Eternal life is ours

With this post tonight I want to encourage you and remind you that eternal life is yours. I believe that sometimes it is easy for people to get caught up in thinking that there are certain things that we have to do in order to receive eternal life. It's also a common thing for some Christians to think that we have to live in a certain and specific way. The world sometimes makes it seem like we receive eternal life by good deeds and not faith alone.

Over and over again in the bible it is written that we receive eternal life because of faith and because God has given it to us when we commit our lives to him. I think it is key to remember that God has given it to us. There is nothing that says we had to earn it.

Think about times when we are given things. Like birthdays, graduations, Christmas, etc. We aren't given gifts because we earned them, we are given gifts because we have friends and family who love us.

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him has eternal life.

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)

It's as simple as this, whoever believes in God's Son has eternal life. He is all you need. You don't need to wait for eternal life, because it begins the moment you believe. You don't need to work for it, because it is already yours. You don't need to worry about it, because you have been given eternal life by God himself-and it is guaranteed.

Life I mentioned up above in the first paragraph, some people hope that they will receive eternal life. John says we can know we have it. Our certainty is based on God's promise that he has given us eternal life though his Son. This is true whether you feel close to God or far away from him. Eternal life is not based on feelings, but on facts. You can know that you have eternal life if you believe God's truth.

So if you believe, and have committed your life to Christ, eternal life is yours...

Shy people don't need to become extroverts

Your personality says a lot about who you are. That's why it's called your personality. I don't know if you have ever taken a personality test before, but if you have, I bet you were shocked about how accurate the results were. Once you learn what your personality is, it becomes easier to understand your own self and how you function.

Are you in extrovert or an introvert? You don't really need a personalty test to tell you the answer to that one. You are either a super outgoing person who loves to be around people or you're a little shy and like to keep to yourself. One isn't better than the other, it is just how we are wired and there really isn't any changing it.

Not the you care, but last time I took the Myers-Briggs I was 51/49. 51% extrovert and 49% introvert. Which seems fairly accurate, but I think I have become way more extroverted since last summer.

I know that sometimes, the introvert part of me envy's those who are extremely extroverted. I observe those who can carry on a conversation with anybody and I wish able to do that. Those of you who are introverted might feel the same way. You have a desire to love people, get to know them, and talk to them, but you don't know how to do it. And let me tell you, that is totally fine!

Check out this verse:

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:12)

Some people just simply enjoy being with others. They make friends with strangers easily and are always surrounded by friends. Other people are shy or reserved. They have few friends, but are frequently uncomfortable talking with people they don't know or mingling in crowds. Shy people don't need to become extroverts in order to love others. John isn't telling us how many people to love, but how much to love the people we already know. Our job is to love faithfully the people God has given us to love, whether there are two or two hundred of them. If God sees that we are ready to love others, he will bring them to us. No matter how shy we are, we don't need to be afraid of the love commandment. God provides us strength to do what he asks.

What I really want to push you to remember from this post is that shy people don't need to become extroverts to love one another. I hope that is encouraging to so many people because not everyone is an extrovert. There are a ton of shy people out there, some who might struggle with it. It's totally okay! It's never about how many people we love, it's about how much we love the people we already know.

God > Conscience

This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him everything we ask, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. (1 John 3:19-22)

God is greater than our conscience. Have you ever thought about that? All of those things your conscience tells you throughout the day, God is greater than those things. The feelings of doubt, the feelings that you aren't loving others, the feelings that you aren't living as Jesus did...those all come from your conscience and God is greater than that.

I know I have been in a places before where I had good motives and reasons behind what I was trying to do but I just kept on failing at living this way that I knew God wanted me to. Like when I tell myself I am going to love everyone and still let some of the feelings I have get in the way. It's easy to get down on yourself because you aren't following through with what you wanted to do. Remember this though, God is greater than your conscience. God knows my heart and understood the motives I had.

Same thing in your lives on a daily basis. You might have a goal of getting to know somebody better every day. You do well the first couple of days and are thrilled by the excitement and fulfillment of this process, but after a few more days you become tired and your daily goal because a goal you try to reach every couple of days. When something like that happens, it's easy to think that you are slacking off, but God remembers your motives and knows your heart and that is what matters.

Our conscience can be something that is hard to escape. How do we escape the gnawing accusations of ourconsicnecs? Not by ignoring them or rationalizing our behavior, but by setting our hearts on God's love. When we feel guilty, we should remind ourselves that God knows our motives as well as our actions, like I mentioned above. His voice of assurance is stronger than the accusing words of our conscience. If we are in Christ, he will not condemn us.

