Are You Certain?

     There is a company called Rocket Mortgage who has a series of commercials out. The commercials go pretty much the same way. People are pretty sure that something is okay. For example, maybe they say, "I'm pretty sure this expired milk is okay to drink." Then they proceed to pour out the milk so you could see how gross it looked. The emphasis of the commercials is that certain is better.

   My question for you is based off these commercials. Are you pretty sure you will go to heaven when you die or are you certain? A follow up question is how do you know where you are going?

   If you are pretty sure you are going to heaven, I encourage you to read Romans 10:9 "Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." That verse tells us that we must confess Jesus is Lord. If you don't you can be certain you will not go to heaven. There isn't more than one way to get to heaven. John 14:6 says: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" Jesus is THE ONLY way to heaven. 

   So, are you pretty sure you will be going to heaven or are you certain? How can you spread the Gospel today so that others can be certain of where they are going after death?

 

Are Lucky People Happy?

   Have you ever met someone who just seems to have it all together? That person who doesn't seem to have anything bad happen to them. Or maybe the person just seems to have blessing after blessing poured on them. We may think of celebrities who are rich and famous. We may think of a CEO of a popular company. We would call these people lucky.
   I would be very interested to hear these lucky people's answer to this question: are you happy? Some of them may say yes. Others may say no. I wonder if they stay up at night worrying about their finances. I wonder if they worry about their relationships. I wonder if they question what the meaning of life is. The very people who we may consider lucky have problems too. Many of them may even try to hide their problems. They may even question why they are here or what happens after they die.
   Matthew 16:26-27 says, "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done." Sometimes the people who we think are lucky worked hard to get where they are. Others may have done things that hurt others. They may have done things they are not proud of. If they did that, they may be happy now, or feel lucky now, but they will not feel happy in the end. 
   God calls us to live our lives for him. He doesn't promise us happiness or being lucky on this earth. He does promise that he will be with us, love us, care for us, and save us from our sin. No matter if you feel lucky now or not, I encourage you to trust in God. Trust in Jesus Christ as your savior. That is the most important part of our lives on earth. Not that we feel lucky or happy, but that we know Christ as our personal savior. Then we share that good news with others. 
   So, are you focused on the things of this world or on Christ? Have you chosen to trust in Jesus as your savior? Are you following the Great Commission?
   Image from here.

They Are Circling

     One time I was riding with my family. We drove past a church and above the church I saw 10 vultures circling around it. It was a bit of a disturbing sight. I've seen vultures before. However, normally I see only one or two attacking roadkill. I do not typically see them circling their prey, let alone circling a church!

   This sight got me thinking about all the things I do not typically, or cannot, see. Like, what if those vultures were demons? We cannot see demons. We do not see angels. We do not know the spiritual warfare that goes on each day. However, we do know those wars are going on. 

   1 Peter 5:8 says: "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." The devil is real. He is waiting, and watching, for someone to attack. He doesn't want you to learn about God. He doesn't want you to have a relationship with God. He wants you to be separated from God. Satan doesn't want you to do work to further the kingdom.

   What can we do about this? Are we to worry? Are we to stop living our lives? No! We are to follow the words of James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." We need to submit to God. We are to be in relationship with him each day by praying and reading the Bible. 

   See, Satan cannot stand to know that we belong to God. He hates that we have a relationship like we do with the Lord. He tries to break that relationship in many ways. Satan has a toolbox to break believers. The key is for us to know how to combat him. We need to know the Word of God. We need to use that word against the devil when he comes against us. We need to lean into God.

   So, how is your relationship with God? Are you submitting yourself to God?

Pulled 100 Different Directions

    I really wish I could start this blog by telling you I am just whelmed right now, as my sister would put it. Whelmed meaning I am just calm, normal, peaceful etc. I don't know about you but lately I have been a bit overwhelmed lately. At this point I am a preschool/pre-k teacher (which encompasses many more jobs in and of itself), a soccer coach, and have other family responsibilities. It's a lot and I'm sure you have felt this way as well. 

   This feeling reminds me a lot of a song from a Disney movie. The song is called "I Just Wanna Be With You" and the lyrics go like this: "We're being pulled a hundred different directions" (High School Musical 3). Have you felt like you are pulled a hundred different directions? You accomplish one task just to be given a new one. It is incredibly whelming.

   Now even though this song is a love song between a boy and a girl the next lyric can relate to us as well. The song goes like this: "We're being pulled a hundred different directions But whatever happens I know I've got you." We may be pulled a hundred different directions, but we have God. 

   Psalms 94:19 says: "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." This verse showed up on my Bible app when I was feeling quite overwhelmed. Even though we may be stressed and being pulled many directions God is with us. He never gives us more than we can handle with him. Did you catch that last part? We cannot walk though these times on our own. God walks with us, carries us, and encourages us in our times where we feel whelmed. 

   So, who are you trusting when you feel overwhelmed? How can you remember to lean on God when you feel pulled 100 different directions?