 Ashlea Heitner is my computer teacher, but she is more importantly my close friend. To be honest, I first thought it would be weird having her as a teacher, seeing she's only four years older than me and was a fellow student five years ago. Now, I am exceedingly thankful I can see her every day to talk to about the many topics we have in common or just to have a good laugh to brighten my day. She is encouraging in many ways such as her positive attitude, her way of writing, and her spiritual walk with the Lord. Ashlea (Mrs. Heitner), thank you for being a part of the shaping of my life. Your influence has been a blessing and has driven me to write more. You were one of the main reasons I started to blog, and I will forever be thankful for you pushing me to do so. I am happy to have you share some thoughts on my blog today. -Michael Jaymes Pardon the Interruption -by Ashlea Heitner The squeak of the expo markers on my polished, clean white board echoes in my mind. Tiny fingers reaching for the “p” key or the “t” key on keyboards still catches me off guard. Teens walking up to my desk asking for advice about a rigorous math problem or asking for a difficult concept from their Bible class to be explained causes me to push aside my papers, cap my pen, and give them my attention. Teachers, not so savvy with technology, burst through the doors with their laptops pleading for help, for some semblance of order in the mass chaos that is the web.
Driving home, I often find myself pondering over what was said during the day or what could have been accomplished. Given the longevity of my drive home, I tend to muse on such things. However, the interruptions continue to pile as I turn the knob of my door to enter my bird’s nest or as some people label, my home. My husband is sprawled out on the couch with a sharpened, no. 2 pencil and a gridded, research notebook diligently completing his various homework tasks. After several hours in the lab and working an 8 hour shift, the guy is hungry. Typical man? Maybe. But it is true of the women too. My hand seeks the handle of the fridge to assess the current situation. Pork chops? Steak? Chicken, again? So many options, yet I am on a time crunch. The bellowing of my hubby’s stomach doesn’t allow for second guessing the meal-plan, but quickly maneuvering to get it done. As I pull out bowls, parmesan cheese, and chicken to prepare the meal, texts erupt from my rose gold iPhone on the counter with family members asking for prayer requests. Interruption, hitches, glitches, disturbances, or delays are all a part of life. Life is so busy that just taking in a breath seems like an arduous or calculated task. I’ve noticed lately that my response to interruptions reveals my heart and my real motivation. My attitude is really dependent on how well my plans are executed and to what measure my expectations are met. You can imagine the emotional teeter totter I have set up for myself. There will always be interruptions. At times they are welcomed and other times they seem insurmountable, like everything scribbled on your list will never get to be crossed off. In the last few weeks, I have been monitoring my “annoyed, impatient, irritated” odometer when disturbances halt my progress. The proverbial “gas pedal” is revved when I either have had: Little to no sleep A situation has blown up in my face about finances, marriage, family or friendships School work, programs, kids No time with God (whether through prayer or reading His word) Do you know how hard it is to pretend or hide those things? Some of those things aren’t in my control. People get upset. I recognize that. You recognize that. It’s easier to counter the offender with a verbal slash of your own when you have felt wronged or betrayed. But what if we were to choose to pardon the interruption with kindness, with peace, with compassion? What if we were to counter with love and grace? In order to do that, I want us to truly focus on the last bullet point. This is my personal caveat, no time with God isn’t an option. It is the hinge on which you and I learn how to turn away from the natural, reactive emotions. It is the foundation on which we stand when everything else has fallen apart. One of my favorite quotes is from A.W. Pink. He says, “No verse of Scripture yields its meaning to lazy people.” His statement reiterates the truth found in Scripture. Proverbs 29:11a “A fool always loses his temper,” Proverbs 10:23 “Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool,” The moment we neglect to read and study God’s word is the moment we open ourselves to the desires of our flesh, the fears surrounding our decisions and the reactions that instinctively come to us. We act like fools and it isn’t a compliment. God loves a wise man that seeks his face, that desires or longs to know and obey the commands God has laid out for his life. If it wasn’t true, why on earth would men, inspired by God, waste their time writing in tandem about how good and right it is to follow God’s leading, his guidance. It isn’t easy. It’s hard, but it is ALWAYS worth it. David, a man after God’s own heart, cherished the presence of the Lord so much that even if all he was able to do was be a doorkeeper in the house of God at least he was there and able to bask in glory, in holiness not in the tents of wickedness. Psalm 84:10 “For a day in your courts is better than A THOUSAND elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” In the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. The priority of your relationship with God is the key to the attitude you will cultivate and allow to grow. Ignoring time with God is simply setting up your attitude to fail. Let me ask you a question. Better yet, Scripture has a question. Psalm 34:12-16 “What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.” If you desire life and love, to see good, do the things commanded of you. You will fail to perfectly execute such instruction. I have failed. Do you notice that in the verse the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous? NOT the perfect. Release the weight of perfectionism. It isn’t worth carrying. The interruptions will continue. It is inevitable. But my challenge to you and I is this. Seek God and what His word has laid out for you. With Christ you succeed. Life has a lot of twists and turns that either fall into the good or not-so-good categories. We don’t control that. We control how we respond by choosing to put on grace, love, kindness, peace. We decide to turn our eyes from the wicked things. We choose what dominates our thoughts and steals our joys. Determine whom you will serve. Search God’s word and pursue his commands. And the next step is obvious, follow them.
