Video

This is a video that we watched today in youth group; hope it blesses you with conviction as it did me.

Valentine's Day

It's Valentine's Day.

Some of you reading this are married; some may be in a relationship; some are single. I fall into the last category, and yes, I am celebrating Valentine's Day; because, even though the background of it may not have to do with singles, love does.

I do not have to be in a relationship or be married to love. The Bible says that love is a fruit of the Spirit, not a result of romance.

That means that I, as a Christian, can love, even if I don't have a significant other.

Enough about what love is not; let's talk about what love is.

Today, I am celebrating Valentine's Day by choosing to be loving through the strength of Christ.

I will choose to be patient, waiting on God's timing for romance.

I will choose to be kind, especially to my parents, who introduced me to singleness.

I will choose to reject envy, especially envy of couples.

I will choose humility, not boasting or prideful of a loving heart.

I will choose to suppress rudeness, especially to those who treat me differently because of my singleness.

I will choose to be a servant, even to those who have a significant other.

I will choose to reject anger, even towards my situation.

I will choose to reject a record of wrongs, especially those wrongs done due to my singleness.

I will choose not to delight in evil, especially lies that would tear me down.

I will choose to rejoice in truth, the truth that God's timing is best.

I will choose to protect my heart and others' hearts from lies.

I will choose to trust, especially in the Lord of my life.

I will choose to hope, especially in God's Word.

I will choose to presevere, even through this time of my life.

For then, I will love!



A re-definition of Valentine's Day:

This Valentine's Day, I dedicate my heart to the Lord of my life, Jesus Christ. Let His strength prevail, for I am fallen and weak, and cannot love on my own. May He work through me as He molds me and purifies me. I surrender my life to Christ, the Author of my life, and the Author of love!

Busy, busy, busy! and Small Choices

You know you're week's been busy when you've substituted brushing your teeth with an Altoid and skip a shower for four days straight. Well, I guess it means you could be really tired, too. But, seriously? My room looks like a junkyard, my {many} dirty clothes smell like one, and I feel like one! My goals of having a clean room and getting my laundry done and blogging and spending free time on more meaningful things crashed. And then, yesterday I had {not had, chose to get up late} to do my eye-shadow and such and read my Bible on the car ride to church.

And then I read that verse that pierces me every single time:

Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

yeah. ouch!

Innocently "forgetting" was no excuse to tell an omniscient God. He knew that I made the choice to get up late almost every day of the week. He knew that I made the choice to neglect putting on the armour of God. But I thought I was all set because I had read my Bible everyday. But I did it to keep my record straight, forgetting God for "days without number."

a small choice made with God's guidance is a beautiful thing.

I made the choice. That's something I've been learning: that my small choices add up to a larger result. My "small" choices of pressing snooze on the alarm clock added up to a week of sleeping in and quick Bible reading. I only got a sliver of what I could've gained from my time with God.

Please don't make the same mistake I did. It might not be pressing snooze on the alarm clock, but there's probably some small choice that adds up that you will be making this week. Make the right choice.

The Fifth Day of Christmas: The Snowstorm (prt. 2)

So, yesterday we started on the snowstorm. We talked about God as our refuge in the storm of a trial or emotional distress. But today, I have a different application.

A snowstorm isn't new; it's happened before, right? Just like a trial or emotional tragedy! It's happened before to someone else; maybe the same person who is going through the trial has been there before.

My point is, we have a Book full of true stories of real people who have gone through the same kinda stuff we go through. Okay, so maybe the culture was different, but didn't God know that when He wrote His sufficient Word? The stories in the Bible are entirely applicable to our lives.

1 Corinthians 10:11
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

1 Corinthians 10:13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Another circumstance that requires action is when we have gone through the storm already. We are to recognize God's hand in the past storms, and praise Him and thank Him for it.

Psalm 105:5
Remember his marvelous works that he hath done; His wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;

*Psalms are full of passages like these. Look some up for yourself!

