Faith To Move Mountains

                When the Disciples were out in the waters being tossed and turned by the waves, they ran to Jesus for help. The storm was strong enough to destroy their boat, so they turned to Jesus for help. In Matthew 8:26, "He replied, 'You of little faith , who are you so afraid?' Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm." We have to have faith in Jesus. How much faith? Well, let us not put a limit on how much faith we need. Instead, let us set a goal for how much faith in God we want.

                Let us not look at faith like a difficult thing to obtain that will be so hard to get. Instead, let us look at a strive towards faith is a way for God to grow us, and a way for God to mature us. Let us seek after faith in a way that we can see the beauty in it. Matthews 17:20 says, "He replied, 'Because you have so little faith, I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

                Let us take on that attitude. We can do all things through our faith in Christ. There is no sickness too deadly that Jesus can't heal. He healed people of sicknesses and injuries all of the time! There is no debt that Jesus can't get you out of, He took His Disciples and turned their whole lives around and gave it purpose! There is nothing that cannot be done through Christ. Jesus has all authority and all power. He loves us and gave us the Holy Spirit in order to help us. Let us not be subject to the world, but let us open our eyes and see that Jesus wants us to have more faith so that He can work greater in our lives.


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Ready Or Not?

                Jesus says that no one knows the day or the hour that He will be coming back (Matthew 24:36) so we do not have any date of expectation. We must be ready for Him to come at any moment, arriving on the spot to take those who have giving their lives to Him and to leave those who have chosen to stay away from Him.

                When I was younger I would say that I would get back to Jesus when I got old, but I never thought that maybe I wouldn't live that long. Maybe I wouldn't even make it to twenty five. I was so sure that I would not have to worry about it. In fact, I was so sure that I didn't even want to think any other way. In all honesty, I was just so afraid of Jesus coming back at any moment that I had to make up my own reality. I was in denial and I did not want to face the truth that Jesus could come back in the middle of me sleeping, in the middle of school, in the middle of me doing my own thing. He could even come back in the middle of me sinning. I had no control, so I just pretended that I did.

                Allow me to ask you this, and be honest with yourself. If Jesus came back right now, would you be going up with Him or staying behind? If you are staying behind, ask yourself this. What are you working towards that the grave can't destroy?


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Discipline From Love

                Proverbs 3:11-12 says, "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline, and do not resist His rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son He delights in." Sometimes we get disciplines by God. He will humble us or take something away, or even allow something to happen. Instead of being mad at Him, we should be thanking Him for these things.

                Just as a mother smacks a child's hand when they go to touch fire, or when a father spanks their child after they steal something, God disciplines us because He wants us to learn better. He does not do it because He has to, or because He finds joy in making us feel bad, or because He just gets angry. He does it because He wants us to learn not to do it again.

                We have to accept that when we do wrong we deserve punishment. We also have to understand why. Punishment isn't just given to people who do wrong. It's a way or teaching that person not to do it again. Punishment has a reason behind it. Discipline was made for a reason. So let us not be quick to flee from discipline. Instead, let's begin to understand that God uses discipline for a loving reason, and He disciplines us for our own good. We will never be wise enough to not be considered children in the eyes of God. We will always have something to learn, so let us embrace God's love and learn instead of flee from Him and force more discipline upon ourselves.


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Not As Loyal...

                Over this Thanksgiving break, and a little bit before hand, God has been teaching me a valuable lesson. I am not as loyal to Him as I want to be. In fact, I am not as loyal to Him as I wish I could be. I will easily stray away and I am not in control of my flesh just because I love God. I have to pray on my knees, read my word, and stay in a Christian community in order to even have a hint of something close to loyalty to God.

                It is a bitter lesson to learn, but one that I needed to know. I was so quick to say that I will never leave God's side and never walk away from Him, but even Peter denied Christ three times. I was so quick to say that God had done such a great thing for me and that I would never ever do something as stupid as rebel against Him, but even the Israelites turned away from God in less than forty days after He opened the Red Sea. What makes me so much more righteous than them? Nothing. I am destined to fall on my face time and time again, knowing that I am a sinner who needs to be humbled and reminded that I am not the loyal one.

                I was so quick to say that I would never leave God, but God is the one that will never leave me nor forsake me. I was so quick to say that I will pray my way out of temptation, but even the Disciples fell asleep when Jesus Himself commanded them to pray. I needed this revelation to realize that I was being prideful. It was prideful of me to assume that I could be as loyal to God as He has been to me. I needed to realize that I am on a walk with Christ and I was trying to run ahead of Him. I need to keep pace, day by day, and let God do His thing.

                I was asking for humility, not knowing that God would give me what I asked for.


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Keep It Christ Centered

                Sometimes we fall and sin and have rough days. Sometimes we need help. Sometimes we need help up. Even when we are sinning or feeling defeated, we need to keep one thing in mind: keep ourselves Christ centered.

                Even when we feel guilt or feel pain or feel as if things could not get better, we have to remember that God is in control and that we must let Him be in control. We are sinners who cannot handle everything. We will sin. We will fall. We will go through trials. We will go through persecution. All in all, God is forgiving and God's grace is sufficient and will be enough for everything that you need. Just rely on God and let His strength and grace be enough for you.


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Speaking Life?

