holy living.

 ¹ As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. ² For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

 ³ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; ⁶ and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. ⁷ For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸ Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

 ⁹ Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. ¹⁰ And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, ¹¹and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, ¹² so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Now that we have hope, now that we know that our salvation is assured, our support group and accountability is there, and we know that all hardships are apart of a plan, we must continue to live. Again, as I was skimming through scripture, I came across this passage and I feel like it sums up how we should live in simple and understandable terms.

Our main purpose for all of us on this earth is to please Christ. (v.1) Recently, i've been thanking God for each day in prayer, but ironically at night before I go to bed. I finally was able to spend some time this morning to thank him for another breath, and another day to live. We have been blessed with such opportunity in this life to be able to be something bigger. It doesn't necessarily mean famous, but because we are so privileged with education, and wealth, we should use it please Christ. Every breath, every word, every action and thought should be honouring to our God and Saviour. I try my best to do that. I've felt that as long as we strive to live a holy life, we are doing well. But recently, i've questioned, am i really doing this? Or am i still living a doubled life? The fact that a few of my friends can still joke around about Christianity, thinking thats its okay with me, is that a problem? Is it bad that i laugh with them, but its just that our intentions behind aren't necessary the same? Am i not showing and representing my God well enough? Am i really pleasing and glorifying God in ALL i am doing?

Flee from sexual immorality. (v.3) Its interesting how thats the first thing that is brought up. Looking at our world today, sex is something that has been completely changed. Doing it casually is completely accepted in today's society, but God created it to be saved for marriage, to be shared with your spouse. We've spoiled it and ruined it. Sex has gotten more and more "popular" lately and i would say that its one of the bigger problems out there lately, when used for the wrong intentions, so many things can go wrong. Hearts broken, lives taken, the consequences are endless and painful. This really requires self control. Especially with the internet, so many things are so easily accessible, easy doors that lead to temptation and eventually sin. We have to learn to control ourselves, and use our bodies for honouring purposes. (v.4)

Holy life. Holy living. (v.7) No one can be perfect. We as humans are all flawed, but we can fight. That shows growth, it shows commitment, and as long as we have that drive to be holy and we are continuously working towards it, God will acknowledge and take note of that. But sometimes, there are the lukewarm followers, the double faced Christians. (v.8) We talked about this in the sermon yesterday, that there are "Christians" that know that sin is wrong, know what they should be doing, yet CHOOSES to do the opposite. What bothers me the most with this is that they are misrepresenting Christ, which affects everyone around them, easily hindering others from getting to know the true being of Christ.

Love. (v.9-10) God is love. Therefore by following him and committing to him, we should also love others. Love is the foundation of all of this. Because of God's love, Christ was sacrificed for you and me. Without this unconditional love, there would be no faith, and no hope. Love can be hard sometimes, whether if its loving your enemy or confronting someone else, but with love as your intention, God will continue to guide us through. You are loving God by loving others.

These last two verses (v.11-12) seem to somewhat sum up everything. Leading a quiet life. From what I understand this time reading it, pride is addressed. Don't be boasting about yourself, and don't be cocky about yourself. "So that you will not be dependant on anybody." Lately i've started to realize this about myself. That i am extremely reliant on others. I always need someone there, and as some may say "clingy". Yes, friends and a support group are essential, but you cannot fully rely on them all the time. The truth is that they will fail you one day, and they may not even be there one day. If you invest yourself too much into others, you will fail to be independent. Im trying to learn to be less of that "clingy" character, to build confidence and to stop relying on others so strongly.

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Romans 12:1 

Road to Calvary (VII)

He has risen! Hallelujah! Christ has risen and has defeated the grave! All praise and glory to God now and forevermore!

