O Play-Doh Day

"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to different gospel-- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach the gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemed! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemed!

Am I trying to with the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is something that is not made up. I did not receive it from any men, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation of Jesus Christ."
- Galatians 1:3-12


Wow that's pretty blunt huh? However, it is true. Think about it, Jesus, Son of God, the One who is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega, the One who sits on the Mighty throne in heaven GAVE Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. Don't you think we ought to tell others who don't know Christ teach them about Christ the RIGHT way? Instead of teaching other religions like Islam, Hinduism, Budhaism, etc.

When is it worst to give in to peer fear? By not presenting to gospel of Jesus Christ to others around you who need it as much as you and I need it. Jesus instructed us to go out into the nations to make disciples (Matt. 28:16-20). YES DISCIPLES! The title of that passage is called The Great Commission and we ought to take that to heart and fulfill that commission.

And you don't have to live in this world by yourself. Jesus said towards the end of the passage that He will always be with you. Amazing! Peer pressure isn't all bad, if Jesus Christ try to peer pressure you, you will know its not bad because Christ is All Good. You can't live isolated from your peers. Christ died and rose for you, forgives you, and deserves TOTAL obedience. No ideas for nogotiation.

We all want to please people one way or the other and you sometimes can by acting, talking, dressing, and thinking in a that is wonderful for both God and people. "In the same way, let you light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:16)

Other times you can't. Its a choice, its no contest on whose opinion matters more. God's opinion is the one that matters overall.

Practice asking yourself this question: "Am I trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I rying to please men?" on a daily basis and observe how your actions reflect throughout your day.

Right Place, Right Time

"Now the tax collectors and 'sinners' were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law mutteres, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

-Luke 15:1-2


So, should Christians have non-Christian friends?

Well as you turned to Luke chapter 15 and read, you noticed that Jesus spends time with tax collectors and sinners and the Pharisees try to find any way to put Jesus onto the line so they can kill Him. If you continue reading the chapter, Jesus uses Parable to proove the reason why He came down to earth.

"I tell you that the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."
-Luke 15: 7

Jesus chose to step off His heavenly throne and come and be bound by time in human flesh in order to save His people. As He was on earth, He spent time with sinners because he has compassion for them. In 2 Corinthians 6:14 is different,
" Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?"

Paul wrote this in order for us to stay on guard of who we should hang out with and have relationships with. If you are a Christian, but dating a non-Christian, or have non-Christian friends, it causes a lot of trouble because your values are completely different in most ways, and its hard to compromise without letting go your mortals. Clinging with them can keep you from obeying God.
Your goal is to invite people to meet Jesus. That's why Jesus ate with unbelievers, so they can have the opportunity to meet their Savior and become believers.

Don't be yoked, be evoked!

Don't Roll Over, Rover!

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

- 1 Peter 4:8


Do you have to roll over and play dead after someone hurts you? Its natural to moan, groan, or gripe when someone does you wrong. However, Jesus gives you a better way! First, we should talk to the person who has hurt you, if it doesn't resolve, take someone with you to back you up, if that doesn't help, appeal to people in authority. (Matthew 18:15-17)


When done is done, it's time to let love "cover" the wrongs you have suffered. It doesn't mean wrongs never happened, it meands to forgive others as God forgiven you. (Colossians 3:13) He has the right to not to forgive us, but He does. So, why can't we forgive others as well?

Quit broadcasting blame (Proverbs 17:9) Do your best to live at peace (Romans 12:16) and don't be conceited. You don't have to roll over, but to call off the dobermans.

Don't Apologize for You

"I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the "gods" I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD, when they hear the words of your mouth. May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.

Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands."

Psalm 138

Wow! God's love for you and me is indescribible! Knowing how the Lord of all nations, sitting on His Mighty throne cares so much about us is just so extradorniary uncommon because of the world we live in. So many of us try so hard to put on a "mask" in order to hide what's really going on, or who we really are. I'll admit, I am definitely guilty of it.

So, how can you learn to be bold about who you are? Sometimes its socially acceptable to be strange-but only if the crowd says so.

BUT God has some amazing news about who you are. YOU are the WORK of GOD'S HANDS! He will not abandoned you; He made you unique. Out of 6 billion peoply on this planet there is absolutely NO one exaactly like you. One of a kind.

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Ephesians 2:10

God delights in nothing more than seeing you live as the masterpiece He made you. He's absolutely worth praising for how he made you. When you're shy about revealing the real you, He is your source of power to crack out of your shell.

Bragging Rights

"This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD."

-Jeremiah 9:23-24

In our culture today, we LOVE to talk. Especially about what's going on with our lives, what kind of car do we drive now, how much money we're making, how successful we are, etc, etc. However, Scripture tells us that its not good to boast on these earthly things, but rather boast in the Lord, the One who provides the blessings we have.

He constantly reminds us that next to Him we don't measure up.

"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One."

Isaiah 40:25

The things we tend to brag about are imperfect, powerless and broken down, but it's ok to enjoy the good things that God gives us. God is "righteous in all His ways loving toaward all He has made." (Psalm 145:17) Having a friend like that IS something worth bragging about.

So sorry

I have been way behind on this blog already! Geeze. Well now since I'm done with school I have more time on my hands to start this back up again. I hope I get people to read this and leave me comments soon. I would love to hear feedback from anyone and everyone who has been reading this.

Btw if you have any topics you want me to write about let me know! I probably have some topics that a lot of people have questions about

-In Christ,
Alicia

Can God make good come out of bad?

The God of All Comfort

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our[a] behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

-2 Corinthians 1:3-11


The last thing that you want to hear when hurting is that your experience will make you strong & wise. As it makes you glad you got dumped, happy that your friend past away, or excited to struggle with classes. However, the most learning experiences you face is when you are going through a tough time.
When Paul suffered in Asia, he shattered his confidence in himself. In the passage above, He explains that God is "the God of all comfort." vs.3 Paul was sharing this comfort to the Corinthians at the time, but he's sharing it to us too.
During the your rough times, it will teach you what God knows you need to learn is trust. Throughout this passage along with many others in the Bible, that God does accept you, cares for you and ultimately will bring you to an eternity with Himself in paradise. How amazing is that?! Knowing that is very comforting!
You learn to rely on God, with not just one thing, but in everthing. He didn't plan for bad things to happen in your word. But like being a peice of clay that's been squished out of shape, God is the potter trying to mold us into a beautiful masterpiece. He can spin your life into something good again if you let him. God heals your hurt and He will use you to heal the hurts of others around you to bring them closer to Him. So when you're in a midst of a valley, always remember that God is right there with His arms wide open to bring you love and comfort. Your pain is not a waste.