Its worth it

No one should ever have to feel lik Roger in this video. But even if it may seem like no one care about you believe me someone does. God does. He made you and loves you with such a passion it is undescribable. Your life is valuable, and you dont need to take it. And as Christians we should be showing people Gods love so that they never want to take there lives. You never know, they may be contemplating suicide and you just saying hi or talking to them could change their mind. This is life or death! No one should ever feel like there only option is to take there life so that the pain will go away. Its time to rise up and show people Christs love. No one should ever EVER have to feel like Roger.

Its Time

It's time. it's time to shake things up a bit. it's time to move out of our comfort zones. it's time to put away "idols" in our lives that are taking us away from Jesus. it's time to stop living to please people, and start living to please Jesus. it's time to stop talking about doing things for God and start doing them. It's time to rise up and be the change the world needs. we (Christians) have the hope that can change the world. but yet we refuse to share it because we don't want to risk losing popularity or being seen as a Jesus Freak. the truth is however that those people who make fun of you for being a follower of God are really just testing you, whether they admit it or not. they want to see if you care about this Jesus that you talk about is so important that you will stand up for Him. I believe we don't have much time left here on earth. God is the only one who knows wen we will go home. but we should be living like everyday is our last, and share Jesus with people who haven't heard about Him. if you feel like you don't have the boldness to share Jesus with people just pray. God will give you the courage that you need. I think that sometimes Jesus allows us to have fear before we witness to someone that we will rely on Jesus to give us the courage that we need. it's time to do it.
-David Ehley

Vapor

James 4:14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

That verse kinda puts things in perspective, at least for me. It just proves how short our lives truly are. It shows how God doesnt want us to waste time worrying about tommorow, or regretting the past. We are supposed to live today out, before it becomes yesterday. We simply can not control what happens tommorow, and we cant erase what happened yesterday. Life is short. Make the most of it. now I'm not implying here that since life is short so therefore we should live it up. One time when we were driving down to Chicago I saw a billboard that said "Life is short, have an affair." I dont mean that. What I mean by saying life is short, is simply that we should only worry about today. Because today is a gift, thats why is called the present. Do what you feel God is telling you today. Often times i get asked alot what I'm going to do for my college degree and all that stuff. I'm not saying that is bad. After all if you fail to plan you plan to fail. But sometimes i think, especially in highschool, that we are always looking forward or backward, and never really having the impact that we could be having. Some of my other favorite verses are Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. and 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 hope and a future.  These 3 verses really speak to me. They show that we dont have to worry about tommorow, because God has got us covered. Hes just that cool  :)

The Clock is Ticking

I don't know about you, but for me this last year or so has gone by so fast. Between switching schools and becoming a student leader Ive come to realize that life truly is just a vapor as the Bible says it is. Its made me look back on last school year and see if i actually made a difference. It forced me to ask the question that if i disappeared at midnight tonight, would anyone notice? Would anyone care? I hope someone would notice and that someone would care. But I'm sick of hoping. i want to make a difference. and we dont have much time. The clock is ticking. Life is but a vapor. when its gone, its gone. How do we do this? By setting a true Christian example to the people around us. That is what I am going to be trying to do this upcoming school year and for the rest of the summer. But we cant be dragged in to what Satan is trying to trap us with. He wants to see us waste the time that God has given us. He sees that one of the greatest gifts God has given us is time. Because as long as we are still breathing, we can change the world. So dont be drawn into time wasters. everyone has different time wasters. John Piper explains social networking pretty clearly when he says " One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time."  Im not saying Facebook or Twitter is bad or that we should all stop doing that. But basically a time waster or a "idol" (as ive explained in a previous blog post) is anything that we place more importance on then God. Believe me, nothing is more important than God! So if we give Him our highest priority and just love Him more then anything else, He will shape us into the people that He wants us to be. and ultimately, that will change the world.

Prayer

So ive realized that i have had more posts on prayer than anything else. Why? Because i firmly believe that as christians we should be praying and reading our Bibles daily. Sometimes i think we dnt always have the right picture of prayer.  Prayer is literally talking to God. Think about that. We can actually talk to God! He doesnt think of you as worthless trash taking up his time. Instead He loves you so much that He let His son die on the cross for  you. Dont you think after He did all that we can at least give Him 15 minutes of our day? Praying isnt just a task or just going over a checklist. Prayer is talking to your Creator. You are not just talking to someone.  You are talking to the God who made everyone. He is the I AM, the Almighty God. And He loves you more then anyone in this world ever could. God will never let you down. He cares about you. He always listens AND answers. It might not be what you want, or when you want it. But it is always the best answer for us, even if we don't think so.