                There has been this idea in many Christian's ideologies that we can speak more than just words. This ideology basically states that what we speak can alter reality, just as God spoke life into the world and made things, because we are made in the image of God. There are Christians that believe this and Christians that don't. I am a Christian that used to believe this before I was serious about my faith. Now, I research everything, and there is no scripture in the Bible that says that we can speak anything into existence but words. I can boldly say without regret that if we believe we can create anything to any degree, we are as arrogant as Lucifer because speaking anything into existence is a power that God and God alone has.

                Search anywhere in the scripture, and no man spoke anything into existence. The closest scripture is Proverbs 18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat of its fruit." This is directly referring to us spreading the Gospel, but it is so easy to take out of context. We must stop believing that we are as great as God. In fact, Psalm 12:3-4 says, "May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, 'With our tongues we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?'"

                Not everyone will side with me on this, and I am fine with this. If you would like to post your evidence against me, please do. I am open to hearing new things; but I have searched the scripture and there is nothing about us having the power of creation. That is a power only for the Creator and not the creation. Instead of getting mad and shutting this out, challenge it. If speaking something into existence is truth, bring scripture, as the word of God is the only true evidence for this.

                We must be careful with this ideology because it is false doctrine waiting to set you up for disappointing and a spiritual attack. To think that any part of you is powerful enough to create something out of nothing is to be as arrogant as the Devil, so watch what comes out of your mouth, because your tongue has the power of life through the Gospel or death through false doctrine.


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Give Thanksgiving

                The one thing that I dislike about Thanksgiving is that we only give so much thanks that day. Why do we not come together and talk about how thankful we are on other days? Why don't we tell God how thankful we are for being healthy, able bodied, in our right mind, having food, not going hungry, having a roof over our heads, being loved by Him, etc. etc. every other day of the week? Is Thanksgiving so special that we can only be so thankful on this day or are we just not really that grateful?

                I dare you to spend all weekend in Thanksgiving, thanking God for everything. There is always something to thank God for, from the clothes on your back, to getting you where you are, to waking you up today and letting you sleep last night, for peace and comfort or for healing and renewing. There is always something in which to be grateful for.

                I will leave you with this question. What if you woke up only with the things you thanked God for yesterday?


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Wrong People For The Right Job

                God is the only leader I know that uses the wrong people for the right job. The perfect example is when God called out to Moses from the burning bush. God tells Moses that He will use him and that He will do awesome things through him, starting with freeing the Israelites from Pharaoh. When God tells Moses that he has to talk to Pharaoh, Moses freaks out.

                "Moses said to the Lord, 'Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither int he past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." (Exodus 4:10) Moses clearly says that he is not capable of doing what God says. We often think this, and we are low in mind for thinking that we need to inform God of our weaknesses, as if He did not already know.

                "The Lord said to him, 'Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.'" (Exodus 4:11-12) Now, God has already said that He is in control and will teach Moses. Who is the better teacher than the guy who knows everything? Yet Moses still argues back.

                "But Moses said, 'Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.'" (Exodus 4:13) We see Moses refusing to do the will of God, even after God said that He had everything covered. Moses was still too afraid to trust that God would know what He was doing. God is omnipotent, He knows everything. He knows everything about you, everything about your strengths and weaknesses, and everything about the future. He is omnipotent and sovereign, which means He can do anything and has authority over everything. There is no problem that you have that He cannot fix if you allow Him to fix it.

                "Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses and He said, 'What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and teach you both what to do. He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him." (Exodus 4:14-16)

                What were the chances of Aaron coming to meet Moses just as God mentioned him? Very high, considering the God we are dealing with. Even if we feel that we are not fit for the job, or as if someone is not preaching right or praying holy enough, we must remember this. God said that His grace is enough and His power is made perfect in our weakness (1 Corinthians 12:9). We have to realize that God is using the wrong people for the right job because He is glorified when the wrong people do the right job. Moses could not speak, so God was glorified through everything that Moses did for the public, because everyone could see that it was not the strength of Moses, but the strength of something higher up than him. It was God!

                When we open up and allow God to use our weaknesses, He will be glorified that much more. We must always remember that His grace is sufficient for us.


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5 Steps To Restoration With Jesus

                Looking at the same verses that we looked at yesterday, Luke 22:54-71, we can see the five steps to restoration with Jesus Christ. It is easy for us, as humans, to stray away from God. It is easy for us to take advantage of His kindness and grace and mercy. Many of us  know someone who has strayed. Many of us have ever strayed. If this is the case for you and you want to come back to Jesus Christ, here are five easy steps to help you out.

                Step 1: Know Jesus' love, interest, and concern. In Luke 22:61, after Peter denied Jesus three times, Jesus gave Peter a look. In the English language it is not specific, but when you use the original word you see that it is a look of deep love, interest, and concern. When Peter denied Christ, Jesus did not give him a disappointing look or an "I-told-you-so" look. He looked at Peter with love, with genuine interest, and with pure concern. Know that Jesus still loves you and still cares about you, even if you have strayed away.

                Step 2: Know the word of the Lord. Like 22:61 reads, "The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: 'Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.'" This is powerful. We need to remember the word of the Lord and know it. Know the word of the Lord so that you know what is true and what is not. Just dive back into your Bible, as much or as little as you feel God tells you to do. Just know the truth and don't believe lies.

