I'm Not Equipped

Last night in youth group my pastor spoke on something that I really took to heart.
We read through Acts chapter 9, studying how Saul was transformed by the power of God from a hypocritical Pharisee to Paul, a God fearing man on fire for the Lord.  I love verse 15:

"But the Lord said to Ananias, 'Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel."

Notice God calls Paul His "chosen instrument", this means that God hand picked Paul to be a vessel in serving God to "proclaim [His] name".  We too are chosen instruments in God's kingdom, called to bring glory to His name!  

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and  of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you..." Matthew 28:19-20

Those of us who go to churches where evangelizing is encouraged hear God's calling on our hearts to tell our friends, family, neighbors and others we come in contact with about the amazing work God has done in our lives.  We know we are called to witness but why do we feel so afraid?  

~Maybe you're afraid of what your friends will think of you once they know your heart

~Maybe you think that your family will think less of you when they know that your ultimate priority is to glorify God, even before them

~Maybe you feel that you don't have much to offer God, you feel like you're not prepared, not educated enough, and not equipped. 

Let me share with you two of my favorite "go-to" verses:

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4

"And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you." Romans 8:11 (I encourage you to continue reading the chapter!)

We most likely are NOT educated enough, NOT quick with our words and NOT able to explain ourselves well, but with God's power in us we have the ability to move mountains and even bring a soul to know the saving grace and amazing love of Jesus Christ!  

Beach Camp 2015

This past weekend my church high school group joined up with another youth group from Menifee and went beach camping in Coronado.  We had a great time fellowshipping with each other and diving deeper into God's word while being surrounded by His beautiful creation.  Besides paddle boarding, kayaking, surfing, volleyball, spike ball and other awesome beach activities, we all just had a great time hanging out.  Each night one of the pastors would teach on multiple verses from Romans 8- all talking about the Holy Spirit.  I learned so much and it was such an encouragement hearing how God has been working in my fellow high school believers' lives :)

Something that stuck out to me pertaining to the Holy Spirit, and his part in the trinity, was that the SAME power, the Holy Spirit, that raised Jesus Christ from the dead (3 days after he died on the cross for our sins) is living in us as believers!! What an incredible thought!

"You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you... And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you." Romans 8:9, 11 

I pray that you would be encouraged by this and that you would strive to trust God and His power working in and through you!

Staying Pure

Have you ever wondered what people mean when they say they "want to stay pure"?  Most of you may first think of staying pure physically, before marriage, but for me, and others, it means so much more.

Last month, for my 16th birthday, my parents bought me a purity ring- then made me explain what it meant, and why I wanted one.

As it says in 1 Timothy 4:12, "Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in PURITY." 

I love this verse- it has always been an encouragement to me, because I'm still young, and because I love the thought of being an example to other believers, not for my benefit- but to glorify God.

Back to purity- I think for me the thought of having a purity ring is to show people, not that I am pure, but that I'm striving to be.  To me, purity is so much more than not having sex before marriage (although I strongly agree with this). To me purity includes being of a sober mind (1 Peter 5:8, 1:13), not comforming to the pattern of this sinful world (Romans 12:2), and putting God ultimately first (Matthew 6:33) in my life- before any of my plans or any guy.

  To you purity may not even be important, but I urge and encourage you, that even if you haven't been staying "pure", that you would turn to God and look to be "purified" through Him.

Lavishing Love

In the past I've talked about God's FURIOUS love, but how about His LAVISHING love?
Here is a picture of me at an incredible waterfall in Baños, Ecuador.

My youth Pastor, Shane, last night gave a depiction to us high-schoolers about how God's love pours, or lavishes, on us as if standing under a rushing waterfall.  Now, I didn't stand directly under this waterfall; its force was so powerful I would have lost my life;) but I love thinking about how fast that waterfall's water was rushing and how God's deep concern, care and love for us is even stronger than that.  Google defines lavish as to "bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities upon".  God demonstrates just that in His love for us.

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us."  Ephesians 1:7-8 

Don't Give Up

To all you who feel stressed and anxious... to those who are growing weak and dread waking up each morning... you who are eager to be done with this race of life: Do not give up!!!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9 

Lately, (ok not lately.. constantly is more the word).  Constantly, meaning every day, I tend to freak out about whatever I have going on.  Whether it's school, chores or other commitments I've made, I tend to think so hard about how I need to finish all of these tasks before the next day, that I stress myself out and become frustrated.  I know I have posted on stress before, but it tends to be one of my constant struggles and I thought it might be encouraging to share again to some of you.  Despite what some adults may say, it is not easy being a teenager/ young adult; nor a Christian.  As my youth pastor tells us, "the Christian life is simple, not easy."   If we would only hand our worries over to the Lord before we freak out, we would be one step closer to simplifying our lives.  When you feel yourself starting to stress out even over the tiniest thing, hand it over to the Lord immediately and trust that He will work it out- He does every time.  

