Day 163: Recap

Day 156: That Was Then, This Is Now

Today we talked about how the past does not dictate your future and how we should be held captive by it. We focused on Psalms 129: 1-2,4.

"When Jesus came and died on that cross He stopped our past from invading our future. Jesus took away our sin so that we can now say, our sin is behind us, it is no longer who we are or how we live. That is our testimony, that Jesus took us and made us new."

Day 157: Work While You Wait

Today we talked about waiting on God and not using that fragment as an excuse to do nothing or be lazy. We focused 130:5-6 and Acts 12:5.

"Don't use waiting on God as an excuse to be lazy. We have to take a few steps for ourselves, we have to do things for ourselves. We have to step out on faith, take a step and God will show us the path and lead us on this journey."

Day 158: Give What You Got 

Today we talked about giving everything we have even if we think it's not enough, just give it. We focused on Acts 3:1-7

"We have to give everything we have to God first and His people. We may not have everything but we have something and we can use that to forward His kingdom. We can give something, no matter how big or small, we all have something to offer. Give what you have and see how God works."

Day 159: How Do You Respond

Today we talked about how hot-headed our generation is, and how a soft answer is much better than getting even with someone. We focused on Matthew 5:38-40, Ephesians 4:26, proverbs 15:1, 1 Peter 2:23, Proverbs 16:32, James 1:19, and 1 Timothy 1:17.

"What this means is, we have to learn to respond the way Jesus would. Sometimes our soft response can do more than a haughty one. Don’t get out of character or allow yourself to get angry to the point of sin."

Day 160: The Beauty of Unity

Today we talked about being in unity with one another as the body of Christ and not letting division separate us. We focused on Psalms 133, Matthew18:20, Ephesians 4:4-6.

" I’ve heard so many people talk about the division in the church or the division amongst Christians. But when I see the church I do not see division, I see people who are all a part of one body, serving one God. I see people loving each other unconditionally, and coming together every Sunday around the world to worship Him. There is no division in that."

Day 161: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

Today we talked about physical beauty and how it is important for people, especially Christians, to feel beautiful, and be told they are beautiful. It is important for Christians to feel and be confident in their physical appearance and know that we are wonderfully made in the hands of God. We focused on Psalms 139: 13-14.

"Our beauty isn’t just on the inside, we are human just like the next person, and there is nothing wrong with being told you’re beautiful, feeling beautiful, or wanting to be told you’re beautiful."

I love you I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone, go back over your favorite devo from this week. I love you. Make sure you hit that follow button and start following the blog. See you tomorrow for Day 164!

Day 106: Running Away

Psalms 55:6-8

And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away: I would lodge in the wilderness: I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and the tempest.

Have you ever just wanted to runaway? Pack up everything and go, or pack nothing and go? Life gets you down sometimes, and it gets so confusing to the point where you just want to escape and start a whole new life. That’s what David is saying here, he says it in a very beautiful and poetic way, but he’s ready to run away. We’ve been talking about David a lot lately, and his psalms. David has just about had it with everything in this psalm and many others, and he basically says, if I could just run away and escape this life I would do it.

I think many of us have been in David’s position before, especially those of us in our early twenties, and even mid and late twenties. We go through times in our lives where we just want to simplify, we want everything to be simple and easy again. Life can be so complicated, confusing, and demanding at times that we don’t know what to do or where to go. It’s doesn’t have to be something tragic, or depressing. It could be a change in our lives, that triggers the desire to escape. It could be figuring out what you’re going to do after college, or what you’re going to do with your life in general. There are many thing that would be so much easier if we could avoid going through them, but we have to. I know it would be easier to run away, but we have to face these things head on if we want to move forward. As we approach the years of becoming independent and responsible adults, things get a bit cloudy. It's a great thing we have God to help us through all the craziness life will throw at us.

I remember being twenty two, a couple of years ago, and my nephew had just been born. My sister and I turned 22 five days after he was born. I started rethinking everything, trying to figure out what I really wanted out of life. My sister seemed to be moving forward in her life, and my younger brother. It seemed like everyone was moving forward but me. I thought maybe I need to just leave, get up and go, start a new life, because this one isn't working. There's something about the age 22, that makes you really start thinking about what your life will look like, and how you want it to be. I started to put a lot of things in perspective at twenty two. It could’ve been because the birth of my nephew had such a huge impact on me. I think that definitely played a role, but things in my life started to look and feel different. At the time I was taking a gap year, which I didn’t know would be a gap year until I decided to go back to school about four months later. However, I had dropped out of my other school, where I was studying theology and starting acting again, and I was trying to figure out where my life was going. I would always tell my mom and sister that I just wanted to buy a volkswagen bus, turn it into a house on wheels and travel the country with my guitar, camera, and notebook.  I just wanted to get away, and have a simple life, where there were no worries or problems. And I was serious, I was dead serious. People would laugh when I said that but I think only my mom and sister knew how serious I was. I would have given up everything to do something like that. Until one day I was talking with my mom, and she said, “You’re not trying to start a life, you’re trying to run away from the one you have?😳 She said you need to face whatever it is you're trying to run away from, 😓😰 And she was beyond right, I wanted to get the weight and pressure of living off of me. I was going through so much at the time an I just wanted to escape everything. I wanted this simple life, where I did not have to worry about anything. I wouldn’t have to worry about rejection or pain, I would just go everyday carefree, living. I soon found out that escaping the problems, fears, or struggles wouldn’t help. Running away would not make anything better because one day I would have to return and deal with it.

