Who's day is it?

So today is Halloween, this is a day where satan gets a day where people honor evil and demonic things. Some poeple might even goes as far as saying that today is the devil's day. Why give him a day? He doesn't deserve it, he didn't create days. Now I know that the discussion of whether dressing up or trick or treating is right or wrong is something that could be debated for hours, but I'm not here to do that. I'm here just to say what my church says about this day called Halloween. We have an anual Havest fest that is always on Halloween. Our pastor decided along time ago that this day is a day that satan gets credit for and our pastor says why give him a day? It's our church's way of taking back a day that doesn't belong to satan in the first place back. So let's take back today because this is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!
When it's comes to the issues of what's right and what's wrong about today, I'm going to leave that up to you and God. So my prayer for today is that we wouldn't allow satan to have today, in fact I pray that we wouldn't give him any days. I pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us what's right and what's wrong about today. I pray for strength and faith for us to let God be God.

Fabulous Friday.

A wise theologian by the name of Michael Jackson (haha) was sang a song that said "we are here to change the world". Even though he wasn't quoting scripture, he was dead on. Let me say to you that we are here to change the world. In Matthew 5: 13-16 we are called the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world". So why salt and why light? Back in those days salt wasn't used to give flavor to food, salt was used to preserve food. Light was obviously used to illuminate or another way to put it is light exposes darkness.
We are the salt and light! It is our job to preserve and illuminate Jesus to this lost and fallen world. This isn't something that should bring a hevy burden to you, this is an opportunity for us to partner along side with Jesus. That's rad, if you don't think so let me break it down like this for you. Know that God doesn't need you or anybody to make sure his kingdom gets advanced. I know that's harsh but that's the truth. The coolest thing is God is so loving and gracious that he allows you to and most of all he wants to partner with you to advance his kingdom. Also if you don't think that you're cut out for it, he gives you the gift of his Holy Spirit which will give you the strength and courage to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. So today make it a fabulous Friday by being salty and a bright light that shines for Jesus.
My prayer for us today is that we get excited that we have the opportunity to change the world. I pray that we would rely on the Lord for help and accept his invitation to advance his kingdom with him. I pray for strength and faith for us to let God be God. 

Who's fault is it?

Last night at bible study we had a discussion about going through hard times. The question we wrestled with was; Does God always put us through tests or does he allow us to go through things? First we talked about if there's a difference between God putting us through a test and allowing us to go through a difficult situation? Is it always him or is it sometimes us? I'll tell you what I believe and then I'll let you hash that out with God. I personally believe that every hardship or struggle we go through isn't always something God puts us through. I believe that most of the time harships and struggles are things that happen because of our own choices. I will say that I believe that God allows us to go through these things and can turn any bad situtation for good. I also believe that we can be refined and our character is built up during these hard time. (Look it up in your bible:-) Even though these things happen because of our struggles I still can't say that God is always responsible for these things. Let me give you an example that might help you see where I'm going. There's a women who went through a divorce sometime ago and becasue of all that she's been through she now loves the Lord more then ever. When talking to her she says this statement: "If God hadn't put me through this divorce I wouldn't be where I'm at today". She divorced her husband because he committed adultery. Now is she right for saying that? I don't believe her statement is completely right. The reason why is I understand that she was made whole and that her relationship with God is better then ever but I have a hard time believing that God would create a man to commit adultery just so she would draw closer to God. I don't believe God would create someone to do evil and have him created to go against what he commands of us. I believe this is a instance where God allowed someone to go through something and used this bad situation for his good.
So why all this? The reason why I'm sharing this is because last night during our conversation one of my friend said that he believes Christians are so quick to jump to conclusion and credit their rough times and struggles to God. Anytime something goes bad we are quick to say that God is putting me through a test. But what if God isn't, what if you made a choice and now you're reaping what you so? Now I'm not saying that God doesn't put us through tests and refinement because I believe he does. The reason why this is on my heart to share with you is becasuse I believe that having this mindset of always saying God is responsible for everything we go through makes it so easy for us to blame him and get mad at him. But if we have the mindset that maybe it's our fault then we would want to draw closer to God instead of being mad at him and distance ourselves from him.
I want to finish with this, I wish I could tell you what he puts you through and what he allows you to go through but I can't. Reason being is becasue I'm not God and only he knows why. I'll leave you with this thought. I believe that with this mentality of not blaming God for everything will help us truly see how great and awesome God is. When believing that God is responsible for a trial we tend to believe that since he put us in this then he has to bring us out. But if you realize that you put yourself there and don't deserve to be delivered but he still does, that shows greatness and love to me.
So my prayer for us is that God gives us the discernment and wisdom with this. I pray that we would repent of our ways if we are the ones that blame God for everything. I pray that he would change our hearts and minds in this area. I pray for strength and faith for us to let God be God. 

Live Free.

So this entry I believe is a life changing truth, here's the catch. I'm going to be sharing what was put on my heart but I believe that it will only be a total change if you take the time and effort to seek out God's word and read why this is truth. (I really hope you do) So I was listening to 107.9fm on my way to work and the pastor was talking about not being tied down by the law. A little info to remember, God gave his people the law because they needed it. They were to follow it and make sure they taught their families how to obey the law. As time went on they perverted the law and became real legalistic about following it to the last period. As they focused on the law, they would base their faith on a set of rules and not a relationship with God.
So why am I telling you this? I really believe that we as followers of Christ we have this check list of does and don'ts, the sad thing about this is Jesus didn't give us this list we made it up. Now just to be clear I'm not saying there's not things we should stay away from or the God hasn't asked of us, in fact we are suppose to live a "Holy" life, a "life worthy of the calling", and set a part for God. But as believers we tend to have this list that isn't realistic to follow. We try to stay on this does and don'ts list and when we fail we usually beat ourselves up because we failed. Here's something that encourages me, God knows you fail, in fact he expects you to fail. Knowing that still doesn't give us the right to keep on sinning. What I love about Jesus is he didn't give us a list of things to follow, instead he just asks of us to walk as he did, act as he did, and love like he did. This is a relationship, not a check list thing. Just as Paul talked about the Gentiles not being held down by customs and the law, I believe that we as Christians can be freed from this unnecessary pressure we place on ourselves. Remeber there are things that we do need to do and stay away from but it's a good thing that we have a Savior who gave us the perfect example and is always there with us to help us with this. So since you were freed from death and sin because of the blood that was shed on the cross, live free and start enjoying this wonderful gift we get to have, an everlasting relationship with Jesus!
My prayer for us is that we are freed from any unecessary pressure that we place on ourselves. I pray for strength and faith to let God be God.

