Sin Problem

Everyone has a sin problem. I do and so do you. We're born into sin, and we still have sin in our lives after we're saved. We aren't sinless after we're saved. We're still battered and bruised from the wretchedness of the world around us. I will say from personaly experience that the world can be appealing. I've fallen into sin many times, only to realize a minute later what I'm doing. That's when I stop everything and pray to God for forgiveness. Here's the amazing thing though. Even though I've done the same sin over and over and over and over again, GOD STILL FORGIVES!!!!! I'm definitely not an innocent girl. I've seen things, read things, and heard things that would make many Christians cringe and gag. That's what's so amazing about God though. He loves me, and He rescued me from being dropped into the deep burning chasms of hell. That's AMAZING!!!! Our God is a God of mercy, grace, forgiveness, and love. He really cares about us. If a parent loves their child, they'll teach them and correct them as they grow up. God does the same thing. He teaches us through the Bible and the Holy Spirit and corrects us through trials and other Christians and the Bible. We've got to pray that God will help us being shining lights to a world that's getting darker and darker each day. Sometimes, I feel like I've been doing the same sin over and over again, but if I focus on what God's done for me and ask Him to give me the strength to overcome this sin. He will do it, and I've got faith God and I will conquer this pesky sin one day. You should have faith in your loving Father too.

Perfect Isn't What He Wants

Have you ever felt like you needed to be perfect? Or have you ever tried to be perfect and didn't realize it? Well, thank the Lord that He doesn't expect us to be perfect. If He did, I'd be in hell roasting like a tukey by now. We're all imperfect, and even if we're saved, we'll still sin. The thing is though, that we don't have to be perfect.
In the Bible, perfect usually means mature. That means God wants us to grow as a Christian each day. He knows that we can't be that sinless, spotless saint. That's Jesus' job. He's the sinless one. He's our shepherd.
Do you realize that sheep are really dumb animals? I'm not being mean to sheep, but they need a shepherd to guide them. We're really dumb creatures if we're humble enough to realize that. How many times have we see/heard/done a sin that's clearly a sin, and then do it again the next day? I don't have enouh bones in my body to name all the times I've done something like that. I'm like a sheep, and I'm glad to have a shepherd as awesome Christ.
Perfection doesn't come from what we do. It comes from what God does through the Holy Spirit. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit so the light of God is shining through us like sunlight through temple doors. If we walk in the light and grow in our Christian lives, people will see God's glory in us. We will mess up, but a perfect (mature) Christian would ask God to take the sin away and keep walking towards the prize, eternal life in heaven with our Savior.

Love That Can't Be Matched

There's a man probably in his thirties sitting on a bench in the middle of a park. At first glance, you wouldn't think this man was secial, but he was. If you got to know him, you would find out that he was the greatest friend you could ever have. He's polite, smart, gentle, caring, a leader, and obedient. He serves others and teaches them even though he's rich and power. He gives up his time to be with the common people each day. Those who know him marvel at his constant attitude, but there are two people that this man loves more than anything. No one knew why He would love them. There's nothing to love. They're mean, selfish, prideful, scornful, foolish, and lustful. They have no love for the man despite the fact that the kind man has done a bazillion favors for them. They turn their back on him every time he invites them to come walking with him. They purposefully do things that digust him and purposefully follow the man's archenemy. All of the man's friends and family shake their heads and wonder why this man is so persistant. Then one day, the wise man sees his archenemy leading his friends into a trap. He was leading them to their deaths. Immediately, he runs over to where they are and shoves them to the ground before a huge mass of bullets comes pelting though the trees. The two selfish people stare stunned as the blood begins to pool around their Savior. Now, they've got two choices: run for their lives without the man or with him.
What would you choose? If you haven't fingured it out yet, the kind man is Jesus Christ, who gave up all to save you and die on the cross. The archenemy is Satan who draws people way to their deaths. He ruins their lives and then leaves them to die. The friends and family of the man are angels and Christians. As a Christian, I am baffled by the great love that Jesus exhibited to me when He saved me. He gave all for someone who's spit in His face and turned Her back on him. Finally, the mean girl and boy that the man loved is you. If you don't know Jesus, you've got a choice. He's died for you, and you can run away from Him and ignore His sacrifice or wrap your arms around Him and run away with Him by our side. Unlike humans, Jesus Christ came back to life. God the Father raised Him from the dead. If you choose to be a Christian, you are serving a man who can't be bound, not even by death.

