Think Logically

• The trees grow and produce oxygen for us to breathe. How convenient that there is a constant supply of oxygen for us. 
• There is a water cycle to where we should never run out. 
• Our hearts beat without us even thinking about it. 
• We can breathe and not have to be voluntarily doing such a necessary action.
• Babies are born in such a scheduled time and growth process. 
• When we are cut and begin to bleed, platelets form and our body heals itself. 

Think of all of these miracles that we overlook every single day. Do you wake up in the  morning and say "Thank you, Lord for my immune system?" Probably not, but we should. 

Genesis 1:[1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.[2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters

Someone recently tried to argue with me and claim that there was no God. He asked me how I could believe in a God. I ask him, how could you not? Look around. Logically speaking, there would HAVE to be a higher power out there that created such a miraculous, unique, intelligent, crafty universe and human body. Without even going into any kind of religious talk, just the nature of existence in itself is enough to prove that God is real. He holds the sun, the moon, the stars. Like the children always sing, "He's got the world in His hands."

Stand in His Love

Shadowfeet by Brooke Fraser

God is so good to us. He is merciful and forgiving. He is just and righteous. He loves us when we don't treat Him right. He is perfect and all knowing. He knows our deepest darkest secrets, yet loves us anyways. When the whole world turns against us, we can be sure that He is still there. 

Your boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, even parents, or children can leave you at anytime. They can decide to stop loving you. They can turn their back on you and throw away your relationship. The amazing thing is that God will never do that. If the relationship ends, its because YOU stopped loving HIM. Don't be the cause of this eternal separation. 

"When the world is falling out from under me, I'll be found in You still standing."

Romans 8:[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?[36] As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.[37] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.[38] For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,[39] Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Walking Worship

Psalms 45:[11] So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.

We understand that we have been commanded to worship the Lord. What exactly must we do?

When we think of 'worship' what do we think of?
Singing, lifting hands, praising, etc. We think of actions that lie in the realm of church walls, generally involving music and groups of people.
Psalms 66:[4] All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.


Although those answers above are completely correct, is there other ways that we can worship? Yes.
We can worship just by walking and talking and living our daily lives honoring God. Our lives should be Walking Worship.
Psalms 96:[9] O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.

• Fear the Lord
• Exalt Him
• Magnify Him
• Lift Him up
• Let others see more of Him and less of you
• Sing songs unto Him
• Testify of His great works
• Witness to others 
• Share the gospel
• Praise Him
• Thank Him
• Love God. Love others.

If we can get into a routine of doing each of these tasks every single day, our lives will shine for Him and worship Him even when there is no music playing. Our walking worship will be a sweet song to His ears. 

Everything

This skit is done by a group at Winterfest in  2006. 

Notice how the girl gets tangled up in the cares of this life, but Jesus can overthrow them all when she decides its time to come back home. 

Galatians 5:[1] Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Be Courageous

• Deut. 31:[6] Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
• Joshua 1:[9] Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
• 1 Chr. 28:[20] And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.
• Psalms 27:[14] Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

God obviously wants us to be courageous. Being courageous means showing or displaying courage.

Courage according to an online dictionary source www.definr.com is:

a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger of pain
         without showing fear 

So what does that mean for us?? It means that WE WILL face hard times and trials. WE WILL endure pain and suffering, but WE ARE ABLE to withstand it and overcome.

Don't give in. Be courageous. 

Busybody

1 Peter 4:[15] But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

People are constantly meddling in other people's business... Being nosy, being talebearers, starting rumors, causing drama, etc.

This isn't just highschool drama, it follows you everywhere you go. You can't run from drama, but you can avoid the people who intend on causing it. 

Don't get in others people lives unless they invite you in. Don't make up stories about others, it only hurts them. 

Be faithful to God, yourself, and to those around you. Mind your own matters and let God deal with other men's matters. 

Too Far to Turn Back

Philippians1:[6] Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:


If you have gone one step in the right direction, it is too far to turn back now.
If you have been saved for one second, you have gone too far to turn back now.
If you have made your way to the altar and just now knelt down to cry, you have gone too far to turn back now.
If you have been saved for 60 years, you have come too far to turn back now.