Furious Love

In my last heart to heart post I talked about how true "happiness" and "contentment" are only found in Christ and that there is nothing in this world that can satisfy our desire of these.  But do you ever feel like you need to impress people or the need to be liked by all those around you? Or do you ever feel like you're not good enough and that there's no possible reason that anyone would genuinely love you?  I hope that you wouldn't because I can tell you for a fact that's not true.
With Valentine's Day approaching some of you may be expressing the love that you have for other people, or may be feeling loved by others.  That's great- show your love! Then, there might be some of you that are feeling depressed because once again, you have no "valentine".  This is me.  Every year. (haha:)) Only I don't get depressed; I let God's love rest upon me.

Lately I've been loving this song- Furious Love, by Veridia (check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts_osvAzEhA )

I love these chorus lyrics so much I thought I would base this post off of them:

God you say I'm beautiful, I don't need the world's approval, only you madly pursue me and jealously tell me; I'm worthy of furious love.  

If God loves us, why then do we feel like we need to impress others?

"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man."  Proverbs 3:3-4

It's not a bad thing to want people to like you, but this should not be our first priority.  Our ultimate goal in life needs to be to glorify God.  Not others.  Not ourselves.  God says that we are beautiful (1 Peter 3:3-4)  in His eyes and that He wants a relationship with us (John 15:5).

"Do not let your adorning be external-- the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-- but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious" 1 Peter 3:3-4
 "I  (Jesus) am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."  John 15:5
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:37-39

What a blessing it is to know that we are dearly cherished by the Almighty Creator!! I hope that knowing this would encourage you each day and that resting in His love would strengthen you:).

Happy Valentines Day!!

Not of This World

The Lord has put this on my heart this week and I thought I should share it with you.  I don't know about you, but I have a hard time focusing when I pray, so I journal my prayers instead.  Last night, as I was writing out my prayer, it came to mind to turn what I was writing into a blog post--

  A lot of my thought life goes into trying to figure out how to fulfill my desire of happiness.  I end up by placing my hope into materialistic things...people, clothes, redecorating my bedroom, blogging... and a lot of the time I am wishing that I had better things, or was "better" myself.  Sometimes I even catch me telling myself, "If only you had this you would be 'happy'... you would look 'cooler'...you would fit in..."
Yes, I know there is nothing wrong with finding some delight in these materialistic things, God allows us to.  The thing is that sometimes we humans get caught up in trying to find our absolute JOY in these earthly things, the fact is... we CAN'T.  There is no literal way possible for us to find absolute fulfillment in things as these.  If God is holy, perfect and pure- and absolutely NOT of this world, then how can we, God's children, be of this world?  We can't-- therefore we can never find our happiness in earthly things.  We are created to find our complete joy in the Lord, our first love, before anything else, and when we put Him first, all of the pieces of our lives will fall into place.

1 John 4:4-6
" You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He, living in you, than He who is living in the world.  They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God..."

If "He who is living in me" is greater than the one that is "living in the world" than whom shall I fear?
We are "more than conquerors through Christ" (Romans 8: 37-39) and when we place our complete trust in Him, we will find everything that we're looking for.

Christianity Is Not a DIY Project

DIY- Do it yourself.  There is a sense of accomplishment that we feel when we do things on our own.  Sometimes though we can take this attitude too far.  This would be pride.  Pride comes in many forms and can look so appealing on the outside; but it is the root of all evil for a reason.  To be precise, pride would be defined as 'a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements'. Knowing how 'good' we are at something should not be where we find our comfort-- or our joy!  We need to realize how weak we are.

"I am the vine; you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

"Apart from me you can do NOTHING." God doesn't exaggerate, or else that would be lying; so when He says nothing, He means NOTHING.  Coming to God with "a broken and contrite heart" has to be our sacrifice (Psalm 51:17).  Not until we completely understand that we can do NONE of this life in our own strength- not until we rid ourselves of our pride, will we be able to listen fully to what God is trying to teach us.  It is humbling to think about how insignificant we are compared to God's greatness.  This should not discourage you, but encourage you- God has it ALL under control!

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 2:19 

Our lives are but a vapor. Sure, God can work through us- but only if we allow Him to.  He is the reason we are here; it's not because of anything we've done, nothing that we can do.  He doesn't love us because we are 'good'; because we aren't.  He's the Alpha, Omega, Beginning and the End, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Lamb- he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.   He died so that you might find life.  He loves you and is calling you to Himself-- humble yourself and He will exalt you.  