When we have a clear conscience, the power that we have is pretty amazing. With a clear conscience we can come to God without fear, and confident that your requests will be herd. John reaffirms Jesus' promise that whatever we ask for will be given to us. We will receive if we obey and do what pleases him because we will then be asking in line with God's will.

Loving is a choice

There are billions of people who walk on this earth every day. I wanted to know what the average was for people you know in the United States and in a test conducted in 2013, the average American knew about 600 people. This was 7 years ago and I would like to think that number has increased with our increasing technology. 

Think about the roughly 600 people you know. Most likely you don't like all of them. Which is totally okay. We don't have to like everybody, we just can't hate. 

"Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. (1 John 2:9-11)

Does this mean that if you dislike someone you aren't a Christian? Some might think that after reading through this scripture. But there will always be people like we will not like as well as others. John's words focus more on the attitude that causes us to ignore or despise others, to treat them like irritants, competitions, or enemies. Christian love is not a feeling, but a choice. Every single day we can choose to be concerned with people's well-being and treat them with respect, whether or not we feel affection towards them. If we choose to love others, God will help us express our love. 

Make the decision today. Be a Christian who is loving others because you want to. We can't just feel love, we have to choose it. We are blessed to live a life where we have that choice. Having that choice makes loving others that much more important and significant.

I also never want you to fear. Don't have the fear that you don't know how to express love to others. When we choose to love others, God will help us express our love. It's one of the most amazing things ever. God will help us express our love. I love that. 

I encourage you today, to starting loving others because you have chosen to do so. When you shift your mindset to that, you will begin to live in the light, and Christ Jesus' love will shine brightly. 

The light helps you reveal your sins

I want to try my best to draw this illustration for you. I wan you to think of day and night time.

Also, remember this. You were given a map telling you where your tent is that you have to find. You have also found this tent hundreds of times before.

But...

You've fallen into the darkness:

It's the middle of the night and the moon is nowhere to be found. You are walking through a woods in the middle of nowhere trying to find where you had your tent set up for the night. You are terrified because you cannot see anything.You also don't have a flashlight, a candle, or a phone. It's just you and the darkness and you are so confused. What happened to you?  You've found the tent in the dark hundreds of times...but I guess that is what happens when you fall into darkness.

The crazy thing was that when the sun came up, you were able to find the tent right away. The light that the sun brought was so amazing that it wasn't going to be soon forgotten. The light also reminded of the light that was experienced the day before. You were so happy to be able to see everything again.

The next night rolls around and you're tasked with finding the tent again. The moon is nowhere to be found the second consecutive night. You start to become worried and think that you are about to be up all night trying to find the tent. Then all of a sudden you remember the light from the previous day. You suddenly remember which way to go because the light had been revealed to you.

Why could you find the tent? Because of the light. God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 

I hope that illustration made sense to you. Why did I use it? Our lives are so much like that story after we experience that God is light. That is the power and beauty of it.

We experience highs and lows along with light and darkness. Over and over again.

One of the things that have helped me the most with that is how you view your life. Are you looking at everything you experience on a daily basis as if it's a high or a low...light or darkness?

How you think about things is everything. If you know me at all, I would like to think that you think of me as an optimistic and outgoing people person. It takes a lot for me to get down and to show that I am down. I am so happy all of the time because of God's love for me and for you. There are too many things to be thankful in this life to be sad and down all of the time. It takes more muscles to frown than to smile right? Well it takes a lot more out of you to be down on yourself than it does for you to be happy. LIFE IS JUST SO GOOD.

"If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)

If we claim to have fellowship and walk in darkness we lie and do not live out the truth. Just like when I told you to find the tent in the darkness. You thought that you were going to be able to find that tent with no problem. But it was too dark. You couldn't live out what you wanted to because of the darkness.

When you woke up the next morning and remembered/experienced the light, you remembered that you had to walk in the light. When you walked in the light you found the tent!

When we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another. How beautiful is that?

Light represents what is good, pure, true, holy, and reliable. Darkness represents what is sinful and evil. The statement "God is light" means that God is perfectly holy and true and that he alone can provide us out of the darkness and sin. Light is also related to truth in that light exposes whatever exists, whether it is good or bad. In the dark, good and evil look alike; in the light, they can be distinguished. Just as the darkness cannot exist in the presence of light, sin cannot exist in the presence of a holy God. If we want to have a relationship with God, we must put aside out sinful ways of living. To claim that we belong to him but then to go out and live for ourselves is hypocrisy. Christ will expose and judge the deceit.