Lasting Impression.

⁴Therefore, among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. 2 Thessalonians 1:4
How are you known? This verse if part of Paul's second letter to the church of Thessalonica and Paul is encouraging them, telling them that they boast about them to all of God's churches because of their faith and perseverance. Is this how you are known? When people talk about you do they have good things to say about you? I was listening to Pastor J Vernon Mcgee this morning and he made a statement that triggered this entry. He said " How long will you be remembered? Will you be remembered 10 years from now, 20, 50, 100 years from now?" He wasn't saying this in reference to personal achievements. He was talking about things people have done for the Lord. There are many men and women who are still relevant today that haven't been around for hundreds and even thousands of years.(Bible people, find out who they are:-) I believe that there are people right now making an impact for the Kingdom who will be remembered way after they are long gone. Perfect example of this is the man I listened to this morning. I've been listening to him on 107.9fm for a couple years now and his messages and ministry is amazing. The funny thing is he's been dead for 22years now. His radio show is still thriving and touching the hearts of God's people and the man is with the Lord. How do you stack up? I know that seems like an unfair question but it's a question that should always be asked of ourselves. To answer that question, me personally, I'm no where near that level. But I hope and pray and I've given my life to the Lord and asked him to use me in any way shape or form. I know that I have been called to represent Jesus (you have too) so I'm doing whatever I can to see that through.
God calls people to have gnarly ministries and generational changing ministries, and to be honest I don't think that there are many of us who are called to do that. Don't let that effect you, just know that you represent Jesus and that you should do your very best to make an impression on people that will reflect the Lord. If you are remembered only for being the happy person at work, the person that people can always come to for help, a great friend, a mentor, whatever the Lord has asked from you do all that you can to leave that lasting impression to those people for the Lord. I want to close with this, make sure that whatever it is you do that you do it for the Lord. If you do it to lift yourself up you wont go that high. But if you do it for the Lord, you will be lifted to a place that you could never have imagined, who knows you might be remembered for ages to come.
So my prayer for us today is that say yes to the Lord, no matter what he asks of us. I pray that God would give us his love and heart for his people. I pray that we would be opened to be a vessel to allow God to work through and that people would see Christ in us and that his impression would be made in his people through us. I pray for the strenght and faith for us to let God be God.

Reminders...

So my pastor was in Joshua chapter 3 & 4 last night in his sermon. He was talking about how the children of Israel were about to cross the Jordan river to enter the promise land. When they crossed over the Jordan they set up twelve stones as a memorial to remind them what miracle God did. Why would these people need to be reminded of something so gnaly like that? For crying out loud God stopped a raging river so they could cross it. As I was sitting there thinking about why they would need to have a reminder for something that to me seems unforgetable, I was thinking that these people must have not been so smart. How could they forget the awesome power of God? That's when I was instantly convicted. Who am I to think that way, I am that way. As I go through this tough season in my life sometimes I think to myself "where are you God", "are you going to help out", how am I any different from these people? If I just took the time to look pass myself and remember the multiple times God has come through, brought healing and deliverance, and all the times he answered my prayers then I would realize not only is God there, he's already at work in my life.
I want to share an example of how I was reminded of how great God is. So last night my cousin Shayne sang a song at church, which by the way she rocked it :-) I was reminded of how God heard our prayers and came through. You might be thinking what's so great about that, well let me tell you. A few months ago my cousin Shayne had to get a shunt replaced in her spine. This has happend before but this time there were many complications that came with it. She actually had a piece of the shunt break off and lodged in her spine. If they didn't find it she would have faced things like not being able to have movement in some of her limbs and other things that could alter her way of living. So our family was just waiting to see what was going to happen. Not knowing what she would face really took a toll on our family. When I went to see her in the hospital she wasn't the Shayne I always expect. If you know her she's the loud, funny, shinning person that everyone has grown to love, but when I saw her she was in bad shape. She ended up having two surgeries and a lot of pain. She was very limited to normal everyday activities. Pretty much she was in bad shape and it was a long painful process. During this whole time my family and church covered her in prayer and we were going to pray her back to health no matter how long it took. As she was singing the picture of her lying in pain on that hosiptal bed popped into my mind and watching her on stage sing her heart out almost made me cry. Her being healed reminded me of how much God cares and loves us. There are so many more stories I could share that shows God's goodness.
Are you in a place that seems hopeless, that there is no light at the end of the tunnel? Take some time and meditate on how good God is. Think back to those times when God came through. We are just like the Israelites, we need to be reminded of things like that all the time. The greatest thing is we have a God who continues to rescue us, deliver us, and take care of everything we need even though we forget what he does. He loves us that much.
So my prayer for us today is that we are comforted by God in our lives. I pray that when times get tough that we would never forget how good and great our God is. I pray we would take the time to remember how God has come through in our lives, and that we have the faith to keep on trusting him in all our struggles and hardships. I pray for the strength and faith for us to let God be God.

