Step Outside of Your Own Life

Step outside of your own life and dig into someone else's. Two days ago I posted about living a simple life and by doing that you simply love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength. The simple life is also achieved when you love your neighbor as yourself. Those are the two greatest commandments. One thing you need to do in order to love is to step outside of your own 'perfect' life. Quit worrying about yourself and the things that you have to get done today. Stop caring for yourself and what is best only for you. Think about it, how selfish are our everyday lives. We don't want to do things for other people, we save or strength and all of our energy for ourselves and we give the leftovers to God and other people. Our culture has brain washed us to live for self glorification. Look at social media. Everything that you put on there gives your follower the option to like it. What happens when you put something on there and it doesn't get a lot of likes? It probably will get deleted. I am not saying that social media is bad by any means. Many people use it for uplifting others and encouraging others because most of the time the media consist of negative things. I just want you to know, I am not perfect when it comes to social media either. I have had my fair share of slip ups. To be perfectly honest with you, I have deleted tweets in the past when they haven't gotten likes. While I sit here and think about it, that was so childish. I would love to sit here and say that social media doesn't really matter but our culture is changing so much and it's becoming more and more important. Self-glorification...it's everywhere. Do you have to have the newest devices and newest clothing? I know I want the newest things sometimes. Think about how your minds work, we want the newest things to make ourselves look good? What about other people? There are so many people out there who need love. There are so many people out there who need encouragement. There are so many people out there who need someone to talk too. 

So what is the point of everything I just said? The point is that there are people out there who are going through so much and you will never know how to encourage them or pray for them if you are not semi-involved in their lives. Here is a timeline of events that have happened this week to people that I am close with. (remember...it's only Tuesday) Over the weekend I got a text from one of my best friends. The mother is a recovering alcoholic and was tested for cancer on Friday morning. Over the weekend she was put on life support and is still on it this morning too. Sunday night, I get a text from one of my closest friends and she tells me that her grandmother passed away that night. Last night I am texting back and forth with of my friends who deals with a lot of health issues and was told at an appointment yesterday that there could be a possible brain tumor. Those are three serious life circumstances to go through. I am thankful to be invested in those peoples lives because They need someone to be there for them more than ever. To clarify, I am not self-glorifying myself by saying I did this perfect. When I reach out to them, I try to encourage them in such a way that points to God. Chances are, if you start investing yourself into other peoples lives more, that they won't be going through things that are as serious as my three friends but there is going to be something. Life is crazy and you go through so many things everyday and at this age you feel so much. Having people there for you is one of the greatest feelings. I asked my three friends over and over again if there was anything else I could do to help and all they wanted was prayer. Like that's it. Prayer, of all things that they are going through, all the things that they are feeling, all they wanted was prayer. Reach out to someone today. Text a close friend and ask them how they are. Don't stop at the small talk either. They will more than likely tell you that they are fine. Don't we all though? Ask them how they really are, and maybe what they needed was someone to ask and someone to listen. There are sensitive people out there who need people in their lives to encourage them. 

One last thing. I can't finish this post of without sharing this. I have to share this because I feel like my friend has the perfect heart. So my friend who's mom is on life-support has a heart like no other. I was texting back and forth yesterday with her asking how her mom was, asking how she was handling everything etc. Every time I asked if there was anything that I could do she always asked if there was anything that she could do for me? In a time where her mom is on life support. Like I can't even imagine. I really can't put into words how special it is to have a friend who has a heart like that. Losing my parents someday is one of the hardest things to think about and here I have a friend who that might happen too and she is worried about me? If that is not a perfect and selfless heart than I don't know what is. Here is a part of our conversation last night that got me.

me - "If there is anything else I can do, don't hesitate to ask!!!"

friend - "If you ever need anything, you know you can easily text or call! :) " 

me - "Oh, stop it, don't worry about me right now."

friend - "no buddy! hard situations never give me an excuse to not be a good friend to other people." 

What if we all stepped outside of our own perfect lives and had a heart like my friend? Imagine the love that would be going on all the time! Later on that night I texted her again to ask how she was and again, she went straight to asking how I was going. 

