Moving {Closer} to God

If you only talked to your best friend when something was wrong, would they really be your best friend? What if you only spoke to them when you needed something? Doesn't sound like a very personal relationship, does it? Well sadly, that's how must of us are with Jesus. We only talk to him when we need something from him.

There's a song that played once at the church I used to go to, and it went something like

"You say that you love me,

that you can't live without me,

but then why do you call me,

only when you need me."

You can't have an intimate relationship with someone if that's the only time you talk to them. We have to take that step to push ourselves, to spend time with God regularly. I struggle with that a lot, but God makes everything better. I find peace in him. He is Jehovah-Shalom, meaning "God is peace." (Judges 6:24 NLT) [The Hebrew word for this can be translated either as Jehovah-Shalom or Yahweh-Shalom. I chose Jehovah because I liked the sound better :P]

It's stupid how I stray away from him and try to do things my own way, just to end up crawling back to him days later. But that's how we are. We're corrupt and broken people, and we need God in our lives as much as possible.

And that's not going to happen if you only talk to him when something is wrong.

So I want to challenge you. Sometime this weekend, take some time just to hang out with Jesus. It can be through a devotional book, through reading the bible, lying down and listening to some good Christian music, anything that can get you closer to God. 

Because honestly, he doesn't need us. But we need him. 

So let's make the best of it.

Oh, and if you'd like to read more about the names of God, you can click here. It's where I got the information behind Jehovah/Yahweh-Shalom. :D

Closer by Sanctus Real. It goes great with this post :) Have a great day and God bless!!

If Jesus came back now..

Would he recognize you? Not as yourself, but would he recognize you as a his follower? Would it be clear to everyone who you belong to? Or if Jesus came back now, would it be a possibility that you would be left?

I think a common idea is that all we have to do to be a true Christian is accept Jesus, and we have a free ticket to heaven. We can live our lives the way we want, we just have to go to church every week or so. Well that's not so true. Matthew 7:21-24 shows the truth.

Here's the passage in case you're on the mobile site:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." (Matthew 7:21-24 ESV)

I don't know about you, but I really don't want to be one of those people. But how can we be sure of that?

Look at verse 21 (the first sentence), ".. but only the one who does the will of my Father.."

We have to do God's will, not our own. We can't stay on the path we were on.
Being a Christian is more than just acknowledging Jesus as Lord.
Because of God's love for you, when you truly become saved, you want to live for Jesus. You have a passion for doing God's will instead of your own. That's a big part of what a being a Christian means. You have to adjust your life to his plan. Not him adjusting to you. You can't serve yourself and serve God.

Matthew 16:24: Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

• Deny yourself. You ignore what you want. You put Jesus first, putting aside your own dreams and goals. You hand them over to God, and instead, get something much better in return.

• Take up your cross. You're bearing the weight of following Christ. It's not always a light load either. But it gives you purpose. It gives you hope. And it gives you life.

• Follow me. It's pretty straight forward. You follow Jesus wherever he goes. He does not follow you to where you want to go. We have to be obedient, and trust his judgement. Jesus knows what he's doing.

If you are dedicated enough to follow Jesus as stated above, then that's being a true disciple. You aren't deciding what you want to do for God..you're following his plan, and allowing him to work through you.

And at the end of it all, either when you return back to dust, or when Jesus comes back, he wont just recognize you as yourself.

He will recognize you as his follower, his disciple, and his friend.




Have a great day and God bless!

Legacy

What kind of legacy are you leaving behind?

How will people remember you when you're gone? What will they see?

Will they see the essence of Christ? Will they see just another one of the crowd?

Will they see light? Or will they see darkness.

Abel left a legacy. And he still speaks, even from the grave. (Hebrews 11:4)

We should be like that. Our life should shine so bright, that even when it ends, it still speaks.

Here on earth, we are ambassadors for Christ.

How can we do that if we live just like everyone else?

We are the LIGHT of the world. Stop trying to cover it up. You have already been chosen.

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to show the world who Jesus really is.

We cannot to that if we don't love God. 

We need to love him everything--especially our souls, if we want to do this right.

When you idolize a role model, you want to be just like them. You imitate them. 

That's how it should be in our relationship with God. We should love him so much we want to be just like him, 

to be just like Jesus.

