Did David Really Trust God?

   The other day my dad was driving our van and he asked the question: “if David had faith then why did he grab more than one stone?” My dad was talking about when David fought Goliath David grabbed 5 smooth stones; when, of course, he would only need to use one. I thought about the question for a little and then remembered a story I had heard about.

   The story, basically, goes like this. A man was sitting in his home when he hears this flood warning come over the radio or tv (depending on who is telling the story). The man prays to God to save him. A little rubber boat comes by and the people in the boat call to the man in the house. They tell him to hop in the boat. The man says “no, I prayed and God will save me.” So the boat leaves. The water gets higher and the man in the house moves up to the second floor. A bigger boat comes by and the people in the boat tell the man in the house to hop in the boat. The man says “no, I have faith and I prayed so God will save me.” The boat leaves and the water gets higher. The man moves up onto the roof. A helicopter flies over and a man comes down on a ladder. The man tells the guy on the roof to climb up. The man on the roof says “I prayed and I know God will save me.” The helicopter leaves and the man who was in the house drowns. When the man gets to heaven he asks God “I prayed to you and had faith in you so why didn’t you save me?” God says “I sent you two boats and a helicopter to save you. You just did not hop in.”

   The reason I bring up this story is because there is a difference between having faith and being prepared. In this story the man had all the faith in the world; but he was not prepared to hop in the boat or the helicopter, he wasn't even prepared for a flood. Anyhow, he prayed which is great but then he chose not to accept the offers to be saved. The man had three chances to save himself, which God sent to him; but the man did not choose to be saved. This man was not prepared for the flood; and then when he did have the chance to be saved he choose to stay in his house and eventually drown.

   This is why it is important to be prepared. I mean, I could have all the faith in the world that God would help me pass a test. But, if I do not study for the test do you think I’m going to pass?

   So, David did have faith that God would help him defeat Goliath. But, David did not go into battle empty handed. He was prepared for battle by bringing his slingshot and stones. It is true that God didn’t need David’s help to defeat Goliath; but God wants us to be a part of His plan. We just have to have faith and be prepared for what God asks us to do.

   Challenge for this week: Be prepared for whatever God asks you to do; and have faith that God knows what he is doing.

   1 Samuel 17:40, 1 Corinthians 16:13, Matthew 24:44

The Trust Fall

   For those of you who don’t know me that well I absolutely love asking random questions to people. One of my nicknames is entertainment center. Because, when there is silence or nothing to do, I tend to try and entertain people. One question I have taken to asking people is “if you had to do the trust fall with someone who would you do it with?” Typically, people answer with a family member. Then I ask if they would do it with anyone besides a family member. Normally the answer is no.

   When I started to ask this question it got me thinking about who I trust. I am a very cynical and pessimistic person; which I am working on, but that’s beside the point. I don’t think there are many people I would trust with my life. Maybe with secrets and how I’m feeling; but if I had to do a trust fall from a high distance I don’t think I would do that. What about you? Would you trust someone with your life?

   Believe it or not I have already trusted someone with my life: Jesus. It is scary to think about trusting someone you cannot see. But, up at Camp Yolijwa they have done this skit that shows this relationship between you and Jesus physically. It is a skit about doing a trust fall with Jesus. For those of you who haven’t seen it or want to see it again there is a link at the bottom of this blog (I think Camp does it way better, but that’s just my opinion).

   Basically, Jesus asks the woman “do you trust me?” Then when she answers he tells her to fall back. She does, reluctantly at first. Then Jesus catches her and the next time she falls back with more trust. Jesus then asks her to turn and face him. He asks her the same question and she says “yes, Jesus, I trust you.” Jesus then tells her to fall back. The woman refuses to fall back.

   I don’t know about you but I would definitely be a little less trusting that final time when no one is behind me. But, that is really what our relationship with Jesus is like. We cannot rely on anyone else to save us. We need to trust in him and him alone, even when it feels like he isn’t there. We need to believe that he is there for us no matter what.  If we lean on him with all of our problems we may not have easier lives, but we will have comfort and hope.