I know I didn't put any scripture in here this morning but I hope that I encouraged you to invest into to other peoples lives. You don't even really have to do much besides love and care about other people. Loving and caring is about the greatest investment that there is. How hard is it to love? Love is simple, just like your life will be if you follow two of the greatest commandments. Remember, there is one command, we have one commander and the law is love. Do it. 

I don't like to ask for much but if you read this I know that those three people I talked about and their families need prayer and they need a lot of it. So if you don't mind taking a minute or two to say a little prayer that would mean the world to me. 

If you took time to say a prayer, you're already investing into other people. Keep up the good work!

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

Since it's Martin Luther King Jr. day I want to share with you 15 of his most famous quotes. I would really encourage you to do some research on the topic sometime if you get the chance. I have written papers in the past and have seen movies about Martin Luther King Jr. and have really enjoyed learning about him and the incredible impact that he had and still has today.

1. “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” 1963
    
2. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” Sermons from his book Strength to Love, 1963
    
3. “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” From his book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967
    
4. “The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others.” Strength to Love, 1963
    
5. “Many white Americans of good will have never connected bigotry with economic exploitation. They have deplored prejudice but tolerated or ignored economic injustice.” From his book Why We Can’t Wait, 1964
    
6. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” 1963
    
7. “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Strength to Love, 1963
    
8. “We’ve been in the mountain of war. We’ve been in the mountain of violence. We’ve been in the mountain of hatred long enough. It is necessary to move on now, but only by moving out of this mountain can we move to the promised land of justice and brotherhood and the Kingdom of God. It all boils down to the fact that we must never allow ourselves to become satisfied with unattained goals. We must always maintain a kind of divine discontent.” Sermon at Temple Israel of Hollywood, 1965
    
9. “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.” Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, 1964
    
10. “So we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools.” “Beyond Vietnam” speech, 1967
     
11. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Strength to Love, 1963
     
12. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” “I Have a Dream” speech, 1963
     
13. “Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” Strength to Love, 1963
     
14. “I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.” “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” 1963
     
15. “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” 1963

The Simple Life

I attended Harvest Bible Chapel today, and the sermon was excellent. I will be sharing what it was about in my post this evening. The main point of this sermon was simply loving God.

What if God got all of your time, money, energy and love? Have you ever thought about that. Your life would be so much more simple. We often give God our leftovers. We get to busy because we are involved in so many things and by the time we think about our relationship with God we have already used our time, money, energy, and love on other things. It's sad but it's true. When was the last time you gave God everything. Or even given him one of those things before you used it on something else or someone else. We need to give him all of those things and our lives would be so much more simple. God isn't interested in a part-time you. He wants all of you all of the time. Our lives are so complex because we have more than one god. We are so stinking busy! We get involved in sports, school, our jobs, you name it. When you get overly involved in that, our lives feel complex because there are more commands that we have to follow. It's so much more simple than that my friends. There is one God, one commander, and one command. The law is love. Do it.

Mark 12:28-34: One of the greatest teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked them, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your hear and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor has yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he has answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

There are 5 "steps" that you can take away from this.

1. adore God with a whole-hearted love.
- your heart is who you are
- your heart is where you decide everything
- your heart = decision maker
- Proverbs 4:23: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."

2. enjoy God with a soul-consuming love.
- our soul is the controller of our emotions
- love the Lord will all of your affection
- Luke 7:47: "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little." 

3. believe God with a mind-blowing love.
- you can't love God properly until you start learning
- to know him is to love him
- 1 John 4:8: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
- reminder: learning isn't a substitute for loving, it's fuel to the fire

I want to talk a little but extra about this topic. When he went over this it really stuck out to me. Part of the reason I do this blog is because I want to encourage people to learn about God. It's so much fun to learn about God and sometimes I think people forget that learning about God leads to loving God. The verse from 1 John 4:8 might be my favorite verse right now. The simplicity of it is crazy. God is love and you can understand that by learning about him every single day.

