My earnest plea with all professing Christians is to EXAMINE YOURSELVES, just as the Bible says to in 2 Corinthians 13:5-- "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified." Ask yourself: do I truly KNOW Jesus? Or do I just merely know ABOUT Him intellectually? Have I truly repented and placed my faith in Jesus Christ ALONE for salvation? Have I given my life to Jesus? Have I been born again like John 3 says we MUST BE in order to enter the kingdom of God? Is there good fruit in my life that proves I have been born again, as Matthew 7 and James 2 warn? Or am I dead fish floating down the stream in the same direction as the rest of the world, no growth, no change, no real love for Jesus, just consumed with the cares of this world with a thin religious veneer slapped on top? Am I on the narrow path that leads to life, or the broad way that leads to destruction? I hope this video blesses you!
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“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was." If you were to read this without knowing how it all ends, you might be pretty confused and frankly, baffled. Lazarus is dying, and his sisters are asking for Jesus to come and heal him. At this point in His earthly ministry, Jesus had healed handfuls of people, so they knew this was something He was fully capable of. So, what does it say He did? He– wait, whaaaaat? He stayed behind two more days before He finally left to go see them. This of course, resulted in Lazarus’ death. Now, how does that make sense? How could it say that He loves them, but yet allow this tragedy to happen? Perhaps you’ve asked that question in your own life or heard others who have. The sisters were hoping that Jesus would come and heal their brother of his illness, but He didn’t. Why? Why would He let Lazarus die? Well, simply put, God had a better plan in mind. A much, much better plan. I’m sure it made absolutely zero sense to Martha and Mary at the time, I bet those two days of waiting and hoping for Jesus to come and watching their brother die was agonizing, confusing and devastating. Yet the passage makes it clear, as bizarre and perhaps even contradictory it may seem– it says that Jesus loved them. How? Well, Jesus stayed behind those two days for a reason: the greater purpose of not healing a sickness, but raising Lazarus from the dead, as we learn in the latter half of the chapter. As a result, we are told in verse 45 that many of the Jews who had witnessed this believed in Jesus, how awesome! Martha and Mary had a plan for Jesus, they had a plan on how they wanted this difficulty in their life fixed, but He had an infinitely better one. I believe this is applicable to every true Christian. Many times in our lives, God will allow some very difficult and painful things. And the truth is, He won’t always deal with these troubles, struggles and trials the way we want Him to. In fact, it’s probably very rare that our issues are resolved in the way we think they should be. We are after all, fallible, severely limited beings with a very restricted view and understanding of everything around us, whereas God sees the full picture, the ins and the outs, unknown and the unseen, the past, present and future. Who do you think has the better plan for your life? Little ole you, who doesn’t even know what the next second may hold, or the God who made and upholds the universe and everything around you and quite literally, died to save you? Yeah, well, my vote is with Him! No matter what storms and trials we may be hit with in this broken world, as Christians we can trust that God loves us, and He has an awesome, AWESOME plan for our lives. Just as we are promised in the famed Romans 8:28– “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” We may not know what tomorrow holds, but we know Who holds tomorrow.
Stay close to Jesus, my friends! He's coming back soon, and nothing matters more! HELLO MY DEAR FRIENDS!
I just wanted to make a quick little post to let you all know that I am, in fact, alive, and so is this website. So, SO sorry for the lack of activity. As I was making some small edits to the site, I just realized it's almost been an entire year now since my last blog post-- whoopsies... how did that happen? :9 Let's just say it's been one heck of a year! Busy, busy, busy. Hard to believe all the things that have went down in what feels like such little time. Seriously, so much has happened! God has been moving insanely, like I've never seen in my life before. I joke that He's put me in a sort of "training course" lately. ANYWAYS, I am very excited to share with you all (I hope, soon) what all has been going on. At least for now though, I just wanted to let you all know that this place isn't dead. Pssst! Check out the Resources tab-- we have a few new additions AND, I cleaned it up a little so it's somewhat more organized (well, debatably). Keep in touch my friends! Praying for you all. Hello my friends! I am SO sorry for how long this video took to get out-- but finally, here it is! Here you go! Today I am talking about a handful of things, though primarily my testimony, how I grew up in a "Christian household" yet I was never a true Christian myself. I wasted so many years of my life, and I just want to encourage everybody out there not to make the same mistakes I did. I hope this encourages you to take an honest look at your life and to seek Jesus like never before. This video's a long one yes, but it's so important, so please bear with me here! Hello friends! So... I've already done a video on hyperfixations (that's the word the cool kids use, but really it's just idolatry) but after wrestling with this issue a few days ago, I was reminded of how painful it is, and how pretty much everybody I know online struggles with this. So, here we go again! Let's talk! Hello my friends! Recently, a sister in Christ wrote a lovely piece about spiritual warfare, and the importance of taking our thoughts captive. I asked permission to share her writing, and she said yes, but encouraged me to rewrite it in my own words. So, here you go! I hope this blesses you all. It's definitely an issue that hits home for me :o) God's Word tells us that every believer in Christ Jesus is to have His mind, to receive His thoughts. But, how exactly does this happen? Indeed, our minds are a battlefield, I am certain you can all relate! Everyday we are bombarded with a million different thoughts about a million different things, and sadly they are usually not good things. The devil does everything he can to keep us hearing AND reacting to his thoughts and ways. Thankfully, the Lord Jesus has won the victory for us on the Cross! Jesus alone has the power to free us, and keep us safe, filled with HIS thoughts. Thoughts lead to actions, so naturally, if we are filled with these good, right and true thoughts from the Lord, they will result in good, right and true actions. God doesn't want us to be deceived by the devil. He wants us to understand and know how exactly the devil tricks us so we can say NO and start learning to follow Jesus, and live His way. The first thing we ought to understand is that in the Garden of Eden, Satan did not hand Eve an "apple." Rather, what he gave her was a thought, an idea that she could be wise on her own without her Creator, that she could be "like