Many of you have probably grown up in the same city for majority of your life? Majority of you have probably said "I cannot wait to get out of this place!" Don't get me wrong. I know I have many, many times. I grew up in a small town named Orillia my whole life and when I say that there is very little to do here, I mean it. My town is filled with a very high rate of pregnant teenagers, druggies, alcohol, partiers, and unless you are into that sort of stuff you're kind of left out. I love Orillia, do not get me wrong, but a lot of the times I feel like I can do nothing here. So when I want to go do something fun I have to drive to somewhere like Barrie or Toronto, which I don't want to do. But one thing Orillia does have a lot of....amazing teenagers who are on fire for God.
Last night at my youth group we were singing God of this City by Chris Tomlin and it just really hit me.
Orillia is nicknamed the 'Sunshine City', but I don't think it's because the sun is always shining, it's because God's light is always shining.
Because of all of the amazing kids in this city God's light is able to shine so brightly and have no boundaries of where it reaches.
As much as we all say "I cannot wait to get out of here" think about how amazing this city is because of what God is done with it.
No matter where you go in life, if you continue to spread the amazing news of God then wherever you are it will be God's city, and no one can take that away. I just want you all to keep something in the back of your head as you continue on in life. Never forget the place you grew up in, never forget the place you put so much work into making it God's city. Continually pray for your hometown and that no matter where you are, there will be people still there making it God's city and making it shine for him.
Just because you move on to bigger and better things doesn't mean you can just forget about where you grew up. No matter what you're hometown is always going to be in your heart. So never forget it, and never let God's light stop shining in that place.
I want, for the rest of my life, to be able to come back to Orillia and still see that sun shining, because people came in after me and continued to spread God's word throughout this amazing city.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwk
Friday, April 15, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Time for Everything
Have you ever looked at your life and asked yourself "when do I have time just for myself?" Majority of you probably have a very busy schedule throughout the week. And I don't blame you. What with schooling, work, volunteering, hanging with friends, the list can go on and on, but I will just leave it there. We are very busy throughout the week, and it can become very overwhelming at times. But is there a way we can take away some of our stress and just relax?
We live in a world where everyone is always on the go. Everything and everyone is on some sort of a time frame. Even time to relax is on a time frame. Most people go to the spa to relax and get away from the crazy life, but even now people rush in and out of spas because they have somewhere else to be. If we are always rushing around then when do we ever have time to simply relax and spend time with ourselves? To actually relax. You know. Lay down on the couch, with your feet up, watching a dumb soap opera, pigging out of chocolate, because you can. But more importantly when do we have time to spend time with God?
I
am guilty of it. I spend too much time always going, I never have time to stop and just sit in awe of God and what he has and is doing. For example: I'll be doing devotions before bed and I won't take time to do them, I will rush through them, because I have to go to sleep and wake up early the next day. Or I won't even do them at all.
I know it never says in the bible that our devotions should be a specific amount of time. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to spend the most amount of time we can. We shouldn't settle for average, or just enough. We need to aim above and beyond, extrordinary, incredible heights! We can't grow further with God if we do what is just enough. If we don't push ourselves in every aspect of our faith then we won't grow or expand in our spiritual journey. We need to continually grow with God and by doing so we need to grow in all aspects of our faith. We need to grow in our devotions, worship, learning, and even just being still and knowing He is God.
We need to fit ourselves into God's life, not fit Him into our lives. He is not going to just sit back and wait until we have the time for us. His life is going to go on no matter what. We need to fit ourselves into his schedule. God is not going to sit there and say "It's okay, I'll wait until you're done your homework and then you can worship me." NO! God wants you, all of you, not just parts, NOW! He wants all of you. Your commitment, your time, EVERYTHING!
What if today was your last day to pray to God, worship him? What if tomorrow he was all of a sudden no longer there and this was your last moment to spend personal time with him? Majority of you would probably drop whatever you are doing and spend every moment you can with him. You will tell him how much your love him, thank him. You would worship him with all you have and pray to him with all you have. You wouldn't say "I'll do it later" or only spend a few minutes with him because you have something else to do.
My boyfriend couldn't sleep one night and instead of sitting in bed tossing and turning attempting to fall back asleep he got up did a whole bunch of stuff and did devotions, for about 2 hours! I have problems doing devotions for an hour. But I know that that is a struggle I have to face and I have to continue working on with God. I can't give up. I have to remember to keep making time for God and to talk to him and grow more in him.