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Now, for another metaphor. A snowstorm is storm of snow. So you know how complex one snowflake is??? and they are all different!

Yes, we are like snowflakes. Unique and beautiful, in figure and soul, we display the Creator's handiwork.

Psalm 139:14
I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully make: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

We are unique. God did not create us all the same; if He had, this earth would be filled will robots! No, He made us each individually. He has an individual plan for each of us. I know I need to learn this, but this is why we can't compare ourselves to others. As I write this post, I think that point is clicking in my brain.

Did you know that God's snow is so beautiful and complex, but man-made snow is just plain blob-like? Take a look!

In the same way, when we try to create the plans for our life, it won't come out pretty. But when we let God take control and do it, our lives will be beautiful.

So, remember this Christmas season, as you may be going through the storm, that we have examples of people who have gone through it. (Don't forget your parents and godly counselors!) And remember the times that God carried you through in the past. You are unique; God has a unique plan for you; don't attempt to build your life. Instead, hand it over to Him!

It's not the end; it's only the beginning of something more beautiful.

The Third Day of Christmas: The Candle

*sniff* mmmmm... smells good! Have you ever had a really great candle that just smelled lovely? Or maybe a Scentsy flavor that just, well, pleased your nose? Well, as I learned today in church, we can be a sweet-smelling savour to our Lord.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says, "Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour." So, from verse 1, we understand that we are to follow God as His dear children. And then, in verse 2, we are told to walk in love, as Christ did, and this includes offering ourselves as a sacrifice to God as Christ did. And when we do that, our sacrifice produces a sweet-smelling savour.

There are plenty of verses that speak of our sacrificing of ourselves, and also the sacrifice of praise. Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." We are to present ourselves a sacrifice unto God, holy and acceptably. In the Old Testament, Israelites had to go to the temple to have the priests sacrifice for them. I don't think that God was looking for the lamb's death, although it was a symbol of Christ. I do think that God was looking for the sacrifice of obedience. But just think... God has made us priests, in that we can sacrifice our lives for our Lord!

Another sacrifice is the sacrifice of praise. Really, the sacrifice of our lives is a sacrifice of praise, and it produces that sweet-smelling savour, as a candle. Hebrews 13:15-16 says, "By whom therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Our praise is a sweet-smelling savour to God. There is so much more in these verses, why don't you read them over again?

We should attribute to God the glory that is due to Him. A great example of this is in the Model {Lord's} Prayer. At the end of His prayer, Jesus says, "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever." Another example of praise and giving glory to God I Psalm 29. Take the time to read it now! God is the One who lights us as candles!

A candle not only smells good, but it also produces light! Matt. 5:14-16 says, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works. and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Well, there's a handful {or much more!} of meaning in these verses! We are candles to the world, set on a candlestick for everyone to see. When they do see us, and our good works {the fruit that we talked about yesterday}, they will glorify God! Weren't we just talking about that?!?

Well, alot was packed into this little post! But I pray that it spoke to your heart. We are to be a living sacrifice to God, praise and glorify Him, and be radiant about it!

The Second Day of Christmas: The Christmas Tree {prt. 2}

So, yesterday I posted about how a Christmas tree represents the body of Christ, and I also mentioned the consequences of not bearing fruit, or being an empty branch. {Hosea 10:1; John 15:2} As we are branches of Christ {John 15:5}, we can represent Him by bearing fruit. But there's alot more to it than that.

Bearing fruit requires some prerequisites: we must be filled with the Holy Spirit and abide in Christ. Galatians 5:21 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit..." (we will come back to this verse) It is the Spirit that fills us that allows us to bear fruit, or else we are empty, as Israel was in Hosea 10. Also, we must abide in Christ. John 15:4 says, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; mo more can ye, except ye abide in me." We cannot do anything without Christ, but Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ which strenghtheneth me." That includes bearing fruit!

