Be Ready

Day by day, I awake and see another sun rise, another sky clear and another tree sprout its leaves. All of the natural things of this world are covered in beauty by the hands of God. Yet one day, it shall be not. Gone. One day, this world will come to an end. All of the hate, violence, and corruptible sin will be no more. But the Lord will redeem this dwelling place creating a new heaven and a new earth. We must do our part in telling the world, doing His will and preparing for the Lord's return.


“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21.34-36.


I pray we'll all be ready when He returns!


Blessings

Patiently Waiting...

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. But no one ever said tis so sweet to wait on Him. Yet trusting in Jesus is rooted in patience, a trait that I lack, HEAVILY. From waiting in line at a coffee shop to sitting through movie previews before my flick comes on, I really don't like waiting. But practicing patience can be especially tough when we call on the Lord and we have to "wait" for His answer. It causes aggravation and can drive us to want to make moves on our own. Hold it right there! Before you decide to go ahead before the Lord's command, remember the patriarchs of the days of old. Noah, being a very old man, was told by the Lord to build an ark to save him and his family from the coming flood. I can just imagine Noah's neighbors and passer-by's mocking him and ridiculing him for such a ridiculous thought of a flooded world. But as the days drew near to board the life-saving ship, Noah kept his faith up. And on that great day, he and his family got aboard. And then guess what happened? "And it came to pass that after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth" Genesis7.10. It wasn't for another WEEK that rain began to pour upon the earth. The townsmen must have bellied over day by day laughing at Noah and his family as they sat boarded up in an ark on dry land. Yet Noah trusted in the Lord. He didn't cry out to God "What are You waiting for?! We're all inside and the townspeople are laughing, send the rain!" He didn't get out of the ark and make up an excuse for the delay to cover himself. He simply...waited. A very long seven days that must have been for Noah and his family. But because of their faith in God, they waited patiently upon His instruction.

So the next time you are waiting for God to send you a miracle, answer a prayer or provide something to you, remember to be patient. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Luke18.7-8. Show Jesus your faith and show that you trust Him by patiently waiting.

And be grateful that you aren't waiting in an ark with seven people and loads of animals :)

Blessings

Building a Better Relationship Through Daily Communion, Glorification and Incorporation

Like any other relationship, a relationship with God grows stronger the more and more time that is invested into it. Relationships with friends, lovers and the Lord all grow when effort and care is used for its growth. At a point in time in my spiritual life, I felt at a standstill. I had read the Bible from cover to cover and never gained a deeper understanding of anything. I went to church and heard the same sermons preached on the same popular Bible stories. I felt like there was nothing more to learn and my relationship with God would only go that far. Of course, I was far from correct in this statement.

Now-a-days, I yearn for a closer relationship with Him and have actually been putting the effort needed into building such a bond. There are three main tactics I have tried to incorporate into my life for this purpose. The first one is daily communion with God. As a child, my grandmother made me say my prayers at night and grace before eating dinner. This was about the extent of my conversations with God. Today, I try to take time out to speak to Him throughout the day and as often as I can. After Jesus performed many miracles for the people, He separated Himself in solitude and prayed to His heavenly Father (Mark2.35). We can learn a great lesson from this and keep communing with God throughout our days.

1 Peter 4.11 says "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." To build that closer relationship with God, I try to do all things to the glory of Him. I've often questioned myself about how I can glorify God in every little thing I do. Yet I make an effort to do that which is right and good as I represent the Savior. We can ask ourselves, when eating, do we refrain from eating like a slob and being greedy? When choosing what clothes to wear, do we stay away from attire that will cause another to sin or become distracted from God? When speaking, are our words foul and filled with gossip or do we speak motivation and encouragement? If we focus our attention on doing all things to the glory of God, we will please Him and become closer to Him. It works the same as in a human relationship. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't be too happy if I discovered my partner was doing things that violated me, embarrassed me or put our relationship on the rocks based on his actions. And this kind of behavior would pull me further from him rather than making our relationship stronger.

Our Heavenly Father is with us as we sleep at night, when we arise in the morning and throughout the day. With this in mind, I try to incorporate God into all that I do. When speaking with friends, I try to testify of His kindness to me. When working out at the gym, I listen to sermons or gospel music. When giving advice, I always try to encourage others to turn to God for help. By incorporating Him into all that I do, I engage with Him as oppose to just leaving Him to watch over me and guide my every step without any interaction with Him.

To build a closer relationship with God, I try to commune with Him daily, glorify Him in all that I do and incorporate Him into my life. I pray these tactics can help others with their relationships as well!

Blessings

Testimony Time

I will try to do Testimony Time at least once a week, if not more.

