my God is in control.

His way is perfect, His way is perfect. Though I don't understand His wise and loving plan, His way is perfect. His way is perfect. Take my life and make a vessel purified. Go makes no mistakes: His way is best.

When the toils of life are come and my heart is worn with care I faint 'neath the burden of a cross I cannot bear. When the joy has departed from my sorrow- stricken soul, This one thing I know for sure: my God is in control."

Have a great day!

The Power of the Tongue

Did you know that the tongue is one of the most powerful weapons we have? Proverbs 18:21 tells us that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." Wow!! The tongue has the power to destroy a relationship, cause hurt feelings, and even decide between life and death. It is our job to follow Ephesians 4:29 and "only say things that are good for necessary edification." We are only to speak when it is necessary and edifying. Our words must build others up. not tear them down. But how can we do this? Matthew 12:33-34 tells us that we can't speak good things because we are all sinners and therefore naturally evil. But God's Word also tells us in Proverbs 16:1 that God can help us control our tongues. So, we need to pray that God will "Set a guard over our mouths and keep watch over the door of our lips"(Psalm 141:3). Our speech is something that we need to be constantly aware of. Next time you are tempted to say something hurtful, remember that Proverbs 15:1 tells us "a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." A few words can make a BIG difference. Let's all try to speak kindly this week!!