Live Holy.

 ³It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴that each of you should learn to control his own body^[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; ⁶and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. ⁷For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 4: 3-8.
Wow, what a loaded chunk of scripture. This was something that Paul needed to address to the church of Thessalonica because these were things that they needed instruction and reminding of. Even though Paul wrote this to them and not us, the truth and the point Paul was trying to make still applies to us today. Paul starts off by telling them that they should be sanctified (holy-set apart). This is something that God has called us to do. We need to be set apart for him which means for us that we need to be set apart from sin. I know that we could never be perfect but we need to try our very best to stay away from sin. Now I know he goes into sexual immorality and lust which are really big issues that would hold us down. The reason why he goes into that is because this was something that they were dealing with. Believe it or not this is something that the church still faces. There are so many people that are held down by sexual immorality. Even though this is a big issue this isn't the only issue that keeps us from "living a life worthy of the calling"(Ephesians 4:1) I believe that we only see these "big" issues like sexual immorality and if we aren't doing that then we feel that we are ok. This is a lie that satan would love us to believe. Whether it's drug, alcohol, sexual immorality, the way we act and talk, anything that would not allow us to be set apart from sin needs to be addressed and handled. Paul addresses these types of people as heathens, these are people who know of God but don't know God personally. Well I hate to be so blunt but we know God so there should be NO reason why we allow ourselves to continue to live like this! It's not easy, and I'm not writing to you like I'm perfect because I am not. I believe that living our lives set apart for  the Lord is what God is calling us to in this season of our lives. All around me people keep sharing their strories of their struggles and hardships and I feel in my spirit that God is callling us back to him. We've let things in our lives take the place of him but now he wants us all back to him, set apart from sin, and ready to partner with him in the advancing of his kingdom.
So my prayer for us today is that we first of all ask God for forgiveness and repent of our ways. Then I pray that we would ask God for his help is this matter of being set apart. I  pray for an out-pouring of his Holy Spirit because that's the only thing the will help us do this. I pray for deliverance from anything that would keep us from being set apart. I pray for a continuance of strength and faith for us to let God be God.

A good friend.

As I've been reading through 1 Thessalonians I've been just moved by Paul's love for these people. At the end of chapter 2 all the way into chapter 3 he just talks about loving them, and why he did things for them, and how he wishes he could be with them. Paul was a true friend to these people, all he wanted to do was strengthen their walks with the Lord, and just love them. This reminded me of how important a good friend is. I've been blessed with a hand full of men that I can honestly say are like a Paul to me. They are always there for me and are always available to me if I ever needed to talk. Because of these men I can say I feel like one of the Thessalonians. What I mean by that is Paul and his companions would help the Thessalonians with their faith, would encourage them, and look out for the well being of the people. That's what a good friend does. A good friend is there for you to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. A good friend is someone that strengthens your faith when it's down, lift you up when you're down, and to me the most important thing a good friend does is listen and pray for you.
So why am I saying this? I believe that everyone of us needs people like that in our lives. God didn't intend for us to do life alone. We know that we need him, and only him but he also wanted us to share life with eachother. We as believers need, I repeat NEED strong believers in our lives to help us out with our hardships. If you don't have a strong, Jesus loving person in our life you NEED to get one. Trust me you need that person in your life to walk along side you in your times of need. I would be an emotional wreck if I didn't have these people in my life. I really believe that if you feel that your stuck or just can't get over the hump then get yourself a strong man if your a man and women if your a women. Don't do life alone.
So my prayer for us today is first if we don't have that person in our life I pray that God would bring them into your life. Second I pray that if you do have that person but don't really use them I pray that you would. I pray that we would realize the importance of strong believers in our lives. I pray that we would have the faith and strength to let God be God.

Fabulous Friday.

Anybody want a worry free day? I sure as heck do. I was talking to my friend two days ago and I had what I like to call a "MAN" venting session. During that time as I was just expressing what was going on in my life and how I've been doing, he said something that I need to be reminded of. He said the older he get's the more he realizes that he has no control over things and that he really sees that God is in control of everything. The funny thing is we as believers say that but when push comes to shove we tend to try and take control of our situations and struggles. So let's make today a worry free day. Here's something to meditate on:
 ²⁵"Therefore 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? ²⁶Look 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? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[b]?
 ²⁸"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If 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? ³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)
We see that our God knows what we need and he's the only one that could provide for ALL OUR NEEDS!!! So my prayer for us today is that God renews our minds and hearts so that wouldn't worry about anything. I pray that we would have the strength today to believe that God really does care for us and that he knows exactly what we need. I also pray that we have the strength and faith to let God be God.

Who do you look like?

As I was doing a devotion last night there was a part of the devotional that talked about an unusual characteristic. This isn't something that we usually think of, but I believe this is something that we need to all be reminded of. This unusual characteristic is walking and being looked at as Christ did. So many times we act one way around the our friends at church and then as soon as we are at work or with our non-Christian friend we act a totally different way. I'm guilty of this sometimes, I think I do a pretty good job of this because people at work know me as the "Christian guy". I'm not saying this to toot my own horn, but sometimes being the "Christian guy" isn't always fun. I get made fun of, jokes always come my way and other things happen to. Sometimes I catch myself acting just like everyone else, what I mean by that I joining in the joking and talk like "one of the boys". The problem with that is I'm not "one of the boys", I'm a child of the living God, an Ambassador for him. So are you. If you think it's ok to just be like everyone else then how can you be living righteous for God? To be righteous we must be set apart for God.  This is how Dr. Thomas Blackaby puts it; How can God's people offer anything to non-believers when they see no difference of any kind except, perhaps, attending a church once a week? First John 2:6 reminds us that whoever claims to be in Christ needs to "walk just as He walked," and we know Christ lived an extraordinary life among ordinary people.
I believe that we too should walk as Jesus does. I'm not saying that we should be super fanatical by condeming people to hell, but I do believe we need to be different. I know people make fun of me, don't invite me to parties because they know I'm a Christian. Sometimes it hurts and isn't fun but one thing I do know is that it's totally worth it. I look at it as picking up my cross daily. Remember when we are different we have to make sure that it's always out of love and that we are doing this because we want to be like Jesus.
So my prayer for us is that we act like Jesus. That he would give us the strength to walk as he did. I pray that we wouldn't get discouraged in times of persecution and that we would have boldness to live a life different then the world would tell us to. I pray for strenght and faith to let God be God.

