Resist Sin

I went to run at the park today and took a little break to sit on the bench to think and pray. I was sitting there watching the ducks, one duck in particular.Now this duck was a warrior, he was standing his ground when any other duck would come near. He would fight, bite do anything to scare them off. This duck reminded me of what I should do when any sin comes my way. When the devil tries to tempt me with sin I shall stand my ground and fight him off!
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."Ephesians 6:10-17
God and his mighty power will give us the strength to fight off temptation and he will also never gives us more than we can handle.
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted^[ beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."  1 Corinthians 10:13
Just like that duck I will fight off all sin that Satan tries to throw my way, because I know I have a fight worth fighting for and a God who is all powerful.

Beautiful

Today one of my youth girls challenged me to not wear make-up with her this week. She wanted to do this to show the true beauty God made her to be. Now that is beautiful, a young girl so in tune with God that she wants to be who he made her to be. The only beauty our father sees does not come from our outward appearance. God sees what is on the inside, and that is truly what makes you beautiful.
1 Samuel 16:7 "But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn't make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person's thoughts and intentions."
We all can feel imperfect at times, but the next time you start to compare the way you look to someone else or look in the mirror walk away. Stop compulsive exercising and dieting to lose weight, shut the magazines and turn off the TV that says your only pretty if you look a certain way. Shut your eyes and listen. More precious than any fairy tale is this truth. Your Prince has spoken and he is so in love with you!
Psalm 45:11 "The king is enthralled by your beauty." Let your true beauty show, let God make you totally beautiful!

Francesca Battistelli - This Is The Stuff

Its good to remember that he uses everything, and that through everything small or big we are still extremely blessed!

Gentle Hands

God uses his gentle hands to guide us, he never lets go and always knows the path. I on the other hand did not know the plan, and I did not like it one bit. Six months ago I thought my world was turned upside down, but little did I know God was directing me towards something I NEVER would have imagined. He had to do it gentle because if he would have just let me have it all at once I would have ran as fast as I could have. The plan that is unfolding right before my eyes is beautiful, but it did not always look that way. I got frustrated, lost, confused.. just to name a few. I questioned why he was doing this, why the life I had planned got turned upside down. It got turned upside down because he had better plans. My heart was with kids, I loved working with the youth but I never saw that as a job. I dreamed about it but I was scared, I never thought God would choose me but he did. He opened door after door, and I just knew it was him directing my steps. Proverbs 16:9 "A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
I now have the greatest opportunity to be a intern at my church, and go to a great school and it is all because of his guidance.
The last few days have been some of the greatest and rewarding days of my life, because after the storm I can see the plan he knew all along. I wouldn't change the path for anything, at the time I didn't know why but now I see that his gentle hands were at work the whole time to guide me to the unimaginable.
Psalm 73:24 "You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory."

Full Life

I taught a lesson last night at the Landing over hope, and a fulfilled life. I had the kids read John 10:10 Which is "¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. " In this chapter God is referring to his sheep, and that if they enter into his gate will be saved and have a full life. What is a full life to our society today? I asked the kids that questions, I had water, grass and branches and said this is what sheep need to survive what are the three things we need as humans. The answers were good they said food, water, and shelter. But they left out of the main one, the one that created it all. The one that allows us to have those things. The world tells us to focus our attention else where, and that other things beside Christ are what we need to have a positive life. Those are lies, I searched for a long time in the things of this world that are supposed to fill you. Believe me they don't, you may be satisfied for a little bit but never truly fulfilled. Only Christ can truly satisfy that longing in our heart, and he wants to. He never leaves and wants the best for us.
Psalm 37:4 "Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Take time

 Jesus calling today talked about spending time with him. To sum it up we need to trust him enough to spend time everyday with him, pushing back the demands of everyday. Don't feel guilty spending time with him, and pushing back other things because this is pleasing to him. Because he is omnipotent, he is able to bend time and events in our favor. You'll find you can accomplish more in less time, after we have spent time with our father. When we align our perspective with him we can sort out what is important and what is not. We shouldn't be on the go always, and sometimes the things we do in his name have no value in his kingdom. To avoid doing meaningless work we have to stay in direct communication with him.
Psalm 32:8 'Let me give you some good advice, I'm looking you in the eye and giving it to you straight."

Michelle Bonilla - "Your Show" from NEW In Spite of Me album available now!

He forgives

Your mind, your conscience, your heart tells you God can't forgive you. But you know deep down that God's grace is greater than our sin. It has to be! Otherwise we all live in vain! Is anything to hard for God? Anything too big for him? Any sin too great for him to forgive? It would be blasphemy to say so. If you are the one who can commit a sin too great for God to forgive you are above God. He forgives, and he changes us. He is good!

He is everything.

Honestly I have felt pretty worn down the last couple of days. I have always been very hard on myself, and expected a lot.I try to be perfect for God because in the past I've been very far from. I get stuck in the worlds view that I need to earn God's love, but I don't. That isn't how God works, and when I defeat myself because I feel I'm not enough I clearly do not understand who God is.
Psalm 103:3-18 " He forgives your sins-every one. He heals your diseases- every one. He redeems you from hell-saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy- a paradise crown. He wraps you in goodness-beauty eternal. He renews your youth- you're always young in his presence.
GOD makes everything come out right; he puts victims back on their feet. He showed Moses how he went about his work, opened up his plans to all Israel. GOD is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, he's rich in love. He doesn't endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever. He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins. As parents feel for their children, GOD feels for those who fear him. He knows us inside and out, keeps in mind that we're made of mud. Men and women don't live very long; like wildflowers they spring up and blossom, But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here. GOD's love, though, is ever and always, eternally present to all who fear him, making everything right for them and their children as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said."
I don't have to be enough for him, I don't have to fret over the past, present, or the future when things start to weigh me down.When we become weary because our journey has been to much he wants us to find rest and refreshment in him. He fits everything into a pattern for good, including the things we wish were different. He wants us to start from his day on, accepting that we are right where he wants us to be. We just have to remain attentive to him, let him guide us and remember who he is. He is love, he is forgiveness, and grace. He does not care who we where, who we are, but he does care who we are going to be.

Weak

The recent snow storm shows just how weak we are as humans and have no control over what happens. If we did have control I'm sure the weather right now would be 70, BUT we don't. He is in control, he controls everything. But yet we think we are strong enough to brave the storm alone, and we get stuck just like a lot of people did trying to brave this storm when they were advised not to. God advises us to bring our weaknesses to him and receive his peace. We need to accept our self and our circumstances as they are as he does. We get so consumed with planning out our future but instead we should be thankful and trust him who can guide us through everyday. We will not notice our weaknesses when we focus on him because he makes us strong.
Psalm 29:11 " God makes his people strong. God gives his people peace."
He guides us step by step on a beautiful journey he has planned for us. Making us strong when we are weak, taking our fears away when we focus on him.
Numbers 6:24-26 " God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you. God look you full in the face and make you prosper."