Who Do You Belong To?

   Way, way back at the beginning of the earth Lucifer decided he did not want to follow God anymore. He wanted to be worshiped as a God. Thus, Lucifer hatched a plan in order to separate God from his creation. And, you know the story. He tricks Adam and Eve into eating the fruit, sin enters the world, humans are separated from God, and Lucifer is kicked out of heaven and becomes the prince of this world. Lucifer thinks he has won. He knows he now has power over humans and he is worshiped.

   But, God had a plan. He chose a nation to be a light to the world. He chose Israel to bless other nations. God made a covenant with them and taught them how to sacrifice to him so that he could still have a relationship with his people. But, it was not enough. Humans continued to fall away from Him and Israel chose to disobey him. Satan still believed he had the upper hand because he was able to pull God’s chosen people away from God.

   Then God, in his infinite wisdom, chose to sacrifice his only son so that the relationship with God and humans could be restored. The devil thought we were all his. He thought he had won. But, I think inside Satan knows/knew that he would never win. That doesn’t mean that he will not stop trying. He is very persistent and wants us to follow him rather than God. But, the neat thing is Jesus came so that we could be saved. He became the ultimate sacrifice. Now all we need to do is believe in him, accept him, and follow him.

   This is why we can have confidence no matter what we go through because God is on our side. We know that when the devil says, “they’re all mine.” Jesus responds, “over my dead body.” And, we know we belong to God not Satan.

   So, do you remember that you have a savior who has already won the war for you? Do you believe Christ died for your sins? Are you choosing to follow God rather than Satan?

   John 3:16, 1 John 3:8, Revelation 12:10-12

When You Know the Answers but You Forget

What do you do

When you feel so down?

When you cannot be perked up

Because you feel like you are going to drown.

We have so many blessings

In life

But for some reason we forget them

Because we have so much strife

What do you do

When you feel so alone?

When you forget

Everything you have known.

In times when it feels

Like God is far away

And you cannot

Keep the Devil at bay.

He whispers lies

And says you are not loved.

But in order to remember

All you need to do is look above.

   For some reason whenever I am going through a hard time in life I get the urge to write. Most of the time, if it is a really difficult time, I write poetry. However, sometimes it is not a really difficult time and I find myself writing again. Sometimes I find myself writing because I know how I should feel or what I should do but it is hard.

   The world tells us that we should act on our feelings; that we should follow our heart. But the Bible says that the heart is wicked (Jeremiah 17:9-10). When we accept God he then creates a clean heart in us. But, sometimes we still stray away.

   One struggle I have always had is listening to the lies the Devil tells me. I have learned that I am a child of God, and that is the only identity I should need. But, sometimes I forget who I am. Or, I believe the lie that no one cares and I am all alone. I find that normally it is in those times that I heard the Devil’s voice more than God’s. That is because, like the Israelites, I tend to go through phases where I trust in God and phases where I don’t.

   The reason behind why I tend to go through these phases is because I stop talking to my best friend. I stop talking to God. When I take my eyes off him then my problems become big. When my eyes are on him then my problems do not seem as large.

   I’m not going to lie, it was not easy to write this blog. It is not easy to be real with others and let them know your downfalls. But, that is what we are called to do (2 Corinthians 12:9). My point is that no matter what problem you are facing it is important to keep your eyes fixed on God. Because, when you do, your problems will not seem as big since you have a bigger God on your side.

   So, are you listening to the Devil or God? Are you going through phases in your life where you trust God and where you do not trust him? What can you do to keep your eyes fixed on him?

   Matthew 14:22-33, Nehemiah 1:9, John 1:12

Are You On the Fence?

