Rough Patch

So... it's been an interesting couple of days. Yesterday I found out that one of my best friends will be moving to Arizona in less than 2 months, and that one of my uncles probably has throat cancer. It's hard to really think about either of these situations without getting emotional. Although both make me sad, I know that God will be working in both of their lives. I ask that you would pray for them, that God's hand will be on them and that His will be done. I know that God is moving in my friend's life. He has been accepted to a small, private, Christian college where he will be majoring in Christian Ministries. He feels like God is calling him to become a missionary. I know that he will need God's strength and guidance as he pursues this career. As for my uncle, I know that he will need God's comfort and healing, if that be God's will for him. Sometimes it's hard to glorify God when things get rough, but it's during those times that you really have to live in the moment. Live and love as much as you possibly can. And even more than that, make sure that you're showing God's love. I think about how much time I'll have left with my friend and my uncle. How much time do I really have left with any of my family or friends? God tells us that we aren't promised tomorrow. In the end, I have to keep reminding myself that I may not know what tomorrow holds, but I do know who holds tomorrow. And I know that as long as I am doing God's will and living my life for Him, He will not withhold Himself from me. We sang this song at my small group meeting tonight, and it really helped me to be more at peace with these situations.

Safe - Phil Wickham

Verse:
To the one who's dreams are falling all apart
And all you're left with is a tired and broken heart
I can tell by your eyes you think your on your own
but you're not all alone

Have you heard of the One who can calm the raging seas
Give sight to the blind, pull the lame up to their feet
With a love so strong he'll never let you go
oh you're not alone

Chorus:
You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms

Verse 2:
Did you know that the voice that brings the dead to life
Is the very same voice that calls you to rise
So hear Him now He's calling you home
You will never be alone

Chorus:
You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms

Bridge:
These are the hands that built the mountains
the hands that calm the seas
These are the arms that hold the heavens
they are holding you and me

These are hands that healed the leper
Pulled the lame up to their feet
These are the arms that were nailed to a cross
to break our chains and set us free

Chorus:
You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms


It just reminds me that not matter what happens in my life, in my friend's life, or in my uncle's life, we will all be safe in God's arms because we all know Him as our personal savior.

Psalm 119:75-77 - I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.

Isaiah 51:12-16 - "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeon, nor will they lack bread. For I am the LORD your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves roar -- the LORD Almighty is his name. I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand -- I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion, 'You are my people.'"

It's comforting to know that the God who made the heavens and the earth is holding me together. No matter what, I know that God will care for me. I know that these hard times in our lives are the times that make us stronger and increase our faith in God and our love for God. He will never give us something that He will not equip us to handle.

Please be in prayer for my friend, my uncle, and I, as well as our families as we go through the rest of this year and start the new year.

God Bless,
Taylor

God Never Moves. Only I do.

We all go through times of uncertainty. There are many uncertain times talked about in the Bible. For example, God told Abram to pack up all of his things and allow himself to be led to a new land. Consider that for a second. Would you be willing to do that for God if He asked you to? How would that make you feel?
Proverbs 27:1 – Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
God tells us not to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will take care of itself. We need to live today for today and COMPLETELY for God!
That goes along with the fact that we should make sure that we put God into all of our plans. Without Him, our plans are useless and foolish. How can we do anything without Him and try to claim that it is for His glory that we are here?
We need to constantly remember that were it not for God we would have nothing. He is our All in All.
As Christians, we are to be different. We should be separate from this world even though we are dwelling in it right now.
We need to be praying for God to give us strength to do His will. Not ours.
There will be uncertain times in our journeys. There will be times when we lose our way and we feel lost.
But the most important thing to remember during those times is that God didn’t go anywhere. God is always holding us. We may lose sight of Him and His will, but He never loses sight of us. He is constantly calling to us and trying to keep us on track.
I have to be reminded of this sometimes. I feel like I’m just lost and I don’t know which way is up. It feels like I don’t even know where to begin. But those are the times when I have to remember that it doesn’t matter if I don’t know where to start, because God knows where I am. He knows what I need to do. AND He will tell me if I just take the time to listen.
Sometimes I feel like I seriously need to refocus my life. It’s so easy to be pulled away by the distractions in this world. But God isn’t going anywhere. He will always be here to guide me. And to find me when I get off track.
Please keep this in mind at times when you feel like you don’t know where to turn or what to do. God knows.

God Bless,
Taylor

God's Will

Where there's a will there's a way. Right?
Isn't that what everyone says?

Well then if it's God's will, then there certainly is a way.
So why do we doubt Him? Why do we stifle His attempts to use us to fulfill His will? How could we ever even start to think that we could do things better than God?
The most incredible thing that we will ever be able to do is pray that God's will be done in and through us. He knows what needs to happen, and He surely knows the way that He wants those things to happen.