Through that is how we'll leave a legacy. Not by how much money we have, or the friends we made, not even solely on our actions. 

It's by who you were, and still are. 

It's by how you see the world. 

It's by your motives, by your thoughts, by how you interacted with others, by your dreams, by how you respond to situations, by your heart, and by your soul.

And in my eyes, all of that means nothing if its not reflecting Christ. 

Our sole purpose in life is to bring glory to God, because he deserves it! 

He created the Earth,  he created what we know as the laws of physics, he created you, me, your family, friends, he made love, happiness, joy,  he created life in general. And there's so much more. 

But we need to live for so much more than just ourselves. We need to live to show the world how great our God is.

That's a real legacy. Making your life a path that leads to Jesus. 

That's how you can be remembered. 

Maybe by following Christ, your life doesn't turn out how you planned it. 

Although I can't tell you the exact outcome, I can tell you that it will be a whole lot better than what you have planned. (1 Corinthians 2:9)

So remember, in this life we represent Jesus. And let's do it right,  

by leaving a true legacy.

Also, here's the song that inspired me to write this post. Legacy- by Sanctus Real. :D

(Lyrics)

What will they say when I'm gone,
In words that are written in stone?
Under my name, what will they claim about me?
 

Oh, I want to leave a legacy to be remembered
More than just a memory that fades away
Because we only, we only get one life
 

Free me, my hands are tied
I'm so tired of wasting time
These endless inventions
Steal my attention from real life
And when its done, when its over

Oh, I want to leave a legacy to be remembered
More than just a memory that fades away
Because we only, we only get one life

And will the world see Christ
When they look at my life?
Oh, will the world see?

Mmm, come on, give me, give me, give me real life
And no more, no more, no more wasting time
Because we only, we only get one life (Just one Life)

Oh, I want to leave a legacy to be remembered
More than just a memory that fades away
Because we only, (Get one shot, at this one life) We only (One moment in time)
Because we only, we only get one life

Have a great day and God bless you guys!

 

Psalm 139

Okay, we're going to start this up now. 

So anyway, people seem to think God doesn't care about the little things, or their day to day lives. They think God only cares about "godly activities" such as going to Sunday school or giving your tithes. Now don't get me wrong, those are things we need to do, and God cares about that. But he also cares about you as an individual.

In reality, we don't know ourselves as well as we think we do. We end up surprising ourselves daily. But, we never surprise God. He's that friend that knows you better than you know yourself. 

During my youth group on Wednesday, we read Psalms 139, which is what I based this whole post around.

So read it below, and really think about how this applies to you, and how much God cares and knows about you.

 

 

Psalm 139

New International Version (NIV)

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

 ¹ You have searched me, LORD,

   and you know me.

² You know when I sit and when I rise;

   you perceive my thoughts from afar.

³ You discern my going out and my lying down;

   you are familiar with all my ways.

⁴ Before a word is on my tongue

   you, LORD, know it completely.

⁵ You hem me in behind and before,

   and you lay your hand upon me.

⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

   too lofty for me to attain.

 ⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?

   Where can I flee from your presence?

⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

   if I settle on the far side of the sea,

¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,

   your right hand will hold me fast.

¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

   and the light become night around me,”

¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;

   the night will shine like the day,

   for darkness is as light to you.

 ¹³ For you created my inmost being;

   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

   your works are wonderful,

   I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you

   when I was made in the secret place,

   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;

   all the days ordained for me were written in your book

   before one of them came to be.

¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!

   How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸ Were I to count them,

   they would outnumber the grains of sand—

   when I awake, I am still with you.

 ¹⁹ If only you, God, would slay the wicked!

   Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!

²⁰ They speak of you with evil intent;

   your adversaries misuse your name.

²¹ Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,

   and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

²² I have nothing but hatred for them;

   I count them my enemies.

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;

   test me and know my anxious thoughts.

²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,

   and lead me in the way everlasting.

God is God. He knows everything about you. He knows what you love, what you hate. You he CREATED you, so he definitely knows you without a doubt. He also loved you enough to die for you. 

John 15:13 says "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (NIV) 

If he loves you that much, don't you think he would care about your day to day life? It makes a lot more sense.

So today, just remember that God 

loves you,  

cares about you, 

and knows everything about you, because he created you. 

There isn't anything you have to hide. He knows. And he loves you anyway.

