Do they see?

I'm sorry if this steps on some toes. But I feel it needs to be said. so excuse me while I rant a bit. Some wise person once said to Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words. 2 Timothy 2:24 says And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Now this is where my rant starts. When people who are christians make jokes about gay or homosexual people? Why do they do that. They just dont understand. As a Christian weather we agree with homosexuality or not, it is not a matter to be made fun of. Yet so many Christians make jokes about it all the time. Almost every time I hang out with a Christian group I hear one. Honestly I cant stand it. When people make jokes about it is making fun of either the person or the way they live. All in all it destroys your witness as a believer.  It sounds either judging or like you dont care or it sounds like you are saying you are better than someone. But your not. Homosexuals are people too and they need the love of Christ like everyone else. 
OKAY RANT IS OVER... So preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words. Your witness is one of the most important things in your relationship with Christ. When people look at you they pay attention weather you know it or not people are always watching you. Can they tell that you are a Christian by your actions, the things you choose and choose not to do, or the way you handle things? Especially if you are a Christian. They want to know what you have why you are different and why you stand out among anyone else. If you are just doing the same as everyone else they will never be able to see that  you stand out that you are saved, that you are a Christian. Romans 12:2 says Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.   Can they see who you are just by your actions, or the words that come out of your mouth can they tell that you have been saved by grace and are a son or daughter of the most High King? Can they see Jesus in you? Todays song is called "Do They See Jesus in Me" by joy Williams

Is the face that I see in the mirror

the one I want others to see
Do I show in the way that I walk in my life
The love that You've given to me
My heart's desire is to be like You
In all that I do, all I am

Do they see Jesus In Me
Do they recognize Your face
Do I communicate Your love, and Your grace
Do I reflect who You are
In the way I choose to be
Do they see Jesus In Me

It's amazing that you'd ever use me
But use me the way You will
Help me to hold out a heart of
compassionate grace
A heart that You're spirit fills
May I show forgiveness and mercy
The same way You've shown it to me

Now I want to show all the world who You are
The reason I live and breathe
So You'll be the One that they see
When they see me

link to song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LcjNidQTC8   (its worth a listen I PROMISE)

holidays

Well think about it. The holiday season has arrived upon us. The commercializing of everything seems to have turned into what it has been about.  The presents, the snow, the decorations. None of it is what the this season of the year is really about but how many of us get caught up in that worldly view? Im guilty of it as well as probably every one else in the world. The truth is its not about the presents or decorations, its not about the yummy food. Its about our Lord Jesus Christ. Its about the love that God had for us to come down to Earth in human form and left is perfectness for a world of sin. Its about the God who has come to set us free. We celebrate his birth during this season. Jesus's mother Mary was a virgin and she became impregnated by God to bring the light into a dark and fallen world. Without the birth or exsistance of Jesus there would be no heaven or no hell. There would be nothing to live for except to die. When Jesus came to Earth all who were lost became found in the arms of Christ if they believed in who he was and who God said he was. So with this season coming up,People try to take the real reason and demean it as if there was no real reason for its exsistance at all except a time to give presents.  Do NOT get caught up in so many commercializing hoaxes. Remember its to celebrate the birth of our lord, our savior, the light of the Earth. Todays song is called Hallelujah Light Has Come by barlow girl. Think about the lyrics as you see/or hear them.
Hmmm my Baby
Heaven sent you to me
All the worlds been praying
Who will Save?
But who am I
That here tonight
I hold the one
Who’ll Bring us life

Hallelujah,
We’ve been found
A child is born
To save us now
Hallelujah light has come
A Savior who will set us free
A Promise for those who believe

Do you hear the Angels
Sing for you my baby
Men and kings have come to
Bow to you
But here in my arms

So close to me
The son of God
Now all can see

Hallelujah We’ve been found
A child is born to save us now
Jesus Halleluiah light has come
A savior set us free

So praise to God on high
He has heard our cry


link to song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b04dOHDKsB4

Galations 5:22-23 says But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. The greatest of these is love.  Love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. John 15:13 says Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Just think all the things that Jesus went through for us. He was persecuted. He was mocked. He was beat. He was tortured. He was crucified on the cross and left there to die not for himself but for YOU. He loved you so much that he would die in your place. So that you would have a chance that you could be saved. Imagine that for a minute he loved you that much. What more can we give but to love him back? There is God in every person. What if we loved other people as much as christ loved us? I know that cant fully be done because Gods love is perfect love but even if we loved every person with even a drop of how much God loves you that would be a crazy amount. One way to love God is to love other people. I mean if God is in everyone then what is stopping us? Is it pride, Is it envy, Is it hate, rebellion, is it race, money or judgement? Let me tell you something in the kingdom of God none of that matters. The only thing that matters is if you have loved God with everything that you have in your being. The Bible says to do not be lukewarm. So do not half heartedly love God. Do not half heartedly love people. God loves each and every single person just as much as he loves you and they are a part of who he is just like you. So since there is no difference why act like there is? So try to love people with just a drop of how much God loves you, and think about how much that is. Todays song is called just to be with you by Third day. 


