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.

Stop Paralyzing Yourself

Personally, I struggle with finding His direction.

I suddenly pray all the time, pop open the Bible whenever I can, and when I think I've found the answer, my Bible suddenly is less important and my prayer life slowly dwindles.

Sound familiar? You aren't the only one.

I'm guilty of doing this a lot. Maybe this is just me, but I feel like I'm not the only one ... Don't get me wrong, sometimes I'm in His word and soaking it up like a hot day by the poolside. However, more often than not, I find myself with the first scenario. So how do I get out of this cycle?

Well, first things first: Be a real Christian. Not to call myself a fake Christian, but Christians are supposed to live everyday for HIM. Unfortunately, I find myself constantly stressing, focusing on finals next week, making sure I have a plan for my life before it changes within the next 5 minutes, etc. But one thing Christians seem to water down is ...

FAITH. Sure, we read Matthew 17:14-20 and think, "Well why can't I move mountains? That's ridiculous." But the disciples said the same thing! We are supposed to have faith in everything we do. Faith to rid of us of our worries, to move the demons we face daily, to accept He is who He is and will do as He wills!

I love knowing the game plan. So I often hope that I'll just have a revelation and BAM I'll know the plan and I can go on living my life. But faith is required to truly live with Him. A lot of times we complain ... "I don't understand why God can't just write in the sky MAJOR IN THIS and do this and that in your life, and I shall be content with you." First off, Jesus is what makes Him content with us. We have no right to think we're ever going to be in the perfect spot. We always have to squirm or work our way to where He wants us; it's an eternal struggle between who gets the seat: you or God. Second, if he really did reveal to you in a dream, how could you know it was really Him? Thirdly, we paralyze ourselves by not moving and just sitting around waiting for Him to answer. This is a big one ...

DON'T PARALYZE YOURSELF! Seriously, don't do it. You're not sure what God's will is? Have you been reading the scripture regularly and praying? Good, that's a great start. Now get off your lazy butt! As Proverbs 6:9 says, "How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?"

Now you need to make sure it's not immoral. This requires being in His word so you're continually cleansing your mind of your own thoughts. There is no special technique to approaching this.

For example, if there are tons of dots all over a blank page, we usually attempt to go for one little dot out of the many because we believe God wants us there. However, if we look to Adam and Eve, they did WHATEVER they wanted, so long as they didn't eat from the ONE tree God commanded them not to eat from. Essentially, we have it backwards ... So don't be afraid to make decisions, because that is lacking trust in God. We need to be with Him so often that He truly is your best friend. Your best friend can finish your sentences or read your thoughts before you even voice them. This is the sort of relationship we need with God. We have to be so in tune with Him that we become like Him. Obviously we need to accept advice and consider it, as well as work out the plan. We just have to be ready for a change. In the Bible, nobody prays, gets a revelation, then acts upon it. Instead, they are living within God's commands, making plans, carrying them out and THEN God changes the plan. Don't worry, He has it under control!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6). Proverbs, chapters 16 and 21 is also super applicable ... Just don't forget to test that it's His way, not yours or anyone/anything else (1 John 4)!

Also, don't worry, I'm totally the preacher talking to herself right now. I'm very guilty of always trying to plan my life until I'm 80 years old. Yeah, that's gonna work ... But seriously it will because I've told myself enough that it fits perfectly ;)

Anyways ... Stepping off the pedestal now ... I'm just a college kid trying to figure life out. No amount of education can prepare me for that. However, it's really nice to know you're not alone. Other kids have the same problems and God has it under control ... I just have to remember that.

