Devotions

IT'S ABOUT TIME... 2nd Peter 3:8-18 I sometimes get a little impatient. Okay, that's a lie. I am impatient nearly all the time. Impatient for people to call, impatient for meals, impatient for class to end, impatient for fun days to come, impatient for boring days to be over... the list could literally go on forever. One thing I've had a peace with is the end of time. I don't stress about when that day will come, because I know God has a plan for it, and no matter when it comes, it'll be awesome. 2nd Peter says God's concept of time is much different than ours. It says that to Him, a day is like a thousand years. It also says God is patient because He wants to give more people a chance to make the change and follow Him. Usually waiting for things gets easier if we have stuff to do in the meantime. Here's what the Bible says we should do while waiting for God to come again: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar...

FAITH. 1 John 5:1-12 Dear God, It gets to difficult to live in this messed up, sinful world when all we have to live by is faith. We are selfish, and we want more-- more to assure us of You. Jesus, help us live by faith, even when it's hard. Help us to love others and live holy lives, set apart from the ways of the world. Help us live how You want us to live. This is hard to do, God, because often we need reminders of what You want for us. Please be active in our lives, and show us how You want us to live, and the decisions You want us to make. We fail on our own, Jesus, but in You we can do all things. Amen.

PEOPLE. Matthew 23:12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. ~Matthew 23:12 "...Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ~Mark 10:43-45 Dear Jesus, You sacrificed Yourself on the cross, and You didn't even do anything wrong. But we, Jesus, are sinners, and are selfish sinners, at that. Help us to remember all You have done for us, and help us stop pretending that we are the center of the universe. Help us interact with Your people that way You would want us to-- in love, respect, honesty, and patience. Help us mend what is broken, for we know that when we interact with others, we are interacting with You. When we turn away from people, we are turning away from You. Please be with those we are unable to be with, and let them know the...

1 Corinthians 12:1-31 Read these chapters now at http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12&version=NIV GOD HAS GIVEN YOU A GIFT. It's such a crazyyyyy thought to think that God has specifically given each and every one of His people a special gift to further His kingdom. It's difficult to imagine this huge concept because there are so MANY different gifts. But one thing that Paul stressed is that all of the gifts we're given are one together. He uses the analogy that we are all like body parts to one body, and we must work in peace with each other. This hard for me sometimes. I sometime get jealous at others' gifts, or even mad that some don't share my gifts, and I completely forget the meaning of gifts in the first place-- to glorify God! There are so many gifts... leadership, listening, mentoring, speaking... the list goes on and on. But most of you should at least have an idea of what God has blessed you with-- something that you're nat...

RELAXING... So... I started this summer blog thing to "kick off my shoes" and have a worry-free summer where I just come in contact with God and focus on His purpose rather than my own... and I've failed miserably. I can't seem to focus on more than like ten things at once. My summer has already gotten so clogged-- in these first few weeks, even!-- that I can't find the time to squeeze in some God. And I know that sounds horrible. Hopefully I'm not the only person who feels they put Him on the back shelf sometimes. Butttttt instead of moping about it-- let's do something. Sometimes a simple counting of one's blessings can really put things into perspective... even vague things we take for granted can be counted as blessings, like a roof over our heads, and food in our stomachs. The reality is that so many people in our messed up world don't have even the necessities to live, and it's a shocking but honest truth. So next time you want to do some...

Ezekiel 12:1-2~ Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people. This is an interesting passage. It is almost as if God is saying that He gives His people ears and eyes, but lets them chose if they want to hear or see. God then goes to say that after mankind's lack of hearing and sight, this makes us rebellious people. Interesting... Dear God, Help us to see with the eyes that You gave us. Help us see all You desire for us to see, and let Your purpose be revealed to us. We want to see You, Jesus, and we want to be exposed to Your glory, even though we're aware we don't deserve to be near You. Help us hear even the faintest cries for help, Lord. Help us be open to whatever we encounter along the way. We want to hear Your spirit inside of us, and want to hear Your calling for each of us. We realize that we need You to do both of these things, Jesus, and we pray that y...

