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A lot has happened in the past weeks. It is awful to look on the news and hear about murder, shooting, and death. Here is my question is death really the end? I know everyone has lost a loved one on way or another. Also, seeing so much death on the news, it begs to question are they gone forever? Jesus's opponents asked him many questions to test him. There was debate between Pharisees and Sadducees about whether or not there was life after death. [ A good way to remember is Pharisees (far I see) who did believe in the resurrection whereas Sadducees (sad you see) did not.] Jesus pointed out to the Sadducees that they did not know the Scriptures and they did not know the power of God. Jesus affirms the absolute certainty of resurrection of the dead. The power of God was something the Sadducees denied. Paul wrote that "God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ". Therefore, everyone who has died in Jesus is still "living" now. You will see them again. Yes, separation is hard, but we have to look at it in the terms of eternity. God takes the long way.
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Have you ever been tempted? Wait, what am I saying of course we have been tempted. Everyone has been tempted in their life. It comes with being in a sinful world. So, what do we do when we feel tempted? Jesus warns us against the "yeast" of the Pharisees and of Herod. Yeast was a common metaphor for evil tendency that seem small, nevertheless can destroy the whole person. When Jesus told the disciples this they did not understand. They got caught up with the physical that they could not see the spiritual side. There is nothing wrong with physical things themselves. Just, there is more than the physical temptations. You may have to humble yourself. God wants you to do anything you can to free yourself form these snares. Without self-discipline, we can easily become lazy. I know being in school, it can be easy to say, "Well, not really in the mood I will do it later. I will just go and watch YouTube for next five hours". Yes, it is important to relax from time to time but we need to be careful not to waste our time on unproductive things. I struggle with phone discipline, so I talked to God. I felt God tell me to start monitoring how much time I spend on my phone. It helped me see how much time I was spending. So, what are your temptations and how can you enforce self-discipline into your life? Really ask yourself and try.
There are so many things in this world that are beautiful. Nature, music, and people are all beautiful in some way. Human love beauty. Beauty is well beautiful. So, what judges beauty? Also, do you see yourself as beautiful? I can say with absolute certainty that you are beauty. I know being a teenager in high school that can be hard to believe. I mean with all the TV shows and social media showing what the world thinks is pretty. It is hard for us to look at ourselves and not compare. You think that you are not beautiful enough. My hair is to straight. I'm not thin or I'm not curvy. I have pimples or I have freckles. Every time you say I am not this or that, you are basically saying that God made a mistake. Do you think that God would make a mistake? Do you think God could make a mistake making you? No! He made you this perfect way. With every curve and every pimple. The Bible talks so much about the perfection of humans and how much God loves everything about us. "We (yes you) are God's masterpiece" Ephesians 2:20. Wow, we are His masterpiece. That is amazing to think about. You are not a mistake.
"He calls me beautiful one" Song of Solomon 2:18 So, today is Valentine’s day and all around my high school people are giving gifts and couples doing elaborate things for one another. Now since it is Valentine’s day and I thought I would be a good day to talk about God's love for us. Yes, like the title didn't give it away. There is a Bible verse that says "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of you wings" (Psalm 17:8). I looked it up and apple of your eye is the pupil and so it signifies the most treasured things. Think about how much you are treasured by God. It’s kind of insane when you really, really think about it. The other half of the verse tells about God's everlasting love and protection. There may be times in your life when you face enemies physically and spiritually. Whatever struggles you may face you can rely on God's intimate love for you. You think He would take your sins, and nail them to the cross because he just felt like it. Heck no, Jesus loves you. It’s sad to see that people just shrug it off and don't look and see the depth of our God's love. Maybe Valentine’s day is a chance for us to say thank you and show God some love back. I think God deserves some love.
