Straight and Narrow Path

2011-12-30T04:10:00.001-08:00

It's been so long since I've posted here. I don't think anyone really follows this blog anymore, but sorry about saying nothing for so long anyway. I'm not going to be using this blog regularly, though I may update it every now and again.
I just wanted to say, that God is faithful. Even when we're not. I'm finding that out. I mean, I knew that God was faithful before, but not in such a personal way. I'm also learning to appreciate the people God has placed in my life. He has given me such amazing friends and family. <3 Praise God, because there's always something to be thankful for.

God bless =)

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-05T00:46:00.000-07:00

Eh, haven't had the blogging spirit lately. LOL I'm mainly updating for...I dunno, I guess just in case anyone actually reads my blog. =)
Hope everyone had a great day today.
So the 4th of July was fun for us. The fireworks were awesome, though I didn't take any pictures this year. I was too occupied with a nervous fluffball named Treader. I'd forgotten how afraid he is of loud noises, but at least I do know his limits.
I enjoyed thinking about how God made the elements that make up the fireworks and all, though I don't know much about the make-up of a fireworks rocket, it's an awing thought.
Oh, and they had the fireworks on Saturday night instead of Sunday. I'm proud that my city respects Sunday like that. =)

Pastor preached two good sermons today on how America is falling far from it's Godly heritage. It's sad and a shame, we were once such a great nation.=/

And I made a little video for the 4th of July, too. Just me singing "Grand Old Flag" and reciting the Pledge of Alleigence (sp) with a sped-up voice. I'm no good at singing, haha.

Update (really short post, sorry)

2010-06-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, feeling much better. :) Thanks to anyone who prayed for me.
Anyway, I really haven't been updating very much. I cannot promise that I'll update more often, but I'll try to.

I really need your prayers...badly...

2010-05-20T22:13:00.000-07:00

UPDATE:
Well, last night I decided to take a break from Alvin and the Chipmunks episodes and songs for a least a week.
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Haven't posted in so long, I know. On this blog, I normally share my thoughts to help others...but now it is I who needs your help....I've been feeling down lately. Depressed, sometimes. I've been feeling this way on and off all year, and I'm not sure what the trouble is. But I know it started not long after I got into the old Alvin and the Chipmunks from the '80s. I haven't really been able to bring myself to admit it to those who know me in real life (other than my dad), it's a lot easier to admit faults over the internet.

I'm not sure what caused this, but this experience has shown me how little I really do know. (Which is good, because I was getting kind of proud of how much I knew.)

A couple ideas of what I think might be the cause:

-Teenage angst? I dunno, I was told when I was 12 that sometimes I would experience emotions without really knowing why as a teenager...I'm almost 17 now...perhaps this is the problem? Or at the very least it's part of it?

-Wrong motivations. This is the one I'm thinking is mostly likely...and the one I really hope isn't really the problem. I did get to where I loved AATC (Alvin and the Chipmunks, the cartoon) more than I loved God, and perhaps I'm still that way right now. I don't know. Matthew 6:24 says that you can't serve two masters, because you'll either love one and hate the other or hold to one and despise the other. You can't serve God and mammon...mammon being wealth, or things you desire. I guess it can describe anything you love a lot. Nothing is wrong with mammon itself, but it is wrong to love it so much that it means the world to you. I went through something similar with Star Wars a few months back...before I got into my AATC fandom, I was into a SW fandom. I finally ended up giving up Star Wars. It ended up only being temporary, but it made me feel much better. The real way to be happy is to serve God and others rather than yourself, I know that...but do I really have to give up AATC to do that? I really don't want to...not even temporarily...

I just don't know what to do. I talked to my dad about a couple of months ago, and we came to the conclusion that I needed to take either severely limit my intake of AATC, take a break from it, or give it up completely. I agreed with him for a while...I just don't know anymore...maybe I'm in denial, I don't know. I don't feel like I could talk about it with my pastor...he's a great guy and I really respect him, but I just don't think I could talk to him about this...it's so embarrassing...