Problems

Destroy

Change

Change. Everyone wants it. We all want a better life then what we have right now. The sad thing is that we look to the wrong source for change. We look to the government or the newest self-help book. We look to that motivational speaker or that preacher to change us. But really, all those sources of change either dont work, or dont lst very long. Why? Because nothing can change us or deliver us except Jesus Christ. He can literally flip your world upside down. He can fill your life with so much meaning and purpose. Things of the world just provide a short term fix, but then they often leave bigger gaps then before. I believe that God is calling up a generation that will rock the world. But we have to give our WHOLE life to God first. Then we will change the world. When your are filled with God people will see that you are different. This is what i want my life to be like.

I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
I have Holy Spirit power.
I've stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I'm a disciple of His.

I won't look back,
let up, slow down,
back away, or be still.
My past redeemed,
my present makes sense,
my future is secure.

I'm finished and done with low living,
sidewalking, small planning,
smooth-knees, colorless dreams,
tame visions, worldly-talking,
cheap-giving, and dwarf goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence,
position, promotion,
applause, or popularity.
I don't have to be right,
first, tops, recognized,
praised, regarded, or rewarded.

I now live by faith,
lean on His presence, walk by patience.
I am uplifted by prayer and labour by power.

My face is set.
My gait is fast.

My goal is Heaven.
My road is narrow.
My way is rough.
My companions are few.
My God reliable.
My mission is clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised,
detoured, lured away,
turned back, deluded, or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice,
hesitate in the presence of my adversaries,
negotiate at the table of my enemy,
or ponder at the pool of popularity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up,
until I've stayed up, stored up, prayed up,
preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus.

Will you join me?



Joyful Noise

Our lives are like songs. The choices we make and things we do (or don't do) are like "songs" to God. We can either make a joyful noise to God, or an obnoxious or dissonant song. God wants to hear us make beautiful music with our lives. So go all out. Leave nothing behind. Live for God with EVERYTHING that you do. Don't hold back and you will be making a symphony to God. You see when you obey God, all the angels and all of heaven rejoices. On the flip side, when you obey God all the powers of evil tremble. So make beautiful music. Follow the conductor (Jesus) and don't stray from His commands. Then your life will truly make a beautiful symphony.

Just Kidding?

"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour:

for we are members one of another." [Ephesians 4:25]

Introduction
The point of this blog post is to help us to put away all lying, not just some lying, but even the kind of lies that we may not think of as lies. Many of us will agree, now that God has saved us, that so-called "little white lies" are sin and are to be avoided and confessed and repented of when we do tell them. Yet, how often do we use the term "just kidding" after telling a joke, a lie - and often with children or loved ones as our audience. If we were to be honest and more precise, shouldn't we say "just lying" or "just trying to deceive you for the fun of it". We prefer not to use the word "lie". We prefer to use words that soften our sin, so we say that we are "just kidding" or we are "stretching the truth a little". But one important characteristic of truth is that it neither bends nor stretches. It is immovable and unchangeable.
Webster defines the word "kid" as "deceive as a joke" or "to make fun of". Is this something God's children should be doing? Is this the kind of behavior that our Redeemer deserves from us? And are we not being hypocrites when we condemn a politician for lying to us (the public) and then we go and do something that is no different in the eyes of God.
Does the Bible have anything specific to say about this issue?
The Bible has a specific reference to "kidding" in Proverbs chapter 26 (KJV):

Proverbs 26:18 - As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, 19 So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?

The Modern King James Version puts it this way:

Proverbs 26:18 - or like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death. 19 so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, Am I not joking."

Young's Literal Translation says:

Proverbs 26:18 - As one pretending to be feeble, Who is casting sparks, arrows, and death, 19 So hath a man deceived his neighbour, And hath said, `Am not I playing?'

The point here is that a man is deceiving his neighbor and justifying it by saying he is doing it "in sport", or "joking" or "playing".
The repercussions of this sin
How can deception be OK just because we reveal the deception right away? If I call you someone a horrible name, and then say "I didn't mean it" does that make our original offense all right? If you shout "fire" in a movie theater and then shout "Just kidding" is that OK. Obviously not, the damage has been done. What damage is done when we "kid around"? Quite a number of things:

• We violate someone's trust in us. This is an especially grievous sin when we violate the trust of children, because when it comes time to teach children about God and the Bible, we have destroyed our credibility.
• We perpetrate a lie - we bear false witness against our neighbor, violating one of the 10 commandments.
• We glorify deception by making a game of it, teaching others by example that this kind of behavior is acceptable to God.
• We seek to make a fool of someone, by making them believe us when they should not believe us since we are lying about something.
• It is important for Christians to be good and godly examples to everyone around them. When we deceive children and others for fun, we set a bad example and in so doing, we can cause others to stumble:

