Pride Vs. Humility

Today I was reading Proverbs 11. As always, I wanted to focus on what primarily caught my attention. It was verse 2 for this chapter. It says "When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
    but with humility comes wisdom." I feel like pride is one of the major sins. Pride is not justttt thinking of yourself as the better person. Pride is like that feeling you get when it is hard for you to say "im sorry" when you know that you were wrong. Well, the Bible says that pride = disgrace. Acting in humility results in wisdom. Not just any wisdom, but God given wisdom. I want to act in humility and not in pride. I want wisdom from the Lord and not disgrace. I want to be humble as much as I can. Pride does not take you anywhere good. 

John 15:5,8

It is nice to see how the Bible has analogies to compare us with Jesus. In these verses it says that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. If we remain in him, He remains in us. This is again encouraging is to live a life like Jesus's life. Like when children look like their father, we have to look/ behave like Jesus that is our father. We have to live a life of purity, a life that is pleasing to God. He is the one that gives us life in the first place, we should honor Him by living one that he agrees with. It is my desire to truly be in Christ, and to behave in a way that I can show myself to be a disciple of Him.  I want Christ to be in me too. 

Psalm 119: 9-16

I really loved reading this section because it is focused on how young people can stay in the paths of purity.  For a young person to be pure these days is not very usual. It is absurd how we keep wondering how to stay in purity when the Bible gives us the exact answer. These verses say that young people can stay pure by 1. Living according to the word. 2. Seeking the Lord with all our hearts 3.Not straying away from His commands. I want to be able to be different from others,keeping that purity. I want to read the word of God and be able to live what I read. I want to seek him with all my heart and not "just because I should." I want to treasure what He wants in my heart because I want to please him and follow his commands.

The power of His name.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 I've always heard of how powerful the name of Jesus is. This verse expresses that anything that we do should be done in His name. I believe that when we use His name in word or deed, we should use it with Faith. We could simply just use 

Jesus's name, but if we do not believe in the power that it has, then nothing will happen. We should give thanks to God for the name of Jesus and the power it has. I want to use Jesus's name the right way and with faith. I do not want to use it as any other normal word, it is of great power and I want to use it as an act of thankfulness to God. Everything that I do, I want to do my best because it is for the Lord, not for men. 

Romans 1:1-7

Romans 1:1-7 Is about the gift of Salvation that God has given us. Through grace we have this salvation. I really love this because Salvation is available for everyone who belongs to Christ. Jesus has given us salvation through his sacrifice, dying on the cross and rising up again. It is interesting how in this verse it mentions being obedient to faith. Trusting and receiving this salvation is our own choice. verse seven ends with "those who are loved by God and called to be his holy people". God gave us the "pass" of salvation through Jesus Christ. It is by grace and not by works that we get to heaven. Doing what honors and is pleasing to God as an act of thankfulness and love from us to Him. Without God we are nothing and have nothing. It is my goal to share this message with those that do not yet have Jesus in their lives and show them that no matter what sins they have committed. We are all sinners, but with Jesus we have salvation and are renewed in him. We are no longer slaves to sin. 

Living Life in Him...

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7 This verse really caught my attention because it mentioned how we actually have to live in the Lord when we receive Jesus. We cannot live however we want because if Jesus is our Lord, our king, we want to obey Him and do things that will honor Him. We cant go around thinking that what we do doesn't harm anyone.  If we are rooted and built up in him we live a great and stable life. We are to be thankful for all the blessings that God has given us, He blesses us because He loves us and by honoring Him, and living in him, we are being thankful for what he has done for us. Something that we do not deserve, but that he has given us because of love and mercy.

John 1:14

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." I really liked this verse because of the wording. 'The word became flesh' It is interesting how this can be related to how Jesus fulfilled many prophecies when he came to earth as a man. Also how it talks about the glory of God, we see Jesus performing miracles all the time and this is only by the glory of God. Jesus also has so much grace and truth. Jesus many times said how he was the voice of truth. I feel like I should not take for granted who Jesus is and what he has done for me. I want to work on always being thankful for who Jesus is and everything that he does for me and blesses me. 

Thanking God For Change...

I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge. Corinthians 1:4-5. This verse is very nice because it focuses on thanking God for His grace for "us" and for the change that can be received through Jesus. With God we have been 'enriched' with speech and knowledge. The speech and knowledge that can be obtained from God is full of wisdom. Thanking God for these things is something that we should all practice daily. Salvation and Change is available to us, this is something to be thankful for. We should live in that change that God has given us, this way we are light to the world. We can be that spark the starts a fire, we can impact lives with our change in Jesus. 

