What comes for your lips?

What comes for your lips? You probably wonder what the heck I am posting about today. But really what comes from your lips? Are you lifting people up or tearing them down? Are you furthering the kingdom or tearing it down?

Saying kind things can go a long way for a lot of people. I don't know if you have ever heard about the five love languages, but words of affirmation is definitely right there at the top me. When you are saying uplifting things to other people and are encouraging them, it is amazing the impact that you can have.

On the other hand, think about what words can do for someone in a negative context. Words can tear people down. Words can make you loose trust in someone and harm relationships. Words can hurt.

As I was reading through Proverbs 10 this afternoon I came across one of the Proverbs of Solomon. There were a lot of verses in there that talked about the good things you can say and the bad.

I will list the good verse and what was included along with the bad.

I will start with the bad.

Bad

- Proverbs 10:10 - ...and a chattering fool comes to ruin

- Proverbs 10:11- ...the mouth of the wicked conceals violence

- Proverbs 10:14- ...but the mouth of a fool invites ruin

- Proverbs 10:19- ...Sin in not ended by multiplying words

- Proverbs 10:31- ...but a preverse tongue will be silenced

- Proverbs 10:32- ...but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse

You can see from these verses that a bad mouth causes ruin, violence and only knows what is perverse.

Good 

- Proverbs 10:11- ...The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life

- Proverbs 10:13- ...Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning

- Proverbs 10:19- ...but the prudent hold their tongues

- Proverbs 10:20- ...The tongue of the righteous is choice silver

- Proverbs 10:21- ...The lips of the righteous nourish many

- Proverbs 10:31- ...From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom

- Proverbs 10:32- ...The lips of the righteous know who finds favor

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, it contains wisdom, it is nourishing, produces fruit, and is favorable.

I encourage you to take heart about what is good and much of a positive affect words can have. I hope that next time something comes from your lips and your tongue that is it something that is good and honorable.

Remember, you are loved.

Be prepared in season and out of season

Do you ever feel like not doing something...like not studying for finals? I know that this week it has been easy to have that mindset. Or do you ever not do something because you don't feel prepared? For example, I could have started studying for finals a couple of days ago (which I did) but told myself I wasn't prepared to study for them yet because I did not have a study guide made. Make sense? Good.

I am here today to tell you that we should always be ready. We should always be ready to practice what we preach. Heck, God has given you and me everything that we need so we should feel prepared and ready to do whatever it is that He wants us to.

I was encouraged by some scripture in 2 Timothy this evening that I knew I had to share with you.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. ( 2 Timothy 4:2 ) 

I was mostly encouraged by the part that says: "be prepared in season and out of season." That is super motivating for me. Whether we think it is time to do something or not, we need to be prepared. I am reminded of the many off seasons I experienced during my basketball career. I have a goal every off season to be in the best shape that I can possibly can be. So that when Fall comes around, and the season starts, I am ready to go. I prepare myself whether it is the season for off season. When I think of a relationship with Christ. I think of the one and off feelings that everyone feels. The "roller coaster" as some might say. Sometimes Jesus just isn't the number one thing in your life. That doesn't mean that you should not be prepared when the time comes. We should always be prepared to preach the word, correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and careful interaction no matter how you feel. Because trust me, you are not always going to want to encourage someone, or spend time with Jesus, but that doesn't mean you should not be prepared. We should always be prepared.

That verse really encouraged me, to always be prepared. Life is crazy and you never know what is going to happen, so we need to be prepared for everything.

If you don't feel prepared, my hope, my prayer and my encouragement for you is that you begin to ask God to prepare your heart. It's will be a marathon, not a sprint.

Wisdom's call

I don't know how many of you might follow me on twitter, but on last Friday I tweeted: "I fear God more than I ever have." Some of you might not understand what it means to fear God and that is totally fine, I didn't really understand what it meant either.

Based on scripture I have read and people I trust, I have come to the conclusions that fearing God is a sign of respect towards God. I fear God because of all the amazing power that He has. He has the power to change your life, and the power to give and to take away.