God." Satan presented Eve with this thought that brought God and His goodness into question. He presented her with doubt. The first mistake Eve made was even choosing to respond to the devil in the first place-- engaging in an a conversation with him, and entertaining his thoughts. This of course, led to the devil's thoughts becoming her thoughts, which then became action. The action being, not only did Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but she gave it to her husband as well, and we know the disastrous consequences that followed thereafter, the death and destruction this very event has wrought on our world. Indeed, it is true when sin is fully grown, it brings forth death (James 1:15). This all started with a simple thought, a simple idea that was proposed to Eve by the devil, but as she took this thought and embraced it, it then led to action, which then brought forth sin. So, with this in mind, let's take a look at something said in the Old Testament that will help us to see more clearly how the enemy works, so we can let Jesus free us from the devil's deceitful ways, and be tricked by him no longer! Take a look at this verse from Isaiah: "'No weapon formed against you will prosper; and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is from Me,' says the Lord." Here we are told that "no weapon formed against you will prosper..." That means there are "weapons," so that's not good news, no, not at all! These weapons are of the devil and his kingdom of darkness, but the only way these weapons can be successful is IF someone actually picks them up and uses them. What exactly are his weapons? Well, they're the thoughts, attitudes, opinions and so on that lead to actions. They seem to fit the situation at first glance, and perhaps by our initial impulse, such as being offended, bitterness, anger, self-pity, unforgiveness, just to name a few. We are tempted to use these weapons of the devil in response to everyday situations and circumstances. When we use these weapons, when we rely on these things, we are embracing Satan's ways rather than the ways of our precious savior Jesus. That's horrible! Isn't it?? We'd never admit that, we are pretty adept at coming up with all sorts of excuses for using these weapons, for lashing out in anger in response to the hurt, in wallowing in self-pity when we are ridiculed, clinging to unforgiveness when the unimaginable is done to us, and so on. This is the way of the world, so we often are persuaded into believing this is all just fine and dandy. Yet, we forget that this world is currently under the rule of the devil himself (Ephesians 2:2, John 14:30) so it should not surprise us at all that the world is following suit. As Christians, we are called to be different, to be set apart, and though for the time being we are still IN this world, we are "not OF it" (John 17:14-16). Only Jesus has the power to set us free from the deceitful ways of the devil and this world, to set us free from these "weapons" we have adapted as our own. The Lord has "armor" for us to put on, but we must take off the devil's armor first. We must put off the old, and put on the new, as we are told in Ephesians 4:22-24. We need to stop looking to this world and all its wicked ways to help us, and to instead look to God alone. The best way to see where our "armor" has come from is to look at the nature of God's kingdom, and Satan's kingdom. God's Kingdom Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, virtue, purity, wisdom, justice, honesty, fairness, sincerity, knowledge, understanding, grace, mercy, excellence, forgiveness, compassion, devotion, truth, kindness, humility, willingness to yield, self-control Satan's Kingdom Rejection, hatred, violence, anger, wrath, malice, filthy language, rebellion, jealousy, envy, condemnation, shame, pride, guilt, lying, greed, covetousness, revenge, retaliation, slander, accusation, fear, terror, unforgiveness, unmerciful, self-pity, gossip, self-centeredness When we asked Jesus to be our Savior, this is exactly what we were asking Him to save us from; the filthy armor and weapons we got tricked into taking and using from the devil. We are told in Colossians 2:15: "Having disarmed principalities and powers, (Jesus) made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." Jesus removed Satan's weapons when He died in our place on the Cross. With Jesus, WE ARE TRULY SAFE! Now, we need to know what God's "armor" looks like. In Ephesians 6:10-18, the Apostle Paul describes the "armor of God" that every believer needs to put on and keep on: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints," As you can see, this battle is spiritual. It's not against flesh and blood, the physical, as v12 states, but rather it's against the "rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." It's spiritual! So, none of our earthly weapons or strategies will be of any use at all. We need the armor of God, and thankfully, we have Ephesians 6 to tell us all about it! I think we ought to read this passage every day, so that we would never forget the spiritual battle we are in, and that we would always be ready, and armored up in the Lord Jesus, rather than our own measly efforts. The Apostle Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:1-2 by saying: "Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 we are told: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ," The Lord also reveals to us in Proverbs 3:5-6 that we are to: "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean NOT on your own understanding; in ALL your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths." Remember this my friends-- when we asked Jesus to save us, we were asking Him not only to save us from hell, but also to save us from our desire to be in control of things, and to instead let Jesus take control. He alone is able to sort through all the many thoughts that come into our minds everyday, the thoughts that have resulted in emotions and actions, and had even created strongholds in our minds. By ourselves, we have no ability to discern where our thoughts actually come from, nor the ability to protect our minds from their influence. But Jesus does! "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." My friends, it is time we stop dwelling on the thoughts, the lies of the enemy, and to instead dwell on our great and wonderful Savior Jesus, and His thoughts. It's time we start taking our thoughts captive to Jesus, as we read in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. As soon as we recognize a thought as being from the devil, we must reject it, and replace it immediately with thoughts from Christ, with His Word, His truth. We make a grave error of attempting to depend on our own emotions and intellect, especially when it comes to combating our thoughts. I know for me, this has been one of my biggest battles! I'm a pretty emotional person, so I've had a LOT of practice all my years depending on my own feelings. Unfortunately, it wasn't until fairly recently that I finally started getting a grasp on this. Feelings are not to be trusted, not in the slightest. The devil often puts such thoughts in our minds that, if accepted, can result in a lot of emotional turmoil and stress. Yet, we know we are told so many times in Scripture that we should not worry, or