Bear with me now, I want relate the light to us confessing our sins. I whole heartily believe that when you live your life in the light, have fellowship with others and are continually growing relationship with God, it is easier to see where you sin and because you are more aware of your sins it is easier to confess your sins.

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not is us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinner, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10)

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Think about that. Are you ever in a place where you are denying that you are sinful? Because if you are, you are saying that God didn't die for your sins.

On the other hand, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us. When we confess our sins, God draws us to himself. When we sin we should never want to try and hide it because that doesn't get your anywhere.

Remember this: All people are sinners by nature and practice. At conversion all of our sins are forgiven-past, present, and future. Even after we become Christians, we still sin and still need to confess. This kind of confession is not offered to gain God's acceptance, but to remove the barrier to fellowship that our sin has put between us and him. It is difficult, however , for many people to admit their faults and shortcomings, even to God. It takes humility and honesty to recognize our weaknesses, and most of us would rather pretend that we are strong. But we need not fear revealing our sins to God-he knows them already. He will not push us away, not matter what we've done. Instead he will draw us to himself.

When we begin to live in the light on a daily basis, it becomes easier for us to reveal our sins. I hope that makes some sense to whoever reads this post. I also hope and pray that this post made sense as a whole. I felt led to touch on a few different things and I really don't know if it all connected well but that is okay. Like I have said before, as long as one person is encouraged, that is enough for me.

God's not slow

Think that God is slow in his timing and the things that he does for us? Sometimes it might seem like that. We ask God for something and we wait and wait for that something to happen. It's difficult sometimes to be patient and wait, because God is faithful. God is always faithful no matter what. We just sometimes lack and struggle with patience. In a time where we can get anything we want at the tap of a button I think sometimes we place that expectation on God. We tend to think...if I get order these shoes by my phone scanning my finger print, God should be able to answer my prayer when I ask it.

God isn't slow, he is patient. 

Say that over and over again and it'll make more sense to you. God is patient. God is patient. God is patient. 

God isn't slow. 

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousands years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient, with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

God may seem slow to us because we are impatient and we put up with a lot of things on a daily basis. But God is not slow, like I mentioned above; he just is not on our time table. Jesus is waiting so that more sinners will repent and turn to him. We must not sit and wait for Christ to return, but we should live with the realization that time is short and that we have important work to do. Be ready to meet Christ anytime, even today; yet plan your course of service as though he may not return for many years. 

Next time we question what is taking God so long, remember that he is patient. Remember that God is waiting for other sinners to repent. It's never about yourself. God wants as many people to repent as possible and that is what he is waiting for. 

Remember friends, God is patient. 

False teachers

There are two types of teachers, those who are truthful and those who are false and our world is filled with both. In your head I want you to think of the truthful teachers and the false teachers? What are some of those things that make the two types of teachers easily distinguishable?

I just want to briefly touch on the idea of false teachers and a couple of ways that you can tell when somebody is in fact, a false teacher or not.

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you, with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3) 

When I read through that the first time tonight there were a couple of things that I highlighted. These  things jumped off the page:

- secretly introduce destructive heresies
- depraved conduct will bring the truth to dispute
- in their greed they will exploit you
- their condemnation has long been hanging over them
- their destruction has not been sleeping

I read a study bible so every verse has a little write-up in the margins at the bottom. The summary about verses 1-3 talked about the three warning signs that Peter was writing about for identifying false teachers.

I thought it was pretty amazing that the things I highlighted directly correlated to what Peter was talking about when identifying false leaders.

1. Depraved Conduct. Do they lives contain or condone immoral practices?

2. Greed. Teachers have a right for financial support but is money the teacher's or group's prime motivation?
3. Lying. In the leader offended when you ask for scriptural backing behind his/her statements? Does he/she judge on the facts when asked for evidence?

The danger to follow these false leaders is great. I hope that you can not pick out these things a little differently next time you evaluate the leaders in your life.

Refresh your memory

As an officially retired basketball player (lol), I think back to me playing basketball. One of the most important keys to being successful was remembering the basics. I think about making two handed passes and not fancy one handed stuff. I think about the basic shooting principles. B.E.E.F  Balance, eyes, elbow, and follow through. It's what they teach at every basketball camp.