If God has done any amount of work in your life, He has a plan for you and He will finish it.
If you don't think God has done anything for you, you just lied. You are breathing as you are reading this and where there is breath, there is hope.

God is a finished product kind of God. Don't look at the chaos of the storm, wait for the rainbow.

His ways are higher than ours, ,and His purpose is above our understanding.. Don't give up. Wait on God. He will finish what He started in You.


There's a song that I learned in Bible Training Institute once that says:
"I just can't give up now, I've come too far from where I started from, Nobody told me that the road would be easy, But I don't believe He brought me this far to leave me."

Help!

James 1:[27] Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

This morning I am getting up with my roommate and the rest of the Pre-Medical Club of Arkansas Tech University and we are going to work in a charity organization that clothes, feeds, and nurtures impoverished people of the community. I feel a true blessing coming along. 

Is there something you can be doing in your community? If we are TRUE Christians, we are going to be the ones reaching out in love and showing that Good Samaritan side of us. I always fought the thought of doing volunteer work. Just because you don't get paid, doesn't mean that you don't receive anything. You will receive abundant blessings in Heaven for the work you do on earth.

(Now, don't get me wrong, you won't make it to Heaven by works alone, but good works certainly don't hurt when you are a true child of the King.)

Hebrews 10:24] And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

We have a scriptural commandment to provoke one another to do good things and to love others.. I was provoked into doing something for others and now I'm obeying my commandment and encouraging everyone around me to get involved, help someone, change a life and let God change their heart. 

Lord, I pray for the communities of all who have read this and I pray that You would give us the holy boldness and wisdom to speak to ones who are in need and help them in any way possible. Lord, let us help their physical conditions as we give You control to work on their hearts. We love You and thank You for all that You do and we are so blessed that you have spared us from those impoverished conditions. It is only by grace that we are are where we are. Amen.

Cookie Thief

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”

With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

By Valerie Cox in “A Matter of Perspective”
Submitted by Tom “The Colonel” Parker

Luke 6:37] Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

How many times do we judge someone without even knowing the situation?

We can't look at someone's clothes, car, home, etc and label them. By the outside appearance we are not able to tell anything about a person for sure. We can merely guess and make assumptions. The only righteous judgement that we have is that of God which comes from the Bible alone. The Bible is the only standard which we are justified in  holding anyone to and even still, it is only God that knows the heart. So be careful when you begin to judge, because you are too being judge by the greatest Judge of all- Jesus Christ.

John 7:[24] Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.


See, the woman in the story was judging that man the whole time when in reality it was herself that had the problem. In order to avoid even making a wrong assumption and ending up looking like a fool, she could have simply shared what she thought were her cookies to begin with and clear up the misunderstanding that they weren't hers, in fact, to share. Be giving, be loving, be understanding.. don't be judgmental.


-Destiny Turner

Shrink the World

Let's shrink the world and see how blessed we truly are.

If we could shrink the earth's population

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.  There would be:

57 Asians

21 Europeans

14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south

8 would be Africans

52 would be female

48 would be male

70 would be non-white
30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian

89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.

80 would live in substandard housing

70 would be unable to read

50 would suffer from malnutrition

(ONE)1 would be near death;

(ONE)1 would be near birth;

(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education;

(ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would own a computer.

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

And, therefore . . .

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.  

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

As you read this and are reminded how life is in the rest of the world, remember just how blessed you really are!
-http://www.rogerknapp.com/inspire/shrink_earth.htm


Philippians 4:11] Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Strength to Stand

1 Cor. 15:[58] Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Psalsms 18:[32] It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.

Psalms 31:[4] Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.