fear, or stress (2 Timothy 1:7, Isaiah 35:4, Luke 12:22). Instead, we are called to trust God, to believe Him and His word over our own thoughts, feelings, fears, and even circumstances. Consider what Jeremiah has to say about our hearts!: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" It is my encouragement to you all to start examining the things you're allowing into your life that may be influencing your thoughts. Thoughts that are either encouraging the lies of the devil, or the truths of God. Do the television shows, the movies, the video games, the books, etc. you consume help you combat the lies of the enemy? Or are they strengthening them, and feeding you even MORE falsehoods? Are they tearing you down and ridiculing God and His good ways, or are they building you up in Christ and encouraging you to run the race with endurance (Hebrews 12:1-2)? I believe a big component to taking our thoughts captive is also being aware of the influences we are allowing in our lives. So I encourage you all to pray, and ask God if there are any things in your life that need to change, if there are things that may be feeding the thoughts of the enemy. It's time we get serious, and make war with the deceptive thoughts, the lies, the tricks. It's time we take every thought captive to Jesus Christ. Imagine literally grabbing your thoughts, and chaining them up as if they were prisoners, and bringing them immediately to Jesus. I really like that image. Instead of running with these thoughts, let's take them right to Jesus without hesitation. My dear friends, it's time we put off the old ways, and put on the armor of God, taking every thought immediately to Jesus Christ our Lord. Dear Heavenly Father, we come before You today in the mighty Name of Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our King, our everything! Oh, God, You know the struggles we have with our thoughts, our feelings. It is so hard some days, Lord. How desperately we want to be set free from these thoughts, these doubts, these feelings, these struggles that have plagued us for so long! We ask You to please tear down the strongholds the enemy has erected in our minds over the years, and that You would replace his lies with Your truths. Lord, fill our minds with Your thoughts, and Your thoughts alone. We are weary from listening to the lies, to the fears, to the doubts. We don't want to live in bondage to the lies any longer, Lord, we want to be free in YOU! Lord God, please get Your truths deep down into our hearts, and help us to believe You and Your word over our thoughts and feelings. We know that the truth will set us free, and You are the way, the truth, the life. Teach us to take our thoughts captive to You, Lord, and help us to rest in You and Your amazing unfailing love. Thank you Lord, that You came to the captives free! We love You!
In Jesus' precious Name we pray, amen. Hello my dear friends!!!!!! Special (and long) video for you all today! Such an incredibly important topic, though certainly uncomfortable, it ought to be discussed. Being on social media, I'm exposed to a lot of darkness out there, and I've seen the grip Satan has on my generation especially. I felt very strongly that I needed to talk about this, as you'll learn in the video... it's time people learn the TRUTH. GOD BLESS YOU MY FRIENDS!! Have a most wonderful day! "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." - Proverbs 4:23 Hello my friends! Today I wanted to talk about something that affected me and my Christian walk GREATLY. Without a doubt, it is a huge obstacle that ALL Christians face, especially those who are younger (like me!). What is this giant we Christians face today? To simply put it: the things we consume. What on Earth am I talking about??? Well, bear with me as I explain using the example of my cringy younger years (which... wasn't really all that long ago BUT I digress I digress 🤣).
Like most kids, I was very drawn to video games, cartoons (be it movies or shows) and music, and from a very young age as well. I was always sort of a massive nerd with a love for all things art, so it made sense these things in particular captivated me. My introduction to the internet of course only fed into these passions of mine, and before long I was your average internet-obsessed kid, spending every waking hour I could indulging myself with everything the online world had to offer. Every single day, I talked to my internet friends pretty much nonstop, played a wide variety of video games, scrolled through various different social medias, jammed almost constantly to secular music, watched hours of YouTube, and so on. I also grew pretty attached to my reputation as an artist on social media— I remember it got so bad at times that I struggled with a lot of anxiety over how people perceived me, and I got myself into a lot of petty drama! I often cried because I was terrified of people stealing my art, or getting cancelled, and all the other weird things that can happen to you on social media. My online identity had become pretty important to me, and like many others in my generation today I was just lost in its deception... It is beyond appalling to see the way many churches today-- even more so individual Christians-- treat those outside the church. How often do churches now view themselves as these weird little museums of ultra-righteous-saints, when they should ACTUALLY be hospitals for the sick and hurting? How often do churches see the people around them as their enemies, when they should be seen as their mission? Have we completely forgotten EVERYTHING Jesus taught us during His earthly ministry? Who did Jesus spend all His time with-- the self-righteous religious leaders, or the tax collectors, the crippled, the poor, the hated? On the contrary! Jesus was constantly REBUKING the self-righteous, self-sufficient religious leaders. How come? They put laws and rules above loving God and loving people, which is really what it’s all about. Take a look at this passage from Mark 2:15-17:
“And it happened that (Jesus) was reclining at the table in (Matthew’s) house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating with tax collectors and sinners?” And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” This of course, is just one instance out of many, in which the religious leaders throw a hissy-fit over the fact that Jesus is ministering to basically the outcasts of society. And again, it’s tragically the same issue we see plaguing many churches today, this disgusting contradiction of everything God taught His people, and modeled perfectly through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. See how Jesus reached out to these people, how He ministered to the sick, the hurting, the brokenhearted! Meanwhile, the religious leaders cared more about their rules and traditions, thinking themselves to be righteous by their own works, condemning all of those around them. Many, unfortunately, are raised up in religious households where the parents display this exact hypocrisy, resulting in their children to grow up hating God, and cringing even at the mere mention of any “religion.” So sadly, it’s no wonder everyone is so against our great and wonderful God-- my generation especially-- because of this rampant, disgusting religious hypocrisy that has dominated many churches. I