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 Jase Rosenburg has been an inspiring writer since the first week I began blogging. I stumbled upon his site (jaserosenburg.com) through Faithfulbloggers, and have been exchanging e-mails with him ever since I started reading his posts. Reading his work inspires me because of how personal he can be. I love to read about personal experiences; it lets me know the writer can relate to similar struggles of life. He does not try to sugarcoat the truth. His passion, "I write in the dark to bring faith to light", is prominent in each of his posts. Jase, thank you for being an encouragement to me. You are a blessing and motivation to my blogging journey. I am thankful that God has allowed an online encounter between us; thank you for promoting Christ through your writing. I am overjoyed to have you guest post on my blog. -Michael J. Vitelli Hope -by Jase Rosenburg First I’d like to thank Michael for this opportunity to post on his blog. I know that it’s a huge thing to trust someone else with your readership.
I thought for a while about what I’d like to share today. I ended up with the topic of HOPE. It sounds like such a simple word, but without it where would we be? I’ll share a personal story since you guys don’t really know me. I’m like most of you, I’ve faced challenges. I lost my dad to cancer in 2006. I beat cancer in 2007. I’ve also battled a few other health issues since then that leave me in excruciating pain at times. And I lost my stepdad in 2015 to cancer. I can say that without a doubt hope has been the only reason I’ve made it this far. God will stop at nothing to get to you. I want you to fully understand that sentence. GOD will stop at NOTHING to get to you. Think about that for a few minutes. It truly amazes me how much he loves us. Many times when I’ve been in pain my wife will pray for me and the pain eases. I’ve been awake at all hours of the night crying in pain. I didn’t want to wake her up so what did I do? For a while I did nothing but be miserable. Then one night I decided I was going to praise God through song. I started singing. I can’t tell you how it works, but it does. When I sing out praises to God, the pain eases and I eventually drift off to sleep. Many people wonder why does God allow us to go through such things. I have to say that we live in a fallen world. This place is cursed and we have to deal with the repercussions of a decision Adam and Eve made long ago. However, while we are here on this earth GOD gives us hope in the trials. It doesn’t matter what we are facing, he is there. He understands. If you’re in the position right now where it looks like things are hopeless, hang on. Call out to God and hope will rush in. I guarantee you that he will come to you. It may not be in the way you want or expect, but you will have hope. One of my favorite things to imagine is God being a hero. How many times in movies or books do things look hopeless? Then there is a hero that sweeps in and saves the day. Why do we love those stories? Because we can relate. God is ready to sweep in to your situation and bring a hope that will comfort you in any situation. All I can say is God IS good. He proves it to me every day. I look down at the scar on my arm and I see hope. I look at the sunrise and I see hope. I look at the flowers and plants and there’s hope there too. It’s all around us. Open your eyes and see what God is waiting to give you. I promise you it’s worth every thing you’ve had to go through. I’ll leave you with this from 1 Corinthians 15. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 55 "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. As I near the end of my high school career, my senior trip will be taking place soon. The highlights of the trip will be seeing the replica of Noah's ark, going to an air force museum, King's Island amusement park, and the Wild's Christian camp. I cannot wait to tell of my experience when I get back. I will return from my trip the 28th of April, but until then I will be having two guest bloggers posting. One will post April 24, and the other will post April 27. They are both very encouraging writers to me, and I hope you will enjoy what they have to share.