In the book of Proverbs it talks about how the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. I feared God more than I ever have on Friday because I didn't know what his plan for me was going to be after I screwed up. I was petrified.

Another verse that relates to my feeling comes from Proverbs 8:13 which says. "To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech."

I feared the Lord because I hate evil. I hate it. I hate the evil schemes that we are attacked with every single day, and I hate how sexy or attractive evil might seem to a lot of people. I hate how easy it is for people to fall into committing evil acts. I just truly hate it. Evil is the one thing that I believe it is okay to say that you hate. I also hate evil because you can do a thousands good deeds and one thing that is evil and then it's like you never did anything that was good in the eyes of a lot of people or the person that you hurt. Evil also sucks because you loose one battle with it, and so easily forget all of the battles that you won!

Like I said, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

I don't know if you knew this or not, but wisdom has been around for a very long time. Wisdom was there before God created everything.

Take a look at Proverbs 8. That is what I will close with. Its very cool to read about how wisdom is always there and has always been there.

8 Does not wisdom call out?
    Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 At the highest point along the way,
    where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 beside the gate leading into the city,
    at the entrance, she cries aloud:
4 “To you, O people, I call out;
    I raise my voice to all mankind.
5 You who are simple, gain prudence;
    you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.[a]
6 Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say;
    I open my lips to speak what is right.
7 My mouth speaks what is true,
    for my lips detest wickedness.
8 All the words of my mouth are just;
    none of them is crooked or perverse.
9 To the discerning all of them are right;
    they are upright to those who have found knowledge.
10 Choose my instruction instead of silver,
    knowledge rather than choice gold,
11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
    and nothing you desire can compare with her.

12 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
    I possess knowledge and discretion.
13 To fear the Lord is to hate evil;
    I hate pride and arrogance,
    evil behavior and perverse speech.
14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
    I have insight, I have power.
15 By me kings reign
    and rulers issue decrees that are just;
16 by me princes govern,
    and nobles—all who rule on earth.[b]
17 I love those who love me,
    and those who seek me find me.
18 With me are riches and honor,
    enduring wealth and prosperity.
19 My fruit is better than fine gold;
    what I yield surpasses choice silver.
20 I walk in the way of righteousness,
    along the paths of justice,
21 bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me
    and making their treasuries full.

22 “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,[c][d]
    before his deeds of old;
23 I was formed long ages ago,
    at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
    when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place,
    before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the world or its fields
    or any of the dust of the earth.
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
    when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
    and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
    so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30     Then I was constantly[e] at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
    rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
    and delighting in mankind.

32 “Now then, my children, listen to me;
    blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
    do not disregard it.
34 Blessed are those who listen to me,
    watching daily at my doors,
    waiting at my doorway.
35 For those who find me find life
    and receive favor from the Lord.
36 But those who fail to find me harm themselves;
    all who hate me love death.”

Read through verses 32-36 again, really take those verses to heart. We need to listen to wisdom's interaction, and do not disregard it. When we listen to wisdom we are blessed. When we as Christians find wisdom we find life and receive favor from the Lord. Open your heart, your mind, and your eyes to wisdom and your life will change. 

Avoid the chatter

By the time you finish reading this post, I hope that I was able to encourage you to avoid what is ungodly. 

I am excited to be able to sit down right now and put a lot of time into this post. It is been a whirlwind of a week. Conversations, school work, emotions, a night in Chicago, it was busy, busy, busy! It was definitely one of the most emotional filled weeks of the entire school year. I was reminded this week that we serve a God who is forgiving and wants us to live for Him in everything that we say and do. 

There were so many times this week where I needed to let God do God things and every single time, that is what He did. He never fails. His love, His ways, His plan, it never fails. 

"Avoid the chatter" 

What does that mean to you? For me it means not participating in ungodly conversations when you are surrounded by them. It means not gossiping or talking about people behind their backs. It means not judging someone that you have never met in your entire time, or not judging someone that you see and interact with every day.

