A Living Sacrifice

There are always a few times out of the year that I like to sit back and reflect upon ME!  Take a little inventory of who I am, what I am doing.  I enjoy these times for the most part but then there are times where I feel that I am not measuring up in all areas of my life.  I like to ask questions to myself like most people usually at the days end as I'm laying in bed thinking.... Did I have a productive day?  Did I represent God well today?  Did I honor God in all I did?  Was He the center of my attention and affection?  Unfortunately more times than not I fail in a lot of these areas.  I am a selfish person, I have negative thoughts towards people, and desire to work apart from others a lot of time (including God).  I have to make a deliberate decision to invite God into what I am doing, and ask Him for His insight.  It is frustrating to day after day struggle with the same thing of offering myself fully to the Lord.  However I know that if I was perfect at this everyday I wouldn't need God or I wouldn't come to Him as often throughout my day.  I was created for the relationship and a relationship demands reliance upon another.  I have been struck these last few days with the thought of being a living sacrifice for the Lord.  Letting all I do sing praise to Him, and reflect His beauty and love at all times.  Romans 12:1 says "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind He will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship Him."  This is what we must do, we must daily present ourselves to God as a sacrifice.  It is our response to His amazing unfailing love.  God desires for us to be a living testimony of who He is.  He has worked in all of our lives and we all have opportunity daily to show the results of that work in us.  Whether He has rescued us from addictions, attitudes, lifestyles, whatever it is the way we present ourselves, talk, act will all reflect our hearts of worship.  This is a challenging verse for me, it takes me to a place where I have to confront myself.  Check myself and my motives.  Am I genuinely being nice to people I meet or work with because it is an overflow of God's love in me or is it because I want something from them.  Do I sacrifice areas of my life for God.  For example do I take time daily to spend time with Him, hearing Him speak to me in my prayer time.  Or speak to me through the word, do I meditate on the bible.  Do I make myself available for Him to use in different situations, constantly turning to Him and asking Lord what would you have me do in this moment?  Again I wish I could say that every time I am perfectly following, listening, understanding, and seeking Him but I'm not.  There are always areas of my life that God does not find acceptable and even though I see these areas I mustn't focus on those areas because it will cause me to continually drift apart from Him.  I must realize that I am in the process of sanctification and it is just that; a process.  Something that doesn't happen right away or even over night but slowly over time I am working towards the fully transformed me!  God doesn't ask us to be perfect, He just asks us to come to Him, and invite Him into our daily lives.  We must look at all we do as an act of worship and not only do it but do it well.  We should desire to please the Lord and take delight in the activities that He has placed for us to do each day and look for what He may have for us in those.  He always has more than we can see in these times, and sometimes the simplest, and what we think are meaningless tasks are sometimes the most profound and intimate times with the Lord.

This week I want to challenge you to just think about what you are doing.  Try and offer whatever activity that you are doing to the Lord.  Let it become a time of worship, for you to connect one on one with Him.  Take time to just be alone with Him so He can speak to you, lead you and tell you how much He desires time with you.  And remember it isn't that we have to do this is is an opportunity for us to thank God for all He has done for us.  We should want to worship Him, not because of Him blessing us and giving us all these things, but because of who He is.  He is God, the Creator of all we see, and Lord over everything and He truly deserves all that we have to give Him and more.  The least we can do is offer our lives and all we do to Him as a thank you offering!  Be blessed this week as you discover ways to worship the Lord in great and small ways!  There is no perfect way to worship all that matters is that your hearts desire is to glorify the Lord!

God Is working

I was reminded about a week ago about my favorite book that I read quite often.  Philippians is such a great book and I love reading to just remind myself of all the exciting challenging ways Paul tells us to live our lives.  I find it easy to lose sight of God in my life due to the junk the world is throwing at me constantly.  When I take my eyes off God and focus on the world I can easily be taken down to a place I don't desire to be.  I can get sucked into depression from the place the world is heading, I can be encouraged to live a life of sin which to the world doesn't even seem all that bad.  I am reminded when I read this letter to the Philippians what I am to be as a believer in Jesus Christ.  It is packed full of how to live as a citizen of heaven, how to have the attitude of Christ, how to press on towards the goal, even a picture of Paul's life for Christ and that keeps me inspired to think wow, do I have that drive, passion, love for Christ like Paul did?  And if not then why and how do I get it!  "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him." Phil. 2:13  This verse is what has been speaking to me the last week.  Another thing I often do in my life is try and live life on my own.  This verse states that God is working in me, giving me the desire to please Him.  I never really thought of that before, I mean I'm sure I have a little bit but lets stop and think about this.  The desire I have to do good, to please God isn't my own desire, it is the desire of God placed inside me!  How awesome is that!?  It is His desire that has now become my desire and isn't that the goal of us as humans to desire the things of God.  He makes it happen in me and then gives me the power to do it, all I have to do is receive the desire, and use the power given to me.  That is what I want my life to be, a life worthy of the gospel and a desire to please only Him.  I don't want to go about my days concerned with what other people expect of me because the only thing that really matters is what God expects of me.  His will is what I must follow and His desires are what I want my desires to be.  There are so many times in my life where I have engaged in so many different things, not because I felt God leading me to do so but because it was a good thing to do.  I don't want that.  I want what I do to matter and if God hasn't called me to do it, asked me to join Him in doing it then I don't want to do it.  I want to be about my Father's business and join Him in how He wants to use me in the world to make His name known.  That is my hearts desire and I don't want anything else.  So this verse encourages me knowing that God is working in me, I must trust in Him and seek His will above all so that I can do what He desires! 

I challenge you this week to take a look at what you are doing.  Why are you doing what you are doing?  Is it simply because no body else will do it?  Is it because your heart comes alive and God's love pours through you when you do it?  If God hasn't placed it on your heart to do, even though it could be a good thing I would challenge you to take it before the Lord and ask Him if you should really be doing it.  There are so many things we can invest our precious time into and then there are a million other things that can rob us from actually doing what we are actually gifted and designed to do.  Seek God's heart for your life today, let Him lead you into what pleases Him most.  What He created you to do and engage in is the best thing for you to do.  Discover that and watch God move in your life like never before! 

Recognize.....!

