Discipline..

Discipline sounds like a scary word to many. I remember when I was younger and my parents used to discipline me, I did not like it at all!! It was something I never looked forward to and I got angry at them sometimes. Of course, when I was younger I did not know how useful that discipline would be and now I am truly grateful for the fact that my parents took the time to do it! They love meeh <3 hehe. That is how we sometimes feel when God disciplines us. We might get angry because as human beings… we want things our way! But, God knows best and He will discipline us if we are being "bad children'. In Psalm 94:12 it actually says that BLESSED is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law; you grant them relief from days of trouble.." I want the Lord to discipline me if I need it, It may be hard, It may hurt, but in the end we benefit from it. I want to be Blessed! God Loves me and that is why he disciplines me <3.

Sin and the glory of God.

I was reading more of Proverbs today! I love how proverbs gives you a slap in the face , but teaches you what to do. Again for me, with a strong attitude or character, it is hard to keep my mouth shut sometimes. Proverbs 13:3 talks about those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin. I want to preserve my life! Guarding my lips is soo hard though! sooo many things that want to come out of my mouth if I don't agree with something or if I am angry! It is something that I have been working on. I have been asking God for help. I do not want to "come to ruin". I want God's help in guarding my lips because I seriously cannot do it on my own! I am serious!!!

Falsehood?

Ephesians 4:25 

Today I read this verse and found it super true:) it talks about putting off falsehood and to speak the truth to our neighbors because we are all part of one body. Many people can asociate this with the church, but I believe that it can be applied to many parts of life in general. For example, a senior class, or a family. We have to speak with truth so that nothing bad happens and that everything works according to God's purpose. We cannot speak lies or else bad consequences will happen and may destroy our family or class. I want to always speak truth and help out my neighbors so that everything is right. I want God to help me speak with truth. 

Loving God.

Today I was reading Deuteronomy 6: 4-5. It talked about loving God with all the heart, strength , and soul . Sometimes I know that It may be hard to express that love because for me. I feel like I can never offer God enough. I know that he does not expect me to. He is glad if I do it sincerely and if it is pure love. I want God not to be mi "Priority" because it is not about having a list of important and non-important things. I want God to be the center of my life> I want everything else to come out of that love that I have for Him. I truly want to love God with absolutely everything that I have. It is thanks to Him that I live the way I do and have all the blessings that I have as well :) 

My Way...

As a senior I have planned out many things. I did my senior presentation last thursday and spoke about my plans for the future. I understand that God is going to be the one guiding me so that I can fulfill the purpose that he has for my life. If some of the things I have planned are not in God's plan, I am ok because I know that he has even better things for me. He has nothing against letting me plan though:) In Proverbs 16:9 it says that Our hearts thing of their ways, but that the Lord is the one that shapes our path in a way. I want to listen to God and to let Him lead my path. I am excited to see what He has for me in the future.

Chill out :)

I was reading proverbs today and found a very good one :) It was Chapter fifteen verse one! It says that A gentle answers turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. I have gotten into various discussions that did not turn out for good in any way because harsh things were said. I know that this sounds horrible, but I have also experienced many arguments that end well because gentle words were said. This is pretty easy to understand, but when you are in the actual situation and are angryy!!!! it is really hard to say gentle words. I want to get better at saying gentle words and sloowww to speak when I am angry. It is something that I need God's help with. 

Discipline

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11. Trials are like this for me. They seem super unpleasant and hard. They shape us and help us grow into the people God wants us to be. Discipline is different from punishing. Discipline is putting us on the right path and learning to follow it. Punishing is from when you have already done something wrong. I feel like God disciplines us to help us fulfill the purpose that he was for us in our lives. I don't think that he punishes us because the consequences to what we do are punishment enough. I want that discipline so that I can yield the fruit of righteousness. I want to be trained by it through Jesus Christ. 

Not Afraid of the devil...

Many people are afraid of the devil and I know that he is evil and all, but I am honestly not afraid.  I follow God and I know that He is greater than the devil. Many might think that this sounds too "religious" but its the truth. Why be scared of the devil when he flees at the name of Jesus? If you have read revelations, you would know that the devil will not win in the end. I kept reading in James and it says it right there. In James 4:7. It says that if you submit yourself to God and resist the devil will flee from you. The devil got nothin' on you gurl! haha. But yes, I want to always remain in God, so that I never have to be afraid of dumb things :) 

Everything gets better...

