Devotions

The Internet is a giant, swirling black hole that consumes all who enter into it's vices. Technology is its mother, and humans are its food, fed carelessly by the thousands into its mouth. The world is corrupt. It feeds on power and fame and money. It detests the kind-hearted and loathes all who speak a word of humility. I search for happiness-- a break from the depressing realm of reality. I long for some type of boost-- a pat on the back, a compliment, a good grade... All are worthless. No matter how many A's I receive, no matter how many people think I'm pretty, smart, unique, independent-- none of it matters. Not one pleasure of the world can suffice for the genuine need of a human for love. On the bright side, there is a well that never runs dry. I need to stop searching in worldly places. The Internet is in fact a black hole. It provides temporary "likes" and "friends" but none of them are real. None are perfect, and eternal. All will o...

YES, YOU'RE FORGIVEN... NOW WHAT ABOUT ME ? Sometimes, let's be honest... we give grace just because it's the right thing to do. Someone really does deserve to be punished, but you know that they deserve to receive grace even more. So maybe you don't even think twice about it, and don't even consider what's been done wrong, or even how often it's been done wrong. You think back to the innocent man being nailed to a cross for the forgiveness of your sins-- and not JUST your sins, but those of others as well. And to be honest, I think that's a pretty good habit to be in-- loving and forgiving all people, and not having a little list of sins inscribed on your heart that contain the faults of others. First Corinthians 13:4-5 states that: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. -NIV I want to focus...

FREE IS THE RAREST OF THINGS When you stop to think about it, something that is truly, completely, 100% free is extremely rare. When's the last time you used a coupon because you thought you were getting something free, but there were all these crazy strings attached? You get a free shirt if you spend $50 on jeans. You must get this free shirt between these certain dates, and if not, no free shirt. You can get a free drink-- if you buy a meal. You can get a free copy of a magazine-- but only if you subscribe for a certain amount of time. You get a free smart phone-- but only if you buy the expensive data plan to go with it. When is there ever anything that is seriously free? Meaning you have to do absolutely nothing to receive it-- spend no money whatsoever. It's pretty rare, right? To find something with no strings attached? Not only are free things rare-- but when are rare things ever free? When do you walk into a comic book store to find a limited edition of some r...

HOW COULD I NOT GIVE IT AWAY SO FREELY? God's grace is a complete and utter mystery to me. I don't understand much of it at all. I dont' understand why He would ever love sinner like us. I don't understand why we literally don't have to do ANYTHING to deserve His grace but believe in His Son. It is unheard of. It's insane. It's unbelievably simple, yet I get so mislead to the point where I actually think that I need to deserve His grace, that I can somehow be "good enough," to earn it. How stupid of me. God's grace has a few facts that we can understand, and I'm going to lay them out, here on this web page. The facts of grace. Fact Number One: Grace is undeserving. That means that we can never be good enough, never do any amount of good deeds in order to earn His grace, not ever. We simply have to believe in Him. We don't have to go to church. We don't have to take communion. We don't have to give money to the church....

A REVOLUTION . So I'm reading a book on grace, and believe it or not I'm beginning to find that Christians have a really skewed view of one of the most important aspects of our faith-- grace. So I'm going to try and give people, and myself, a better understanding of the amazing gift God has given. I was most confused when I read the Old Testament, because it was before Christ, and before grace had changed forever. I believe the author when he said that grace was existing since the beginning of time, that God cared about us SO much that He give us food, friends, and gave us authority over all He created. He specifically made sure everything He made was good-- not for His own gain but because He loved us that much. Humans did nothing to please Him in the beginning, we were just-- there, temporarily following His commands. And then we even disobeyed God, and He still let us live and increase in number... think about it: God created the world so perfectly and cared abo...

ARMOR OF GOD Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God , so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace . In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith , with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit , which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV Sometimes, I'll be completely...

GIRL VS. WORLD. I like the ring of this title. Hmm... So I often see the way the world is running, and look at the lives of non-believers and wonder WHY the heck I even have standards. I know it's a very selfish thought, but following Jesus can be hard sometimes, and sometimes I think about what it would be like if I had no guilt or shame for doing things the world claims as completely innocent. I looked in the back of my Bible and the topic of discipline was presented. Spiritual discipline, mental discipline, and discipline of one's actions can set one person apart from another. Two people could look the exact same, dress the same, and talk the same, but the discipline of their very beings is something that seperates the two. The Bible mentions the world many times, how it is set apart from Jesus. Jesus says His kingdom is not of this world: John 18:36 NIV Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest ...