Saturday, September 25, 2010

3-Month Recap!

I was thinking, since I have been posting on this blog for 3 months, that I would do a recap of all the things God has taught me through the posts I have written.


1~Our tongue is one of the most powerful weapons we have and we must be very careful how we use it! When used well it can be very effective and helpful, but when misused, it can cause a lot of harm!

2~God's Word is our most powerful weapon to defeat Satan.

3~God can supply all our needs and give us the desires of our heart!

4~God gave of prayer as a way of constantly communicating with Him. He desires for us to pray to Him because it glorifies Him!

5~God gave us several weapons to defeat our Enemy: 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.

6~We must lead our hearts, rather than following them, because they can be deceived. We lead our hearts by speaking right, keeping our focus straight, walking carefully, and obeying God!

7~The most effective way to reach others is to "walk the walk," not "talk the talk." God commands us to not only say the right things, but to live them in our lives!!

8~God is in control over EVERYTHING!

9~We are commanded to only think about things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy.


10~We need to follow Christ fully, all the time, wherever we are, and whatever circumstance we're in.

11~Our prayers should include confessing our sins, asking requests, and thanking God for everything He's given us!

12~Real peace comes through knowing God and obey His law.

13~God wants us to have a heart that is on fire for Him!

14~Others should be our first thought, not ourselves.

15~God wants everything that comes out of our mouths to be edifying to others.

16~God gives us soooooo much to be thankful for!

17~Our God is a God of unfailing love!

18~We need to fully trust in God and cast all our cares on Him.

19~God is our shield, He hears us when we call our to Him, and He is our Rock, Fortress, and Deliverer.

20~Just because we're young doesn't mean that we can't serve God. He has called us to do many great things!

21~The Gospel affects our view ourselves, others, the world, and our lives.

22~What we do now WILL affect our future!

Note~Each number in this post is a thought from one of the blog post I have already written. They are in order, so, for more information, look at the original posts!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Faith

Have you ever had to put faith in something? Of course you have! Especially if you're a Christian because we have to put our faith in Christ to believe that He created the earth and that He will save us from hell. Recently someone in our family was diagnosed with a fast growing tumor in his nasal cavity. He was told that if it was not removed quickly, it would kill him. If that wasn't scary enough.... he also didn't really have any way to pay for it. We had no choice but to put our faith in God to work everything out; His way.

When it looked like there wasn't any hope, he got a phone call. The phone was about his insurance; He got it!!!! Blessing number 1!!!!!!! Then, last week he got a call that MUSC was going to look at him and talk about doing surgery. Blessing number 2!!!! They went down there last Sunday and his appt. was on Monday. Monday, they found out very early that he would have surgery on Tuesday - something they were not expecting at all. After the surgery we were told that the surgery was very successful and they removed it with no problems!!! Blessing number 3!!!! He is still continuing to heal but, through prayer and faith in God, he is on the mend and should be out of the hospital by the beginning of next week.

God played out this entire trial right before our eyes. It made it very clear that there is no other way to do things except through Christ!!! I want to leave you with one thought.... If you haven't put your faith in Christ, please do so today. It will change your life for the better. And don't forget, keep trusting Him!!! Have a great day!!!

Decisions, Decisions....

I was thinking this week about all the decisions we have to make in our lives, big and small. I was thinking about how many times that we feel like the things we do today won't affect our future. We think that we can do whatever we want right now, then when we get older we can fix our problems or start over. We think that right now is the time to have fun, to be happy. But unfortunately, right now turns into next month, which turns into next year, etc. Galatians 6: 7-8 remind us: "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." This verse shows us that our actions today do matter. We cannot sow seeds for this life. We need to be laying up treasure in heaven for the only life that counts: eternal life. I was really convicted by this, because I know that a lot of times I do try to sow seeds for this life. I want my life here on earth to be perfect. I want to have a good job, a family, etc. These things are OK and God put these gifts here for us to enjoy, but many times we think about and strive for them too much. I hope that this post encourages you to live for God and sow seeds for the future, for eternal life!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Ephesians 3

I know I have done alot of posts on Ephesians, and I hope you haven't grown tired of them yet but I do have one more (that I know of) to do.

  • We are nothing without God.
  • We must admit that we don't have the ability to do something or say something without God.
  • God has created all things and we thank God for giving us all things.
  • We are dependent on Christ and we need Him always.
  • We need the Lord to help us thru our trials.
  • God's purpose for creation is that it will bring Him glory.
  • Glorify God even in trials because God will help you thru that trial.
  • Goal: Glorify God thru your trials and He will bless you!!!!!
  • We should not be afraid to wittiness to people because spreading God's Word is a good thing.
  • God will give you alot of opportunities!
  • Trust in God because He is Truth.
  • Pray and God will answer.
  • God has always been and always will be and will always be there for you.