I hope you are having a blessed week, and thank you for checking out my blog!  I John 1:7-167 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. You hear of "true" love today as if it is just flippantly thrown around. You see it in fairy tales, in movies, in social media, and in your friend's life. You say to yourself, "I wish I could have a relationship like that." What you don't know is that you can. I am not talking about the world's view of love. The world believes you can "fall" in love. Does that mean you can fall out of love? I want to tell you of the one true love you don't have to chase after; this love finds you. It can make life seem like it is starting over. You cannot "fall" out of this love. This is love that can only come from perfection. This love is not a feeling that comes and goes, nor is it an emotion you start to feel. This love is a person, and that person is God. Maybe you already have this relationship with love but have never thought of it in this way. Let me put a new perspective in your mind. Without a relationship of love with Christ, all others are faulty. Let me say that again. Without Christ, your relationship with others will fail! Let that sink into your thoughts; ponder this truth for a moment if you haven't ever before..... Recently God's mercy and love have been a reminder in my own life. I thank God every day for the overwhelming love He bestows upon us all. God is the definition of love. GOD IS LOVE! This is exciting news! this should make us shout in praise and leap for joy! "Why?" you may ask. Let me tell you how I see love. Here is my personal thoughts of what I believe is true and have read in His word about God's love. Without God we are nothing. This also means without love we are nothing. If God is the one who makes us found, then we are lost without love. His love finds us. In God we have purpose; In love we have purpose. In God we are found; in love we are found (I think you get the point). The greatest, living example of God's love is shown through His son, Jesus Christ. This great deed of God was only possible by His abundant grace and mercy. Mankind brought sin into the world, but the holy God allowed His son to be the ultimate sacrifice, taking the place of the world's sin, to make a way for unity with God. That is a lot of love! Put yourself in God's shoes for a moment. If you had full power, created humans, and they disobeyed you, would you not wipe them out and start over? Why would you keep them around when they won't even thank you for life and do what you say? Remember, God is love. He is not like us. He decided that He would make a way for us. He gave up His only son for you, me, and every other sinner that has ever lived. Why would God do that? Why would God make a way for you and me? You and I live a selfish life and make mistakes every day. Why would God want us around? Again, remember God is love. A friend once said to me, "The motivation for Jesus dying on the cross was His love for sinners." He died with the purpose of giving us hope through His love. The pain He suffered was for you. Every time you sin, remind yourself, Jesus died for that very act. Jesus died for you. Deny it all you want; Jesus died for you! How great is the love God has for you, that even though you are not perfect, His own son willingly paid the debt for you! Without Christ dying for you, what are you? Where does that leave us? Without the death of Christ, unity could not have been made with God. God needed a perfect sacrifice, a payment for the very sins we do every day. Without God's love you have nothing. In one way it should almost depress you in realizing how wretched and awful you are, but in another way it should cause you to rejoice in how gracious God is to you. Your sin put God's son to death, yet He willingly died for you because He loved you. Why would God do that to His son? It was all because God is love. God didn't leave His son in the ground. What power would that prove? The Son of God, who claims to be one with God, is conquered by death? How could God save you if He cannot even save His own son? For those of you that don't know, this is not the end of the story. Easter (the holiday celebrated last Sunday) is also called Resurrection Day. It is the day we remember when Christ rose from the dead. He proved that sin could not even kill Him. He bore the weight of sin to the point of allowing it to put Him in the grave, but He rose from the dead three days later proving His power over sin. He left that sin in the ground. Sin has no grip on almighty God! Maybe you ask, "Why would He die in the first place?" It's all because God is love. You have sinned; instead of you paying for your sin through death, God allowed His son, Jesus, to be the perfect sacrifice. He rose from the dead showing that sin can't hold Him down. His death and resurrection portrays what happens spiritually when surrenders his life to Christ. Just like Jesus died, one must spiritually die to his own ways, and give his life to Christ to follow His ways. Jesus rose from the grave without the sin weighing Him down. When He gives one life, He forgives them of their sin. This is the beautiful picture of God's love. Everything