Thanking God through music...

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. Psalm 95:1-2 When I read this verse I loved how worshiping and thanking God can be in many ways. I enjoy music a lot! I spent two years of my life in music school learning how to play guitar. I saw it as a talent that God gave me, and I had to give him back with that talent on way or another. Thanking God has to be a constant habit for me, I have learned that I have to thank God even through the hard times. I do recognize though, that I have to put it more into practice. Sometimes when I feel very tired and anxious like I cant with everything going on, I find relief and peace by singing my heart out to God. That gives me joy and it is pleasing to God. Things like singing and playing an instrument are excellent ways to praise and thank God. I will try to get even better at these things this year. :) 

Make a Difference...

 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.Do not conform 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 (Romans 12:1-2). In my room I decided to write inspirational phrases on my wall. One of those phrases says "Be the change you wish to see in the world." I wrote this because Christians tend to only judge others for what they do wrong but do not examine themselves first. With this quote I am reminding myself that I have to be that change to then help others make the change. As I am transformed by the renewing of my mind, then I will follow God's will and change the world through God. Being the change we want to see in the world starts with worshiping God. The change starts from the inside out. In this verse it mentions how offering our bodies as a living sacrifice is an act of worship.

He will come near to you...

So, many times I've heard people saying that they do not go to church or pray any longer because they are sinner and that God must be angry with them for all they have done. The truth is that Church is for people that need help, bringing more non-christians to save them. To me a church is like a hospital, Healthy people that are doing great do not go to hospitals, Only the sick people that need special attention go to hospitals. The ones that are healthy are there to help those who need to get well. So the people that feel like sinners and are not clean in their hearts and thoughts, are the ones that need to pray and go to Church. God will only go to them if they seek him. When I sin and feel "filthy" I know that God is the only one that can clean me and care for me. That is only if I come to Him! Then He will come to me. Like it says in James 4:8. I want to make sure that I am not walking away from God in any way, to not get distracted with things that are not as important. God is not going anywhere, it is us that move away or closer to Him. 

People and the Word.

Today I found 1 Peter 1:24-25 super interesting. Yesterday I wrote about the word of God and how it is alive and active. Today this verse had to do with the word of God again. This verse compares people to the word of God. It says that "all people are like grass, and all their glory is like flowers of the field. The grass withers, and the flowers fall." but then it goes on to say "But the word of the Lord endures forever." I loved this analogy of the grass and the flowers. I see this verse as a reminder that we cannot just put our trust on what people say, but on the word of God. God knows us better than anyone and he has a purpose for us. As a teenager I trust my best friends a lot and friends come and go, but God and his word will always be there for me. When asking for advice it is good to ask people that you know are wise, but the word of the Lord endures forever. God was, is , and will always be the same, he is the best advisor to have and to count on. I want to recognize the word of God as alive, active, and long lasting. Again, I want to keep putting it to practice.

The word of God.

Today I want to focus on Hebrews 4:12. This verse is pretty strong and talks about the word of God. People usually see Christians using the Bible as a rule book and not more than that. The Bible though is not just a book like any other book. First of all it was inspired by God and everything in it is like a guide to be better here in the world and to be more like Christ. 

Hebrews 4:12 even says that the word of God is active and alive! It is not just writing in papers, it has life and we see it work around us everyday, it is active. Everything in it has an effect on our lives if we read it. It is edifying to our souls,and spirits. It judges the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. 

Since it is sharper than a double-edged sword it digs deep in us. If we just read it and do not put it into practice then we are not really doing anything. If we read it and put it in to practice then it serves a purpose in us and gives us life. I want to read the word of God and put it into practice. I want it to be alive and active in me, and to be my guide in life. 

It is more blessed...

Today I decided to focus on Acts 20:35. This verse talks about how it is better to help the weak and how Jesus said that it was better to give than to receive. He says that "...It is more blessed to give than to receive." My parents have always told me this too. If we give to the less fortunate then the Lord will give us back, but we do not have to be expecting things back from people. If we give, we have to give with the right heart and a correct attitude before God. If we are giving with the wrong mindset then we are not serving the purpose that God had for us. The more we give, the more we will receive. Even if we do not receive material things, or things here on earth, God is preparing things for us in heaven. If we have the chance to give because we are blessed we have to share with others if it is in our hearts. Giving might not just be necessarily material things or money, it may also be sharing our spiritual gifts with others. I want to get better at giving because I am usually pretty demanding hehe. I want to make giving part of my life, when I have a job I can help with material things. From now I can start already sharing what God puts in my heart.