As I sit here thinking upon the Lord and His presence I am overwhelmed with the fact that there is absolutely nowhere that I can go to get away from Him.  I often forget to remember that when I am being tempted and walking into sin.  However even in those moments when I don't acknowledge that God is still with me doesn't mean He has left me.  It is easy for me to recognize God all around me when I walk around outside and see the beauty of the ocean, the amazing mountains early in the morning with dew on the trees and the sun filled sky!  There are colors that absolutely breathtaking and I can't help but stand there in awe of God.  However I do find it difficult to pick those things out when I've had a bad day, or a fight with a friend or a loved one.  Again it doesn't change the fact that they are there, I am just choosing to ignore the splendor of them because I am stuck on myself and not interested in seeing anything else but myself.  Psalm 139:7 "I can never escape from your Spirit!  I can never get away from your presence!"  This is a great reminder to me today.  David goes on to describe all the possible places that he can think of to go and still there God is waiting for Him.  What a great revelation!  If only I could take this section of scripture and really truly live it out.  My life would be so much better for sure!  There are certain people in my life that when I am with them I just enjoy things so much more.  This is how I want my life with God to be ALWAYS, sure I have my moments where I'm positive that I am in the presence of God, and I feel it and it just makes me feel so much better.  Recognizing the presence of God is something that I am not always actively doing, I get caught up in my own things and forget.  It is a work in progress for sure, the more we begin to recognize him deliberately the more naturally it will come to us.  It is just like anything we have to teach ourselves how to do it and then after continually doing it we learn and finally can do it without much thought.  I had an awesome example today as I watched a mom teach her child how to ride a bike.  I kept observing the mother pushing the child and holding onto the back of the seat to stabilize the bike and allow the child to keep balance.  However there came a point where in order to truly teach the child she had to let go.  She had to build his confidence up and then slowly remove her hand.  It took a few attempts but in a matter of minutes the child was riding the bike with the mom simply standing there smiling and cheering the child on.  I know for a fact that this child will be practicing this new found "talent" and before long he won't even remember the feeling of not being able to ride because it is just so simple!  This is what we must do in our lives with God.  Teach ourselves to recognize His presence, acknowledge Him in all we do and simply appreciate the fact that He truly doesn't ever leave us.  When we are faced with temptation all we have to do is turn to Him, and remember He is right there with us waiting for us to call upon Him.  

This week I want to challenge you to take some time each day and just reflect upon God.  Go for a short walk and take in the colors of the turning seasons.  Feel the breeze upon your face and take a deep breath of that fresh air, and then think about how God designed you.  The ability to see, breath, feel, think, taste, hear, all our senses are designed by Him for our pleasure.  We are truly wonderfully made, read all of Psalm 139 and meditate upon it as you become more and more aware of His presence in your life.  There is absolutely nowhere you can turn to flee from Him.  What a great comfort that is for us to know we are never alone and we always have God to share in the beautiful moments of life and in the struggles.  Be aware, recognize, and acknowledge Him in all things!

What's your gift?!

As I'm sitting here trying to collect my thoughts on what to write exactly I can't help but think about PEOPLE!  How unique we all are in our lives.  I mean we are all unique in so many ways, physically, mentally, emotionally in everything!  However different we all are we all have common desires and needs.  I know there have been times in my life where I haven't really felt "up to par" with those around me.  Feeling inadequate and of no use to the task at hand or people around me.  I'm sure everyone has had a few moments in their life like this.  For me it frequently occurred in school when teams were being picked for sports.  I wasn't ever one of the first ones picked.  Then it was with my grades, never did I feel I had the ability to get straight A's, I was happy if I could get C's!!  However there seemed to be other things that I could do without much thought, I could talk!  When I got older and began working in construction it seemed like whatever I needed to do I could do after a little explanation was given.  Painting quickly became a great job that I stuck with and got quite good at.  I didn't have to really think about it, I enjoyed it and I was great at it!  I was able to paint whole buildings and houses in a matter of a few weeks with little or no help from others because I could just rock and roll on it!  1 Peter 4:10 says "God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another." No matter what you may think, God has given you gifts and talents.  They may come in the form of anything from sports, to cooking, to the job you do, working with children, being hospitable, being generous, kind, joyful.  You could be a gifted writer, artist, scientist, teacher, gardener.  The list can literally go on forever!  This is a promise that we have from the Lord that He does gift us all in some way with the intention that we will bless others with it.  This verse is a great reminder to me.  That all that I am able to do, I am to use these gifts to serve others.  How do I go about serving others with my gifts?  Well first I need to discover and acknowledge my gifts.  Then I must decide how I can use those gifts to serve others.  It isn't that difficult, all I have to do is find out what I like to do, what I'm good at and then in turn bless others with that!  So many times in my life I have found myself focused more on the things I can't do then the things I can do.  I get so bugged down and upset that I'm not able to do this thing as well as other people.  However I know that there are things in me that I can do better than others.  It is a matter of identifying those and putting my time and energy into those areas of my life and serving others in it!  

I want to challenge you this week to take some time and make a list of the gifts God has given you.  Maybe you will need to take time to pray and dig a little deeper than you thought but I guarantee that you will find something and more than likely multiple things that you are gifted in.  Then I would encourage you to take that gift and serve others with it.  It can be just a small little something but the feeling you will get from blessing someone with something that comes so easily to you is incredible!  Someone may be so grateful and all you'd be thinking is WOW that wasn't really anything for me!  It will bring a smile to your face, other peoples faces, and most importantly the face of the Lord!  Go do some inventory of yourself and discover ways you can help and serve those around you this week!  May the Lord bless you all in your serving of one another!

Nothing is Impossible!!

This week has been a great week for me.... I'm not sure why but I am just excited to give you this rumination for the week!  I am continually reminded in my life DAILY that I have limits.  There are things that happen that are totally out of my control and I alone can't fix them.  Sometimes this fact overwhelms me and it sometimes even upsets me.  Being a person that likes to do things by myself and fix things it makes things difficult at times.  We are always faced with things that are to big for us to handle by ourselves.  I was reminded this during this last week.  I have a mind that can go crazy and dream up these amazing elaborate things that I want to do.  Desires and dreams that when spoken to people some would say THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE!  YOU CAN'T DO THAT!  YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT!  IT WON'T HAPPEN! YOU ARE CRAZY FOR EVEN THINKING THAT!  COME BACK TO EARTH AND WAKE UP YOU WEIRDO!  People around us can have some of the most encouraging things to say to us when we come up with these magnificent dreams and desires! It has always been like this for me, some people standing behind me and supporting me and others shooting down my dreams because they don't see any possible way of attaining them!  One verse that I love to cling to and I was reminded of this week when i had a crazy dream and desire was Mark 10:27 "Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” I find it so cool that Jesus He spoke into this specific area of our lives.  He is revealing to us that there are things in our lives that we will face that it is impossible for us to do.  We can't do everything on our own, however there is a way that we can do ALL THINGS and that is with God.  He makes the impossible possible for us!  God is ready and willing to help us in any and all situation.  He wants us to dream big and step out with our complete faith in Him.  I have seen so many people thinking that situations are hopeless and that nothing more can be done and God pulls through for them.  It is a matter of just coming to Him with all of our needs and desires and dreams.  He wants us to be successful, and to be healthy and happy.  All we have to do is fully believe in God that nothing is impossible for Him.  He can move in each and every situation.  

I want to challenge you this week to dream with God!  A quote that I have in my living room says " You never know what God can do with what you have until you bring it to Him."  or "All you have is all God needs to do something Great."  He wants us to dream about doing great things, He wants to lead us into those great times and moments.  He has a plan and a destiny for each of us and it all involves us doing the thing that will bring us the absolute most joy and Him the greatest glory.  There isn't anything that will limit God.  Think about that, is there anything in your life that you want out of your life but you can't seem to figure out how to remove it?  Ask God, He'll help you!  Is there something that you desire to do but don't see how to do it?  ASK GOD and join Him in accomplishing that desire!  Dream big, and don't let anything stop you, because WITH GOD EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!

Trust in the Lord!

I bet many of you are expecting me to pull the whole Proverbs 3:5 verse out and expand on it today!  Well..... I thought about it but maybe next week!  :o)  Man I don't even know where to begin on this one.  There are so many things in our lives that are unpredictable.  The more we try and control what goes on in our lives it seems everything falls apart all the more.  Or is that just me?  I have found it pretty easy my entire life to not really worry to much about the uncontrollable, but let me tell you in the last few years I have discovered a greater place to put my trust.  I have always had faith in my life, so I have always had the security of God keeping me afloat!  However not always have I fully placed my trust in God.  I am discovering now more than ever how important it is.  When I realize that God has the master plan, He knows exactly what every situation that I am going through will turn out like.  When I come to Him and seek His guidance I am able to walk through even the most difficult times in peace and confidence in Him!  Jeremiah 17:7 says:  "Blessed is the person who trusts the LORD. The LORD will be his confidence." When I read this verse and let it penetrate into my heart and mind I am overwhelmed with complete relief of seeing what will happen when my trust is placed in the Lord.  This is a promise from the Lord to us, that we will be blessed when we put our trust in Him, and He will be our confidence.  Now what does that promise mean though?  What does it mean that the Lord will be our confidence?  Well to me I personally think of it like this.  That my complete trust is placed in the Lord, whether I am facing a financial crisis, a job situation, a conflict with another person, a health issue, or just going through a dark valley in life.  Despite our circumstances we are called to place our complete trust in the Lord.  He wants us to run to Him with every situation and circumstance that is to big for us, so He can come alongside us and be the loving God that He is.  So when I can come with whatever is weighing down my heart, and place my full trust in God believing that He will work out every single little detail to His glory, and what is best for me.  He has my best interest in mind, in the midst of our difficulties we do not ever see how going through a painful season is what is best for us but when we look back on those times, that is usually when we have a breakthrough with God, or grow even stronger in our relationship with Him and our faith increases.  So by placing our Trust in God, taking it step by step and fully believing in who He is we can boldly walk in confidence no matter what our situation may be, because we know without a doubt that God is working.  We can rest in Him and put our mind at ease and be confident in our trustworthy Lord to lead and guide us.  

 I remember this summer when we were in Guatemala there was a 25 foot waterfall our group was all jumping from then a larger 35 foot one.  I am not one that really gets kicks out of jumping from high places, it just kinda scares me.  However it looked like so much fun and it was really hot and I just walked right out on the larger of the 2 jumping place and jumped off the 35 foot fall!  It was great, it wasn't so bad at all!  As you can see in the pic below there is proof that I did it!! However I know for a fact that if I had never been with a group of people, and saw others doing it I wouldn't have done it at all!  I got confidence from others around me and seeing that they were ok when they did it.  Seeing someone do a dive off this was kind of the last confidence builder that I needed to get me to jump.   When we put our trust in God, He goes with us and surrounds us with words, people, and things that will continue to build our confidence and give us the strength to do the scary things, the tough things, and what sometimes seems like the impossible things.  We can endure any situation with our confidence being the Lord!

This week I want to encourage you to come to God, give Him that area in your life that is pressing down on you.  The area that is weighing you down and causing you to worry or stress.  He wants to work in your life and He is just waiting for you to release it and invite Him to work.  He longs to reveal His plan to you and lead you though your valley!  It is a promise He has given us that Blessed is the person who trusts the LORD. The LORD will be his confidence. We can face the day with confidence and strength because we are walking and trusting in the Lord!!   That is the key right there... to face the DAY, it is a day by day journey continually trusting in the Lord today.  Don't worry about yesterday or tomorrow just walk with the Lord today trusting completely in Him! 