can’t tell you how often I am grieved just thinking about my generation and how horribly misled they are, how hypocrisy, misunderstanding and lies have totally ravaged their view of God. The countless friends I have known who have just grown to despise God and His followers entirely. This horrific misconception has pushed so many away from God, despite the fact that He’s the only one who can help them, who can save them. It’s also exactly why the Apostle Paul wrote that because of such religious hypocrisy, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Romans 2:24). And how true that is. When addressing the Pharisees and their hypocrisy, Jesus even once referred to them as whitewashed tombs that looked beautiful outwardly, but inside, were full of dead people’s bones. They looked all holy and righteous from the outside, but inside they were full of hypocrisy, lawlessness, sin. And that’s what Jesus came to show everyone, that sin comes from within us, that WE are the problem, it’s not about just trying to act better. The problem starts in the heart, and then reveals itself in our actions. Jesus came to show us that we are helpless by ourselves, and can’t save ourselves, that we can’t be “good enough” to go to heaven, so that we would realize we are ALL sinners in desperate need of a savior– JESUS. He came not only to expose our main issue, but to offer a solution as well: Him. So you see, because of the utter hatred, the hypocrisy, the cruelty many churches display today, people are driven away from God, and grow to instead hate Him, not knowing how much their Creator actually truly loves them, and is yearning for them to return back to Him, how He “wishes that no one should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). And no place is His amazing love made more clear to us than in the Person of Jesus, who is literally God in the flesh– coming down from all His glory in heaven to be born in an animal stable of all places, to live the perfect, holy and righteous life you and I never could, suffering the brutal fate we deserve on the cross, and then rising from the dead on the third day. Can you see the love? The humility of our great God? He is literally our Creator, the King of everything, deserving of all our worship and adoration, yet we are told in Philippians 2:6-7 that “(Jesus), though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” You’ll see this clearly displayed in the Gospel of John, as well as in all the other Gospel accounts. If only we Christians would read the Bible and take it seriously, truly taking the time to seek God and allowing His Word to transform our hearts, our lives. If only we would truly live what we preached, really walked-the-talk. This world doesn’t need more empty religion, it’s certainly already full of it! What it really needs is JESUS. It is not our job to go around judging and condemning people, but to spread the Good News of the Gospel to all we possibly can. Jesus Himself said in John 3:17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” More than ever, people today need to know that there IS hope, but it’s not in this ever-darkening world, it’s not in money, or relationships, or careers, fame, hobbies, media, drugs, entertainment, etc. This world merely offers temporary and circumstantial happiness, cheap thrills and distractions. Only Jesus Christ, the risen Lord, can offer eternal hope that is not shaken by life’s constantly changing circumstances, and this world and its fluctuating culture. Let me close with Mark 3:1-6. Again, see the love, the compassion of Jesus, as contrasted by the stuck-up religious leaders. See how the God of the universe in human form treats people, versus the religious elites of His day. “(Jesus) entered a synagogue again; and a man was there whose hand was withered. And they were watching Him closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. [[So they basically set up this crippled man as “bait” for Jesus, how cruel can you be?]] He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might put Him to death.” BEHOLD, the longest video devotional yet... don't let the minutes discourage you however! I think you guys will all find this one very interesting, and VERY important, and perhaps even controversial (tragically). And to think we just barely even scratched the surface with this video. How crazy! I hope this video encourages you all to pursue Jesus like never before, because I truly believe that the time is VERY SHORT. PS. The mentioned resources in this video (for those wanting to dig deeper) can also be found over at the "Resources" tab on this blog :) Hope you check them out! I will also be supplying the written script for this video, just in case you prefer reading over listening. Click the button below this video to download the PDF! Hello my friends!!! I wanted to share the first video devotional I made, which I realized I never actually posted on here. It was originally only available on my Instagram. It's basically just the video version of the older devotional I posted here titled "Jesus vs Religion - Response to a Friend." So if you're someone who has an easier time listening, here you are! Sorry it took me so long to post this here. Hello everyone! Just wanted to share the third video devotional I made for my Instagram audience. This one is about an issue I have struggled with all my life— idolatry, or as people in society often call it now: hyperfixation. Hope you enjoy! “(Jesus) also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man (tax collector) went down to his house justified, rather than the other (Pharisee). For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’” - Luke 18:9-14 Jesus calls out one of society’s biggest issues, particularly when it comes to “religion.” The Pharisees were basically the religious people you may know today- bent on keeping rules, treating others terribly, thinking themselves to be perfect. This idea that we can be “good” or “holy” enough to impress God. However, Jesus tells us very clearly that we CAN’T be good enough. We see this tax collector (who were all absolutely HATED in Jesus’ day) who KNEW he didn’t have what it took, that he wasn’t holy or good or righteous enough. He understood that only God is good (Mark 10:18), and that he was a wretched sinner, as we ALL are (Romans 3:23). And yet, it is this tax collector, this utter sinner, who Jesus said is justified- who is made right before God. NOT because he was “good” or “righteous” or “holy” enough but because he realized his hopelessness and inability to save himself, and he turned to God instead of himself. The Pharisee trusted in himself that he was righteous, and could save himself. BUT we know that NO ONE will be saved by their good works (Galatians 2:16). Be like the tax collector here! Never trust in yourself- in your so-called righteousness, or “good works,” because we know we all miss the mark. But thankfully, Jesus met that mark for us, He did what was impossible for us (Matthew 19:26). So TURN TO JESUS, trust in Him and what He did for you on the cross. Hello friends! This is another devotional I wrote specifically for my Instagram followers (a largely atheistic audience) but I wanted to share it here as well. It is definitely an important reminder for us ALL, a reminder to rely on Jesus, and not ourselves.