Anxious and Tired?

My strength is not enough, I know that. For some reason I try to keep doing things my way and it is tiring and stressful. Philippians 4 makes many points of course, but i want to mention 2 points. One of the points being - Do not be anxious about anything and  -I can do all. These two points just like this seem impossible. Not being anxious when I'm in my senior year and having to deal with decisions and my future is so hard. I try to relax and not be anxious, but those things are always on my mind. The second point which is that I can do all is also complicated for me. I try to do things, but sometimes I get tired and do not actually finish them. Well, in Philippians we get the second part of those points which make them possible. For the first point, not being anxious, what will help not to be anxious is in verse 6, presenting all our worries, and every petition to God in thanksgiving. When you give your burdens to God, you feel like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. The second point in doing all, with our own strength as I was saying before is never enough. We cannot do everything on our own strength. The second part of this point is "through Him who gives me strength." We might not be able to do all, but God gives us strength and renews us. Through God we can do anything, all things. Nothing is impossible.

The Armor of God!

I've always read this part of the Bible that talks about the armor of God and thought it was the coolest thing! It says that to be prep(Ephesians 6: 10-20)ared against the devil's schemes of the evil of the world we have to put on the FULL armor . This does not say put on the parts that you like and forget the ones you do not like. Many of the times I've felt that they keep telling me about the armor of God, about having faith,praying, the truth, righteousness, peace, salvation, and the word of God and sometimes I've been getting bored of the same "to-do" list to be a "good follower of Christ". Now I understand that, that cannot be boring to me because it is what I need to live a life according to God's will. It is like when a soldier is at war and the commander tells him to go get his gun and prepare for defending. Of course the solider cant say "im bored of guns!" because there is no other way he can defend himself. That is how the armor of God should be with us. It is our weapon to attack the devil and his schemes. At the end of this section it talks about praying a lot! There is power in prayer, and with our armor and prayer we can conquer in the Lord.  

Parents...

So when it comes to parents I think of wisdom, love, respect, and happiness. My parents are the best, I would not change them for anything. I have been studying Ephesians 6:1

and it talks about obeying your parents in the Lord and honoring them. Before I used to read this verse not really thinking about the difference between honor and just obeying. But now that I do think about it, it is not the same at all. Honoring is more what we do of our own desire to please our parents and serving them. We can obey with the worst attitude and of course that does not honor our parents. I always think about an example, if a little kid is jumping up and down and his parents tell him to sit, he might be really angry and may sit down with the worst attitude. He did obey his parents by sitting down, but he is not honoring them because even if he is seated down, in his mind he is still standing up and jumping around. We have to obey in the Lord, not in a bad attitude and do it because it is right. And we have to honor them because we will do well in life and live longer. :) You are never too old to obey and honor your parents. They have been taking care of you since you were a baby, you should now give them back to be thankful and to honor God as well. :)

Isaiah 55: 8-9

Today I read Isaiah 55. In this entry i mainly want to focus on verses 8-9. These verses say

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

This is something I have always struggles with, I always think I have things figured out and that I know how to deal with everything. The truth is, the way I think is limited in comparison to God's way of thinking. God is the same since the beginning, now, and forever. He knows the big picture and how things will result in the end. I do not know how things will affect me in the long run as well as he does. This is why I should just think for myself, but pray and ask him to do his will in me. His thoughts are higher than my thoughts and are not my thoughts. He knows better. If I think something is good for me, God know something a billion times better than that. His ways are higher than my ways. He created me for a purpose and is preparing me for big things. I should not just rely on my ways, but let God guide me through his ways. I can let God guide me through his ways and understand his thoughts by seeking him. The more I seek him, the more I find him and come closer to him. This way, I can understand his plan for me and walk accordingly to what he wants for my life. In his thoughts and his ways, not mine.

Wisdom From Above...

I thought that most of the verses about wisdom were in proverbs, but today i was reading James 3:17-18 and found something about wisdom. The verse says "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." Wisdom is sooo much more than simply doing what is right. Wisdom that comes from above (from God) is first pure! From the beginning that wisdom is perfect and true. If we think we are wise we cannot go around telling people that everything they do is wrong because we know better. This verse says that this wisdom is open to reason and peaceable, it is full of mercy. If we have wisdom from above we should help others instead, but only when we know that we dont need help ourselves. Sometimes I find myself trying to correct mistakes in others's lives without fixing my own first. My goal is to ask for this sincere and impartial wisdom from above for my life and to bless others as well.