Hopefully this brought greater understanding to you like it did me when I was first told this. :)

God is Jealous and Ready to Dim the Lights -- FOR YOU

Hey loves,

It's me. I know, I'm alive still I just don't take the time to write as much as I should! Okay, blogging business: Today I heard a lot of suffering from friends and my friends' friends ... Then there was me complaining about classes. Oh, which, FOR THE RECORD is something I'm blessed with and take for granted and complain about way, way too often. The suffering that others are experiencing, such as this girl who found out she has cancer and her response is that "Cancer Doesn't Scare God" (that is faith for you!). You can read her blog here: http://kaylanicole42.blogspot.com/2013/04/cancer-doesnt-scare-god.html?showComment=1367298721501#c3588273405938604299

Not only that, but I have known a lot in my own life that are suffering. Life is tough and life is rough. A lot of times we are told, "Just think, people out there have it way worse than you!" which is more than likely to be true. But even then, what if you really did have the worst life on earth with everything evil thrown at you? What then? Job from the Bible simply trusted in Him. I think in America we get so caught up in the mundane things that we let life fly past us before we even have a chance to blink. Today, I told myself I would enjoy every moment and make the most of every opportunity. I failed. Haha. I guess I shouldn't laugh because it's not really that funny. I let stupid classes at Las Positas get in the way of a good day! Life is what you let Christ make it! We like to think of ourselves as first. We are number one. We are so high and mighty and have every right to be entitled to everything (cozy home, wealth, laughter, health, friends, etc. you name it) but this is exactly when the "reality check" should go off in your head. Everyone feels they are worthy and deserve "it" -- whatever it may be -- just because they worked hard, prayed hard, lived hard. That's HUMAN. But that isn't realistic, is it? Just because you did all the dishes doesn't mean you get a big thank you and chocolates and a standing ovation, does it? When life is going all wrong, we can't snap our fingers and make it perfect, can we? Oh, that's right, because we aren't GOD. Yeah, our mistake ... We are not number one. We are not high and mighty. We don't deserve it. You think jealousy is a bad trait? Well, Christ has every right to be jealous because He yearns for us to give up our identity and find it in Him. Stop whining and being jealous about something that's not even yours! God deserves all the glory yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The reality is that struggles make us tougher and His love make us stronger. Let that light shine, ladies and gentlemen. This show isn't for you. Your life isn't for you; it's for God. Life has always been about Him. Let's get over ourselves and our problems that seem so terrible. If God brought you to it, He will bring you through it. By "through it," I'm not even saying you will like the answer. In fact, you could quite possibly hate it. One day, though, we will see His glory and all of it will fade away. The unpaid bills, the oil that needs to be changed in your car, the Starbucks drink that was messed up, being late for work, finding out terrible news ... LEAVE IT at the CROSS. Do it. I dare you to actually leave it behind and give it up to Him. Stop worrying and start thanking.

Anyways, just some thoughts. Sometimes, God dims the light in our lives to make Himself brighter. Not because He needs to, but because we have our sunglasses on all the time that prevent us from seeing the big picture. New post is coming soon hopefully, I have been wanting to write about it lately. Let me know your thoughts and thanks for reading. See ya next time (except not really ;)

It's Okay to Cry.

Hey my friends! Apparently I haven't posted since March, which I know is terrible, but it's better than when I was expecting (last year, for example haha). For those of you who don't know, I go to a community college. My English teacher likes to challenge our beliefs -- and I always plan on returning that favor in my papers! Anyways, here is just a little something I came across and absolutely love. So I hope you guys enjoy this! (P.S. I'll try to write more honest, but let's be honest: I'M A PROCRASTINATOR. In fact, I'm procrastinating right now. But seriously I will try harder ...)

"I want to close on this and ask you this really just very simply. Have you ever just really cried out to Christ? You know you don’t have to hang back. He says, ‘Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace’. You’re not going to be turned away when you cry out to him. When you cry out you’ll find mercy for your sins, for your misery and you will find grace to help in time of need. I can guarantee you, by all the power of the testimony of the Spirit in his word, that when you cry out to Christ, he will hear you. Though all earthly friends disown and forsake you he will not. Though everything is stripped away from you he will not be taken
away. He will not take himself away and there will come a time, perhaps sooner, perhaps later, when we will have no earthly strength left, where all our bank accounts and anything else will mean nothing. Within an inch of our life we’ll be drawing our last breath. At that point, I suggest that the Priesthood of Christ will mean more to us than we could ever imagine. The great Shepherd-King knows his sheep and he calls us by name even through the valley of the darkness, to bring us to his Father’s kingdom." -- Rev. Dr. Noel Due, Baptist Pastor. [Due, Noel. “Christ Ascended for Us – ‘Jesus Ascended High Priest.’” Evangel Vol. 25 Issue 2 (Summer 2007): 58. EBSCOhost. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.]

