Prayer, Worship, and the Beach.

In the past month and a half I have been to the beach a few times for early morning prayer, and worship team practice for the youth ministry I serve in. In going to the beach with some of my brothers and sisters in Christ I have learned so much things about God on those various Saturdays and I just wanted to share some of the things God has been showing me.

1. God wants us to go deeper with Him.

•  God wants us to go deeper with Him. I love how He has continuously reminded me about this every time I have gone to the beach. He has been so gentle, and so sweet in telling me this. Whenever I get into the water and go further into the ocean I am reminded by God about how when I stand at the shore and the tide comes over my feet begin to sink in the sand. God does not want us to stay in our comfort zone or stay in the "shallow" because when we do so we begin to rely on ourselves instead of Him and we begin to sink. So often does this happen to us. We get too comfortable in our comfort zones and begin to think that everything is okay and we start to rely on our flesh instead of surrendering ourselves to the Holy Spirit and His guidance. When we start to rely on ourselves we always get reminded about how much we need God, because we end up seeing quickly that our flesh is weak and is not something we should rely on to get us through this journey called life. I love how the deeper I go into the water the sand becomes more stable and rigid. It is a picture of how God wants us to go deeper and for us to rely on Him even though we may not be able to stand on our own, but He constantly reassures us that He is there and that He will hold us and never let go of His people. He wants us to rely on His sufficiency and sovereignty in all aspects of life.

2. Like water we can limit God however we want to.

• When I look out into the ocean I just see how endless the water is. I look to the right and I see water, I look to my left and see more water. I look straight ahead and all I see is water. It just reminds of how big God is, He is like the water at the beach, limitless. I find myself in awe when at the beach and when I look out into the water because of how the water just goes on and on and on and that just reminds me of God. Just thinking of who God is and how limitless and endless He is is mind blowing. But like all water we have the power to limit it and we do the same thing with God. Far too often we limit God, instead of enjoying how grand and mighty He is we settle for that small cup of water. It really is a disservice not only to ourselves but to others as well. The way we view God in our hearts is how people is going to view God when we speak about Him. If I know that my God is mighty, that He is the sovereign ruler of the universe, that He is the Alpha and the Omega, then when I speak to people about Him, the way that I know Him in my heart has no choice but to flow out of me when speaking about Him. When we come to the realization that we serve a BIG God, it will begin to have a drastic effect on how we live and how we serve God. It will bring us out of lukewarmness and into a place of deeper worship, deeper intimacy and deeper adoration of who God is and will cause us to be so wrapped up in the splendor of God, we will not have time to be occupied with the things of the world, we will be focused on doing the will of the Father.

These are just some of the things that God has been showing me the few times I've been going to the beach in the early morning and seeking His face. These past few months He has been so kind, and has been carrying me in His arms and has been faithful in always being there for me. He has been comforting me with His Holy Spirit and has given me a deeper revelation of who He is and it has been just amazing going deeper in my relationship with Him. I hope that it touched some of you guys who read this, and I encourage you guys to just reflect on how majestic God is. The fact that God is an all-powerful being, yet He loves us so much is just the most comforting thing on earth. I hope that this encourages you all to pursue Him more and long for a deeper level of intimacy with Him, because that is what God wants for us. God Bless you all! 

Soli Deo Gloria.

Forgiveness

Colossians 3:13
"Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must do also."

This passage struck a chord with me, even though most things that people do to me I forgive them and move on, but there are somethings that have happened to me that have left me a bit bitter and resentful. I remember praying the other day and while I was praying  for somebody and that person has hurt me a lot in my life.While praying for them I just could not find anything positive to say about them in my prayer and right then and there I had to ask God for forgiveness because there are many things I can thank God for in bringing this person in my life, but I let all my emotions, pain, hurt, bitterness, get in the way of seeing all the good in this person. The funny thing is that God doesn't say we SHOULD forgive them in this verse but instead "even as Christ forgave you, so you MUST do also." That's what got me the most when it says as Christ forgave you. Just thinking back to the the beginning of creation with Adam and Eve and how they sinned against God, but yet he forgave them. David a man after God's own heart, fell in sin with Bathsheba and yet God still forgave him. Peter disowned Jesus three times and yet Jesus still sought out Peter and forgave him. When Jesus got arrested he was spit on, mocked, ridiculed, beaten down to a bloody pulp. He didn't deserve any of this because he had did nothing wrong while on heart. In midst of all the pain and agony of what He had suffered he cried out to God "Father FORGIVE them, for they do not know what they do!" And all through history we can think of the endless times we as humans have broken God's heart and caused the Holy Spirit to grieve, because of our sinful nature, but yet He still FORGIVES us! God doesn't have to forgive us for anything he could have just let us live life and then burn in hell after to be honest, but because of His love He forgives us and extends His arm to save us and to give us new life, so we can spend eternity with Him. Just as Christ forgave us we MUST do also. So if you have any resentment toward anybody just forgive them because God commands us to. It may be hard to open those wounds again that we have suppressed, and I know mine are definitely going to hurt but God will heal those wounds and reconcile the situation, Then we can move on and serve God with a pure heart and clear conscience. So pray for me y'all and I'll do the same for y'all.

