God's words

Forgiveness

2005-02-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

Forgiveness is a totally amazing thing. Just think about it....God loves us so much that he gives us numerous chances to be with him. If we screw up, he's there, ready to accept our apologies.

Daniel 9:8-10
"O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong and mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets."

Even though we screw up, God loves us. He will love us no matter what, we are his children and he won't for sake us.

Acts 26:18
"to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may recieve forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me."

Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

Forgiveness doesn't mean that it's ok for us to sin, it's not ok. We need to try to live a Godly life, but God is just saying that if we do screw up (which we will) that he's not gonna go hay wire on us, he's gonna give us another chance. If anyone reads this, please leave comments, I want to hear your feed back and I want to know if any of this makes sense, thanks.

Temptation

2005-01-18T22:30:00.001-08:00

Temptation can go for anything. For example, drugs, alcohol, cursing, hurting yourself when you get upset. In the Bible it says..

1 Corinthians 10:13-
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

that's saying that God will not give you anything that you can't handle. When it comes to certain temptations such as cursing or self harm, you can always use a substitute word instead of saying a cuss word, with self harm you can always put down what you use to hurt yourself. There is ALWAYS a way out. Whenever you get tempted by something God is there watching you, waiting to see what you do. You have two choices, you can either give into temptation and hurt God, or you can turn to God for strength when you are tempted, therefore, getting yourself out of a lot of trouble that is caused by temptation.

1 Peter 5:8-9-
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

that's saying that if you stand strong in all of your hard times that God will pull you out of it. NO MATTER what it is. NOTHING is too big for God. It's also saying that the Devil is out there, watching your every move, waiting for you to put down your wall of faith, as soon as you put that wall down, he's gonna attack you, no matter what. But when that time comes, you can always turn to God, cuz he's there watching you, waiting for you to turn to him and ask him for help.

Revelation 21:4-
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

God's in Control

2005-01-10T19:37:00.000-08:00

Most of us don't realize that God is in control of our lives. No matter how hard we try to fix our own problems the only way they will get fixed is if we turn to God.

Genesis 18:10-14-
Then the Lord said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening in the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?" Then the Lord said to Abrahan, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.

ok so if all of you didn't know Sarah and Abraham were really old, and I'm not talkin in their 60's I'm talkin like really really old. So audviously, Sarah couldn't have any kids. But they wanted one so bad!! So God said that they would have one, but Sarah didn't believe God. But sure enough she did get pregnant. See this is a perfect example of what God can do. He can can turn the impossible for a normal guy, to the possible for him. Even though your heart may seem old and cold and that nothing can touch it, God can renew, warm and touch your heart to make it pure.

Psalm 37:1-4-
Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

This verse means that if you do good in God's name that he will give you what you desire. You all know that plants die soon if you don't water them, right? Well God's like our water and we are the plants, if we go without him for a little bit we feel fine, but soon when the sun (sin) hits us, we will be dying for his quenching love.

Psalm 77:16-20-
The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

This is saying that God is so powerful that even the earth trembled!!! I think that that is totally awesome because if a God so powerful is in control of my life, it makes me not worry about what's going on in my life because I know that since he's so powerful that he can take care of my problems like that! *snaps fingers*

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11-
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and time for peace. What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men he has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

There is a time for EVERYTHING!!!! Just be patient and God will choose that time, it's all up to him!! He knows EXACTLY what you want and need, and he knows what's best for you. It's up to him to decide when you receive it.

Trusting God

2005-01-07T20:14:00.000-08:00

People go through many troubles through their life, and many face trials every day, there's a story in the Bible about trusting God, here's part of it....

Genesis 22:2-
Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about...."

If you don't know the story, Abraham (the father) didn't end up killing his son, he was all ready to until at the last moment God said to him "don't lay a hand on the boy" but the moral of the story is that Abraham was WILLING to kill his own son for God, he trusted God enough to do what he said. We should have the trust as Abraham did and do the same thing.....be willing to do what he wants, no matter the consiquences.

Genesis 50:19-21-
But Joseph said to them, "don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reasured them and spoke kindly to them.

See, Joseph's brothers thought that he was going to be really pissed because they threw him into a pit and left him for dead. But when they came back to find him, they found that Joseph trusted God so much that Joseph knew that his brothers were gonna come back and things were gonna be ok.

James 1:2-5-
Consider it pure joy, my brotheres, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Thats saying that if you have any trials, of any kind that you should turn to God, and if you have any lack of wisdom that if you ask, he'll give it to you. It also means that going through tough times is a part of life and without them you wouldn't be complete, mature and as strong as you would be if you did have them.

Hebrews 11:1-
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

If you have faith in God and believe that with his help that things will get better, they will. You just gotta believe. If anyone has any prayer requests, just let me know, I'd be happy to pray for you.

The words are stolen from my tongue

2005-01-05T23:18:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot about Worry and how it can effect people. A lot of my friends worry a lot about school and just normal things in life. In the Bible it says-

Isaiah 26:3-4-
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.

That verse right there is basically saying that if you have trust in him you will have perfect peace. It also says in the Bible...

Proverbs 3:5-
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and leave NOT on your own understanding.

That verse means a lot to me because every time I'm really stressed out about something I remember that verse and it means that if you just have trust in God, he will fix things.

Matthew 6:25-34-
"There fore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like on of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry saying, 'What shall we eat? Or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all there things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

All of that really helps me when I'm really worried about how things will work out or if my parents will be able to pay all the bills this month, all of that means that if we put God first, he will answer our prayers. The part where it says "don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" helps me a lot because I'm always wondering "what am I going to do? What's gonna happen?" but really all I need to do is chill and let God take over. Most of my friends don't understand that if you just give EVERYTHING up to God and trust him, things will be ok. So many of my friends just hold onto everything that they have, even if it's bringing them down and separating them from God.

Matthew 6:6-8-
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father KNOWS what you need BEFORE you ask him.