GPS: God's Personal Saving

   When I was in college I worked at a sub shop called Jimmy John's. It is a place where subs are made fast, the ingredients are fresh, and the delivery is freaky fast. When I applied they were looking for delivery drivers. That was the last thing I wanted to do, because I like to know exactly where I am going, but I became a delivery driver. That meant that my GPS and I became BFFs.
   I was working in an area I didn't know that well. Many times I would have to go into business and try to locate a person who ordered from JJ's. There were a lot of unknowns in this job. Many times I could rely on my GPS to get me where I needed to go. However, sometimes my GPS wasn't updated or didn't know the place I was in. That's when I had to figure out things for myself. Many times that meant calling the store, calling the person who ordered, and possibly driving around for a while.
   During one of my trips I was thinking about how thankful I was for my GPS. Then a thought came into my head... why is it easier for some people to trust a GPS than it is for them to trust in God? I relied on that machine more than I relied on God sometimes. There are also many people out there who rely on technology more than others and more than God.
   Here's the thing about GPS: it will fail. It may not be right away but someday that GPS may not know where you are, it may take you the wrong way, it could take you into heavy traffic, or it could die. Meanwhile, God never fails. He won't die or lead you the wrong way. He always knows where you are at. God is always with you. You may not understand his plan but it is good. You may question why things are happening in the world at times but if you rely on God as much as you rely on that GPS what would happen? God walks with you; you just need to trust in your God's Personal Saving machine.
   So, do you rely on things other than God? Do you trust that God has a plan for you? Will you choose to walk with God?

   Proverbs 3:5-6 and Romans 8:28

   Image from here. 

Words Out of Context

   In the movie Iron Man 2 Tony Stark is being ask to give up his Iron Man suits so that the army can make suits like them. He decides to fight giving up the suits because they are his property. That’s when the court calls in Rhodes, a Colonel in the U.S. Army and a friend of Tony. The conversation goes as follows (Stern is the Secretary of Defense):

Stern: I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, complied by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?

Rhodey: You’re requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?

Stern: Yes, sir.

Rhodey: It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner.

Stern: I understand. A lot of things have changed today. So if you could just read…


Rhodey: You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summery of my final…

Stern: Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you.

Rhodey: Very well. “As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests.” I did however, go on to summarize that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh three liabilities and that it would be in our interest…

Stern: That’s enough Colonel

   Rhodes had completed a report on Iron Man. He worked hard on it and made it very detailed. He didn't want to read just one part of it because then it wouldn't make sense. It would be taken out of context. How would you feel if something you wrote was taken out of context? You'd be upset, right?
   Well, that's how God feels when his word is taken out of context. God's word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Yet, many people still take the words out of context in order to get what they want. They do it to justify their actions that are actually sinful! It's vital to look at the context of the verses we read/use that way we make sure we are not sinning and we aren't causing others to sin.
   So, do you take verses out of context? What can you do to be sure you don't take verses out of context?

   John 14:15
   Image from here. 

I'm Changing My Name: A Mother's Day Blog

   One day I walked into the classroom where I work (I'm an assistant preschool teacher) and the first thing I heard was "hi Miss Kat." The students call me that. Then I went over to say hi to the teacher I work with. Let's call her Amy. I started talking with her about the day and I heard, "Ms. Amy he took my toy." Amy took care of it. Then a minute later I heard, "Ms. Amy I am wearing a new dress." After Amy said, "that's very nice." I heard, "Ms. Amy I want snack." Amy looked at me and said, "I'm changing my name."
   Some of you may laugh at this story because it is funny. Others may laugh because you've been in the same situation. Yet, others may just think it's a pointless story. See, Amy and I work with 3-5 year olds. They need a lot of help to solve problems, do normal tasks, and learn about their world. And, we don't have only 1 or 2 of them in our class. We have 13-18 each day! I'm sure mothers understand the concept of wanting to change their name because of being called on to help so much.

   Sometimes people, mothers especially, may wonder why they do everything they do. Sometimes they may wonder is it worth it? Sometimes they may just think, "I never get any free time." Then they get a hug, a card, or someone says "thank you" and they realize that it's all worth it. Eventually that child is going to grow up and not need you as much. Be thankful for the time you have with that child in that season.
   This also applies to our Christian walk. Jesus never lost patience with us. When we ignore him for so long because things are going well, he still loves us. When we treat him like a genie and ask for all our wishes that we may or may not need he still loves us. When we walk away from him and sin he still loves us. He didn't make the choice to change his name. He chose to die on the cross so he could have a relationship with us.
   What's that mean for us? It means that we need to follow his example. Sure, there will probably be times where we want to change our names because of everything going on; but we need to keep trying to grow to be like Jesus. We need to try to have patience and show love to others like Jesus does.
   So, have you ever lost patience with someone? What could you do to try to be more patient with others? How can you grow in Christ today?

   Romans 12:12 and Galatians 6:9

   Image from here. 

Jesus At Sight and Sound

 Last year I went to see Jesus at Sight and Sound. It was a great show. But, as you can imagine, it was difficult for them to pick one theme about Jesus to focus on. There were so many! They finally decided on the theme rescue.
   How many people did Jesus rescue? There was the man with the withered hand, the blind man by the temple, the woman at the well, the woman who committed adultery, Mary Magdalene, the man with the demons in him, the woman who couldn't stop bleeding, the lepers, and many many more are mentioned in the bible.
   Could you imagine how these people felt after being healed? Many or them wanted to go with Jesus. They wanted to know more about him and learn from him. They were on fire for him; and saw the power in him and in those who follow him. But, Jesus told them to stay. Some of them he even told to go tell others about what happened to them. As you can imagine, these people could hardly keep quiet. They shouted and told others about how Jesus healed them and rescued them.
   What about you? Has Jesus rescued you? If you know him as your personal savior he has. How does that make you feel? For many of us, we are on fire for God when we first accept him. We have been saved from death and are excited to find out more about God. We are excited to tell others. But, over time, our fire fades. We begin to think we know it all and we don't want to associate with the sinners of the world. If we follow Jesus's example, we must go and tell others with just as much fire as we started with. He left the 99 to save one sheep. He is heartsick over the lost. He wants none to perish. If he feels this way, shouldn't we? We should rejoice when the lost get found. We should want to be a part of His story. We should want all to be rescued.
   So, are you still on fire for God? What can you do to get back on fire for him? How can you share the good news with people you know so they too can be rescued?