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.'  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."  1 Peter 5: 5b-7 

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trusting in the Lord

    Hey Everyone!  Ever since I started school in August, I have been super overwhelmed.  I am hoping that once volleyball is over I will have time to post more often, but only the Lord knows if that's true.
    Way back in July, I started playing volleyball on the JV team at Calvary Murrieta and it has been super time consuming.  The Lord has continually given me strength to continue.
    This past week, the chapter in the Bible that I have been reading is Proverbs 3.
    Two verses out of this chapter that the Lord has been putting on my heart are five and six, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
    Solomon is explaining that we need to trust God with our future (which I sometimes have a hard time doing) and that if we acknowledge Him in all that we do, God will lead us in the way He wants us to go.  The definition of trust is to rely on or have confidence in.  We are called to rely on the Lord and have confidence in His will for our lives.

Happy Easter!!!

Hey Everyone! How was your Easter? Mine was good. :)
    The Lord is so amazing, hopefully you all know that already.  He is just so wonderful, I mean who in the world loves you so much that they'd die for you?  Jesus does, and he did, 2000 years ago.
     Have you ever wondered what would happen to you if you died?  I have before, and I found the answer! I would go to Heaven!  I know for a fact that I am going there because I know the way to get to Heaven.  Do you know what that way is?  It's through Jesus Christ, God's son.  What I mean by "through Jesus", is that the only way to get to Heaven is by believing in Jesus, and trusting Him with your life.  Why would I want to trust Jesus with my life, what has He ever done for me?  Well listen up.
   We have all sinned and our sin separates us from God.  Sins are the bad things that we've done, such as stealing, disobeying our parents and telling lies, yes I know you've told a lie before, and if you say that you haven't, your lying.  My point is that everyone's done wrong, and the punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23).  So for anyone to be able to get to Heaven is for someone to die.  Well back around the beginning of the world, about 7000 years ago (the earth is not "millions and millions of years old), the only way for people to have their sins forgiven, or for anyone to be able to get to Heaven was to sacrifice a perfect animal, normally a lamb.  And so that we wouldn't have to sacrifice animals over and over, since we all sin so often, God sent His son to die for us all.  That son was Jesus, and 2013 years ago Jesus came down to earth for that single purpose.  And this is why we celebrate Easter.  In just 3 days Jesus was beaten, hung on a cross, died, and on the 3rd day rose from the dead, conquering death, proving that He was the son of God.  God is great is He not?
                                                        

Being Thoughtful

Do you ever think, "Uhh, I'm so ugly! Especially compared to her!"  or, "I have nothing to wear!  I wish I had that dress!"  I do this often, but thinking these things are not truthful, nor are they glorifying to God.  In Philippians chapter 4 verse 8 it says, "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things."   Here Paul is telling the people of Philippi  to only think about things that are glorifying to God.  Still a bit confused? Let's take a closer look...

   Is saying or thinking, "I'm ugly," true? Of course not!  You are absolutely beautiful!  Especially in God's eyes! :)  Psalm 139:14 declares, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows that full well." 

   Is saying, "I have nothing to wear; I wish I had that dress," noble?  In other words is it "grand" or "high-minded"?   No, saying this is being negative, not positive.  So this thought is not what God wants us to be thinking about.  

   Do you think God doesn't know what your thinking about?  Well sorry to burst your bubble, but you're wrong.   Psalm 139:1-2, "Oh Lord!  For you have searched me and know me!  You know when I sit, and when I rise; you discern my thoughts from afar," and later in the chapter David says, "Search me, Oh God, and know my thoughts!  And see if there is any grievous (bad) way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting!"   [verses 23-24]         So God knows your every move and knows your every thought.  A little creeped out?  You shouldn't be; He is the creator, the King over all.  And he cares about you! :)     Now be aware of your thoughts and if they are glorifying to God.  :) 

 Happy New Year!!!

 

               

Be Yourself

Do you ever try to be liked by people? What I mean is do you ever try to dress or act like everybody else? Be honest with yourself. I do this often. It's alright to like things such as clothes or doing your hair. But it's not alright when you go over the top with it. For example: In the morning how long does it take you to get ready? It takes me about an hour and fifteen minutes, not bad. But 3o minutes of it is doing my hair... I enjoy doing hair, and need practice. It's totally fine to like to do that, and even to take that long on it; but when I have things to do, and still have not read my Bible yet, it then becomes a problem.
1 Timothy 2:9-10 "I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship (serve) God."
In this verse Timothy is explaining that women should focus on serving God, not focusing on how they look.
Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things."
Here Paul is telling the Colossians that they need to focus on pleasing God, and to put Him first. 'Earthly things' are things the world tells us are important. Such as being rich, having nice belongings, be pretty, fit in, act cool, be popular, have lots of friends, ect... But attempting to do or have these things, is going to cause you to stumble and follow the world.
Matthew 7:13-14 " Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."
Jesus is proclaiming to a crowd that the world tells you to follow others, meaning take the wide gate. Although the world does not know it, it's leading you straight to sin and destruction. Jesus leads the path to life (Heaven) on the narrow road.
Who are you choosing to follow?

