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><> FROM THE TEXT <><
Galatians 5:10
I have confidence in you, in the Lord,
that you will have no other mind;
but he who troubles you shall bear his
judgment, whoever he is.
You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as
the great; you shall not be afraid in any man's presence, for the judgment is
God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.'
The LORD shall repay the evildoer
according to his wickedness."
He will repay my enemies for their evil. Cut them off in Your truth.
According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay.
2 Corinthians
1:3-4
Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all
comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able
to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we
ourselves are comforted by God.
(= THINK IT OVER =)
Has there ever been a time when a
person has made you or someone you are very close to upset? Do you remember how
it felt? It feels horrible to be hurt by someone, directly, or indirectly. So
what do you do about it. Do you go to the person and demand apology? Paul tells
us in Galatians, that WHOEVER the person is that hurt us will get his end of
it. God promises to handle the people who bother us and mess with our
feelings.
There have been so many times when
someone has hurt me and I took matters into my own hands, or one of my close
friends did it for me. But until I read this verse God really didn’t reveal it
to me that what I was doing was completely wrong! Yeah, I knew it was wrong in
a sense, but I didn’t know that God had said so much about it. Then the very
same night that I was having a problem with someone God showed me that verse!
WOW! I was doing things totally wrong! Instead of letting God handle the
person, I was trying to handle them myself. What was I doing?
I know how it is to want to get revenge
on someone, but no matter how much we want to: we shouldn’t. That is not
how God has called us to live our lives. God wants to be the one to step in and
handle things for us. Picture him as the big brother who stands up for you and
gets rid of your bully problems. God wants us to depend on him to take care of
the people who put us through pain. He wants us to realize that he can take
care of things a lot better than you will ever be able to, WITHOUT you getting
in trouble for hurting that person. If you look through the Bible, you can find
many times where one of God’s children were in distress, and God TOOK CARE of
the person that was bothering them! It’s so awesome to see the different ways
in which God wants us to depend on him. So right now, let go, and let God take
care of the bullies in your life.
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Just like I said, God wants to be the
person you go to for getting rid of the problems in your life. If you are being
persecuted in a spiritual way or a physical way, God always has a way with
getting rid of problems for you. There have been times when people had hurt me,
and they ended up getting sick, grounded, put through the same kind of pain
they put me through, they moved away, got a new job, you name it! God handled
them exactly how he wanted to, so give up the fight. He will take care of all
the people who are bugging you… just give those people to Him to take
care of, sit back and see what happens.
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I pray for the people that have been bothering me, beating me
up, or making me feel bad. I hand these people problems over to you, whether it
be my parents, my ex-friends, my boss, people I don’t know… whoever it is, you
are going to take care of things in your own way, and in your own time. Thank
you! In Jesus’ name, amen.
********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
Matthew 6:24
"No one can serve two masters; for
either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the
one and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and mammon.
Luke 12:15
And He said to them, "Take heed and
beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the
things he possesses.
(= THINK IT OVER =)
Greed = corruption. That’s all there is to it. Most of you know of
Christopher Columbus and his adventure to claim new lands. He started out on
the right foot, wanting to preach the gospel to people who had never heard of
God before, but it soon went wrong. I have lately been reading about Columbus
and the American history from a Christian point of view, and I’ve learned a
lot. When Columbus went ashore he was soon entangled in a greedy mess. There
was gold everywhere and it consumed him so much that he eventually turned all
of the natives into miners or made them have gold taxes. The population of
natives went from 300 thousand people to 100 thousand people within 2 years,
all having died or been killed! (Going down to only 20 thousand people in about
12 years)
Later on Columbus set out for even more
gold, it had become his main priority. God sent a mighty storm and great
challenges, sickness, and death to Columbus and his crew, but He never got the
picture. God was trying to stop him from exploring. He wanted Columbus to turn
his ways, but nothing was working. His heart was full of greed.
Then one horrible day, the Indians had
killed his crew. Columbus heard the shooting, and only a few minutes later
watched as the bodies of his crew members floated down stream. He cried out but
heard no answer, and being weary, he fell asleep, when he heard a voice.
God spoke to Columbus in a dream in
such a compassionate way and explained what was actually going on in Columbus’
life that he could not see because of greed. God was showing him mercy, after
all Columbus had done. God ended in saying “Fear not; have trust; all these
tribulations are written in marble and are not without cause.”
Although God had spoken to him: in his
journal he later wrote about the gold discoveries yet to be uncovered. He
hadn’t changed.