Sometimes I've felt really really sad. The bible would call that having a troubled heart i guess. I was reading James and in James 5:13 it says Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. This verse is really cool because we sometimes see prayer as what we are "supposed" to do. The bible says though that it actually DOES help to get that trouble away. I have always believed that there is power in prayer. Then it goes on and mentions happiness and to let them sing. It is awesome how even the Bible mentions that trouble happens, but then we can chill, pray and leave it to God. Then we will be singing songs of praise because of our happiness. I want to pray when i feel troubled so that then I can sing happy songs :) I want to give all my troubles to God and not try to fix them on my own. 

Sin VS. Gift of God

People know that sin is bad. They keep sining instead. They feel good when they sin and they find it comfortable. That comfort will not last though, the Bible in Romans 6: 23 says that sin results in death. I will put it as eternal death. When that comfort from sining is done, it is too late to get out of that lifestyle. Death will eventually catch you, if you don't repent and ask for forgiveness. The Gift of God though, is eternal life. Living with a pure heart is hard, but will Jesus it is doable. The end results are better. Death or Eternal Life with God? That should not even be a question. Doing what is wrong may feel right, but it is not always fun. Everything has its consequences.

A Time for Everything

My mom has always told me that there is a time for everything and it is actually biblical! It is hard for me to do a thing at a time, specially being a girl, major multi-tasker. I want to get as much as I can really fast and especially now that we are doing online classes in school it is hard to stay 100% focused on the assignments. I mean, I am basically on my computer ALL DAY! , But I know that it is not good to try to do too much, instead of focusing on what I have to do at that time. This is I think, the primary source of my anxiety. I want to keep in mind the "there is a time for everything' in mind. I want to have a special time dedicated to God. This way I will be more relaxed and more efficient.

Death...

I have never been to comfortable to talk about death. I know that everyone will eventually die, I know that I will die. It is crazy to think that some people see death as something that might happen when you're old and 80 something. I see death as something that can happen at any moment. Our hearts are beating right now just because God is allowing them to. One day a boy from school woke up and was returning from a place with friends, that day he never got home. There was an accident and he died. He was a sophomore, not old, not in his 80s. He was just returning and his life ended. Since that happened I have been trying to life my life in a way that I please God and that I do not just waste my life. Philippians 1:21 says that to live is Christ and to die is gain. If you life for Christ you are doing good things with your life, and If you die you will be with Christ and away from the troubles of the world. I want to live my life for Christ.

Easter Reflection.

I feel like everybody knows John 3:16, believers and non-believers. It is put out there so much, but I feel like BECAUSE it is out there so much, it is not valued enough.  To me it is crazy to think that God would send His son to die just for me, and that He would do it again. Yeah,many see this and know it, but it was not a nice death!!! It was crazy! I know that I do not deserve that, but God would do it for ME all over again! That is pure love right there. He rose from the dead and thanks to that sacrifice, I can hope to spend eternity with God! I have direct access to Him, and my sins are forgiven. That is honestly the best gift ever. I want to be more thankful each day for this sacrifice and not just see it as a normal christian thing to say.

Be Still...

Many times in my life I had found myself drowning in anxiety. People always tell me to trust in God and to have faith. I try, but I am the type of person that neeeeedss to do something about stuff when they bother me. I read psalm 46:10 and the first thing that it said was "Be Still". Well, even the word of God is telling me to be still. Then it goes on to say, know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. It is always sooo hard to understand  God's greatness, but the creator of the universe is telling me to be still, I mean, he knows my future. It is probably funny for God to see us worried and anxious when the outcome might not be bad. But I am trying to be still, and know that God will take care of it. He is already there.

Revelation 3

In this chapter it is comparing churches. The church in Sardis is like the #Vegas. They are just getting things worse. They didn't "shine" anymore, they didnt have good testimony. It was cold and spiritually dead. This is were we see that it is important to ask God to cleanse us from impurities so that we are not part of "sardis". On the other hand we see the church in Philadelphia which is just getting things right. It is the city of God and He tells them that he will open doors and that nobody will shut those doors. God also tells them that he will be taking care of them for when the time comes. He also gives them advice on how to no let anyone take away their crown. These churches are polar opposites ,it is interesting to compare them. I want to be part of Philadelphia if you ask me, always ready and with God holding me. I do not want to be part of sardis by being distracted and loving things that do not benefit me.

Fully Depending on God.

My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Ever since I read this verse this has been my prayer. I have nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of, God is in control of absolutely everything.Nothing can come against me because God is there for me. I may think that I will never do ______, but God opens and closes doors according to his purpose. If I depend on God I know that I am safe. I am secure, when the storm comes, all the troubles and pains, he will always be there for me. People may fail me, but God will never fail me. I was so glad to read this verse Psalm 62:7. It is what I needed to hear and to remember. With God, I have everything:) 

Be HOLY!<<-

I continued to study 1 Peter 1, today I felt like writing about verses 13-25. This section is about being holy. Since we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior we are inspired to live life differently. We deicide to follow Jesus's steps and to act different from what the world views as ordinary. God is holy and if we want to be like him, we are to be holy as well. God tells us that we ought to be holy how he is holy. We should spend life trying to be like God. It is not good to spend time on things that will not last. We might think that being holy is hard because we are sinners. Jesus washed away our sins on the cross and therefore we are forgiven and get to be holy like God. I want to pray so that my actions and my heart are right according to God's purpose. I want to be holy like he is holy.

TRIALS!

Trials. They are never fun. I have always had a hard time going through trials, pretty sure every one has a hard time. In Peter 1:7 it says " These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." This clearly explains why trial exist and how they help to glorify God. Honestly I could have never gone through a trial without God's help. Even when we think that trials are too huge and hard, we must always remember that God will only give us what he knows we can manage. It is fire that refines us. Our faith is worth more than gold. God sends us trials to make us grow, and he is there to help us :) so cool :) 

Pleasing God:)

Without faith it is impossible to please God. I have heard these words many times and today for my devo I bumped into  Hebrews 11:6. I have always thought that those words are confusing. If you accepted Jesus into your heart and live according to his purpose it is because you have faith in him right? Well I read many testimonies of people who have gone through really difficult things to defend their faith. I have grown up in church and going to a christian school..sooo a kind of bubble.This is not an excuse to not "act with faith" we are faced with situations every day. We need to learn how to defend our faith. Many non believers criticize christians because of their lack of faith in their eyes. We have to act with the faith in which we believe in to influence others with it.

Quality Time...

I feel like everyone has gone through those up and downs when it comes to spending time with God.  I have them all the time and it is annoying. I wish I could spend quality time with God every single day. I always get distracted with things around me. Some people have told me that if I can make it a habit I will always reserve time for it. I want to spend quality time with God because he deserves that and MUCHHH more. If God is my number one priority there should always be time to spend in prayer and reading his word. I do do those things, but quality time is more than a daily devotional and prayer before sleep. It is setting apart time that you would use for things you enjoy to give to God. And giving time to God is also enjoyable :) I want to work on getting away from things that consume my time to reserve that time and dedicate it to God. 

No Bad Words...

As I have been studying proverbs I have seen that it mentions to not mention bad or corrupt words. I have been taught to never say "bad words" because it sounds horrible and because God doesn't like it. I can't say that I NEVER say bad words, it is really hard for those words not to stick when you have a bunch of people at school saying them around you. I have even heard that some of them have "swear tuesdays" which to me is kind of pointless because that does not benefit them in any ways. One of the places in proverbs in which it is pointed out is in proverbs chapter four  verse 24. The verse before it even says to guard your heart for everything that we do flows from it. I want to guard my heart and to keep my mouth from perversity. I want to please God and I only want things that are contributing to my life positively to come out of my mouth. I want to work in clearing my vocabulary from "bad words" completely. 

Sleeping in God's Perfect Peace...

Have you ever gone to bed and feel scared? Scared may be because you watched a creepy movie, your afraid of the dark, or if you feel anxious about something that happened or will happen. I have gone to bed scared…of my future. Being a Senior it is very scary to think that I will leave home and go somewhere totally new and away from family and friends. I know that I will eventually get used to it, but right now it all sounds scary because I do not know what to expect. I will be alone. As I was reading proverbs chapter 3, verse 24 caught my attention. This verse says that when we lie down we will not be afraid, it even goes on to say that our sleep will be sweet. It is comforting how God takes care of even those little details. He guards our sleep and gives us his perfect peace. He lets us rest without any worries. I want to always have God's peace even in my sleep. Away from my fears and worries.

No Doubt

      Faith has been talked about so much. You can tell a mountain to move and it will move. Does that sound silly to you? Well, that is lack of faith. Unfortunately it sounds silly to me very often. It is hard to have faith for everything. I tend to want to know everything all the time. When we do not know something and have to wait, we tend to go nuts and stress out about it. 
      We have to have Faith, God has everything in control. If it is God's will it will happen, God will open the right doors for us. God will move what he has to move in favor of those who love Him. It does not matter what others say, No body can fool God. What He wants, IS done. I want to have faith and trust in Him fully! If we believe I know that God will answer us. We have to pray and belive that everything is in God's hands.

Unconditional...

Friends come and go. Family is said to always be there for you. The truth is the only one that loves you and cares for you unconditionally is God. I love to read psalms because it is like a diary, so much is emotion is poured on to this book. I was thinking about how those that will back you up in hard situations are so scarce. Psalm 116: 1-2 says beautiful things about how God is always there for anyone that needs him."I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy.Because he turned his ear to me   I will call on him as long as I live."God is always looking out for us. He will help us, he will have mercy on us if we seek him will a pure heart. I am thankful for the love God had for me. He deeply cares about me and I can feel him. I want to do my best for Him, he does so much for me and I want to give Him something back. I know that i will not give him what he deserves, but I want to give him as much as i can. I want to please Him. I Love the Lord above all things, He is the number one priority in my life. 

The End Is Near...

I have heard many times that the end is near and it usually has to do with mayans hehe. I have lived many speculated 'ends of the world' , but like the Bible says, nobody knows the day or time. In First Peter 4:7-8 It does mention that the end is near, but of course we do not know how long this is. A day may be years in the time of God or vice versa. This chapter states how we have to be very alert and sober of the mind. We cant be playing around or living a life that is not pleasing to God. We have to be prepared for when the time comes. We have to live a life that is pleasing to God and edifying to others, spending time in prayer. Above all though, we have to love others. Jesus always mentions this. Love covers a multitude of sins. I want to be alert and sober of the mind, being ready for Jesus, spending time in prayer and loving others. I want to obey what God wants.

Good, Evil, and Words.

Our actions are reflections of what is in our hearts. I was reading in Matthew 12:35-37 that a good man brings out the good stored in him and the bad man brings out the evil stored up in him. This caught my attention because as "stored up" I belive that it is what is in our hearts. If we have bitterness, jealousy, and anger it is like evil is stored up in our hearts and if honesty, love, and purity is stored up in our hearts it is good! We act according to what is stored up in our hearts. Then in the next verses this is about in the day of judgement, how we will have to give account of the empty words we speak. We have to be careful about what we say, if it is edifying to others or not. We can be condemned by our words! I want to be careful of what I speak and how I act because I want to have a heart full of goodness. 

Plotting EVIL!? :O

Proverbs is packed with do's and don'ts.  I was reading proverbs 14 and it was a very long list of what consequences certain things bring. Verse 22 especially caught my attention, it says that those who plan evil always #fail, but those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness. In a previous post I mentioned the "eye for an eye" , that Jesus likes us to calm down and let him handle things instead of answering for ourselves, or plotting evil. We as humans like 'revenge' or making others eat a spoonful of their own chocolate. As we plot evil though, we are sowing evil and we reap what we sow. This is why in the verse it says that whoever plots evil will fail,or go astray. We should sow good to reap good. I want to do good so that I reap love and faithfulness. Again Jesus is telling me to let him handle things and behave well. 

Giving EVERYTHING to Jesus...

Today I wanted to explore more of the red letter, what Jesus said. I feel like if I want to know him more, I should study what he said and what he did. I read Luke 21, and for this post I want to focus on verses 1-4. This is a well known portion of the Bible I think. This talks about the Widow's offering. Jesus was at the temple and saw how people were leaving gifts and their offerings in the temple. Many people were giving many things or some of the many things they had, but a poor widow only had little to live off of and she gave it all as an offering. Jesus then said that everyone was just giving out of their own wealth and that the widow had given more than them. This was really interesting and I compare it to letting Jesus take 'part' of our lives and not all of our lives. I want Jesus to take all of my life and I want to give him everything , not just what I have left. Jesus deserves my best and more.

An Eye for an Eye...

Today I was reading another part of Matthew 5, but this time verses 38-42. These verses are about not reacting against those who react against you. It gives the well known example that if someone hits your cheek, let them hit the other cheek as well. Jesus says that we have to do this, not act the way the acted with us. We have to show that we are different and take care of our testimony. This is so hard for me, with my temperament I am not one to let people say things and stay quiet. I am one to react and say what I think…even one to punch back. I know it's not good and thats why I think that Jesus put in my heart to read these verses. I want to work hard to let Him take care of making these people "pay" for what they do and try no to fight them with my strength. The same comes in Matthew 5: 43-48 to love our enemies. We may be the ones to show our good testimony and make our enemies love us, just as we "love" them if we obey what Jesus says. 