There are a gazoodle of places in the Bible where God talks about how He will do things, and He always makes it happen.

Genesis 2:18
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Genesis 6:7
And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Genesis 6:18
But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee.Genesis 7:4
For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

Think about it. Those three verses were only from the very first chapter in the Bible!

God has a will for each of us. But more importantly, God has a way to make His will happen in our lives if we'll just let Him work.

What are you doing to prevent God from being able to do His will in your life?

God Bless,
Taylor

Anger. What do I do with it?

Sometimes, I get so angry that I feel like throwing things against the wall, or… punching something. I know that this isn't how God wants me to feel. So I turned to His word and this is what I found.

Ephesians 4:26-32 (KJV) – Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the things which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:26-32 (NIV) – In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

As humans, a lot of time we feel like it's our responsibility to be angry and seek at least some kind of outlet, if not full out revenge. But God tells us that this isn't our responsibility. It is His. He knows what injustices we have suffered. He knows the pain and anger that we feel. And HE knows how to handle it much better than we could ever begin to understand. In Ephesians, the Bible continues on in instructing us on how we should live.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (KJV) – Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NIV) – Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

I think that the best thing to do with our anger is to turn it over to God. We need to trust Him enough to know that He will do what is right, even if we don't see the effects of His judgment. If we hold all of our anger inside of us and let it build, we are giving the devil a foothold in our lives. We're giving him a way to tear at us and turn us away from God. We need to learn to turn everything over to God, forgive, forget about it, and move on.

Are you holding anger? Are you upset with a friend? Turn it over to God and let Him handle it. He knows what is best.

God Bless,

Taylor

I Love Laminin!

Everything Falls – Fee

You said, You’d never leave or forsake me
When You said, this life is gonna shake me
And You said, this world is gonna bring trouble on my soul
This I know

When everything falls apart
Your arms hold me together
When everything falls apart
You’re the only hope for this heart
When everything falls apart
And my strength is gone
I find you mighty and strong
You keep holding on
You keep holding on

When I see, darkness all around me
When I see, tragedy has found me
I still believe, Your faithful arms will never let me go
Still I know

When everything falls apart
Your arms hold me together
When everything falls apart
You’re the only hope for this heart
When everything falls apart
And my strength is gone
I find You mighty and strong
You keep holding on
You keep holding on

Darkness will last for the night
But hope is rising with the sun
Rising with the sun
There will be storms in this life
But I know You will overcome
You will overcome

When everything falls apart
Your arms hold me together
When everything falls apart
You’re the only hope for this heart
When everything falls apart
And my strength is gone
I find you mighty and strong
You keep holding on

When everything falls apart
Your arms hold me together
When everything falls apart
You’re the only hope for this heart
When everything falls apart
And my strength is gone
I find you mighty and strong
You keep holding on
You keep holding on


God is the only thing that holds us together. He created each and every one of us, and He holds us in His hands. Without Him, we would be nothing. Without Him, we would not exist.
Do you ever stop to think about exactly how many things take place in your body on a daily basis? How many things go on just so that you are able to breathe? So that your heart can supply the necessary blood and nutrients to our cells? These are things that we take for granted every day of our lives. But God doesn’t. He knows the inner workings of each and every one of us, and He is ultimately the one who holds us together. Literally.

Colossians 1:15-17 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

I’m going to ask you to take 9 minutes out of your life right now to watch this video. I promise that it will move you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4
(If this link doesn’t work, just google “Louie Giglio Laminin”)

Just take a minute and thank God for His amazingness! His awesomeness. Thank Him for holding us together each and every day.

God Bless,
Taylor

Lead Me To The Cross

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord, I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me
Lead me to the cross


How on fire are you for God?

God Bless,
Taylor

God's Love

I am about to start a small group study of the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. The first chapter is all about how big God is and how big His love for us is. It is amazing to think that the same God who created the universe also created the earthworm and EVERYTHING in between. He is the same God who loves each and every one of us SO MUCH that He sent His son to die on the cross for us.

~Matthew 10:27-33 (NIV) - What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be aftraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

God loves us so much that He knows how many hairs are on our heads. He takes notice of the tiny, insignificant things in our lives. Why, then, do we doubt that He cares about us when hard times come? Why do we forget that He never leaves us? He never loses track of us. He knows exactly what we're going through, and it's up to us to remember to look to Him for the guidance to get through whatever situation we're in.

~Proverbs 15:3 (NIV) - The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

God knows where you are right now. He knows exactly what you need in your life. Can you trust Him enough to ask him for guidance and then follow His words to you?

~Psalm 46:10-11 (KJV) - Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

God will never leave you, never forsake you. All we have to do is place our trust and our faith in Him.