Now it's so hard to do all of those things. It's taken me years to start doing a better job with it. It's also a difficult thing because sometimes we have to become like other people in certain situations so that we can witness to them. Which is tough to understand, but I believe that God has all of those situations planned out. 

I want to encourage you that when you become better at "avoiding the chatter," you will notice God more and feel his presence more than you ever have. When you feel his presence, you will feel God's presence, it is amazing how much better you treat other people. Feeling God's presence allows me to look at everyone the same, we were all created by the same holy and all-powerful God. It also reminds me that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Avoiding the chatter is tough. It is crazy how easy it is for us to talk about people. When you practice avoiding it, you notice it so much more. It might be a little awkward for some of you to communicate with someone when you don't talk about other people, but there is so much more life in conversations when it's not about other people.

Now for some scripture!

Keep reminding God's people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid the godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

( 2 Timothy 2:14-16 ) 

There is no value in the quarreling of words. None. We need to do our best to present ourselves to God as one who has handled the word of truth correctly and without shame. We are told to avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it, will become more and more ungodly. I want to say this too! This scripture says that we are so avoid ungodly talk. I imagine ungodly talk being about sinful things, judging, pleasures, etc. I believe that you can have a Godly conversation that doesn't have to be all about God. Like I am not telling you that all you have to talk about is Jesus. It would be amazing if He is what we talk about all the time, but that just isn't going to happen. I am trying not to be annoying about this topic, just as encouraging as I can be.

Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are in his," and. "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. ( 2 Timothy 2:19-24 ) 

Flee from evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Also, do not have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments because those are pointless and amount to nothing. Flee from evil desires and pursue God. 

I encourage you, avoid the chatter! The Lord knows who is his and who is not. When you practice on avoiding things that you should not be apart of, you will be able to recognize what God wants for you with your life. It is amazing what happens when you get rid of the bad things in your life, and replace them with the good. Unfortunately, it's a difficult process for a lot of people. If you cannot fish out the bad, put your focus on what is good. Remember, what you want more of is what your magnify. So if you want more of what is good in your life and more of Jesus, that is where your focus should be. 

Now that we have reached the end, I hope that you understand what it means to "avoid the chatter" and I hope that you begin to avoid it to the best of your ability. It is amazing what will happen. Let God do God things. 

Walk in His purpose today

Today, I simply want to encouraged you to walk in His purpose and that He has a plan for you and for this day. At times, it might seem like what you do is not appreciated and that it doesn't have a purpose, but I want you to keep on doing what is right in the eyes of God. He will never forget all of the work that you have done and the love that we have shown him and his people.

Someday, there will be people who will appreciate what you are doing and what you have done. Keep on walking in His purpose for you every single day. I promise that you will not regret it.

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. (Hebrews 6:9-10)

Although this post was short and sweet, I believe that it will encourage you today. I was encouraged by it this morning when it was texted to me. I hope that I relayed the message well to you.

Have a blessed day.

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

What is happening in your mind every night before you go to bed? What are you filling it with, what are you seeing and what are you thinking.

I know for me, I say a prayer every night before bed and that is right before I fall asleep. But what is being done before that. During the time when you lay there on our phone, scrolling through social media. I know that there are good things on social media and there are also bad things. Late at night, when we are laying in our beds scrolling through every social media app, we can easily become susceptible to things we shouldn't, due to what we see.

Let's step away from the social media aspect of it. What do your conversations consist of before bed? For guys, conversations before bed are often things that you would never ever want to leave the bedroom.

My point is that the devil tries so hard to trap you and make you sin when we are so susceptible to pleasure and feelings late at night.

Tremble and do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent. (Psalm 4:4-5)

I love that scripture. It's such a perfect reminder to not sin when you are on your beds. We are to search our hearts and to be silent. I don't know what that looks like for you. But maybe you need to put the phone done a little sooner and rest and God's presence. It is something that I have tried to do the past couple of nights. As soon as I text my girlfriend goodnight, I make sure that I do not get back on my phone until I hear my alarm in the morning. It's been great. I have slept better, and my mind has been on the things it should be before bed. God, family, girlfriend and friends. Maybe that might be a good option for you.