4.  serve God with your strength.
- 1 Corinthians 6:20: "you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."
- serve God in all that you do
- don't be lazy

5. represent God with a world-changing love.
- we are world changers because of God
- show it by the way that you love and enjoy life

As I wrap this post up I hope that you understand that the key to a simple life is to love. Love God will all of your mind with all of your soul and with all of your strength. You are loved.

~ Live the simple life ~

The Good News

A month or two ago I finished 'Shaken,' by Tim Tebow. The last two pages were so eye opening and basically explained the good news of Jesus. I had it underlined and I knew that I wanted to use it for the blog in the future and today is the day. What I am sharing with you today comes from the book. I think it's a great reminder because we often forget the simplicity of the story of Jesus and the good news.

"You know that John 3:16 is the essence of Christianity, depicting the heart of God who loved the world so much that He willingly sacrificed His only son, Jesus, so that we could be free from the bondage of sing and live an abundant live. Sin is not an easy word for many people to swallow. Put in simple terms it means "missing the mark."We've all missed the mark. And even after inviting Jesus into our hearts, we continue to do so. Sin is what separates us from our heavenly Father. And no mate how many good deeds we rack up, no matter how king we are to strangers, no matter how many homeless people we shelter, no matter how many orphans we help, no matter how many sick people we courage, it will never be good enough to reconcile us to God. We can't bribe Him with our good works. Instead, we depend on what God did for us. He sent His Son, Jesus, to live on this earth, to die at the hands of those He came to love, and to break the chains of death through His resurrection. This is the Good News. In fact, it's the best news. The ultimate legacy we can leave is a life of faith, believing the gospel and living in a way that exemplifies Jesus. Two thousand years ago, a abby was born who could change the course of humanity. The Son of God left the perfection of heaven, a perfect relationship with the Father God, to come down to earth to die for the sins of the world. Jesus left it all for me. For you. Looking at scene from a human perspective, it's hard to believe. A simple teenage girl is chosen to carry the Savior of mankind. Nine months pregnant, tired, still trying to piece together the miracle in her belly, she simultaneously battles the fear of this task and cradles the wonder of the phenomenon. And she gives birth to the Son of God. In a barn. On a dirt floor caked with mud, scattered with rough straws of hay that bleating sheep and mooing cows trample on. The scene isn't pretty. It's not a delivery room with a soft bed, clean sheets, and the expert guidance of doctors and nurses. It's messy. It's unlikely. It's not how one would imagine the entrance of God into this world, what Christianity calls the Incarnation. It's ordinary. Without fanfare. Without flowers, balloons, and well wishes. God takes on human flesh. The Author of life enters our story. And for thirty-three years, Jesus walks with humankind. Taking His first steps while His parents clap their hands in delight. Skipping stones on the kegs. Horsing around with his neighborhood kids. As He grows up, Jesus works alongside His dad, a carpenter. And the same hands created to heal the lame and make the blind see chisel and sand oak into kitchen tables. At just the right time, Jesus begins His public ministry. He gets baptized, ignition a three-year run reaching and teaching those who would listen. People flock to Him, drawn to His powerful yet mysterious words, His gentle yet commanding spirit. Men and women alike are captivated by the way He looks into their eyes, drawing deep into their souls, knowing what lies in the depths and still showing mercy. He helps people. He offers peace for their longings, living water for their thirst, forgiveness for their wrongs. The religious elite of the day hate Jesus. They are infuriated by His claims to be the Son of God and the Son of Man, the Messiah. And ultimately, they plot to kill Him. Betrayed by one of His own followers, Jesus is arrested. Sentenced to die. And in one of the most excruciating forms of capital punishment, He is crucified on a wooden cross. Nails pierce through His hands and His feet. A crown of thorns presses into His skull. Jesus is hung like dead meat next to two criminals. One curses Him, demanding that if Jesus is who He says He us, He should get them out of this mess. The other begs for mercy. And as the man takes one of his final breaths, Jesus promised him eternal life: "Today you shall be with Me in Paradise." It's the pictorial definition of Romans 5:8, which says, "God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." When Jesus died for us, the weight of sin was upon Him. My sin. And your sin. And during that time, He experienced not just a physical death but the spiritual death of being separated from God the Father. Jesus was forsaken so we don't have to be. Jesus was abandoned so we don't have to be. God turned His back on Jesus, His Son, so He wouldn't have to turn His back on us. What people planned for evil, God planned for good. While Jesus dies on the cross, an unseen cosmic transaction unfolds. Jesus takes on the punishment for our sins, and as the same time, His righteousness, and new life, become available to us. Through His death, He abolished the barrier that separates us from God. Instead of being alienated from our Creator, we can actually have a relationship with Him. We have the opportunity to be reconciled with God, forgiven of our sins, adopted into His family, and to receive an eternal home in heaven. This is a free gift. We can't earn it, and our beat efforts will never be enough to deserve it. We only need to receive it by trusting Jesus. On the third day after Jesus was crucified, He rose from the dead. The Christian faith is meaningless without this fact. Former atheist turned apologist C.S. Lewis wrote that Jesus "has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so. This is the beginning of the New Creation: a new chapter in cosmic history has been opened." I love was Josh McDowell wrote: "No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy of pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good."