   Believe me; it isn’t easy to trust God all the time. I’m going through some things right now where I have a crazy schedule and so many expectations on me. I just don’t want to let anyone down. But, I know that everything happens for a reason. Even when I cannot see or know what that reason is, I know that God is watching over me and he will be with me through it all.

   So do you trust in God? Are you taking all of your burdens to him?

   Proverbs 3:5, Romans 8:28, Matthew 6:25

   Link to video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhnRvb-M-P4

The Shoe is One Year Old!

   So, it is the anniversary of my blog and that got me thinking about all the posts I have done so far. You know, it is funny, when I think about how I used to be scared to share my thoughts. Then I realized that God had given me a gift for writing. He gives us all gifts; and if we do not use them we can lose them. Honestly, when I was younger, I was not really a fan of writing down my feelings or my thoughts. But, as I grew up, the words just started to pour out of me and I wondered why. That’s when I discovered the gift.

   I began to use my gift. I wrote a few books but I never showed them to anyone, at least, not until they were done. See, when I wrote it felt like a part of me was being poured out onto the page. I was sharing some of my experiences, problems, and emotions in my books. I did not want anyone to know the real me. Then I had an experience at Camp Yolijwa where I realized that it is okay to show others the real me. So I began to share my books with a few friends; and I opened up more to them. It was a great feeling but, after going to Lancaster Bible College, I realized it was not enough.

   I began to have these thoughts and ideas come into my mind. I started forming my own worldview. I realized that there are a lot of lost people out there who need to hear the word. And I began to think to myself “how can I spread the word more?” So I started a blog because I realized that there may be people out there who need or want to hear what I have to say.

   I once had a very good friend of mine tell me something I have never forgot. She was giving me advice on life and it finally opened up my eyes to a solution. I thanked her from the bottom of my heart and she said “whatever you heard that helped you did not come from me, it came from God." I did not really understand how she could say that, until now. I look back at my posts and I’m astounded at what I have said. Sometimes I have no idea where certain things I talked about came from. And then I realize that it did not come from me; it came from someone greater than me.

   So, what talents/gifts do you have? How are you using them? 

   Romans 12:6

Labor Day: Faith in Working

   When I think about Labor Day it makes me think about work. Then that makes me think about money, which I’m not a fan of but that’s for another blog post. Then I think about everything I have to do with that money and the time it’ll take me to do what I need to do. I get stressed then tired and I need to lay down. True, on Labor Day I don’t usually have to work but still.

   So my question is why do I feel that way? Isn’t work supposed to be a good thing? I mean Colossians 3:23 tells us to work for the Lord. Proverbs 13:4 tells us that we need to be diligent and not sluggish in our work. If we do not work then we cannot survive; therefore, we cannot tell others about our faith in Jesus Christ. Which leads me to think about Faith.

   Why do we do what we do? Yes, society wants us to work because it makes our country grow. But, I do what I do for the Lord. I do everything I can because of my faith in Him and for His glory. But what is faith? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary faith is “strong belief or trust in someone or something.” All it takes for us to gain eternal life is for us to accept Christ into our hearts and have faith in Him. But, how do we show that we have faith?

   Most of you have probably heard the argument about faith and works. James 2:26 says: “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” That makes it seem like we need to work in order to gain eternal life; but that is not what this passage is saying. In order to show that we have faith in Jesus Christ we need to follow him. In order to follow Christ we need to listen to him and follow his commandments. How do we follow his commandments? We do that by reading the word and following it. Which means, that people will know we are Christians by how we act and what we do. This is why the faith without works argument is so important. We can have faith in Christ and not do good works; but then that means we are not listening to our master/God. Thus, we do not have faith in him.

   So on Labor Day I want you to think about work. I know right, this girl is making me think about that place on my day off. Yes, I am; because I want you to think about how you treat your job and how you act when you are there. Would your co-workers say that there is something different about you? Do you put your heart and soul into what you do? Are you a servant when you are at work? Can people tell that you have faith in Christ by your works?

   James 2:26, Colossians 3:23, Proverbs 13:4