There's something my dad taught me...do what makes you happy. From a certain point of view, this seems almost sacreligious. However, there is a way that this advice can be correctly applied, I think, but I'm not sure how to explain it.
I don't know, as hard as I try and as much as I hate to admit it...doing what God wants me to just doesn't seem to be making me happy right now like it did a few months back...maybe, like I said, because I'm trying to serve two masters? Yet serving God is the only way to be truly happy, I know this. If it isn't working out, it must be my fault. For a while I thought I'd found a working solution...but each time it only lasted for so long.

Now, to make it clear I don't think anything is wrong with liking a certain series of books or a TV show/movie a lot, but we Christians are commanded to put God first. I know each of us goes through some rough spots, some that even take months to straighten out, but...I'm wondering how many others have gone through exactly what I'm going through now. Now, I know I'm not the only one and I know of some people in the Bible...but I'm talking about people who are alive now that are going through or have gone through this. So I can talk to them about it, ask some questions.

Right now, life just doesn't seem worth it anymore...but I refuse to give up. I'm going to let myself cry for right now, but I refuse to sink into yet another bout of depression.

I just don't really know what's going on here...I really need your prayers.

I'm feeling slightly better now that I have this off my chest...

P.S.

I told God that I'd let Him take care of it just the other day. Maybe I need to quit fidgeting so much and just let Him do so. Or maybe I just don't like His solution and I'm reacting to it? I don't know...

Is there such a thing as Christian rock music? or: Is Christian rock music really Christian?

2009-12-01T02:15:00.000-08:00

Now, this isn't a post about rock music itself. I'm personally against it in any form (though I have made exceptions every now and then), but I don't know enough about it yet to be able to tell others why they shouldn't listen to rock. So I'm only going to speak of why I think Christian rock is wrong from the start. I pray that God will help me express my thoughts on this correctly.
First off, the purpose of a true praise song is to bring glory to God. Rock music is something that appeals to the flesh, or the part of us that wants to please ourselves rather than God. In my opinion, rock music and praise songs cannot mix because of this. When I have listened to Christian rock, I find myself concentrating on how the music pleases me rather than praising or bringing glory to God.
Oh, sometimes the words themselves are truly meaningful. I think that some of the artists making these songs may have the right intentions. They're just using the wrong media to carry out these intentions. It is indeed possible to concentrate on the words and ignore the music. But why tempt yourself?

We each have an "old man" and a "new man" in us. The "old man" is the sinful part of us, the part of us that is worldly. The "new man" is the Godly part of us that God gave us when we let Jesus into our hearts. Which one is stronger depends on which one we feed the most. If we keep our sights on Heavenly things, have the right attitude, obey God, we are feeding the new man. When we sin, we are feeding the old man. (Forgive the termonology here. I fear it has the potential to be put in entirely the wrong context.)
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
I believe that "Christian" rock music is one tool the devil uses to get us out of God's will--the music appeals to the flesh. Thus it feeds our old man, making him stronger and more likely to defeat the new man.

Now, I'm only posting this because God laid it on my heart. Perhaps someone somewhere needed this post. I'm not trying to condemn anyone anywhere for listening to Christian rock. Whether you do or not is between you and God. Talk to God about it in prayer, ponder it in your heart, look for your answer in the Bible, ask a good Christian whom you trust for advice.

ETA:
On another note, is it December already? Wow, my mental clock is still back in August. Well, Christmas time is technically here I suppose, though December 1st may be a bit early to call it Christmas time. (The stores don't know this. XD) I do love this time of year. I especially love singing Christmas carols, like "Silent Night" and the Christmas spirit that comes with celebrating Jesus' birth.
At any rate, God bless!
~Collie

Prayer Requests

2009-11-15T21:20:00.000-08:00

This will be a short post. I have a few things I'd like everyone to pray about.
First, my mom isn't feeling well. Second, my dad is now coming down with the bug we had a couple of weeks ago. Third, I have an unspoken.
Oh, and I'm not going to list the names over the internet, but please pray for the people on our church's prayer list as well.

On another note, I began reading "Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis tonight. I love this book!