When you search your heart before bed, you will fall asleep so peacefully. Maybe you pray before bed, maybe you never have, or maybe you think about life. Try praying before bed sometime. It's amazing what the power of prayer can do. When I cannot fall asleep, my mom always used to ask if I have tried praying yet. That seems to work every time. When I find myself praying before bed, I am pretty sure I fall asleep taking to God every time.

In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord, 
make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8) 

The best you can do when dealing with any sort of thoughts you shouldn't be having at night, is to un from it.

Do not set foot on the path of the wicked
or walk in the way of evildoers.
Avoid it, do not travel on it;
turn from it and go on your way. (Proverbs 4:14-15) 

The feeling I get when I search my heart and seek God before I go to sleep is an amazing feeling. It's tough to put into words. It is such a warm and comforting feeling and I know that feeling only comes from God's presence. It's like falling asleep in the light...God's light.

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble. (Proverbs 4:18-19) 

I think that verse describes it pretty well. When you are setting your heart and your mind on things you should, you are doing what is right and are righteous. The path of the righteous is like the morning sun that is shining ever brighter till the full light of day. Sit there and think about. In the morning when you see the sun rise on a perfect cloudless day, it's nice and cool outside, and as the day goes on and on and as the sun rises, it gets brighter and warmer. When we are righteous and make the right decisions that is how it is for is. Brighter and brighter. We become more radiant to other people and people are going to wonder what makes us different.

So when you set your heart to the right thing, its like falling asleep in the brightness.

Lastly, what are we suppose to do?

Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
Keep your mouth free from perversity; 
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:23-27) 

I encourage you with all my heart to guard your hearts. The devil tries to make us sin and mess up all the time, but we serve a God who has already defeated him. We must guard our hearts because everything that we do flows from it. Our actions, what we say, how we love, how we treat other people, everything flows from your heart.

Keep your mouth free of perversity and keep corrupt talk far away from your lips. When you keep your mouth free of those things, it is amazing how much your mind and your thoughts change.

Let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your gaze directly before you. Don't look to the right or to the left. What you have in front of you is all of the amazing blessings that God has placed in your life . We should never have to look to the left or to the right in order to search for something else. What is straight ahead is your life. It's amazing how when you put your focus on what it straight ahead of you, how your life will change because you are focused on the things that you should be focused on.

Lastly, give careful thought to all that you do. I encourage you to guard your heart, set your heart on what is right before bed, and run far away from all the thoughts you shouldn't have.

You got this! You are loved.

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good girth and of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Ponius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep his command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time-God, the blessed and only ruler, the King of kinds and the Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:11-16) 

You better not wait

Every time today that I have looked at the clock, I have been in shock because time has been flying. I think it is just that time of year when time seems to fly. That isn't a bad thing because I am sure those of you who are finishing class this week and taking finals are hoping the time flies. This is one of the most stressful weeks of the year. I think the week before finals is always more difficult. 

With time seeming to fly more and more everyday, there is a verse that I came across today that was a perfect reminder for me. It comes from Proverbs chapter 3. 

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

when it is in your power to act.

Do not say to your neighbor,

"Come back tomorrow and I'll give it to you"-

when you already have it with you. (Proverbs 3:27-28)

I don't know what it is about these two verses but I find it so important. It's incredibly prevalent at this time of year. A lot of the people you are around right now, you probably won't see until next fall, when we start school again. If there are good things that you want to say to people, apologies you have to make, or just things that you want someone to know, you need to tell them. At the blink of an eye it will be summer, and you will have missed out on the chance. 

Do you put off having serious conversations with people? Do you wait to compliment someone? Do you wait to make an apology? 

That seems to be the easy thing because it is tough to open up to people and to be vulnerable. 

Why wait is the question I have for you? If you know what you want to say, why put it off any longer? 

Life is short, and only today is promised. When it is in your power to act, make sure you act on it. 

