thoughts on a busy month.

Okay, so let me start off by saying that this month has been crazy. With the countless essays to write, state degree to work on, calculus in general, and scholarships to apply for, servant team application, it's been pretty easy for me to get stressed out. And for the most part that is exactly what I did. I stressed myself out even more by worrying about getting everything done. I would worry about all I had to do and end up getting nothing done because of it. Effective plan right? Let's get stressed because I have so much to do then not do anything because I'm too stressed. If you haven't figured it out yet, that plan doesn't work too well. As a matter of fact it just makes things worse. Last weekend really put a whole new perspective on stress and worry for me. Last weekend was the weekend that my discipleship class went up to Snowbird to work for the weekend. I truly got so much more out of the weekend than I expected going up there just to work. I was really convicted about how much I worry and stress myself out.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:25-34

Now, I had read these verses before and I knew that I shouldn't worry because it really wouldn't do any good to worry, but as I said earlier, I still worry a lot. This weekend put a new perspective on these familiar verses. Four little words stood out to me that never had before. "you of little faith" When I worry, it's like telling God that I don't think that He is good enough to meet my needs, and also letting Him know that I think I can meet them better. Simply put, worry is unbelief. Now, I know that God can handle what's going on in my little world, but when I worry, my actions show that I don't believe that in my heart. That definitely came as a slap in the face. But the beauty of the situation is that God is teaching me that I can trust Him and that I don't have to worry because He can handle it. Yes, this is an ongoing process, and I'm not going to immediately stop worrying, but God is giving me different situations and using those to grow me to Him. And I'll leave you with one more verse that has really helped me not to worry, but rather to trust God:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7

as promised.

So, there is no way to put this gently so I'm just going to say it:

Christianity isn't fire insurance.

There's more to being saved than just going to heaven when you die. If that's all being saved is then why are we still here? If being saved just saves you from hell then why didn't God reach down and pull you up to heaven the second you were saved? We are here for a reason. We are here to show the lost and dying world the hope we have. We are here to witness to others and make disciples of all nations.

Acts 1:8 says:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Okay, so Jesus said that we will recieve power when the Holy Spirit comes on us. So when God says we need His power (not when we think we do) He will give us the strength so we don't do it on our own but He does it through us because if this was somethig that we could do on our own we would get the praise for it. But it's not, so all the glory goes to God. He goes on to say that we WILL be His witnesses. Not the few I've called or this group right here but everyone will be a witness for Christ. Now He may call some to different places but everyone is called to witness.

"in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" That means everywhere. Not just the places that are convienient but to the ends of the earth.

We have been called to tell everyone the good news of Jesus Christ. Answer that call.

part dos :)

Okay, this is a topic that has been weighing on my heart lately and I felt the need to share.

In today's society, we have too many people "stuck in the middle" People who claim to be Christians, but still live for the things of this world. You can't live for both God and the world. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other or he will be devoted to one and despise the other."

What are you devoted to? What means the most to you? What do you love the most? Is it the things of this world or is it God?

If you really and truly believe that God is who He says He is, then you should want to serve Him. If you truly believe with all of your heart that God is the creator of the universe, that He is holy and just and righteous and sovreign then you should be sold out for Him. You should WANT to serve Him with all that you have. If you know about God but don't serve Him, you need to get Him out of your head and into your heart.

There are three kinds of faith:

1. dead faith: knows scripture, can talk about their faith and pray in public but their walk doesn't match up with their talk. This kind of faith only affects the mind. It won't do anything for you or those around you.
   
   
2. demonic faith: just believing. Even the demons in hell believe in God and tremble ("You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." James 2:19)
   
   
3. divine faith: faith as an act of your will to give you life to Jesus Christ.

What kind of faith do you have? Are you serving God or are you serving the world? God sent Jesus to free us from our bondage to the world; we don't have to be slaves of this world any longer! We can be sons and daughters of Jesus Christ!!!

This is all I have time for right now, but more will come later. If you have any questions feel free to comment or message me. I may not know the answer but I can find someone who will :)

SWOX

To those of you who don't know what Snowbird is:

Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters is a non-denominational Christian youth camp in Andrews, NC for middle and high school students. The staff take Biblical doctrine and present it in a way that all of the students can understand, whether it be through the skits or the teachings of Brody and Big Kahuna or the breakout sessions taught by the various full-time staff. The summer staff or counselors are college-age students who spend 11 weeks out of their summer to spend time with and truly disciple and minister to each student they work with. They are there to answer any questions and to help out and listen to anything burdening a student's heart. If you want more information about Snowbird and its mission, you can visit www.swoutfitters.com

What I learned at SWOX

One thing they really emphasized at Snowbird this year was the importance of the Gospel. They really took the time to break down and explain essentials of the Gospel. First, we need to understand who God is. God is our creator. He made us in His image and because of that we belong to Him. God is holy which means that by His nature, He can not, and will not sin. ("This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." -1 John 1:5) The rules God has put to govern us are a reflection of His nature. When we break those rules, when we sin, we rebel against God personally; we break the heart of God. God is just. He has to and will judge sin according to His standard of right and wrong- which we have already broken. That leads to the sinful condition of man. Adam and Eve sinned, therefore we were born into sin. We have a sinful nature from birth and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves from our sinfulness, which is why we need Jesus. Without Jesus, we would be condemned to paying for our sin for eternity in hell. ("For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23) Jesus came to earth, fully man and still fully God. He earned righteousness for us. If we were just forgiven, we would just mess up again and again. We need the righteousness of Christ. Jesus lived a perfect life and died a sacrificial death to satisfy God's wrath. The resurrection validated everything Jesus said. Death could not hold Jesus. He was victorious over death and sin and hell. Salvation is admitting that we have sinned and deserve hell but accepting the gift of righteousness from Christ. We are to die to ourselves and follow the example of Jesus ("Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." -Matthew 16:24)

The Gospel is of utmost importance. We are called to make our lives all about preaching the Gospel. The Gospel should control us. We should be obsessed with getting the Gospel out rather than worldly garbage. The Gospel will take root in us and change us from the inside out. We to devote our entire lives to the Gospel. Learn how to live our lives solely for the pursuit of the Gospel now so that the things of this world won't dictate the rest of your life. Christ died to free you from that, don't imprison yourself with it. Don't make decisions based on what's going to get you the most money or the most popularity, but rather what's going to get the most people in the face of Jesus. That's what should drive us. We need to waste our lives for the Gospel, that's what the world is going to think you are doing. But in reality, when we devote our lives to anything but the Gospel, that's when we are wasting our lives. The Gospel is the only thing that will last. Everything else is temporary. Everything else will burn. Only that which is eternal will last.