God bless,
Collie

P.S.
I apologize for the short and rather hasty nature of this post.

Philosophy

2009-11-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

Romans 1:21-23
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

I'm a philosophical person. Philosophy fascinates me. So I'd like to share my thoughts on this and speak of man's philosophy compared to the wisdom found in the Bible. I've spoken of this before, in my dA journal back before I gave up dA.
God gave man a wonderful thing: a brain. Our brains can solve problems, memorize the movements required to perform an action, give us a built-in "alarm clock", and of course keep our entire body functioning. The brain is an amazing thing, as is everything God has created if you ask me. God gave man what we need to function and live in this world.
What I find odd is that man tries to assume that he can outthink God, that he knows better than the Being that created the entire universe. I've seen people say that they refuse to serve or worship a God that they feel has not followed morals. I've seen people say that we don't need God anymore. While people must choose for themselves, my thoughts in response to such a statement is along the lines of "Okay, if we don't need God let me see you create an entire universe out of nothing in just six days."
I've shared my thoughts on this with my dad about this, and I agree with his response--that Dr. Kent Hovind says it best. I can't give a direct quote of Dr. Hovind's statement because I haven't taken the time to memorize it word for word, but it goes something like this:
Let me ask you if you know everything. The honest answer of course would be no. Let me ask you if you know half of everything. The honest answer to that would be no as well. But, for the sake of argument, let's say that you know half of everything. Is it possible that God exists and is truly in control in the half that you don't know? Think about that one.

Also, more thoughts I've had, and please don't get me wrong:
It has been said by a few people I've known that it doesn't seem logical to trust someone else because anyone can lie to you. That it seems that everyone just needs to think for themselves. So they basically concluded, "Why trust God?"
I'd like to point out that God made us so that He can enjoy us and so that we can enjoy Him. Think about this now. For the sake of argument, if you were able to make a creature that could worship you, would not the worship mean more if the creature worshipped you despite that it didn't seem logical to him to trust you blindly?
Human nature has a desire to trust someone else. Well, in all honesty people in general are just not trust-worthy what with their sin nature and all. However, we can trust God. How do we know? He gives us assurance and let me tell you, I Am's assurance is much more assuring that man's assurance. (If you didn't already know, I Am is one of God's names.) Yes, we do take it by faith. Not everything can be rationalized. While I do very much see the logic in not puting your full trust in anyone, I've found that it's just such a relief to have Someone that you can depend on, Who does not get overwhelmed at all of the the confusion and lies of the world out there. Who really does know what He is doing.

Now, let me say I've never taken a college philosophy course. I'm not old enough for one. And two I don't plan on taking one. But from what I have seen and from what I've been told, the philosophy there is twisted, used to turn people away from God rather than to honestly look at something from all angles. In my opinion, if you're honestly looking at all sides, you'll consider seriously that perhaps there are things out there that man's reason cannot comprehend, that there are principles that our minds--amazing though they are, just cannot fathom.

Ecclesiastes 8:8
There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those who are given to it.

Ecclesiastes 8:1
WHO is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.

ETA:
And just for fun, here's a picture I drew last night even though Thanksgiving is still two weeks away:

Lord, how long?

2009-11-10T19:28:00.000-08:00

I've been longing for the Rapture. Especially when I hear/play/sing the last verse of "Sweet Hour of Prayer". This world is just not my home. The more I see of it, the more I want the rapture to just happen. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. Oh, I don't sit around moping about the problems of the world--for one, I wouldn't get anything for God done by doing that all the time. I just long to be with Jesus. But while I am here, God has a mission for me, the mission He gives to every true Christian--to lead more people to Him. I could definitely do a better job of that--we all could.

I've been thinking a lot on that lately. I've thought on this in the past, too and posted it here. But it's worth repeating. The best way to do so that I've come up with from thinking, reading the Bible, and asking God for guidance is to stay in God's will. Don't feed the old man in you--feed only the new creature that God gave you when you received Jesus as your Savior. Feeding the old man is encouraging anything in your life that is not something God would want you to see/watch/read/think. We're all guilty of that. And we all come ask God to guide us as to what things in our lives we just need to let go of. I admit, I still haven't made my decision about Star Wars. I like Star Wars, a lot. In fact, I was agonizing over having to give it up. But I also realize that nothing , absolutely nothing, should come between me and God and what He wants in my life. Anyway while I'm still not sure about giving up Star Wars, I can say that I am now willing to let it go if it's God's will.