I challenge you this week to take action. If there is someone you want to compliment or encourage do it. If you wronged somebody, and have to apologize, do it. You never know, you might not ever be able to make something right with someone because, like I have said before, crazy things happen. 

Take Action! You will not regret it. The more you practice being vulnerable and having tough conversations, the easier it becomes. 

You are loved. 

Fix your focus

Happy Sunday! This morning I want to talk a little bit about fixing your focus. I watched a sermon on  Friday night about fixing you focus and the sermon was given by pastor Steven Furtick. I've heard great things about Furtick, but never actually listened to any of his sermons.

The main idea was how you fix your focus in relationships. From the beginning of the sermon until the end, I was drawn to the entire message.

After listening to the sermon and really thinking about it, my perspective on so many things changed.

There were four focus factors for this sermon.

1. Finding or becoming

- happiness isn't about finding the right person, it's about being the right person.
- the only way you'll find the right people in your life is if you're the right person in your heart

Now this is tough concept is that you have to worry about becoming the right person in your heart before the right person in your heart. It's so easy for so many people to worry about finding the right person for them rather than becoming the right person and then finding the right person. For me I believe that my spending a lot of time becoming the right person resulted in me finding the right person. You have to put in a lot of effort to become who you want to be.

2. Are you focused on then? or now?

- don't worry about tomorrow, its equally important not wishing away today
- talk in the realm of what you know
- is your focus on what is? Or what is not?

I can't stress how important is to not get caught up in worrying about tomorrow and how very important it is to worry about today. Each day has enough troubles of its own.

3. Not - Got

- what kind of tools do you have in your relationship?
- magnify glass
- in the beginning of relationships you magnify all the good things, you'll take for granted a lot of the things that made you fall in love when you get close to someone
- you choose what you magnify
- if you're going to chose to be happy in this season of life, you have to choose what you want to magnify
- what you magnify you get more of

Are you focusing on what is not? Or what you got? What you chose to focus on and magnify is what you are going to get more of. If you spend your time on the things that are not, you are going to waste a lot of time searching for happiness.

- when you are in pain you don't see the person intentions

You chose what your magnify, whatever you have lost, if you choose to magnify it, you're going to live in what you lost. Whatever is being done right now and you want to magnify it you can forget the thousand nice things, because of the one text, that said one thing, that they weren't even thinking about, you will begin to magnify. It is truly amazing how one mistake immediately makes you forget the thousands of nice things you can did someone.

I was upset about certain actions, but I chose not to magnify that. I chose the good things to magnify because that is what I want more of. That is what I need.

When you magnify the things you want to, you will find what you look for. Just like the scripture says: "seek and you will find." That applies to both the good things and bad things.

When you magnify you can really bring out the good things. You can be doing what God called you to do, and you feel overwhelmed and you screw up, but when you magnify all the good things that person has done, you will build them up.

Do you magnify what they're not? Or do you magnify what they've got?

4. Theirs or mine

- if you want to make the world a better place you have to help yourself first
- God says that we can't even effect the people that we love without first loving Him and other people
- God ays that we need to love the Lord with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself
- you cannot do one of those things and not the other
- you cannot treat people well if you don't love God
- Vertical and horizontal
- It's all about our vertical relationship with the living God
- the way that you love your neighbor is the way that you are going to love yourself
- if you haven't received God's acceptance of you, you won't be able to accept anyone else

If you really on someone else to bring you joy you're always going to be miserable. If you are trying to do God's job in fixing somebody else in you, have a focus on what they need to became. There is really no worse strategy for your own personal satisfaction in life then to place that responsibility in someone else's hands.

God has a message for us. He wants us to give Him His job back. He's a good God, He's a good father, he knows what we need. Here is the difference between God and everybody else in your life, not only does he know what you need, he has what you need. He's the only one who has what we need.

ALL WE NEED IS GOD


So I challenge you. What are you magnifying in your life? If you struggle to think of some things. Make a list and write it down. Or if you are in a relationship and there are things that you want to magnify about someone you love or really care about, give them a list of thing that you want to magnify about them.