You need help...

Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (John 5:19) This is what Jesus told Jews after he healed a man on the Sabbath. I'm not going to talk about the miracle that Jesus did, I want to focus on what Jesus said to them. He told them "THE SON CAN DO NOTHING BY HIMSELF". What about you? Have you acknowleged that you can't do things by yourself? Are you trying to take on all your struggles by yourself? I know I struggle with this sometimes. My personality is to not show weakness and just take on things by myself. I know that's probably because I've always thought that if I want or needed soemthing then I need to make it happen. That's easy to believe because the world totally promotes that. I'm not saying that having that type of mindset is always bad but we need to make sure we are careful when thinking like that.
Last night my pastor was talked a little bit on prayer. He asked us if we are asking God for help. Not right after things go bad but always. I truly believe that we as believers need to always do this. I've struggled throughout my walk with the Lord to always ask him for help. I was really good at asking him for help when things got bad or I needed something but usually when I felt like things were great I pretty much put God on the back burner. But God isn't something or someone that should ever be placed there. By doing that I was pretty much telling God that I don't need you right now, I'll hit you up when I need you. What an idiot! Do you realize that you need God every single moment of your life? If you think you don't then why would Jesus? Jesus was God in human form but he still made sure to ask God for help. Matt 26:39, Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42 show that Jesus asked God for help. There are so many times that Jesus would go away just to talk with the Father. So if Jesus does this, what makes you think we don't need to? If you are struggling with this season of life ask yourself this question, "Am I doing this alone, or am I letting Jesus walk me through this?"
So my prayer for us today is that we acknowledge that we can do nothing without Jesus. I pray that our minds would be changed if we struggle with this. I pray that we would trust God to help us with our current struggles/problems we are facing. I pray for strength and faith for us to let God be God.

Genuine love

So today's entry is something that I'm not that good at. I was reading 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and I read a commentary afterwards. In the commentary they talked about how Paul guinely loved these people. Paul didn't just come to share a sermon with these people then leave. Paul did share the gospel with the Thessalonians but he also showed them the gospel, the love of Christ. At the end of chapter 2 Paul expresses his longing to be with these people again. When Paul was with them he didn't do this to trick them to believing what he had to tell them, he did this because he had the love of Christ in him and it overflowed on to them.
How are we doing when it comes to genuinely loving God's people? Do we invest the time and effort that God asks of us? Remember the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor.(Mark 12:31) I'm not here to make you feel bad if you're not doing this, remember I told you that I'm bad at this. I just feel like the Lord is asking us to make sure we are genuinely loving on his people. When pastor Joe says things like "doing life with eachother" we use to joke about that. But he has that right. Just as Paul did, we need to make sure that we aren't just hanging out with people just to preach a sermon of Jesus's love but we show them the love of Christ. Paul did whatever it took to show the people that he truley cared for them. It wasn't like this idea just came to him, he had the best example of this kind of love... Jesus! Here's a few scriptures to remind you of how Paul modeled his love for people after:

1. John 10:11
   "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
2. John 15:13
   Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 
3. 1 John 3:16
   This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

So my prayer for us is that we would love people the way Jesus does. I pray that he would give us the capacity to love as he did and the desire to love as he did. I pray that we would take our eyes off ourselves and start putting them on the people that God has placed in our lives. I pray that God would give us the strength and faith to let God be God.

As you are...

Last night our pastor's message was about the redemption story of Rahab. For those who don't know about Rahab you should read all about her in Joshua 2. To sum up her story she was a prostitute that took in some spies and she hid them from the people that wanted to kill them. She was blessed because she saved their lives and because of that her and her family were saved when Israel took over the land. I know that doesn't seem so exciting but you should read it for yourself :-) There were a lot of great points my pastor made but the one thing that really stood out and I feel that this is something that we all need to hear is he said that God used Rahab just as she was. Remember she was a prostitute, she wasn't what we would classify as a person who should be used by God. Even thought that thinking is wrong we still tend to think that only "good Christian" people should be used by God. What is so remarkable about this is that God used her just as she was. She wasn't a preacher, she was a missionary, she wasn't a leader in the church yet God used her.
I know that many times we think that God can't use us because we aren't perfect humans. The thought of being used by God if we are not completely changed is something that hold us back. But if God could use a prostitute why can't he use you? I'm not saying that we should just contiune to live our lives the way we want because we know that God could use us as we are, we still need to strive to live righteous and obey the way God has asked us to live.
So my prayer for us today is that we wont let our pasts or our current situations hold us back from what God wants to do with us. I pray that we would repent of our ways that would keep us from being used by God and that we ask him for strength to help us keep moving foward with what the Lord has for us. I pray for strenght and faith to let God be God.