What we learn from his story is that if
you are greedy, you are going to find yourself in a lot of pain eventually. God
said himself that he is a jealous God, and He doesn’t want you serving two
masters. God did so much to try and get Christopher Columbus’ attention but he
was completely consumed, and most thought he could never turn around. We don’t
think that any of you are greedy, but don’t let it happen. And if you are
greedy, you need to take a step back and look around. Maybe that is why bad
things have been happening to you lately.
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Greed.
It’s known to get people into a lot of trouble.
Unfortunately, it’s one of those things all humans have to deal
with. One of the Ten Commandments tells
us not to have any gods before the one true God. Well, He didn’t just mean god-gods, he also meant money, idols
and other things. If we put anything
before God, we are breaking one of His commandments and therefore sinning.
So like we said earlier, Do you need to
step back and take a look at your life? Even if you don’t think you do, it is
good to examine yourself once and a while anyways. Take a look at how you have
been lately and pray over it. If you think of something that you think God
wants you to change, write it down and work on it within the next couple of
weeks. If you do this you should send it in to us (if it’s not too private) as
an encouraging story for the other people who are going through the same
process.
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I pray that if I am greedy you will help me overcome it. Thank
you that you are always there willing to forgive me, even for such a horrible
sin. Please help me to go through each day being selfless instead of greedy. In
Your name, amen.
********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
1 Corinthians 6:12
"Everything is permissible for
me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for
me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.
2 Peter 2:19
They promise them freedom, while they
themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has
mastered him.
1 Corinth. 9:24-27
Do you not know that those who run in a
race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain
it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all
things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable
crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not
as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into
subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
(= THINK IT OVER =)
1 Corinth. 9:24-27 says that Paul got control of his body; his
fleshly desires, and made it do the things that were right and pure in the
sight of God, so that when he went around preaching he wouldn't sound like a
hypocrite! This verse struck me in such a way that I thought about it for a
long time. Did you hear what Paul had said?? He said he brought his body into
SUBMISSION. And if he can do that then we can too! Paul wasn't some almighty
freak of nature; he was human just like us whom had the power of God helping
him! If we break down and open up our heart, soul, and body to let God's power
help us: we can bring our own body into submission and gain control of the
things we have become addicted to. NO MATTER WHAT THEY ARE!
There was a theory I heard from a pastor on the Television, and he said,
"I believe that God has created us all to be addicted to something.... but
his original plan was for us to be addicted to HIM. When Adam fell, we knew
right from wrong and had the choice of whether or not we WANTED to be ADDICTED
to God. So we went around trying to fill the void that ONLY GOD could replace.
We tried to fill it with drugs, alcohol, sex, food, and even people! But in
reality there was only one thing that could ever fill the void: God. We need to
be addicted to God, otherwise the devil will distract us with all these other
things we can become addicted to."
The more I thought about the more it
made sense! There are so many people in the world who go around addicted to
something. Some of them don't even realize it either. Then you look at the
people who are completely sold out to God and addicted to HIM, and you see
nothing else in their lives that you could say they are completely addicted to!
If you took God out of their lives; they would have major withdraws, which is
what happens when you go off something you are addicted to.
You CAN overcome addiction. It IS possible. You may need help from a
professional, or you may not. The one thing you need to remember is that when
you quit one addiction, it is always replaced with another. Smokers sometimes
start chewing sunflower seeds or gum, that kind of thing. But instead of
replacing it with another endless earthly battle, replace it with God. With a
hunger and a passion to be with him and serve him. You can do anything through
Christ who strengthens you. You CAN get your body and mind under CONTROL and
overcome your addiction.
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
I have a lot of Mormon friends. A lot of
them aren't allowed to drink coffee, or soda, or any alcoholic beverages. I was
confused beyond belief when I heard about that. I mean… I would be nowhere
without my frappachino in the morning!
Finally one day, one of them told me that by having something that can
potentially addict you to it: is bad. Coffee is addicting, soda is addicting,
almost anything can become addicting in reality but while some things aren’t as
“bad” as others, the point here is – the only thing you should ever be addicted
to is God. So we challenge you this week to seek out to get help with your
addiction. (If needed.) GET RID OF YOUR ADDICTION and REPLACE it with the
addiction to GOD!
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I pray that this very moment, you will make in me a new
creation and I will not be addicted anymore. In the name of Jesus I am going to
be addicted to you and you alone. This addiction of mine has no more power over
me and it is completely released from my life. Make me into a new person this
very second, and help me to change my life style in the ways that only you can.