I hope that you all have an amazing and happy Sunday.

Marching on...

Right now, my heart is in a place where it hasn't been in couple of months. I made a mistake, and as a result from that, I broke my own heart...in a way...you could say. I broke my heart because of a mistake.

If this post is all over the place, it is because my heart is all over the place as well.

Have you ever been in a class before and the teacher hands you the review for a tests and tells you that the test will be the exact same as the review?  I know I have a couple of times, and it is great. Sometimes, this happens to me...the test may be the exact same, and then I forget the material that is on the test and all my friends remember it. I studied more than all of them and they all did better than me.

Now for more of spiritual example. I am in a different place spiritually than most of the people around me. I seriously try my hardest and with all I have to resist temptation, not participate in certain things, not talk the way they talk, and I think that I do a good job. I am not out in front of the audience bowing down because I do such great job at everything I do. That is false. I actually believe that I do a decent job at it. I try to actually walk the walk, not talk the talk. I feel like put in more of an effort spiritually, just like I did in the test example, but still seem to come up short.

Here is where something that I just don't understand. I look at the mistakes that I make and think to myself, I have just spent months, growing more spiritually and more maturely than I have ever and I make one very bad decision and I feel like the worst person in the world. I look at what I do vs. what people around me do, and think, dang, that really wasn't that bad, but why is my heart absolutely broken inside and why am I sick to my stomach?

I am just beyond confused at that. It sucks. I know what I did wrong, I know what the people around me do and when it's wrong but they don't seem to be affected?

One mistake that I have made in this situation is that I compare my mistakes, my sins, and my problems, with the people around me. That is so wrong on my part. Sin is sin. It doesn't matter what the extent of it is. It's like if you told the smallest lie ever, you are still a liar. I get in a habit of prioritizing sin sometimes, it's easy to think that some sin is not as bad as other sin, but like I said, sin is sin.

I am beyond upset with myself right now. I thought I conquered the one thing that has kept me in chains, but one split second decision felt like it took me straight to rock bottom. It amazes me how one decision, can make you feel the way you feel.

I am not going to get into details about the mistake I made if you were wondering.

Maybe this is all because I am super sensitive and emotional. I just can't wrap my mind and my heart around how quickly you seem to hit rock bottom. Things can be going so well in every single area of your life and then all of a sudden, you screw up.

That is enough of my sob fest. I wasn't asking or hoping for a pity party. I just believe that some of you have felt that way before and I just wanted to tell you in a way, that you are not alone.

As I read through Psalm 1 this about a half hour ago, I noticed that I feel like the wicked one. Not the one who walks in the light.

Pslam 1:

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose lead does not wither-

Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assemble of the righteous.

For the Lord watched over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Yesterday I felt like I was the one who was blessed for not walking with the wicked, and today I feel like the wicked one who got blown away. How quickly things can change. I read my bible every single day, yet I feel like I hit the bottom.

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There is only one thing I can do and that is march on against the darkness. When things went south, I felt Satan trying to take me down even further. I felt Satan convincing me to swear, rage, kill vibes, go on rants you name it. I gave into one thing. As I was walking to the gym to workout, I felt Satan tell me that I needed to put on darkest rap music and blare it in my ears. That is exactly what I did. I immediately felt the darkness take over.

Two hours later, I get into my car to drive to a coffee shop downtown and now I am being battle tested again. Was I going to listen to some worship music or was I going to put the rap back on? I decided that I wanted to win the battle, so worship music it was!

I pulled up my music library, scrolled to the Rend Collective album, clicked shuffle, and prayed that God would give me a song. Praise the Lord He did.

That song was just what I needed and was a perfect reminder of what I should do when times are tough.

The song is called Marching On and the first lyrics I hear are:

Let our praises remind all the darkness 
of how great and how mighty our God is
For the battle belongs to the Lord
And no one else. 