What fruit does a branch filled with the Spirit and abiding in Christ bear? Well, Galatians 5:21-22 says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance; against such there is no law." The fruit we bear is a major part of this study, for it helps us examine ourselves to see what we really are bearing. Galatians 5:19-20 says, "Now the the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Maybe you are not a murderer; maybe you have not committed adultery; maybe you have. But you've probably stirred up strife, or had bitterness in your heart. Things like this do not give us rewards in eternity, and they are the fruits of the flesh... rotten and slimy and definitely not beautiful! What is beautiful is the fruit of the Spirit! Let us desire to bear such fruit, and let our hearts, those ornaments on the Christmas tree, be radiant in Christ!

A branch that produces good fruit must be purged. We have talked about the Spirit and Son, but here's the part where the Father comes in. John 15:1 says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman." The Father is the One who purges the fruitful branches. John 15:2-3 says, "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it , that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." We are purged through God's Word, the Bible. The Bible is like a cleanser, to get all the yucky stuff out and the good stuff in!

There is even more action to be taken! A few verses after teaching on bearing fruit, Christ discusses love. Verses 9-10 tell us to continue in Christ's love. Wow! what a challenge! He also says in verse 11, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." Then He again commands us to love one another. He really makes His point in this chapter, and I do not have the time to discuss all of it, so please read it through, letting it sink in. :-)

So remind yourself to be radiant every time you see those beautiful ornaments hanging on your Christmas tree, and remember the little simile mentioned in prt. 1. Your heart is the ornament hanging on the branch, which represents you as a branch of Christ.

Ministry {Part 1}

What is ministry?

Here are some verses that talk about ministry:

Numbers 4:12
And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar:

Numbers 4:47
From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation.

2 Chronicles 7:6
And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.

Hosea 12:10
I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.

Acts 1:17For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.

Acts 1:25
That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

Acts 6:4
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

Acts 12:25
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

Acts 20:24
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

Acts 21:19
And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

Romans 12:7
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

2 Corinthians 4:1
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

2 Corinthians 5:18
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Colossians 4:17
And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

2 Timothy 4:5
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 

A common thread I noted as I read all of these verses:

• Ministry is obtained or appointed by Christ.

• Ministry requires attention and faithfulness.

• Ministry must be fulfilled or completed.

This verse sums up these points:

Colossians 4:17~ And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which tho hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

I believe that ministry is appointed to every believer:

2 Corinthians 4:1~ Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.

Luke 24:46-47~ And {Jesus} said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

We receive ministry as we receive mercy: gladly and by faith. We are to be surrendered to God, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1). But we still haven't answered that question: if I participate in ministry, exactly what is it? 

The simple definition of ministry is "office, service."

What is ministry? Our {Office, service} to God. 

Uh-oh. that didn't tell us what to do. Actually, it did. Since ministry is service to God, we are to do whatever He tells us to do! How will we know? Prayer. Reading God's Word. Getting to know Him better.

Ministry starts with surrender, submission, and humility. I is serving. God. That means God's our "boss." We must surrender to Him, for He knows what to do;; we must submit to Him, for He will carry us through; we must humble ourselves, for we don't have a clue!!!

So, believer, you have a duty to ministry, whatever that may be! But remember the musts.

*For a really, really fantastic story of ministry and trusting God, read a biography sometime on Hudson Taylor.

p.s.~ Part 2 coming soon :-)

Be still and know that I am God

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

~Psalm 46:10

To the Saul, who races to find satisfaction: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Esther, shivering with terror at the acts she has been charged to do: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To Naomi's family crying for work: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Jacob and Esau fighting: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Daniel sliding into the flytrap of insecurity: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Absalom repulsing those who truly love him: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Mary mom who is ready to quit: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the one rushing in the morning due to a late wake-up: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the traveller who has been robbed: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the David who isn't in the place God wants him: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the David who is mocked for his stand: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Rahab: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Sarah, worried over the future: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Ruth longing for a husband: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Isaiah mourning for his people: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Isaac who is flinching at the brink of death: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the John running to the tomb of Christ: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Josiah whose father is not righteous: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the woman at the well who has lost all hope of a right life: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Ananias and Sapphira lying to their Creator: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Nebuchadnezzar who finds glory in himself: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the 21-century girl who has been in one or more of the above situations: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!