That is it. It was a little lengthy but I love reading through that over and over again. I hope that it encourages you today and that you are reminded about the Good News and the amazing story of Jesus.

Divorce

Have you ever wondered what the bible says about divorce? This will be a difficult topic but I want to share with you all what the word says about it in Matthew 19.

Divorce

In the beginning of chapter 19 in Matthew some pharisees came to Jesus to test him. They asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce is wife for any and every reason? I think in this context we often have this same question. I am not to knowledgeable on the topic but I assume that most people wonder what Jesus has to say about it. I know that I do. Jesus responds with this.

"Haven't you read, that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh' ? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate." 

I have plenty of friends with divorced parents and I don't know the reasons, but I do know that there are a wide variety of reasons. I don't want to offend any of my friends who read this. I just really want to share what Jesus had to say.

Now this isn't the only passage in the bible that talks about divorce, it is just a passage that I came across tonight that I thought I would share with you because it's something that is a little different.

I am going to give you a list of the other verses in case you want to check them out. I really encourage you to take a look at some of these verses.

- Matthew 5:31-32
- Mark 10:2-12
- Luke 16:18
- 1 Corinthians 7:39
- Ephesians 5:33
- Matthew 19:6-7^^^
- Romans 7:2-3
- Deuteronomy 22:19
- Jeremiah 3:1
- Malachi 2:16
- Matthew 1:19
- 1 Corinthians 7:11-13
- Jeremiah 3:8
- Isaiah 50:1
- Deuteronomy 24:1-4
- Matthew 19:8-9^^^
- Hebrews 13:4

Noting is impossible for you

Have you ever read a story from the Bible and immediately thought that the story relates to our generation? The story about Jesus healing a demon-possessed boy relates exactly to our generation today and it is a story that I am going to share with you today.

Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy

Matthew 17:14-20: When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him." "You unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out." He replied, Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." 

This story correlates directly to how a lot of people are living their lives today. The father of the boy came to Jesus and knelt before him asking Jesus to heal him. When we have problems, we usually come to Jesus and pray about it. That is a great first thing to do. That is what we should do and there is nothing wrong with that. Where this story goes down hill is when the father tells Jesus that the disciples said they could not heal him. That is where are downfall is. We become a little impatient and think that if we don't get immediate results that God isn't working. When we seek God we need to be patient and understand that he is always as work. When Jesus says, "You unbelieving and perverse generation," you can tell that he is a little ticked off. Jesus is calling us out. If you don't know what perverse means, perverse is showing a deliberate or obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable. Jesus is directly calling us out for living our lives perversely. It's a little sad to me that to this day we are still living the same way that a lot people in biblical times were living, with little faith. I know that I just did a post of faith, but I really believe that faith is a topic that I really need to encourage you with. Jesus is so powerful. When he got done going on his little rant about us being perverse and unbelieving he tells the boy to come to Him and he rebukes him. A character trait that I love about Jesus is every time he performed a miracle like that, he did it in such a cool manor. Everything he did was for the Father, not for him. That is how we should live our daily lives. He never did anything to bring attention to him, everything he did was to bring attention to the Father so that people could believe and spend eternity in heaven. Another part of this story that stuck out to me is that the disciplines went up to Jesus in private and asked him why they couldn't drive the demon out of the boy. It amazes me that this happened because the disciples had faith in the past and have been right by Jesus' side for so many miracles, yet they had little faith. Is that not how we live our lives? God does amazing things for you time and time again, and when it takes a little longer sometimes or it doesn't seem like He is doing work, we have little faith. Time and time again God blesses us with so many things and time and time again we struggle to have faith. I encourage you to always have faith. Faith pleases God.