is meaningless in life without love. Our purpose as Christians is to serve God with His great example of love. We are commanded to love because He first loved us. The meaning to life is found in the love of God. If you claim Christ to be your personal Savior, love should circumference your whole life. If your life is founded on God, it needs to be overflowing with love. Your life needs to reflect God and the same love He showed you. This is not easy. To do this you need to be constantly reminding yourself that God is love. If you have a relationship with God, you have a life founded on love. Share that love the same way Christ has shared it to you. Let God's love in your life motivate you to show love to others and be a light for Him. If others see the way you live, they will see the relationship of love you have with God. A life lived for God, though it may not fulfill YOUR personal desires, it is full of love. A life of love is a life of purpose; this is worth much more than a selfish life lived for yourself. Let God's love dwell in you, because without love, you are nothing. I Corinthians 131 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.  Today, April 17, is considered Haiku poetry day. Faithfulbloggers.com had e-mailed an idea to their followers of writing Christian haiku poetry that would be placed into a PDF book. I wanted to share the poetry that I wrote myself, and the book if you would like to read the other's work. I wrote ten haiku, which are listed below. If you would like to see the full book, click here. I hope I am a blessing to my readers. I am working on my new post and it will be posted hopefully tomorrow. God bless you! -Michael Jaymes "Marvel"
Fix your eyes upon Your God and Your Creator; Marvel at His work. "Your Ways" Your ways are true Lord. Put a longing in my heart I will seek your will. "Thankful" Forever thankful How awesome is my Savior He has gave me life "From Darkness to Light" I was in darkness, But then He came and found me I am now in light "His Love" How wretched I was My works were as filthy rags Yet you still loved me "He Is Worthy" Worthy is His name Pure and perfect sacrifice Paid the debt for me “Grace” Your grace continues Like a stream that softly flows It never runs low “Thank you, God” Forever thankful For blessings that you give me For grace that was free “Purpose to Glorify” You give me purpose This is my reason to live Glorify the king “Abundant in Love and Mercy” In this I find joy Your mercy is plentiful Your love never ends  Usually I like to write as if you are reading about yourself, but today, I feel this is a group issue and want to tell you that it's not only you. In this post I will be talking about us, the children of God, as a whole. I believe we all struggle with this problem at times in our lives. This is not a problem that simply goes away through life; It will most likely haunt us for the rest of our lives. With one willing soul that is ready to wake up, others may follow. Let's conquer the fear of change together, sparking the lives of other Christians who can do the same.
Change is not always bad. It definitely can be; we all know that feeling we get when we start pushing the limits and feeling "okay" with sin. Yeah, that's the wrong kind of change. I want to talk about the good kind of change. This change comes from God and God alone. At the beginning of time, God made the world perfect for us, but Adam and Eve didn't keep it that way. They brought a change into the world... a bad change. They changed unity with almighty God. They chose their own way instead of God's way. This idea of making our own decisions, as if we are God, is not something new. This started back in the time of Adam and Eve. As time went by, God, through His grace, made a way for us to have unity again by sending His son, Jesus Christ. This brought a choice of change into our lives. We had the choice to accept Christ's gift of life, or we had the choice to reject it. As Christians, we have chosen to make a good change of having God as king of our life instead of ourselves. Now, this is where the true challenge comes into our lives. Even though we have chosen to give our life to God, we still sometimes try to hold some back. We still live in our flesh and have some of the same desires of sin. We are changed by Christ, but we haven't fully changed our ways to match up with our choice. It's like going on a diet; we have our "cheat" days. With God there is no "cheat" days. We need to live up to the standard we have been called to. God was gracious enough to choose to give us life; it's time for us to live up to that holy lifestyle. "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called," Ephesians 4:1 (ESV) I can even see it in my own life. Yes, I am a Christian, but I still do that same, stupid sin sometimes. I feel like I can't let go of some of those fleshly desires in my life. It's not easy to live a life true to my word. I say I am a follower of Christ, and then turn around and do something that is specifically wrong in God's eyes. We all do it. Sometimes we say we want to change, but we chicken out. We are too in love with our sin. We don't think we can live without it. We can't live without God either, so what is our choice? Maybe you are saying right now, "Yeah, I'm a Christian and I sin, but it doesn't bother me. It's not that bad. I mean, God knows I'm gonna sin anyways and He's forgiven me so what does it matter?" Let me tell you, IT MATTERS A LOT! If you do not feel convicted or ashamed of offending the king of your life with sin, maybe you should examine yourself. Is He truly your Savior, or did you just say a prayer so that you can go to Heaven? If you are serious about having a relationship with God, and you are having doubts, it is never too late to call upon His name. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 1 Peter 1:10 (ESV) What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:1-2 (ESV) God wants us to be serious about our relationship with Him. It's never too late to wake up. If we are true believers, we died to our own ways; we need to stop going back to what is dead. It's time to stop walking as the dead and live life the way we are called to live. It's not easy to change, but it is not optional. As Christians we are called to change to His ways. God will not conform to our ways. We need to change our way of thinking, our way of speaking, and our way of living. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 (ESV) Let's be the ones who are willing to stand up. I want to start a change and actually hold firm to what I say I believe. We need to stop trying to serve God while serving sin. It doesn't work! it won't work! Even Jesus said a man can't serve two masters. We need to be willing to change. We need to be willing to allow God to make a difference in our life. Analogy Think of it this way: we are all light bulbs. A light bulb lights up, right? Wrong! A light bulb ONLY lights up when it has its source of energy. Without screwing it in, and turning on the switch, the light bulb is dark. As light bulbs, without being screwed into place, we are nothing. That is what we are without Christ, worthless. We can never screw ourselves in; we need His helping hand. We have a purpose of showing light, but without Christ, we will waste what our purpose is. We will be worthless without Christ giving us purpose. If you accept the gift of life, Christ will screw you in. Some believe that is the end of the story. "Yes, I allowed Jesus to come into my life. Now my life is complete." Well, this is not exactly the end of the story. This is more of a fresh beginning. Yes, Christians are now screwed in and are being a "good person" like they should be, but this is not what is intended by salvation. Salvation is the beginning of a life of sacrifice. Salvation is allowing Christ to screw you in and be used by Him. If you tell Christ not to turn the switch on, yes you have Christ, but you aren't showing how Christ can use you. You then become worthless again. When Christ gives you life, don't hold back from letting Him use you to shine for Him. He needs you to be a light to others so that others may come to know Him. The life of a Christian is of service. You need to tell God, "Yes, I am willing to let you turn the switch on. I am willing to look different then the others who are not screwed in. I am willing to be a leader to those who are screwed in but have not let you turn the switch on. I am willing to change for you." When Christ gives you life, don't remain in the works of the dead man you once were. Let Him change you. Remember, you may be a problem, but you are not the problem. We together are the problem. God is the resolver, and with God, we can change. Let's not be the problem; let Him work in you to become His work of art. Be the one who stands up for God. I haven't had the chance to write this week because it has been SO busy!!! I've had work, had a group of guys over for fellowship the one night, I had to write an essay for school, and it has just been crazy. Thankfully, it has been a great week! Even though it was a little stressful, I thank God for how well it has been going. To Him be the glory. I still wanted to share something for the week so I had an idea. For school I had to write an essay for an honor society banquet that is tonight, and I (along with 3 others) will be reading what I have written. There was a mix up of who was writing about which of the four categories, and I ended up writing a second essay. My second one was definitely better because I had a little help from my good friend and teacher, Mrs. Heitner. I shared the second one first, which is on service, and then decided I might as well share my leadership essay also. I hope you enjoy them. I hope you are having a blessed week! If you would like to contact me or sign up for my newsletter, I love the interaction. Also, if you are a blogger like me, I would definitely love to hear your suggestions and thoughts on my site and I would definitely love to check out your site also. Again, have a wonderful week, and remember to thank God for your blessings. -Michael Jaymes
 Do you ever need a reminder? Maybe you need something to keep you motivated and on track? Well, it's a Sunday night, and I don't want Monday to be here already! My weekend went WAY too fast. I think it's a good idea to have a reminder for the week.