God Bless,
Taylor

Creationism v. Evolution

1 Peter 3:15 - But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear

This was the message delivered at BCM tonight. We had a guest speaker, Mr. Robert Carter, who talked about basic Biblical truths that support creationism over evolution. My notes are in bullet format, so that's what I'm going to do here. I will try to elaborate on everything as much as I can.

~Scientists tell us that the world is billions of years old. They use the layers of rock (1 layer = 1 year theory) to trick people into believing that the world is much older than it is. This way they can explain evolution as a slow and gradual process and they can leave out God and His miracle creation of our planet.
~John 3:12 - If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
~If we can't believe what God tells us about creating the earth, how can we grasp concepts like the Trinity and his plan of salvation for us?
~According to Biblical scientists, the world is approximately 6000 years old. Not billions of years.
~6 C's have happened since the beginning of time --> Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, and Cross. The last C has yet to happen --> Consummation
~Genesis gives us explanations for a lot of historical happenings.
~Romans 5:12 - Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Death through Adam, Life through Christ)
~Death and suffering are punishments for SIN. There is a reason for them.
~Genesis 2:15-17 - And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
~Non-creationists will try to use this against Christians. They'll say, "God told Adam that if he ate off that tree that he'd die. But God didn't kill him right when he ate the fruit, so therefore God must have been lying." But God didn't say that Adam would die immediately. Rather, after Adam ate the fruit, and introduced sin into the world, God was forced to introduce death to the world. We believe that before the sin, there was no death. There was no reason for death. God had created this world and called it "very good."
~1 Corinthian 15:26 - The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
~The spirit is eternal and everlasting, but the body is finite and will pass away.
~Genesis 3:17 - And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life
~Romans 8:22 (NIV) - We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
~God plainly tells us that humankind suffers and dies because of Adam and his sin.
~Revelation 21:4 - And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
~Revelation gives us hope that one day, after Christ returns, there will be no more death, pain, or suffering. Isn't that an amazing promise? Can you even imagine what your life would be like without those things?
~Out of the people that call themselves Christians, 70% will stop claiming Christianity by the time they graduate from college. Much of this is attributable to the teachings of evolution in science classes.
~There are 2 kinds of science: Operational (experimental) and Historical
~Operational Science is observable, testable, repeatable, and doable in the present day. (Keep in mind that most branches of science were originally founded by Bible believing Christians)
~Historical Science - no observers, not repeatable, only found in the past.
~Something that you might be taught goes like this --> "Here is a dinosaur bone. It is hard, physical evidence that something lived here. I interpret that it is 70,000,000 years old. This interpretation is completely based on assumption and plausible information that has been taught. (Remember, there are no age tags on dinosaur bones and fossils)
~Genesis 1:31 - And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
~God created the entire universe in six days. He did not slowly and gradually create.
~Genesis 6:11-13 - The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked up on the earth, and behold, it is corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
~God saw that the earth was filled with corruption and sin and therefore told Noah that He was going to destroy it with a great flood.
~Genesis 7:11-12;21-22 - In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
~God describes, with great detail, the events of the great flood throughout Genesis chapters 7, 8, and 9. This writing is historical and true because God cannot lie. He gives us a lot of description about what happened, just like you would find in a history textbook.
~Remember, Noah's flood destroyed the earth. It was not a gentle rain. It was tumultuous and crashing.
~Noah was in the ark. It was a huge (about 140 meters long) and extremely stable structure. It did not look like the modern day, story book description. He was saved because he listened to God's instructions.
~But how does this fit in with our earth's history?
~"Polystrate fossils are formed by rapid sedimentation. These fossils are of structures and creatures in their upright positions. If the fossils were formed over hundreds of years, the structures and animals would have fallen over in death, but since they are found upright and standing, it is correct to believe that they were buried rapidly. Likely, there were buried in mud. Mud that was the product of a fantastic amount of rain.
~See where we're going with this?
~Scientists have found fossilized trees that were upright. Trees that had no branches or limbs. It is believe that these trees were ripped out of the ground and thrown about before being buried quickly (upright because the base of the trunk is the heaviest) in mud.
~Psalm 104:7-9 (NIV) - But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.
~This is a description of erosion. Massive amounts of erosion. Enough erosion and sedimentation to cause enough mud to rapidly bury things. It is scientific fact that there are miles of sediment at the bottom of oceans and gulfs. Much of that was probably washed down there as the flood waters receded andland began to dry out again.
~Evolutionary scientists try to tell us that millions of rock layers have built up over millions of years. It is obvious, however, that erosion is eating away these rocks. So we can correctly conclude that something besides natural and common erosion caused all these rocks to form. Something else had to happen to form these rock structures.
~A good operational science example of the forming of large rock masses is the 1980 eruption of Mt. Saint Helen. Within 2 years giant rock structures were formed from the falling and settling of volcanic rock and ash. This did not happen over millions of years. It happened in 2.
~There is an attraction here called "The Little Grand Canyon of Georgia." It was formed by water erosion. Can you imagine what kind of landscape changes the flood made?
~Still having a hard time wrapping your head around this? Okay. Let's look at how fossils are made. Fossils only form under special conditions. In order for a complete fossil to be formed, the thing being fossilized must be buried rapidly.
~Many fossilized animals are found in a position where their head is back and their chests are bowed forward. This is the classic suffocation pose. These animals were buried in mud very rapidly and suffocated to death in a lot of cases.
~ There are even fossils of octopi and jellyfish (soft animals). It is also interesting to see that the fossilized octopi and jellyfish are exactly the same or startlingly similar to today's octopi and jellyfish. There is no evidence of evolution in the fossil record.
~What about "cave men?"
~If you look at the picture of a "cave man," you will find that his skeleton will look A LOT like a human skeleton. Many times, cave men are positioned with their knees bent and their shoulders hunched to make them look more like monkeys, but you can't walk or function in a position like that and neither could they. Cave men were completely human. They were a bit taller and larger than average humans today, but they were more conditioned to live in their time period. They needed to be strong and fast to survive. There is no evidence that "cave men" were not fully human. They weren't primitive beings. They were just early.
~Neanderthals are human and are related to people living in Eurasia. They are Eurasian ancestors, and therefore most of our ancestors as well. Reconstructions have been done on neanderthal skulls and with the DNA processing that we have now, it has been found that some neanderthals had green eyes and even freckles.
~So why are there different races in humans today?
~The answer is simply genetics. We all came from Adam and Eve. They are the parents of the earth. Farther down the line, we all stemmed from Noah, since everyone was killed except for him, his wife, and his children. If you'll notice, every human being is a shade of brown. We don't come in red or purple or blue. Different shades of brown are very easy to explain with simple genetics.
~Let's assume Adam and Eve had skin color genes of AaBb (the lower case letters being code for lighter skin and the upper case letters being code for darker skin). If they had 4 children, they could have looked like this --> #1) aabb (very light skin), #2) aaBb (medium light skin), #3) AaBb (medium dark skin), #4) AABB (very dark skin).
~Even though these 4 children had the same parents, they all had different skin colors. Therefore we can conclude that even though humans can look radically different, there is only one true race, since we all stemmed from a common ancestor. Also, it is important to note that according to Bible scholars, Noah was only about 150 generations ago. All the different skin colors branched out from him and his family.
~Need more proof? Check this out. http://creation.com/two-tone-twins
~I think that it's pretty obvious that we don't need to make up billions of years to explain the earth's history.

