We Are ONE

"He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?" --Micah 6:8

"Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." --1 Thess. 4:9-12


"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." --2 Peter 3:9

"For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall." --2 Peter 1:5-10

Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with Him and towards others. Work hard, mind your own business, have knowledge, control, steadfastness, godliness, brother affection, and love. He is not slow to fulfill his promises.

This is hard to do, isn't it? Sometimes we like to keep to ourselves and not rely on anyone. However, God designed us to be able to lean on each other in the good and bad times.

In fact, 1 Cor. 12 explains exactly what I've been thinking lately, specifically verses 11-31 which you can read here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%2012&version=ESV. Unfortunately, I think the American church is far off from Paul's message; we've lost heart. The heart of church is failing; if it were working, we'd be loving. If we were loving, we'd be aspiring to help each other out more! But I digress ... 1 Cor. 6:7-8 says it better than me: 

"To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!"

Yet, we don't even seem to care. We just enjoy living lives in our comfortable little bubble called "our life." We hurt each other, take offense, and leave the body or make bad choices. As 1 Cor. 6:15-17 says, 

"Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, 'The two will become one flesh.' But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him."

The real problem lies in ourselves. Individually, we are selfish by nature. If we weren't, we'd be actively serving with the gifts God has given. Who knows the limits of the church except God, if we actually did something?

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift ...
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." {emphasis added}

In the above verses (Eph. 4:1-7; 11-16), it specifically states we are one. 
Today, we need to start encouraging, building, loving, working, and trying for the church. We do NOT sit back. We step UP to the plate and the challenges God has brought into our lives and come with open hands to be molded into what He needs.

If becoming one with the body starts with us, it means we need to get rid of the bad in us. More living like Jesus, less selfish living like myself. I believe God created each and every one of us uniquely and for a different purpose. However, He wants us to purge ourselves of the bad and then flourish in the good He's graciously given us. However, with all the good in ourselves (which isn't much, might I add), we can only accomplish so much. Thus, the reason for the body of Christ.

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus promises, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

When we are too tired, WE are to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Ephesians says so. When Jesus says "come to me, " He means to go to Him, as well as rely on the body of Christ.

We wonder why so many people leave their faith, yet at the same time, we know exactly why. So today is the day to make a change and make an eternal impact. Find out your strengths and your weaknesses OR just get involved SOMEWHERE in the church, and you'll quickly find you aren't a superhero and will have many weaknesses. However, you will bring a freshness and audacity with whatever strengths you didn't even realize you had. So start on your knees asking Him what He needs from you. Then, get involved somewhere, have a little faith, jump in with a few seconds of courage, and He'll be ready to set you up.

A City Not Forsaken (Isaiah 62:12)

Hey everyone! I am really sorry for not writing lately; it's been over a month! Life has just been crazy. I'll try to get back into writing more often. For those of you that said you missed it, thank you! I wasn't even aware some of you were reading it :) To be honest, I started writing this blog because 1) I wanted to and fnally got around to it. 2) Because I felt led to start a blog. Now I realize that my writing was some of your weekly dose of Jesus outside of Sunday. So I apologize for dropping the ball ............ totally not living up to my purpose. But hey, I tend to do a pretty crappy job of living up to my purpose in general :) anyway ... BLOG POST. So I just recently came across this the other day. It's Isaiah 60:18-20 ...
"Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders; you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise. No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended."
Ah, I love that. It's really just a beautiful and true description. Yet, I'm not going to lie. This past month has been all over the place; a lot of highs and a lot of lows. While I'm not saying it's wrong to feel sad or happy, I also realize that life's circumstances are some of the last things that should effect me. I mean, 1 Cor 13:11 says I am to "rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you." What more could I ask for?