Today during the sermon, the speaker started with clips from the movie Passion of The Christ. She reminded us that it isn't just a movie, but reality. I started watching, but within the first minute, I had to look away. It was just too much, and i couldn't take it. The blood. The pain. The scars. The beating. The whipping. All for me. All for you. Seeing the nine-tail whip lash onto his flesh and rip it away when taken back. Watching the nails being pounded into his wrist and his feet. Seeing how rough they were, even trying to think of how severe that pain was is unbearable. It took that clip for me to really and fully realize the degree of pain Christ went through for us. How much he took on, the sin of MANKIND on his shoulders, dying for all of us. That's true love. We can't and should not sugar coat it anymore.

But, although he was crucified and had died, his promise reigned, and he rose from the grave three days later.

¹ Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

John 20:1-10

The third day, Mary and Simon Peter went to visit the tomb, and to their surprise, Jesus wasn't there. There's isn't much to say about this passage. Its all facts. But knowing that Christ has risen brings us true and eternal hope.

Christ has risen, he has conquered death. Something us humans have been trying to do for centuries. He has overcome the greatest thing. From temptations, to death, he is victorious! And because of this, we should be so thankful knowing that someone so powerful and perfect is right next to us. If he can overcome something as great as death, with God by our side, we can be victorious over whatever sin we are dealing with.

We sang a newer song at service today. Christ is Risen by Matt Maher. The lyrics are so powerful, especially in the bridge, and singing it today, i can really sing it, not with the words but with my heart. It was like singing and saying to the devil that we are victorious, you cannot win, we cannot lose, and that God is greater than anything in this world.

"O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory? O church, come stand in the light! Our God is not dead, He's Alive, He's Alive!"

What powerful lyrics. But that wasn't the only song that impacted me today.

During the baptism today, we sang the song Because He Lives. The past while i've just been down in the dumps, wanting to give up, to give in, and just to stop. It wasn't worth it, but the lyrics again here pushed me forward.

"Because he lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because he lives, All fear is gone.

Because I know, He holds the future,

And life is worth the living, just because He lives."

It is because of God's love, Christ's resurrection that I live. That I continue to fight each and every day. He is protecting me in his loving arms, there is nothing to fear because he has a perfect plan for me. The part that struck me most was "and life is worth the living, JUST because He lives". JUST because. He's the reason why life is worth living, JUST GOD. JUST CHRIST. Nothing else.

Praise God.

He works in such magical, mysterious ways.

I cannot do anything by exalt his almighty name.

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

Teen's Conference 2012.

9 months of planning finally paid off. Teen's Conference is finally over. It was such an amazing experience to see all these attendees come to Christ and/or rededicate their lives. I learned that God can work through those who don't speak and through those who yell their heads off. The loud and the quiet.

Some of the team members had such amazing testimonies and this taught me not to underestimate anyone because behind that smile could be pain and suffering.
Throughout these past 4 days of constant worshiping and cheering we had a prayer meeting for captains the morning of the last day.

It all started with one person praying then a burst of voices praying aloud. Then one of the mentor coaches began to play his guitar while we were praying and before you knew it, everyone was praying and singing as tears were running down their cheeks. As i heard the sniffles of my co-captain i just bursted out crying. I realized that God is just so magnificent that we don't understand. His love for us is so powerful and amazing that some people are just so blind to it. As we had our arms around each other for a good 30 min of prayer and praise we took a moment of silence to just reflect on how God has worked through our lives throughout the past few days.

He taught me to be patient and understandable. After Junior TC they had an alter call and seeing my whole team stand and walk to the aisles just amazed me. All except one guy. He remained in his seat so i sat beside him and prayed for him. After we all went home he did something that just melted my heart. He told me that he was moved by my testimony that i had shared and he can relate to it because he's going through the same thing. He said that i was such a big impact on him that he's not afraid of his struggles anymore because he knows that they're thrown at him for a reason. Reading his message to me just made me smile. I never realized that i made such a big impact on someone's life (especially cuz he was a really quiet guy).