Give it to God

Proverbs 16:9  "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

      I'll admit it I do this often, planning what I want to be when I'm older, where I'm going to live, who I will marry.  (Matthew 6:25)  But we need to remember that no matter what we do God sees it all and knows our hearts and every single one of our thoughts.  (Psalm 139:23)  No matter where you go or how you live" the Lord determines your steps" meaning that He already has a plan for your life.  (Jeremiah 29:11)
Do you ever feel: "I just can't do this anymore!"  I know that I do.  You have to just give it God, tell him your troubles (1 Peter 5:6-7) and problems and he will take care of it all. (James 4:10)  If you ask Him to He wants you in the path that He wants you to take, He will help you with your life. (Psalm 23:3)  Tell Him that you desire to live according to your will. (James 4:15)
 I encourage you to look up all these verses!  

Gifts

    Have you ever noticed that you are better at some things than others? Or that there are one or two things that you do naturally, that other people struggle with?  Well, this is because God has given you gifts. By gifts, do you mean presents? No, I mean that you have a special talent.   Maybe you have an artistic talent, like me, or you have the gift of compassion, or kindness.
     The reason that God gave you this gift, or talent, is for you to use it to glorify Him.  For example, I have the gift of encouragement.  I use my gift to lift up others and to show my love for God through that.
I also have the gift of evangelism.  Meaning I have a heart for the lost, those who do not know or have a relationship with Christ.  One way I use the gift that God has blessed me with is by witnessing or evangelizing to people by talking to them or by handing them a track.  And not only do you have one gift, but many. You are very blessed indeed with these gifts.
    Like I asked before, do you have any talents? Are you artistic, or a dancer, can you sing, or play an instrument?  Well, not only can you use your gifts for God's glory, but your talents as well.  My 10 year old sister is an amazing ballet dancer and she attends dance class at a Christian dance studio.  The company twice a year puts on recitals / plays all to Christian praise songs. In this way Tatum, my sister,  uses her talent and worships the Lord through dancing.
Another example is how I play the guitar, and sometimes lead worship in my youth group.
Not only are you meant to glorify and worship God with your gifts, but also to serve him. God may be preparing you for whatever he wants you to do when you are older.
    After reading all of this please be thinking about... what your gifts are.
    

God has a plan for you!

Ever think, why am I even on this earth, what's the purpose in life?  Well stop thinking and start reading.
  First of all, there is a reason that you are on this earth, for God's glory.  Second the purpose in life is to glorify God.  God has always existed; from the beginning, actually there was no beginning.  Like I just said God has always existed.  Hard to imagine, I know.  And He created everything in all existence in only 6 days.  (Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth.")  He spoke each star, animal, and plant into existence. (Genesis 1:3 "And God said,'Let there be light,' and there was light.")  How amazing is that???  And He did it all for his glory.
Ever think that you are useless, or that no one likes you?  Well, you are very much mistaken.  You are definitely not useless.  God has a plan for your life and an awesome one too.  (Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you,  plans to give you a hope and a future.")  This is my absolute favorite verse, and is such a great reminder to everyone.  God's trying to tell you, 'I'm not done with you yet. I have a huge plan for you.'
And trust me there are plenty of people on this earth who love you a lot.  It may not seem like it; but there are.  Besides, even if there really was no one on this earth who loves you, God loves you VERY, VERY much!   
     

Matthew 7

 Have you ever seen a girl and thought to yourself, "Have you ever heard of a shower?" or "Do you know how to comb your hair."  Even though this comes natural to us to think  these thoughts the Bible says that it is wrong.
In Matthew 7 verses 1 & 2 it says so, "Do not judge or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others you too will be judge, and with the same measure you use, it will be measured to you."  In this chapter Jesus is explaining to his disciples that if you look at someone and think they are soooooooo not attractive or pretty, than without you knowing someone out there is this world is thinking that about you.  Freaky right?
In verses 3-5 Jesus is saying, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  What he means by this is don't be giving your friend advise saying, 'You need to be more like this...', or 'You should do that...' when you yourself do not do those things or act that way.  For example, You tell your friend, "You should be reading your Bible daily, and be praying often, as well." If you don't read your own Bible everyday and pray often, you are being a hypocrite and disobeying what Jesus has told us in his word.  I'm not saying that i don't struggle with this too, I'm just reminding you what Jesus says to us.