I hope that this has opened your eyes to an alternative perspective to the evolution that it taught in a lot of school settings, or maybe that it has reinforced what you already believe. If there is anything that is unclear, or that you would like more of an explanation on, please don't hesitate to comment. =)

God Bless,
Taylor

Beauty

Have you ever taken a moment to step outside and just look at the world? Taken a moment to just stop and stare at God's masterpiece? Sometimes when we get too caught up in life, we forget all the beauty around us. I mean... I could lay down in God's green grass and stare up as His magnificent clouds all day, and as day turned to night I could look up at the stars that God has placed in the sky one by one. As I was outside today, walking and looking at the clouds, trees, flowers, everything, I was reminded of the verse in Matthew that talks about how God provides for the birds and how He provides so much more for us as His children.

Matthew 6:25 - Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; not yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

God says it all, right there. We, as Gentiles, worry about ALL of these things. I know that there are a lot of times that I, personally, worry about too many things. I worry about money. I worry about school. I worry about life in general. But I know that I have no reason to worry about anything. I'm God's child and He cares about me more than I could ever imagine! I know deep down that He will supply all my needs and that He will never face me with a challenge that He won't equip me for. I just have to constantly be seeking His guidance and wisdom.

So this is my challenge for you: When you get discouraged or worried about this life, try to remember that God has a plan for you, and that everything happens for a reason. Our purpose in life is to further God's kingdom, and He knows exactly what we need to do for Him. There is always a plan, even if we don't know what it is.

God Bless,
Taylor

Lose Your Soul?

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. ~Matthew 8:34-38

If you had to give something in order to save your soul, what would you give? What could we Possibly give that would be good enough? What exists that would be good enough? We have nothing that we could give God that would be good enough to save ourselves. That's why He had to send His own son to save us. So why on earth would we want to fill our lives with the things of this world? Why would we choose to gorge ourselves with things that are meaningless to God? Being rich in this life will get you nowhere when it comes to Heaven. Having fancy cars, houses, expensive food and clothing... What does any of that mean to God? All He wants is us. He wants all of us. All that He asks is that we dedicate our lives to Him. Does He deserve any less? After He gave up His son to walk on this earth and feel our pain. After He sent His son to DIE for us so that we have a door to Heaven. We do live in an adulterous and sinful generation. Increasingly so. And it is up to us as Christians to hold onto our faith. It's up to us to cling to God and His promises and to spread them as far as He would have us to.

