Sunday's Scripture

Psalm 138: 1-2 (KJV)

"I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."

Saturday's Sense-Life happens.

Yes, I know. Today isn't Saturday. I missed posting yesterday because I got distracted. I let other things get in the way of getting a post up. I meant to do it all day yesterday. But you know what?  We can have the best of intentions to do something and then not follow through with it. We can think about doing something for hours and yet not do anything. We make choices. We choose to put doing things off til the last minute and then that last minute comes around without any action occurring. What do we do when we neglect doing something we know we should do? What do we do when we feel like we've failed at doing something good? There are two choices. Feel defeated or get better. Don't get discouraged if you neglect doing something for God. Don't feel as though you'll never be a good worker. Nobody's perfect and you will make mistakes. You will miss opportunities to help others and/or teach them the Gospel. Realize now that it will happen. Also, realize what you need to do when it does happen.

Keep going. Continue to look for opportunities to do good. Learn from your mistakes and grow from them. Move on and get back on track.

Our Christian life is not a quick 100 meter dash; it is a marathon. We must endure and remain steadfast in the faith.

I Corinthians 15:58

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, foreasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

-C

Thursday's Thoughts-Knowledge is Power

Education is such an central part of all of our lives. We spend 13 years of our lives in school. In addition to that, going to college is usually expected of us too. So, potentially, we could end up spending 17 years of our lives being educated. Whether you're being homeschooled, going to a public school or at a private school, you're learning about how this world works. You learn the rules of grammer, the rules of math, and the mysteries of science. You also learn how to research, how to work with others, and how to piece information together. Countless hours are spent doing homework, working on projects, and extracurricular activities. You get the idea.

How much more important is the education we get from God's Word? I don't think there can ever be enough emphasis placed on studying.  Ephesians 6:10-18 tells us that we are to be soldiers of Christ. We have a description of what our battle garb should be, and in verse 17 we are told that our weapon is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." How can we wield our weapon if we don't know what it says? How can we defeat our enemy without knowledge of the Scriptures?  We cannot. Knowledge of the the word of God IS power. It is more powerful than any other knowledge we get from our earthly education programs.

Think about the power of the Gospel today and the fact that you hold the word of God in your hands.

Open it. Study it. Grow from it.

-C

Wednesday's Wisdom

“Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” Proverbs 12:22

Most people are taught from a very early age that lying is wrong.  As children, it can be fairly simple to follow this rule.  However, as young adults it can become more tempting to tell a “little white lie” every now and then.  Teenagers especially are faced with the opportunity to be less than truthful when telling their parents where they are going or who they will be seeing.  Determine in your heart that you will avoid this temptation and stay faithful to God.  Don’t even consider lying as an option.  Be truthful and face the consequences with integrity.  Honesty truly is the best policy!

-J

Be the change-Now, not later

"Open your eyes up people, and take a good look around,
Catch the tears fillin’ up all those cracks in the ground.
Turn off you televisions; leave your picture perfect neighborhoods
A lot of folks out there ain’t doing so good,
To many of us left out in the cold

No invitations given, no welcome mats unrolled,
But you can, be the change you wanna see.
Be the hope to those whose lives are far from easy.
Reach out and lend a hand, share everything you can,
And be the change, be the change.

Carry the world on your shoulders, for a little while,
Put on someone else shoes, and walk around.
So many cups a runneth over, while so many goin dry
The grass ain’t always green on the other side.
There’s still a lot of work to be done,
A lot of wrongs to right, a lot of battles to be won.

If you can be the change you wanna see,
Be the hope to those whose lives are far from easy.
Reach out and lend a hand, share everything you can,
And be the change, be the change.

Reach out and lend a hand, share everything you can
And be the change, be the change.
Be the change.
Be the change.
Be the change"

Be the change-Corey Smith

I discovered that I had posted this song on a personal blog that I started writing four years ago (and haven't kept up with it all!). Even though I don't condone the messages in all of his music, I really feel like the lines of this song go hand in hand with Tuesday's Task. As Christians, we are told to do good to others. We are commanded to love people and help them. There are millions of souls in the world that are hurting and lost.

It's time to get busy doing the work we've been called to do.

-C

Tuesday's Task: Remember, Your Days are Numbered Too

Sunday I was privileged to listen to a sermon from Daniel chapter 5. In Daniel 5 king Belshazzar is enjoying a great feast, when a hand appears and writes on the wall. The king brought in many so-called wise men to interpret the writing, but they were not able to read what it said. Finally Daniel is called in and he tells the king that the writing means. God has sent a message to king Belshazzar, that his days are numbered-that very night the king died (v30).

I was reminded of James 4:14-our life is like a vapor that is here for only a short time before it vanishes. How many times have you read this verse and thought, “Well, this doesn’t apply to me; this just means that seventy or eighty years goes by fast.”  But the verse does apply to us! We aren’t promised tomorrow. Too often we are guilty of putting off the Lord’s work for this or that reason and use the excuse, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” “I’m really busy with school right now, but I’ll get more involved with church activities once I’m done with it.”  “Once I’m married I will be more comfortable talking to people about Jesus.” “After I’ve had kids I will help teach in the children’s Bible classes.” “I know I should visit that lady in the nursing home, but I just don’t like going there. Maybe I’ll go tomorrow.”

Don’t wait until you have a family of your own, make more money, or are older to do the Lord’s work. There is plenty for you to do right now. The Lord needs strong, young workers in His vineyard today. Death doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care how old you are. So give your all each day and when you lay your head on your pillow tonight (and every night), thank God for allowing you to live this day and go to sleep with the satisfaction of knowing you did everything you could today to further His cause.

-M

“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

John 17:4

Monday's Musings

“Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

I was unable to locate the exact source of this quotation, but it is a valuable one nonetheless.  Remember as you begin your day to deal with others with compassion and empathy.  You never know what someone else is going through!

Have a great week!

-J