Keep in mind, this devo is very short and not as in depth as I’d like, because Instagram has a 2,200 character limit on posts, so I had to make it short and sweet. Have a great week! Hello friends! I just wanted to share the video devotional I recently made specifically for my Instagram followers, AKA a widely atheistic audience. However I am confident this can be applied to believers as well, ESPECIALLY those struggling or or battling with sin! So please check this out :) It is a reminder I need often. Let’s get out of the pigpens of our minds and focus back on Jesus! And Lord please help us to do so because man is it hard somedays! In this devotional I cover the wonderful parable of the prodigal son, and the video also includes a time lapse of me illustrating a pic to visualize the theme! "Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.'” Personally, I find these to be some of the most beautiful words in all of the Bible. They’re SO good, SO true, and SO beautiful. This has quickly become one of my all time favorite verses. I suppose I just find it incredibly relatable as well. Just the realization that without Jesus, there’s nothing, that really, who or what else could we ever go to? He’s it! He is EVERYTHING, and all we will truly ever need. If we don’t have Jesus, we don’t have anything.
There’s just a broken world full of broken people and broken things, and oh how desperately this dying world needs Him! Our one and only hope, our ultimate treasure, our precious Savior and King. And! Something crazy to consider; these amazing words, they come from Peter— a man who goes from speaking wonderful truths such as this, to having to be rebuked by Jesus (Matthew 16:23), and even denying Jesus three times (Matthew 26:74). Talk about having ups and downs! If anything, the fact that it’s Peter who spoke these words makes it all but the more beautiful. It’s such a wonderful reminder of how we all truly are— sinners who mess up everyday, and desperately need a Savior. We give Peter a lot of flak for his royal mess ups, but the truth is we are ALL like Peter. We can be on the mountain top one moment, and in the next, back down in the creepy, creepy valley. We are all wretched sinners. But thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 7:25)! There is hope to be found in Him and what He has already done for us, the One Who alone has the words of eternal life. Amen! Now let’s share this Good News with the world. “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” In recent weeks, I have caught myself trying to “relive the past” so to speak, trying to recapture long gone eras and nostalgic feelings. In my desperate attempts to recreate what to me were “simpler times,” I ended up making things much harder for myself, stagnating my growth, becoming unproductive, and ultimately, miserable. Sometimes we get caught in these ruts of the past— whether it’s a good time we’re reminiscing about, or even trauma that we are still haunted by. Either way, we can find ourselves “living in the past” and becoming stagnant, caught in the enemy’s trap in an attempt to hold us back from growing in Christ. I think this verse is a good reminder, perhaps something we should memorize and repeat to ourselves in times when we are tempted to dwell on the past in one respect or another. We need to ask God for His strength and His help to fight off such temptations and remind ourselves to walk forward, not back. This is definitely a reminder I will need everyday. So my prayer is that God would help all of us to leave the past behind and press ahead, that He would heal us from past wounds and instead give us eyes that look continually forward. Lord, do a mighty work in us today and help us to press forward and to leave the past where it belongs. Please help us to continue growing in You and not to be stunted by hurdles from the old life. Change our hearts and our desires, and remind us that true life is found only in You, not the “idols” we once fled after. Please change us today, give us an unshakable faith, a passionate love and a deep trust in You alone.
A couple of months ago, a friend of mine expressed their discomfort towards “religion” after I had posted a multitude of Bible verses online. Now, given that their issue was actually quite common among the people I knew— and in our society in general— I felt compelled to write a rather lengthy response in hopes of helping them understand. Since it’s pretty general, and many I know have struggled with these exact things, I figured I might as well share my response here for all to read. Hello, I can understand why religion would make people uncomfortable, especially if you have had negative past experiences with it or maybe even "religious" parents. But please know I do not mean to offend you or anyone in anyway, rathermore I am pointing to help, to the solution if you will. Bear with me as I explain, please :] I'm not talking/posting about religion, I'm talking about Jesus. If you wanna be technical, sure, yes Christianity (or Baptist or Nazarene or whatever the other names for it I've heard, names don't matter tho) might be classified as a world religion, but when I say religion (and what most think when they hear that word) is a strict set of rules and laws and demands, and a system in which someone is required to work or "be good" to go to heaven. I'm not talking about religion, in fact in the Bible, Jesus many MANY times denounced the so-called religious leaders of His day. The Jewish religious leaders were strict and stern people, who believed they were these righteous people because of the rules they followed, and the rules they enforced on others. They didn’t really care for people, and thought they were these awesome self-righteous people and loved the attention they got from people, and they treated people awfully, especially the weak and the sick people, such as the lepers. This is the attitude you see a lot of religions with today, isn’t it? Bent on rules and screaming at people to follow their laws or die. Religion in this sense, yes, is a terrible thing, and I understand why people hate it so much, and try to avoid it. There is a verse in the Bible in fact that addresses what these so called religious people have done, the damage they have caused. This is a slight paraphrase lol; “The name of God is blasphemed among unbelievers because of ‘religionists’” (Romans 2:24). In other words, because of these “religious” parents and people many have been exposed to in their life, or perhaps what the media shows of it, and so on, people get the completely WRONG idea of God. In fact, the entire book of Romans (a book in the latter part of the Bible) goes over how religion is useless, how religion can’t change or save anyone, and how only Jesus saves and changes us. Religious people (such as the pharisees in Jesus’ day, or perhaps stern religious parents many people I know have grown up with, or perhaps even you, I just know many grow up with people like that) are totally focused on rules and thinking that they must follow rules and be perfect to achieve acceptance from God, to get to heaven. They are only focused on external matters. As my pastor once said, “religion doesn’t give you a way to change your heart. It’s just head knowledge and hypocrisy.” But Jesus taught the exact opposite, He taught that laws and rules don’t make people good, or better, or righteous whatsoever, that food and other things don’t make you “unclean.” He taught it’s what comes OUT of a man that matters, what’s in someone’s heart, not the external things they do, or eat or take in. Very contrary to what those religious people you see today doing and saying, right? So focused on rules and condemning others and being strict and all of that. I recall many testimonies from members from my church, where they had previously been Catholic or Mormon, both religions focused on rules and laws, as they all are. They were miserable people. But Jesus freed