These verses always remind me of the Casting Crowns song "American Dream." It's a good song. You should check it out. =)

God Bless,
Taylor

Straight and Narrow

So... I have been severly lacking in the blog department. Summer and its complete lack of a steady schedule have definitely thrown me off the band wagon. If I've learned anything from the time I last wrote a blog until now, it's that humans are fickle and weak. We can easily be derailed and redirected. However, I guess that makes a lot of sense in regard to the fact that Jesus tells us, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." ~Matthew 7:13-14
Anyone can do the things that she wants to, but it takes a strong and dedicated person to do the will of the Lord. I think of all the great things that I have, all the things God has given me, and I wonder where I would be without Him. It doesn't take much thought to see that I would be in a much different, much worse, place without His hand at work in my life. Because of this, I get angry with myself for being so fickle. I get angry for not putting God first in my life each and every day. I know that as a human being I make, and will continue to make, mistakes. I wish that there was a way that I could be perfect for God, but I know that wish won't become a reality until I'm with Him face to face. So until then, I will continue to walk, stumble, fall, get back up, and walk for Him again. I need to become better at laying down my own life daily and picking up the cross. God never said this life would be easy, but it will be worth it when I get to spend forever with Him in eternity. I know that God will never bring me to something that He won't take me through. I just have to remember that He is in control of my life. I have to remember that I have been bought with a price, and that I am no longer my own.

God Bless,
Taylor

What Right Do We Have...

I was thinking today about God and about the relationship we're supposed to have with Him. More specifically, I was thinking about how, as Christians, we sometimes get the idea in our heads that God is only with us or for us when He makes everything work out just like we had it planned out in our heads. And how sometimes we get angry, or at least get close to getting angry, with God at times when He shows us something that we want to do and can't, or that we don't want to do and have to do. But what gives us the right to be mad at God just because something doesn't work out exactly how WE would like it to? And, the flip side to that is, what gives us the right to ONLY be happy when God puts us into situations that we want to be in? He's GOD. He knows what is best for us. And we should be happy no matter what situation He puts us in, as long as it is truly Him who is putting us there. We have no right to complain when we don't get things just the way we wanted them, and we have no right to not be happy in any situation that God puts us in. We should praise and thank Him regardless of what our current situation is. If we are in the place that God wants us to be in, He put us there for a reason, and that is indeed where we are supposed to be. Nothing will ever work out exactly as we plan it, because we're not God. We can't see all the variables, all the outcomes, all the things that could happen if things worked out the way WE wanted them to. But God CAN see EVERYTHING! He knows exactly where we should be, what we should be doing, and when we should be doing it. There is nothing that He doesn't know. And as His children, He wants the best for each and every one of us. There is no doubting that. So while we may not always particularly like the situations we are in, we should be praising God because He is the one that put us there, and He has a reason for doing so. We should praise Him all the time: when things work out the way we would have liked them to, and when they don't work out as we planned.

Job 42:2 - "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted."

Psalm 21:30 - There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.

If there's anything that I would want us to keep in mind, it's that our plans are nothing compared to God's plans. He knows what is best for you and for me. And on top of that, He knows exactly what needs to happen in us, for us, with us, in order for us to get to where He would have us to be.

God Bless,
Taylor

Be An Example

As Christians, our number one goal in life should be to follow God and to be in His will. Part of this, for every Christian, is living a Godly life. We are chosen by God to be an example. We are to be examples for non-Christians, but more importantly, we should be an example for our Christian brothers and sisters.

What does this mean exactly?
Well, there are plenty of things that we probably already do that are a good foundation. Going to church whenever the doors are open. Volunteering and spending time giving back to God. Reading the Bible. Doing a devotional. Helping those around us and even those we don't know. Being slow to anger. Always having a kind word to say. Praying. And most importantly, wanting God's will for our lives more than we desire our own will for our lives.
That one's not always so easy, especially when we get down farther into God's word.

The word "example" is found 11 times in the King James Version of the Bible. More than half are related to the exact thing I am talking about.

John 13:15, 1 Corinthians 10:6, 1 Corinthians 10:11, 1 Timothy 4:12, Hebrews 4:11, James 5:10, 1 Peter 2:21, 1 Peter 5:3
Each of these 8 verses contains the word "example." Now, I could just give you the verses, but I think that they are a lot stronger when they are in context. This is going to be rather lengthy, but reading it and understanding it is worth the time.

John 13:12-17 - So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.