The basics of basketball, which I just briefly touched on, are they key to becoming a better player and team. The basics are a key to development. Without the basics, there are so many things that you miss out on. You don't learn how to shoot properly, you from bad habits, and you don't have yourself a chance to grow.

Another issue you face with the basics of basketball is becoming bored with them. This past season capped off a lifetime of competitive basketball for me. Imagine having to have excitement about the basics every day for 17 years. It was tempting to become bored about the simple basic of basketball but I never let myself become that way because I would have never been any good if I did that. I loved the game and the excitement I had for it fueled me to love the basics. If I didn't know the basics of basketball, I would have never learned to play the proper way. 

For me, working on the basics was always something that was refreshing. During the midst of a lengthy basketball season, it is easy to get caught up in game plans and strategies you need to beat other teams. It becomes so easy to focus on everything we need to know and learn versus what we already know...the basics. When we would take a break from our defensive strategies and work on the basics of closing out and defensive sides, I was reminded of basic things that I was forgetting to do. I was refreshed because I was reminded of the basic things you need to know and do in order to help your team win.

The same things happens in our spiritual lives. We need to remember the basics and be refreshed by simple things like reading our bibles. We can't focus only on learning new things or we forget the old things, like perhaps the very reason we became believers in the first place. 

Another problem that we face with our spiritual lives is becoming bored or impatient. Sometimes we can get caught up in just waiting on God to answer a prayer. Or we get caught up in routine where we are just continually doing something just to do it. It is way too easy to read your bible just not read it rather than reading it to grow and to learn things from it. It is easy to pray before every meal just to pray before every meal. Do you get what I am saying? We become too habitual without a purpose to grow.

I am sure you can relate. It's fun to learn and when you get in a habit of only focusing on all the new, it becomes easy to forget the basics. To me, that is life, in a way. We get on a path that we keep following and don't remember how we got on that path in the first place.

One of the things Paul writes about in 2 Peter is refreshing our memory as believers. A simple way to do that is reading your bible. I was that person who got on their own path of growth and could not figure how how to genuinely grow in my relationship with Christ. I was also on that path where I was a little bored. I would pray before bed, just to pray before bed. I would try reading devotionals just to say that I was doing something about my walk with the Lord. I was just doing things in a certain way because I was a little bored and partially impatient. What I was doing didn't have a genuine purpose. A couple of summers ago, I figured out the best was to grow was through reading my bible. That simple, spiritual refreshment changed my life. I quickly learned so many things that I had forgotten about because I had ended up on a rabbit trail where I wasn't really experiencing growth.

"I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body." (2 Peter 1:13)

As believers we can't neglect the basics of our faith. We need constant reminders of the fundamentals of our faith and how we became believers in the first place. Don't allow yourself to get on the rabbit trail, to get bored, or to become impatient with messages on the basics of Christian life. Get excited and do something with a purpose to grow. Have a growth mindset in everything that you do.

God's recognition

At this stage of my life, one of my biggest priorities is figuring out the plan I have once I graduate. I have a solid idea of what it might be like, but it's not 100% sure. I have this vision in mind, and I am not sure whether or not God has the same vision for me. If you're a college senior graduating in about a month in a half, most of your free time is likely spent by filling out job applications, google searching jobs you can have with your degree, making your LinkedIn look good, and networking to the best of your ability. 

It's a busy time and it's not the most fun thing in the world. It's crazy because the season we are about to enter in our lives is one that is going to last a long time. Once we all graduate we will most likely be working up until we retire. 

One of the opportunities I have been offered when I gradate is to move to China and work for a sports company for up to a year.  Having been to China twice, and loving it, this is an opportunity that is appealing to me.

One of my friends who went on the trip to China the first time I went, just moved to China to do the exact same job. I have been texting back and forth with him a lot because I am interested in this opportunity and he is someone who decided to take it. So I have been trying to gather as much information as possible from him whenever I can. He has been pouring into me and I am so grateful for his willing heart. Every time that he texts me, he asks me what I am thinking about the entire situation and every time I respond with the same answer. "I am still really praying about it." 

Here is our dialogue from our last conversation:

Ronnie: What are your thoughts towards it?

Me: Still praying about it. I need to pray harder and more intentionally through. I am in a weird spot because I am close to being offered a job with a company I had an internship with over the summer. If that happens, it would be hard to say no.

Ronnie: Completely understandable! I challenge you to not pray about it. Pray for guidance, forget China and forget about jobs as society knows it. Just succumb to His will and you will find your way.