Refined

Do you ever wonder why things happen the way they do? One thing that really bugs me is when people say that things happen for a reason. I understand that thinking but to just say that things just happen because they do is wrong. With that kind of thinking, God is totally left out of the equation. If our God is sovereign over everything then that's means he has control of everthing, so things can't just happen because they want to. Things can only happen if God allows them to. I truly believe that God allows things to happen for many different reasons. I believe he allows thing to happen either because there's a purpose behind it or for a reason that he hasn't revealed to us yet.
In this season of my life, I've been thinking a lot about why am I going through the things that I am? I know that I'm not going through these things just because, I know that God has a plan and a purpose but to be honest with you I'm not sure why still. Maybe some of you might be feeling the same way? Yestarday I was having a day filled with a lot of why questions. As I was going through my day I believe that the Lord shared something to me which I also believe that it needs to be shared with anyone who is having a lot of why questions and doubts about why things might be so hard or difficult in this season of their lives. The word refine was what God spoke to me. It wasn't like a had a gnarly vision or hands layed on me and it wasn't a super spiritual experience, it was jsut God soft spoken voice which gave me a word. So I wasn't quite sure what to do with that so I prayed and did some reasearch. Dictionary.com defines the word refine as: to bring to a fine or pure state; free from impurities. This is exactly what I believe the Lord is doing to me during this season of my life. When I hear the word refine I think about how you refine silver or gold, to get all the impurities out it needs to be put through fire. I believe that's why we are experiencing this rough season in our lives. I believe with all my heart that God is putting us through the fire so that we can be refined. This is how God does things, don't believe me go to biblegateway.com type in the word refine and read all the different accounts of this.
I don't know why God does this, and a can't even say this is why you might be going through this because I'm not God. But like I said before I really believe that this is what God is doing in this rough season. So my prayer for us today is that we take the time to ask God to reveal to us why we are facing such tough times. I pray that he gives us the strength to trust and keeping moving foward no matter what answer he gives us. I pray that we have the strength and faith to just let God be God.

Fabulous Friday

Ok so this might seem wierd, I just hope it comes out the way it's going on in my head. So I've been listening to this song called Believe in Me sung by Christine Smit. This is the theme song for the Courage House which deals with sex trafficking. This song has been really speaking to me and I really believe that the Lord is speaking to me through the lyrics of the song. Like I said before this song is dealing with a sex trafficking victim  but the words are so powerful I've really been encouraged by them. I'm just giving you the background just incase you youtube it and wonder what I was thinking. I'm going to share the part of the song that has been penetrating my heart and I believe that it will do the same for you. I'm also going to break it down how I have been doing in my head, hope it goes well.

God:       Believe in me, Believe in Me
                I'll help you see what you cannot see
                Believe in me... I have come to set your captive heart free

Prayer:    Deliver us from darkness, rescue and redeem
                Give courage and purpose, to live for you our King
                Break the chains that bind us, let our spirits sing

Promise: You are free and redeemed, sons/daughters of the

I truly believe that these lyrics are something that we need to hear and remember. I know this song was written for a purpose but I believe that these things are universal truths. The song isn't broken down like that but that's how I see it in my head. Believing in God is the only thing we could do that will bring us peace, comfort and victory in our current struggles/situations. We always need to know that we are free and redeemed of our past, and because of that we can look foward to a life full of joy and peace in the Lord. I really recommend that you listen to the song because the way that she sings the song is super awesome and powerful. I know when I listen to it I just think that she's singing about me and it's really comforting. (I changes the words to us and ours instead of her/she) You can find the song at couragetobeyou.org
So my prayer for us today is that the Lord would speak to us through this. I'm not trying to pump up this song or person but I truly feel in my heart that God will speak to you if you just closed our eyes and listened to it. I pray that God would comfort us and meet us exactly where we need to be met. I pray that he continues to give us the strenght and faith to let us let Him be God.
Quick side note: If you can please let me know how this goes for you. I don't usually do this but I really feel that God wants to speak to you and I would love to hear back from you on this. My email is gabetovar_25@yahoo.com or if you have my cell text me. (Only if you feel comfortable)

You are...

So lately I've been praying a lot for me not to be me. What I mean by that is I know what my flesh wants and I know how I use to be. When I think like I use to and want to take control of everything like my flesh is telling me to do I usually get mad at myself and to be honest I get a little frustrated with God. I get mad at myself because I know that I shouldn't act or think like that. When I get mad at God it's usually because I ask him to change me completely and not let me be the way I use to be but I don't feel any different. The funny thing about that is God has made me new, God has changed me from what I once was. I was just reading in Ephesians 5:8 and Paul was writing to the church in Ephesus and was telling them that they were once darkness, but now they are light in the Lord. Did you catch the language Paul uses in this verse? I know in the bible it talks about us being in the dark and now we are in the light but that's not what he says here. He tells them that they were darkness but now are light. So why am I telling you this, why is this important? What the Lord has spoken to me is that if we think that we are either in light or darkness we lose how big this is to us. When I think of the idea of being in something or out of something I think well we can just go back right into or out of that thing. But if we were and are in darkness or light, then these are life transforming things. If we live thinking we are either in or out of darkness or light then I believe we will never have a sense of peace because we will be constanly wondering where we are. If we know that we once were darkness but now we are light then I believe we can start living in the Peace of the Lord.
This truth of knowing that we aren't what we use to be and that we are made new is freeing. If you are struggling with old ways of thinking or acting then stop buying into those lies. The enemy would love for you to think that you're still the person of your past. Well I'm here to remind you what God has promised you, YOU ARE A NEW CREATION... (2 COR 5:17) But we need to remember just as it said in Ephesians that we are light in the Lord, the very next things he writes is that we need to live as children of light. That means that our lives need to reflect our faith. My pastor said something on Sunday that this falls into. He said that God's promises come with conditions and directions. The promise here is that we are light now, but now that we know that we need to make sure we keep our end of the deal up.
So my prayer for us today is that we realize that we are new, we are children of light. I pray that with this revelation we start taking the proper steps and actions towards living our lives as children of light. I pray that God would break those chains of our pasts that have no place in our lives. I also pray that God would give us the strength and faith to always know that we don't have to live in our pasts and that we would no longer let our pasts get in the way of our glorious futures in Christ Jesus.