Let me break this down: I have JESUS inside of me. He died because He loves me. He thinks it's the best thing that happened to Him! He loves me enough to rejoice in my joy and mourn with my sadness. He's there all the time and sometimes ... I ignore Him. I pretend like He's not even there. That's what I have to give back. There are days where I go my entire day without even a quick thank you to my Saviour. If your best friend is with you, do you completely ignore them? No. Does that make me a sinner? Yeah, I most definitely am for a lot of reasons. That's just one of them.
What I love about Jesus is His never ending love and grace for me. I am nothing without Him, though for some reason, I like to think I am worth something WITHOUT Him in the picture. But then, that day comes, where everything goes awry. I reach rock bottom and realize I truly am nothing and I need the One who is EVERYTHING. And what does He whisper while I lay in bed wishing to change things? "Daughter, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Thus, boast gladly in your weakness that My power may rest upon you. Be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when you are weak, then you are strong" (2 Cor. 12:9-10). Why He chose to save me I'll never quite fathom.

He my "hero" and my King who stooped down to rescue me -- a little slave in the millions of faces. He spotted me in the midst of the crowd, looked at me straight in the eye and said, "I want you." He adopted me into His family and made me His own. He tells me everyday that He loves me with the beauty of His creation and little blessings in the day. He cleaned me and made me new. He even calls me His heir. What King does that? What person in their right mind would do that? Who is this God ... He even devotes His time and life to me. As Galatians 4:1-7 says, "I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as songs. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." My Jesus saved me from the "prince of the power of the air" and made me the princess of all that was and is good in this life (Eph. 2:2). In the richness of His mercy, grace, and love, He made me alive in Him and He placed me right next to Him (Eph. 2:1-10). Gah ... idk how to express my gratitude. No amount of feelings could really return all He has done for me. And you. And your ancestors and your children and your children's children. He loves so well.

So ... yeah, life's not perfect. I have to get over that just like everybody else on this planet. At least I know I'm just making a stop for gas before I get home, throw my arms around my Daddy's neck, and tell Him that I've missed him. Isaiah 64:8 sums up what I'm trying to say well I think:

"[N]o eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved? We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand."

Mold me into the person I'm meant to be. Help me forget my desires and make Your desires my desires. Keep my focus on You that everything else can fall into place, even if it's not in the place I want them to be. I love you and I can't wait to spend eternity in the heavenly realm where I am not forsaken, but loved. Who are we as Christians? "Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken" (Isaiah 62:12). Don't let me forget ...

Jesus and Japan

In case you've been living in a hole the past few days, Japan has been facing tsunamis and earthquakes. Times are crazy. I've even heard that there is a lack of food and are now only feeding the children and elderly. The stock market has been crashing. To top it off, some people say that this is Revelations unveiling itself (though I suppose that's nothing new).

Chaos. That is the best word to describe about what's happening. But a few days ago, I was reading Psalm 46. I found it very fitting for what's happening right now.

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging [...] God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.
He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'"(Psalm 46:1-3;5-10).

God can provide the healing and strength needed to overcome this tragedy. We just have to trust Him. He can use this for His glory, even if we don't find it glorious in any way or fashion. I can't do much, but I pray He can use this to further His kingdom.

P.S. On a positive note, I overheard a couple in Starbucks tonight talking about Jesus, so I asked if they were Christians. They said yes :) The guy was wondering if I was a Christian too when I pulled out a book, so he creeped on me and saw it was indeed a Bible, just like he thought ;) Idk why, but these encounters always make me so happy. I love overhearing my future buddies in heaven talking about Jesus in coffee shops; it's just awesome! Someday, I get to spend an eternity with others that love Jesus as much as me. Not to mention, I get to chill with Jesus forever! How cool is that?

Preparing for Your Future Spouse

Proverbs 24? Yeah, it's BRILLIANT and I think you should read the whole chapter :) Today, He pointed it out to me, and taught me how to prepare for my "life-long valentine." It's actually fitting, since V-day is around the corner ;) (I thought about saving this post for Valentine's day, but hey, since it's my parents' anniversary [Feb. 4th], I'm posting it anyways.) Here's the main body of the chapter:

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. A wise man is strong [...] and victory is won through many advisers [...] So shall the knowledge of wisdom be to your soul; If you have found it, there is a prospect, And your hope will not be cut off. Prepare your outside work, Make it fit for yourself in the field; And afterward build your house. I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest -- and poverty with come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man."
(Proverbs 24:3-5;6; 14; 27; 30-34).