Love you all! Remember, it's OKAY to cry. Xoxo. 

Fear Leads to Action. Apparently, I have Little Fear.

I am learning so much lately. God's molding can hurt -- and right now, it hurts quite a bit -- but in the end, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'd rather learn from Jesus and hurt, than not learn anything, and be "okay" with feeling okay.

Soo ... Define "Fear" 
What does it mean to really fear Him? "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111:10). If that's true, we must learn to fear Him in order to gain wisdom. The more life I live, the more I feel entitled to give Him what I can never repay. To comprehend that He'd die for me is one thing. To understand that I get to be His servant?! What a privilege. But I haven't even taken up His offer on that yet. He gives me a chance to "know," "believe," and "understand" Him (Isaiah 43:10). Not only that, but I get to be His "witness" (Isaiah 43:10). How, then, I can live such a distracted life with such selfish motives? Yes, sin lurks everywhere, but we're called to overcome it's desire for us and "rule over it" (Genesis 4:7). Why? Because sin isn't our master anymore; we're not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14). With that said, I have a lot to work to do and a lot of "desires" to overcome.

How do I overcome myself? Put on your superhero clothes!
"Put on the full armor of God [...] so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand [...] And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people" (Eph. 6:11, 13, & 18). "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7). I couldn't have said it better myself. But just like superheroes, we don't know when "the Son of Man is coming" (Luke 12:40). In fact, He's coming at an hour we don't expect, so we have to stay "dressed for action" at all times (Luke 12:35;40).

God Knows Best
God knows best, so of course He's going to choose His timing. I'm preaching to the choir, if you know what I mean, because I'm pretty bad at realizing His plan is a lot better than mine! I know Jesus makes "everything beautiful in its time" and that we "cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end" because "whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him" (Ecclesiastes 3:11 & 14). Knowing He knows it all -- and we know next to nothing -- should be enough reason to let Him plan. God tells us, "I am the first and I am the last [...] Who is like me? [...] Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen [...] Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any" (Isaiah 44:6-8). You know what I found interesting though? If I simply remember Him, He invites us to "argue" with Him; to set forth my case to be proved right (Isaiah 43:26). He wants my opinion; He wants to talk with me! There really is no God like Him. Lastly, he warns, "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:18-19).

How's your perception and reception?
"Can you hear me now? Good." [Yes, I did just steal a Verizon Wireless commercial line.] I truly think He asks that a lot and when we finally perceive what He's saying, He sighs and says, "Good!" or probably more accurately put, "finally!" or "about time!" Our reception is pretty terrible most of the time, but every once in a while, we perceive what He's saying. Even if we perceive what He's saying, how often do we take action? Not very often, unfortunately. God wants us to "magnify his law and make it glorious" for His sake and pleasure (Isaiah 42:21). But honestly, we do a crappy job. As of late, however, I've come to realize that I need His help for and in EVERYTHING, including serving Him! God working in your life has an endless abundance of blessing. But I can't lie, it can hurt, too. God will give us a new heart and a new spirit, replacing our "heart of stone" with a "heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26-27). That transformation in our hearts takes a lot of surgery in our own lives, but it's well worth it. Think about it. We have a heart of stone compared to His heart for us. He was willing to face the hardships of man and die on a cross. What are we willing to do? Buy a donut for 89 cents. Our lack of faith is disturbing. MY lack of faith is disturbing. If I had any faith, I'd take way more action. After this speech tournament, I am waking up from my slumber of passion for Jesus.

Lord, teach me your ways so that I may walk in your truth. Please, unite my heart to fear your name. I will give thanks to you with my whole heart! Create in me a heart pure enough to glorify You, that I may give You a sliver of justice.
Love, Your Servant Who's Working On it [Psalm 86:11-12].

P.S. I already have a blog idea for my next one :O It will be addressed like a letter from God to us :)

What Can Faith Do?