1 Corinthians 10:1-14 - Moreoever, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. Bur with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolators, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Now all these thigns happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

1 Timothy 4:11-16 - These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect no the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands in the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Hebrews 4:1-12 - Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, AS I HAVE SWORN IN MY WRATH, IF THEY SHALL ENTER INTO MY REST: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, AND GOD DID REST THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS. And in this place again, IF THEY SHALL ENTER INTO MY REST. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, TO DAY IF YE WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, HARDEN NOT YOUR HEARTS. For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

James 5 - Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lieved in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton: ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prohetes, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea by yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. Is any among you afflicted: let him pray. Is any merry: let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 2:15-25 - For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

1 Peter 5:1-11 - The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be viligant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. A-men.

As I read through these verses, it is clear to me how important it is for me to "talk the talk AND walk the walk" that God is leading me to do.
There are a lot of more... controversial topics related to this subject. The biggest in my mind is alcohol. I have struggled with the words and the examples to present to those around me in order to show them why I have chosen to not drink alcohol, and why I believe that they should do the same.

Yesterday at lunch, my mom told my family a story about a woman she had heard on the radio. This woman used to drink. The woman told her story of why she then decided to give up drinking. Her reason? She read in the Bible how, as a Christian, she was to be an example to her brothers and sisters and that she was not to be a stumbling block to them. Then she thought about how her Christian brothers and sisters watch her and see the example of the things that she does. If she was out drinking and a Christian saw her, he or she might think that drinking was an acceptable thing to do. Later on that Christian might drink and then attempt to drive home. That Christian then might cause a car accident and kill themselves and/or others involved in the accident.
That day, the woman decided that she could no longer drink alcohol, because she is an example and she would feel responsible for the death of that Christian who saw her drinking and then decided to drink.

I, personally, think that this is an amazing story. And an amazing act of God that He showed this woman this revelation and has since then allowed her to share her story with others. I can't make up your mind for you. All I can do is present the facts that I have found in my own life. I hope that my life will be a shining example for Jesus Christ. I know that at times I will slip up. I am just a human being. But I also know that with God's help, I can live a live that is a better example for Him than I could ever accomplish by trying to live a good life on my own. I pray that He will speak to hearts today as He has spoken to my own.

God Bless,
Taylor

HeartRush

Jesus loved me enough to die a cruel and horrible death on the cross for me. He loves me enough to care for my and guide my footsteps through this world that we are a part of for a short time. He loved me enough to endure torment after torment from His own people, so that I might have life in Him. He loves me enough that He has called me to Him and has prepared a place for me in Heaven. He loves us with a love that we cannot even begin to fathom. A love so strong that no man can pluck us from His hands. A love that we are supposed to strive for here on Earth. A love that we are supposed to show to every person around us. We are His children, and we are called to show His love to our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as those people who are not yet intimate with Him.
I think that we sometimes forget that God loves us all the same. He sent Jesus to this earth to die for all of us. Yeah. Every single one of us. We are all sinners. We are all undeserving pf God's love, but the amazing thing is that no matter how bad we have been, are, or will be God loves us. And every one of us should rejoice in that fact. Because without God's undying, unchanging love for us we would have nothing. We would have Nothing. And on top of that, we would have no hope of ever gaining anything. But because God loves us and sent His son to die for us, we can have everything. AND we get to look forward to ruling and reigning WITH God and Jesus themselves in Heaven one day. We will have mansions and streets of gold. Heaven will be better than any place on Earth could ever hope to be. I can't wait for the day when I will see God's face looking down at me and welcoming me into my eternal home. A place where there are no tears, no illnesses, no pain. A place where my only job will be to praise God for the rest of time. A place where I will be made perfect.
But until I get there, it is my job, and Your job, to spread God's word as far as we possibly can. We are to be lights for Him and we ought to live lives where others can see Christ in us.
That is my only goal worth striving for.

What are you striving for today? Is it oneness with God? If it isn't, you may need to rethink your priorities.

God Bless,
Taylor

Falling on my knees in worship
Giving all I am to seek Your face
Lord all I am is Yours

My whole life I place in Your hands
God of Mercy humbled I bow down
In Your presence at Your throne

I called
You answered
And You came to my rescue and I
wanna be where You are

My whole life I place in Your hands
God of Mercy humbled I bow down
In Your presence at Your throne

I called
You answered
And You came to my rescue and I
wanna be where You are

I called
You answered
And You came to my rescue and I
wanna be where You are

In my life
be lifted high
In our world
be lifted high
In our love
be lifted high

High Lord, High Lord

In my life
be lifted high
In our world
be lifted high
In our love
be lifted higher, higher

In my life
be lifted high
In our world
be lifted high
In our love
be lifted high

I called
You answered
And You came my rescue and I
wanna be where You are

~Came To My Rescue - Hillsong United


This was a song that we sang at BCM on Monday. I've been listening to it pretty much nonstop since then. I think it speaks volumes about our need for Christ and how we should live our lives for Christ. It's so easy to get caught up in the day to day life we lead here on Earth, and forget about our Heavenly Father. When in actuality, our lives should be about living for Him every moment of every day. It is my hope and my goal that "In my life [He will] be lifted high." End of story.
I hope that you try to lift Him up in your everyday life as well.