Remember God's promises! Here are a few to meditate on for the week ahead of you. (I understand I can go into much more detail with each of these, but I'm going to keep it brief. You can always dive further into God's word for more promises and answers.) 1. God promises to sustain: It might be a little hard for me to relate since I am not paying many bills and living on my own yet, but I understand that money can be an issue for some people. Maybe you wonder how you will afford college. Maybe you wonder how you will ever be able to provide for a family. Maybe you wonder if you will even have food in the pantry next week. Don't carry these worries alone. Trust in your almighty God who promises to provide for you. There's nothing out of His reach; He can do the impossible. Have faith and ask for Him to be there for you.
2. God promises hope: He is worthy of praise! When you come to grips with how wretched you are, it should just remind you so much more of how awesome God is. He sent His own son, Jesus, to make a way for you. He died for you so you don't have to pay for your sins. He made the payment for you. Praise God for making a way for you and me to come before Him boldly. Praise God for the hope He has given you of salvation from sin. He had a plan and created a way for man to have unity with Him. What an awesome promise of hope!
3. God promises purpose: This point is my favorite. I just love the picture it puts in my head when I think about how God changed me from having a worthless life to having a life full of purpose. I think of God taking garbage and shaping it into something beautiful. Purpose is all we ever need in life. Without purpose, there is no meaning to you. With God's purpose, he can use you to change the lives of others. Making the decision of giving your life to Christ, is a decision of following in His footsteps. Don't feel worthless, but remember God promise. He can use you.
4. God promises forgiveness: Have you ever thought about how dirty you are? Have you ever thought about how loving and forgiving God is? It almost doesn't make sense? How could He forgive someone like you or me? He is truly amazing! I can't comprehend how He forgives me for my past, present, and future mistakes. When He sees me, He doesn't look at my sin anymore; He sees His son, who has saved me! Again, it's such a beautiful picture that God puts in my head. Be overwhelmed by His forgiveness. Thank God for it daily. It's truly amazing how a holy God forgives an unholy sinner. How great is His love for you and me!
5. God promises life: Lastly, God promises life. Before salvation, you were a dead man walking. You were living life by King You! You did what you want, said what you want, and didn't care about anyone but yourself. Maybe you had morals put in place because of good parenting or upbringing, but your life was centered around you. It says in the Bible that outside of Christ, you will not see life, but in Christ you have eternal life. Once you were dead; now you have life in Him. Thank God for becoming a part of your life! What else could you ask for? This is the biggest blessing God can promise to you. He offers life to you when you deserve judgement for being imperfect. Remember the promise that God gives you life. He wakes you up and pulls you from the sinful death you once walked in. Walk worthy of this new life you are living for Him.
I wanted to put these reminders out there for those who have given their life to Christ and found themselves in a rut. Maybe you just feel stuck or are struggling recently. Here's the wake up call to get you back on your feet. I've said it before, and I will say it again. God does not promise an easy life. We're suppose to reflect Christ. If you have ever read the gospels, you can see He had some rough spots too (especially the part where He died). It isn't easy living a life sacrificed for God's glory, but it is definitely worth it. I want to remind you of the blessing of God's promises to motivate you. It's so amazing to know God has promised so much! One of the greatest promises of all is that He doesn't lie. He is an honest God. Jesus even says it in a prayer in John 17:17. Many times throughout scripture, the Bible is called "the word of truth." God is honest throughout His word. I'm so thankful for the attributes of God, especially honesty. He won't break the promises he has made for you and me. This verse was shown to me recently by Ashlea Heitner and has been a good reminder to me when I read God's word. Don't forget about God's promises. Let them encourage you. Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Proverbs 30:5 |
AuthorHi, I am Michael Jaymes. I am 19, and decided to start to writing in the winter of 2017. I feel a burden on my heart that I have much to say, so why not share it? I want to be heard and I want to touch the lives of others. What is a better way than through the internet? I have made my life motto, "I just want to be a blessing." It's time for me to live it out. Archives
January 2019
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