                Step 3: Know that denying Jesus will cause you pain. In the next verse, Luke 22:62, it says that Peter wept bitterly. It was not a normal crying. It was a crying that came from the soul. You could imagine the snot running out of his nose and all of the awkward sounds and wales of crying coming from him and a deep pain in his stomach. When you deny the Lord and walk away from Him, you are only hurting yourself in the process.

                Step 4: Know that Jesus suffered for you. Luke 22:63-65 says that the guards that were holding Jesus beat Him and insulting Him as if he were not who He truly was, God. Know that Jesus Christ suffered a beating so intense that the Historians recorded it as saying that He was unrecognizable. His own mother could not even recognize His face. Imagine how intense of a beating He went through in order to not even have His own mother recognize Him up close. He fulfilled Isaiah 53 for you.

                Step 5: Know that Jesus is Christ. In Luke 22:66-71, we see the Roman court questioning Jesus. An interesting conversation takes place. In Luke 22:67-68, the priests and elders ask Jesus, "'If you are the Messiah,' they said, 'tell us.' Jesus answered, 'If I tell you, you will not believe me.'" Jesus' response was saying this: Why are you asking if I am Jesus Christ? If you knew that I was the Christ, the Savior, the Anointed One, would it make a difference? The same question goes for you. Jesus had been walking around for three years answering this question to everyone, and we even have the answer in the Bible! (John 8:58 and Luke 22:70-71) Why does it matter who Jesus is? If He was the Christ, what would it mean to you?

                These are five things that you need to think about if you want to start to walk back to Jesus. They question your faith, your stance, and what you believe. Most importantly, if you feel as if you are straying away and you do not want to, be humble and ask a brother or sister to pray with you. Hey, why not pray right now? God is listening. He cares and wants the best for you. This is, in the end, your decision and no one else's; but your brothers and sisters in Christ are here for you if you need any support.


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5 Steps To Walking Away From Jesus

                When we look at Luke 22:54-71, we see Peter's denial of Jesus Christ and Jesus' trial. Today, we will focus more on Peter's denial. First, we will start off with saying this: anytime you get into an argument with God, you are wrong. Jesus told Peter that he would walk away, and Peter refused to believe it. Unforgettably  but predictably, Jesus was right and Peter denied Jesus three times withing a few hours.

                Just think about this question to yourselves: do you know someone who has walked away from Jesus Christ? Sadly, Chances are almost everyone who read that sentence could raise their hand and name someone, maybe even themselves. When we break down Peter's actions, we can see five steps that we take to walk away from Jesus Christ.

                Step 1: Follow at a distance. In Luke 22:54, Peter follows Jesus to His court location, but he follows from a distance. When we follow from a distance, it is implied that there is some degree of separation  Amos 3:3 says, "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed." When we start to walk at a distance from God, we begin to walk in a way that is not totally agreeing with His will and His word and we begin to compromise what was once firm in our hearts.

                Step 2: Pride. In Luke 22:31-34, Peter argues with Jesus, telling Him that he would die for Jesus and would never leave His side. As sweet and poetic as this is, it should get us angry. Peter, a human man, was arguing with God saying that Jesus was wrong and that he was right. Our pride will get us into trouble, especially when we think we know better than God. If you have an alcohol problem, and you say that you will only go out drinking on the weekend because you say that you know how to handle your alcohol, do not be surprised if you begin to drink every night of the week. We cannot be so foolish! Again, anytime we get into an argument with God, we are wrong.

                Step 3: Failure to pray. In Luke 22:46, Jesus, for the first time that we have ever read in the Bible, asks His disciples to pray for Him. He was only a stone's throw away from them. You could probably even hear Him praying if He got loud. What did the disciples do, though? "When He arose from prayer and went back to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 'Why are you sleeping?' He asked them. 'Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.'" (Luke 22:45-46) Jesus calls us to pray, and when we do not we will fall into temptation. That is a fact. Failure to pray will lead to temptation, no if's, and's or but's about it.

                Step 4: Trying to fight in the flesh. When Peter did not pray and the Romans came to arrest Jesus, Peter responded with violence and cut off a man's ear. Jesus, being God, healed the man's ear and told Him, in Matthew 26:53, "Do you think I cannot call my Father and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" Again, as I said, that is over 60,000 angels, and we read in 2 Kings 19:35 that a single angel can kill 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Jesus could have lived in the fleshly desires, but He decided to live in the spirit. We begin to walk away when we stop operating in the Holy Spirit and start to operate in our flesh.

                Step 5: Failure to respond to the warning signs. When Jesus told Peter that He would deny Him three times before a certain sign, Peter did not look out for the sign. We will not be looking for rooster crows, but here are warning signs for us: Stop reading the Bible, stop praying, stop going to church, avoid Christian communities, not wanting to serve others the way God instructs us to, and not wanting to invest int he Kingdom of God.

                There are the five steps of a Christian who is walking away from Jesus Christ. How many steps have you taken? When the Israelites were brought out of Egypt, and saw the ten plagues, and the Red sea open for them and close on their enemies, they were excited for God. How long did it take for them to turn away from God the next time? Less than forty days. It could take us less than forty days to fall into these steps. We must watch ourselves and be on guard at all times.


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We Need Help

                It is so easy for us to reject help and think that we can do it on our own. We can go up against trials and situations and say that we have it under control. If you are like me, you will get up and say that you don't need to burden other's with your problems or that you don't want to bring the attitude of other's down. Sometimes, we can handle things with just ourselves and God; but other times, God gives you a trial that calls on another person's strength to come help you.