The goodness of God

Sorry this didn't get posted last week.  I was off island on vacation in St. Thomas and then St. John!!  This time away really got me thinking and really opened my eyes up a bit.  Lately it seems like every thing I read or notice and talk about revolves around my life of holiness.  What I am expected to do, how I am to live my life not simply as a missionary but as a Christian.  Yes I admit being a missionary I know people look at my life and compare theirs to mine....Is that right? Who knows.  However as a Christian we are called to a higher standard of living.  God gives us direct commands on how to live and when we live those out we are pursuing God the way He intended us to do.  This verse has been really speaking to me for the last week and I just thought it was a great one to pass along!  But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you. 1 Sam. 12:24 What a great verse in my mind!  It seems to cover all areas of our life if you think of it!  We must be sure to FEAR the Lord... In a high reverence and respect kind of fear.  We aren't to shudder in fear when we think of the Lord but much like a child recognizes the difference between right and wrong and thinks through the consequences of doing wrong.  I know there has been times in my life that I chose not to do something because I didn't want to hurt my parents, or bring shame upon them.  I respected what they would say or think about my actions and that out weighed my desire to do whatever I wanted to do.  That is how we should fear God, we should care so much about what He thinks about us, that we don't want to hurt Him, disappoint Him, or represent Him in a wrong way.  We should honor Him with all we do and say.  By doing this we are able to serve Him faithfully; now we are all human and we all are tempted.  We can't live perfectly faithful lives all the time.  That is why Christ came!!  However we must do our best to faithfully serve Him, we must seek to please Him and follow His commandments to us!  With our whole heart we are to serve the Lord.  A cool picture I got on this is the fact that the heart pumps blood to our entire body, if the heart stops our life stops!  So if we can serve the Lord with our whole heart then our entire body will be serving the Lord.  Our thoughts, our actions, our words everything will be faithfully serving Him!  

Let me tell you this last part of this scripture is so awesome.  Many times I take for granted all the things God has done for me.  I know for a fact that I don't always even realize what He has done for me.  Taking time to think upon where I have come to over the years is incredible.  To think of His faithfulness, provision, grace, mercy, love, compassion, wisdom, comfort in my life blows me away!  It immediately takes me to a place of worship when I can come before Him and thank Him for all He has done.  I know for a fact that I would not be anywhere without Him working and moving in my life on a daily basis.  All I can do is thank Him that He got a hold of my heart and has been transforming me into the man I am becoming.

This week I just want you to take some time think upon where you are right now.  Think about all the bad things that you may have thought you'd never get through but know that those times helped mold and shape you into who you are today.  The fact that God is able to turn around all our bad situations for good is so amazing.  Think about the way God has been there for you.  Think about all the good He has done in your life and thank Him for it.  None of us could be where we are today without God moving in our lives.  He has blessed us all in such unique ways some obvious and some not so obvious but I just want you to spend some time to think about His goodness in your life and make adjustments today to live more faithfully to Him!

Don't Look Back

There are so many moments in my life that I am definitely NOT proud of.  Decisions I made that compromised my integrity, went against my beliefs, hurt friends, brought heartache, and ultimately caused me to be outright disobedient to God.  Not fully obeying is total disobedience!  Either you are completely in the right or you are wrong.  It is no different with sin, you are either sinning or you aren't there is no in between middle ground where you can sin halfway and be safe!  I was reading today in 1 Samuel and its funny how the Israelites are just like us.  They have their ups and their downs, moments of obedience and moments of disobedience.  However I like the words that Samuel speaks to Israel in his farewell address from being the leader of Israel and instating a king like the people requested.  "Don't be afraid," Samuel reassured them.  "you have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don't turn your back on Him."  Although the Israelites did wrong, by asking for a king to lead them instead of the Lord, God forgave them and gave them this commandment.  Don't be afraid, although we all have made decisions in our life that have left us afraid of the consequences, we have a loving caring God to look up to help us through those times.  We ALWAYS have the opportunity to turn from our old ways.  Our bad habits, addictions, laziness, rudeness, anger, bad stewardship habits.  No matter what the situation we always have to opportunity to turn to God and not follow through in the way our flesh may desire to do.  We must remember that although we may sometimes live the rest of our lives with scars from past sins or situations we don't have to let those define who we are.  God is able to restore all the lost time, put back together the pieces of our broken life, and make us new!  It is our duty to turn towards God, to truly surrender to Him with all we are.  To worship Him alone with our whole heart, and not turn back towards our old life and sins.  When we are truly worshiping God with our whole heart we don't have time to get caught up in the mess of the world.  We don't have time to spend our days doing the things that mean nothing to us because God will be the one that means the most.  Our lives will be so consumed by Him that our focus will become in a sense so concentrated on Him and His will that all we will be able to see are the opportunities that will draw us closer to Him.  We will be concerned for others more than ourselves, we will be honest in our lifestyles, and begin to see our old fleshly habits fade in the presence of God!  It is up to us to draw near and give our full heart to God.  He is ready and waiting already all we have to do it turn towards Him and not look back at what used to be.  God is not concerned about your past mistakes, He is looking at joining you today to help you be the best you can be tomorrow!

This week take some time and just ask God to cover your past mistakes.  Whatever they may be, there is nothing that He can't cover with His forgiveness and love.  For me I know there have been times where I was the one holding myself back because I couldn't forgive and forget about the things I have done.  Don't waste time, if God says it is finished and it is forgiven IT IS!!  ACCEPT IT and move on ahead with Him.  Don't be afraid to walk daily with God, sometimes it may not be clear where He is leading you but He has the perfect plan and will not lead you into anything that He doesn't see as the absolute best for you!  Take His hand this week, let Him lead you and join Him in what He wants to do IN and THROUGH YOU this week!

In God's Hands

Yesterday I was meditating on Joshua 9:25 it says: "We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you" What a great verse I find this to be.  I sat there and I prayed Lord, let this be my response to you each and every day.  That I may be in your hands fully believing and trusting that YOU alone will care for me.  That YOU will provide for me, be my joy, be my strength.  

We as Christ followers must have this attitude and response to God.  That we come to Him and fully release all control of ourselves over to Him.  He is the maker of us, He has a plan and a purpose for each and every one of us and the sooner we surrender to His will the more amazing our life becomes.  I will be honest and say it is terrifying at times to take that blind step of faith and completely release all control....However there is nothing better that we can do than to entrust the creator of the world with our life.  He designed us, He knows us better than we know ourselves.  He will take care of us and He will do just as this verse says, He will do whatever seems good and right to us.  Now I must add also that just because it says GOOD and RIGHT doesn't mean that we will never face hardship, or hurt, or difficulties in our lives.  I look back upon my brief years and see that the times that I remember the most as pivotal points in my life are those times that follow extreme difficulty, sometimes even pain and suffering.  God will use whatever means necessary to get our attention because sometimes we don't fully surrender to Him.  Sometimes we say Lord you can have this area of my life but I'm going to keep this area.  That isn't how God works though, He demands full surrender, complete devotion and He won't give up until He has it ALL.  We must remember however that even in the midst of the most difficult times God is still in control and He is behind the scenes working everything out for His perfect plan.  We simply need to keep our focus on Him and not our situation.  