God Bless,
Taylor

All of Me?

Last night at BCM, I was throughly convicted. I am not living my life 100% for God. I mean, I'm a good person. I try to be the best friend that I can be. But I've been just cruising through life for a while. I know that give some of my time to God, but I've failed to really examine my life and see how much time I'm not giving to Him. The truth is, He wants all of me. Not 25%. Not 50%. Not even 98%. He wants 100%. Here are just a few thoughts that I jotted down at BCM last night.


I am a failure.
I am a hypocrite.
I will never to be perfect.

But none of that matters, because no matter how bad I may be, God still loves me.

God sent His son to die for me.
He created me in His image.
He saved me and has wonderful plans for me.

I owe my life to Him.
He bought me for price.
I am not my own anymore.
I am His.

Who am I to try and find my own way?
Who am I to not listen to His voice?

I am nothing of myself, but EVERYTHING through Him.


Bear with me. I'm going to type these verses in the King James Version and the New International Version because I think that they are both necessary to understand the meaning here.
Romans 7:14-25 (KJV) - For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I now; what what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Romans 7:14-25 (NIV) - We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, what what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

I guess the most important thing that I've learned is that I need to be open to God's direction in my life. I need to think about my actions and my words every moment of every day to make sure I am doing and saying what God wants me to in every situation. It's not enough to only be a 2-day a week Christian. It's not enough to be a 5-day a week Christian. I need to be an every day of my life Christian. God deserves that from me. Well... actually He deserves a lot more than I would ever be capable of giving Him, but all He asks for is that I live my life for Him. All of me. All of the time.
I know that I'll mess up, and I will inevitably fail. But it is at those times, God is trying me and molding me into the person that He wants me to be. And no matter what I do, or how far off the path I may travel, He will always take me back. He loves me with more love than I could fathom and He created me to be His hands and feet. So that is what I will try to do.
I hope that maybe you will join me in leading a Christlike life for Him. We have an example. He sent His son to this earth not only to die for our sins, but also to live a perfect life. A life that we should all strive to live.

God Bless,
Taylor

Loss

The world lost a good person yesterday. Brandon Ward Kohler lost his life in an accident during his first college Spring Break. As I reflect on this tragedy, I can't help but think about the boy I knew. Brandon was a good person. He didn't always make the wisest decisions, but what 19-year old boy does? What I remember most was his smile and how he would go around hugging everyone. He loved his friends and his family and he is sorely missed. I am praying for his family and friends and I ask that you would too. My heart goes out to them and to anyone who has ever lost someone too soon. It breaks my heart that we won't get to see his smiling face again while we're on this earth. But I know that one day we'll meet him in the clouds and he'll be wearing the biggest smile we'll have ever seen. Until then we have to keep toiling here on earth. But while we wait and work, I hope that you'll keep these verses in mind:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for me, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ~Colossians 3:23-24

Please keep Brandon's friends and family in your prayers.
God Bless,
Taylor

Lead Me To The Cross

So, today was an especially busy day. I definitely did not accomplish everything that I had hoped to, but I feel like I was productive, so I guess that's enough. Anyway, I don't have much to say tonight, but I have had this song running through my head all day. So here it is:

Lead Me To The Cross

Savior I come
Quiet my soul
Remember
Redemption's hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord, I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, Lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and tried
Human
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord, I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Oh Lead me, Lead me to the cross

To Your heart
To Your heart
Lead me to Your heart
Lead me to Your heart

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord, I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, Lead me, Lead me to the cross


God Bless,
Taylor

Yielding

Sooo... my blog has been suffering severely. I've been busy lately... so busy in fact that more than a couple times I have even forgotten to do my devotional. Shame on me. In that same vein, I wish I could say that everything in my life is going smoothly, but of course, it's not. There is always something for me to worry about or get stuck on. Then there are the personal issues and family concerns. On top of those things, there is always more schoolwork than I would care to be doing. However, I KNOW that if I just turned EVERYTHING over to God, I could spend a lot less time doing/worrying about things that are trivial. I KNOW this. But knowing and DOING are two absolutely different things. I am happy to say that I only have 6 1/2 days, 6 classes, 3 meetings, and 3 hours of mentoring until my Spring Break officially starts. After SB starts, I will be bowling, listening to Michael Buble in concert, and going to Myrtle Beach for 4 days before I hang out with my bestie who goes to a different college. I know that I will enjoy my break A LOT, but I also know that I will enjoy it a lot more if I'm at peace with God.

Peace. The Merriam-Webster dictionary has this to say: A) a state of tranquillity or quiet B) freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions C) harmony in personal relations
I think that all of these are things that I can stand to gain by allowing God to run my life. I KNOW that He will do a better job of running my life than I can. Now I just have to learn how to let Him into my every action, my every thought, and my every word.