Ronnie: You will know which way to go

Me: I needed to hear that brother!

Ronnie: The moment I released my anxieties about a job and making money because that's what society thinks we should do, I was set. I knew exactly where I needed to go. 

I needed that word. It was such a perfect reminder for me and I hope what he said could be encouraging to you as well. 

I came across a verse in 1 Peter today that related so very well to this topic. 

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. (1 Peter 5:6) 

We often worry about our position and status, hoping to get proper recognition for what we do. But Peter advises us to remember that God's recognition counts more than human praise. God is able and willing to bless us according to his timing. Humbly obey God regardless of present circumstances, and in his good time-either in this life or the next-he will lift you up. 

Remember that God's recognition means more and counts more than how much money we will ever make, or what job title you may or may not have. Whatever you do, remember that. If you are in a place where you are stressing about what is next, pray for guidance, and succumb to his will. That is what matters most. Do that, and just like my friend Ronnie told me, you will know where to go. 

We're allowed to sin?

Looking at the title of this post might see to be a little contradicting right? We're allowed to sin? That doesn't make any sense at all. While I was reading the scripture I am going to share with you, I thought of a question that I never have before.

If we know better, and God knows better and is in charge of our lives, why do we still continue to sin? You would think that God would want to keep us from sinning right? You would think that, but it's not necessarily true. 

For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, 

"If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,

what will become of the ungodly sinner?" (1 Peter 4:1

These two verses don't refer to the final judgment, but God's refining discipline. God often allows believers to sin and then experience the consequences. He does it for several reasons: (1) to show us our potential for sinning, (2) to encourage us to turn from sin and more constantly depend on him, (3) to prepare us to face other, even stronger temptations in the future, and (4) to help us stay faithful and keep on trusting him. If believers need earthly discipline from God, how much more will unbelievers receive it? If it is hard for the righteous to be saved what chance have those who reject Christ? 

There are reasons that God allows us to sin. That doesn't make it okay, sin is still sin. When we sin we are still disobeying God. God allows us so that we may learn our lesson. We aren't perfect and God doesn't allow us to be perfect during our time on earth. 1 Peter 4:13 says: But rejoice inasmuch as your participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 

365

I want to celebrate a little something this evening.

This post marks my 365th blog post.

When I first created this blog, my goal was to write a blog post every day of the year. I didn't accomplish the goal in a year's time, but today we made it. A year and 5 months later we have accomplished a major goal!

It's amazing how much your life can change when you are disciplined and really strive to accomplish a goal that you have set for yourself. I say that may life has changed, and it has. I don't make money, earn credibility, or win awards for the things that I write. My life has changed because I feel God's presence more than I ever have and I am able to be obedient in living out one of my spiritual gifts.

Our lives are't considered successful because of the things we do, we are successful based on how we feel. I am not successful because people read what I write, I consider my writing a success because I better my relationship with our Father in Heaven, and I am able to encourage others at the same time.

I want to challenge you to set a goal for yourself. Do something you never thought you would do. I didn't think that I would ever love to write. Not in a million years. Writing was as far off the grid for me, that I hardly ever considered it. One day, the Holy Spirit worked in my heart and today there are 365 blog posts. If you wanted you could sit down and read one of my blog post every day of the year and that is crazy to me.

Try it! Start some sort of journal. Pray. Read your bible. As a matter of fact it doesn't have to be spiritually related. Set a small goal and get started. Watch your life change. It's not easy to do something over and over again. There are days where your goal is the last thing in the world you want to do. I've come to find that the days where you don't feel like it but decided to do it anyways are the days where you are impacted the most. When you have those days, change your mindset and tell yourself "today, God has something special for me." Our mindsets control so much of our lives. Our mindset controls what we get out of things and our sense of fulfillment.

I pray that you can find something that will challenge you to grow and change your life. Let me fill you in on a little secret...it all starts when you begin to dig into the word of God. If I didn't open my bible on a consistent basis on the days leading up to the creation of this blog, I wouldn't be sitting here talking about 365 posts and a changed life. Everything starts when you dig into your bible. I promise! My goal was never even to start a blog. I was at a point in my life where I recognized that I needed God and I needed to grow. I decided that I was going to read my bible because that is what I needed to do in order to grow and look what happened...My relationship with Christ is stronger than ever before and I hope that I have been able to eecouage others through that experience.