No fear! God is Here! :)

Psalm 27:1 says  

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

Recently I have been stressed out about doing well in school because of college and also trying to do my best serving at church. I get so caught up in the things I wanna do that sometimes I forget to pause and take time for God. I do not need to be afraid of what is coming in the future. The Lord is the stronghold of my life. He has absolutely everything in control. I should not fear the future, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Even if I feel like I am in complete darkness, God is the light that will guide me out of it. So I have to pause, take time for God and He will help me get through my problems and anxiety. With God Everything is possible, there is no space for stress if God is in control :) You just gotta trust.

Preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison...

Today I read this verse "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 

I found this verse to be really encouraging to me. Sometimes we lose focus on what is important and are just stuck with what we see. Many times we do not look deeper. We might spend our time working too much, or doing too much. Maybe working more than having quality with the family. Those "things" that we focus on might not be as important. We have focus on what God is doing inside of us and now in what we do or how we look on the outside. What God does in me lasts forever, what I do will eventually fade away. I have to keep that in mind. We might get tired or doing things over and over again, but God is just shaping us and preparing us for the best. We cannot lose heart!!  This verse clearly says so ..it is just "momentary"..We do not have to worry. Just let God work in us in the unseen.

The Words of the Wise, The Lips of the Foolish...

Ecclesiastes 10: 12-14

 These verses talk about words. The Bible many times mentions how the tongue is dangerous. This verse explains how words of a wise man will gain him favor, but how those who are not wise only speak words of foolishness. As followers of Christ we should be wise with our words. We should speak only things that speak life and that point the world back to God. We either help others with our words and serve as examples or we break people down. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit we can speak from God and not just our own words when others ask for advice or when we have to share things with others. As a senior I know that people are listening to what I say, I want to speak only things that are right. I do not want to speak lies, or bad words that will harm others or change people's perspective on christians. We might not think that what we say had huge consequences, but they do. I want to listen faster than I speak. As a girl it may be hard, but it is possible. hehe:)

Always Pray...

Today I read 1 Timothy 2 :) the verse that caught my attention this time was verse 8! It is saying that we've gotta pray always. Prayer though is sometimes monotonous! Sometimes when I hear someone praying I feel like they use too many words and even make it sound awkward. I see prayer as a  conversation with God, i tell him about my day and ask for things. That is one mistake tend to fall into always, just asking for this...asking for that. Prayer has an order though, I took the time and read the Lord's prayer. It starts out by honoring God and recognizing how great  He is. It does not start our asking for things. Then it goes on to ask the Lord to have His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It does not go on telling God to do "blabla" for selfish reasons, but to let God do His will. Then he Thanks God and asks for Forgiveness! Then asks God to protect him/ guard him from temptation. So, Jesus teaches us how to pray, and I feel like I should follow that way of praying and stop just demanding things from God because everything I have is a GIFT from God,  i do not deserve it.

Analyzing Your Heart...

Today while I was looking for a chapter to read in my Bible I found a verse that really stood out to me. It is found in Ecclesiastes 7:21-22.  This verse says:
Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others. 
This was interesting to me because as a girl I do find myself making "opinions" and sharing those opinions with others, when I should keep them to myself. But if I find out someone is saying "things" about me I get really angry and find a way to talk to the person. Sometimes people will be saying things that are not nice about us, but it may just be gossip. We are called to forgive and not to judge. We cannot judge others because we also have or still do speak behind people's backs, or say not nice things about them. This verse says that our "hearts" know that we have cursed others, that same heart that we have "surrendered to Christ" that heart that was "transformed" when we accepted Jesus. If our heart is like that after we accept Christ and after the Holy Spirit is in us, we should not curse others. I have to behave differently because if I judge or curse, then it will like a boomerang come back at me. But if I behave how i am supposed to with Christ in my heart and living a life according to his purpose, then I wont take to heart what people say about me, I will only care about what God thinks of me which is what should be my priority. If God thinks and knows well about us, then others will see the same.

Made Alive in Christ...

Ephesians 2:

This chapter has much to do with faith and how we are saved by grace. It is also about how Christ is our only peace and how we have a connection with him trough the Spirit. It has always surprised me how even non-christians apply "christian principles" in their lives and get blessed by these. They are blessed and do good things but since it is not by works that we are saved as the verse said, we have to have faith which we don't deserve, but it is a gift from God. When we accept God's great love for us, we change the way we live and become children of God. Just because we are not saved by works doesn't mean that we don't have to do work. God has a purpose for our lives and has work for us to do, we have to do everything for Him. This chapter mentions how if Jesus had not died on the cross for us, we would not have a connection with God. But because he did and rose again, we do have it with the Holy Spirit. God's great love give us peace and as His children he has prepared a place for us in heaven. We are now citizens of God's people and members of his household is how verse 19 describes it. I want God's peace and I want to fulfill his purpose in my life. I am very thankful for the Holy Spirit and God's great love. I feel close to God like this. 