   “I’m on the fence about it.” Have you ever said that? You just are not sure which way you want to go; or which way is right. Well, at Camp YoliJwa they do a little skit that deals with this predicament. It goes something like this:

   A girl is sitting on a fence (or a bench). She is just minding her own business when Jesus comes over. He says “you know, today would be a great day to come over to my side of the fence.” The girl says “yeah, I guess I could do that.” But, just as she is about to go over Satan comes on the other side. He says “you don’t want to do that. Come to my side. You will not have any responsibilities on my side.” The girl stops and thinks about it. Jesus says “please come to my side. You may not have another chance to.” Satan says “no, you’ve got all the time in the world. Besides, if you go to his side you will not have as much fun. Come to my side.” The girl says “you know what I think I’m just going to stay here.” Jesus looks like he is about to cry and turns away. Then Satan starts to laugh. The girl asks Satan “why is Jesus so sad, and why are you laughing?” Satan says “because Jesus knows that if you are on the fence you are on my side.”

   The moral of this skit is that we cannot continue to be on the fence. There are so many people out there who consider themselves Christian but they are just on the fence about it. There are also Christians out there who have chosen to accept Christ but they are on the fence in other ways or about other things.

   It’s like this. When I was first learning how to drive it would take me a long time to get places because when I was at a stop sign I was never sure if I should go or not when a car was coming. But, now that I am more experienced I know when to commit. If I would not commit/go I would be stuck at the stop sign for a long time. Or, if I would go but decide all of the sudden that I should stop I would get hit.

   Especially nowadays we need to know what we believe and why we believe what we believe. We cannot continue to be on the fence about things. If we do not commit we are of no use to God. We need to follow the Great Commission and spread the gospel.

   So, have you gone to Jesus’ side? Are you on the fence about anything you shouldn’t be on the fence about? Are you following the Great Commission?

   Revelation 3:15-16, Deuteronomy 30:19, Matthew 28:16-20

Why I'm NOT a Feminist

   When I was younger I used to watch the show Boy Meets World. As I grew up, I always remembered the episode called “Class Pre-Union.” That is when all the students dress up and present where they are going to be in 20 years from then. Topanga comes in in a toga and says she is going to be President. The reason she is wearing the toga is because they got rid of all other clothes so that no one feels insecure (or something like that). She also said that all men were put underground and only used for breeding purposes. Now anytime I get upset at my brother I say “I agree with Topanga.” And, my brother knows exactly what I am talking about. Some people may call me a Feminist because I say this, and other things as jokes, against the male population.

   However, I don’t consider myself a feminist. Merriam-Webster defines Feminism as “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” I’m all for equal opportunity; but I feel feminism has gone way too far. Feminists are starting to want inequality. What? I thought women wanted equality with men. No, actually Feminists want women to be higher than men. Women want to be President, join the army, want to be the head of the household, and call men cavemen when they say things like "you should not be wearing that" because they do not want to be tempted.

   So, let me say why this is wrong not by my opinion but by the facts. Where am I getting these facts? From the highest authority: the Bible. Genesis 3:16 talks about the curse Eve received for disobeying God’s command. Eve will want to rule over her husband but she will not be able to. 1 Peter 3:1-7 talks about how wives should accept the authority of their husbands. Then husbands should give honor to their wives. Finally, Ephesians 5:21-33 says that wives and husbands are to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” It goes on to say that for women this means they are to submit to their husbands. And, husbands are to love their wives.

   All of these passages point to one overlying idea: men and women are different. Men are more equipped for certain jobs. It does not mean women cannot do those jobs but men are better equipped for them. Just the same as women are more equipped for certain jobs than men are. But, above all, the Bible makes it clear that wives are to submit to their husbands. Men are just better at ruling over things than women are. That doesn’t mean that men should be pig heads and say “I know what I’m doing. You are a woman and I don’t have to listen to you.” Because, in those same passages, it says men are to respect women. This means, men should take women’s thoughts into account and love them.