After hearing this it made me more encouraged to share to others about how God has worked in my life and so, i did during the Sr. TC. I realized that you don't know how much you've impacted someone's life until they tell you about it. I felt like my team didn't bond very well and me and my co-captain were trying so hard to encourage them to be louder and more excited but it didn't work until the second day. On the first day of Sr. i started to burst out crying after worship and one of the attendees came up to me and prayed and she said, "i know that beth and joey are trying so hard God, please just open the eyes and hearts of the ppl of team flush." This line was stuck in my head for the whole night. She knew that we were trying hard.

God works through everyone. Loud or quiet. Tall or short. Happy or sad. Through this amazing experience i realized that one thing. He can do anything.

Zombies?

Today going to church, sitting in the congregation, watching, standing for worship, listening to the sermon, partaking in the offering and communion, something came to mind. Im not judging or labelling people, but coming to the house of Lord is for a time of worship (so is every other day and time), but as Christians we are to worship.

Worship needs to be genuine.

The thought that crossed my mind today was "how many of us are genuinely worshipping?" Are we just zombies that are doing this as a routine, because we have to, because we're forced to? I think about that sometimes with devos. Sometimes i feel like its just another thing i need to do. I dont know exactly how to make it genuine and a want though sometimes...

I just hope that we can take the time to reflect and think about how genuine our worship is.

Deuteronomy 6:5 says,

⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

ALL YOUR HEART

ALL YOUR SOUL

ALL YOUR MIGHT

Genuine worship. How are you glorifying our God? Why? Because thats what every sunday is scheduled as? or because you love him for who he is and what he's done and you're grateful?

Be Still.

After doing "I Lift My Hands" for worship yesterday, i really found comfort in the song. And listening to it, and singing it was really reassuring and it really calms my heart and my soul. Here are a few of the words that really touch me.

"be still, there is a healer

his love is deeper than the sea.

his mercy it is unfailing

his arms, a fortress for the weak."

"i lift my hands to believe again,

he is my refuge, he is my strength,

as i pour out my heart, these things, i remember

you are faithful God, forever."

Be still, KNOWING that someone is there that loves you.

A fortress for those who are weak. Thats all of us. He is my refuge and he is my strength.

Refuge and Strength. Knowing someone so strong, powerful and almighty, someone that created the universe is by your side.

Faithful forever. That God is always there, never to abandon you or backstab you.

Someone about these lyrics, the passion, the melody is sticking to me and its a great reminder that there's nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid, but just to remember God is good all day. Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

The Means of Grace

Going through the book "You Can Change" by Tim Chester that my pastor gave me, i came across this, "The Means of Grace" and i just wanted to share my thoughts.

This is basically another way of saying spiritual disciplines, how reinforce your faith. The author prefers "The Means of Grace" and here are the seven.

1. The Bible

- the bible reveals our hearts and Christ's glory

- through the bible we can see what Christ has done, his greatness and his power, his miracle and control.

- the bible is able to cut through you and expose your heart, uprooting the source of our sinful desires and thoughts.

- Psalm 119:11 talks about storing God's word in your heart, and with this power, this truth, we can fight against sin and not fall into Satan's traps.

- "Dont read Scripture everyday as a duty to tick off, but savour the truth of God that it reveals. Read it not to be INFORMED, but to be TRANSFORMED and CONFORMED to the likeness of Jesus."

The Bible is the TRUE TRUTH. I think i've said before, a quote there reading Christian books arent a replacement for the bible. With the Word, we know that each word is truth and is right and is God's voice. Indulge and really KNOW IT and it'll change you from the inside out.

2. Prayer

- we have to realize that God is the only one that can truly change us, and when we do, prayer will become more and more important and powerful in our lives

- "prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer" - J.C. Ryle

- we need to learn to immediately look towards the Father in prayer when we are tempted

I think we're all lacking prayer, but that second point really hit me. Its one or the other. There is no inbetween. Dont fall away from God. Prayer is the only telephone line we have with him. Pray to Him, not only in times of need and suffering, but just anytime. May it be a prayer of thanksgiving, cry, or celebration. Pray with others, pray together. Prayer doesnt have to be get down on your knees and pray, it can be a simple thought and a word.