Work a miracle in me today and help me with this problem. I hand it over to you
in the name of Jesus. It is in my power no longer. In Your Son’s heavenly name,
amen.
********
Brandon--
Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I worked at a summer camp in 2003 and
while I was there, there was a time when I was so pressured by the stress of
working that I came extrememly close to quitting. God didn't want me to so he
showed me this verse to help me through. Phillippians 4:7 really stuck with me
and helped me through this time, and I ended up staying for the rest of the
summer.
--
Rhona--
Romans 12:1-5
"So brothers since God has shown us
great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a sacrifice to him. Your offering
must be only for God and pleasing to him. This is the spiritual way for you to
worship. 2 Do not change yourselves to be like the people of this world. But be
changed within by a new way of thinking. Thn you will be able to decide what
God wants for you. And you will be able to know what is good and pleasing to
God and what is perfect. 3 God has given me a special gift. That is why I have
something to say to everyone among you.
Do not think you are better than you are. You must see yourself as you
really are. Decide what you are by the amount of faith God has given you. 4
Each one of us has a body, and that body has many different parts. These parts
have many different uses. 5 In the same way, we are many, but is Christ we are
all one body. And each part belongs to all the other parts."
I like this passage because it inspires
my walk with God.
--
Jessica--
A favorite verse of mine is John 10:10
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." At Girls Reflecting Glory, that verse was the main theme. That
we don't let other people rule our lives, and let the world show us how to
dress or act. We are supposed to have our life to the fullest in Jesus Christ
and it's a reminder to me, to live my life to fullest in Jesus Christ.
--
Tenille--
Romans 5:2-5
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of
God. Not only so, but we also rejoice
in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance;
perserverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not dissapoint us, because God has poured out His love
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
I love this verse a lot because it
reminds me that no matter how bad things get, only good will come from it
becasue God is in control. It may take
a while, but only hope can come out of a bad situation. And for this, we should be happy to suffer
because it will only make us stronger.
--
Megan--
Psalm 25 -summarized-
To You O Lord, I lift up my soul
O my God, I trust in You;...
Let not my enemies triumph over me...
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation
On You I wait all the day...
Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor
my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me...
Good and upright is the Lord;
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and
truth...
For Your name's sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity for it is great.
Who is the man that fears the Lord?...
He himself shall dwell in prosperity,
And his descendants shall inherit the
earth.
The secret of the Lord is with those who
fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant...
Look on my affliction and my pain,
And forgive all my sins.
Consider my enemies, for they are many;
And they hate me with cruel hatred...
Let integrity and uprighteousness preserve
me,
For I wait for You.
My favorite bible verse is psalm 25;
it's my favorite because it is a plea for deliverance and forgiveness, and to
me it is like the perfect prayer. It covers everything; and it's such a faith
builder.
--
Danielle--
Isaiah 40:29
The Lord gives strength to the weary and
to those who lack might he increases strength.
This verse is one of the many favorites
I have. The reason being is that throughout the summer last year while I was at
camp, it helped me through everything. The long days, horrible drama, people
and things I didn't want to deal with, etc. It is such an encouraging verse to
have memorized so that you can recite it when you are going through a hard
time. It really helps.
--
Kelly --
James 2:18-20
But someone will say, "You have
faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I
will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do
well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish
man, that faith without works is dead?
I love these verses. It’s so incredibly
easy to say, “Yes, I believe in God. But it’s a completely different thing to
show it. Even Satan and the demons believe in the Lord- they believe and they
tremble. We are on God’s side though. So we don’t need to tremble at his
existence. We do, however, need to show Him, and glorify Him. Not just by our
words, but through our actions as well. Like it says up there… faith without
works is dead.
********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
Daniel 2:1
Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar
had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.
Daniel 2:16
So Daniel went in and asked the king to
give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.
Daniel 2:48
Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him
many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and
chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel 5:5
In the same hour the fingers of a man's
hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the
king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Daniel 5:17
Then Daniel answered, and said before the
king, "Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another;
yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the
interpretation.
Daniel 6
2: And over these, three governors, of
whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the
king would suffer no loss…
4So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge
against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault,
because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. 5Then
these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless
we find it against him concerning the law of his God."…
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went
home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt
down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his
God, as was his custom since early days….
19Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in
haste to the den of lions. 20And when he came to the den, he cried
out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel,
"Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve
continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"
21Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever! 22My
God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me,
because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong
before you."
23Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they
should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den,
and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God….