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Be still, and Know that He is JUDGE.

Be still, and know that He is SAVIOR.

Be still, and know that He is THE STRONG TOWER.

Be still, and know that he is HEALER.

Be still, and know that he is REDEEMER. 

Be still, and know that He is DELIVERER.

Be still, and kknow that He is a Christian's STRENGTH.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's SHELTER.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's FRIEND.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's RESTORER.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's FATHER.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's LOVE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's HIDING PLACE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's RESTING PLACE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's TRUTH.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's ETERNAL LIFE.

Be still, and know that He is the LORD WHO PROVIDES.

Be still, and know that He is the LORD OF PEACE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's SHIELD.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's HELPER.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's COUNSELOR.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's HOPE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's COMFORT.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's LISTENER.

Be still, and know that He is the FOREVER MERCIFUL LORD.

Be still, and know that He the CREATOR.

Be still, and know that He is the REVIVER.

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*If you do not know Christ as your Savior, please understand how, and visit the "How you can get to heaven" page on this blog.

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What an amazing verse Psalm 46:10 is! Praise God! for He is God alone!!! Exalt Him!

Let me tell you a story about how this verse has recently affected my family...

My mom was the first one to read the verse. This was on the 16th, and she started reading the Psalms of the day, which brought her to Psalm 46:10...

She got this line stuck in her head. The verse really spoke to her heart, and when she read it, a song came into her mind. She could only remember a few notes, so she looked it up, hoping to find the whole song available to play. She found it. She played it, and she loved it. Later on that morning, she was in our living room, and decided to listen to it again... not knowing that my father was kneeling beside our kitchen counter praying for God's help and encouragement! So, as my dad was praying, my mom played this song...

When I finally got up outta bed (I took advantage of getting the monday off), I heard my mom singing this song, and I knew it was frim a Bible verse. It was exactly what I needed to hear before I continued my day!

So I am sharing this with you, and I pray that you will receive it and it will be a blessing!

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Here's the video of the song...

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Trust Me

Have you ever played the game, "Trust Me"? I have. It's when a friend comes up behind you, holds out her arms and commands, "Trust Me!" You are to blindly fall back into her arms, trusting that she has the strength to catch you, and doesn't back away. The "catch" (hahaha) is that your friend is standing just so that by the time you're either caught or doomed, you have absolutely no control over your body; gravity does.

The lesson I learned Sunday is that we are to trust God. So often we say, trust, without even really thinking about all the wild aspects of the action that t-r-u-s-t represents. So let's take a look.

According to wikipedia, trust involves the following:

"One party (trustor) is willing to rely on the actions of another party (trustee); the situation is directed to the future. In addition, the trustor (voluntarily or forcedly) abandons control over the actions performed by the trustee. As a consequence, the trustor is uncertain about the outcome of the other's actions; he can only develop and evaluate expectations. The uncertainty involves the risk of failure or harm to the trustor if the trustee will not behave as desired."

Let's examine this. Of course, this definition is geared toward a human trusting another human, so some things are different, for we are trusting our Creator.

• First, the trustor is willing.

Willing to do what? Rely on the trustee. Remember, we are the trustor, and God is the trustee. We must rely completely on our Trustee. Right now I am reading a biography on Hudson Taylor. He literally put himself in the middle of helplessness, because he couldn't wait to see what God did next! At on epoint, He needed money for necessary preparation for his missions. He received two offers to pay for this preparation: from his father and the Chinese Evangelization Society. Yet he didn't receive either! Instead, he relied on God to provide his needs.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches 

in glory by Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 4:19

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto

thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, 

and He shall direct thy path.

~ Proverbs 3:5-6

These verses brings us to the next points:

• Our situation is directed to the future.