According to dictionary.com, "testimony" is defined as evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof." So today, I'd like to give a testimony of the statement that God keeps me as the apple of His eye and hides me under the shadow of His wings (Psalm17.8). 

On March 7th, on my way home from Washington DC, I was involved in a terrible car accident. My car veered off the left side of the road and into a marsh, flipping over and hitting a billboard. Before I even knew what was happening, it was over. I sat there in silence, shocked. However, I unbuckled my seatbelt, climbed behind my seat and out the window of the seat behind me. I was safe! I walked out of the car without a scratch on me. My glasses survived the accident as well and I was able to see.

God kept me safe from harm. In this instance, so many things could have gone wrong, causing the outcome to be detrimental or even fatal. I fell in a spot which caused my car to hit a billboard and stop rolling. I landed in an area where the water was no too deep and I did not sink. I was kept safe from any danger. It was as if He wrapped me in His arms and said "hold on tight" while protecting me through out. I thank God for saving my life that day and allowing me to even sit here and write this post. I know He is trying to reach me to tell me something. Pray that I am able to receive this revelation and do what is necessary on my part to search for this message He has for me. Thank you.

Glory be to God.

Blessings

I'm a Christian and I'm proud!

There are many things that I love: sweets, being with family, Naruto, wild animals...the list goes on. And I can so easily express my love for these things without much regard to personal opinion. For example, many of my friends think I'm crazy to want to work in rehabilitation for wild tigers. But I am so passionate about this subject and try to teach others about the need for conservation support that someone too may share the same love for these species as I do.

 

But when it comes to expressing my love for the Savior...I get tense. I am normally surrounded by so many different kinds of people. From varying races, backgrounds to spiritual beliefs, the playing field is enormous. As a Christian, I know my duty is to spread the word of Christ to the masses. But when facing so many different types of people, my mind wonders "what will they think? what will they say? how will they respond to a 'Christian' conversation". This is a major battle in my life. I try to use any avenue I can to discuss the Lord, whether it be connecting the weather to God or talks of the best holidays and Christmas. But when I am speaking to an unbeliever, I notice their voice changes, they become tense and turned off all together by the thought of such discussion. 

Despite how others feel, I LOVE THE LORD! And I want to tell the world about it. I want others to too feel the joy I feel on a daily basis. Matthew 10.33 states "But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." How do I reach others when I am so afraid of hurting feelings, turning others off or making someone tense? It is a challenge. Although the problem has not been solved yet, I try to reach people where they are at. For example, I work with a lesbian at my job. She is such a sweet and caring person but conversations about religion haven't gone so well. So I to express some topics that she can relate to. For example, I don't eat pork. She may view this as just another constrain religion puts on people's lives. But I explain to her that I love God and so I don't eat a meat that he deems unclean just as she does not cook food that her girlfriend does not like to eat. When you love someone, you try to please them. Maybe this tactic will prove to be successful, maybe it will fail. But it remains a prayer request of mine. Do you struggle with spreading the Word of God? Maybe this tactic will help or maybe you have a suggestion. It would be great to hear!

Blessings

Some of My Favorite Websites

This is a list of some GREAT websites that have helped me on my journey...


*The Bible gives you the Holy Bible in many different versions. My most trusted versions are the King James Version and the New King James Version.
*Great Sermons  are all over this site, including a live radio talk show in which questions can be submitted. Also, prayer requests can be sent here to be prayed over.
*Great Prophecy Sermons are on this site. Understanding prophecy has always been difficult for me but many deep prophecy sermons are easily explained here.
*Answers to Christian Questions Based on the Bible can be found here. This site uses the Bible to answer even the toughest of questions in regards to Christianity, religion, customs, spirituality etc. Any question you can think of has been listed on this site and answered using Biblical fact.
*Is the Bible truly God's Word? This site answers this question in plain truth. It will validate the Bible and squash those many unsolved mysteries about the Word of God.


Site suggestions? Let me know so they can be added to this list.


Blessings

In the Beginning...

In talking to a friend last night, I felt moved to commune with other Christians in their walks of life. She recently devoted her life to Christ and has since been walking on a new path. Yet she still has the challenge of conquering her old ways and old desires. This past weekend, she went to a Youth Day at a mutual friend's church and was able to share her Christian walk with others while others discussed their experiences too. She expressed to me that she wished there was a place she could go to meet up with other Christians and just talk. Talk about their lives, their struggles, their walks with God. I have created this blog for just that. In my very life, there are times of struggle and sadness. But there are also times of happiness and joy. My goal on this blog is to use my everyday experiences, whether they be exciting and fun or mundane and boring, to express my walk with God on a daily basis. I would love to spark discussion and get others to share their experiences too. This blog is meant to bless lives and I pray that is what it accomplishes!

Peace and Love, God Bless You