them, changed them, because that’s what He came to do. You see, God KNOWS that we are weak, that we are unable to perfectly follow the rules and laws. I have heard it said that people who think they must/can follow all of the rules and laws to be righteous are either one of two things: delusionally proud, or irrationally fearful. You know why? Because it’s impossible, and God knows that. “By works of the law, no human being will be justified in (God’s) sight.” Romans 3:20. The law (the rules) is meant to show us how far we fall short, how we can’t possibly keep all these rules and demands. Yet, religious people you see today are so delusionally prideful of themselves, thinking that this is possible, and imposing these impossible demands on others, and therefore creating many people who are just left in despair, hating religion and having the totally wrong view of God. They are scared away from God, despite the fact that God is the only one who can help them. Let me show you something. “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by FAITH.” Romans 3:23-25. This verse right here completely and immediately debunks religions and the religious people within them who believe they can keep all the rules to be made right with God, to be justified, to go to Heaven. But in the Bible, we clearly see that this popular “follow the rules or die” idea of religion is completely and utterly false, that there is no hope in that whatsoever. It’s no wonder people are so against religion, so many are raised up in these strict households where parents scream at their children that if they wear a certain brand of shoes or watch movies, they’ll go to hell. This could not be further from the truth that is so clearly shown in the Bible and repeated over and over and over. You see, religion is useless, it does no good, it’s just about external actions and laws. It does nothing to change people or help anyone, really. It’s JESUS, Who changes people. From the first page to the last, the Bible is about Jesus. When Jesus is not there, it’s pointing to Him in one way or another. It’s NOT pointing to the rules or laws, like the Pharisees and religious leaders thought. Rather, all of these things are meant to point to Jesus, and to show us that rules and laws can’t save us. Rather rules and laws are there to show us how impossible they are to keep, and how we need help. Thankfully that help came in the Person of Jesus Christ, who lived the perfect, sinless life we never could, who kept every rule and law, and then died the terrible death we deserved on the cross, dying for our sins (our mistakes, wrongdoings, etc.) and then rose again on the third day. If you want to see Jesus’ story and what He did, said, came to accomplish, etc. I suggest reading through the book of John in the Bible. THere you can see how loving Jesus was, how He was compassionate towards people, merciful and wise and powerful etc. The people the religious leaders hated, despised, the people the religious leaders casted out and rejected and neglected, Jesus helped. Jesus Himself even said “it’s the sick who need a doctor.” Jesus spent His time ministering, healing, helping, teaching and talking to lepers, prostitutes, tax collectors, people who were looked down on in society and rejected by all. And today, He is still doing the same thing, reaching out to helpless people like you and me. He invites all to come to Him for life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him (Jesus). Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:16-18. Religious people you see today sure don’t seem to remember this passage, do they? All they do is go around and condemn people. Yet, what did Jesus do? We clearly see here in these verses, and in the entirety of John, and the other Gospel accounts, that Jesus came to SAVE, that He is loving, caring, merciful, etc. All things that religious people don’t show at all, huh? Yes, it is true, many people have done TERRIBLE things in the name of God, many so-called Christians or various other religions have committed terrible things but I’m not talking to you about them. I’m talking to you about JESUS, and what He’s done. People are sinful, we all are, and we do terrible things, that’s very evident in history. And it’s exactly why Jesus had to die on the cross for our sins and then rise again-- because we are so sinful, and we need a Savior. He is that Savior, and the only Savior, and He is available to all who will call upon Him in faith. I am still very much a work in progress, but God has done wonders in my life. And I can testify from my own personal experience, as well as what I have seen in the lives of my parents (both previous alcoholics and drug addicts) that Jesus really DOES change people. Religion does NOT. But Jesus does. Remember that. I am sorry if religious people have caused you confusion or pain or heartache, but I just wanted to write this to show you that it’s not about religion at all. It’s not about the religious people you’ve known or what you’ve seen. It’s about Jesus. So forget everything you knew or saw, just get to know Jesus. Again, I recommend reading the book of John in the Bible for starters :) ANd I am sorry that posting verses and such makes you uncomfortable, but I am only trying to spread the truth and light of Jesus to all I can. Not religion. Jesus. Please do consider all that i have said, don’t just brush it off. Some bonus verses to think about; “BUT NOW! The righteousness of God has been manifested (revealed) APART from the works of the law, though the law and prophets bear witness (point to) it-- the righteousness of God that comes through FAITH in Jesus Christ, for all who believe.” Romans 3:21-22. “Rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have received reconciliation” Romans 5:11. “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23. If you have questions, please head over to the “Contact Us” section of this website and consider emailing my pastor. He is so kind and helpful and I know he’d be more than happy to help you and answer any questions you may have.
Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful day! “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.” I’ve heard it said that sometimes the Lord will “break our bones to capture our hearts.” While it sounds cruel upon first glance, it really is an incredible act of mercy that I often overlook. Sometimes the only way we will grow or improve is through trials, through pain. I know for me, it’s taken a lot of rotten stuff to grow in different areas, and while it’s certainly not fun in the moment, I will gladly accept these metaphorical “broken bones” if it means I can be healed, changed, and transformed more into Christ’s image. This is a reality I often forget but this verse reminded me of it again. Dear Lord please bring good out of our struggles and trials, if it takes some “broken bones” to get our hearts fully fixed on You, so be it. I just beg you, captivate us, draw us to You, change us radically everyday, shape us into the vessels of hope You want us to be. Forgive us for how often we waste our suffering and mope around, I know I do a lot…. Please change me Lord, please change all of us and our wicked hearts!
“For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” The importance of realizing how desperate we are and totally dependent on Jesus, how we are truly “poor in spirit” as the Beautitudes says, which means “destitute of self,” or in essence, realizing our own spiritual bankruptcy, our helplessness and weakness on our own, and our desperate need for Jesus and His transforming grace every single day, every single moments of our lives. Dear Lord, please help us to depend on You entirely, and at all times in life no matter the circumstance, no matter the mundane day or the grievous trial. Please draw us closer to you and hold us tightly, fill our hearts with Your love and a passionate love for You in return. Please help us Jesus.