                Sometimes we need to open up and help one another. Sometimes, we need to listen to James 5:16. "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." Sometimes, we need to share what is going on in our lives, even if it is embarrassing or heavy. Your brothers and sisters in Christ will be there with you, supporting you instead of judging you, encouraging you instead of making fun of you, and loving you instead of leaving you.

                At some point in time, you will come up against a trial in which you need to admit that you cannot do it on your own. You will need help. God will remind you that you are human and a part of a body of Christians who want to love you. There will come a time in which you need to reach out in order to grow in Christ. God did not make you alone. He made you a part of the body of Christ. He wants you to depend on your brothers and sisters. Feel free to! That is part of the reason why Christ called us  together! Let us confess our sins to our brothers and sisters and pray with one another.


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Romans 6:2

                Romans 6:1 asks a serious question: "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?" In better words, "Are we going to keep sinning so God can give us even more grace?" This question asks us if we are going to keep living in sin and use God as life insurance. Will we keep sinning and say, "God forgives?" Romans 6:2 answers this question.

                "By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" How can we, who let go of sin to obtain the free gift of salvation, still live in sin? This is a question that each of us can answer on our own. This verse says that we have no need to live in sin once we gave it up for Christ. How can we call ourselves Christians and still live in sin and do everything that God told us not to do? How can we claim to be followers of Christ but not follow Him? This is impossible.

                So as you go on with your day, ask yourself this question. "How can we who died to sin still live in it?"


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Communion

                Communion is something that has happened in every church that I have been to. In Catholic churches, they do communion every Sunday. In every other church that I have gone to, they do communion the first Sunday of every month. I do not know to much about communion, but I know this much: it is not something that is to be taken lightly.

                1 Corinthians 11:24-27 says, "and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, 'This is My body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same way also He took the cup, after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and the blood of the Lord."

                What I see from this is that we are called to remember Christ when we do communion. I believe that communion is an important part of church. I am not one to say that we must do communion, because the command was for us to do communion in a certain way, not do it period. I do feel that, as Christian, we should not stop doing communion. It is an important part of Christian culture and it is something special that God placed for us. I believe that if you should ask for forgiveness and should be a professing Christian, one who claims Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior, before going into communion.

                Everyone has different views on communion. All that I am saying is, for me, communion is like baptism. It is not a must, but it is an awesome experience and a big part of Christian culture that should not die out just because it is not in the ten commandments to do so. I will continue to do communion, not because I feel that I have to, but because I want to in order to continue to remember what Christ did for us in new ways every day. This is only what I feel.


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Love And Sacrifice

                A friend recently asked me if love hurt. I replied, "No, love does not hurt. Sacrifice hurts." Love is a powerful emotion that humans feel, and sacrifice is a powerful action that humans do. Sacrifice means giving up something you love for something you love more. Sacrifice is painful. It constitutes giving up something that we love. To humans, this is painful. Love does not call us to do anything. Love is a feeling. Sacrifice is something that comes out of love. As closely related as the two are, they are different. Sacrifice is made from love.

                Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This verse is powerful. Love is an emotion. It is not painful, but it changes what sacrifice means for us. If Christ did not love us as much as He loved His throne in Heaven, He would have sacrificed us and let us die so that He could stay seated; but He loved us so much that He sacrificed His life, stood up from His seat, and laid down His life for us. This is a perfect example of love and sacrifice. Love is a feeling, and sacrifice is an action to represent the love that ones has. God could have easily loved us and never come for us, but He wanted us to see the love that He has for us.

                As Christians, we will be going to Heaven one day. In Heaven, we are sacrificing nothing but we are still in love with God. We will probably be more in love with God in Heaven than we are here on Earth. I am saying this to show that we can love without sacrifice. Until then, sacrifice is a part of our daily lives and God calls us to sacrifice the world in order to obtain Him.

                This is how we should sacrifice. "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Romans 12:1) We are called to sacrifice the world in order to live for God through the blood of Jesus Christ. Again, sacrifice is giving up something you love for something you love greater. If you are to follow this verse, you are saying that you love God greater than you love the world and the things in it. God will know your heart and He will know if it is true sacrifice. If it is true sacrifice, you will be able to do it willingly, because the love you have for God will strengthen you to go on.


                                                                                                                                          -D

Distress

                The night that Jesus was going to be betrayed by Judas, He went out with the rest of His disciples to a place that He often went to for prayer. Luke 22:39-46 says, "Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him. On reaching the place, He said to them, 'Pray that you will not fall into temptation.' He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down, and prayed, 'Father, if You are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.' An angel from Heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When He rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 'Why are you sleeping?' He asked them. 'Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.'"

                Jesus knew this night that He was going to be betrayed. Imagine the stress that was on His shoulders. He knew that all of His friends were going to abandon Him, His close friend would betray Him, He would be beaten to the point where even His own mother could not recognize Him, and He would have to take the cup of wrath that was created by every sin that has ever existed and ever will exist. He was probably not feeling too happy about the situation that He was going to go through. He was so distressed that He went into hematidrosis, which is a rare but serious medical condition that occurs when a person is under great distress and the blood and water in their body mix and the person actually sweats blood. These types of conditions are only reached during events as stressful as war and unexpected death penalty sentences. It is a sign of stress beyond stress.