Retreat Comments.(just to share)

In the Junior/Senior Leadership Retreat I strongly felt God speaking to me. I felt that God was telling me about how I have to learn to stop trying to fix my problems by myself and "half-trusting" Him. During the main session we read Proverbs 3: 5-6 which says

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

This made me think about how sometimes I want to plan every step of my life and how I can fix or work out anything that goes wrong. Many times I have broken down because I feel that things do not go my way. With this verse I know that my way of doing things might not be the "right path" ...God knows the right way. I just have to trust him completely and hand him all my problems. God knows how things will turn out since he knows everything. During the session of Integrity I felt like this was confirmed. When they gave the example of us trying to fight with our own strength. We cannot do anything with our own strength, we need the weapons that God has given us. God gave us the power to control our emotions and everything. Emotions or anything else do not control us. By trusting in God we feel peace and by going through these things we grow. God will give us wisdom and discernment  if we ask for it and these things will lead us to the right path. God leads us, our understanding is nothing without God's wisdom which is different than "earthly wisdom." 

Colossians 3

This Chapter has A LOT of things to learn from. It has to do with focusing not on "earthly things" which is hard as a teenager, but to focus on "above." It also mentions how when we receive Christ we are to behave differently. I like to think "The world's 'normal' is not my normal." Christ changes our life completely! Our hearts, our thoughts and we are no longer the same. We do not behave like we used to. God renews us completely. It is interesting how being kind, forgiving, humble, patient, and many other virtues start with love. God is love, so if we love God, we behave how God wants us to naturally. And it also caught my attention how it mentions to do everything for God, to please Him! This is haard for me. I have heard this sooo many times, but laziness takes over. I want to keep this in mind and actually take it seriously this year. I want to do my best at everything how God would want me to. I am 100% sure that if I REALLY did everything like for Christ, I would be doing so much better. I want to give excellency to God, not just mediocre. This applies to all aspects of life.

Neglecting Responsibilities = Consequences!

This one is based on 2 Samuel 11...
This passage is the story of David and Bathsheba. I already knew what everyone else that has read the passage knows.. "David gets Bathsheba pregnant and then kills her husband." What is interesting though is that all the craziness that happens does not start when David sends for Bathsheba! It starts right when he decides not to go to war! Kings are supposed to go to war, but David decides to stay. He neglected his responsibility and that "opened doors" for temptation. When David found out that he had gotten Bathsheba pregnant he sent for Uriah, her husband(who WAS at war, where David had to be). Instead of being "responsible" he does 2 things to "fix" it.

1. He invites Uriah to eat and drink. (so that Uriah didn't go home)
2. He sent Uriah to the front of the war zone where he would surely die.

When Uriah dies they let David know. When they told Bathsheba she mourns for her husband, but then moves in with David and his other wives -_-'

ALL of this happened for not being responsible!! One sin...then another...and another! If David had gone to war, so many things would have been different. And David was a King :S... This reminds me when I watch TV and hear about celebrities that do foolish things.
Being a Senior puts me in a position of leadership and I have to be responsible! Younger people are watching me and I have to be a good example! I don't want to make one mistake that leads me to more and more sin like David :O.

My prayer is For God to help me with my behavior. I want to be obedient to him and be an example to others. Obedience starts with
Loving God :)

Doing Something For God...

I read 1 Chronicles 17...

This passage was quite interesting for me because it mentions David feeling upset because he was living in a palace, while the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was in a tent. David wanted to do something for God. Then what amazes me is what God tells Nathan to tell David! 
“‘I declare to you that the Lord will build a house for you: ¹¹ When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. ¹⁴ I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.’”
 God appreciates that David wants to do something for him, but tells him that it is not necessary. God blesses David instead, and what the Lord blesses is forever.  
This made me think about what I can do for God this year! God has a plan for each and every one of us and he is constantly blessing us when we do not deserve it! I want to honor God and serve him with every aspect of my life. David chased after God's own heart and wanted to do something for him, I feel like that is something I need to do ALWAYS! When we chase God's heart, we start to become like him and walk according to his will.