24 And the king gave the command, and they brought those men
who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions--them, their
children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their
bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.
(= THINK IT OVER =)
Daniel had distinguished himself by
refusing to eat the meat sacrificed to idols and interpreting a dream for the
king. On a vegetarian diet he gained weight. As for the interpretation, King
Nebuchadnezzar had declared that “Your God is the greatest of all gods, the
Lord over kings, and the one who reveals mysteries.” (Dan. 2: 47) Daniel was
rewarded with many “splendid” gifts and promoted to a position where he was in
charge of the province of Babylon and head of all the royal advisers. Daniel
later interprets another of the king’s dreams and also translates the “writing
on the wall” which predicted the fall of Babylon to Darius the Mede.
Daniel’s success continued under King Darius.
Darius appointed 120 governors to look after his affairs in the empire. Daniel
was appointed as one of three supervisors over the governors. He was so
proficient in his new position that Darius considered putting him in charge of
the whole empire! Needless to say, the other governors and supervisors were
extremely jealous. They looked for a way to frame Daniel.
Of course, Daniel was above reproach,
honorable and trustworthy in all that he did. They couldn’t find any reason to
accuse him. They came up with a plan to use his religion to trap him. It was
well known throughout the kingdom that Daniel was a devout Jew. Whenever he
interpreted a dream he always gave God the glory and credit. Daniel knelt and
prayed facing Jerusalem three times a day.
The other leaders in Babylon gathered
together and went to see Darius. They praised the king highly and suggested a
law that for thirty days, no one in the kingdom is allowed to pray to any god
but Darius. Darius agreed and issued an irrevocable royal decree. Violators of
this decree were to be tossed into a pit of hungry lions.
Daniel continued to pray: “In an
upstairs room of his house there were windows that faced toward Jerusalem.
There, just as he had always done, he knelt down at the open windows and prayed
to God three times a day.” (Dan. 6: 10) Not willing to compromise his faith, he
did not even hide his actions. The other supervisors and governors took note of
Daniel’s daily habit of thrice daily prayers and reported the infraction to
King Darius.
They reminded the king of his
proclamation and royal law. The king replied, “Yes, that is a strict order, a
law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed”. (Dan. 6: 12) No sooner
were the words out of Darius’ mouth than these other officials accused Daniel
of violating the law. The king tried to find a way to rescue Daniel, a valuable
and trusted servant of the empire but Daniel’s accusers reminded Darius that
the law couldn’t be changed.
King Darius relented and had Daniel
arrested and thrown into the pit of lions. The king had a large stone put over
the mouth of the pit and put his royal seal on the entrance. No one would be
able to rescue Daniel. The king was greatly distressed and spent a sleepless
night, refusing all food and entertainment.
Early in the morning, the king ran to
the pit and called out, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was the God you
serve so loyally able to save you from the lions?” (Dan. 6: 20) Daniel praised
his king and replied, “God sent his angel to shut the mouths of the lions so
that they would not hurt me. He did this because he knew that I was innocent…”
(Dan. 6: 22)
The king was elated and relieved and
had Daniel removed from the pit. The accusers were not so fortunate; all of
them, with their wives and children, were thrown into the pit. “Before they
even reached the bottom of the pit, the lions pounced on them and broke all
their bones.” (Dan. 6: 24)
The above is taken from: http://mn.essortment.com/danielinthel_ruko.htm
Don’t you see what happens when you’re
faithful? If you do what you know to be God’s will, you can bet anything that
He will back you up 100%. He will be behind you all the way. Even when things
get scary and you’re not sure if you can hold up, just try to remember the
story of Daniel. Let his courage help you and be a guide to you in your times
of distress.
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Go read the whole book of Daniel! It’s only
9 chapters so it isn’t long, but it’s a lot more exciting than the summary we
have of it up there. It will be worth the read and you will learn something!
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, If I was told I needed to
either bow down to someone else or die for You, I want to always know that I
will choose to die for You. What’s more- I want to always have the strength and
courage to not just die for you, but to live for You as well. I don’t ever want
to disappoint You Lord. You are my Father. My Strength. My Courage. Please be
with us all and help us to know this.
In Jesus’ Wonderful Name I pray, Amen
********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
Matthew 20:28
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his
life as a ransom for many."
Mark 9:35
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be
first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
John 13:12-15
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to
his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked
them.
"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,'
and rightly so, for that is what I am.
Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, has
washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.
I have set you an example that you should
do as I have done for you.
Acts 20:33-35
I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing.
You yourselves know that these hands of
mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.
In everything I did, I showed you that by
this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord
Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
1 Corinthians 9:19
Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to
win as many as possible.
2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet
for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become
rich.
Philippians 2:5-8
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very
nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but
made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human
likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became
obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
(= THINK IT OVER =)
“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to
everyone, to win as many as possible.”
Ever heard of showing your faith
through your actions? Servant-hood is one of the greatest ways to show someone
who God really is. Think about it: The Son of God came to earth to show us the
way. He gave up everything! He was living it up in Heaven next to His
Father then he decided to give all that up for a while to come help US. To come
help those who refuse to help themselves. To come help the cold hearted beings
whom cursed Him, and mocked Him. He did all of this because he loves us.
He came to earth as a carpenter, didn’t dress in incredibly nice clothes, and
made Himself a servant to us. He was God in the form of a lowly human,
surrounding Himself with all of our sin to the point where God could not even
lay eyes on Jesus.
Jesus took the very nature of a
servant, was made in human likeness and humbled Himself. He never sinned once,
and was always obedient – even to the point of a very painful death, the only
person ever able to live that perfect life and most of all He was; and always
will be, the only one ever able to show us how it’s really done. What a
great job He did at that!
“For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became
poor so that you through his poverty might become rich."
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Servant-hood is the key to winning over a
soul to Christ. If you were served a meal at a restaurant, and the food was
awesome but the waitress was horrible and snotty and had a bad attitude about
everything, you may think twice about recommending it to your friends. If you
were served an awesome meal and had a wonderful waitress too, you would be
spreading the word to everyone you came in contact with! THAT is why we need to
be servants, and we need to have a good attitude about it as well. When you
serve someone and have an awesome attitude about it, that light shines and the
person you are serving (no matter what you did to “serve” them) will remember
how kindly they were treated and you will have made a positive impact on their
life, whether they remember that moment or not. Just kind gestures, words, or
actions can make a world of a difference in how someone’s day goes. When they
see the servant hood of Christ, that opens the door for them to ask you why you
are so humble and servant like, which will allow you to tell them about Jesus!
So this very moment, make a decision to throw your pride away and become a
servant. When the opportunity comes, serve like you have never served before.
You may get asked about it, and jump at that chance! You may win a soul to
Christ.
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord I
thank you for sending Jesus as such a wonderful example of servant hood for us.
Please help me to be a servant in my life and to humble myself so that I can
serve others easier. In Your name, amen.
********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
Ephesians 5:29
For no one ever hated his own flesh, but
nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
(= THINK IT OVER =)
Did you know that it takes about 20
positive statements ABOUT OURSELVES (the foundation of our
self-image---self-esteem) to counter-act even just 1 negative personal
statement! Self-image is the key to how you live your life. When you don’t
think very highly of yourself at all it effects every aspect of your daily
living! Negative thoughts/statements about yourself can lead to depression;
depression can lead to obesity, addiction, bad home/work life, bad
relationships and so much more.
I know a lot of people who put
themselves down or are constantly telling themselves bad things, and it’s
upsetting! The more people say things that like, the more their subconscious
and their conscious mind believes it and it becomes a reality to them.
Sometimes you do it because it will make someone laugh, or make yourself laugh.
Sometimes it’s a result of many years of pain and suffering from other people
and you got used to it so you kept it going. There are many reasons but none of
the reasons are good enough.
It upsets the heart of God and the
heart of the people who love you when you put yourself down or think negatively
about yourself. I personally have cried a few times before as a result from the
way some of my friends put themselves down or think of themselves.
The thing is: it doesn't take a
continual repetition of negative statements from our parents, peers, and others
throughout our childhood to cause low self-image-self-esteem...fact is, once we
get a couple in our head, we can use them over and over again. Again and again
we take those false negatives and repeat them unconsciously (completely
unaware). It's like having a constant heckler with you.
This is not how God has called us to
live our lives. Yes he says don’t be boastful, but thinking positively about
yourself isn’t being boastful! You are a beautiful wonderful person and there
are many people whom love you and care about you and don’t want you to think
like that about yourself anymore. If you have spiraled out of control with your
self-image, get some help! You can go to preachers, church counselors, real
counselors, A FRIEND!