Romans 14:21 - It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

What are we teaching others about honesty, purity, and the value of truth by "kidding around". It may have been "OK" to our peers when we were unsaved, but is it ever OK to God, especially now that we are saved and now that we are ambassadors for Christ:

2 Corinthians 5:20 - Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

What is "kidding" all about?
Why do we "kid around"? To glorify God? No. We do it to get attention or to make ourselves popular with others or perhaps simply because we enjoy deceiving others - we actually make a "game" out of it, don't we? Ever since the fall in the garden of Eden, man has enjoyed trying to make a fool of his brother, when all he is doing is proving that he is the fool, for heaping up wrath upon himself:

Romans 2:5 - But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Hosea 8:7 - For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: ...

To the sinner, and to the flesh, accomplishing our sinful desires is "sweet to our souls", but it is not glorifying to God.

Proverbs 13:19 - The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.

Believers are to crucify the flesh -to die daily:

Galatians 5:24 - And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
1 Corinthians 15:31 - I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

So why do we like to "kid" others?

Proverbs 21:6 -The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

The treasure that we get by "kidding" others, is their attention - and we get their attention by a lying tongue, telling them things that are not true but that we know will get a reaction out of them. God describes this kind of talk as foolish talking and jesting:

Ephesians 5:3 - But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

We see in verse 4 above that God says this kind of behaviour is not to be taken lightly. He says it should not even occur ONCE among us. God's children, like the psalmist declares, should hate every false way, and one of those false ways should certainly include "kidding":

Psalms 119:104 - Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

And in Ephesians 5:9 above we see that we are to cultivate "truth" along with the other fruits of the Spirit.
How to break this habit:
1. Confess sin - If we make a habit of confessing our sins one to another and to the Lord, right away, we will find ourselves having greater sensitivity to sin. Overlooking our faults can cause us to become numb to sin. When we realize that we are "kidding" others and that it is wrong to do so, an appropriate response would be to say something like: "I'm sorry. That statement I just made is a lie. I should not have said that. Please forgive me."

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2. Be in the Word - As with any other sins that we truly wish to repent of, we need to hide God's word in our hearts that we would not sin against him. (Psalm 119:11)

Exodus 20:16 - Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Leviticus 19:11 - Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
Psalms 26:3 - For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.
Psalms 86:11 - Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
Psalms 119:29 - Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me thy law graciously.
Psalms 119:30 - I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.
Proverbs 3:3 - Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Proverbs 8:7 - For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
Proverbs 12:17 - He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.
Proverbs 12:22 - Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
Proverbs 14:5 - A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
Proverbs 14:9 - Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.
Isaiah 38:3 - And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
Isaiah 63:8 - For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour.
Jeremiah 9:5 - And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
Zechariah 8:16 - These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
John 8:44 - Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Acts 5:3 - But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
James 3:8 - But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
3 John 1:3 - For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Revelation 21:8 - But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 22:15 - For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Other little foxes we may be overlooking in our lives
And as God says in Song of Solomon 2:15, it is "the little foxes, that spoil the vines". Little sins lead to other more gross sins, so we dare not wait until we are telling gross lies before we start caring about truthfulness. Sine if these besetting sins that can cause others to stumble and can lead to other sins include:

• slander
• gossip
• minced oaths
• unforgiveness
• joking all the time
• disrespect
• pride - too proud to admit we are wrong - too proud to give credit to God instead of ourselves when complemented
• unthankfulness - to God and others
• unattentiveness - ignoring others because we are too busy (too selfish to share our time)
• joking about serious things, this will destroy people
• justifying sinful actions instead of admitting them and repenting of them
• justifing jokes as mere entertainment or fun
• participating in sinful conversations/activities when we should be preaching against such behavior
• making excuses for not praying, studying the Bible, ministering to others, and sharing the Gospel or just letting other things get in the way of these things

Conclusions:
Let us keep each other honest and let us act as if we really care about the truth and really care about being obedient to God...

Hebrews 10:24 - And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works
Colossians 3:9 - Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds

Written by Ray Kane 
When I read this post from one of the blogs I often read, it made me look at my self and see if i was a culprit of lying or "joking" and then covering it up by saying just kidding, which is the same as saying just lying or just trying to deceive you for the fun of it. I realized i was,so I'm working on changing, but i know this is an issue that affects many people. So I understand that not everyone is going to agree with this post, but please just pray that God will show you what He wants you to do, and He will guide your path.