Next goal: 500 posts

Our perception of others

What I am writing about this morning is a topic that has really been on my heart for the past couple of weeks. It seems like the older I get the more I learn that the way we perceive others is often based off of what we hear. What do I mean by that?

For example, my roommates and I watch a lot of basketball when we aren't working on homework. We love to watch as many games as we can because we all love basketball. We all have our favorite players and we all have players we can't stand to watch. The Houston Rockets seems to have a lot of games that are on either ESPN or TNT so we can easily watch them. They're a terrific basketball team with some superb players. Their point guard, Chris Paul is one of the best point guards in the league. I have always enjoyed watching him play because he does a terrific job at running the team. I have come to learn that my roommates do not like him at all. They cannot stand to watch him play and think that he is very overrated. I hear them say that over and over again, and now in my mind, I am not so found of Chris Paul. Why? Because I hear over and over again from my closest friends how they don't like him and I let their opinions change mine.

You could also think about it this way. Think about somebody that all of your friends seem to know, but you haven't actually met that person. Do you have that person in mind? If so, think about the way that your friends talk about either him or her. They probably had good things to say and not so good. You have never met this person before but with everything you have heard about him or her, you probably have formulated something in your head about what that person is like.

Way too often we have a perception of others based off other peoples experiences and not our own. Why has this topic been on my heart? I don't think that it is very fair to have a perception based off of what others think. I am writing this to encourage you to not from opinions of people based off what others say. Give everybody a chance because that is fair.

In this world, people make mistakes every day. Mistakes that we aren't proud of. Mistake that affect yourself and possibly other people. Say I make a mistake and it affects those around me. The people around me might tell others of my mistake and that may allow people to perceive me in a way that is based off of the mistake that I made and that isn't fair.

I want to encourage you to watch the way you perceive other people. Is what you're saying true? Is it necessary? It is kind? Give everybody a chance. Please don't let what others say convince you that is how he or she is.

I want to make it clear that I am not saying your friends opinions aren't valuable because they totally are. We should all value our close friends opinions. Sometimes we should value your friends opinions more than our own. I have done that before and it was been extremely helpful and beneficial in my life. I just don't ever want someone to not get a chance at something because you trusted what others said before you actually got to know that person yourself.

I hope this post was encouraging to you and maybe even convicting. What we think about others and our perception is something we experience everyday. Life isn't always fair, but that shouldn't be an excuse for us to not love others the way that God calls us to do.

Give somebody a chance today, don't let what other people say affect your thinking.

Our conduct in suffering

How do you react when you are suffering and going through something that is really hard for you? Do you shut down? Shut others out? Bring other people down with your negative attitude? Or do you take suffering like a champ, like Jesus did?

There are a countless number of stories in the bible where Jesus sets an example for how we should conduct ourselves. As believers in Christ Jesus, we should pray to have a heart like Jesus everyday.

I came across an example of conduct and behavior that Jesus showed in 1 Peter chapter 2 and I wanted to encourage you with it today so that next time you are experiencing suffering you know how to better conduct yourselves in the midst of the suffering you are going through.

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

"He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth/"

When they hurled insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. (1 Peter 2:21-23)

When Jesus was being cursed and insulted he took it all, he never retaliated one bit. How admirable is that? Usually our instincts are to fire back and to show that you are flustered. When we do that, Satan wins that battle. One of the things I try to work on the most is to not retaliate when I am being insulted. I have gotten a lot better at it but I still fail. There are still times where it gets so bad that I show my frustration and retaliate with the words that I say. I have a desire to have a heart like Jesus so I will continue to work on this the best that I can.

Another admirable example that Christ set was to never make any threats. I can't even image what was being said to Jesus, yet he made no threats. I mean how hard would that be? Jesus trusted God's plan the entire time and understood he was going to suffer for us and he did it...he took it all.

We suffer for many reasons. Some suffering is the direct result of our own sins some happen because of our foolishness; some is the result of living in a fallen world. Peter is writing about suffering that comes as a result of doing good. Christ never sinned, and yet he suffered so that we could be set free. Jesus' suffering was part of God's plan and was intended to save us. All who follow Jesus must be prepared to suffer. Our goal should always be to face suffering as he did - with patience, calmness, and confidence that God is in control of the future.

I encourage you to really look at how you react the next time that you experience suffering. Don't retaliate, make no threats, be calm, have patience, and trust that God is in control of the future. When you begin to live like Jesus did, your life will begin to change. How you speak will change, how you act, and how you think. Remember, Jesus went through all of that suffering for YOU.