I personally can’t find any scripture
that specifically points out that you are to love yourself, in plain text like
that. There is however that verse from Ephesians. It tells us that no man will
ever completely and totally hate themselves. It’s hard to believe. At least for
me. I go to high school, and everyday I am surrounded by hundreds of different
people with hundreds of different personalities. I see the really up beat ones
– the ones who are just happy to be there, all the way down to the ones that
hate life. The ones that wish they could just disappear. Still, I can be
certain that none of them actually hate themselves. Ephesians just told me that
it was impossible. You can hate your looks, your personality, your attitude;
you can hate the way you talk or the crookedness of your teeth; you can deeply
resent your twisted sense of humor and your cynical view point- but those
things are just parts of you. They help define you, but still they’re not you.
I believe that if you truly hated
yourself you wouldn’t go on living. It’s human nature to want to live. If
you’re about to fall- it’s a common reflex to try and catch yourself. If
someone’s chasing you with a knife- for most- it’s a common instinct to run,
either that or fight. We have all of these instincts that come out when we’re
faced with life or death situations, I believe that if we actually hated
ourselves- we wouldn’t bother. I think if we actually hated ourselves, then it
would make us happy to be miserable or in pain.
I hate Satan. I therefore look forward
to the day when he will be thrown in the lake of fire.
I hate penguins. I wouldn’t mind seeing
the whole species go completely extinct.
And while I may really hate certain
aspects about myself, I still don’t want me to die, which means there’s
something there that I see that’s worth holding on to.
I know God loves me and did everything
for me. I know that if someone that perfect loves me- there’s got to be
something really special about me, and I just need to figure out what it is. I
need to look through God’s eyes at myself, and only then will I truly be able
to shine…
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Ok I am going to pull a “Dr. Phil” on you.
(for those of you out of the country, Dr. Phil is a famous psychologist on TV that
helps a lot of people with their problems.) I want each and every one of you
whether you think you half self esteem issues or not: to make a list of all of
the bad things you can think about yourself. When you finish that make a list
of all the good things you can think about yourself.
Based on the ratio from earlier, do you
have 20 good things vs. 1 bad thing, or do your bad out number the good? More
than likely your bad will out number the good.
I want you to really think about all of the things you wrote down. Then
I want you to go to your best friend and ask them to write a list (but tell
them to tell the truth about the bad things as well!) then compare the lists.
In your friend’s list you will find a lot more good things than bad! So are
those negative thoughts you have really relevant?
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord
Jesus, I know that you don’t want me to kick myself around and talk trash about
myself and I’m sorry. Please forgive me for all of the bad thoughts I have and
I pray that you will help me to see a positive side to myself. Help me to think
better about myself and to help me life a better life. In Jesus’ name amen.
********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
1 John 2:1-2
My little children, these things I write
to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for
our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1John 2:12
I
write to you children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
I 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.
(= THINK IT OVER =)
Do you remember when we talked about addiction?
I thought we had covered almost everything! But alas, there was one topic we
left out. The guilt you feel after you’ve fallen into the temptation of your
old addiction. Yeah that feeling… The nasty, worthless, sad, ugly, guilty,
horrible, pain you feel after you give in again. Your heart pangs with guilt
and disgust, and you cry out saying “why?!?!” You feel hopeless and horrible
that you broke your good streak, or your promise to God, and feel like you
don’t even deserve to be forgiven; in fact, you deserve to be punished! God
doesn’t think that though.
Shame, guilt, fear; we all know what
these things are, and we all know what they feel like unfortunately. They grip
us and never seem to let go. They seem so deeply embedded within our souls; you
can’t remember when they weren’t there.
If you feel dirty, ashamed, guilty, and
you believe in Jesus, and are saved, your sins are forgiven. Every sin.
There’s not one God doesn’t know about. If you are saved, you are forgiven.
That’s why Jesus died on the cross. He died, so you wouldn’t be dirty, so you
wouldn’t be ashamed, so you wouldn’t be guilty. Why do you cast it to the side
as seemingly worthless? Why can’t you accept the gift already given to you?
Shame goes away. Ever slowly, but never the less it goes away: but only if you
let it. Yes it does sink its claws into you deeper than you can bear to
imagine, but you hold onto it for dear life also. Let go, accept you are
forgiven, and realize this is why Jesus took all of your sins onto Himself and
pinned them to the cross, and held them there with His blood. Every drop was
for you, so you would be free. Every lash of the whip was for you. Every tear.