Grace and Peace to all y'all.

All guys are dogs except ones like these.....

What's up everybody? I stumbled on this the other day when I was doing my devotions. I came across this particular passage on my youversion devotion by Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon is one of the greatest ministers to ever live in England. Well anyways this one is mostly for the Ladies BUT the guys can also learn greatly from this especially if we want to become better men for our future life partner. Speaking off of personal experience I have heard plenty of times girls calling guys 'dogs', 'dirty', or some kind of word to put down guys and categorize them as all being the same way, and to tell the truth there are a lot of guys nowadays that really are dogs. They try to be like the people they see in the media, the actors, some athletes, some celebrities, and majority of the rappers in the music industry. They buy into the whole get money, get all the girls you can get, look for the 'bad' one scheme. Lusting after every girl they see and deciding to try and pursue that girl just so they can have sex with her. So when majority of guys buy into the lie which tells them that's the most this life has to offer, the girls who experiment with these guys and end up being heartbroken usually have a bad taste, and a bad impression of guys. They never try to find a guy who is trying to keep his soul clean and trying to be everything that God had intended him to be. Like a guy that is mentioned in this upcoming scripture.

Ephesians 5:25

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her."

Here is what Spurgeon says.......

"What a golden example Christ gives to his disciples! Few masters could venture to say, "If you would practise my teaching, imitate my life;" but as the life of Jesus is the exact transcript of perfect virtue, he can point to himself as the paragon of holiness, as well as the teacher of it. The Christian should take nothing short of Christ for his model. Under no circumstances ought we to be content unless we reflect the grace which was in him. As a husband, the Christian is to look upon the portrait of Christ Jesus, and he is to paint according to that copy. The true Christian is to be such a husband as Christ was to his church. The love of a husband is special. The Lord Jesus cherishes for the church a peculiar affection, which is set upon her above the rest of mankind: "I pray for them, I pray not for the world." The elect church is the favourite of heaven, the treasure of Christ, the crown of his head, the bracelet of his arm, the breastplate of his heart, the very centre and core of his love. A husband should love his wife with a constant love, for thus Jesus loves his church. He does not vary in his affection. He may change in his display of affection, but the affection itself is still the same. A husband should love his wife with an enduring love, for nothing "shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." A true husband loves his wife with a hearty love, fervent and intense. It is not mere lip-service. Ah! beloved, what more could Christ have done in proof of his love than he has done? Jesus has a delighted love towards his spouse: He prizes her affection, and delights in her with sweet complacence. Believer, you wonder at Jesus' love; you admire it--are you imitating it? In your domestic relationships is the rule and measure of your love--"even as Christ loved the church?"

Listen to the song and listen closely to the message the song is trying to get across.

Let's stop being scary.

2 Timothy 1:7

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Far too often I and many other Christians have decided not to preach the Gospel to somebody simply because we were 'scared'. Scared to deliver the message of salvation, the beautiful message of God's plan to  redeem mankind.We get caught up of worrying about the criticism of creation (humans) instead of thinking about God being pleased with us when we are partaking in His plan. There are so many promises in The Bible that assures us victory. One that comes to mind and relates with witnessing to people and sharing the Gospel with them is found in Isaiah 55:11-" So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It WILL NOT RETURN TO ME EMPTY, but WILL ACCOMPLISH what I desire and ACHIEVE the purpose for which I sent it." But even after reading a verse like this some of us will still be scared and not have confidence in God when speaking His word. Don't get caught up in thinking about how the person you speak to will react or what will they say. Like Isaiah 55:11 says His word will not return to Him empty but will accomplish everything it is supposed to do. So no matter what that person says or how they react, what you say to that person WILL STICK WITH THEM! IT WILL PLANT A SEED. Remember the people are not rejecting you but God's Truth. So there is no reason we should be scared, the worst somebody can say is no. Romans 8:28 talks about how all things work together for good for those who love God and are called to His purpose. A popular line from Chris Tomlin's song Our God that comes from Romans 8:31"If Our God is for us, who can be against us." So we see throughout Scripture we see the Truth of God promising us victory. So please my fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ grab onto The Word of God. REJECT the spirit of fear, embrace the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind that is listed in 2 Timothy 1:7. Let us be BOLD and UNASHAMED of the Gospel, the message of salvation that saves perishing, lost souls.