This week I want to challenge you to pray this prayer to God.  Tell Him that you are in His hands and to do whatever He sees good and right.  Ask Him to open your eyes, heart, and mind to Him and His plans for your life.  May you discover new things about the Lord this week.  I pray that you would grow a little closer to him through your faith and through trusting Him.  He does have a plan and He has it all for the purpose of making you the most joyful, happy, and satisfied person if you'd only look to Him and let Him be God and you be you.  Take the steps you need to this week to fully surrender to Him and His hands will not let you fall!

Controlled by Christ's Love

I had a very good time of devotions the other day. I am currently going through my bible searching for all the verses that have the word BELIEVE in it. There are a lot!! I got stuck on one verse a few days ago that still hasn't released my attention! It is such a powerful verse that I can't help but share it with all of you! 2 Corinthians 5:14 "Either way, Christ's love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life." Now I don't know about you but when I read this TONS of things entered my mind. The fact that Christ's love controls me? Do I allow that to happen each and every moment of every day? Since I believe Christ died for all have I put my old life to death? What would my life look like if I did allow Christ's love to control me? I think it would be absolutely amazing I can't lie. I think of the times that I have truly felt like Christ was leading me into something and although I may not have wanted to do it at the time still by being faithful and obedient and following through with it I grew in such great ways! To have Christ's love completely control me would mean for me one thing.....to surrender ALL OF ME! To give up all my wants, all my desires, all my thoughts, my words, my actions, and every piece of me and allowing Jesus to do with me as He pleases.... Hmmm sounds quite familiar to the teachings of Jesus and how God desires a person to love Him with all his hear, soul, strength, and mind. Sounds like complete surrender and devotion! A disciple of Christ must move past themselves and look for only one thing; the will of Christ. When we allow Jesus to rule in every area of our lives we are no longer living a boring life of selfishness. We are living for a purpose continually seeking how to best glorify Him. Our old way of life becomes less and less appealing. As He controls us our old nature dies. We are actually living this verse out, putting to death our old life! It can only come from surrendering all we are to Christ. The moment we don't surrender we are saying to Him that we don't want Him to control, that we still want this part of who we are and sorry Jesus you just can't have that yet.

This verse has spoken so deeply to me because this is where I want to be. I want to be in a place were I can surrender all I am. My time, my money, my comforts, my body, my actions, thoughts all of me must come into submission to Jesus so that I can live the new life of freedom in Him. That I can proclaim His name above all else!

This week I challenge you to meditate, ponder, think over this verse. Are there areas in your life that need to come into submission to Christ? Are you still living in some of your old lifestyles that you know Jesus has freed you from? Take time, seek God and allow Him to speak into the areas of your life that you have not yet allowed Him to control. God desires a heart that is surrendered to Him. Not halfway but completely! Jesus didn't just die for half our sins He died for them all! We can't halfheartedly serve God and think we are doing good. He desires we love Him and serve Him with all we are so that He can shine through us in any area of our life!

God has really been impressing upon me for the last few months to just be real. To live out my faith that for so many years I have claimed to have. There was a time in my life where I wasn't living out what I proclaimed. Now I feel like there is nothing else that I can do but simply live my faith out for real. He is leading me into a deeper relationship with Him and I simply have to change. I can't be the person I used to be because through knowing God come transformation. There are verses all over the bible that claim we receive this "New Life in Christ." We are transformed when we meet Him and decide to give our lives over to Him. Well the new life we receive is something that we must live out. Daily coming to grips with who we are in our human nature and surrendering that to God. Coming to Him and asking Him to mold and shape us into His perfect image. It is something we cannot do on our own. 1 John 2:4 "If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. God really opened up my eyes to what this verse means. He revealed to me that there is a difference between knowing ABOUT God and TRULY KNOWING GOD. When we know about God our lives aren't really changed. It seems all the knowledge is in our heads but we do absolutely nothing with it. Sure we may apply some of it but in all actuality, we probably only apply the parts that are easy and doesn't cause us to step out of our comfort zone. To truly Know God means that every aspect of our lives is changed. We are surrendered to Him seeking Him and His will above our own wants and desires. To Know God is to Love God, to love God is to Obey God. This simply means that no matter what, we will diligently seek to obey Him in all areas of our life. Our lives will change when we meet God. There is absolutely no way that we can experience the power of God, encounter His awesome presence and walk away unchanged. As Christ Followers God has placed us here to live according to His word. To serve Him in all we do. To love others as He loves us. This verse describes that when we claim to be a Christ Follower and claim to KNOW GOD, and we don't obey Him we aren't in anyway living according to His will. We aren't in any way in relationship with Him. To live in the truth means to live in obedience to Him. To seek daily to be changed and living in fellowship with Him.

I challenge you this week to simply take a look at your life. How are you living according to the truth and how do you need to start living in the truth. Do you truly know God or do you simply know about Him. Do you invite Him into all your daily activities and submit yourself to Him asking Him how you can join Him in what He is doing? Or do you simply only come to Him when you need something and no other times. Only you know if you are living in complete honesty with God. He desires to know you on an intimate level. He wants to change you, and use you to reveal His Glory and His love to the world. He wants us all to Know Him and to be changed by Him. To live in the honest and amazing truth of the word!

Running with Endurance

I thought it only fitting to do this weeks meditation on the bible verse that has been written on my foot every time I run. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1 This verse is a verse that I felt the Lord gave me at the first race I ran back in August. Since then I have written the verse on my foot every time I run as a reminded. Of course I can't read it so well through my shoes but I know it is there so as I run I am able to recite it and remember what I am actually doing. I am running this race of life with God. I must strip off everything that holds me back. So many things in my life get in the way of my relationship with God. Sin kills, we all know this. However each time we are tempted we have a choice to either step into sin or to resist it. We must strip ourselves of that temptation before we commit sin. Something I have learned from running is the fact that you don't actually run until you make a conscience decision to do so. You must put forth the effort to not only move but to actually stride and move quickly. We must run when we are faced with temptation. God has a path marked out for us. To daily walk down the path of righteousness. However we must choose to do that. We must learn to run with endurance and the only way we can get endurance is to build it up. So we must do it over and over and then we will be able to have more and more endurance to run. I can honestly say that for me I could not have ran a marathon without the 16 weeks of training that I had. I had to build up my endurance to run miles at a time. The very first time I started running I ran 2 miles.... VERY SLOW and with a lot of walking in between. I didn't have endurance to run that far nonstop. It is again a conscience act that we must do. Our faith life is exactly like this. We must rely completely upon God and allow Him to lead us. Submitting ourselves to Him and His will and running from temptation and things that hold us back from serving Him.