If you think you still have to be punished, stop it. You don’t. There will
always be consequences; but not punishment. All you have to do is reach up and
take His hand, and accept that your guilt is not needed: it’s already been
taken care of. Jesus took your punishment willingly. Why? Because He loves you
with a love so pure, so deep, so right, so holy, so wonderful you can never
comprehend its true depths. He loves you! The whole you: Shortcomings and
failures. Stumbles and crashes. Everything about you He totally digs. He loves
your hair (or lack thereof), He loves your style, He loves your heart. All He desires
is your love in return; which is quite easy considering He is perfect. Just
imagine: the most perfect being in the entire universe wants to be your best
bud. He wants give you something deeper, and bigger than yourself. Just let go.
He’ll catch you. He’s really good at that.
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
There’s a sick feeling that comes after
you’ve done something you shouldn’t have done. Maybe it’s dread or anger or
guilt or shame or all of the above – and more – rolled into one big downer of
depressing disgust. All you want to do is hide from God, to wait until the
feeling passes, to go listen to some music or watch some TV and let your mind
just go to mush. That’s too bad, because Jesus is just waiting for you to call
for help. He’s waiting to pick you up with one nail-scarred hand, and hold the
other one out before His Father – to show that the price has been paid, the
debt has been canceled, the way of forgiveness has been paved with cleansing
blood. That’s what an Advocate does. He’s our counsel for the defense. Call Him
up. He’s ready and waiting right now.
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord I
thank you that you will forgive me every single time I mess up. I pray that you
will forgive me this very second, and set my heart free from guilt and shame.
Let me start living daily like you want me to. Set me free from all this pain I
feel, and the addiction that used to hold me. In Jesus name, amen.
********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
Colossians 2:2
That their hearts may be encouraged, being
knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of
understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and
of Christ.
1 Corinthians 14:31
For you can all prophesy one by one, that
all may learn and all may be encouraged.
Acts 11:23
When he came and had seen the grace of
God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they
should continue with the Lord.
(= THINK IT OVER =)
Sometimes we all need that extra little
nudge. There times where we all feel like giving up, and then we hear an
encouraging word from someone we know, and it is exactly what we need and it
gives us that boost to keep going. Did you know that God has called us all to
be encouragers for one another? He said that we need to spur each other on
toward the goal we have been called to in Him. When you know someone who is
trying to over come an addiction, who is studying for a big test, or anything
that may change their life or help them in anyway, you need to spur them on and
encourage them the WHOLE time.
People are stubborn. That’s just how it
is! Sometimes you may have better luck encouraging a brick wall to start
walking, but eventually your encouragement will make a positive impact in someone’s
life. If we didn’t have people to encourage us along the way, some of the
things we do would be a lot harder.
One of my best friends and me,
encourage each other to read our bible everyday. We constantly ask each other
how we are doing, and if one of us isn’t doing very well we will encourage each
other! Sometimes it takes a lot to encourage someone enough to the point of
where they accept what you’re saying. Other times the person may be so
desperate to hear a good word, that you make their whole week better!
Have you ever encouraged a stranger?
Most of you would probably say “no”. Now I’m not talking about some little kid
who was trying to do something and you cheered them on. I am talking about a
person who looks like they are having a bad day, that kind of thing. There are
always days that all of us need moral support from someone, and right now you
can probably make a difference in someone’s life just by encouraging them.
Encourage them to do better, to smile more, to be happy, at least something
positive! We all need to get together and push each other towards our heavenly
prize. That is a MAIN part of being brothers and sisters in Christ, or even
just lights to the world.
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
Go encourage the first person you talk to
after reading this. All you have to do is say “Have I ever told you how awesome
I think you are?”
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord, I
pray that you will set my heart in gear to be an encourager to other people.
Help me to be able to spot the ones that need encouragement and give me the
right words to tell them. Help me to be an encouragement and a good example for
all the people I come in contact with. In Your heavenly name I pray, amen.
********
><> FROM THE TEXT <><
Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Romans 6:4
Therefore we were buried with
Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by
the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Colossians 2:12
Buried with Him in
baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of
God, who raised Him from the dead.
Acts 8:36-39
Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said,
"See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"
Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may."
And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went
down into the water, and he baptized him.
Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
(= THINK IT OVER =)
At least 15 different ceremonies are
called baptism today including, the throwing of rose petals, sprinkling of water
or oil, prayer, etc. But which one is the way GOD wants us to be baptized? As
long as you get baptized by something, that’s ok right? Well according to the
Bible: no. Baptism by immersion was the only form of baptism practiced during
Bible times and for centuries after the cross. But then, misguided men
introduced other forms of baptism for the sake of convenience. Thus, God's
sacred ordinance of baptism was distorted and its rich symbolic meaning
obscured. There is actually a reason behind why we go through water-baptism.