Now, we can trust God at the moment also, right? Yes, we can, but trust in God is not to be a last resort. We are not to say, "Well, now that I am about to ruin it all anyway, let's try God." No, we are to trust God as a priority.

• Next, trust involves voluntarily abandoning control, or surrendering.

We do not have control over our lives. Our Creator does. And He invites us to trust Him to supply our needs. So. You have two options:

1. Attempt to steer your life in the way you will it, although you don't know exactly what will happen in the next three seconds, or
2. Surrender the steering wheel of your life to the will of the One who does know what will happen every split second of eternity future.

• The next part of the wikipedia definition does not apply to our trust in God, because God promises that He will supply, and God doesn't lie.

Think about that for a sec. God promises, and He doesn't lie! What an amazing thought! We already know that He will steer us in the right way, yet many times we take the wheel anyway, even though we haven't even taken driver's ed!

So far we see that there is much involved in trust, but wait, there's more!

With our application  of driving comes yet another area for trust and surrender- the gas peddle!

We cannot be controlling how fast we are moving in our lives. For example, if you didn't know much, you wouldn't know to slow down on sharp corners and would probably end up falling off a cliff! But God knows, and He knows the whole road ahead! God's timing is perfect, my friend!

I have previously posted about forks in the road of life. As a matter of fact, these two posts parallel alot. To read this post, click here.

You see, trust represents a very complex surrender-type action/comfort. Is God commanding "Trust Me" right now? You may be going through a trial, or maybe not. Either way, are you ready to fall back into the arms of God, whom you know will catch you? Friend, I am praying for you, that you would trust God!

TRUST!

Are you a Horse???

I've never been a big horse lover. But I do love a good comparison.

In youth group the other night, a great comparison was revealed to me. We were talking about Ephesians 4:6~

One God is and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

At this point in the lesson, we were discussing God's authority (the first part of this verse) . Our teacher used the illustration of a horse and its trainer. At first, a horse is naive and does not trust its trainer. If the trainer prompts the horse to trod through a puddle, the horse may act as if the puddle is a black hole; but the trainer knows that the puddle is harmless. Eventually, the horse learns that his trainer knows much, much more than he does. A fully trained horse listens to his trainer very carefully, because he trusts the trainer. All it takes is a slight tap of the trainer's heel on the side of the horse to persuade the horse to take a sharp turn; an inconspicuous tug of the ring finger on the horse's bridle will convince it to take a complete 360.

James 3:3~

Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

So, what does this all have to do with us and our relationship to God? Well, apply all these facts about horses and trainers to you and God. When you are first saved, yo may not trust God very much, and there still may be doubts in your mind. Maybe when God first prompted you to do something, you saw it the end of the world; but God knows that it is harmless and will probably be good for you. As you grow in your walk with God, however, you learn that God really does know what He's doing! When your relationship with God matures, it should only take a slight tap or tug at your heart to obey God.

But Eph. 4:6 doesn't just talk about God's authority; it also mentions God's work through us and in us. God does not just want us to view him as a tall judge robed in white up in the sky somewhere. He desires a personal relationship with us, and that relationship includes His working through us and His Spirit dwelling in us. God works through us in our words and actions, and when we obey and yield to His Word, magnificent events occur. His Spirit dwells in us to guide us and shine through us, as long as we surrender to Him.

For more about surrender, visit these posts:

God's will, God's way

Have Thine Own Way

Dive In

God's will, God's way

I can't count how many times this saying has popped up in God's lessons for me! It started appearing the summer after I got saved, and it has reappeared every year at Bible camp, in my personal devotions, and in sermons that I've listened to. So, what does it mean? Well, It's certainly not something we have to go into an enormous philosophical explanation on what each little word means. No, it's as simple as it appears:

DO GOD'S WILL GOD'S WAY.

Simple meaning, but maybe a not-so-simple action process. Maybe even a painful process of learning through experience.

YOUR WILL YOUR WAY

DOESN'T WORK!!!