As always I encourage you this week to look at your life. Where are you hindered by temptation and sin? What would it take to strip those off? Spend time with the Lord and ask Him to reveal those areas and then take the steps you must take to run on the path He has set out before you!

Truly Abiding

WOW, God has really been going to town on me lately. I know it has been almost 2 months since my last post. For that I am sorry sorta. :o) The reason I say sorta is the fact that I have literally felt like God has taken a plow to every area of my life. Requiring me to simply give up everything for Him. Which shouldn't be a surprise but I guess it is. I feel like I have truly been walking in the wilderness searching for God's promises. Waiting on Him to reveal what He wants to rid me of. It has been very difficult and I will be the first to admit I am not completely finished with what He's doing in me. He has truly been speaking to me the importance of KNOWING HIM and not simply just knowing about Him. How when I claim to be a believer and profess faith in Him my day to day life better reflect what I'm speaking. I had a very interesting revelation that completely messed me up. I realized that someone cannot come face to face with God, or experience them in their lives and not be changed. To walk away unchanged would mean you didn't see or experience God because EVERYONE who encounters God is changed in some way! I had to think upon my life, and really ponder whether I had changed. Yeah of course there are some areas but what about those other areas that seem to still creep up on me and draw me away from God. Those strings that are attached to me that come in times where I begin to doubt all i know about God. I have been challenged to cut off and run from all things that hinder my relationship with God. It is difficult. To purge myself of all things that draw me away from God and cause me to sin. However it is what each one of us is called to do in our lives. Jesus talks about this is JOHN 15:5 "YES, I AM THE VINE; YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. THOSE WHO REMAIN IN ME, AND I IN THEM, WILL PRODUCE MUCH FRUIT FOR APART FROM ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING." I encourage you to read this passage John 15:1-12. It talks about how God prunes the branches that produce bad fruit. I do NOT want to be that branch. I want to know that what I am doing matters. That I am pleasing God in all I do. That I can confidently say I am abiding in Jesus. I want to remain in Him and Him in me. To produce Kingdom Fruit. It clearly states that apart from Him I can do nothing. That no matter what I put my hand to, or mind to it doesn't matter. It amounts to completely nothing without Jesus being involved in it. That is a wake up call for me no doubt! I have really been searching my heart and all I do to see where I am abiding and where I'm not. It is something that God has been slowly revealing in these past few weeks. Am I perfect and abide with Him all the time.....Absolutely not. However I do my best and I am sacrificing myself daily to do His will. That is the best I can do. I have a choice daily, moment by moment to either choose to honor God or to ignore Him and sin. It is a conscience decision and I alone make it. So I am able to choose what type of fruit I will produce in each choice that I make.

I challenge you to pray and ask God to reveal areas that you are and are not abiding in Him. Ask Him to lead you to those areas that are a struggle for you. That you would be able to surrender to God and allow Him control in those areas. Don't allow yourself to produce bad fruit. Seek to honor God in all you. Bring a smile to your Heavenly Fathers face today!

My Temple

Lately God has really been speaking boldly to me about being submitted to Him. I think it is easy to say we are submitted to God but when we truly examine ourselves and EVERY area of our lives I think we discover the fact that we truly aren't totally 100% surrendered like we claim to be. Maybe some people are, TELL ME HOW TO GET THERE. It seems like it's a constant battle in my mind and life to lay down everything at every moment for Christ. My attitude tends to get in the way, my selfishness, my tearing down words, and my actions. 1 Cor. 6:19 Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself. A lot of times we seem to only focus on the parts I mentioned about to see if we're doing ok with God. How about this, if our body is the temple of Holy Spirit how are we caring for it? Are we managing our time wisely? Are we resting enough? Eating healthy and right? Dressing in a way that is glorifying to Him. All area's of our lives must reflect Him and His kingdom. We are called to be set apart for Him. We do not have any control over ourselves, sure we're able to make decisions but truly we only have breath because God has given it to us. All we have, each beat of our heart is a gift from God. We are to honor Him with our bodies. With all we are! Each thought we have, each word we say, each action we do. We are called to be good stewards of all God gives us. He gives us opportunities daily to direct people to Him. How are we dealing with those situations? Daily we have an opportunity to walk in union with Him. To experience His grace, mercy, unconditional love He freely lavishes upon us and to share it with others. How are we doing in that? Are we seeking people out to serve them or are we seeking to see how others can serve us?

This week I challenge you to really look deep into your being. See if there is any area that you are still claiming to have control over and release it to God. The greatest thing we could ever do in life is to give God complete control of who we are. He has the plan and He knows us better than we know ourselves. Let the one Holy God that created you to guide you in your day. Take care of your temple and live a life worthy of God. May everything you do be an act of worship and thanksgiving to Him!

Walking In the Spirit

Everyday we have a decision to make. We must choose one or the other, living out our fleshly desires or living out the desires of God. It seems so simple to read and write out but when you actually think of your day and when you're faced with having to choose it seems so much easier to live by the flesh. So what does it look like to live by the flesh. Well here are just somethings that come to my mind that might be simple examples. How about when you are at work and you're completely swamped with work and someone comes in and asks you to do just one more thing. You can say yes to them and they will walk away all happy but what is your heart saying? Are you there complaining in your heart, and saying maybe how lazy that person is or why do you have to do it. Why can't they find someone else, can't they see you're busy!! This is the flesh speaking, our hearts and mind are usually the easiest places to look to see how closely we're living in the Spirit. Or what about when someone does something wrong to us, do we sit and dwell on it and hold a grudge against them? Do we sit and dwell upon how to get them back? Or do we just sit calmly and pray for them. Asking God to convict them of their wrongdoing and to strengthen us to love them like He loves them! It's not easy but it is truly necessary. God desires us to constantly walk in His Spirit. Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. It is a choice that we must make to walk by the Spirit. However look at the promise that we are guaranteed here. When we walk in the Spirit we WILL NOT CARRY OUT THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH! We will be living according to God's will and carrying out His desires. We will be constantly doing Kingdom Business!! How great is that! It must become our one and only desire to live in the the Spirit. We must be Spirit filled so that we can constantly be the Lord's hands and feet to the lost world. So to walk by the Spirit it is not only talking physically but also in every area. Our hearts, minds, words, actions, these all must be in line with the Spirit so we can see God's glory manifested in the lives of those around us. This is our daily goal to glorify God in all areas of our lives and constantly be in step with Him.