"For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water." Jesus offers us living water, as we see in his conversation with the woman at the well "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) and also at the feast declared "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37-38).
So what are broken cisterns? The things we run to in this world for satisfaction, for happiness, for meaning. When we depend on the creation rather than the Creator. When we seek fulfillment in things like money or food or clothes or games or relationships or status or whatever else it might be. God gave us many good things to enjoy but it becomes a problem when its being elevated above Him, when we are treating said things as if they are a god, when we worship creation instead of the Creator. This is something I admit I struggle with a lot. I often am trying to find all my happiness in many weird things like music and drawing and friends, but I know they only let me down and never really satisfy me, never really quench my thirst, I'm always hungering for more. My great desire is to find my satisfaction and joy in Jesus, and to stop running to the broken cisterns in my life... If you feel the same way, maybe we should all pray and ask God to help us to stop running to broken cisterns and instead to run to Him, Who is our true Living Water. “Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” Oh, how badly I wish the first thing I did whenever I got afraid was seek the Lord! Instead I often find myself running to others or maybe even running to things just to make me feel better. I don’t want to be that way anymore, and I know many others struggle with this same thing. Lord, I pray you would please help me, and anybody else reading this, to seek Your help FIRST when troubling and challenging situations arrive. And not only that, but to seek You first no matter what is happening in life, whether times are good or mundane or bad or whatever it might be. Please help us to seek You first Lord Jesus, please empower us and strengthen us to desire You, to seek You, and obey and follow You, to do Your will. Please help us because we are so weak and completely helpless without You. Fix our broken hearts. Transform our lives radically. Increase our faith. Help us to love You and love You more. Set us on fire for You. Please help us in all of our weaknesses, Lord, which are many.
And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" We stumble and struggle when we take our eyes off of Jesus and start looking at our problems and at our own selves. The solution? Keep your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and move forward like Peter did. Move forward in Christ, keeping your eyes on Him. Don't rely on yourself, on your own strength. But when we try to move forward with our eyes on ourselves, on our mistakes, our sin, or the troubles around us, we fall. So the key is to keep our eyes on Jesus. Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to keep my eyes on you at all times. Help me to keep my eyes on you, and remember what was done for me on the cross-- the finished work of Jesus Christ my Lord. Remind me that it's not about me and what I have or haven't done. It's about YOU and all that you have done. Forgive me for when I try to move on in my own strength, when I focus on myself and my struggles, and the troubles around me. Help me Lord to move forward with my eyes on You. Guide me and lead me Lord. In Jesus' precious name, amen. If there has been anything that I have been learning as of lately, it is how ultimately empty the things of this world leave me feeling. Things that aren't even bad within themselves-- it's just that I will put an emphasis on them, expecting great things only to be left bitterly disappointed. Whether it's people, or things, time and time again I am reminded that these things cannot satisfy. Nothing on this Earth truly can. This happens when expectations that can only be met by God the Creator are placed on the creation-- HIS creation-- instead. I realize now how empty this world is on its own, how unfulfilling, how unsatisfying. God gave us wonderful things for our enjoyment here on Earth, but don't be fooled, they were never meant to be elevated to a position of godhood. We were never intended to worship the creation, rather, the Creator. It's no wonder we feel so empty-- we are all chasing after these created things when we were made to chase after God. Yet we still stumble, we still slip and run after these lesser things, thinking they will fulfill us. But in the end, we are just left empty, sad, and dissatisfied. Has life left you disappointed, discouraged, dissatisfied, and sad? Have people let you down? Or even things? Well boy do I have good news for you. "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food." - Isaiah 55:1-2. Did ya hear that?? There is only One who can TRULY satisfy you. Only One who can never disappoint you, or let you down. Only one in Whom we can find hope. This world is bound to disappoint you. If your hope is in politics, or people, or material things or ANYTHING other than God, you will be bitterly disappointed time and time again. There is no hope in things. But there is hope in Jesus! And thank God for that. "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." - Matthew 11:28. Jesus is everything. My confidence is not in myself, and what I can do, but it is in Jesus and what He has already done. It's not meaningless religion we are seeking, it's Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The very One we were created for, in Whom abundant life and fullness of joy is found (Psalm 16:11), our one and only Hope, our Savior, our Father. Stop chasing after the world, and chase after Jesus, the One who loves you, the One who will never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Turn to Jesus today. He's waiting with open arms (Revelation 3:20)! Have a wonderful weekend my brothers and sisters, God bless you and your families and may you find your peace and hope in Jesus today. :) On a sidenote, I'd like to apologize for the lack of posts. I have been experiencing major writers block and I've just had this mess of ideas written out on this document. Whoops. Today's Prayer Dear Heavenly Father, we confess to you that we have often placed all of our hope into things that aren't You-- whether that be people, or governments, material possessions, etc.-- bring us back to You and remind us of the abundant life found only in You. Remind us of Your great love for us (John 3:16) and the fulfilment of a life lived for You. You give us a true and lasting purpose that nothing else in this world can. You give us hope. Help us to seek You above all else, relying only on You. May everything else fall into its rightful place. Be with us Lord and strengthen us, because we can't do it on our own. Thank you Lord for everything You have done for us and continue to do. In Jesus' precious name we pray amen! To really kick off this blog, I decided to start with a relevant topic. Okay, maybe "relevant" is an understatement-- let's be real here, this has been screamed into our ears for well over a year now. It's been beaten into our heads over, and over, and over.... but alas, here we are, the final stretch (well, at least until the next election) of this presidential madness. Are you tired of it? I know I am. I'm sure many of us are just ready for this thing to be done with already. Before I really get into the meat of this, I'd like to apologize beforehand for how messy this might seem-- this is my first real blog entry, and