Patience

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such is no law." Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

Patience. This is a hard thing for a lot of people to have (my self included.) Alot of times we think that patience isnt realy something we need, or something that isnt important. But that is so not true. If patience was not important, God would not of made it a fruit of the Spirit. People who have patience are a joy to be around. We all are not perfect. No one is except Jesus. So we should love each other and be patient. Patience is a VERY importan character trait to have. it will set you apart from other people. It will show others the love you have for God. So while im striving to become more patient, I hope you will to!

Not Much Time

Well as I'm sure you have found out the rapture did not happen at 6 P.M. on May 21st. Its kind of disappointing, but in other ways it isn't. Dont get me wrong, I would love to be in heaven right now worshipping God. But on the other hand it also means that God still has work for us to do. There are still people who need to hear about Jesus Christ. God does not want to see people in Hell. It would be selfish for us to keep the light that God has given us a secret. So lets go reach people for God because we dont know how much time we have left. We must stay in the Word and pray unceasingly. So put aside things of this world and focus on the eternal. Stop texting so much and get in the Text (the Bible.) Stop Facebooking so much, and get your face in the Book. Make God your number one priority, and he will guide your steps.

Change Your World

This past Friday I witnessed first hand how God has a plan for everyones life. I was going on a field trip to Chicago for school, and we were supposed to take a train down there. Long story short we ended up missing the train by 2 minutes. At first we were all bummed, but later we found out that the very train we were supposed to be on crashed. 2 people were killed and 26 were hospitalized. That could of been me or any other person who missed the train. But God isn't finished with me, or anyone who is still breathing. He has a plan for you. He wants you to come to Him. He knows that you can be a world changer. All we have to do is let God work thru us. He sees the amazing potential you have and has placed in the situation you are for a reason. Were you go to school, were you live etc. Its all part of Gods plan. It may seem lik God is out to get you, but the truth is his plan for you is bigger then you could ever imagine. You have the ability to change the world, and you can. Just ask God for strength and wisdom.

Idols

        Often times when we think of idols, we think of a gold statue or something in a foreign country. But simply stated, an idol is simply something that we place higher in our lives than we place God. Satan tries to blind us from seeing things in our lives as idols. He tries to make us believe that it isn't really an idol, its just entertainment. Here is a good video clip on American Idols.

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Satan wants to destroy you. He wants to see you waste your life. He wants to see you make checking your texts or going on Facebook a higher priority in your life then spending time with God. He wants to see you waste the time God has given you on earth. I'm not saying that checking your phone or going on Facebook is bad, it just becomes an idol when you give it more energy then you give God. So use the things or objects that God has given you not as idols. But use Facebook or texting or whatever form of entertainment in such a way that it will be plain to the world that those things are not your idol, Christ is. So give God your all, because in the end, the only thing that will stand is God. So make spending time with God your number one priority, and not things of this world.

Prayer

When your world is falling apart, and it seems like no one understands you or is able to talk to you, God is still there. When it seems like no one cares, God does. God never turns you down. He loves talking to you. You can talk to him anytime and he wont ignore you. HE is the rock on which I stand. Prayer moves heaven and earth. Satan and his demons tremble when you talk to God. Because prayer is not a ritual, or something that you just do before you eat. It is a lifestyle. When we pray we are literally talking to God. Think about that. We can actually talk to God and He listens. How awesome!!! Sometimes he doesnt always answer the way we want, but he answers in the way we need. God loves you and He will always be by your side and will not let you down.

Don't Waste Your Life

Satan wants to see you waste your life. He wants to see you in your last moments here on earth, wonder if you could have done more. Sadly many people have wasted their lives on things that just don't matter. Most people don't want to waste their lives, but they get caught up in things of this world. God created you for a purpose. He knows what you are capable of, and he knows that you are capable of doing great things for him. The Christian calling is often hard,but it is also the only call worth such an extradionary effort. Because when you do hard things for God, it not only lasts a lifetime, but for
eternity. That is a life filled with purpose, and everyone can do that. Don't waste your life, because God has extradionary plans for you if you just let him takeover your life.

Change

Change. The very word can make people shudder. it is so easy to build up comfort zones and just dwell in them. But the Christian life wasn't meant to be easy. being a Christian can sometimes mean stepping out of your comfort zone and reach people for Him. This past year I switched schools and at first I was really scared. But then I realized that even if people may not accept me God always will. And once I realized that school started going alot easier. God may ask us to do scary things, but he doesn't ask us to do the impossible because with God all things are possible!!!