Matthew 26:[41] Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Each of these scriptures are talking about how we need to stand strong, be grounded, unmoveable, rooted, etc. The Bible teaches us that when we choose to serve the Lord, we must prepare ourselves for adversity, trials, and temptations. The devil KNOWS our weaknesses, and he WILL act upon them to do everything he can to get us to fail. We must be like Jesus when Satan came against him... he stood firm. We need to be like the 3 Hebrew Children, Esther, Job, and many more. God put all of these people in the Bible and recorded their great faith in order to teach us that "Hey! This road is not easy. This is the road less traveled, BUT there are people who have succeeded and so can you!"

He never promised us it would be easy, He only said we'd never go alone. -Ginny Owen

The main thing we need to realize that our source of strength is simply Jesus Christ. We can't try to  play the game alone, fight the battle alone, win the war alone, walk the road alone, etc. Like the old song says "I can't even walk without you holding my hand." 

Do your best everyday and God will richly bless you. We aren't perfect. We weren't made perfect. When Adam and Eve disobeyed, they put a curse on everyone that would follow them to be born with sin in their heart. We are creatures of habit, of temptation, of nature, of conformity, and of weakness. Its going to take a lot of spiritual muscles to stand in these last days. We CAN do it!

People Get Ready

Statistics:
The world's population is 6,525,170,264 (July 2006 est.) The birth rate is estimated at 20.05 births/1,000 population and the death rate at 8.67 deaths/1,000 population. 

That gives us 358,192 births and 154,889 deaths as a daily average.
Sources: http://www.cia.gov/cia/....

This was in 2006.. Its been about 6 years since then. Imagine what the stats are now?

There is a wise quote that says: "Don't wait until the Last Judgement.. It happens every day." -Albert Camus

This is true. Thousands of people meet their judgement every single day, every minute, every second. None of us know when our last day is so lets make our life worth the living, but more so worth watching when we are gone.

Matthew 24:[44] Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.[45] Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?[46] Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Be ready and be found working. Don't be found sleeping..


Isaiah 5:[14] Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

Hell enlarges herself everyday. Don't be one that assists in enlarging hell.. Let's enlarge Heaven.

Redeeming the Time

Ephesians 5:[16] Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.[17] Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

None of us know what tomorrow will bring, or if we even have a tomorrow. The job we have to do is TODAY. The Great Commission to "Go ye therefore..." cannot wait until tomorrow. This indeed IS a life or death situation. Choose life for yourself and share life with others.

If we saw a woman laying across a train tracks, we would rush to them to get them off. That is basically the situation we face now. If you are not saved, you are just waiting death and torment. Make sure you are ready, and then help warn others about the day that is approaching very quickly.

It will be bad news for many.. but wonderful news for some. Let us be the ones rejoicing.

Beauty

[1 Chr. 16:29] Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness


I know I may have already written a little bit about beauty and such, but this thought is really pressing on me this morning. So many times do us (girls) think that we can't leave the house without curled hair, makeup, etc. I am not bashing makeup so don't take it that way, however, I am saying that we don't have to conform ourselves to society based on their idea of beautiful. The most beautiful person you can be is YOU. God made you just the way He wanted. The only perfecting that He expects from you is your heart. If you clean up your heart, the outer beauty will shine. It won't be the beauty that society wants, though. A model can't even get the beauty that society wants. A computer takes a model and generates her a little bit until she is "perfect". Watch this video at how a nice young girl gets transformed and computer generated to being "magazine material". Don't be deceived like she was. Be yourself. Perfect your heart in the beauty of holiness. 

Guys do the same thing. They base their "physical attraction" on what the world sees and forgets about the heart sometimes. Let us all be wary of the traps that loom about and not fall into this misconception. 


Lord, help us to understand that society is nothing compared to You and Your standard. Let us be beautiful in Your sight and forget what anyone else thinks. 

Casting out Fear

[2 Tim.1:7] For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

How many times do we enter a trial with so much fear that we run the opposite (and generally wrong) way?

How many times does someone depend on us to share the Gospel or pray for them, yet due to fear of rejection, we refuse to obey?

How many times do we do the wrong thing instead of what we know is right due to fear of being made fun of?

God has not given us the spirit of fear.

He has given us three tools that are pretty much all we need to make it.

