Saturday Psalm ~ 10-31-09

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Psalm 121:1-3

Thanksgiving Challenge 2009

For Americans, the month of November brings the Thanksgiving holiday. Originally established as a day set aside to thank God for His many blessings in our lives, the fourth Thursday in November, to most people, is just an extra day off from work that is filled with football, food, and strategy planning for the “day-after-Thanksgiving” sales. People seem to have forgotten the meaning and purpose of this day. Even Christians can get caught up in the festivities and the excitement of the holiday. Do we take the time to thank God for all He’s given us over the past year? Even if we do take the time, are we sincere? Or do we say our thanks and then forget about it as we dig into the turkey? I have been just as guilty of doing this as anyone else, but I want to change that. This year, I have decided to make the entire month of November Thanksgiving. Each day, for 30 days, I plan to write down in a journal something I am thankful for that day. Even if you don’t live in America and/or don’t celebrate the American Thanksgiving, I encourage you to join me in this. Let’s start thanking God for His blessings on November 1st and continue, past Thanksgiving Day, all the way through the 30th. Who knows, maybe we’ll even go farther!

May I See Your ID Please?

Your identity is your individuality, uniqueness, and distinctiveness. It’s who you are, and you get to decide what your identity is going to be. Where you find your identity is critical because where your identity lies will dictate how you live. People find their identity in many different things based on their position in their family, their education, their job, etc. However, what most people don’t realize is that each of these things could change at any given time. If they lost their job, their identity would change. So is there an identity you can take on that won’t change? The answer is yes! Christ can be your identity. When your identity is in Christ, your life is based on Someone and Something that does not change. When you become a Christian, you have already begun to make Christ your identity. As I’ve said before, the first step is to make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. Of course, just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean you are finding your identity in Christ. One of the goals of making Christ your identity is so that when people look at you they see Him. In order for that to happen, you have to give Him your whole life. The next thing to do is learn to see yourself as God sees you. There are many verses in the New Testament that describe how God sees us and who we are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17, John 1:12, 1 Corinthians 3:16, Colossians 3:12, etc.). Study these verses and take them to heart, because the more you know who you are, the more you can walk in the light of it. If you are finding your identity in Christ, you will live your life in a manner pleasing to Him. So choose to make Christ your identity today!

Saturday Psalm ~ 10-24-09

Those who trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion,

which cannot be moved but abides forever.

Psalm 125:1

Building a Relationship with God - Part 3

Prayer is another way you can build a relationship with God. Prayer is how we talk to God. The neat thing about prayer is that you can do it any time, any where. The Bible even tells us to pray all the time (1 Thessalonians 5:17). You can pray to God about many different things. Begin by telling God how wonderful He is and how thankful you are for Him and what He’s done for you. You have an amazing, wonderful God. He saved you from the bondage of sin, made you His child, gave you the Bible and the Holy Spirit to help you grow, and has promised you eternity in Heaven with Him. Thank Him for these things. You can also tell Him what’s on your heart; struggles you’re having as well as joys you’re experiencing. Don’t forget confession either! Telling God how you have sinned and asking for forgiveness is very important. Another way to pray to God is by praising Him through song. All those hymns and praise songs you’ve sung in church can be sung as a prayer to Him. Really listen to the words of those songs and sing them directly to Him. When you do this, the songs will take on new meaning to you, and your singing will become what it is meant to be; worship. Singing songs as a prayer is a great way to pray to God throughout the day. As you spend time talking with God, your relationship with Him will grow stronger and you will find yourself glorifying and enjoying Him.

“Pray without ceasing.” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Saturday Psalm ~ 10-17-09

Those who love Your law have great peace,

and nothing causes them to stumble.

Psalm 119:165

Building a Relationship with God - Part 2

The next part of building a relationship with God is spending time with Him. It takes time and effort to get to know someone. You can know a lot about someone from what other people tell you, but you won’t really know them unless you spend time with them. Your relationship with God is the same way. One of the ways you can spend time with God is by reading the Bible. The Bible is God’s letter to you. When you get a letter from a friend, you don’t stuff it away in a drawer, you read it as soon as possible, and re-read it so you know all that it says. This is how you should view reading the Bible. You should be enthusiastic to read it and want to know all that it says. Reading the Bible should be a daily goal and activity. And remember, you won’t make much progress in your relationship if you only spend a few minutes with God. Spend enough time with God each day to really get to know Him. It may be hard at first, but you will find that the more time you spend with God, the more you want to spend time with Him.

Building a Relationship with God - Part 1

The Westminster Catechism states that the purpose of man (humans) is to, “glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. If you are going to glorify God and enjoy Him, you first have to know Him. To begin this life-changing relationship you must first make sure that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior. Everything else builds on top of this very important fact. You can’t have a relationship with Him if He isn’t your Lord and Savior. You have to believe that Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God, came to earth, lived a perfect, sinless life, and died on the cross so that you could have your sins forgiven. Three days later, He rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God. When you believe this and ask Him to forgive your sins, He becomes your Savior. Many people know and do this, but they don’t allow Christ to be their Lord. They don’t understand that “Lord” and “Savior” are not separate, they have to come together. You can’t have one without the other. When you make Christ your Savior, you must also make Him Lord in your life. By making Christ the Lord, you are giving Him complete control. It’s like your life is a car. There can only be one person driving the car. Are you going to drive, or are you going to give the keys to Jesus and let Him drive? Give God your life, and not just part of it, give Him your whole life. Make Him your Lord and Savior today and begin the relationship that will change your life forever.

Saturday Psalm ~ 10-10-09

The sum of Your word is truth,
And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.
Psalm 119:160

Mentoring Seminar Update

I had a wonderful time at the Passing the Truth Along mentoring seminar this past weekend. While I went to the seminar to learn how to mentor young women, all weekend I found myself being mentored. I was blessed by Amy Vest’s sweet spirit and her love for the Lord, encouraged in my relationship with Jesus Christ, and inspired to reach out to the young women around me. I would love to share with each of you the truths Amy shared and the things God taught me. However, to tell you everything I learned over the weekend would make for a very long post! Instead, I plan to post a little at a time over the next few weeks. So stay tuned!