I'd like to ask that you pray that I will be able to stay in God's will. I'll pray for you, too.

Another thought I had today--the saying that "Happiness comes not from your situation, but what you make of it". Well, I'm afraid that I'm stating the obvious, but today it hit me that it means finding the joy in doing whatever you're doing. For example, taking out the trash--don't take it out thinking "Oh, I hate this chore", think positively. The good things about taking out the trash. I've found that you can even have fun doing that if you put your mind to it.

ETA:
Today, when reading the Bible in family altar, God really spoke to me through 1 Thessalonians 5:2-25:
2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

5Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

6Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

7For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

8But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

9For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

10Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

11Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

12And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

13And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

14Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.

15See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

16Rejoice evermore.

17Pray without ceasing.

18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

19Quench not the Spirit.

20Despise not prophesyings.

21Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

22Abstain from all appearance of evil.

23And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

25Brethren, pray for us.

God wants what is best for us

2009-11-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

I'll probably be posting here more often. One reason is because I feel that I don't post enough on this blog and that perhaps if I posted more, it'd be an incentive of sorts to stay in God's will.

Last night I did one of the hardest things I've ever had to do: leave a site I'd grown addicted to. God had been dealing with me about that for a long time. Why? Because deviantART is not exactly an ideal site. I'd rather not go into detail, but it was full of all kinds of things I am to avoid as a Christian. I did a rather good job of avoiding that and sticking to my corner and that of my friends actually, but the temptation was still there. God wanted me to get out of there before I began really giving in. My profile and art gallery is still up, but I will not be going back. It was hard for me. I only succeeded in leaving left because God gave me the grace to do so.
This was a powerful reminder to me that God always knows what is best for us.

Just as He did with me, if you just trust Him God will give you the grace you need to accomplish His will. Not only that, He'll give you encouragement. After puting up my goodbye message on dA last night, I began to wonder if I made the right decision. I prayed about it. I had given a goodbye message on dA and promised to come back today to answer any questions any of my friends had today just so I wouldn't leave them hanging. Three of my friends there encouraged me to do what God wants. God used them to confirm my decision. God is faithful. I pray that I will continue to do His will despite the cost. I pray that He will give you the grace to do the same, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

Until next time, may God bless you.

Verses I had marked in Proverbs

2009-09-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 3:5-7
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

What these verses mean to me:
Lean not on thine own understanding. It's hard to put into action sometimes. But it's practical because God made us, therefore He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows exactly what He is doing. Does this mean that we should never use our heads? No. God made our brains to be used. But there are some things that must be taken by faith, that can't be worked out by reason alone. The human mind isn't all powerful--God's gift of logic is a wonderful thing, but it can't answer or solve all of life's problems. God can, if we let Him. Acknowledge God, that He is in control, that He knows what He is doing, and that He knows everything we need, that He knows best, and as the verse says--He'll direct your paths. As I've said before, we cannot do right on our own human strength--it's impossible. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. There are so many temptations in this world that appeal to us, and make us forget about God for a while. But, trust that God will guide your paths, and He will.

Whine or Shine?

