The New Year: Looking Back and Looking Forward

  It is unbelievable how 2010 has flown by! It seems like the older you get the faster the years go by. So as we finish up 2010 and move on to 2011, there are two things I think we need to consider. First of all, has this past year been a time of spiritual growth in our lives? Have we grown in our relationship with Christ? If we have not, it is a good indication that there are some problems in our spiritual lives that need to be dealt with. If this is the case, the first step to getting back on track is to examine ourselves to see if there is some sin in our life that could be hindering our relationship with God. In Psalm 66:18, the Bible says,"If I regard (withhold or cherish) iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." We need to repent of any sin that we have been withholding from God and start seeking to draw close to Him by reading His Word and praying.
Secondly, we all need to dedicate this new year to the Lord. I think an ideal model prayer of dedication would be as follows:
"Lord, thank you for this past year that you have given to me. Thnak you for your faithfulness to me even in the small things. I now want to dedicate this new year to you. I want to follow you and your will in it so please work in my heart and give me the grace to do so. I am also giving my struggles that I face to you. Please give me victory over them through your power. I pray that this new year would be a year where I would grow in my relationship with you. So please keep my heart close to you so I may do this by your grace. In Jesus name, Amen."
If this prayer is prayed out of sincerity, the Lord will answer it for 1 John 5:14 says,"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing acoording to His will, He hears us." May the Lord bless you in this new year as you seek to draw closer to God in it.

The True Christmas Spirit

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus..."- Philippians 2:5

During Christmas time we hear allot about the ''Christmas spirit.'' What truly is the "Christmas spirit'' though? The answer lies in Philippians chapter 2, verses 4-11. It says:
"Look not every man on his own things, but also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
This passage of God's Word tells us how Jesus was equal with God but was willing to give up His rights and privileges that He had being God's Son. He humbled and submitted Himself to God the Father and received a human body. Our Sovereign Lord became a servant. Ah, I think we have hit the true Christmas spirit. What is Christmas all about? It is about how Jesus did not just think of Himself, but submitted Himself to the Father's will and thought of us and our need to be saved.
So, do we have the true Christmas spirit? Are we seeking to be a servant and trying to think of others during this time? If Jesus, God's Son, did it, then why cannot we do the same? I pray that God will help me and you have this attitude that was in Christ Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas: Zacharias and Elisabeth

Christmas week is finally here!!! This year has certainly flown by in so many ways. As we remember the Christmas story, we come across so many people who had an important role in the true story of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. One couple that I think of is Zacharias and Elisabeth who are talked about in Luke 1:5-25, 57-80. These two were were an old couple who were looked down upon by many. Why? Well, because they had no children. In the days of Jesus, if a couple had no children they were considered inferior. In fact, most people thought that if someone was childless that there must have been some serious sin in their life for God to cause them to be without a child. However, none of these things were true about Zacharias and Elisabeth. Luke 1:6 says,"And they [Zacharias and Elisabeth] were both righteous before God..." Of coarse this does not mean they were perfect, but it means that they were faithful to God and when they did sin, they got it right with Him. God, for some mysterious reason that they did not understand had shut up Elisabeth's womb. They had prayed and prayed for a child, but God just din not seem to answer. Until one day when Zacharias, who was a priest, was offering incense in the temple, an angel suddenly appeared to him telling him that Elisabeth would have a baby. Zacharias at first did not believe and as a result, he could not speak until the baby boy was born.

There are so many lessons we can learn from this true account:
1. God can do anything. Zacharias and Elisabeth were way past child-barring years, but God performed a miracle and allowed them to have a baby boy. " For with God nothing shall be impossible." -Luke 1:37
2. God hears and answers prayer. We need to make sure we are not holding back sin in our lives from Him because when we do, God will not hear our prayers (Psalm. 66:18). If our requests are in accordance with His good will and purpose, He will answer them.
3. God highly values faith. Zacharias did not have it and as a result he couldn't speak for nine months. When God tells us something we need to believe it and claim it as true because it is. Hebrews 6:18 tells us that God cannot lie because it is so diametrically opposed to His nature.
4. We need to be careful about judging others. Zacharias and Elisabeth were wrongfully looked down upon and reproached by their countrymen. Many times we are so quick to judge someone's heart just because something bad happens to them or because thay may do certain things in a different way than we do. In Matthew 7:1-5, Jesus warned about being judgemental about someone's heart motives. This does not mean that we should not be discerning or show the unsaved their need for Jesus, but it means that we should not take one-sided opinions (even if they are our own) and make quick judments about others and their heart-motives.
As we can see there are many things we can take out of this account of Zacharias and Elisabeth. You can probably think up of many more too! All of these prick my heart and I pray that God will help me and everyone put these principles into practice.

Inspiration from a Grandma

Just the other day my grandmother was talking with my brother Jesse. Although I was taking a mid-term exam in the next room at the time, I still overheard their conversation. She mentioned to Jesse how the sun was like God's love in so many ways. First of all, she told how the sun dispells gloom and makes you feel better. Jesse also mentioned how the sun can bring warmth to a cold day. As they taked about these things, they compared them to God's love. God's love can wipe away the depression or sadness in our lives; it makes us feel better (what a understatement, right?). Our Lord's love can also bring warmth and encouragement to the cold, tough day.
However, there is one very important way in which God's love is different from the sun. Matthew 24:35 says,"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." The sun will eventually be destroyed; however, God will never stop loving His children. Nothing can separate us from His love- no, not even the really dumb things that we consistently do (Rom. 8:35, 38-39). What a encouragement! He loves you and me no matter what.

Birthday!

Just recently, I celebrated my sixteenth birthday with my family and I thought I would post a few pics of the celebrations.

Making the traditional home-made cake

                                                                        My mom and I

 
                              Me with my grandma. These were taken on Sunday, the actual birth day.

                                                                      My dad and I

    
                                                                      Me with my mom

I really thank the Lord for the family He has given me. They are such a daily blessing to me as they continually encourage me to live for God and show their love in many ways. Sad to say, many times I take them for granted; however this is not the right attitude because we should enjoy the blessings God has given to us. I pray that God would help myself and all of us enjoy the times we have with our families however big or small they may be.

Discouraged?

"And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends." - Job 42:10

This is a very interesting and important passage from the God's Word, the Bible. I think we all know the story of Job and all the afflictions and problems he had. This verse tells how God took away Job's afflictions when Job prayed for his friends and interceded on their behalf.
Next time you go through a rough time and you just seem overwhelmed by everything that is facing you, remember that God greatly blesses and helps those who help others. When we get our mind off of ourselves and onto others, God just seems to work everything else out. It is something that I have to refocus my mind on everyday because my natural tendency is to think of me but God wants me to thinks of others. Let's respond to the call of God to start thinking of others first; because when we do, God will do great things.

He Cares

Have you ever thought something like this: "Does God really care about these circumstances in my life. I mean seriously, aren't these problems just too small for God." I have thought this before too. However God showed me that He does care about our cares and concerns no matter how small they may seem. How do we know this is true? Well, two verses tell us about this. The first is Philippians 4:6-7. It says:
  "Be careful [or anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
 You see, the apostle Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says that God does not want us to be worried about a thing. Therefore we need to take all our requests and burdens to Him.
The second verse that gives us assurance that God cares and wants to hear about our burdens is 1 Peter 5:7 which says,"Casting all your care upon him; for He cares for you."
So it is clear that God wants us to take our cares and concerns to Him. I think we all can improve on taking our burdens to God more often; so let's try to make our Heavenly Father our Heavenly Friend.