   Finally, if women are not to rule over things what are they to do? Women are to be helpers for men (Genesis 2:18), to be energetic and strong (Proverbs 31:17), laugh without fear of the future (Proverbs 31:25), give instruction with kindness (Proverbs 31:26), encourage young women to be good workers (Titus 2:3-5), watch everything in the household (Proverbs 31:27), temperate and faithful (1 Timothy 3:11), and fear the Lord (Proverbs 31:30). Women are powerful in their own way. They are better suited for certain jobs than men are. Women and men are to be equals in marriage because having one without the other does not make the world better (1 Corinthians 11:11-12). That’s why God gave women certain abilities and men certain abilities and why he created both male and female. And, that’s why both men and women are to submit to God.

   So, how do you feel about the Feminist movement? Are you trying to do jobs that just are better suited for someone else? Are you doing jobs that are suited for you?

   Genesis 3, 1 Peter 3:1-7, Proverbs 31:10-31

   P.S. Here is a link to a video that talks a bit more about Feminism and how the movement isn’t really for equality between men and women. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNErQFmOwq0

Dancing with Jesus in the Storm

   There is a quote that I have used in other blogs that goes like this: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” Many times people want all of their troubles to go away. Any time we have problems we think “God is horrible.” But, when things are good we say “we are blessed.” Or, we don’t give any praise to God.

   Many people have problems when they face the storms and rollercoasters in life. That is because those people do not know the secret of how to deal with those problems. In order for you to discover what that secret is I’m going to take you through a lesson I taught to my students during student teaching.

   Close your eyes and, if possible, play this music on this link (if you cannot play the music then just read on). When you heard the music you may have pictured a calm ocean. A gentle breeze blows across your face. How do you feel? You probably feel peace, calmness, or tranquility.

   Now, play the music on this link (once again if you cannot play the music just read on). What did you picture when you heard this music, or how did you feel? You may have pictured a person heading off to war. You may have felt pumped up or angry. But, you probably did not feel peace.

   Believe it or not, I actually felt peace more during the second song. That song is what played before every single one of my soccer home games. We would walk out to that song and it would get me in the zone. That song reminded me that, even though I was nervous for the game, I knew what I was doing. I had prepared for this by practicing my goalkeeping skills. Thus, I felt peace.

   And yet, as I have stated before, goalkeeping is a stressful position. How then could I have felt peace? I felt peace because I was prepared and I knew that no matter what happened God was with me. I was in the middle of a place where there was a lot of pressure but I felt peace.

   When problems come in life we need to remember to keep our eyes fixed on God. We cannot focus on the problem and say “God is horrible.” We need to trust in God because he can use all of these things for good. He has a plan. We can know that everything happens for a reason. That reason may be to help us grow, to help us trust in God, or to reach someone else for Christ. But, whatever the reason may be, it is vital for us to learn to dance with Jesus during the storm.

   So, when trials come in life do you trust in God or turn on him? Do you know that peace is not found in the calm times in life but in the storms when we trust in God? Are you working on improving your relationship with God so you can have peace when problems come?

   Philippians 4:6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 8:28

Greek Mythology and the Unknown God

   For those of you who do not know I like learning new things. One topic that has always interested me, other than God and the Bible, is Greek Mythology. I don’t believe any of the stories are true, though some of them may be based off of true stories. I like to read the stories because most of them are entertaining. Some of them can get a little strange and creepy; but throughout my study I discovered there are a lot of similarities between Greek Mythology stories and the Bible.

   In the Bible the first human, Adam, is created out of dust of the ground. And then God breaths the breath of life into him (Genesis 2:7). In Greek Mythology a Titan named Prometheus was at a river and created humans out of wet clay, or the ground. Some stories say the Prometheus then breathed the breath of life into the humans.

   The final example, which I am going to give you, of how the Bible and Greek Mythology are similar is the fall of man. In the Bible a serpent (Satan) goes to Eve and tempts her to eat of the fruit of the tree of life (Genesis 3). He tells her that if she does eat of the fruit she will be like God, who has knowledge of right and wrong. Then Eve eats of the tree and so does Adam. Sin enters the world and now God must be separate from man. Adam and Eve are forced to leave the Garden of Eden. However, even in this time of failure, there is still hope. In Genesis 3:15 God says to the serpent (Satan) “I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head and you will strike his heel.” This is alluding to the coming of Jesus. Satan may have the upper hand now; and will tempt humans, or strike their heel. But, some day an offspring of Eve will strike the head of Satan. That offspring is Jesus. And, that is where our hope is.