2009-08-02T10:33:00.001-07:00

The title isn't very original, but I couldn't think of anything else. I may have blogged about this sometime last year, but I looked over and I don't think I did. Even if I did, it won't hurt to rehash it.
"Do all things without murmurings and disputings."
~Phillippians 2:14
We all feel inclined to whine. For me...well, I've had a lot of big problems in my life, and I handle them just fine. But it's the small things that get to me. Such as when I'm doing something I'm enjoying and someone asks me to help them with something.
Whining is one of the bad habits we all tend to have, and it can mess up our witness big time. What do you think someone would tend to think about Christians if they see one always complaining?
Whining can be a way of trying to get out of work. It can be a way of saying that you don't want to listen to those in authority over you.
We can't always be cheerful, that's impossible on our own strength. If we develope a close relationship with God, He can help us to be cheerful. Certainly, there will be times when we get away from God, and slip back into our old habits. I've done that plenty of times in my young life thus far.
God can help us to have joy even in the worst of situations. Joy doesn't come from circumstances or things, it comes from God. The way to access that joy is to stay close to God. Listen to His will, follow His voice. God never gives us more than we can handle, and He'll carry us through our valleys if we let Him. With that in mind, we don't really have a reason to whine, do we?
The apostle Paul went through a lot worse than many of us ever will. He was jailed, ship-wrecked, and whipped, yet he remained cheerful.
And Jesus went through more suffering when he died for our sins that any of us ever will. God does not expect us to be perfect, but He does want us to follow His example. We'll all fall short of that in this life of course, but that is why Jesus died for our sins...to pay the price for them for us so that we won't have to suffer the terrible consequences.

Wings as Eagles

2009-05-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint
~Isiah 40:31

Exodus 17: 11-13
11. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon: and Aaron and Hur stayed yo his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13. And Joshua doscomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Ever feel like Moses in the above scripture? You try your best to stay in the fight, and you get tired? We all do. We all get discouraged.
We can renew out strength as said in the version from Isiah at the top by waiting on the Lord. He can give us to strength to pull through whatever life throws at us. If we let Him. Even in the worst of circumstances, we can keep our joy. Joy is one of the fruits of the spirit, and God grants every Christian the ability to be joyful. Just because one is a Christian, however, does not mean that they'll automatically be joyful. No, they have to reach for it. In my experience, the way to be truly joyful is to have your heart fully yielded to God. It's a happiness--joy--like none other. Through joy, God enables us to keep up the good fight, to keep on keeping on.

Another way to be encouraged is from others. That's one reason for church. Church, the people there, the sermon, the congregational hymsn, can encourage you in your walk down the straight and narrow path. Encouragement is also what this blog is intended for.

Last but not least, praise God. Praising him for what He's done for you, giving credit where it's due, will encourage you. It reminds you that of what God has done and what He can still do. It'll help your heart stay yielded.

Serving God Whole-Heartedly and Guarding Your Heart

2009-02-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

If you lose the wonder of your salvation, your heart can quickly become cold, and the enemy will have the advantage over you. Be careful; guard your heart for your King.~
from, The Terrestria Chronicles: The Sword, the Ring, and the Parchment

Once again, I have come to share my musings on following the straight and narrow path. This post's topic is serving God with all of your heart. When serving God, it is oh so easy to get side-tracked and start doing things, even following morals, for your own glory. A Christian's duty is to give glory to God, not self. It's fine to be proud of our accomplishments, but we shouldn't get a big head over them. We should recognize that God helps us and give Him His due praise.

Many things can get in the way of serving God. The devil has many traps. He wishes to slowly influence our thoughts and feelings. He does this through TV programs, the internet, individuals, etc. These things are not bad, they can simply be used for bad. They can be used for good as well.

After hearing a message for long enough, whether we realize it or not, we often start to believe it. For example, people I've talked to over the internet kept telling me things contrary to what the Bible teaches. At first, I argued strongly with them. Then I started giving in and wondered if their words were true. (Eventually, it got me into that pit of doubt that I was in not long before my first post in this blog.) Indeed, I almost started believing it before God called me back to Him so lovingly.

How can we keep ourselves from slowly turning away from God and doubting His Word? The best way is to have good influences. Read wholesome books, watch wholesome programs, listen to wholesome music, have wholesome friends, and most importantly--read your Bible daily. And keep in close communication with God through prayer. We cannot rid our lives of satanic messages completely, but remember: We have two natures. A good nature that wants to please God. And a bad nature that wants to please self. Whichever we feed most is the nature that will influence us most. If you find yourself doubting God, seek advice from a good Christian friend in addition to Bible reading and prayer.