Strong and Courageous

I've been listening to this song called Strong and Courageous and that theme has been going through my head all morning. I know I've been listening to that song but I believe that's something that God is reminding me of. The song starts off by saying "Do not be discouraged, he will never leave you, never forsake you. Be strong and courageous in him". Besides this being a gnarly verse of the song these are also things we can hold onto because they are things that God has promised us in his word. ( Deut 1:31:6, Josh 1:5,9 ,1 Chron 22:13 28:20) We see in the Bible that God is always there for his people, and I believe that we need to be reminded of this not just for today but for everyday of our lives. We are his people, his sons and daughters, and those promises are for us too. But we have to remember just because God promised us these things doesn't mean that we have this sense of entitlement and expect these things to happen for us. To be strong and courageous takes effort on our part.
So I don't know where you are, what your going through or what might be heading your way. But I do know that the God we serve will always be there for us and will never leave us if we stand strong and courageous in him. There's a part in this song that says "he will fight the battles" and I believe that if we know that our God is there to not just stand by our sides to help fight, but he's there to actually fight the battles for us will help us to stand strong and courageous in him. So if your down and beat up and feel like you can't make it just know that you have the ALL POWERFUL GOD fighting your battles for you.
So my prayer for us today is that we stand strong and courageous in our situations/battles we are going through. I pray for a renewing of strength and hope for us today. I pray that we would hold on to the Lord and his promises and allow God to be God.

Patience.

I don't know where you are in your life right now but one thing I have been struggling with and that I know the Lord is working on me is patience. I'm the type of person that when I see something that I want I go after it until it's mine. That's a good characteristic to have but it's also something that gets me in trouble. Let me explain. When it comes to trusting the Lord I totally rely on him until I feel like it's in the bag. Whenever God comes through for me I pretty much tell God thanks and tell him I'll take it from here. Isn't that so stupid? How can I put all my trust in him and then as soon as I get what I think I was waiting for I stop going to him? I really believe that's why God doesn't always answer everything we pray for. Another thing that happens to me is when I pray and just keep believing that God is in control and things are staying the same way I tend to get impatient. I start thinking why hasn't anything changed, or I wonder if maybe I'm asking the wrong way. I'm not always like this but lately I'll admit that I have been getting a little inpatient with God. So as I was just thinking today and kind of being impatient I feel that the Lord spoke to me in two ways today.
The first was I was trying to listen to Dr. David Hocking but the station kept slipping in and out but I heard him say one thing. He said that if my life doesn't reflect what I believe, then what I have to say about what I believe isn't important. I know that when I'm impatient with God my mood changes and I really don't feel like being around people. Sometimes I even get sad because what I'm impatient about makes me feel sad because I want God to hurry up and fix what I want fixed. If this is how I'm acting, how am I reflecting what I believe? How can I tell people to have faith, trust in God, and have joy if I can't? That's why I need to let my life reflect what I believe.
The second way I feel that God spoke to me today was when I was just venting to him and a verse popped into my head. The verse was Psalm 46:10 which says Be still, and know that I am God... (you should read the whole Psalm) I'm not trying to reinterpret this scripture, but the way I recieved it was like I need to just shut up and stop complaining and know that God is working things out. I need to let God just be God (where have I heard that before) and stop trying to make things happen.
Now I know that we are humans and we like to take control. Patience is a discipline, a discipline that I ask God for everyday. That's my prayer for for us today. I pray that we would have the discipline to be patient. I pray that God would help us change our minds from I want it now to I want what you want Lord. I pray that we would have the strength and faith to be ok with what God is doing and however long he decides to take. Remember he is the God of the universe so I think it's safe to say that he knows what best for us :-)

Cowardly or Brave?

First of all sorry for missing Sunday's entry. Today's entry is something that my pastor's message spoke to me and I feel like I should share it with you. His message was titled The Path Ahead and the focus of his series is The Abundant Life Journey. So he broke down the Path Ahead of us and how there's only two ways to take, The Cowardly Way and The Way of the Brave. I want to share the three things for each way that makes them what they are.
The Cowardly Way:
     Cowards get angry at God and quit.
     Cowards take the easy way out.
     Cowards always think they know best.
The Way of the Brave:
     Faith takes scripture seriously.
     Faith obeys even when it's scary.
     Faith trusts God more than self.
So after looking at these two lists, which way are you going? The cowardly way is the easy way out. This is the way that the enemy would love us to go. The enemy would love us to stop relying on God and start taking control of our lives. He would love for us to buy into that lie that God isn't there because he's not working the way you want and would love for you to turn our backs on God and pursue the things of this world. The way of the Brave is the more challenging way. I'll warn you ahead of time, it's not that easy but it's totally worth it. Pretty much the way I look at this way is that this is the way that is asking of us for nothing but faith. This way requires that we believe in God's word, follow him even when things look bad, and to deny our flesh and let him take care of everything. Can I be honest with you? There's been so many times in these past two months that I've wanted to and almost took the cowardly way. I want to warn you that the coward way looks great and it's seems so much easier but that way leads to more pain, hurt, heart ache, no peace or comfort. The way I chose to go down has been the way of the brave. I thank God for giving me the discernment to choose this way. Even though I said it wasn't easy and it's tough I'll tell you first hand that it's the best way to go. Durning these troubling times God has just been blowing/blasting my mind! Even though I know that he's still working on me, I know that he's got everything under control and that he's taking care of me.
So what way are you going to chose? I think you know what way you should chose :) But if you have chosen to take the way of the coward I want to let you know that you don't have to stay on that way. You serve a God who paid the ultimate price so that you can be free from that. Actually the only way out of the way of the coward is obedience.(Pastor Rick) So my prayer for us is that we chose to live the way of the brave. I pray that God would give us the discernment to chose the brave way and give us the strength and faith to walk the brave way.
 Here's something to always remember:
¹³No 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. 1 Corinthians 10:13

Now that's power!

¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²²And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:18-23)
I just want to remind everyone that our God is powerful. We see here that our God demonstrated a power that the world had never seen and won't ever see again. Our God raised Jesus from the dead, to put it in better terms HE CONQUERED DEATH!!! It wasn't like if your heart stopped and it was shocked back into rythm, this is Mighty Strength(verse 19). Christ was dead for three days and then God brought him back because he has the power over death.
So you might be wondering why I'm telling you something that you already know it's because we might be going through some difficult things right now and we might be consumed with hurt and other emotions that we forget that our God is sooooooooo powerful. If he can conquer death, then I guarantee that he can take on whatever your going through. I'm not trying to down play our current struggles but we need to stop and remember just exactly who is control and how powerful he is.
So my prayer for us today is that we do recognize how great and powerful our God is. I pray that we would be conforted by knowing that we serve a God who's power is so great and mighty that we do not have the words to describe it. I pray that we would have the strength and confidence to give God all our problems, stresses, and concerns and let him be God!

Fabulous Friday

So we made it, another week down and we're still here. Today I want to share how I made it through my week. I will sum it up in two things, first I trusted God with everything. I gave him all my concerns, big and small, and I've let him be God. Second and what I really want to share with you today is I prayed a lot. On Tuesday I heard a word given by David Hocking and he talked about prayer. How that we need to and should always be praying. He said that when we pray we are closes to God then we will be until we are with him for eternity. He said it's because we are in the presense of God and we are having a conversation with him. We are giving and asking the living God to help us through this crazy thing we call life. The one thing he talked about was the idea of contemplative prayer. He believes, and so do I that prayer is something we should do that requires us to talk and speak to God. I believe that prayer and waiting on the Lord, sitting in silence to hear from God is different from prayer. I'm not here to bash the idea of contemplative prayer, I just feel that we need to get back on our knees and talk with Jesus.
I'll close with this, we need to realize that God knows everything we've been through and can handle anything we throw at him. Also he wants us to give him everything because he loves us that much: Hebrews 4: 14-16
¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,^[e] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
So my prayer for us today is that we get on our knees and pray, not just today but everyday we are blessed to wake up. I pray that we see the importance and how huge of a privilege prayer is. I pray that we wouldn't be afraid to talk with Jesus and that we would let him do all the hard work.

Just be you.

Have you ever felt like your not going anywhere, feel like your not being used? Have you ever felt like God isn't using you because you see people around you doing things that you wish you could be doing? Things like affecting peoples lives, having a successful minisrty, anything like that. I know I've personally delt with this issue, I've wanted to be an amazing speaker/pastor like some of the great ones I've heard. I've wanted a ministry like the big guys, like Joel Olstean, David Hocking, Billy Grahm, people like that. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to want to have a heart and drive to have a ministry like them but what I'm here today to tell you is that you won't be like them. It's not because your not good enough or God can't use you in that way, it's simply because your you and not them. God has a specific plan and purpose for you. I wish I could tell you exactly what that is, I'm waiting for him to tell me too, but I don't know what God has instore for you. I also don't know when or how he is going to use you. I can tell you this though, if your willing to be used by God then he will use you. If you think your not good enough, just pick up your bible and read about the characters he chose to use. I know that we are human and we are impatient, we just want to know when, where, and how God is going to use us but we need to remember that it's in his timing and he decides those things, not you. We just need to put all our trust in him and like I've said before and I'll say it again; WE JUST NEED TO LET GOD BE GOD! So stop wanting another person's life or ministry. Be happy and excited to see what God has instore for you. Just be you and no one else.
So my prayer for us today is that we stop living our lives like others. I pray that we would realize that God has us just where we need to be and that he is in control. If you want your ministry or life to mimic someone's you should mimic Jesus. I pray for an increase of faith and strength and an out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on us all.

Tap into the Spirit.

So last night at our college group we had an awesome time of prayer and response. The main focus of last nights prayer and response time was recieving the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I know when the topic of the Holy Spirit is brought up people tend to shy away from this topic. Usually because so many people associate the Holy Spirit with the gift of tounges and what they might call weird spiritual stuff. Tounges is a gift from the Spirit that I believe in and I believe that we should all tap into that but I don't want us to think that's all the Holy Spirit does. I feel that when we do that we limit the role of the Spirit and miss out on so much. After talking with a lot of people I've just been sensing that this is a season of many trials and hardships. So many people are dealing with so many difficult things in their lives right now and I feel that we are losing this fight. I've personally have been beaten down and seen a lot of people around me being beaten down as well. Why is this? I know this might seem pretty harsh to say but I feel that we are giving the enemy too much credit in this. I know our first response is usually that the enemy is attacking us and that his attacks are just too powerful. This is a load of crap! Excuse me language but it's the truth. I'm not saying that the enemy doesn't attack us or know what our weakness are, but I want to say something that we need to hold onto; THE ENEMY HAS NO POWER OVER YOU!!! We need to realize that the enemy can't touch us, remember Job? We like to say that satan attacked him, which he did but remember who gave him permission to. Satan could only do what God allowed him to.
So what now? Now that we have been reminded that satan has no power over us, what do we do now? We tap into the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift that God gave to us.(Acts 2:38) The Spirit has also been described as the counselor (John 14:26) and as a sourse of power (Acts 1:8). Do you understand that we have everything we need to get us through not only this rough season in our lives, but also our entire life. We have a God who loves us so much that he would take care of everything we need and we have been given the Spirit of the Living God to give us strength, guidance, and help to have victory over our trials and hardships.
So my prayer for us today is that we tap into all the gifts of the Spirit. I pray that we would have more strength and faith to allow God to work out all the fine details of our current situations. I pray for a filling of the Holy spirit on us all.