We live in a world of instant information. Now it has almost lost its meaning. The New Testament is full of wonderful promises about the future. I love the one that says that Jesus will return and establish a new heaven and a new earth. There will be no more pain and sadness. There was a boy who shattered his back falling down a flight of stairs. He spent his childhood in and out of a hospital. The boy remarked, "God is fair." A person asked how long her spent in a hospital. The boy answered "Thirteen years." The person asked if he thought that it is fair? He replied "God has got all of eternity of make it up to me." Suffering is not a part of God's original creation. There was no suffering in the Garden of Eden. There will be no suffering when God creates a new earth and heaven. So, suffering is basically an alien in God's world. We need to see the suffering of this life in the context of eternity and to always respond to suffering with compassion. A good book to read about suffering is Job. He suffered but responded by continuing to trust and worship God in his suffering. This is a great example and one I need to inforce in my life.
Do you long to know God better? I know I want to be wiser, more skillful, and have a better understanding of the world. This year I have made it a goal to read the Bible every day. So far it is going great. I am reading right now about Joseph and how he followed God with all his heart. God blessed him. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be a light in this world like Joseph was. The words we speak really matter. "Every word we speak can either be a brick to build or be a bulldozer to destroy", writes Joyce Meyer. I now I need to fill my heart with God's word and kind thoughts. That is why I decided reading the Bible more. Because whatever is stored up in your heart, will sooner or later be expressed in your words. I bet we are all guilty of this one way or another. You cannot change your thoughts patterns on your own. You need help from the Holy Spirit fill your heart with God's love and good fruit. Only then will we have God's love overflowing in our hearts and out our mouths.
Are you facing a hard or impossible situation? Stress from work or school? Losing ties with friends? Whatever challenges you may face in this year, nothing is too hard for God. Abraham was a hundred years old and Sarah was ninety. God promised them a son. They said it was impossible. The great question: is anything too hard for the Lord? The answer is no. If Sarah can have birth to a child at her old age (remember ninety years old), then nothing is too hard for God. God loves you with all His heart. Would you think that He would not care for you? Again, this is the same person who created the entire world with His words. Yeah maybe that impossible situation may not be so impossible.
Do you like talking to your friends? I think everyone does. Talking is a way we get closer and grow out frindship. So do you think that God our friend would want us to talk to him? Yeah, probably. Praying or communicating is a way we grow our relationship with Him. God wants to talk to you. All the time He is yearning to talk to you. Why wouldn't He? You are interesting, funny, and God wants to listen to every word. He hears our prayers. Sometimes, I walk and talk with God. I get to walking in God's creation and thank Him for everything. Do you know what the first question God asks in the Bible is? He asked where is Adam and Eve. His first question in the Bible is about us. He wants to be with us and that makes me want to spend time with Him as well.
I think kindness is one of the most amazing things to do. It is also fun to see kindness. Have you ever seen those videos of people doing random acts of kindness? I love watching them. Its great to see how kind this world can be. Even if it is full of sin. Then, I saw a video that didn't seems like the others. The person was basically bragging about doing the kind deed. It did not make me feel warm and fuzzy when I saw him do his act. It seemed like he was waiting until everyone saw his act of kindness. Then they all applauded him for the act. The person receiving the kindness looked confused and so was I. Suddenly I remembered a verse.
"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding" Matthew 6:1 God doesn't want us to show off. He wants us to be humble and just be kind because God is kind. Keep it quiet, keep it honest, and keep it simple. That is all we need to do. Just be kind for the heck of it. Not for the views and not for the applause. Maybe we need to think about how we show kindness. Back in freshman year, I was talking to some friends of mine and somehow the conversation turned towards movies. My friends brought up a movie that I did not now. I did not know how to contribute to the conversation. I felt left out and I wanted to know whats up with whats up. With phones, media, movies, magazines, it feels like the worlds is constantly wanting you to do this or be this. Even though, not all of it is pleasing to God. It is a struggle for me, because I want to be a normal teenage girl. Then I found this verse and I have been reading it lately.
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 You don't have to follow the things of this world, because they are going to change. We need to stay focused on God because He never changes. He cares deeply for us and He made you immensely beautiful. |
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Hi, I'm Mollie. I so excited that you are here! I am a ordinary girl with a passion for Christ. I am also an artist and a musician. I hope you enjoy my blog and I hope it can mollify your day. Archives
March 2018
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