Today I'm taking the devotional from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswlad Chambers. It's called "Yielding."

Romans 6:16 - Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

The first thing I must be willing to admit when I begin to examine what controls and dominates me is that I am the one responsible for having yielded myself to whatever it may be. If I am a slave to myself, I amto blame because somewhere in the past I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because at some point in my life I yielded myself to Him.
If a child gives in to selfishness, he will find it to be the most enslaving tyranny on earth. There is no power within the human soul itself that is capable of breaking the bondage of the nature created by yielding. For example, yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust, and although you may hate yourself for having yielding, you become enslaved to that things. (Remember what lust is--"I must have it now," whether it is the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind.) No release or escapte from it will ever come from any human power, but only through the power of redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One who can break the dominating power in your life, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. "...He has anointed Me... to proclaim liberty to the captives..." (Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1).
When you yield to something, you will soon realize the tremendous control it has over you. Even though you say, "Oh, I can give up that habit whenever I like," you wil know you can't. You will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you willingly yielded to it. It is easy to sing, "He will break every fetter," while at the same time living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. But yielding to Jesus will break every kind of slavery in any person's life.


I have to put my life in His hands completely. I know that I haven't turned my life completely over to Him, and I know that it is hurting me along my way. It's easy to say one thing and do another. It is much harder to live the life you know that you are SUPPOSED to. I want my actions to match my words in EVERY aspect of my life.
I know that there are people out there who are in this boat with me. So I challenge you to yield your life to Christ.
I know His grace/mercy/love is sufficient for me.

God Bless,
Taylor

Look Up!

I'm taking this devotional straight from my Sunday School workbook. This workbook is about the prophesies that have yet to be fulfilled from the Bible. It talks about the Rapture and the fact that we are living in the days when Christ will return. As I was watching the news last night, I saw a blurb on the Chilean earthquake. My friend and I started talking about the prophesy of the end of days and we are both well aware that the Bible says that God will send earthquakes in the time before the Rapture. As we talked I found that I am not really looking forward to Jesus coming back and taking us home to Heaven. Well... that's not exactly right. I am excited about that part, but I'm scared about the fact of when He will actually come. I worry that I won't have had time to experience life in the ways that I want to. I wonder if I will have time to graduate from college. Will I find the love of my life? Will I have time to get married and have children? Will I get to have and teach my own classroom before He comes back? Then I opened my workbook and found this... article, so to say. It's something that I really need to think about, and I'm sure that it's something that others need to read too.


When my mom was a little girl, she walked to and from school every day with her brother. And every day on the way home she would stare intently at the sky. "Watch where you're going!" her older brother scolded her as she tripped on the sidewalk and stumbled into him, interrupting her gaze at the clouds. "I'm trying to be the first one to see Jesus when He comes back!" she explained to him. Excitement sparkled in her eyes as she told him of how magnificent and glorious the sky would be when her Savior returned to take her to Heaven.
Why is it so easy for a young child to simply look up without allowing other things to crowd her mind and cloud her excitement? How are children so unafraid to live in faith about the return of Christ? As we get older, thoughts of anticipation and excitement for eternity are easily strangled by fear or other idols in our lives. Instead of looking up, hoping to see Christ bursting forth, we are anxious about future events, or we push thoughts of Christ's return aside.
I have often shivered in fear when I read of future things. It is hard to even imagine what will occur. It is hard to understand anything different than what I know here on earth. It is easy to want to experience more on earth and to try and tell God what His plans should be, hoping that He will listen to me. "God, wait until I graduate from high school. Wait until I finish college. Wait until I start a career and a marriage. God, just wait until I can experience the joy of children. Wait until I'm ready for You to come."
But will there ever really be a time when you or I don't have something else we want to do? Will there ever be a time when we say, "Ok, God, I've checked off everything on my list. You can come now"? I must be brought back to the reality that God is not bound by time, and Christ's return is more important and exciting than anything I will ever experience or even imagine here on earth.
Until I submissively look to God change my heart, my heart will never naturally long for His return. The Bible talks about setting "your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Collossians 3:2). Luke 12:34 tells me that where my treasure is, my heart will also be. When I am wishing for anything other than to be with my Savior, it proves that my treasure is here on earth, and not in Heaven. Instead of desiring the awesomeness of what it will be like to worship God in Heaven, I simply desire moths and rust and everything that will not last. I am seeking happiness and joy in my circumstances here on earth, which is only dirt, instead of eternal happiness and complete joy with my Savior?
My thoughts and words reveal that I, like many Christians, have not embraced the reality that Christ promises to return at any moment. For centuries, Christians have lost their excitement for Christ's return, turning their eyes upon earthly things for temporal satisfaction. