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!