This week examine your feelings. Your thoughts, watch your reactions to other people when you are bothered, asked to do more, or get frustrated. When you see yourself living out the flesh contain it and turn your entire focus upon the Spirit and watch how God turns your situation into a glorifying opportunity!

It's all for Christ

We all have things in our lives that we like to do for certain people, or that we like certain people to do for us. Well God is the same way. He delights in us doing things for Him. He loves it when we honor Him, worship Him, give Him glory, center our days around Him. He loves the fact that we take time to invite Him into our lives to have relationship with us! Many times I find it so easy to praise Him, honor Him, even love Him when I am in a good mood or He has just done something awesome for me. Like for me when I receive a blessing from Him, in whatever form it may be. Someone doing something for me, a beautiful sunny day, a huge donation that will pay my upcoming bill! Whatever its easy to accept God and delight in Him. However there are also the times when we are struggling, that we're depressed, and upset, or not in the mood to really do anything that we must still remember to have a lovable attitude towards God. I mean for real, how easy is it really to sometime even to pray to God when things are going completely wrong in every way? For me not very easy I'll admit that! However I was reminded today in my time of devotions that sometime I have to suffer for the sake of Christ. I should count it a blessing to have my faith tested. To have just a little bit of suffering with Christ. In 2 Cor. 12:10 "That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am Strong." How contradicting is that?!! Lets just see all the crazy talk in there. 1 taking pleasure in weakness, and hardships and so on. And 2 being weak yet strong? What, how can that be! Is Paul losing his mind here? I don't know how many times I have read this verse over the years and said there is no way I can be happy when something bad happens. Because isn't that what taking pleasure would be? I know pleasure is associated with happiness in my mind! So how can you take pleasure in these things? It seems quite impossible but I am here to testify that its not! These moments are where we grow the most. Our true character is put to the test and put under pressure and we are able to grow into a more mature and faithful follower of Christ in these times! God wants us to seek Him in these times. To allow Him to guide us through but He also has growth in store for us. We by ourselves are weak. Cannot do anything without God working in our lives. There are so many times I've tried to get things my own ways and do things on my own and its impossible. I wear myself out trying. So in my weakness when I recognize my dependence upon God, then I am made strong through Him empowering me to go on. It is the same in every situation. We are able to make it through the toughest times only by god working in our lives and giving us the strength to keep moving!

Don't be defeated!! Look at your hardships, troubles, persecutions, anything with God's eyes. Look at it from a Kingdom perspective. Allow Him to transform you and strengthen you. No longer try to move alone but allow Him to move in you! Take time this week and look at your life. Are you struggling in some way? Ask God to reveal His will for this time. Take pleasure in the growing time and recognize your weakness. Allow God to manifest Himself in you to make you strong to defeat what is weighing you down!

Prayers of the Righteous

Well as many of you would know if you've read my other postings on my website about the healing that took place this last week I find this is very suitable for this weeks verse! We'll look at James 5:15-16 "Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." The last phrase "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful" was all that was going through my mind this last weekend when I was walking and running without pain on my foot. It was so incredible to go from having complete discomfort and unbearable pain and then literally like 4 hours later the pain began to subside and each moment on it continually got better. I have never experienced anything quite like that in my life and I will proclaim to everyone that it was a miracle!! I'm not ashamed to say it! There are a few things in these verses that I want to point out. Like in the first line, "a prayer offered in faith" that is something that we must have when we pray. We cannot effectively pray without faith. God desires us to have extreme faith, faith that is beyond all human explanation. Our faith can determine whether something happens or not. When we offer up a prayer in absolute faith, believing that the impossible is able and will take place God moves! He loves when we belief beyond what are simple minds even say possible. God honors those people that faithfully pray and seek Him with complete confidence that they will be heard and that their request isn't to difficult for God. Another point is the fact of confessing our sins to each other. Why would we want to do that??!!! There is power in that my dear friend. When we can humble ourselves and admit our faults to one another that brings a huge smile upon God's face. We are saying look, I'm not perfect this is what I've done, please join me in prayer for God to release me from this sin and heal the void I have created between Him and I. THAT IS WHERE THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN SPIRITUALLY!! God loves the humble people and He honors them and a humble heart mixed with a faithful prayer is one powerful prayer. God turns His ear to that! He desires intimacy, honesty, openness, and humility in our relationships with Him and others. I am encouraged in knowing those that the Lord led me to share my situation with were people that faithfully prayed for my healing. They truly were righteous and their powerful prayers were answered and I feel it with each step I take!!

This week I challenge you to look into your heart, and really seriously ask yourself how much faith are you applying to your prayers. Are you praying with a passion and a confidence that your requests will be heard and done? Or are you simply coming to God tired, preoccupied, and only stating what you want and think you need and totally forgetting to lift up others or even show any respect for God. Are you filling your prayer with faith or just saying a memorized prayer because its something you do daily and cross it off your list of things I must do to be a good Christian? There are complete differences and I want to challenge you to take your prayers to a whole new level and see how God responds!