                An interesting piece of this is verses 44-45, "And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When He rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, He found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow." Both Jesus and the disciples were going through difficult times. The disciples were filled with sorrow, and Jesus was in distress. Here is the big difference between the two: Jesus chose to pray and the disciples chose to sleep. Why is this important?

                Jesus is setting an example. He says, in verse 46, "'Why are you sleeping?' He asked them. 'Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.'" When Jesus prayed, an angel from God came and gave Him the strength to do what He needed to do. When the disciples slept, they acted in violence when the guards came to arrest Jesus and they fled from His side. They were not following God's will!

                When we come under stressful situations, we should not sleep. We should be up and praying! Jesus gives us a perfect example through His life. When something goes wrong and you feel stressed out, do not sleep it off: pray through it. If the situation gets more stressful, be like Jesus and pray even more earnestly. Prayer should be our first response, not sleep. It is easy to say, "I've had a long day, let me go to bed before I think of all of the bills that I have to pay and how little money I have to pay for it," or "I've had such a long day with my marriage going wrong, I just need to crawl into bed." We should be praying, not going to bed! Sleeping won't fix the problems, but God can! We must follow the example of Jesus and pray when things get hard. Do not sleep under distress, but pray instead.


                                                                                                                                          -D

Am I Worthy Of God's Love?

                I have heard, many times,  that we as Christians are worthy of God's love. Now, hear me out before you judge. Yes, we are sinners; yes, we are people who were once rebels against God; yes, we are unfaithful to God. All of this is true, so how can I say that we are worthy of God's love? I cannot say that we deserve God's love. In fact, I cannot say that I am worthy of God's love and mean it. Nothing I have ever done has deserved anything but death when it comes to God. I am imperfect.

                Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." We have done nothing to deserve this type of love. It is like walking down the street and someone telling you that if you sign your name, they will give you a million dollars every year until you die. You did nothing worth to deserve it, you did not help the foundation. In fact, you are taking from the charity. It is the same type of concept with God. You did nothing to deserve the reward; but it is a gift that God gave just for you. You are not worthy in the sense of you working for it; but God's love is yours for the taking because He offered it to you.

                So do not think that you did anything to deserve God's love. You never did. You only deserved God's wrath; but He loved you so much that He choose to let His love be a gift for you that He will never take away. He is faithful and we must accept that we have done nothing to deserve this love. We must also accept that questioning why God loves us will not make us understand it any sooner. He loves us unconditionally and He will never take this love away. We are not worthy of God's love, but God will love us anyways no matter what.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Keep Calm And Love Your Enemies

                "You have heard that it was said, 'love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in Heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48)

                The world will try to tell you to love people who love you and hate people who hate you. The world will tell you that someone deserves to be hated, but this is not what Christ tells us. He says, "You have heard that it was said, 'love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." Why would we ever love our enemies? Why should I pray for someone who just egged my car? Why should I be kind towards someone who just cussed me out? I should get even, so says the world. Jesus calls us to love our enemies and do kind things towards them, "that you may be children from your Father in Heaven."

                What does that even mean? It means that we love our enemies and do kind things for them because God did that for us; and if we want to be followers of Jesus Christ, children of God, we need to imitate our Heavenly Father. "Well, I can love people and still not like my enemies." Well, before you come up with your excuses to get out of doing what God told you to do, read James 4:4. "You adulterers! Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: if you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God." When we decide to give into what the world wants us to do over what God wants us to do, we are picking sides; and if we are on the world's side, we are enemies of God, just like people who do wrong are enemies of us. Before you were serving God, you were His enemy. He was gracious and showed you mercy and kindness. He has been merciful and forgiving to us, and we are called to be the same way.

                "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" We are called to love everyone, not just people who make us feel loved. Anyone can love the popular guy who makes you feel welcome, or the girl who gives you a ride everyone. That's easy. Even those who do not have the love of God can do that. If you cannot love those who hate you, or be kind to those who are not kind to you, how do you know that the love of God is in you? If you do not love those who hate you, just as God loved you when you were His enemy, you are not imitating Christ. He is calling us to do this! He says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect."

                No one said that it would be easy, but you have an easier task then Jesus Christ did. All you have to do is let God help you love your enemies. Jesus had to die for all of His enemies and rise again to give them a chance in Heaven. We just have to ask God to help us be more loving. 1 John 4:7-8 says, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." Be honest with yourself. Are you loving others the way God told you to do in the Bible? In the end, He will hold you accountable for all of the love that you were supposed to give. If you are not giving love, you will be held accountable. It is between you and God; but we must be patient like God was patient, and love our enemies like God loves us. It is what He called us to do. As Christians, we are supposed to follow our Father's commands. The choice to love your enemies will not be forgotten by God. Remember that He died for everyone on the cross, including the person that you cannot stand! He also died for you. How will you pay Him back?

                "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:8)


                                                                                                                                         -D

Why Not Wrath?

                When Jesus was being arrested, His disciples must have forgotten who He was, because one of them attacked one of the men who were arresting Jesus and cut off his ear. We see a human being trying to defend Jesus Christ. Why? Isn't Jesus Christ God, and isn't God omnipotent? He has all the power. Why would he need to be defended? It's easy to think that the disciples had seen so much love from God that they forgot that He was also powerful. They misunderstood His meekness for weakness.