Praise be to God!!! I was reminded that I need to praise God and remind all the darkness how great and how mighty God is. I was also reminded that the battle belongs to the Lord. This battle that I fight, that you fight, that we all fight everyday, belongs to the Lord. When you place it in his hands amazing things happen.

The rest of the lyrics are so good that I have to share them as well.

We are standing in holy defiance
We're declaring it loud in the silence
That the battle belongs to the Lord
And no one else, no one else

We'll sing Hallelujah for all Hell to hear
Shout out Hosanna above every fear
Strongholds will crumble like castles of sand
We are marching on

We're marching on
We're marching on
We're marching on

You're unstoppable kingdom advances
As we take back the ground from the darkness
The battle belongs to the Lord
And no one else

You're the banner we raise in the chaos
No, the gates of Hell won't stand against us
The battle belongs to the Lord 
And no one else, no one else

We'll sing Hallelujah for all Hell to hear
Shout out Hosanna above every fear
Strongholds will crumble like castles of sand
We are marching on

We're marching on
We're marching on
We're marching on

In the chaos, the criss
The troubles, the trials
The shadows, the sorrows
The long nights, the hard fight
We are the prophets, the voice in the darkness
Declaring the battle is Yours

We'll sing Hallelujah for all Hell to hear
Shout out Hosanna above every fear
Strongholds will crumble like castles of sand
We are marching on

The battle is the Lord's. Never ever forget that.

No matter how many tears are shed, how broken your heart may feel, put it all in the hands of the Lord and trust him. Once you do that, you just have to be patient. We serve a God that likes to take his time sometimes. Place it in his hands and pray a lot.

That is the best way that I can put it. But you can't fight the battle that you are fighting alone.

Even as I type this post out...as I am reminding myself and you to let your praises remind the darkness how great and mighty God is, it's incredibly tough. I know that I screwed up so I feel like I need to take ownership and fix everything myself, but I can't do that. I can say a million words that would sound good and might help, but only God can do God things. So I am going to do the best that I can to let God do God things.

I fully trust his plan for me and my life.

I hope that you were encouraged by this post in some sort of way. I know that it encouraged even myself and that reminded of many things that I need to do and take responsibility of in a time like this.

God is so good and I am so thankful for all of the many blessings that he blesses me with every single day.

I want to remind you that you are loved!

The Roman Road to Salvation

I am totally excited for this post and I hope that your life might potentially change today. A couple of weeks ago, my mom asked me if I ever posted about salvation or how you can come to Jesus and I told her that I never have. She recommended that it might be a good idea so I told her, that when the time was right I would. Which for me, I guess probably wasn't the smartest answer because you never know when Christ will return or your life might be over. Crazy things happen.

I feel like I should mention, I am not expert with witnessing. I have witnessed to only a couple of people in my lifetime. If there is an area of my life where I could greatly improve, it would be in that area. I don't know if you knew this or not, but that is the one thing that you cannot do in heaven. Everybody is already saved so there is no need!

For this post, I had to do some research. I wanted to make sure that all of the information was accurate and presented clearly.

I ask that before you read this you say a prayer and ask the Lord to prepare your heart for what you are about to read.

If you have never given your life to Christ it doesn't have to be done after reading this post, there is no pressure at all. I am not posting this to pressure you into anything. When the Holy Spirit knows it is your time, that is when it'll happen.

The Roman Road to Salvation

I don't know if you have ever heard of the The Roman Road to Salvation before but it is a selection of  Bible verses taken from the book of Romans that present the plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

* steps down the Roman Road to Salvation *

1. I consider myself a 'good person'...won't that be enough?

- Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
- Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one.
- Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned-

The creator of the universe is Holy. God is light and there is no darkness at all. He has set laws in place for his creation to obey. Those laws began as the 10 commandments. It is often easy to think that we are good compared to other people, but how do we measure up against God's law? Have you ever lied? I bet you have. I know that I have. Then we are both liars. James 2:10 says: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it."

Even when you make the decision to give your life to Christ you are still going to struggle with these things. I have for years and I gave my life to Christ years ago. It's taken me 21 years to get to the point where I feel as if I am living my life for Christ every single day in both the things I say and do.