Walking the straight and narrow path is not easy. It's tough, but God helps you through it if you let Him. And just imagine how glorious it will be once we all get to Heaven and we hear God tell us, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Oh, and if you'd like some examples of wholesome books, I know of a few. A series that I got for Christmas--The Terrestria Chronicles--are especially excellent. They have been an immense sense of encouragment to me. I can give you a list of some others if you wish to ask.
God bless.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T04:19:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm going to share a poem that was shared at my church. I know it's not Christmas Day or even Christmas Eve yet, but I wanted to put these up this morning.

T'was The Night Before (Jesus came)
Twas the night before Jesus came and all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care
In hopes that Jesus would not soon come there.

The children were dressing to crawl into bed,
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.

When out of the East there arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!

When what to my wondering eyes should appear?
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray
I knew in a moment this must be The Day!

The light of His face made me cover my head
It was Jesus! returning just like He had said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.

In the Book of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
When He said, "It's not here" my head hung in shame.

The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound
While all the rest were left standing around.

I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and this sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.

In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is soon drawing near.
There's only one life and when comes the last call
We'll find that the Bible was true after all!

-Author Unknown

Merry Christmas everyone and God bless you all!

Taking it to God

2008-10-07T01:22:00.000-07:00

I've been having some rough times in my life. Sometimes I feel like ranting. And that's what I was doing on a forum that I was in. But then I realized, why rant to other human beings when I can take it to God and let Him help me?
God does more than help me. He encourages me. He draws me closer to Him.
Like one of the hymns says:
Come unto me. I will give you rest. Take my load upon you. Hear me and be blessed. I am meek and lowly, come and trust my might. Come, my yoke is easy and my burden's light.
That hymn describes it perfectly. God doesn't want us to be overwhelmed by life's problems. He wants us to trust in Him.
I Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you.

Listening to God

2008-09-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Most Christians that I know sing hymns. When you sing a hymn, do you just sing it or think about the words and the hymn's message while you're sining it? It's easy to sing a hymn and not pay attention to the words. But I prefer to think about the words while I'm sining a hymn. After all, sometimes God is trying to encourage me or tell me something through a hymn.
We've all have heard the hymn "Oh, How I Love Jesus", but do you really love him like you should? We were singing that in church today and God put that thought into my mind. Do I really love Jesus like I should? Admittedly, not always. I get caught up in the things of this world sometimes. Funny, that's what the pastor's sermon this morning ended up being about too. God was definitely speaking to me about that.
God has several ways of telling us something. Sometimes it's from a sermon on TV, sometimes it's from a song on the radio, sometimes in a book that we are reading, sometimes through a hymn or other song, or sometimes in your pastor's sermon. You just have to listen. I don't know if it's like this for everyone, but when God is talking to me it's like a thought but I know that it's not my thought.

Encouragement

2008-09-14T23:10:00.000-07:00

In today's world, being a Christian can be very discouraging. The devil knows that not much time is left, so he's tightening his grip and having "them" twist the truth about Christianity and Christians. Just the other day, my dad told me that he was flipping through the channels and he came across what looked like a spoof of Bibleman on the comedy channel. They had the characters do and say things that a Christian in God's will would never have done, for example shocking someone with a Bible when that person said something that "Bibledude" didn't agree with.
They are really trying to make Christians look like hypocrits. Some Christians are hypocrits and that makes worse for us and from a lost person's point of view it confirms when the world is trying to tell people about Christians.
How do we fight back? As the Bibles says, be not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good. In other words, try to keep a decent attitude no matter what. It isn't easy, but God can and will help you do that if you are a willing vessel.

This was in last week's church bulliten

2008-09-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

9/11 Survivors
As you may know, the head of a company survived 9/11 because his son started kindergarten that morning.
Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.
One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go off.
One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an auto accident.
One of them missed the bus.
One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.
One's car wouldn't start.
One went back to answer the phone.
One had a child that dawdled all day and they didn't get ready as soon as they should have.
One couldn't get a taxi.
The one that sturck me the most was that the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. This is why he is alive today.
Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an evelvator, turn back to answer a ringing phone, - all the little things that annoy me; I think to myself, this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment.

