Speaking, Jobs, Influence, and the White-Blood Theory.

Yesterday I started going through a devotional-type book my Mom had gotten me for Christmas, called TouchPoints for Recovery. This book answers questions many people ask about recovery, the process, what people may need to recover, and many other questions, through the Bible's perspective.

Here are some verses that impacted me yesterday.

Isiah 59:1-2
Listen! The LORD's arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It's your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

I remember a while back I was in complete shame in regret from some choices I had made. I knew that God had forgiven me, and I knew that God would blot out my sins and never think of them again, but I still felt like nothing was enough, and that I still wasn't worthy of God's love, even though I knew I could reach out and grab it. This verse helped me overcome that battle:

Isaiah 54:7
“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will take you back."

God doesn't like being betrayed, being "cheated on." We leave Him, He doesn't leave us. He leaves because your actions say you don't want him there, but he still loves you. He will take you back with open arms.

"I can do this myself!"

Romans 7:24-25

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.


When I read this verse, I realized the emotion that came from the writer. This writer spoke from the heart. He told what he was feeling, and wasn't worried about what other people would think. Over the past 2 years, I've learned to speak from the heart myself.


When the writers in the Bible spoke, they spoke with extremely strong emotion. They cried for hours upon hours, and praised for even longer. Their emotion was great, and they fully felt every thought they put down upon paper. The feelings they wrote and shared were not made up, they were true and living. These people lived and are just like you and I.

We are called to worship and praise God with all our hearts. It is okay to be angry with God at times, He hears your thoughts so you might as well still talk to him about being angry with Him.

Speak from the heart, speak everything you feel and think to God.

Feelings are a result of thoughts.

Philippians 4:8
⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.


These people aren't your oddballs, they're your average guy, whom which God has given a great opportunity and gift to be different.

They are the people God speaks to, in the same way God speaks to us today, though he speaks to each and every one of us in different ways.

The process of wounds healing is unique.

God can heal us in 2 different ways.

Because God lives inside us, he can heal us from the inside out if we ask him to.

Our bodies are made so they can heal themselves.

Our bodies healing themselves is a mirror image of the healing God can do in our hearts.



God can also heal us in another way. God can heal us through other people.

About Culture:
We often take in the world around us, and without even thinking apply it to our lives!

That's why it's so important to surround ourselves with people that build you up.



Let's say a father starts going to church (something on the outside), and is impacted by the words of the pastor (it changes him on the inside), and therefore he starts changing his behavior and starts spending more time with his children (an outward change.)

Therefore, since the children see their father taking more interest in spending time with them (Something on the outside), they are more welcoming towards their father and their heart becomes happier (it changes them on the inside), and therefore the child is happier and may start acting friendlier towards their friends and may become more confident (an outward change.)





There is a song by the band Dutton called Your Voice.

It talks about God's voice being small enough to speak into our lives.

God's voice can be a whisper,
or a roar,
but either way,
it comes from a Great God who loves you and wants the very best for you.

Psalm 147:4
He determines the number of stars; he gives to all of them their names.

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans 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."

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father in heaven.

Like stars were created and God knows their names, and they are given the purpose to light up a dark sky, we were created by God who knows our names, and we are given the purpose to light up a dark world.

God assigns a job to each and every one of us. He has a BIG job for you! And there's a lot of work to be done to bring glory to God.

The White-Blood Theory

The color white is often associated with Heaven, God, purity, and holiness.

Isaiah 1:18
"Come now, let's settle this," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them white as wool."

Jesus shed his blood on the cross for our sins.
In the verse above, our sins are compared to the color red.
Our blood is red.
Blood represents sin.

God has the power to take our sin and turn it white.

What if man's blood was originally white, holy, and free of sin? With sin, for which the consequence is death, our blood is turned red.

Why are painting palettes white?
White represents purity and holiness, and heaven, and God.
God comes before all else.
White comes before all other colors.

We often paint on top of white, and distort it and make it a different color.
We have a distorted view of God.



God challenged me this week to pray for 6 people.
A family member.
A leader in my life, or someone I look up to.
A friend.
Someone who's name I know, but haven't spoken to.
Someone you don't get along with or don't like.
And someone I don't know.

There are people we don't know that are hurting.

I immediately thought of girls that are victims of trafficking.
I thought of a girl that may be in India who may have been being sold off, and I prayed for her, even though I don't know her.