   In Greek Mythology the story of the fall of man is very similar. There was a Titan named Epimetheus who was not too smart. His brother, Prometheus got on Zeus’ (the king of the gods) bad side. Prometheus warned his brother not to accept any gifts from the gods because of this. Epimetheus did okay for a while. But, one day the gods created a woman named Pandora. She became Epimetheus’ wife. The gods offered the couple a wedding present. The present was a box, which the gods told the couple that they must never open it. But, Pandora was created to be curious. So, you guessed it, Pandora opened the box. When she did all of these evil spirts came out and spread across the world. But, one good spirit stayed in the box. That spirit was hope. No matter how bad things got humans still were able to hope that things would get better.

   Now, you may be wondering why I am telling you the similarities between the Bible and Greek stories. It is to either teach, or remind, you about a lesson Paul has already taught everyone. Nowadays not many people, if any, believe in the Greek gods. But, in Bible times there were people who did worship them. Paul went to Athens (where they worshiped many idols, probably Greek gods) and began preaching about the gospel. Some philosophers heard Paul and brought him to the high council where he told them about God. He said they had been worshiping this unknown god. Paul said he knew who the God was. “He is the God who made the world and everything in it.” Paul introduced the gospel to these people in a way they would understand. And, there were some who became believers that day (Acts 17:16-34).

   This is an important lesson for us. We may try to reach non-believers but we may not know anything about them or their religions. Paul did his research before he preached to them. He knew what these people believed in and then found the best way to relate the gospel to them. Isn’t that what we should be doing today? We need to care, and learn about others before we can truly create a relationship and reach them. That may mean we need to research other religions and find commonalities between their religion and the Bible.

   So, are you learning new things every day in order to grow and spread the gospel? Are you reaching out to others and getting to know them?

   Psalm 96:3, 2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 28:19

Lessons From Footloose at Donegal High School

   Last night I enjoyed watching Donegal High School’s performance of Footloose. The cast and crew did a great job and while watching it I realized there are a lot of lessons we can learn from this show.

   The whole story is basically about people going against the church/the town council’s law that rock and roll and dancing is forbidden. This seems really bad, but is it? I’ve said time and time again that anything can be used to glorify God. Dancing and music can be used to glorify God. Now, some people do not glorify God through dancing and music. But, that does not change the fact that these things can be used to glorify God. Just look at Sight and Sound or Christian Music.

   Also the church in this story, mainly Reverend Shaw Moore, took it upon themselves to make rules that are not God’s rules. Those rules were not found in the Bible. It does not say “thou shalt not dance” in the Bible. Now, I’m all for rules of prevention like Eve saying they could not touch the tree, even though God only said you may not eat of the tree. But, that does not mean that dance should be eliminated completely. Dance and music is a good way to relieve stress and express yourself. The reverend just could not see that part of it though. And he had a fairly good reason why he did not like dancing but you will have to see the musical to find that out.

   Finally, in this performance, the church is painted as judgmental and it is true that sometimes we are judgmental. But, that is all society sees about the church. They think that we are judgmental hypocrites. The only way to get past that is to be kind to others. I’m not saying that we should not keep others accountable. But, we need to take a hard look at ourselves before we say to someone else you should not be doing that. We cannot think we are perfect because we are not. Thankfully we have a savior who is perfect, who can take away our sins. That’s what we need to focus on.

   So, do you realize that everything can be used to glorify God? Are you ever tempted to make rules that are not God’s rules? Are you quick to judge others before you check yourself?

   1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 7:1-5, Galatians 6:1-5

   Shout out to those in the Donegal High School performance of Footloose (especially Dr. Frisbee, Elsa, and Ten ;). There is one more performance Sunday March 12 at 2 pm. I encourage those of you who can make it to come out.