Maybe it's for someone else's benefit?

So I was listening to David Hocking on the radio and he said something that really pierced my heart. He was in Ephesians chapter 3, he was reading verses 1-13. In verse 13 Paul tells them not to be discouraged because of his sufferings because they were for them. Paul was telling the Ephesians that all the stuff he went through, and it was a lot of gnarly things, that it was for them which made it worth it to him. We all know that Paul's main reason was for the gospel but because he shared the gospel he got to endure these things and share the gospel with them. Then David said something that I feel the Lord sent an arrow right to my heart. He said that just as Paul endured hard times and trials which were a benefit to the Ephesians, so might the things I'm going through might be a benefit for others around me. The reason why this hits me so hard is because in my life I've been through a divorce with my parents, temptations, and even really tough heartbreak. I use to ask God why this would happen to me and instead of just telling me he would show me. There has been so many times I've been blessed with the opportunity to speak life into people that need help going through these tough situations. Everytime this happens the feeling that comes with it is indescribable, and God reminds me why he allowed me to go through these things. Because of these special times I've got to be apart of I always tell myself that if what I've been through helps just one person, then it's all worth it. During these past few months I've been dealing with some tough things. I've been asking the why questions a lot to God and I've really haven't been getting the answers I've been waiting for. But after hearing David's message I really feel that the Lord is using my struggles and situations to help others in the future,and just being reminded of that gave me a peace in my heart.
Now I'm not saying that everything we go through is something that is going to be used to help someone in the future. But what you can count on is that God could use anything to speak into or touch someones life. So if your in a rough season right now here's two ways to look at it that might help you deal with where you at. First is we should always know that nothing is impossible for God and that God is in control of EVERYTHING! Second if we view our current situations as something that God could use to help someone else out in the future should give you a sense of encouragement. How you might ask? Think of it like this, God wants to use you and your situation to help comfort and bless his people. He's allowing you to take part in his ministry. The God of this universe is letting you partner with him to help bring healing to his people.
So my prayer for us is that we could look at our situations as ways that God is using to help bring healing, comfort, and blessing to his people. I pray that God would continue to give us the strength to keep trusting in him and letting him do all the behind the sences work.

He's working it out.

So the message my pastor shared with us was God is in control. Now it was full of a lot of great points that were really helpful but I want to share what stood out to me the most. The portion of scripture he was in was Acts 10. As he read through verses 1-16 he made a point and said that God always works on both sides. In these scriptures we see that God gave a vision to Cornelius and he gave a vision to Peter aswell, but these weren't just two random visions at the same time they were two vision that happend at the same time to serve one purpose. We see here that God knew he had to speak to and prepare each one individually. Our pastor then went on to say that God always does that for us. That God is at work behind the scenes in our lives. He gave multiple examples of how God works like that. And he encouraged us that if we are in a difficult situation that God is working on all the behind the scenes things. He's doing this not because we deserve it but because he loves us and what I think is the most important thing is that he knows what's best for us. We just need to trust and know that God is working in our lives and he's dealing with and taking care of all the things we think he might be looking over. God hears our prayers and know exactly what we need we just need to be patient and have the faith to let him do what he does best.
I'm here to tell you that I struggle with this. My nature is to want to take control and make things happen. I see things in my life that I want to make happen and I don't understand why they can't or if they will ever happen but I have to let them go and believe what I've known all along. If your struggling in this area your not alone. I'm sure most of us are like this but the great thing is that we do have a God who is always there for us and is working things out for our benifit and his glory.
So my prayer for us today is that we put all our trust in God with all those things we are trying to make happen. I pray that we would find peace and security knowing that God is working everything out and is going before us to give us the desires of our hearts. I pray that we would have the strength to keep the faith during our struggles and uncertain times in our lives and let God be God and let him work everything out for us.

Something we should do.

In Daniel chapter 9 Daniel goes on behave of the people and submits his rerquest to the Lord. Today I feel that first we should read Daniel 9 and do what he did. I know that this is a super short entry but I feel that if we do this God will meet us where we need to be met. So let's take the time and lets expect something big from God.

Fabulous Friday

God is pretty awesome! This was something that my friend text me and isn't that so true? The word awesome really doesn't describe him, God's goodness is indiscribable. We serve a God who spoke all life into motion, and life cannot exist without him. I think my mind just got blasted!!! The bible is full of stories that show how awesome our God is. Just reading the first 6 chapters of Daniel there are two of the most recognizable acts of power, love, and faithfulness in the bible. First we have the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego being thrown into the fiery furnace and God delivering them. Then we have the story of Daniel and the lions den. These are two gnarly stories of how awesome God is. That's not it, there are tons of other stories of how awesome God is in the bible, if you don't know how awesome your God is you should do some research and find out :-).
I want this Friday to be fabulous, and how do we do this? We take a moment to realize just how awesome our God is. I mean the God of the bible, who saved the three amigos from the fire and shut the mouths of the lions is the same God that has your back. If he can do that, imagine what he can and will do for our situations. I'll leave you with this, there is nothing that God cannot do. There is nothing that our God cannot redeem. All we have to do is trust him with all our fears, concerns, hopes, and dreams and allow him to take care of the rest. You won't be disappointed.
So my prayer for us is that we first of all recognize how awesome our God is. Then I pray that we would tap into that power. I pray that we would have the strength and courage to trust how awesome God is and let him work in our lives.