Okay, first, let's state (what should be) the obvious: we're all imperfect. Meaning we all need lots of work to become a better -- not perfect -- person. This Bible passage, to me, can relate extremely well to the dating/marriage/all relationships. I've broken down the gist of the passage below:

1) You're Kind of Stupid
Sorry, it's true. In some sense or another, we're not smart. In every relationship, there are some sort of disagreements and what you have to do is talk it out. Everyone has to do it! Whether that's a sibling, boyfriend/girlfriend, mother/son, mother/daughter, father/son, father/daughter, friend, aunt, uncle, cousin, enemy, your mother-in-law (jk) -- you name it! -- no relationship is perfect; they all take work (granted, some relationships work better, but that's beside the point). The fact is: relationships take work. To make them work, you have to communicate, and the best way to communicate effectively, is to use God's principles. The best way to utilize God's principles is to love, "for the entire law is fulfilled" by keeping that command (Galatians 5:14). Therefore, gain wisdom to love, as the first few verses in Proverbs 24 lay out. They are the ones who will reap "rare and beautiful treasures."

2) Keep an Open Heart
As I established in point one, if you gain knowledge, you learn to be like Him. If you're loving others the way God calls us to, then you're becoming like Him (so good job! :) Now in this Proverbs passage, it says if we find God's wisdom, "there is a prospect, And your hope will not be cut off." Prospect can mean a candidate (maybe a future hubby or wife?) or a future. These can be used interchangeably and still give you hope either way! God will not cut us off from hope because we know He has a future and a potential special someone for us. But we have to be willing to let him impart His wisdom to us. I know, personally, I always set my mind on potential partners (because I'm a loser hahaha). But what God really wants me to do is just let Him be the matchmaker. So what's my job, if I'm not picking the person?

3) Prepare Yourself
How? Well, let's look back to the lovely Proverbs passage again :) It says we need to prepare the fields! ............ For some reason, I feel like I'm quoting some Lord of the Rings character haha. What does making yourself fit for the field, and afterward building your house mean? It's a simple concept, but a difficult task. Remember when you were proud of yourself for going off the tricycles? It feels like a big moment in your life. It's not easy, but after lots of practice, you succeed. The results are satisfying and exciting! By preparing a field for a house, it means preparing yourself as someone else's support. To lay the groundwork for crops, you have to fertilize your soil (not to be taken prevertedly lol); make sure the crops will have enough oxygen, sun, and rain; watch for pollution, etc. Then assembling a house takes a LOT of work (trust me, my family knows!). In other words, you can't expect to build a house (marry) if you can't even take care of your own crops (control yourself). God wants YOU to be ready before He even gives you an option worth endeavouring about.

4) Don't be Lazy
God doesn't like lazy people (Proverbs 10:4; Matthew 25:26; Hebrews 6:12). That should be enough reason to not be lazy. But it doesn't stop there. We can see that if we neglect the fields because we're lazy, then you'll (1) lack understanding, (2) grow unhealthy habits that are hard to uproot, and (3) eventually come to ruins, ending up with nothing [poverty -- aka, no special someone for you because you're not ready!]. Even when we are ready, we still have to handle the crops -- marriage isn't some special cure for your lonliness, problems, etc. That all starts with Jesus.

With these in mind, I hope that it helps you prepare for the person God wants you to be -- not even for the ones you love the most -- but GOD. If we love and trust Him, He will show us his plan and prospects. It may be nothing like we're expecting, but it's for our best. The Bible says, "An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips" (Proverbs 24:26). So, be honest with yourself: How do your fields look?

Patience and Endurance

I hate waiting. I just dislike it on all levels. In other words, I'm really impatient. Don't get me wrong, I can be patient; but for some things, I'm definitely not patient. Today, I was complaining to Him how I hate waiting, but I really want to try and have the best attitude while I wait. Then I read Isaiah 49:8, which says, "In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in the day of salvation I have helped You."