God bless and have a great day! :D

 

Never Too Young: A Poem Written By Matthew

Hey, it's Matthew here. I want to show you a poem I wrote about how you're never too young to be an example of the Lord to others. It's based on 1Timothy 4:12 and it's called "Never Too Young". I hope you like it :)


Now let me talk about a common myth in our culture today
Let me break it down to prove that it's absurd
Because many teens think they can't be an example
They think that their voice cannot be heard

They've bought the lie that they can't make a difference
So they just float around through life in the adolescent years
Thinking "I'm not old enough to make a change
I'm too you to have any kind of career"

But the Bible condemns this thought as a lie
First Timothy four twelve says it's not true
My fellow teenagers can make a difference
A major change in the world can be caused by you

Let's take a look at the verse I mentioned
It says, "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."
So I'm asking you to be an example to the world
Regardless of age or maturity

I wanna show you how to make a difference
I wanna show you how to make a change
Because it's quite simple to be an example
Very simple and an awesome exchange

I wanna take a moment to examine the verse
I wanna make this truth heard
Because the Bible instructs the youth to be an example
In many ways, especially in word

You see, Ephesians four twenty-nine says not to use rude or abusive language
And I think we all know what this means
Let me ask you something: does cussing, in any way, ever glorify God?
Does swearing ever make your heart anymore clean?

The answer is "no" to both of those questions
But first let me show you something:
How the words that come out of our mouth can give glory to the Lord
They can be an example that points to the King

Now if you're a young person using your tongue for evil
I wanna ask you to stop, because that example could be leading others away from Christ
Might get someone thinking about you: "Man, if that's Christianity I want nothing to do with it"
So be a good example, especially with your mouth, and let all words be nice

The Timothy verse also instructs to be an example to other believers
You could inspire them to move in their mission
So stay away from swearing, gossip, and hateful words
Instead, be an example to other Christians

Another important way to be an example is in conduct
And what that means is how you act
Let the Lord's grace guide you in a behavior similar to His
Because this could show a model of Christ, which the world needs, so just know that

So don't go conforming to the ways of this world
Be the salt and light and the city on the hill
Don't hide yourself; be holy in a place of unholiness
In every thing you do, including conduct, let it be done for God's Will

Another vital key to the example formula would be this:
Showing who God is to the world by love
Let the love unconditional, let it be crazy and insane
Let this power lead others to realize that God is enough

You see, I have some friends who aren't Christians
And probably don't wanna hear me preach
So instead of doing that, I show unconditional love
To this dying world, compassion is the best way to reach

And if we show lovingkindness to other believers
That might inspire them to grow into a deeper relationship with God
So teenage Christians, be fishers of men
And let love work as your rod

Like Francis of Assisi once said
"Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words"
Because love is the loudest sound
Show the example of Christ and let who you are in Him be heard

Now let's cover what it means to be an example in spirit
And how to be on fire for the Lord
Because if show Him through your actions to the world
He's so great that they'll be coming back for more

So let's be an example in spirit
And let God work through us
Teens, you're not useless
Let your life be a reflection of the light of Jesus

Youth, be an example in faith
And show the world how tall you stand
Because your trust is in God Almighty
And you know that He'll deliver you with His Hand

And if we live this extraordinary faith
The world can see and know our Shepherd
That He satisfies us
And this might inspire them to trust in His word

Now let's talk about purity
And how we can make difference
Because, teens, if we're conforming to this world
Are we really showing that we're true Christians?

So stand up for the Lord
If someone tries to pressure you into sex or drugs
Just shine the light of Christ and don't give in
Be an example by being a Jesus freak and not a thug

Always be pure of heart
Even something like, which seems small, can cause a great impact
You are never too young for the Lord to use you
That's the truth, and don't forget that

God can use you, even through the tiniest measure
Like through your words, your conduct, your faith, and in spirit
Don't forget to always remain pure to be an example
And your love can proclaim the gospel to even those who don't want to hear it

So don't let anyone look down on you because of your age
Model to them who Christ is
Even though you are young, you don't have to wait
Go be an example so you can show that you are His

Soul? Love? How is this going to work?

Hello again xP

Okay, so I'm guessing you're up to speed on everything concerning what this blog is about and what our mission is right? If not, go back a couple posts.

But if you do, I bet you're wondering one of two things: (1) what is a soul? and/or (2) how do I love someone with my soul?