The Bible says the healing process starts when someone starts praying for them.
Hopefully, through prayer, we can help impact people spiritually, and help heal up broken hearts.

For The Glory of God!

For Us

In the beginning of January, I had a good friend of mine move away due to a divorce in his family. We had gone through a lot of rough times together, and I cherish all the memories we had together, but our relationship ended up falling apart back in December to some bad decisions we had made. It's been 3 months, and I still haven't totally gotten over it. But through spending some time trying to catch up with God today, I feel like He's healed me up pretty well. :)

My favorite verse:
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.

An intern at my church told me something a few weeks ago at our weekly youth group, when she noticed I looked upset that day.

She told me that God often takes away the things that distract us from him.

God doesn't take away things we can't live without. He takes away the things that keep us from being happy, healthy or safe. God takes away the things that slow us down and keep us from reaching our fullest potential.

God puts us through challenges for many reasons-to build perseverance, to teach us, to come out a stronger people, to use our story to impact others, and to bring us closer to Him.

I've noticed lately while reading through my Bible, that I keep thinking that God is very self-centered. "Worship Me! Honor Me! Spend time with Me!"

But today through my Bible study, God told me that everything He does is for us. God doesn't tell us to do things we don't want to do so that God will be happy and we won't. God does this because he wants to see us happy and living life to the fullest. And when God sees us jumping for joy, he does it right along with us.

But sin makes us happy!

Why doesn't God jump for joy when we sin, and when that sin makes us happy?

Because sin leads to brokenness, sadness, regret, guilt, shame, impurity, damaged relationships, and shame.

This can lead to stress, which can lead to depression, which can lead to physical illness, suicidal thoughts and actions, which can lead to death.

Physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Ultimately, it separates us and God.

And that's why God doesn' jump for joy.

He's already thinking about what's going to happen if you don't stop.

God wants a relationship with us. I've come up with 3 different types of relationships: Romantic relationships, friendship relationships, and family relationships.

Romantic

God wants to be our first love. That's how it was in the Garden of Eden. Man can survive without other men, but we cannot survive without God. This is proven when God creates a single man first, and then his partner.

It is important to know God before romantic relationships blossom. Otherwise we will not be able to live physically, spiritually, or emotionally. God also came in before sin. This is saying that God should be more important than your sin.

Man deserved to die for our sins, but God did it for us because he loved us and wanted the best for us.

Like the cross was of great size and caused great pain, so was our sin.

Make God your knight in shining armor, rescuing you from your tower of pain and sin.

God rescued you from your death.

Friendship

God was also man's first friend. God is a friend in the way that he is always with us, walking by your side. God knows all of our secrets before we tell him, whether we tell him or not.

Now THAT'S a friend!

Now we just have to be friends with him back.

Family

God was also man's first Family. Like a parent and a child, God teaches the children how to live.

Children often grow up to live like their parents. We should group up to live like Jesus.

Children often look up to their parents, like we should look up to God. God tells us to honor our father and mother so that you ma live a long and happy life. Also honor God, who can be a father to the fatherless, sos that you may live a long life living for him.

I think this is why the people in the Bible call him father/teacher, friend, and the groom. We need to love God as all three. As our first love, as our first friend, and as family.

Love God and worship him, physically by your actions, spiritually by loving him above all else, and emotionally/mentally through what you think about.

Picture

JC- from Sunday, January 29th, 2012

Journal Copy:

Lord, how blessed you have made me!
You took away my secrets
You took away my shame
And , through all of the troubles
You've blessed me in your name.

You take away
You return something better
You brought back who I was
You've blessed me in your name!

And though I fall,
You will always be there to pick me up.
And though I run away
You welcome me back with open arms.
You let people beat you, stone you,
pierce nails through your bone,
and died the death which I deserve,
so that I may live.

What a holy Love!
What genuine, what an authentic, true, unfailing love!

You love me now, just as much as you loved me then, just as much as you will love me.
It never changes.

You are in love with me forever.

Jesus, you love me more than Man himself ever will.

I can survive without man, but I cannot without you.

In Jesus's holy name,

Amen!

Battle Day Part 2: Tools for Battle

INTRODUCTION:
So far, this blog has been an account of what has been basically the story/song, or however you wanna put it, of my life, for the past 6 months.

But I know this portion of what I'm going through will impact the rest of my life forever.