Who am I to say I want an answer in my time? "I am not skilled to understand what God has willed; what God has planned; I only know at His right hand stands One who is my Savior." (Wise words from Aaron Shust :)

He knows better than I could ever know when to answer my questions and requests (even if that's in heaven). Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation to hear me (2 Corinthians 6:2). The question is: When will He answer? And what can I do in the meantime as I wait for His answer?

Trust Jesus in a pitch dark room as He holds my hand, guiding me. All I can do is follow Him, by obeying his commands: "We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless night, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything." 2 Cor.6:3-10

I pray that I nobody finds fault in Christ by seeing me, so that I may experience "having nothing, yet possessing everything" in my darkest hour. Even though I haven't -- and won't -- sufficiently be able to obey Him all the time, every time, I do know that what I care for most, I'll do the most for. For example, what would I walk 500 miles for? [Yeah, this part I stole from church today ;)] I would walk 500 miles for Jesus. I'm pretty sure of that too. I just pray that I can say that in the most difficult times of my life too.

One Day; Three Lessons

I'm definitely not a morning person, but God's an all-day guy :) I woke up to Psalm 143:8 (on Facebook haha). I love his "good morning" greetings. He's awesome. Like I said, God's an all-day sorta guy, so I learned not one ... not two ... but three things today :) and all I did (for once) was stay at home!

Lesson #1: Directly after breakfast, while enjoying my coffee, I had an epiphamy, word for word:

"When you're selfish, nothing is enough. When you're not, everything is too much."

Let's marinate that thought and put it in our little fying pan we call a brain, shall we? ;) As far as I know, that quote is original! When that thought popped up into my head, I realized how very true that quote is.

Lesson #2: John 6:16-21. "Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, 'It is I; do not be afraid.' So they were willing to recieve Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going."

Today, I saw this in a new light. When we try to do things on our own, it doesn't normally work out. A lot of times, we get impatient, so we set off without Him, fingers crossed, hoping everything works out for the best. But then, a storm arises -- a spiritual storm -- that knocks us down and beats us up until spiritually, physically, and/or mentally, we just can't handle it anymore. We're ready to give up, when Jesus walks into the scene of trial in our life; sometimes, it's hard to accept Him after all that's happened. But He says, "It is I; do not be afraid." But He only comes when we're "willing to recieve Him." To break it down ... The price of setting off in a boat: $10. The price of losing boat pieces and buying new parts: $40. The price of counseling from seeing Jesus walk on water: $60. The rewards of Christ in our lives: priceless. When we accept Him, not only is there a calm in the storm, but eventually, that storm will end.

Lesson #3: Genesis 3:1. In this verse, the serpent asks Eve, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" Look at the serpent's word choice: "Did God really say ... " Interesting, isn't it? This verse specifies that the serpent is crafty enough to place doubt in our minds. Doubt is one of the first steps to unbelief. But as Benjamin Franklin said, "When in doubt, don't." Jesus constantly says, "you of little faith" to people. Even Matthew's account mentions after Peter doubts Jesus, "You of little faith [...] why did you doubt?" (Matthew 14:31) If we have faith that was even as small as a mustard seed, we could tell a tree, "Be uprooted and planted in the sea," and it will obey us (Luke 17:6). If only we had faith ...
Jesus is the most faithful person that ever walked -- or will walk -- this earth. Don't doubt. Instead, depend (on Him).

2 Timothy 2 is Incredible

So, I have the privilege of reading 2 Timothy 2, which Christ lovingly pointed out to me. I think I'm in love ;) This chapter is very relevant to me. You can read the entire chapter for yourself below to pray and ponder over; maybe He'll teach you something like He constantly does for me.
2 Timothy Chapter 2

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
"You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him,we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful --

for he cannot deny himself."

A Worker Approved by God
"Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are his,' and 'Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.'

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."