I've heard a tale that a man would climb a mountain
Just to be with the one he loves.
How many times has he broken that promise?
It has never been done
Well I never climbed the highest mountain,
but I walked the hill of calvary

And just to be with you I'll do anything,
there's no price I would not pay, no
Just to be with you I will give everything.
I would give my life away.
Yeaaaa

I've heard it said that a man would swim an ocean
Just to be with the one he loves.
But all of those dreams are an empty emotion
It can never be done.
Well I never swam the deepest ocean
But I walked upon the raging sea

And just to be with you I'll do anything,
there's no price I would not pay, no
and just to be with you I would give everything.
I would give my life away.
Yeaaaa

And I know that you don't understand the fullness of my love
How I died upon the Cross for your sin
And I know that you don't realize how much that I give you
And I promise I would do it all again

Just to be with you I've done everything
There's no price I did not pay, no
Just to be with you I gave everything
Yes I gave my life away.
Yeaaaaa

Just to be with you
Oh, just to be with you (3x)


link to song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt4G4becsWs

busyness

Today my blog is nine and a half hours late. I had thought about it earlier but I didnt do it. I was in the car and I thought hey Maybe I wont do it today. Its alright to skip  a day. But then the thought came to my mind Are you to busy to tell people about Jesus. Then I had a conversation with myself / a miniature lecture that It doesnt matter How much stuff you have to do you should never be to busy to tell people about Jesus. What if Jesus would have said Oh Im to busy to die on the cross for your sins. Its your problem now. We are only on a Earth a short time in a glimpse of eternity. Once we die none of the busyness matters. You dont want jesus to say well you were to busy to serve me. Im to busy to let you into heaven do you? Then you might make up some lameo excuse and be like but i still thought about you everyday. Well I think about my friends that are across the country everyday. That doesnt mean that I worship them. Sometimes people just get to intensely involved/wrapped up in what they are doing to even think about their creator the one who made them. Just because you are involved in ministry you might not be qualified in ministry. You can preach the Gospel everyday because you have a passion for Jesus, but passion without knowledge leads to destruction. Then you might not be able to tell why something failed. But then I thought well I am never to busy to tell people about Jesus. because in the end thats all that matters anyway not any of this other stuff that we fill our life with. Not any of these distractions. When you get to heaven its not going to matter what kind of job you had or how much money you made, its not going to matter what school you went to if you even went to school and what your grades are. Matthew 6:19-21 says “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  So where is your heart? Is it somewhere other than being focused on Jesus? If it is what are you going to be about it. Stop being busy with lifeless things but be focused on the one who gives us life.  Todays song is called This is the stuff by francesca Battistelli.
I lost my keys in the great unknown
And call me please 'Cuz I can't find my phone

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

45 in a 35
Sirens and fines while I'm running behind
Whoa

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff that's getting to me lately
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
But I gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

So break me of impatience
Conquer my frustrations
I've got a new appreciation
It's not the end of the world
Oh Oh Oh

This is the stuff that drives me crazy
This is the stuff
Someone save me
In the middle of my little mess
I forget how big I'm blessed
This is the stuff that gets under my skin
And I've gotta trust You know exactly what You're doing
It might not be what I would choose
But this is the stuff You use