Matthew 5:3-10 I love when Jesus preaches and his message fits together with our lives perfectly. It simply solidifies that there is a greater purpose and that we aren't in control. Jesus preached great sermons, and one I like to talk about is his message of the beatitudes. He said: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. There are a lot of life-changing blessings in this short passage-- but I'd like to focus on one in particular, verse 8. Blessed are the pure in h...

Philippians 4:4-7 The passage to read is super short today, people... so read now if you wanna :) Somehow even the shortest number of verses has got my head thinking twice as hard as it usually does. I guess I'll just post the passage below-- its pretty short. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Dear Jesus, It is so hard to rejoice when each day of this life is pulling apart at our hearts. We know that You are strong, and You have blessed us with many blessings. But even still, evil continues to pry open our hopes and it is difficult to understand that this will never stop. Help us react how You want to, Jesus, handing over all our anxiety to You, our Redeemer. He...

James 1:1-18 THE UN-WON BATTLE. Hopefully I'm not the only one who ends their day sometimes with the thought of defeat. Not everyday... I'm not like depressed all the time, but after a long hot summer day, I often feel drained. I'm trying not to complain, though. Complaining is for the people who need sympathy of others, and after reading today's reading, I'm assured that we're temped and trialed by sin every single day, and complaining about it simply doesn't help. God grants us perseverance in our trials so we can be matured, as it says in James 1 verse 4. I like that idea, that there is something better waiting for us that we can encounter once we've overcome our struggles. God gives us opportunities to spread His love, and all we need to do is be open to them. That way, I believe, if we focus on Jesus throughout the day, maybe the feeling of defeat will be... well... defeated! Dear God, Please be a permanent reminder of how we should live each day, e...

Nahum 3 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... Yesterday's post was all about how God will always prevail, no matter what the circumstances, and today's reading did a complete flip. The chapter was a little depressing, actually, and I kind of made me feel guilty. It's so difficult to realize that we as humans will ALWAYS sin, no matter how hard we try not to. I want so badly to be able to wake up and be blameless-- without fault. I know that's never going to happen, though. There will always be temptations and distractions from our faith, and it makes me want to punch a wall. But I won't do that, because then I can't type for you guys :) Life is good, because God will always be the one to come out on top. He'll always overcome evil, even when it seems there isn't a good balance between good and evil in the world. I saw this movie a few months ago called "Devil." It was a horror movie, and I wasn't a big fan of it, simply bec...

AMEN! Today's short chapter just makes you wanna shout "AMEN!" It's not mandatory or anything, but if you wanna read the chapter I read before the prayer, I'll post it below :) If you don't have a bible handy, www.biblegateway.com is a really great website that has just about every version of the Bible you can imagine :) Today's chapter to read is Isaiah 61 Dear Lord, Forgive us when we fail to remember Your power, strength, and mightiness. In this world it gets so easy to just move on with life, free from the fact that you even exist. The world is constantly trying to push You out of it, God, and after reading this passage, we're aware that You are a God of justice! You are forgiving and loving, but hate it when we turn away from You. Thank You for our many blessings, and we know that they aren't just given freely, but for the sole purpose of spreading Your hope and love to others. We are called every day to live a life that is pleasing to You. A...

So, once again, here I sit, at 10:30 at night, sleepless. That was a lot of commas. I've decided to put together a little summer reading thing for my fellow friends and family members, or complete strangers, really. I have no control over who reads this, all I'm hoping is that it brightens your day in some way, shape, or form. I know with a lot of my friends being fellow teenagers, the term "summer reading" makes them want to jump off of a very tall cliff into a pool of burning acid. But stick with me, please. This is no ordinary summer reading assignment. For the past few weeks I've been getting into the habit of reading before I went to bed because I've never been tired enough to sleep. It hasn't helped with the sleep issue, really, (hence the fact that I'm sitting here typing this at 10:30 at night...) but I've really enjoyed reading various passages of the Bible, then writing down my hopes and prayers. Maybe you're not into the whole "...