No, God didn’t just one day decide “Hey I want a bunch of people to be held
under water for a few minutes,” He has logic behind everything He has us do.
Water baptism is very symbolic. Baptism
symbolizes Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. There is first death to
sin, then burial of the old life of sin in the water, and finally resurrection
from the water to a new life. Baptism by immersion fits the symbolism
perfectly. The life of sin dies, then there is brief suspension of breath while
the person being baptized is leaned backward into the water until the body is
fully covered, or buried, in the water. Then the person is raised up out of the
water, taking a fresh breath as a newborn baby, to live an entirely new life,
symbolizing the resurrection. No other form of baptism fits this Bible
symbolism.
The Greek word "baptizo"
means "submerge," "plunge under," or "immerse." A
person has not been baptized unless he has been completely submerged, or
buried, in water. This word "baptizo" is always used in the Bible in
reference to the sacred ordinance of baptism. The Greek words for
"sprinkling" or "pouring" are never used.
Jesus tells us all to look to Him as an
example right? Well how was Jesus baptized? Mark 1:9, 10 says “Jesus came ... and was baptized of John in
Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened.”
John baptized Jesus by immersion in the
Jordan River. Note that they were "in" Jordan (not on the riverbank)
and that Jesus came "up out" of the water. This is why John was
baptizing in "Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water
there" John 3:23. Christians are to follow the example of Jesus (1 Peter
2:21), who was baptized by immersion "to fulfill all righteousness."
Matthew 3:15.
Being baptized is like being reborn.
When you do it, you are publicly showing your love for Jesus. You are telling
everyone that you’re a sinner, and that you want to turn from your old ways and
become the type of person God wants you to be.
A big question as far as the whole
water baptism goes is – do you have to be water baptized to go to heaven? I
seriously don’t think so.
Do you remember how Jesus was baptized?
Well, if Jesus was sinless and didn’t need to have this symbol of his sin being
buried, then why did he even bother? I will tell you why. Jesus got baptized
for all the people who accept him and cannot be baptized. If a person is on
death row and accepts Christ as his savior, he usually can’t get baptized. That
is why Jesus was baptized, for the people who can’t humanly possible be
baptized. He died for us and took our place in that, and for the people who
can’t show their faith in him or can’t do it because of their situation (i.e.
on death row) he got baptized.
When Jesus was up on the cross there
was a man next to him, and the man accepted Jesus as the Son of Man while he
was on a cross of his own. He didn’t necessarily have time to jump off the
thing and go get baptized really quick, yet Jesus said to him, “Today I am
telling you that you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Jesus promised him Paradise, without
the water-baptism.
Does this mean you should blow off
being baptized? Absolutely not. Those who believe have been asked to do it.
(Matthew 28:19) And since Jesus told us to do it… we need to do it.
*&* TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE *&*
1.
According to the Bible, how many different kinds of baptism are
acceptable?
Ephesians 4:5 One Lord, one faith, ____ baptism.
2.
Jesus is our example. How was He baptized?
Mark 1:9, 10 Jesus came ... and was baptized of John in Jordan. And
straightway coming up ____ of the water, he saw the heavens opened.
3.
What other truths are symbolized by baptism?
Romans 6:4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as
Christ was ____________ up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we
also should walk in newness of life.
4.
What command did Jesus give to His people just before His
ascension?
Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, _________ them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
5.
What biblical qualifications must precede baptism?
Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, _______ , and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost.
6.
Is rebaptism ever proper?
Acts 19:2-5 They said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be
any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And
they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the
baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him
which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they ________ this,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
NOTE: One day when Paul was preaching in
Ephesus, he found 12 men who had been baptized by John the Baptist, but who had
never heard of the Holy Spirit. So upon receiving this substantial new light,
they were re-baptized. Likewise, if a person has completely lost his Christian
experience, he should be re-baptized upon returning to the Lord. Rebaptism is
also appropriate if a person was not baptized in the biblical method.
7.
If I refuse baptism, whose counsel am I refusing?
Luke 7:30
But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of ______ against
themselves, being not baptized of him.
(-.-) PRAY ABOUT IT (-.-)
Dear Lord I thank you that you have
shown us the way of baptism that YOU want us to chose. I pray for all of the
people who haven’t been baptized that you will touch their hearts and they will
seek out to be baptized to show their commitment to you. I pray for myself,
that if need be you will show me what I need to do in my life. If I need to be
baptized or if I need to be re-baptized please place it on my heart and show me
what you would like me to do. In Jesus name, amen.
********