Just a Thought

Hey!!!! It's pretty late where I am right now, but I just really have a thought I'd like to share with you. Have you ever traveled to another country? Have you ever traveled to a poor country? Well, I've visited Vietnam before when I was young, but I've heard so many stories about the country since. My distant cousins are DELIGHTED to get a box of brand new color pencils from us. They're happy over a little thing like that. A lady I know went to Africa a few years back. There, she passed out pencils and erasers and things like that since school's about to start for them. One of the boys that she gave a pencil too immediately broke it in half. Do you know why? It's because that his mother told him that that way he would have two pencils instead of one. Christians, especially Christians at are in wealthy countries with relatively easy lives, listen. We've got to have a burden for these people. The lack of food brings about a weak immune system which means easy death. No gospel brings a weak wall against temptation and Satan which means eternity in hell. Someone's dying each day. That person might possibly go to hell. We can't possibly save everyone, but we can certainly try our hardest to reach as many people as possible. DON'T WAIT!!!!! You don't know if your neighbor or family member will be living for much longer. You don't know if God's going to rapture all the Christians sooner or later. That's why we must "redeem the time [that's been given to us]."  

Greatness

School's coming. It's either already here for some, or it's just around hte corner for others. Either way, we've got a responsibility to do our best. Greatness always comes with a price. Greatness according to God is humbly serving others to bring glory to Him. Success in the world is having a great, well paying job with a nice house, car, and family. Both have their prices, and they're both high. Greatness to God is giving up your abitions and surrendering your life to God. Working your hardest in school but not letting it stop you from going to church or reading your Bible each day. I understand how hectic school can be. I'm in highschool and taking advanced classes! But that doesn't stop me from finding time each day to read a coupld of verse in the Bible and pray about it. School's important to me. Ask my friends AJ and Calyniel Greenleaf. They'll tell you how hard I work, but no matter how hard I work in school, I work harder in my walk with God. Try, when school starts, to keep your focus on God. Work hard in school to please Him primarily. Trust Him to supply the money for school since the economy isn't doing so great. Pray each day for strength and the ability to do well. Don't let school pull you away from God. Make it pull you closer to Him.  

Pride: Man's Deepest Foe

Have you ever thought about why you do what you do? Have you ever considered your motives when you do something? Well, if you think back, a lot of the motives are selfish or prideful. Pride  and confidence are two different things.
Confidence is the ability to do something with certainty. When you're confident about something, you're certain. Pride is thinking of yourself highly, much more highly than you should. Charles Spurgeon said that pride is a "grondless thing" and a "brainless thing" and "the maddest thing that can exist".
If you think about it, it's pretty foolish to be prideful. You're prideful that you scored the winning goal for your team, and you brag about how you brought your team victory. Now, yes, it's great to be excited and happy when you win but not prideful. As you look on that goal that you made then comapre it to the many other goals that others have made, is there really anything to be bragging about? How many others contributed to that game? How many others scored winning goals? Plenty. There's no I in team as the saying goes, and pride is putting that extra I in team whether you realize it or not.
Everyone's prideful, and everyone makes mistakes, but as Christians we learn from those mistakes and try harder not to repeat them. We have a Savior that gave all to save us. He left a heavenly kingdom to come to a sin cursed world todie an agonizing death save sinners. What humility! We have absolutly no reason to be prideful or boast.                              

Too Complex

I have to say, that we humans are too complex for me to believe that we came from a compact spinning sphere of cosmic dust that exploded because all the pieces got too tightly pacted together. We're too complex to happen by chance. You don't see complex things being made one their own. We see complex things breaking apart. Why does the evolutionary belief defy the law of thermodynamics that says that the world is degenerating? I don't understand. If someone can explain that to me, I'd appreciate it. How did the cosmic dust get there away? I've never got an answer to that either. What facts do they use to prove evolution? One of the evolutionary men was a hoax because the oen tooth that they used to build the man from was actually a pig's tooth. Another evolutionary man was a man with a severe case of osteo arthritis. Oh, and how did they get the dates for the geologic column and why do we NEVER find any of those layers in the exact same order somewhere on the planet? So, yeah. If there's any reasonable explanation why the evolutionary theory is what it is, tell me, because I'd like to know.