I'm still trying to figure some things out. So, forgive me if this is complete mess. Anyways. Let's get back to it. Of course, lots of people are incredibly anxious about the election. Terrified, even. To many, it feels as if the fate of the entire world rests upon the shoulders of the next president. It's life or death-- at least, that is how so many seem to be treating it, their hope hinging almost entirely on these men. Might I just say that this is an absolutely miserable and hopeless way to live? To place one's trust entirely in a man-- a human being-- is beyond foolish. To trust the creation rather than the Creator is one of the greatest mistakes you could ever make. My dear friends in Christ, let me remind you of where our hope ought to be. In Biden? In Trump? Kanye??? Heavens, no! These are mere men, human beings made in the image of God, just like you and I. To trust in man would be a grave mistake. While they may hold certain government powers, they are just as we are. Human. Beings. And in the grand scheme of things, what exactly can man do? Can a human being save your soul? Certainly not. "Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation." - Psalms 146:3. Has your hope been hinging on princes? On presidents? On mere man? Let me hit you with another one. "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man." - Psalms 118:8. Where exactly has your hope, your trust been in lately? Who or what have you been taking refuge in? The creation, instead of the Creator? Might I just plead with you, my friends, to place your hope in our dear Lord Jesus, and not these temporary and mortal men? Of course, don't read me wrong-- it's not wrong to have some level of hope or trust in authority, BUT what is wrong is to have your entire hope completely reliant on them, to elevate them to some level of "godhood." God Himself sets up rulers and authority for our sake, for society's sake. It is a good and natural thing to have law, and order. But when our entire lives begin to revolve around these leaders, so much to the point where we feel as if all hope is reliant on whether or not they win, well, then we have a problem. The only One deserving and worthy of our complete hope and trust is God. He made us after all, and through Him all things exist. He loves us, so much so that He sent His one and only beloved Son to die for our sins that we might have eternal life through Him (John 3:16). Wouldn't you trust someone who literally DIED for you? Someone that lived and gave their life so that you might find yours? "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation." - Isaiah 12:2. Trust in the Lord! He alone is our hope, our salvation, our peace, and joy. Perhaps one of the most comforting reminders I have been given during these times is that ultimately God is in control, and always will be. He is not surprised by anything, nothing takes Him by surprise. He knows all, sees all, past, present and future. We are reminded of this truth-- "(God) changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings..." - Daniel 2:21. Yes. God is indeed in control, and He Himself sets up our leaders. We can trust Him and His plan, we can know what whatever may happen, it is completely in God's control. Even when things do seem confusing, and perhaps even frightening, may we remind ourselves of Jesus' promise. "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand." - John 13:7. As measly human beings, we have an incredibly limited scope of view. Sure, we have the internet and all of that fancy smancy junk, but overall, our view of things is very, VERY limited. We can't see every little detail. We can't see the future. We can't see what is going on behind the scenes. So, it is incredibly foolish of us to think we understand what is going on at all when all we have are bits and pieces. Bits and pieces of things that our human eyes can see. What are we compared to God? A mere fleck of dust in the great expanse that is eternity, that's for one. We are not God. We don't know the things He does, the plans He has. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord." - Isaiah 55:8. Who could even fathom such a thing, the thoughts of God? Certainly not us. Definitely not us. So, in short, reminding ourselves that we can't see the full picture is important. But who can? Can the next president? No, no. God can. And He is the one who is in charge, who has the ultimate authority. And whatever may happen, may we remind ourselves that in the end, God is the one who wins. While we may have hard times and dark days, let's not be discouraged. Rather, encourage yourselves in the Lord, remind yourselves of the ETERNAL hope He has given us-- the hope He has called us to! Do not become hopeless like the world has. No, cling to your hope, your TRUE hope-- Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, our Friend. There is so much more to life than this world, and all of the troubles it heaps on us. If you don't know God, if you haven't embraced Jesus as your Savior, I URGE you to change that today. Run to Christ. He is waiting for you with open arms. Find your hope in Him. Check out the "How To Know God" section for more details. Have a wonderful week my friends-- keep praying, and keep on walking with the Lord. Do not be discouraged. Trust in the Lord your God. God bless you and your families! "I have said these things to you that in ME, you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." - John 16:33 Hello and welcome to the first blog post here on 8-Bit Manna. This first post is going to be incredibly lackluster, but hopefully I'll make up for that with future posts. For the time being, I am mostly just trying to get this site set up and figure out how I'm going to go about it, but soon I should be posting relatively regular blog entries. I'd like to get more cutesy 8-bit designs up, but it's hard to come across decent royalty-free designs, especially those related to the Bible...whoops. Hopefully we'll fancy this place up soon. I pray this blog is beneficial to any fellow Christians out there that might stumble upon it, and that it would encourage any nonbelieving friends to seek God. My ultimate purpose with this site is to help young Christians, and perhaps even older ones if they find the things I share useful. The blog entries will most likely all be topical, and about the trials and troubles I've endured as a young Christian myself, but the main point of it all is Christ. The last thing I want is this blog to be about me. I will be talking about my experiences as a Christian yes, but my goal is to point to Jesus, and not myself, and I hope that is what you get out of it. I want you to focus on God, and what He's done in my life, rather than what I do. Any growth or change I have experienced over the years is because of God and the work He is doing in me, NOT what I do myself. I've tried doing things myself and believe me, that was a mistake! God is the only One who can truly bring about real change in our lives. So if I ever come off as self-sufficient or anything like that, forgive me, it is not at all my intention. I want this website, and all of these blog posts to be big glamorous-neon-flashing signs that point upwards to God and the wonders He has done. This isn't about me. It's about God, and helping YOU know Him and walk out your Christian faith. Life is incredibly busy at the moment, but I hope to make the first real blog entry soon. Stay tuned! "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." - 1 Corinthians 2:2 |
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