-Dyamond

Running away will do nothing for us, packing up and leaving will only work if we are running to something, not away from it. We’ve seen it portrayed by Hollywood so many times. Someone leaves their old life, in search of something new and better, and by the end of the movie they are confronted with the very thing they are tried to get away from.

Psalms 31:1

I run to you, God; I run for dear life. Don’t let me down! Take me seriously this time!(MSG)

One thing we must realize is that these moments are opportunities for growth. These are the times when we put our faith and trust in God and follow His direction. When we want to runaway, we should run straight into the arms of God. If we want to run anywhere we can run to God. He will provide us with a way to get through whatever it is we may be going through. He will walk with us, and make sure that we are okay. He will see us through. God has us in the palm of His hand, and when we run to Him we will forever have someone to walk us through this life. Run to God, before running away, and you will see His hands on your life.

Reflection

1. Have you ever want to pack up  and leave everything?
2. Are you running away from something right now?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. If you are currently running away from something, turn and run to GOd. He has everything you need. Whatever is on your heart right now our it out to Him.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 107!

                                  

Day 98: Let's Talk About It- "Why We Serve God"

As we close out the “Let’s talk about it series” I want to bring it back to the root of why we do things and why we serve Christ in the first place.  I know we all have amazing stories of what lead us to Christ and how we got to know HIm for ourselves, and the moment we decided to give our lives to Christ. We remember the feeling of how it felt to know that you were now on a journey to eternity. It is important that we know why we serve God, and why we love GOd, and why we have chosen to live this life with CHrist. I have been asked this question a couple of times and have learned that it isn’t as complex as I made it.

Genesis 2:7

Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

It is the breath of God running through our bodies. If it were not for him we would be lifeless creatures. He literally blew life into our nostrils and gave us a reason to live. God is the air we breathe. We are God’s greatest work of art, He formed us in His hand. He shaped and molded us. He gave us life, literal life. It comes from Him. God is the giver of life.

1 John 4:19

We love because He first loved us

God loves us so much. We respond to His goodness with love. We live our lives knowing that we are loved by the most magnificent being in all of creation. God loves us unconditionally, we didn’t do anything to receive His love and there’s nothing we can to for it to be taken away. God never needed a reason to love us, he just does.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, He gave his only son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

This is an example of how great God’s love is. He sent His own son, His child for us. He made His son, Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Because He loves us so much that He cannot bear to be separate for us, He is in constant pursuit of our hearts. So He made a way for us to be cleansed and forgiven and the opportunity to live an eternal life, through Christ. He wants a relationship with us, and Jesus is our direct line to Him. He made a way for us to have a constant connection to Him. God is just that great.

There are so many reasons as to why we serve God, and why we choose to life this lifestyle and continue to make that choice everyday.

God is love

God is Faithful

God is merciful

God is gracious

God is unfailing

God is patient

God is the giver of life and everything in it.,,

The list goes on.

For me I have learned that I am nothing without God. I don’t exist without Him and I cannot live apart from Him. I have seen God’s faithfulness first hand, and I have learned to trust him more and more with my life. God is the only person who has never let me down. God is the only person who is constantly there for me even when I didn’t acknowledge His presence in my life. I need God every second of everyday. But I also want Him near me every second of everyday, I’m clingy when it comes to my relationship with God, I have to be under Him always. I have to or I won’t make it. There's nothing I can do without God and there is nothing I can’t do with God. Most importantly, I love Him. I love God with every piece of my being, I love Him so much and I know that it will never add up to how much He loves me. I fell in love with God, and I fall deeper for Him everyday. He is my everything.

Reflection

1. Why do you serve God?

Prayer Time

Take the time to thank God for who He is. Take this time to honor and give reverence to God. Just thank Him, talk to Him about what He means to you. Praise God, just honor and glorify Him. He is worthy.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Make sure you share this with someone, share your story with someone today, and make sure you come back tomorrow for Day 99! Have an awesome Day!.