Do You Know Who God is?

Just like the post before I was looking through and old church notebook and found a page I would like to share. This post was taken from a service at my grandparents church.

Mark 8; John 6:65

Make sure you know who God really is and what He is. Don't get tricked into forgetting or running from God.

Do not deny God. Honor God, respect His authority over you. Submit yourself to God and live the way God wants you to.

God is the main point, don't run from God because he will find you and you should confess. God is the one who took our place on Calvary. He covered Himself with our sins so we could be covered in His righteousness.

God is 3 in 1 no matter what way you look at it! You must believe it or you aren't a real Christian. Respect all your authorities. Don't be afraid to speak up!!! Tell everyone you can about Jesus Christ everywhere!!!

Ephesians 1:14-23

I was looking through and old church notebook and found another page on Ephesians. I thought I'd share them with you today.

  • God's master plan is to bring glory to Himself and His method His redemption.
  • God fills all in all. Christ is the fullness of all things.
  • God's goal is for Him to be glorified.
  • We are the body of the church, not the building.
  • What happens to the church happens to Christ also.
  • Always do 'God honoring' things.
  • Christ's glory is accomplished through the church (His body).
  • Christ is the head; We are the body
  • Do not cease to give thanks to God.
  • Love is not just a feeling! It's a passion.
  • Be kind. Even if you don't like them.
  • Strive and work for love.
  • Grow to be more like Christ.
  • Our mission is to glorify God by exalting God.

The Gospel

This is an outline from a message I heard preached at my church a while ago.

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that once we become a Christian, we are a new person, but how does the Gospel affect us after we are saved?
1) The Gospel first affects our view of ourselves. We realize that we are helpless, hopeless, hell-deserving sinners. Ouch! But the great thing is, that we're saved by grace, God's grace. With that truth, we realize that He has saved us and we are on our way to heaven! (Ephesians 2:1-10)
2) The Gospel also affects our view of others. Everyone is created in God's image (Genesis 1:27). We are not special. The only difference is that we've accepted God's free gift of salvation.
3) The Gospel thirdly affects our view of the world (1 John 2:15-17). We should have no more attraction to the world's system of thought and practice. It will pass away, but the Gospel endures forever.
4) Lastly, the Gospel affects our view of life (Titus 2:11-14). We should renounce all ungodliness, take our faith seriously, and live for the glory of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel doesn't only affect us when we get saved, but for the rest of our lives!! I hope these truths help and encourage you this week!!!!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

1 Timothy 4:12

1 Timothy 4:12~ Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
This verse has impacted my life a lot. It is sometimes really hard to recognize that I have a responsibility to be an example to others. This world's culture just tells us teenagers that we don't really have to do anything, that we are expected to be lazy and mess up. But God's Word tells us differently. We need to be an example to others. Just because we're young doesn't mean that we can't exercise good judgement and show others what being a Christian is all about. I really recommend reading Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris. It has really changed my life and the way I think about things. The Lord has showed me that I can and should be an example to others. I hope this encourages you as much as it does me!!!

Monday, September 6, 2010

God Is...

Lately I have been going through Psalms in my devotions. I noticed that Psalms has a lot to say about God and who He is. So, as I read each night, I wrote down one of God's attributes. Here are just a few of God's many attributes:
*God is a shield around us (Psalm 3:3)
*God hears us when we call to Him (Psalm 4:3)
*God demonstrates unfailing love (Psalm 13:5)
*God councils us (Psalm 16:7)
*God is our Rock, Fortress, and Deliverer (Psalm 18:2)
*God is our Shepherd (Psalm 23:1)
*God shows us love, faithfulness, righteousness, and justice (Psalm 36:5-6)
*God is our Stronghold (Psalm 43:2)

Sunday, September 5, 2010

James

James
  • "We should be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
  • Perfect=Mature
  • We need to be mature. Act your age.
  • Age and knowledge are not good indicators of who is mature and who is not.

Mature

  • Self-control (1:2)
  • Positive (Joy)(1:14)
  • Accepting others (2:8)
  • Consistent (2:17)
  • Watch what you say (3:2)
  • Wise (3:17)
  • Humility (4:10)
  • Connected (5:16)
  • Hear (1:19)
  • Doer (1:22)
  • Bridle you tongue (1:26)
  • Caring for others (1:27)
  • Stay clean (1:17)