Oh Oh Oh Oh
This is the stuff You use

link to song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqqdA8LHN7I

remade

2 corinthians 5:17 says Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Think about it if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior then he has washed the slate clean. He sees nothing  that happened before only what you do after you receive him. You become like a new person because He washed your sins away and you became you white as snow. Lets face it some of the choices you have made in the past were probably not the  best of choices. Maybe you were a cutter, or had an eating disorder. Maybe you were nothing that extreme or maybe you were worse. Boom the Day that you accepted christ all that was gone. You are worth so much more to be stuck in those lies of the world. The reason you are worth more is because God the most high loves you and we are his sons and daughters. More often than not how much do we know all the answers and go through life rehearsing them instead of living them. How many people believe that thier past is thier past but thier past is not thier future. There is healing from pain and the hurts that you have had in the past. After that, that is what gives you strength to help others who may be struggling and to point them to Jesus so they to can become a new creation in him. You have to ask yourself sometimes where is your heart. Are you pointing people in the right direction to become a new creation? Or are you stuck to much in your past to beleive that you are a new creation yourself. You are more than your past, but God is your present and your future.
There's a girl in the cornerWith tear stains on her eyesFrom the places she's wanderedAnd the shame she can't hide
She says, "How did I get here?I'm not who I once was.And I'm crippled by the fearThat I've fallen too far to love"
But don't you know who you are,What's been done for you?Yeah don't you know who you are?
You are more than the choices that you've made,You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,You are more than the problems you create,You've been remade.
Well she tries to believe itThat she's been given new lifeBut she can't shake the feelingThat it's not true tonight
She knows all the answersAnd she's rehearsed all the linesAnd so she'll try to do betterBut then she's too weak to try
But don't you know who you are?
You are more than the choices that you've made,[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/you-are-more-lyrics-tenth-avenue-north.html ]You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,You are more than the problems you create,You've been remade.
You are more than the choices that you've made,You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,You are more than the problems you create,You've been remade.
'Cause this is not about what you've done,But what's been done for you.This is not about where you've been,But where your brokenness brings you to
This is not about what you feel,But what He felt to forgive you,And what He felt to make you loved.
You are more than the choices that you've made,You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,You are more than the problems you create,You've been remade.
You are more than the choices that you've made,You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,You are more than the problems you create,You've been remade.
You've been remadeYou've been remade.You've been remade.You've been remade.
link to song: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDrzTQ5rn0

Shelter

James 5:16 says Confess your sins to one another so you can pray for each other in service and in love because the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and holy. It is impossible to be a follower of Jesus Christ apart from life in the fellowship of local believers. As being followers of Christ that makes us one body. The body can not function properly if all the parts arent working. Think about the heart. The main thing that keeps the body functioning. Of that fails then you die. Now think about yourself as the heart in the body of Christ. In order for the body of Christ to work properly you need to do your part.  Also in a body there is communication. Your brain tells your heart to pump, your nerves to move and what to feel, and tells your eyes what to see. If there was no communication there would be nothing. no thoughts, no feelings, no breath, NO LIFE and you would die. Think about the body of Christ the same way. if there is no communication in the body of Christ your spirit would die.  you would not want that to happen would you.  Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. God gives us all with different abilities, different personalities, and different lives, not only so we can be there for another but because He shows us a different part of who he is in every person. One person can not do everything but God can. So he uses other people to show all the other people what he can do. Its like a never ending variety show.  He also gives us our brothers and sisters in christ to encourage each other  and help each other in times of distress. Maybe when you need prayer or encouragement or you just need a friend. Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." In the shelter of each other we will live. (just like Christ has commanded us to do.) we all need a friend. Todays song is called Shelter by Jars of Clay. I hope you will think about the words.


To all who are looking down
Holding on to hearts still wounding
For those who've yet to find it
The place is near where love is moving
Cast off the robes you're wearing
Set aside the names that you've been given
May this place of rest in the fold of your journey
Bind you to hope
You will never walk alone

In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (Never walk alone)
In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (Your arms are all around us)

If our hearts are turned to stone
There is hope we know the rocks will cry out
And the tears aren't ours alone
Let them fall into the hands that hold us
Come away from where you're hiding
Set aside the lies that you've been living
May this place of rest in the fold of your journey
Bind you to hope
We will never walk alone

In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (In the shelter)
In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (You will never walk alone)

In the shelter of each other
We will live
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/j/jars-of-clay-lyrics/shelter-lyrics.html ]
We will live (In Your arms are all around us)
In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (In Your arms are all around us)

If there is any peace
If there is any war
We must all believe
Our lives are not our own
We all belong

God has given us each other
And we will never walk alone

In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (We will never walk alone)
In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (In the shelter)

In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (Your arms are all around us)
In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (In Your arms are all around us)

In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (In Your arms are all around us)
In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live (In Your arms are all around us)

In the shelter of each other
We will live
We will live
(In the shelter of each other we will never walk alone - never walk alone)


link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoDmFQWOL4Y