Don't waste a moment

Wow what a week it has been. I feel quite blessed this week by just having a normal regular schedule once again. This week I have really been evaluating all I do, my priorities and usage of time and doing my best to make the best out of every moment. I have been on a strict schedule of waking up early and trying my best to go to bed at a reasonable hour. I have trained my body to be completely different than it has ever been. I am usually one that stays up late and sleeps in. However as of late I have been waking up far earlier than anyone would dare to do. The things we do in our lives are interesting. How we spend time, what we pour into ourselves and allow to be poured out of us. Although it is a struggle sometimes to wake up at 4 am I know that it is what I have to do to get the desired time with the Lord each day. When I don't make time in the morning before I start my day I will be to tired in the evening. When I allow myself to miss time in His presence I am depriving myself and neglecting God. Which leads me to 1 Corinthians 15:58 "So my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is useless." There is absolutely nothing that we do that is a waste of time when our hearts are in the right place. That place being to serve God and bring Him glory. When we make God the center of our days, seeking every moment to know Him more and to do His will that is where all we do is Kingdom business. When we take time to listen and to ask Him what He wants us to do. How we can be used. What He wants to teach us and give Him opportunity to pour into us our lives become dramatically changed. That is why it is easy for me to wake up so early. To run at 5 o'clock in the morning might seem crazy but it is a time where I am not only spending it with the Lord but I am being a testimony to the 6 other people that I run with. They all know why I'm barefoot and they all know my faith and what I do. Daily God opens a door for me to share more and more. SO even in the simplest things God is able to use that as bringing Him glory. We are called to plant seeds wherever we go. In the lifes of all we meet. You never know what might come from a simple act of obedience.

This week try to take notice of what you are doing for the Lord. Stay strong in your faith, don't be moved by the opinions or the world around you. Take a stand on your faith and see where you can be used by God. I promise you when you begin to have a kingdom mindset all the time you'll be used for Kingdom business. And the simplest task that might seem insignificant to you could be the greatest thing in the world for someone else. Seek God, receive His heart for your days and be led by the Spirit at all times. That way you won't ever waste a moment!

Speak Out

I'm sorry for no updates for the last 2 weeks, it has been a very intense and busy time here. WE just finished running a 2 week overnight kids camp!

It isn't easy being a Christ Follower. Everyday having to decide what I am going to invest my time in. Whether it be God or myself those are the only 2 options that I have. I cannot serve God and myself. By serving myself I am serving the world, which God has set me free from! SO I must commit each day when I wake up to seek His kingdom above all else. To get on my knees before Him and pray for His strength to carry me through the day. The way I live my life is a testimony to God. It is my act of worship. When I have something good I don't hesitate to tell those around me about it. Why is it so difficult for me to tell others about the amazing love of God? The amazing grace that He bestows upon us each day! I cannot waste anymore time I have decided. I am here doing the work of God, and even if I had an everyday job I would have the same expectations placed upon me. To tell anyone that I had an opportunity to tell about Jesus Christ. As I evaluate my life and my actions I am extremely disappointed. I have spent so much time investing all my money, effort, and time into superficial things. I cannot live like this anymore!! Many may be asking yourself what is this missionary talking about and all I can tell you is that these are the thoughts that a lot of Christ Followers always have. Always thinking of changing and never acting. The sad part is that when we think and we put action to our thoughts things happen. Can you imagine if everyone that has had these thoughts put into action what they think what the world would look like? How people would be helping one another and seeking God's face above all else! What a tremendous feat that would be. Well I may not be able to control other peoples actions but I can take responsibility for my own actions. When I don't act upon my thoughts I am just adding to the problem. We must have a burning passion to got God into the lives of everyone we meet! I will tell everyone about your righteousness. All day long I will proclaim your saving power, though I am not skilled with words. Psalm 71:15 This must be the attitude we start the day with. To proclaim God's saving power, despite our imperfections and faults God will use us. We must rely completely upon Him to do anything. He is our strength, our healer, our provider, the life giver, and the wisdom we need for any situation. It is all about us trusting in Him and His love. We must passionately serve God in all areas of our lives, including telling people about who He is.

I challenge you this week to just speak to 1 person each day. Someone new each day and tell them about the love God has for them. Center your conversation around your savior and begin to see how easy it is to love those around you by sharing God with them.

Honest living

It is always easy to say that we are following God's will. That we are living according to His will and commandment. I know for a fact that it is so easy to put up a front for people to see. When we're at church we act like we ought to act. When we are away from fellow believers we tend to let ourselves slide. Then when we are alone that is when the true character and nature of who we really are is revealed. We can't put on masks, hide behind any image we want but when it comes to alone time we are who we are and WE KNOW WHO WE ARE! In those moments is when our integrity is revealed, our walls are down, and we are just us. Unfortunately there are a lot of people that are different people in this time then with others. When certain people are watching we have to be a certain way for fear of what they might say. Sounds so childish but you know what we all have our insecurities that we face daily and try and hide.

I have constantly been challenged to live a life of worship before God. It isn't easy and at times I have been ashamed to be who I am in front of others for fear of being made fun of or what have you. Then hiding behind my Christ Following mask for others to see. Knowing that my life isn't following God as closely as all would think but I keep up the fake image. Not living honest to others and being a hypocrite. But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love Him. That is how we know we are living in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 1 John 2:5-6 This is an extreme verse because to me it speaks right to the depths of who I am. That if I truly love God like I continually profess I must obey Him to show that love. When I am living my life according to His will, and doing all I can to bring Him honor and praise then I am displaying my love. However when I am constantly searching out ways to sin, and doing things against God's commands I'm not truly loving Him. It isn't for anyone else to measure us by it is a way for us to measure ourselves. We must be the ones to determine whether we are displaying His love or not. It comes in the times when we're alone and no one is watching. How are we acting, what are we thinking, what are we doing. It all is a reflection on how much we love and seek God. I know for me when I begin to notice unhealthy patterns in my life. When I'm alone and I waste my time one meaningless stuff. When I begin to make an idol out of something. When my mind begins to do everything but glorify God that is when I have to sit back and reflect to see what is going on and what needs to be done. Our life of faith is something that should never be turned on or off. It should always be reflecting and shining bright for anyone to see at any moment!

Look at your life, are you living the life that Jesus demonstrated for us in the word? Are you constantly connected with His Spirit and searching to glorify Him at all times? Are you displaying your love for God in all you do whether christians are around or not? Are you living an honest life and not hiding behind masks or walls? Or are you a different person around certain people? Is God constantly your focus or are certain materialistic things brought before God? I just encourage you to check yourself and let God check you so you know where you are in your faith and if you're not in the right spot so you may get back to where He created you to be!!