A trip down memory lane

When I think about high school, it seems like it was so long ago. It just seems so far in the past that it is something that I don't really think about a lot. I actually laugh sometimes when I think about how young and unaware of things I was, but at the time, I thought I had an idea of how life worked.

One of the best ways to engage readers is to be completely open and honest about everything and that is what I do when I write because I care about people and want to encourage and inspire.

In high school, there was a girl that I dated for about two and a half years. We had a super good relationship. We happened to live right across the field from each other so we were able to see each other quite a bit. As we grew up and both matured, we felt that it wasn't God's plan for us to continue dating. There was a time in the middle of that relationship where we broke up for a month or two. That time was extremely tough for the both of us and our families. I remember making some decisions during that month or two that weren't the greatest. I had a good relationship with her parents and her mother actually wrote me a letter encouraging me to reevaluate things and to remember that God is control of everything and is all-knowing and omnipresent. In the letter she wrote to me she had written out all of Psalm 139 for me to read.

You know how there are certain things in your life that you never forget and those things seem to be so random? Well this is one of those instances. She encouraged me to read through Psalm 139 every day. I knew that I was making the wrong decisions and understood that she probably knew what was best. So I read Psalm 139 everyday for a couple of months. Each and every time I read through there was a something new that stuck out to me. I was so encouraged by that Psalm that I got things back on the right track and that eventually led to her and I getting back together, but more importantly made me come to the realization that God needs to be the number one thing in my life.

I believe that the trip down my memory lane can be encouraging for you today. I am going to share Psalm 139 with you and I encourage you to read it everyday for the rest of the week. Maybe you are in a place in your life where you need to be reminded that God is all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present. God is with us, and his greatest gift it to allow us to know him. I pray that this Psalm can be as life changing for you as it was for me a couple of years ago.

I encourage you to really humble yourself. Don't just read this and think to yourself that everything is okay. I know that there are people out there who are struggling with lots of things. Really dig into this Psalm and recognize that we all need to really be attentive to what is be written by David. Everybody needs this. Recognizing the need for God is the first step to growth and change so I pray that the Holy Spirit works in your heart.

I have to be honest, when I read that letter from her mom and saw she wanted me to read a Psalm everyday, I thought it was a crazy idea. Then the Holy Spirit worked in my heart and I understood that reading through this Psalm was what I needed.

Psalm 139

You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I can from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence? 
If I got up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will die me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the septs of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; 
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand-
when I awake, I am still with you.

If only, you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is an offensive way in me, 
and lead me to the everlasting. 

Worthless riches

There is worthlessness of riches, not the worthlessness of the rich. I want you to remember that sentence throughout this entire post. If you keep that in the back of your mind, this post will make much more sense to you. 

Today's money will be worthless when Christ returns, so we should spend our time accumulating the kind of treasures that will be worthwhile in God's eternal kingdom. Money is not the problem; Christian leaders need money to live and to support their families; missionaries need money to do their work effectively. It is the love of money that leads to evil and causes some people to oppress others in order to get more. 

Have you ever seen The Day After Tomorrow? or I am Legend? If you have, I want you to think of how things were when everything went south. In The Day After Tomorrow when all of the natural disasters are happening, everything seems to be fading away. It was a scary scene to think about. If you have seen I am Legend, think about the setting of the entire movie after the first 10 minutes. There  were not any humans left in New York City, everything was abandoned and broken down. Now check out this scripture from James 5 and really pay attention to the way it was written. The way that James describes the deteriorating of riches reminds me of those two movies.

Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are caring out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reaches the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of the slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. (James 5:1-6)

The things of this world will waste away. We aren't going to be able to bring our phones to heaven or the laptops we use everyday to do hours of homework. All of these man made things will not last. There is so much worthlessness in riches. Sure, things like our phones are handy right now and make our lives easier but those things won't remain forever. We need money to live, yes. We need money to do the things we want to do, but the materialistic items that we usually use your money on aren't eternally valuable. 

This past Thursday I spent the day at The Mall of America with my parents up in Minnesota. That is the largest mall in the entire country and any store that you could ever think of is in that mall. Any store, restaurant, etc. Everything you could ever want you could buy in that mall. Each person I told that I was there asked me the same thing..."did you buy anything?" Surprisingly no. I spent an entire day shopping and didn't buy one thing. Now I kept wondering why I couldn't find anything that I needed or wanted. My parents kept asking me to. It seems like they were amazed that I didn't buy one thing. I thought long and hard about this. I don't think I needed anything because I was so fulfilled by the time that I was able to spend with my parents. I was also fulfilled when we got to sit down and enjoy meals together. I hadn't spend that much time with my parents in a couple of months and I believe that is what I needed. The time spent with them was more valuable than anything that I could've bought at the mall. 