3. Community

- the church is to be a community of change, where there is support, love, and accountability. no judgement or put downs.

- remind each other, watch over each other, walk with each other, pray for each other, serve together, and learn from each other

Accountability is SO important, and that is what the church should be. We must all individually work hard to be good representatives of our Saviour, of Christ, reflecting his love, his mercy, his grace and his life. Support one another in all things and walk through life holding each other.

4. Worship

- "when we worship God, we're minding ourselves that God is bigger and better than anything sin offers."

- "we sing the truth so that it moves, inspires, stirs, encourages, and so transforms us."

- let God "retune" our hearts through worship

Remember that worship isnt only about singing during that sunday service, you can worship him through anything, and we should worship him through everything. Through speech, through actions, and through thoughts. Continue to keep Christ in mind and you will learn to embody and remember his glory, his greatness and his love.

5. Service

- Sin is fundamentally an orientation towards ourselves, therefore when we serve we learn to think of others' needs first.

Service is extremely important. It reminds us that its not about us, its about God and others. It also is a great opportunity to try new things and see what our gift is. There are many ways to service God. It doesn't have to be the forefront and in the spotlight, it can be simple, small, and hidden as well.

6. Suffering

- "often the events of our lives appear to be meaningless and irrelevant. But all the time God is training us in grace and godliness."

Suffering is always questioned, but know that its for a better good, and through it we learn to rely and trust in our Father who knows all, cares for all, and controls all. There is a greater, bigger and better plan ahead, push through it and dont lose faith!

7. Hope

- meditate on the future, eternal life

- remind yourselves that there is better yet to come, greater things that will happen and eternity of happiness that awaits

- "thinking of Christ's return loosens the hold that the world has on us and inspires us to change."

Salvation is a past, present and future thing. Focus on what is eternal, do not dwell on the earthly things, things that dont last and will fail, but think about whats to come, and the end, where a eternity of happiness, without tears, without pain, awaits us.

The Sabbath.

SOOO i decided to flip through my Bible and stop at a random point then point down and see where I'm at then meditate on it.
So here it is!

Leviticus 23:23 - 25

The Festival of Trumpets

²³ The LORD said to Moses, ²⁴ “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. On the first day of the appointed month in early autumn,^[e] you are to observe a day of complete rest. It will be an official day for holy assembly, a day commemorated with loud blasts of a trumpet. ²⁵ You must do no ordinary work on that day. Instead, you are to present special gifts to the LORD.”

We often forget that God made the 7th day (Sunday) as a day of rest. Most of us, including myself, start cramming all our tests and assignments on this day and we put our full concentration on doing work, instead of on God.

We need to remind ourselves constantly that on Sundays we have to give it all to God. He's our creator and he made us so that we can worship him. Personally, I do sometimes forget to focus on Him and i get caught up with school work and don't bother praying or anything. Once i think of it, yes, i do regret it. We never know when our last day is so we must live each day to the fullest.

The reason for the day of rest is because when God created the world he did it all in 6 days and on the 7th he rested. He took a step back and looked at his creation. We should acknowledge the fact that we are still on earth. We have to be thankful for everything that we are given.

#Believe

Do you believe?

Today in service, something hit me. hard. Pastor Irene, one of our youth pastors constantly kept referring to the songs we sang for worship. And this one thing she said really hit me. We sang Mighty To Save and the line was,

"Savior He can move the mountains"

Faith was a overarching theme throughout the service, and i reflected and realized that... i dont really have much faith in my God. We sing these words, but i realized, how much do i ACTUALLY believe these words that im singing out of my mouth, leading the congregation? :S not much.

I think this is a big downfall to my faith, because i clearly, dont have much faith so its harder to face struggles if i dont allow myself to give up my life and trust God completely. We have to learn to have faith in our God. Push it further, push it more, just imagine the copious amounts of blessings he will give you if you just had more faith in Him with his plan for you and his love.

Our God is great. He CAN move mountains. Fear Him, and have faith in Him that he'll pull you through whatever you're struggling with.