                When this had happened, Jesus said, "Do you think I cannot call on my Father and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matthew 26:53) He was telling the disciples who He was. He was not just the loving Jesus Christ, He was also the omnipotent and sovereign God of all. Looking at the time, a legion in the Roman army was 5,000 men. Jesus said that He could call for more than twelve legions of angels. That means that He could call more than 60,000 angels at once. 60,000! Try to imagine 60,000 people all in one place, holding swords of fire and trumpets that make thunder sound like a soft key on a piano. This is not even a fractions of the power of God!

                Many of the Jews of the time must have wondered why Christ did not come down from Heaven in thunderbolts and lightning, destroying everything that dared to oppose His people. Well, to be honest, He could do that at any moment. He is a powerful God who has no limits. So why didn't He come in power? Why did He choose to come through a poor Jewish girl, walk around the Earth for thirty-three years healing people and being meek, and then dying on the cross when He could have easily spoken a word from Heaven and obliterated everyone who was against His people? Well, His people deserved Hell, too. In fact, everyone deserved Hell. We are all sinners. Instead of choosing to kill us all off, He decided to come in love. He choose to come and be our living example instead of our destroyer. He loved us more than He wanted to bring wrath down upon us; that is why He took the cross so that He could be just and loving at the same time.

                So, why not pick the road of omnipotence and wrath, as opposed to meekness and love? Because He is a God who loves us and will never stop loving us! We should be grateful that His grace is sufficient and that His mercy never runs out.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Do Not Fear

                The Bible says "Do not fear" 365 times. That's enough for each day of the year! I was talking to a friend last night and he was saying how he would gladly take a bullet for being a Christian. I agreed. I felt it was easier to go to such radical extents. What if you didn't have to die for being a Christian? What if we stopped looking at the big things as something to fear? Once we die, we go to Heaven. There is no suffering involved. Why should we fear death as Christians?

                I know that I would die for God without hesitation, but put a needle in front of me and I am ready to cry like a baby. I cannot stand shots or anything involving a needle! Ask me to go hold a snake and you will see how fast I can run. Let's not even talk about spiders. The point is, we are so quick to say "I'm willing to die for this!" What about the little things? What about when you have to walk in the dark and you feel afraid? What about when you have to go get a shot and you cannot stand the thought of needles? What about having to hang around someone that you cannot stand being around? What about giving your last dollar to someone in need? Let's stop trying to act so big and look at the small stuff too.

                Are you afraid to do the small things, too? If so, that is fine! That is why the Holy Spirit is known as the Comforter. He comforts us! God knows that we can become afraid and He has prepared for that. Let us not be ashamed to be afraid. Instead, let's get into prayer whenever we become afraid. Let us ask God to be in our every day situations. He is not so big that He will only deal with life or death situations. He will be right there with you no matter what the situation is.


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Good People

                I have heard people say, "Well she is a good person. She'll go to Heaven." This statement is completely true! If you are a good person, you will go to Heaven. Even Jesus says that the righteous will enter into Heaven (Matthew 25:46) That's wonderful news, right? Well, there is one problem: There is no such thing as a good person.

                I know what many of you are thinking. "What do you mean there is no such thing as a good person? I go to church five days a week, I give food to the homeless, I tithe at church, I do it all! How can you tell me that I'm not a good person?" Well, let me give you this scripture then. "Who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one  has seen or ever can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen." (1 Timothy 6:16) Can you live forever? Can someone see you and not die on the spot? Unless you are God, you are imperfect, and if you are imperfect, you aren't good.

                I know, I know, "But I go to church every service! I don't murder or do anything big. I'm not a bad person." Well, maybe you haven't murdered anyone or done any drugs or slept around, but let me give you this scripture. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Sin is sin, no matter how big or small. Any and all sin equals death, even one time. Even if someone lived the perfect life, and stole a piece of bubble gum, they sinned and their sin bought them death. Sin is a decision we make when we think that our idea is better than God's. That is why sin looks fine to us, because we think that it's a good idea. It is not. It is rebellion against the almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth. Sin is rebellion against someone better than you. It is like an elementary student taking their parent's car keys and driving around town. They think it is fine because they are having fun, but they are oblivious to all of the danger that they are getting themselves in.

                Look back on your life and tell me that you have never sinned. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Everyone has sinned, including you and me. Have you ever lied, even a little white lie? That is a sin. Have you ever stolen something, even something that no one would miss? That is a sin. Have you ever talked bad about someone behind their back? That is a sin. Have you ever thought someone was stupid or sinful? That was judgmental. That was a sin as well. We are all sinners! This is a fact!

                I know, I know, "But my sin wasn't big. Those Bible verses are talking about big sins. It doesn't apply to me." Well, I believe Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned, and I believe that you are included when the verse says "all." Yes, you might not have murdered, but you have stilled sinned and it is worthy of death. To say that your sin isn't big enough to send you to Hell is to spit in God's face and tell Him that He isn't as holy as He thinks He is. God cannot be in the presence of sin. You and I are both sinners, and that is a fact. That is why we would go to Hell. Hell is separation from God, and He cannot have you in His presence if you have sinned. Not because He chooses to separate you and Him, but because He is too holy to be in the presence of sin.