The ending is my favorite. Jesus tells his disciples, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." I've never seen someone move a mountain before but have faith to move the mountains in your life, whatever that may be. Maybe the mountain in your life is you struggling to have faith at all times. Have faith and you can. "Nothing is impossible for you." 

Hannah Martinez: My Story

            It was the summer after my junior year of high school when I had spine surgery. If you know me, my favorite time of the year is summer because I get up early to work-out and then lay out by the pool all day. With this surgery happening it would take my summer away, but more importantly I would have to learn how to walk again and depend on someone to help me with everything. I like doing things on my own and getting lots of stuff done but that summer my mom became my best friend and taught me what a true servant looked like.

            I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was in 5th grade. I had to wear an uncomfortable back brace every day for 3 years. My faith was tested every day and I had to choose how I was going to respond. I had to buy bigger clothes to fit over the brace, and I was known as the girl with “abs of plastic” and couldn’t bend or twist at all when it was on me. While I wore this brace I learned that I am very fortunate that there are doctors who can help my situation. It was a long three years but fast forward to my 8^th grade year when I could finally be brace free because I was done growing. However, as the years went on my curve in my spine got worse. By the time I was a junior I had 54-degree curve and they said I would need surgery before I was 22. When I got the news there was not a day that went by that year where I didn’t think about it and wonder if I would ever be the same again.

            Leading up to surgery I would have many doctors’ appointments where I would see children with cancer and other diseases where they were in the hospital for years at a time. It opened my eyes and that is where I learned to have perspective. Yes, spine surgery is intense, yes it is a painful recovery. But I am going to get better, God is going to give me strength and let me play sports again. I had perspective on my situation and stopped feeling sorry for myself and started thanking God for letting me go through this surgery. I prayed that during my surgery and after while I was recovering that I would lead people to him and help others with scoliosis.

            I decided to have surgery right after my junior year. It was a four-hour surgery and had to recover in the hospital for a week before I could go back home. I was up every two hours to rotate from my side to back to my other side. For a month that was my every day routine. I would get up a couple times a day to walk around and slowly get feeling and flexibility back. During this month my mom had to help me shower, shave my legs, get me in and out of bed, sit me up when it was time for me to eat, not get any sleep, put up with my mood swings, stay home every day with me and yet she was always joyful and had a smile on her face. How could someone be so happy and joyful during the lowest point of my life? Her joy caused me to be happy and thankful that each day I was getting stronger and closer to where I wanted to be. She never complained once to me about never sleeping and always having to take care of me. She wanted to see me at my best again and she was going to make sure she helped me get there. My mom is such a servant and a gift from God. I learned to never complain about trials in my life and to always help people because they might be going through a hard time.

            Since my surgery my mom and I have helped and met so many young girls who are going through the same surgery as me. We prepare them as best as we can for what it is going to be like and we leave them with the thought that it’s all about perspective. You can wake up and complain every day and do nothing to get better, or you can look around you and see that you are blessed to have another day to get better and be thankful God made your back straight again. Helping others and being there for them brings joy into my life because I remember what it was like and at the end of the day helping others and showing them God’s love is what matters.

             No matter what I am going through I know God is going to bring me out of my misery and he is going to help me have a positive perspective on life because things get better if you have faith and trust God through everything. Be thankful for your life, that you are blessed each day, that you can talk, that you can walk and that you serve a God who wants nothing but the best for you. Don’t take anything for granted.