Anger and Murder!?

I know that many people have killed others because of their "anger attacks, but  it is so interesting how in the Bible 'Just' being angry IS like murdering! As I was reading Matthew 5: 21-25 it surprised me how if you have problems with anyone around you it is subject to judgement. This chapter even says that if we are living having unresolved matters with our brother we are in danger of the fire of hell! That is pretty serious! It even goes on to serving at church (i saw it this way), if we are serving at church and are not completely clear of issues, Jesus commands us to leave our "gifts" in front of the altar to reconcile with our brother and to THEN after that to go and offer our gifts. Jesus tells us to resolve any problems immediately because if not, we are going to be put into prison and not get out until we have paid every last bit. This makes me think about times when forgiving someone or asking for forgiveness has been so hard. I want to make sure to have all matters resolved and in peace with everyone. 

A Slap in the Face...

God knows how to reveal things that might "slap" you in the face. This is what I felt today while searching for a passage to read. James 1:22 was my slap in the face! As Christians, specially if born in a Christian environment, we know the Bible pretty well and know the right things to say. When know how to give our own little sermons to people and make everything sound dandy! James 1:22 makes you ask that question "Do I live what I preach?" We cant just read the word and leave it empty, we have to let it sink in and change our lives. In school for example they make us memorize a ton of Bible Verses. Most of the times we learn them for the quiz and a few months later we do not know them anymore. Every little seed that has been planted in our hearts that has to do with God and his word should be giving fruit in our lives through the Holy Spirit. If we only preach and not live according to what we say,that is like spitting out the seed even before it grows roots! We have to give testimony if we want to impact other's lives, and we can do this by living what we believe and 'preach' about. This way, they wont see Christians as hypocrites as many do. My goal is to Live out God's Word and be an Example to others. 

Beauty in my eyes, or God's eyes?

I have hear billions of times that we are created in God's Image and that should make us feel good right? Well, as I a girl and I know many girls have this problem, we tend to criticize every PORE! on our body! We have days when we feel pretty, days when we feel ugz! and all that girly drama. As I read Genesis 1,  I found the typical words we hear. Yes, God is perfect, We are created in His image, soooo we should be perfect in his eyes. Again I do not see myself perfect in my eyes! I looked up more verses to see what would make me feel better about myself (haha, yeah, I had a moment). I found many verses that talked about the purity of the heart(Psalm) and how we have to shine like stars(Phil). And yep, this made me feel better, I know that being created in God's image is AWESOME!, but then I felt God telling me "what good is it to be pretty in your eyes(physically) and being ugly on the inside?" True Beauty comes from within. If we are good on the inside, being light and having a heart that seeks God, then we are going to have God's grace in our lives. Our inner state reflects on the outside. To look pretty on the outside, we have to clean and purify the inside. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We have to take care of ourselves. I learned that it is ok to look pretty as long as it is not our number one priority.

Tomorrow?

Today I was trying to find something to read in my Bible and I decided that James 4 would be what I would read. This was exactly what I needed to hear(read). With the Senior Trip coming up and Graduation plans I've felt like each day is full of things to get done and it is way to stressful. Every day I wake up with a list of things to do for that day and the next. I started this year with the goal of enjoying my last year in High School, but that has been pretty hard. James 4 goes ahead and mentions how "tomorrow" is not even assured for us. We do not know what will happen "tomorrow" and we do not even know if we will even be alive. This reminds me of the cheesy phrase "live like there is no tomorrow", but instead of taking it as an excuse to live a party everyday, I want to do the best I can each day and not stress about the next day, or the future. We are in God's hands and he will take care of the rest. He knows our tomorrow and will help us get through it if we fully depend on him. 

Love and Friendship...

I had never thought of reading 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 and think of it as related to friendship. I would usually read it and think about it as something "romantic" like if it only applied to marriage. During Spiritual Emphasis Day the speaker connected it to friendship. True friendship is also to have these qualities! Friendship should be based on Love obviously, but this time I would say love as in "God is Love"… A friendship that has a solid foundation on God will last a long time. This is where the verses play out… If we have love(God) as a solid base for friendship then it will be Patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud , it will be honoring, it will not be selfish, not easily angered. We need true friends that help us grow in the Lord and be better! With those qualities our friendships will be healthy and long lasting :) I want to be a true friend and to succeed, I need Love, I need  GOD!