See You in a Week

Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for the Dominican Republic for a week!

Along with 81 other teens and adults, partnered with Eastview Christian Church, we are going to be working on building a church, and helping out local families. 

It's going to be a great experience, and while I'm excited, I'm also nervous, having never done anything like this before.

Your prayers are appreciated, and I'll write more when I get back. I'm positive that I'll have a ton of amazing stories to share.

~So

More on Prayer

Sometimes it seems like God is ignoring your prayers.

You pray and you pray, but nothing happens.

Take courage! God knows what we need before we ask, and is faithful to provide! (Mt. 6:8) 

 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:11-13

God does, however, delight when we ask Him because it shows our reliance upon Him, and our trust in Him. Don't give up. God answers prayers in unexpected ways and in His own time, which is always perfect.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7

Seek the Father always. He will provide for you in ways impossible for us to foresee. 

Read Mt. 6:25-34. 

God will provide when the time is right, even if it doesn't seem like it to us. 

~So

Can I Tell You Something?

If you ask God for something, He'll give it to you. For real.

Granted, it has to be within His will, but the closer you grow to Him, the more your desires will match up with His.

In fact, a good way to start is by simply asking God to make you more like Him. If you're consistent and sincere in asking, you will receive. The other thing is, you have to work at it; it's a gift, but it's not magic. If you want to be more like God, you have to make an effort every day to be more like Him.

This morning I prayed that God would make me more like Him. Lately I've been praying for opportunities to serve, and the courage to step up to them. Today, I almost missed one.

A friend of mine came up to me right before the church service as I was on my way to sit down. She was upset and said, "Hey, I need to talk to you." I said something like, "Yeah, sure. Just find me during service or after..." and then I realized: why? Then I said, "Actually, do you just want to talk now?" She said yes. I almost got so caught up in going to church that I almost missed an opportunity to be the Church. God says in Matthew 25:40 that whatever we do to the least of people we do to God. Ignoring this girl's hurt would have been like ignoring God after I specifically asked Him to come to me. Don't overlook ways to serve; they're everywhere.

There have been several little things like this the past week or so. You kind of have to look for them. God isn't going to give you a huge task right up front; it will be little things at first. They might even seem insignificant, but they're not.

"So I say to you: ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Luke 11:9-10

Be bold! Ask things of God with confidence. Just remember that God will move through you if you are willing to move to Him. God's promise is clear. Ask, then move.

~So

Why It Matters

I wasn't satisfied with my last post. I felt that it didn't convey what I wanted it to. In response, I felt a follow-up would be in order. I want to briefly explain why it even matters.

God created everything. The creation story can be found in the book of Genesis, the very first book of the Bible. God creates man in His image. Perfect. However, God gave man freewill to either love and obey, or sin and reject. Man chose to sin.

We, every last one of us, has sinned. We all sin frequently, if we're honest with ourselves. Therefore, we all need a Saviour to come restore us to our Creator God. We cannot do this alone. No one can live perfectly, that is, without sinning, which creates a schism between God , who loves and cares for His creation, and mankind. God is just, and must punish sins, so He sent His Son, who is really a part of Him, to the earth. His Son is Jesus, the Christ. Jesus came into this world, born of a virgin, and He did what no one else could: He lived a sinless life. He lived perfectly and He died for sinners. God poured out His wrath on Jesus, who takes the place of sinners when it's time for Judgement. 

"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." - Romans 3:22-26

Christ offers more than just the forgiveness of sins. A lot more. He offers us eternal life. If we give our lives to God and follow Him, though we will die, we will live forever in His kingdom. We will experience the fullness of life, how it was supposed to be. On that day there will be no more suffering, pain, or death. All will be made new and perfect.  This is what Christ offers everyone. All we have to do is accept Him.

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."-  John 5:24

There are, however, consequences for sin. The wages of sin is death. Outside of Christ there is only death. Instead of being raised to eternal life in the Spirit, those who harden their hearts to Christ experience death in it's truest sense. Much like eternal life is often referred to as heaven, eternal condemnation is often referred to as hell. It is described as a place of fire and gnashing of teeth. It is pain and it is suffering. 

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."  - Mark 16:16

That's why it matters. There's more than this life. So much more. 

What we do on this earth right now matters. Not only for ourselves, but for others. 

~So

Don't Make My Mistakes

It's Memorial Day, so what would be more appropriate than a memorial blog? This isn't going to be easy for me to write, so it may seem mediocre compared to my typical postings, but we'll see.

I believe that there are valuable lessons to be learned from every situation in life. Or death.

My friend Rachel died this past January. She had rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of cancer. She and I were really close in junior high, but after I got expelled, we didn't talk as much. It was September of 2007 when she was diagnosed. It's funny, your natural reaction to hearing that someone has cancer is to think that they could die, but I never would have thought in a million years that I'd be standing over Rachel's grave. She was only 17.

Rachel died pretty suddenly. She was responding well to treatment, and I grew less and less worried about her all the time. When I left for Germany on January 1st, she was fine. I got back on the 10th or the 11th, and heard that she was having a hard time with treatment, and that she wasn't doing well. I attempted to contact her that week, but couldn't get ahold of her. She died the 18th. 

I couldn't believe it. It happened so fast. She was gone. My biggest regret throughout this whole situation is that I didn't see or talk to her more, and that when I did, I didn't really bring up God. I said I was praying for her, but that's about it. Now, it's not my place to judge a person's salvation, but I knew Rachel wasn't living in the manner of a Christian. Maybe she was just having a rough spot in her faith, I don't know. What I do know is that I never confronted her. I never made the effort to get out of my comfort zone to talk to her about the only thing that really matters.

Basically, what I hoped to get out of this post is to encourage believers to share their faith with people. You never know what will happen. Life is short, and anyone can die at any moment. Don't wait until it's too late to confront someone. You'll hate your life. It won't be easy, but if you call yourself someone's friend, and don't confront them when they aren't living the way they should be, what kind of friend are you really? There are people in your life who may call themselves Christians, but don't act like it. Confront them. There are those who openly deny God. Confront them.

And by "confront" I'd like to qualify that I mean it in the most gentle and sensitive way possible. It doesn't have to be an intervention. Just talk to the person openly. Be humble and caring. Tell them of the hope you have, and explain why all people need this hope. Don't let yourself be put into the position I'm in: standing above a grave, wondering why you didn't share with her, and if she truly knew Christ. 

Take example from the Ezekiel 33. We are all watchmen. Why would you not warn others? Why would you not give them hope and everlasting life?

~So