When you're stressed out or having anxiety over something, sit down and pray to God to take the stress away from you. Ask him to being a peace over you.
Make the time in the day to do devotions. Set aside a specific time in the day when you have time to spend quality time with God.
Don't settle for what you can get and can do. Strive for something so much more than you have ever done before.
Never give up on God, for He never gives up on you!
We live in a world where everyone is always on the go. Everything and everyone is on some sort of a time frame. Even time to relax is on a time frame. Most people go to the spa to relax and get away from the crazy life, but even now people rush in and out of spas because they have somewhere else to be. If we are always rushing around then when do we ever have time to simply relax and spend time with ourselves? To actually relax. You know. Lay down on the couch, with your feet up, watching a dumb soap opera, pigging out of chocolate, because you can. But more importantly when do we have time to spend time with God?
I
am guilty of it. I spend too much time always going, I never have time to stop and just sit in awe of God and what he has and is doing. For example: I'll be doing devotions before bed and I won't take time to do them, I will rush through them, because I have to go to sleep and wake up early the next day. Or I won't even do them at all.
I know it never says in the bible that our devotions should be a specific amount of time. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to spend the most amount of time we can. We shouldn't settle for average, or just enough. We need to aim above and beyond, extrordinary, incredible heights! We can't grow further with God if we do what is just enough. If we don't push ourselves in every aspect of our faith then we won't grow or expand in our spiritual journey. We need to continually grow with God and by doing so we need to grow in all aspects of our faith. We need to grow in our devotions, worship, learning, and even just being still and knowing He is God.
We need to fit ourselves into God's life, not fit Him into our lives. He is not going to just sit back and wait until we have the time for us. His life is going to go on no matter what. We need to fit ourselves into his schedule. God is not going to sit there and say "It's okay, I'll wait until you're done your homework and then you can worship me." NO! God wants you, all of you, not just parts, NOW! He wants all of you. Your commitment, your time, EVERYTHING!
What if today was your last day to pray to God, worship him? What if tomorrow he was all of a sudden no longer there and this was your last moment to spend personal time with him? Majority of you would probably drop whatever you are doing and spend every moment you can with him. You will tell him how much your love him, thank him. You would worship him with all you have and pray to him with all you have. You wouldn't say "I'll do it later" or only spend a few minutes with him because you have something else to do.
My boyfriend couldn't sleep one night and instead of sitting in bed tossing and turning attempting to fall back asleep he got up did a whole bunch of stuff and did devotions, for about 2 hours! I have problems doing devotions for an hour. But I know that that is a struggle I have to face and I have to continue working on with God. I can't give up. I have to remember to keep making time for God and to talk to him and grow more in him.
When you're stressed out or having anxiety over something, sit down and pray to God to take the stress away from you. Ask him to being a peace over you.
Make the time in the day to do devotions. Set aside a specific time in the day when you have time to spend quality time with God.
Don't settle for what you can get and can do. Strive for something so much more than you have ever done before.
Never give up on God, for He never gives up on you!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Alive in You: read it. understand it. apply it.
Alive in You: read it. understand it. apply it.: "'We must embrace the word of God as the practical source of 'truth and knowledge' to apply to our lives, not just a study guide or something..."
Friday, February 18, 2011
What if?
What if? A commonly asked question in many situations. A question asked before you make even the smallest, or biggest decisions. What if I fail my test? What if I don't get into the school I want? What if? Why not ask yourself this. What if God stopped forgiving us? Where would we be if his forgiveness wasn't there? What if God implemented a three strike rule?
In Ecclesiastes 5:4 we are told that when we make a vow to God we should not delay in fulfilling it. It is right there in ink, in plain English. When we make a vow to God we do not delay in fulfilling it. So then why do we continually sin? Why do we continually perform the same act we know is wrong? Yes we are able to go to God after we sin and ask for forgiveness, but that doesn't mean we should just go back to that same act and continually do it. We tell ourselves "Oh God will forgive me for it." But that's not the point. God sent Jesus to die for us so we can be forgiven, but not we could take advantage of that and exploit it. When someone makes you a promise you expect them to fulfill the promise right then and there. Not say "Ya, I'll do it later." That is the same with God. He doesn't delay in fulfilling a promise to us, so why should we delay in fulfilling a promise to him? What if God one day said "I will no longer forgive you for your sins", or "After you sin three times I won't forgive you." You would be alot quicker at fulfilling those promises to Him wouldn't you? You would think twice before sinning again. The whole point is to be more like Christ. Well Jesus didn't delay in fulfilling promises, so neither should we. Continually sinning and just repenting is not going to bring us closer to Go. It will just keep you in the same place, building up that wall. It would be like running on a treadmill with a treat dangling in front of you and no matter how hard or how fast you run you will still be in the same spot where you started. Stop making promises you can't keep. Stop running in that same spot. Start keeping promises you make. Start running marathons and going places you have never been before.