Now where did I share that story? To be honest I am not really sure. I think I shared it to show that there is worthlessness in riches. I was fulfilled because of the love I have for my parents and the time I got to spend with them. Not by anything that I could've gotten at the mall. I also want to say that I am not trying to make it sound bad if you buy things when you go shopping. You can buy all that you want! There are things that we need and things that we want. We just cannot develop a love for money. 

Do you wonder how you can spend your money? Money can buy happiness, but only if used to do things as opposed to simply have things. I recently began reading the book titled The Happiness Advantage, by Shawn Achor. While I was reading it the other day I came across a section of the book about spending money and it relates perfectly to this post. 

Shawn Achor writes... "in his book Luxury Fever, Robert Frank explains that while the positive feelings we get from material objects are frustratingly feeling, spending money on experiences, especially ones with other people, produce positive emotions that are both meaningful and more lasting. For instance, when researches interviewed more than 150 people about their recent purchases, they found that money spend on activities-such as concerts and group dinners out-brought far more pleasure than material purchases like shoes, televisions, or expensive watches."

also...

"Spending money on other people, called "prosocial spending," also boosts happiness. In one experiment, 46 students were given $20 to spend. The ones who were told to spend money on others (for instance, by treating a friend to lunch, buying a toy for a younger sister, or donating to charity) were happier at the end of the day than the ones who had been instructed to spend money on themselves."

As you can see from The Happiness Advantage, there are two great ways in which you can spend your money on things that have wroth. That is experiences and other people. Let that be encouragement to you. There is worthlessness of riches, not a worthlessness of the rich. 

Drawing near

I just want to say that I am so happy to be able to sit down tonight, write a blog post and hope that it can be of some encouragement to you. I don't remember a time in recent memory where I didn't write a post for an entire week. This past week we competed in the NAIA National Basketball Tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota so I wanted to give everything I had to the last week of basketball that I was ever going to play. It was hard to take a break from writing, but I believe God used that break to recharge my heart and mind. I plan on writing a post this week about my basketball career if I have the time. I don't know if that is something you might look forward to, but if so, sweet!

I started right where I left off in the book of James this morning and came across the perfect scripture I want to encourage you with tonight. This post will be about complete submission to God and drawing near to him.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:7-10)

For me, one of the things I think about when drawing near to God is giving everything you have to him. Especially everything that you feel. There is nothing more powerful when you humble yourself before the Lord and are able to recognize that you NEED God and without him are nothing. You can't have any fear in doing that. You can't worry about what others might think of you, you can't worry about what others might say about you. There is just nothing to worry about. When we recognize that without God we are nothing, there is so much power in that. We can't put on this front that we are too cool. We can't hide our mourning with joy, we can't hide our tears with smiles. It's easy to tell when people are faking it, imagine how easy it is for God.

So how can you draw near to God? James gives us five ways that we can do so.

1. Submit...to God. 

Yield to his authority and will, commit your life to him and his control, and be willing to follow him. It all starts with you. Are you willing to commit you life to him? You have to be willing to follow him.

2. Resist the devil

Don't allow Satan to entice you and tempt you. Stand strong against Satan. Remember that God already defeated Satan. That battle has already been won. When you remember that, it makes you that much harder to beat. With the Holy Spirit in you, nothing is impossible.

3. Wash your hands...and purify your hearts (that is, lead a pure life)

Be cleansed from sin, replacing your desire to sin with your desire to experience God's purity. God's purity is an amazing thing. When you desire to experience God's purity, everything about you will feel so much better. There is power within a desire for purity.

4. Grieve, mourn and wail in sincere sorrow for your sins

Don't be afraid to express deep heartfelt sorrow for what you have done. We sin on a daily basis. There are probably things you have done in your life that you feel horrible about and it is okay to feel that way. In fact, you should feel that way. When we grieve and mourn because of our sins, that is when we experience God's love for us. That is when we experience true forgiveness and aren't just taking advantage of it.

5. Humble yourselves before the Lord

...and he will lift you up. You need God, and I need God. We all do more than anything. Recognize that without him we are northing. Let God know that you need him to come into your life and that he reigns over all.