2. Is sin really THAT big of a deal? If it is...what HOPE is there?

- Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Disobedience to an infinite eternal God deserves an infinite eternal consequence. God shows us His character and his laws in his creation, the world around us. He has also written his laws on our hearts. In Ecclesiastes it is written that eternity is written on our hearts. He has also given us his WORD the Bible. No good judge would let the guilty go free, the criminal go unpunished. Neither can a holy righteous God allow a sinful man to go unpunished...but God LOVES a man whom he has made in his image and He has provided a way of escape by sending his only son to die in your place.

3. After what I've done to grieve God...HOW could He willingly die in my place?

- Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I am sure you have heard John 3:16 right? "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." I learned a new way to say that verse while I was in China last summer. Try it this way...(but where my name is, put yours) "For God so loved Luke that He gave his one and only son that when Luke believes in Him, he should not perish but have eternal life."

While he died on the cross, he was mocked, spit on, and cursed. Yet Jesus cried out, "Father forgive them for they know not what they have done." With such love, Jesus died in your place...knowing every evil act, word, and thought you would commit. What powerful love is that! He loves you unconditionally even to the point of death when you are at your worst. He loves us no matter what.

4. HOW can I be saved?

- Romans 10:9-10 - If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that your profess your faith and are saved.

You will never be saved by trying to be a good person or by trying to do good things for other people. We are saved by the grace of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And that, not of yourselves. It is a gift from God. You and I can be saved only be confessing our sins and placing our faith in God's son, Jesus Christ who died for our sins and on the cross. We must also surrender our life to His lordship...placing him in charge of every area of our life because we now belong to him. Both John the Baptist and Jesus himself began their preaching with the word, 'Repent'. To repent means 'change one's mind' or to turn - to go in another direction. How can we be led to repentance? The first step toward repentance is true sorrow for what we've done wrong. "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." Worldly sorrow is more like the regret of a criminal who has just been caught whereas godly sorrow is the deep remorse or conviction that produces a change in direction. Have you ever felt convicted? I know that I have. When I am convicted, there is no words I can used to describe how I feel. What I feel is so deep in my heart. One of the most valuable lessons I have learned the past couple of months is that when you feel convicted, take action! That even relates to when you feel God's presence. When you feel His presence and act on it, amazing things happen. John 16:7-8 says: "The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin."

5. Did God HEAR me? Did He accept me?

- Romans 10:13 - Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Yes! God has heard you. God promises that to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. He hears you and accepts ALL who come to put their faith in Him. There is no need to fear death any longer because Jesus BROKE the power of sin and death on the cross with his own shed blood. The price for your sin has been paid in full and it is God's promise to receive all who come to him by placing their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As a believer, you have a new life in Christ. He rose from the DEAD! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

6. What do I do now?

- Romans 10:17 - Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Now is your time to learn. Begin spending time in the word of God on daily basis, begin praying, etc. Now is your time to grow and to take action.

It's a celebration! Your journey as a child of the King of Kinds has begun! Or today, you have recommitted your life to Christ which is just as amazing.

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I hope and pray that this post changed your life. This is for sure the most important post that I have ever done. Like it, Share it, get it out there! My hope is that as many people see this as possible and that at least one person might come to Christ. If not, that is totally fine. You now know The Roman Road to Salvation.

You are loved!!!

A near celebration

This evening's post will not be very long. It's like a precursor for what is to come. I just want to inform you that tomorrow I am going to explain the gospel the best that I can and the steps that you can take in order to give your life to Christ.

I don't know who reads this or who doesn't. Maybe some of you who read my blog have never made that decision because maybe you didn't know how. After tomorrow's post I hope that you know how and I am going to do the best that I can to help you out and make it as simple as possible.

Share this! I would love for as many people as possible to check out tomorrow's post. Who knows. Your life could change forever tomorrow! Or a couple days from then. You will be equipped with the proper steps to take.

God Bless!