True are your promises
You never change
You never fail oh God.
Ecclesiastes 5:4 - When you make a promise to God do not delay in fulfilling it.
In Ecclesiastes 5:4 we are told that when we make a vow to God we should not delay in fulfilling it. It is right there in ink, in plain English. When we make a vow to God we do not delay in fulfilling it. So then why do we continually sin? Why do we continually perform the same act we know is wrong? Yes we are able to go to God after we sin and ask for forgiveness, but that doesn't mean we should just go back to that same act and continually do it. We tell ourselves "Oh God will forgive me for it." But that's not the point. God sent Jesus to die for us so we can be forgiven, but not we could take advantage of that and exploit it. When someone makes you a promise you expect them to fulfill the promise right then and there. Not say "Ya, I'll do it later." That is the same with God. He doesn't delay in fulfilling a promise to us, so why should we delay in fulfilling a promise to him? What if God one day said "I will no longer forgive you for your sins", or "After you sin three times I won't forgive you." You would be alot quicker at fulfilling those promises to Him wouldn't you? You would think twice before sinning again. The whole point is to be more like Christ. Well Jesus didn't delay in fulfilling promises, so neither should we. Continually sinning and just repenting is not going to bring us closer to Go. It will just keep you in the same place, building up that wall. It would be like running on a treadmill with a treat dangling in front of you and no matter how hard or how fast you run you will still be in the same spot where you started. Stop making promises you can't keep. Stop running in that same spot. Start keeping promises you make. Start running marathons and going places you have never been before.
True are your promises
You never change
You never fail oh God.
Ecclesiastes 5:4 - When you make a promise to God do not delay in fulfilling it.
What really lasts forever?
2 Corinthians 4:18 - So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
We can't see God or Heaven, but that doesn't mean he doesn't exist. Everyday something new comes out on the market and it catches our eye. Whether it be that new iPod or the new Call of Duty video game, our eyes become diverted to that new shiny object that everyone wants. But how long will that new iPod or video game last before a new version comes out? A week, a month, maybe even a year. None of the materialistic items that come into this world last forever. I know at times it seems like we cannot live without a certain item, for example I sometimes feel like I cannot live without my iPod or cellphone. But we were brought into this world with nothing and we will leave this world the same way. The amount of materialistic items we can actually live without would shock us. But what would happen if God was taken away from us? How empty or lost would we feel then? We feel lost and empty when we don't have our cellphones on us for a day. But how lost and alone would we feel if we didn't have God for a day, or a month, or a lifetime? Answer this question honestly. Do you really think you can live without God?
Material items make us feel whole and happy in the moment we have them, but deep down we are still empty. Nothing and no one can give us the happiness and filled feeling like God can. Only God can truly fill our lives. Only God can give us true happiness. Only God.
As I finish writing ask yourself this question. What really lasts forever?
We can't see God or Heaven, but that doesn't mean he doesn't exist. Everyday something new comes out on the market and it catches our eye. Whether it be that new iPod or the new Call of Duty video game, our eyes become diverted to that new shiny object that everyone wants. But how long will that new iPod or video game last before a new version comes out? A week, a month, maybe even a year. None of the materialistic items that come into this world last forever. I know at times it seems like we cannot live without a certain item, for example I sometimes feel like I cannot live without my iPod or cellphone. But we were brought into this world with nothing and we will leave this world the same way. The amount of materialistic items we can actually live without would shock us. But what would happen if God was taken away from us? How empty or lost would we feel then? We feel lost and empty when we don't have our cellphones on us for a day. But how lost and alone would we feel if we didn't have God for a day, or a month, or a lifetime? Answer this question honestly. Do you really think you can live without God?
Material items make us feel whole and happy in the moment we have them, but deep down we are still empty. Nothing and no one can give us the happiness and filled feeling like God can. Only God can truly fill our lives. Only God can give us true happiness. Only God.
As I finish writing ask yourself this question. What really lasts forever?
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