Okay, now for the post itself:

So, today,
or tonight,
rather, saying as it's currently 10:02 p.m. as I write this,
I'm going to talk about the "tools" that have helped me through all of this.

I'm going to begin with something from my journal,
the source of where I got the title of this blog.

"I forgot the date (November 13, 2011) 11:24 (p.m.)

To a 7 year old, who doesn't know what's coming at her,

Tomorrow is the big day. Battle day, the day when this war begins. I am a soldier, listening to the heart-wrenching silence before blood is being spilled, and the screams and cries of innocent people.

They say don't rock the boat. Tomorrow morning I will have to face the reality of God's will for my life.

I feel as though I am ready for battle. I have my Men (listed names), my weapons and shields, and my materials needed to keep safe.

But at the same time, I am worried that I am not well-trained. But, as Dad told me, that we must have faith. God will never put us through something we can't handle.

(This is where I got the butterfly part from...)

He said there's a difference between trusting God, and trusting him enough to go out and fight for what you believe in.

I will certainly allow myself to grieve. God wants to be cried out to. It thrills him to be pursued.

If God says I can do this, who is to tell me I can't?

'And if our God is for us, who can be against us?'

'He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.'

'Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.'

"We set our hope on you, we
set our hope on your love, we
set our hope on the one who
is the Everlasting God."

'And if anyone is born in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone; the new has come!'

-2 Corinthians 5:17

God, help me to know that you are there, and thank you for guiding me thus far to make the decision that would please you. Think you for [my church]... Thank you for my men, and thank you for being my leader. Help this to be a big stage of growth in the rest of my life.

'Have mercy on me, a sinner.'

In Your son's precious name,

Amen.



SO, reading through this, I've been trying to understand what exactly the tools needed to get through a tough time really are.

What are the tools that have helped me?

Now, let's think about this:
What was the whole reason we got into this battle in the first place?



Well, we realized that we were lacking in something.
We realized that the way we've been living life hasn't been working out for us.
We realized that God has a better plan for us.

We made the decision to start fighting for our future.
We made the decision to start fighting-not for ourselves-but for God.

So, you would think that God would be
the main thing we need in order to get through this battle,
when he's the reason we got into it, right?

I. God
A. The Bible (a.k.a, your Daily Battle Training.)
a. The Bible is God breathed into life. The Bible is your fuel. Nothing on
Earth will ever fulfill us and give us what we need to get through the
battles of life compared to God's word. The Bible is the source of all
knowledge needed to live the life God has in store for you.
b. You eat everyday, right? If food is our physical fuel, than The Bible is
our spiritual fuel.

2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)

(16)All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (17) So that the servant of God may be fully equipped for every good work.

B. Friends (a.k.a, your Men)
a. Your friends have an effect on who you are. It is important to make sure your

core friends are on God's side and are followers of Christ. If they are on God's side,

then it makes it TONS easier to fight alongside them in battle. You don't go into a

battle with Men who aren't on the same side as you, do you? That would basically

be saying you're not fighting for who you think you are, if you're spending time and

fighting through the battles of life with people who aren't on the same side as you!

Proverbs 12:26

One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but they way of the wicked leads them astray.

Proverbs 24-15

Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

C. Prayer (a.k.a, your Backup)

a. Through prayer, we are reaching out for help with something

we cannot do on our own. If a man is in a battle, and he

needs help, he cries out! When you are going through a tough

time, and you feel like you just can't take it anymore, cry out

for help!

b. You can also as your Men to pray for you also, that can help you gain even more

backup!

Mark 10:27

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; With God, all things are possible."

D. Influence (The Final Blow!)

a. When you've done something you didn't think you could do, such as

improve your mile time or ace a test, you share about it, right? Well,

same thing should be true about battles. When we reach out and share

our battles with one another, no matter how specific you are or how

blundt you are, it can help someone else get through their current

battles.

b. It's extremely important to share what has gotten you through the battles

in your life. You can have an influence on other people this way, and you can be

their inspiration to Keep Fighting!

James 1:2-4

(2) Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, (3) because you know that the testing of your faith produces perserverance. (4) Let perserverance finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Battle Day Part 1: Believing

What does it mean to believe in God?

be·lieve/biˈlēv/

Verb:

Accept (something) as true; feel sure of the truth of: "the superintendent believed Lancaster's story". Accept the statement of (someone) as true.

Well, that's Part 1 to the story.
But, there's a Part 2 to it!

My Dad and I were talking on the way home from church once.
And the idea came to me, wondering what exactly had to be done to become a follower of Christ.

I had always been taught in my Sunday School Group the 3 ABC's of accepting Christ:

A-Admit that you are a sinner (meaning you have done bad things)
B-Believe that Jesus was sent to die for you.
C-Confess that you need Jesus in your life .

Let's break down the "B".

To "Believe" in God is one part.
But I also believe that part of that "Believing" is also "Trusting".

When you accept Christ, you are making a commitment to trusting him.

There is a difference between believing that God has a plan for you, and actually trusting him enough to go out and do what God asks of you.

Let's picture Christianity as a little bottle of medicine for a moment. Believing and Trusting Jesus has the power to heal all wounds, and to provide us ultimate fulfillment.

Well, Jesus is a Lifetime Guarantee. He will always be there for you, day and night, in happiness and in pain, on Earth and in Heaven.


Christianity has side-effects, also.

Possible side-effects:

(Negative)
Doing things you don't want to do
Going places you don't want to go
Feeling feelings you may not want to feel
Giving up things you make not want to give up

(Positive side-effects are a result of the "Negative" side-effects)
Having a beautiful future
Going to Heaven
Having long-lasting relationships with friends and family
Having the power to change lives
Feeling better about yourself
Possible increase in health
Reaching your fullest potential



The Positive side-effects are ENDLESS!!!

God is greater than anything:
Cutting, Drinking, or anything else mankind does to try to fulfill itself.

When we are born, we are born into a war.

A War between Satan
(Sin, Wickedness)
and
God
(Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Self-Control, Compassion, Truth, Goodness, Righteousness, Justice, Beauty, Fulfillment, and MANY, MANY MORE!!!)


We already know through the Bible in Revelation who the winner is.

When you accept Christ, you are joining God's Army.

And, it is painful going into a War.

But, guess what?

God is the end of all pain.


When you believe in Jesus, and trust him enough to do what he asks of you,
Beautiful things will come out of it.


Here's the main point of what I have to say today-



The are always battles before the happy ending.



Are you willing to go through the Battle of Sacrifices on Earth, so that you may live the life God has planned out for you?

Let me tell you:

That life God has for you is INDESCRIBABLY BEYOND what you can accomplish on your own, or what all of mankind throughout past, present, and future can fathom.

Butterflies

♥

The Butterfly:
A symbol of freedom, courage, and strength.
But what about a symbol of Christianity?

When I was little, I remember seeing a caterpillar outside my parent's window.
It scared me to see it, it was fuzzy and prickly, and ugly.
Before we have Jesus in our hearts, we are dirty and ugly from sin.

We are stressed, moody, and vulnerable.
We are demon-possessed, and empty.
Without God, we have no purpose.

What is the purpose of a caterpillar?
To become something beautiful.
To become free, to transform, and to be a New Creation.

What is the purpose of a non-believer?
To become something beautiful.
To become free, to transform, and to be a New Creation.

The Caterpillar goes through a painful experience.
Without that experience, the Caterpillar will never become a true Butterfly.
Without that experience, the Caterpillar will never reach it's full potential.

I had a very rough childhood.
I was a victim of abuse.
I started self-injuring myself in the 7th grade.

While I've had a counselor since then, I just told about my childhood experiences last August.
And, let me tell you, it's been a rough ride since then.
I began to question God when he told me through a dream that it was time to share.

"Why now?
I've been able to live with it since,
Why can't I just act like nothing happened?"

When I told, it was as if I dropped an atom bomb.
Tears couldn't stop flowing for months.
Countless nights were spent awake in agonizing thoughts.

"Why couldn't we have done something to stop this?
How come I didn't see the signs,
that something was going on?"

It's an indescribably rough place to be.

But, let me tell you something.
Those experiences have made me stronger.
God told me to do it.

And I listened, for the first time in a long time.
For a while, I regretted it.
But God knows what is best for me, he knows what is best for you.

God puts us through these struggles,
So we can come out stronger,
and closer to him.

Can I encourage you to dive in?
Can I encourage you to just LET GO of what happened,
and put it in God's hands?

Don't put things on the back burner.
Take the opportunity to be in temporary pain,
And in return, gain eternal Joy.

Spread your wings.
Don't stand forever at the ledge.
Catch the air, Let Go!

And be amazed by what God has in store for you.

♥