I'm not sure. I'm still trying to figure out what exactly my faith can accomplish. There's a chance I never will find out (until heaven I guess!). But I've been wondering ... how much do our day-to-day choices affect our lives? What seems like a big decision at the time means nothing. Other times, a seemingly small decision has a huge impact. Furthermore, sometimes our decisions have no impact (like choosing to eat an egg for breakfast). Or does it? What about the more serious things in life? Or giving advice to friends? Choosing a spouse? What I'm going to eat? Where that food ends up? .......... jk that's a whole different conversation. I'm probably over-analyzing; I am a woman after all ;) lol but seriously, what kind of impact do our choices have? How much does our faith in something contribute to our future? I've been thinking a lot about it for probably like a month. If you have thoughts, feel free to share :)

So, what can faith do? According to the Bible, it can work wonders. Matthew gives an account of a man who brings his possessed child to them, hoping they could heal his son. The man informs Jesus of this, to which Jesus responds, "How long shall I put up with you?" (Matthew 17:17) and heals the boy. When the disciples ask why they were incapable of healing the boy, Jesus responds that they had "so little faith" (Matthew 17:20). In fact, he adds, "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" (Matthew 17:20). Basically, if the disciples just had faith, they could have sent out the demon themselves, right? For the things that are impossible with humans are possible with God (Luke 18:27). But instead Jesus taught them a lesson through their inadequacy. Additionally, the Bible gives examples of what faith can do. In fact, the entire chapter of Hebrews 11 is devoted to how people historically -- in the Old Testament -- leads God to take action on their behalf. It starts off by defining faith: "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). You can read it for a clearer idea of what I'm saying. But anyways, it concludes with how people, through faith, can conquer kingdoms, administer justice, gain what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, quench the fury of the flames, escape the edge of the sword, turned weakness into strength, raised the dead -- basically do anything (Hebrews 11:33-35). Faith also meant suffering in many ways, because "the world was not worthy of them" (Hebrews 11:38). Yet, they're all commended for their faith, even when they didn't recieve what was promised, since God had a better plan in the works toward perfection (Hebrews 11:39-40). In Romans 4:20-21, we're told Abraham, "did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Faith means to be fearless and doubtless. Faith means 100% trusting and believing in something. However, this still doesn't answer my question. If I ask, I'll recieve -- but I have to believe it. If so, does my lack of faith keep me from recieving? Or was it not in God's plan? And how do I tell the difference? Where is the line between what God plans for me and what I choose? What are the effects? See, doubting has been the problem since the beginning. (Did Satan not place doubt in Eve's mind in the garden?) Sometimes I wonder if doubt is the problem. Even Jesus says in Mark's writing (11:22-24) to, “Have faith in God [...] if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Essentially, everywhere I look, it says if I ask, I'll recieve, I just have to believe! But it's doesn't seem that simple. Why? Because we doubt ... right? Doubting isn't always bad, but a lot of times it is. But even if we had faith to move the mountains, it wouldn't mean a thing unless -- in fact, "I am nothing" -- if I don't love (1 Cor. 13:2). I guess the key is to fix our eyes on Jesus, "the pioneer and perfecter of faith" (Hebrews 12:2). Because in the end, the world isn't concerned about what storms came our way. Instead, they focus on if the ship made it to shore. I just have to trust Jesus to guide me! Simple ...... kinda ... but not really.

Here's the other thing. Obviously, God doesn't want us to sit around lazily. God continually calls people -- history attests to this -- to step up and take action. But life's like a game. Everyone cheats. God knows it, but let's the game go on [judgement is served when the words "game over" are uttered for every human life]. Our job is to make wise decisions throughout the game. So shouldn't we make Godly choices for Him? This is where I get confused. I don't live a perfect life, but I try my best. Every choice brings us closer or farther from something. What am I saying "yes" or "no" to in life?  Do they glorify God? God's wisdom is immeasurable -- and even unsearchable (Romans 11:33). Yes, God controls everything. But my faith isn't obsolete; it has meaning. But how much can my faith do through Christ? That is the question ...

For now, I guess I'll just try to love like Jesus, for Jesus. Because true love leads to action and I wouldn't take action if I didn't have faith.
P.S. This song has been standing out to me lately, maybe because of all these thoughts! Idk. If you have any opinion on this, feel free to share with me because I am not sure right now! haha anyways, here is this awesome song by Kutless: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1JBSQMkQEo