Battlefield

Christians, you all should be familiar with the comparison of the Christian life to a battlefield. Have you ver taken it seriously though? A lot of people do. I know four missionaries who are away from home, learning new languages to reach the lost for Christ. I pray for the Crockers, the Boyels, and Miss Greer whenever I remember to, but there's the other end to the stick. There are some who think that sicne they aren't going to be preachers it's not their job to get out of their comfort zone and tell others about Jesus. Now, think about it. Two sides are at war with each other. One side, almost all of the soldiers are fighting with all their might. The other side has a majority who are fighting just as hard, but there are also soldiers who remain in their tents, barracks, saying that there are plenty of soldiers out there. That's dangerous. Not only for you, but for others too. Don't be lax in preaching God's word. There are many times when you just have to live the Christian life, but God gives opportunities to witness all the time. TAKE THEM!!!! Don't be shy and get out of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid. You've been redeemed and are protected by a God that can crush the enemy with a word. Don't worry. You've got other Christians and the God of the universe helping you through each day.  

Word for the Day

Hey! Today....well...tonight where I'm from, I'm going to be talking about the word reprobate. Now, in the dictionary that I have reprobate is "unable to be approved of; rejected; useless". It's something that you really don't what to describe you. God has verses like the one in Romans 1:28 "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;" What the verse is saying that these people have been taught God's word, but they didn't keep it in their hearts. They didn't want to learn from it. So, as punishment, God made their minds useless, reprobate. Those minds lead them to do things and ruin their lives. You DON'T want that to happen to you. Trust me. If you anger a holy, all-powerful, all-knowing God, there's no way out except accepting Christ as Savior and submitting your will to God. In II Corinthians 13: 5-7, Paul speaks on being reprobate.

⁵ Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

⁶ But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

⁷ Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.

I know that King James Version can be very confusing, but basically, Paul's saying that if we're saved we have to look at our lives and see if we're being reprobate. Are we useless to God because we fail to use the opportunities that He gives us? Jesus is in us once we're saved, and we must shine His light to the world so they'll se what a wonderful God He really is. As Christians, we can't be reprobates. Yes, we aren't perfect. The last verse affirms that. We ust have to pray that God will help us. Yes, we will stumble and fall, but God will help us back up again. What a wonderful promised that He has given to us. Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

What's up?

Hey! I just have a Bible lesson and a thought to share today. Have you ever stopped to think (Christians) that if God sees everything, He sees everything I do. Now, if it were me, I would seriously act differently if I know that the infinite, all powerful deity that can punish me any second is watching my every move. The thing is that we as Christians DO know that He's watching us, so there's no reason for us not to do what we're supposed to do and be the testimonies God wants us to be. If you're groaning, you've got to remember that once you're saved, you've got the Holy Spirit in you. You should WANT to obey God, not dread it. I know from personal experience that giving up some of those things that you did before you got saved is hard....really hard, but you can do it. The Holy Spirit will help you. And the thought for today is this. Are you doing your best? I've thought about this a lot. Being Asian, I absolutely HATE disappointing my family, especially my mom. She expects a lot from me, and I do my best to meet her expectations, but I'm not perfect. That's what we all have to remember. We're not perfect, and God doesn't expect us to be. He knows our limits and won't give us more than we can handle. That's what makes Him a great God to serve. So, if you really studied hard for that test, or really practice before that big game or contest, then that's all God wants. He wants our best.

Back Yet Again

Holy Cheese, it's been a LONG time since I've posted. (I got the expression from my brother....don't ask how.) Anyways, like my friend AJ, I'm also taking summer school which is pretty cool and NOT the torture that most people think it is. I'm taking it to get ahead and have less wrok during the school year. I know I'm not very consistant with blogging, but I'm busy so give me a break. Tomorrow's my mid-term exam, and I just finished studying a minute ago. I'll see how often I can post, but all the stories are ended. I'm sorry. I absolutely HATE unfinished stories, but it's been WAY too long since I've typed anything. I just can't continue them. Sorry. I'm just going to post some daily journal like stuff and what God's been teaching me through-out the summer. See ya soon....hopefully. -_-'