   Romans 6:23 and Matthew 28:16-20

   Image from here.

It's Impossible

   Have you ever been told you can't do something? People say it's impossible to do. How does that make you feel? One time my sister and I were playing Disney Infinity in the Incredibles play set. We were told we could not complete a mission until we had a helicopter because what we needed to do was get on top of roofs.
   My sister and I looked at each other. We decided to try and complete some of the mission. We were able to get to the top of two buildings easily. The other three were more difficult. But, we continued to try. I found a building that had an elevator. I used it to get to the top of that building then used another tool I had to get to other buildings. We completed the mission. It was hard, probably harder than if we would have waited until we had the helicopter, but we persevered. We completed the impossible.
   Matthew 19:26 says : "But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'” Many times we go through our lives as Christians saying "that's not possible." We lose our faith and trust that God can do anything. If God wanted the sky to be purple he could make it purple. God may call us to do things that we think are crazy but with him it is possible. We just need to be willing to work hard and preserver.
   So, has God called you to do anything you think is impossible? Will you trust that he has a plan and will help you to complete what he calls you to do?

   Jeremiah 32:17 and Ephesians 3:20

   Image from here. 

Defeating the Darkness

   Imagine you are at home and it is night. You are enjoying watching some tv, reading, or spending time with your family then suddenly the power goes out. Now, depending on your age you may be feeling different things. If you are young and afraid of the dark, you may be freaking out at this point. If you are an adult you may be going through your head thinking about a generator, candles, or flashlights are. You probably are not thinking: "let me pull my sleeves up, put on my boxing gloves, and punch this darkness until the lights come back on." That would just be silly, right?

   Well, I can tell you that some people do try to fight darkness. Christians have used darkness and light as a metaphor for sin for years. Darkness is sin, therefore light is the influence of Christ. We think we need to fight this dark sin. Let me ask you this, do you think you can fight sin? I'm not saying that you should fall into temptation of sin. I'm talking about trying to defeat sin. We go throughout our days in a constant battle. That makes us tired. Do we have to be so tired?
   1 John 4:18 says: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears us not made perfect in love." Our battle isn't against sin. That battle has already been won by someone far greater than us. Our battle is against fear. We are afraid we will mess up. We are afraid to lose our job, friends, and family. We are afraid we will never be good enough. The list of fears goes on and on. We try to defeat the fear/darkness in different ways. Some of us just accept the fear and give in. How can we combat this fear and darkness?
   Look back at 1 John 4:18 and you will find the answer. The answer is love. You may be saying, "how does that make sense? Isn't the opposite of fear bravery?" Let's say you are afraid you will let your boss down at your job, or your parents down. If you love them, love others, and act in love while at your job then you'll be driving out the fear.
   I'll tell you I am very self-conscious and I don't like letting people down. In fact, it got so bad that at one point I had severe anxiety. I tried to think logically, forget about the situations, and pray about them. The prayer helped a little but then I realized that in these situations I wasn't letting my light shine as much as I could've been. I was doing the bear minimum trying to defeat the fear on my own. Instead of fighting the fear on my own, I asked God to show me how to let my light shine. I asked him to help me show love.
   We don't have to fight the darkness because it only takes a light to stop the darkness. If all Christians showed love to others by letting their light shine there would be less darkness in the world. We can make this world bright by helping those in need, listening to those who are hurting, and so much more. That's how fear and darkness will be defeated.
   So, are you trying to defeat fear and darkness in the wrong way? Are you showing love to others and letting your light shine? How can you let your light shine today?

   1 John 4:18 and John 1:5

   Image from here. 

He Didn't Stay Because of the Nails: An Easter Blog

   At camp YoliJwa during some weeks in the summer they have a night where you focus on your relationship with Jesus. One time, when I was there, they had a cross. You wrote on a piece of paper a sin you felt had a hold of you, or you couldn't let go, then you took a nail and nailed it to the cross. It kind of gives a new meaning to my sin is "nailed to the cross and I bear it no more."

   You may be thinking, "well that's exactly what the song says. We are nailing our sins to the cross." You're right; you are nailing your sins to the cross. But, if you forget the message of the cross you lose the whole meaning of nailing your sins to the cross.

   Imagine being there the day that Jesus was killed. Imagine you taking the hammer, grabbing the nail, lining up the nail to go through his hand, and then pounding the nail into his hand. Many of us don't want to imagine that because it's gross, I know I don't like blood so I'm in the same boat. But, in essence, that's exactly what we all did.

   No, we were not physically at the cross when Jesus died; but, Jesus stayed on the cross for our sins. Jesus could have called it all off. He is God. He could have said, "this is too much. These people are not worth it." Instead, he stayed. He stayed because of my sins. He stayed because of your sins. He stayed so we could be with him in heaven. He stayed because he loved us so much and wants to be with us forever.

   This Easter, I encourage you to think about what Jesus did for you. Think about how your sin held Jesus on the cross. Think about how much he loves you. Thank him for what he did for you.

   Image from here.