Well from my understanding, your soul is basically your core. It's you. It's your personality, how you view the world, your thoughts, etc.

It's not the same as your heart, which (again, from my understanding) is your passions, desires, goals and your emotions. That's just from what I know though.

I could have some details mixed up. :P But yeah.

Now the question is, how do you love Jesus with your soul?

Well, you first need a relationship with him. If he's a stranger to you it's going to be hard to love him in general. And its going to be especially difficult to love him with everyone you are.

The next thing is that you imitate Christ.

If you love someone with your soul, they are like a role model to you. And that's what Jesus should be. We all should want to be just like him.

We've fallen away from that. Christian means "of christ."

We should live in a way that people can tell we follow Jesus, or at least be able to tell that there's something different about us.

A lyric from one of my favorite songs goes

"Moonlight illuminate my night,

let my day's sun-ray

make the people say,

had a vision something's missin'

now they're screaming out loud,

keep my feet on the ground and head in the clouds"

We should imitate Jesus, and live in a way, that people take notice. They take notice and wonder why you're like that, and they aren't. They'll want to find what's missing in their lives. Possibly to the point of coming to Christ.

That is what most of my posts are going to talk about.

(1) Getting to know Jesus, and coming to love him

(2) Making him your role model and imitating him

(3) Continuing to live like him and obey him, and how your actions can affect people in the craziest ways.

I may end up combining 2 and 3, (maybe I'll call it 2.5 xD) but that's basically your preview for what I'm doing. :) Just wanted to do that so you weren't completely lost and/or confused xD

Anyways have a great day and God bless :]

Intro: Matthew

Hello, my name is Matthew and I am yet another contributor to this awesome blog. I write a blog called Loving Christ With Your Mind (LCWYM). In my blog, I write about apologetics and defending the Christian faith. I really wish to write some posts on this blog that discuss how to witness to those who don't know Christ. Let me start with discussing who I am and what I mainly aim to accomplish.

I was raised into a "Christian" home (and still am). My family called itself Christian just because we believed in Jesus. Throughout the years before I got saved, I was mainly focused on religion and trying to please God with my works. I was absolutely terrified of hell, and I wrongly thought that I had to do something to go to heaven. This all changed last summer when I truly got into a relationship with the Lord.

One day, my dad brought me to this awesome church. We were just kind of visiting. One thing I really enjoyed about it was how awesome the music was. The first service I attended was on Easter, and my dad and I continued to go to that church. In the time around the summer the pastor talked a lot about salvation and what it meant to be saved. One verse that he went over really spoke to me. It was Ephesians 2:8-9, and this is what it says:

For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

It was an amazing moment. I finally realized that I didn't have to do anything to go to heaven. All I had to do was trust in God's saving grace that works cannot earn. Now let me talk about how I got into apologetics.

Well I was a new real Christian who had just been saved from sin and religion. I wanted to go show Christ to the world. I remember one day that my sister introduced me to this app on my iPhone called opinionated (now called Thumb). I started showing my faith on there, and there were many atheists on that application. They completely destroyed my faith, and I really did not know why I believed what I believed. I really wanted to believe that there was a God who loved, for I had just recently struggled with depression.

One day I almost gave up on my belief in Christianity. I considered becoming agnostic. But what's really cool, though, is what good God could bring about through this situation. I started to search for reasons to believe in the Bible. I found that there was so much (which you can check out on my other blog). I was soon gaining more and more faith day by day.

But another obstacle hit me: my sin. I always tried to overcome my sin, but I found that my own efforts were never enough. Throughout my fights with temptation, I thought of a line from a Relient K song called For the Moments I Feel Faint. The lyric is, "I think I can't, I think I can't, but I think You can, I think You can." What this line means is that we cannot do anything without God.

I can't imagine something more true than this. Throughout all my hardships and my sin, God never gave up on me. That's what agape is. Agape is the Greek word for unconditional love. God's love is not like human love. His is unconditional. We humans often hold a mindset that if someone does a certain thing, we won't love them anymore. I hope that my friends and I can write some posts describing how to live showing agape. A Christian is one who loves God and others, and my firmest intention is to show others to Christ.

Give me no glory. This blog is for the Lord. May God use it to bless you. I hope you enjoyed my post and I hope you look forward to more.