                Let me put it this way. Imagine that I bakes a delicious cake. It was triple layered and filled with your favorite flavor. Now, as I cut out a piece of the cake to give to you, I hand you the plate and say, "Oh, by the way, I sprinkled just a little bit of dog poop into the batter before I cooked it." Would you still eat my cake? It is the same way with our sin! Our sin, no matter how big or small we want to think it is, destroys us and makes us imperfect. Don't be mad because the standard is high, be mad because you didn't meet the standard. God made man perfect but we failed Him. If you're going to be mad, make sure that you're getting mad at the right person.

                No matter what, there is no way out of it: we are all sinners who deserve Hell for not meeting the standard of Heaven. Being mad about this truth is like being mad about having diabetes if all you ate was sugar and candy for a year. We cannot be mad at the consequences of our own decisions.

                Now, we all know that we are sinners. How do we not go to Hell? No matter what our sin is, we don't want Hell. Well, we should turn to Jesus. Why Jesus? Because the Bible says that "'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Romans 10:13) Jesus Christ is Lord and He is the only one that can save us. He even said, "I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Jesus Christ is the only true way to Heaven. Jesus Christ is the only true way to eternal life. We cannot work off our debt. The only thing that can satisfy sin is death. It doesn't matter how often you go to church, how many homeless people you help, how much you donate, or how well people know you at church. The wages of sin is death, that means that when you sin, you owe death. No other payment will do. Trying to work off sin is like trying to pay your bills with pumpkins. It just won't work.

                It is through Jesus Christ alone that we can be saved from Hell. Romans 10:13 says that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." We must turn to Jesus who gives us grace. We must stop trying to work off our sin or ignore it. To take any other path to Heaven aside from Jesus Christ is prideful and arrogant. It is saying, "God, you don't know the rules to the system that you made. I, a sinful imperfect man, know a better way to Heaven; and you're going to let me in because this is the way that I want to live; so be quiet and work with me." This will never work! Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven! We cannot work our way in.

                We must humble ourselves and accept what Jesus Christ did for us. He went to the cross and took the spiritual punishment that we deserved when God poured out the cup of wrath on Him, the cup of wrath being filled with the punishments that every human will ever deserve for their sin. Jesus took it all for us. We must be humble enough to admit that we sin and deserve Hell, but that God will give grace to those who are humble enough to accept it. It comes down to this: We are all sinners who deserve Hell and need a savior. Jesus Christ is that savior. He is the only way out of Hell. Nothing else will do. He has reached out His hand to us at the cross. Will you take His hand and accept what He did, or will you let your pride get in the way of eternal life? The choice is yours.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Not Evangelism!

                As Christians, we know the reality of Heaven and Hell. If you do not have Jesus Christ in your heart, you are choosing to go to Hell. It is a reality that many Christians do not want to face when their loved ones have not chosen Jesus Christ. If your mother was not a Christians, or your best friend, you would be devastated and would want them to become saved right away. It is natural, and loving, to want others to be saved; but we cannot forget this simple truth: it is their relationship with God, not ours.

                No matter how much we want to save others, we cannot. As I always say, we cannot save a soul. Only God can do that. We must not become a burden upon others. We must continue to do well and love others with the same love that Jesus Christ showed us. Aside from that, we cannot force our beliefs upon others. If someone is not comfortable talking about religion, do not bring it up. Be respectful and let them bring it up whenever they are comfortable. Do not attack or insult someone else's beliefs. How can we expect to show God's love if we are making fun of someone else's way of life?

                Until that someone decides to seek out God, all that we can do are two things: show them the love of Jesus Christ and pray for them. We can do nothing else. We are called to seek the lost, love them, and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. We can present scripture when the time is right, but we must let the Holy Spirit lead us. We cannot force someone to believe what we believe. We cannot argue our way into someone's hearts. No one has ever been saved through argument. Only through love and the conviction that the Holy Spirit presents. We can do no more than pray and love them.

                But do not be discouraged! These are the two most powerful things a Christian can do for a non-believer. Jesus came and did this for us. He prayed for us and loved us enough to go to the cross for us, and look at how many people have been saved through His act of love and prayer. Let us follow in His example! Do not be discouraged. Instead, be patient and know that God is in control!


                                                                                                                                         -D

Decent From The Cross

                Last night, a group of my friends and I went to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (AKA: LACMA) and I saw a piece called, "Decent fron the Cross" by Daniel Mauch. The piece captivated me as soon as I saw it. I had to take a look and see what was going on. In the piece, there is a man taking Jesus Christ down from the cross right after his crucifixion. It was like watching what could only be described as holy horror. As I looked upon the piece, I thought, "God died."

                It was not part of the story, "Jesus died, and then He rose again! Yay!" This is a reality. The almighty creator of Heaven and Earth came to literally die for our sins. As I looked at the man who was holding Jesus, I pictured what must have been going through his mind. He was holding his creator. He was holding God. He was holding a dead Jesus Christ. It must have been heart breaking. He must have been waiting for Jesus to open His eyes again and breath life; but He didn't.

                One of my friends who was with me came over and asked, "are they just ripping Him off of the cross?" Another friend commented saying, "Of course." I thought about it for a second. Of course they were just ripping Him off of the cross. They had no idea that He was going to rise again in three days. He must have looked like a normal man, dead and being taken down from the cross just like everyone else that had ever been crucified. He looked no more glorious than any other man on the cross, so why would they treat Him differently? Why would they treat Him better? They had no idea who they were putting up on the cross.

                It was not the piece itself that made me realize that Jesus died for us. I knew that already; but to see an image of what it must have looked like hammered the final nail into the coffin. Jesus Christ literally came into a human body and died for us. No figurative language at all. Jesus literally died. For three days He was dead and in the tomb.

                Now, what lifts my heart with joy is what happened at the end of those three days. He rose again! He did not stay dead. He might have come in the form of a man, but when He died He came back with all authority and all power! He made the ultimate sacrifice for us. There is nothing greater that could have been done. He was the top guy in charge, there was no position above Him. Then He went down to the bottom. There was literally no position below Him. He did not have money or a job or a place to live. He went from the king who rules over every king, to a homeless man sent to death for a crime that He did not commit. The glorious part is that He did not stay as a lowly man. He picked up His authority and His power in death and triumphed. Jesus Christ was not beaten. In fact, He gave us victory!

                Jesus said, "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (John 10:18) It was Jesus Christ alone who had the authority to give up His life and pick it back up. What man takes back his life from death? None but Jesus.

                This is the powerful part, guys! He didn't just die and rise again to prove that He was God. He could have forced us to our knees in worship if He wanted to do that. He has authority over all, even us considering He gave us life. This is not what He did. He died and rose again, not for Himself or any gain to Him because He has all; but He did the most painful thing for the most worthless people. He took the punishment that we deserved. He died on the cross for you! He rose again for you! He did it all for you! So the next time that you see a cross, remember that it should have been you, but God stepped in and loved you enough to take the punishment for you. Now, it's your turn if you want to accept this free gift that He has offered you. This is your call to His action.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Family In Christ

                We, as Christians, are a part of a larger body. It is not just about ourselves and God. We have brothers and sisters in Christ. We can open our eyes and pour out our hearts to fellow believers because they will show us the love of God. We have a family in Christ. We are not alone.

                Yes, we will get on each other's nerves. We are human still. We will annoy each other, make each other mad, offend each other, and all of the other lovely things that brothers and sisters do to each other; but underneath it all is unity. Our family is rooted on the unity that Christ brings us. Ephesians 4:2-6 says, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were all 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."

                We all serve one Lord, we follow one God, we receive love and forgiveness from one source, and we are all one in Jesus Christ. There is no reason for any division within the church body. Ever. Anyone who fights with another brother or sister is fighting against the temple of God, or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of you? (1 Corinthians 6:19) If you fight with your brother or sister, you are fighting with the Lord. You must remember that our unity is not a unification of parts. We are all one with Christ. We have one goal, one Lord, one King, one Savior, one God. We are one under His love and mercy.

                Growing up, I visited my Aunt's house every other summer. I was younger, so I could not make food or do much for myself. My three older cousins all had to take care of me. I would wake them up early, demand the pickiest of foods possible, bug them to play games with me (especially when they were busy) and get them in trouble at any chance that I could get. I was a brat, to the "T." Through all of my annoying ways and my bratty habits; when it comes down to it, all three of them would have my back if something happened to me. That is love. They were, as Ephesians 4 tells us to be, patient and bearing with one another in love. They were humble when I was being selfish. They were patient when I was riding their last nerves. They were bearing me with love when I was getting them in trouble. I love the three of them to death! They are my family.

                All in all, they showed me what 1 Timothy 5:8 looked like: "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Because I can look back and see what they did for me, I now know how to show that patient, humble and enduring love to others.

                We might get annoyed with one another, and want to just abandon each other; but we are unified in Christ. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. It is our duty to help and love our brothers and sisters with a loving and humble spirit. Let us put this unity into action every day of our lives. We are the body of Christ, Let us not disappoint our Heavenly Father.


                                                                                                                                         -D

Phone Test

                How many of us carry our phones on us at all times? How many of us run home when our battery is low or carry a charger with us? How many of us have our whole lives on our phones? How many of us would be devastated if something happened to our phones? It is an interesting situation to think of. How was it fifty years ago or so when cell phones were not a thing, or when the internet was a science-fiction idea. Now, first of all, this is not about me saying that cell phones are evil and belong in Hell. Far from it! You can do so much good with cell phones. I will say this much. How important cell phones are in our lives should be half as important as the Bible is.

                Imagine if we carried around a Bible as often as we carried around a phone. Imagine if we had our noses in our Bibles half as often as we had them in our phones. Imagine if we asked for people's numbers, not to date, but we build meaningful relationships. Imagine if we prayed as much as we talked on the phone. Imagine if our phones were only half as important as our Lord.

                We are living in a day and age where electronics are becoming more and more popular by the month. We are living in a time where materialistic things seem to be looking more and more important. I am not saying that cell phones are not important. They are! But we need to remember what is paramount: God.

                I once took a day off of my phone. At first it was hard because I was thinking about my phone; but then I began to enjoy the liberating feeling. If anyone needed me, they somehow found me. It was too easy. In fact, it was so easy I almost didn't believe it. I wanted to try going another twenty-four hours without my phone. It is when I put down my thoughts of how important it was and let God put into perspective what was important that I began to understand things. I was set free by Christ from all things, even the mind set that I could not survive without my phone.

                Here is my challenge: Could you go a day without your phone? If the answer is no, could you go a day without prayer? If the answer is yes, then take a minute to examine what that means to you. What is important to you, and is that how it should be?


                                                                                                                                         -D