1. Power: [2 Cor. 6:4] But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,[5] In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;[6] By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,[7] By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
• God has equipped us with tools that will give us power for service no matter what comes against us. 
2. Love: [Romans 8:28] And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
• We must love God and love people. When we can grasp the love of God, we will automatically love people. Love makes all things possible.. not easy; however, the hard things will be worthwhile when we do them in love.
3. Sound Mind: The dictionary definition of a "sound mind" is: 
• exercising or showing good judgement
• in excellent physical condition
• free from moral defect
• God gave us this sound mind. We should all be thankful for the mind that He has given us and the ability to make sound judgement and good moral reasoning. There are many people in this world that have been born with mind defects. They are not capable of making decisions on their own. The only decision that is very necessary to make, though, is that of choosing Christ as our personal Savior (which I believe even those with mind defects are capable of making.) 

Next time you come across a situation and the first reaction you want to make is to be afraid... DON'T. If God does not give us a spirit of fear then where does it come from?

The devil.

Do not let him control you. Cast out fear. Act in power. Act in love. Act with a sound mind. 

[Joshua 1:9] Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

We can Withstand the Weather

[Isa. 43:2] When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

Wow, this morning I had an experience that took me back to being thankful for the little things in life.
It has been scorching hot for months now. It has been so hot that pretty  much as soon as you walk outside, sweat starts forming. This morning, though, I walked outside and I didn't even feel the sun. I could see it, but all I felt was nice, neutral air, and a cool breeze! I immediately ran inside and said "Mom, come feel!". It wasn't a drastic change, only a few degrees difference; however, we had been feeling that bad heat for so long that anything made a difference.

This is how God is to us. He lets us go through the fire for so long, so that whenever he delivers us from the trial and gives us that "cool breeze", refreshing victory, we will be more thankful! We all go through things, and they do serve a purpose. So be happy when you are going through the heat, because a cool breeze is coming.

[James 1:2] My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;[3] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Don't fret when you are going through a trial. Just know that it will make you stronger, draw you closer to God, and give you a new appreciation for Him that you have never had.

1 Thes. 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Lord, help me to be thankful for every type of weather, every storm, every hot day, every cool breeze, every raindrop, every cloud because I know that there is a purpose in Your work, and that you will never leave me stranded if I draw close to You. Amen. 

Time Management

Time Management is a thing that I have been dealing with lately more than any other topic. I recently moved to college and my whole world has been turned upside down. I never knew what studying was- until now. I never knew what a social life was- until now. I never knew when to do my own laundry- until now. I never went grocery shopping- until now. (I think you get the picture.) I have had to learn to "grow up". Managing my time is a factor that I am still trying to master.

God made time for a reason. He even had to learn to manage His own time. He worked for six days to create this whole world, and on that seventh day He rested. He led by example of how we should all be. We have to put our important matters first and then prioritize below. We also, though, must save time for rest for ourselves or we will get half-hearted in our job which we learned previously that we cannot do. We must do everything we do for His glory to the best of our ability.

Ecc. 3:
[1] To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
[2] A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
[3] A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
[4] A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
[5] A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
[6] A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
[7] A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
[8] A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

There is always something to do, and it seems like not enough time to do it. We must make sure we know when the time is, how important the task is, and when the deadline is. Remember though, God comes first. When you put Him first, He will ensure that everything else will fall into place.

Matthew 6:[33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

And when you have worked all day, and managed your time wisely putting God first and foremost, and you can't go on anymore, Jesus said:
Matthew 11:[28] Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.[29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.[30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Every little thing you do

Ecc. 9:[10] Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

Today, think of EVERY little task you do, every errand you run, every stranger you meet, every person you pass, every job, school, etc. that you complete. Are you doing this with ALL of your might and for the glory of God?

If so, Praise the Lord. You are following a commandment and God will bless you for this reward. If not, let us all work harder to be the best we can be for Him in every little thing we do. 

Colossions:[23] And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Secondly, make sure that you are doing it all for the Lord, not for men. Not for boasting, or pride, or any such thing. All for the glory of God.