Attitude

2008-09-08T13:54:00.000-07:00

Many Christians aren't acting like they should this day and age. I'm not pointing any fingers; I don't always act the way I should either. Christians are not to be rude, hateful, or push their believes on others. The Bible tells us to be kind, even when others aren't. It isn't easy, but Jesus said that if someone slaps your cheek, to turn the other one.
He also said that we should love out enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
It's important to tell others about the Gospel, but if they tell you that they don't want to hear it, then don't tell them about it unless they are interested. Trying to push it on them would probably just turn them off to Christianity even more. Giving out Gospel tracks is a great way to witness. My mom tries to give one out to everyone. Some people take it, others take it and say thank you, others say no thank you, and others are just like "I don't want that!". My mom just says OK, and leaves them alone. She tries again later on, but if they still say no she says OK.

Ten Little Christians

2008-08-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

"10 little Christians came to church all the time; one fell out with the preacher, then there were 9.

9 little Christians stayed up late; one overslept on Sunday, then there were 8.

8 little Christians on the way to Heaven; one took the low road, then there were 7.

7 little Christians chirping likes chicks; one didn't like the music, then there were 6.

6 little Christians very much alive; one got travel-it is, then there were 5.

5 little Christians pulling for Heaven's shore; one stopped to rest a while, then there were 4.

4 little Christians each as busy as a bee; one got his feelings hurt, then there were 3.

3 little Christians couldn't decide what to do; one couldn't have his way, then there were 2.

2 little Christians each won one more; so you add them up: 2 + 2 = 4!

4 little Christians worked early and late, each bought one, then there were 8!

8 little Christians, if they doubled as before, in just seven days, we'd have 1, 024."

This was in our church bulletin.

2008-08-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

You know, sometimes an old hymn pops into my mind. I found some encouragement in those hymns. Take "Nothing But the Blood", for instance. I was thinking about that one last night.
"What can Wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! Oh, how precious is the flow that makes me white as snow! No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus!"
Another stanza reads:
"This is all my hope and peace! Nothing but the blood of Jesus! This is all my righteousness! Nothing but the blood of Jesus!"
Oh, how that statement applies to my own life! I have never been able to find hope or peace until I started trusting God completely. I unconsciously tried to find hope and peace in other things when I was out of God's will. I never got it until I began trusting in Jesus again.

My favorite hymn is "There is Power in the Blood". At different times in my life, God brings a hymn into my mind to help encourage me. I also find encouragement by reading the Bible. No, I am not pretending. This is for real. Sometimes God will talk to me. Not with words, but He'll put a thought into my mind. And I can just tell that's it's not my thoughts.
This is what keeps me believing in God. This is what helps give me peace. Are you looking for peace, friend? You'll find it in Jesus. All you have to do is believe in God and His Son Jesus and that Jesus died on the cross for everyone's sins. Then, acknowledge that you have sinned. We all have at some point in life. The Bible says "There is non righteous, no not one." and "For we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Then, you simply have to receive the gift of Salvation. It's so simple. That's all there is to it. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that them who believe on Him should not perish but have eternal life." Trust God. He''ll never let you down.

Rantish, but with a moral point.

2008-08-09T20:40:00.000-07:00

I was debating in the dogrealm.net forums for a while, but after ranting about it to fellow Christians decided it wasn't worth it to keep on the debates. I had made my point and I couldn't force the others on the dogrealm forum to agree with me, which they did time after time after time.
Good grief at the ignorance though. Those people actually thought that American didn't have a Godly past and that the founding fathers were deists. So not true. George Washington was often prayed to God, Abraham Lincoln - when asked if he loved Jesus - replied that when he was a Christian and that yes he did love Jesus. I could go on and on. Benjamin Franklin was the least "religious" of all the founding fathers.
Also, I recently received the comment that Christians tortured people too. Uh, no, that was the Catholics that did that. (See "The Trail of Blood" and "Foxe's Book of Martyers".) Sorry if I offend any Catholics here, no offense. I know a lot of nice Catholic people. The true definition of a Christian is someone who has received Jesus as their Savior, but the world's definition seems to be just someone who goes to church. Many people who claim to be Christians aren't. They are people who go to church, put their Christian face on, and after church you can't tell that they're Christians at all. People like that are either not truly saved and hope that by doing good works they will go to Heaven or they are out of God's will.
I felt like I needed to clear that up. And I would really appreciate it if you left a comment. Thank you for reading and God bless you.

God gave us all a free will

2008-06-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

God does not force us to accept Him. He created man with a free will. Think of it this way, if you were God and wanted to be worshipped, what would you rather be worshipped by? Some robots that have no choice but to obey you, or someone who worships you because s/he wants to?
For God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (Forgot the reference.)
In this life, God will honor your choice if you reject Him.

What Happened to me the other day

2008-06-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

I am Cookie and Treader's human. I am 14 years old, my name is Tiffany, and I've been a born-again Christian since I was 5. God laid it on my heart to share with you an experience that I went through the other day. Well, first let's start with what happened before that. I guess that I was out of God's will. I was having doubts about the Bible, about my faith, worrying that I was on the wrong path. I had a lot of "what if" questions. What if God really isn't real, what if I'm wrong... what if, what if, what if. I don't know what caused those doubts, though I'm sure that every Christian gets them at some point. I think that they first started several years ago, and just built up as I got older. By early 2008, I was doubting more than ever. But then, someone told me about a website called dogrelam.net. Sounds strange I know. I mean, who would think that a website about dogs would have a part on relieving my doubts? Just shows you how God works. Anyway, I joined this website. There was a forum on there where you can talk about anything off-topic and debate it. I found two threads on that forum about Evolution. I got into a debate about Evolution vs Creation with several of the members. I also found one on another subject. I got into a debate on that as well. I guess that there is just something about a debate that really makes you stick closer to your believes. Anyway, that night when I went to read my Bible, while I was reading I got this feeling from the Holy Spirit. It wasn't exactly overwhelming, but it was enough to make me cry partly out of joy and partly out of my burden for the people who I was talking to in the debate. The feeling didn't use words, but it spoke to me. It "said" something like, "Yes, there are many doubts in this life. But have no fear, you are on the right path." Instantly my doubts vanished. I was full of joy again. I could sing a hymn and really mean what I was singing. I sang several hymns. Ever since that, I have actually felt like a real Christian for the first time in a long time. I got my want to spread the gospel back, I got a lot of things back that I had been missing for a long time. I didn't get "saved again". I had simply been out of God's will for quite a while and had asked His forgiveness for that and gotten back into His will. The next day, I continued the debate, but it was starting to drain me emotionally. I had such a burden for those people that I was debating with. I wanted them to know Jesus, to know the joy that I had recently gotten back. I posted in a Christian group that I am in, asking for prayers. For both me and the people in the debate. A friend of mine sent me some advice. She said that I had done all that I could in the debate. That now I should back out, pray for those people, and let God handle the rest. I took that advice. I backed out of the debate politely, mention that I would pray for those that I was talking to, and that if they ever wanted to talk to me they could send me a message.
And, friend, I want you to know the joy that I know too. Whether you are a born-again Christian out of God's will like I was, or whether you have never been saved, but want to know that joy, I'll tell you how to get it. If you are out of God's will, then just do what I did. Ask for forgiveness and God will grant it. If you aren't saved, then all you have to do is believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins, ask for forgiveness for all of the sins that you have ever committed, and ask Him to come into your heart. It will only cost a moment of your time. Understand, just because you are saved doesn't mean that you won't do wrong things anymore. I still do wrong things. But when you accept Jesus as your Savior, all of your sins are forgiven. Past, present, and future. But, even when you are saved and you commit a sin, you should still ask God's forgiveness. No, you won't go to Hell for that sin if you are saved, but you will have all your works as a Christian tried when you go to Heaven and Jesus will see how much you did for Him.
I hope that my message benefits somebody. Even if it is just one person, this whole post will more more than worth it. Please, don't reject God or His forgiveness.