*GASP*

It really is a simple concept. But we tend to complicate things due to our sinful nature. For example, take Eve. She was tempted to do things in her will, her way. We all know the story. Did things work out too well? Did she succeed in receiving the best results by doing it her will, her way? Nope. But I think she learned her lesson by the time Cain and Abel were born. An example of this mistake today may go like this: ignoring God's calling and purpose for your life and doing what you think is best instead. I can assure you it won't even be comparable to what God has in store for you, doing His will, His way.

Another method we often attempt is doing things God's will, our way. Look back at the story of Jeroboam. It was God's will for people to worship Him, but God's way was through the priests of the tribe of Levi.

However, Jeroboam's way was through whoever wanted to do it. Jeroboam's sin is mentioned so many times throughout the Old Testament, reminding us of the importance of doing things God's way.

(In case you're wondering, I don't think there's a loophole for your will, God's way. God's way is only through His will.)

I think you'll agree with me that it is quite hard to fight against the Holy Spirit. At least, the bitter taste of fighting Him is much worse compared to the bliss of surrender. When we take our way, we fight God's way; but when we take God's way, we surrender our way.

Take the phrase "God's will, God's way" with you, but I have another simple concept phrase for you to grasp:

JUST GIVE UP!

In other words, SURRENDER! Really, it's the second most important decision of your life. (Next only to salvation.) And it's simple, but not-so-simple to do. DO IT ANYWAY. Because it pleases God. Because He commands it. Because it's also worth it.

Me, My thoughts, and God

Here we are, at the potter's house-

Me, My thoughts, and God.

Me says, "Changes, once again?"

My thoughts say, "No! Stay away!"

And God says, "Child, surrender."

Here we are, in a maze it seems-

Me, My thooughts, and God.

Me says, "Stop! I'm so confused!"

My thoughts say, "This is hopeless!"

And God says, "Follow Me."

Here we are, in a darkened world-

Me, My thoughts, and God.

Me says, "Wait! I cannot see!"

My thoughts say, "Look at them!"

And God says, "Look at Me."

Here we are, in a merciless world-

Me, My thoughts, and God.

Me says, "I feel lonely."

My thoughts say, "No one cares!"

And God says, "Loved one, I care."

So through this life, as we walk-

Me, My thoughts, and God-

I will trust and obey

The One Who knows me best

And not worry about the rest.

~Cosette Rose Holmes

Dive In

"Dive In" by Steven Curtis Chapman

The long awaited rains have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground

And carved their way to where the wild and rushing river can be found

And like the rains I have been carried to where the river flows.

My heart is racing and my knees are weak as I walk to the edge

I know there is no turning back once my feet have left the ledge

And in the rush I hear a voice that's telling me it's time to take the leap of faith.

SO HERE I GO

~

I'm diving in; I'm going deep in over my head I wanna be

Caught in the rush, Lost in the flow, in over my head I wanna go

The river's deep; the river's wide; the river's water is alive

So sink or swim, I'm diving in!

~

There is a supernatural power in this mighty river's flow

It can bring the dead to life and it can fill an empty soul

And give a heart the onl thing worth living and worth dying for.

But we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God 

Until we let ourselves get swept away into  this holy flood

So if you'll take my hand we'll close our eyes and count to three, and take the leap of faith-

COME ON LET'S GO

~

I'm diving in; I'm going deep in over my head I wanna be
Caught in the rush, Lost in the flow, in over my head I wanna go
The river's deep; the river's wide; the river's water is alive
So sink or swim, I'm diving in!

Romans 11:33~ O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are  His ways past finding out!

Ephesians 3:17-19~ That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled with all the fulness of God.

Have Thine Own Way

I hope these hymns encourage you! :) They are some of my favorites, and God just laid them on my heart.

Have Thine Own way, Lord;

Have Thine Own way.

Thou art the Potter;

I am the clay.

Mold me and make me

After Thy will

While I am waiting,

Yielded and still.

~Adelaide A. Pollard

All to Jesus I surrender

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

I surrender all,

I surrender all.

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

~Judson W. Van DeVenter