The First Disciples

Matthew 4:18-22


Throughout the Bible we see God use ordinary people who are just like us in order to do great things to advance the Kingdom. He takes people who are SINNERS JUST LIKE US and turns them into amazing people of God. Don't think because of your "track record of sin" that excludes you from being used by Him. He took ordinary people when He chose the disciples, He used a lawyer, a physician, tax collector, and even some fishermen. Jesus himself was a carpenter. You don't have to be some super saint and be the holiest of people in order for God to choose you. We all fall short of His Glory, it's basically a rags to riches story, but these aren't materialistic riches I'm talking about. God takes people who come from nothing and takes them to great moments in life that people can only dream about. The disciples didn't know what great things would be happening in their lives when Jesus called them. They were faithful and God used them to do mighty things. So when you hear the Lord speaking to you and telling you to come to Him don't let the devil put doubts in your head and let him discourage you. Have faith in God and you will be rewarded. 


God Bless.

The Ministry of Jesus Begins

Matthew 4:12-17

The start of Jesus' Ministry not only fulfilled the the prophecy of Isaiah mentioned by Jesus in the passage, it shows us how we can relate to the people of Galilee. We live in a fallen world where sin is so prevalent throughout the world. It is in the music industry, movie industry, on our televisions, and on the internet. The same way Jesus came to shine His light in the fallen world, so must we as Christians. We are called to be the SALT and LIGHT of the world. We as believers should be spreading the Good News and letting Christ's light shine through us so the world can see how great is our God. His word and His ability to transform lives will give New Life to those who were once consumed by sin. "Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the kingdom of Heaven is near." This message of repentance that Jesus began to preach is important because only God can give you salvation, and that way is through believing in the Son Jesus Christ. Salvation is a free gift open to everyone, all you have to do is accept it and repent. As we near the end times we must have a sense of urgency in us. When deciding to make the decision to live for Jesus don't say "I'll turn to Him tomorrow". No more waiting for tomorrow, because tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Live for Jesus now and live for Him forever!


God Bless.

Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4:1-11

Temptation. It is something we all struggle with as humans beings. There are so many things that are appealing and enticing to us as humans and tempts us to choose that certain thing over God, whether it be a relationship, an activity, a sin, etc. we face temptation basically everyday of our lives. Something like temptation which is constantly in our faces 24/7 and is always attacking us, then how can we overcome it and not fall into sin because of temptation? Well the answer to this and all the other questions in life is found in The Bible, but before I get into this any deeper I have to say something. TEMPTATION IS NOT A SIN!
Giving into temptation IS a sin.

The most holiest, perfect, righteous, wisest person to ever walk the earth was tempted and his name was Jesus Christ. But yet he did not sin even though he could have, he resisted it. This interaction between the devil and Jesus is a perfect example of how to resist temptation when you find yourself being tempted. He was repeatedly tempted by the devil and each time Jesus responded to the devil by using Scriptures( The Bible). The Scriptures are one of our most valuable weapons when fighting temptation. We must keep His Word within our hearts so that we may not sin against Him and speak out Scripture against the devil like Jesus did when the devil tried to tempt Him.We MUST be ready at all times to fight the devil.

If you look closely at the passage Jesus had just finished fasting for forty days and forty days and that's when the devil decided to come and tempt Him. Just because you are a Christian and are trying to live for God that does not mean that you will never be tempted. That's when the devil wants to attack you the MOST. He does not want to see anybody on this planet to spend eternity with God in heaven. The devil won't try to tempt somebody that is living in sin because they choose to tempt themselves and decide to serve the devil.

The same way the devil decided to attack Jesus when he was at his weakest physically, fresh off a fast for forty days, is the same way the devil will try to attack us at out WEAKEST points. The devil will try to attack us at our weakest points when we decide to pursue God. It is important that we be on our guard against these attacks, filling our minds with The Word of God and calling upon Him in our time of weakness.

God Bless.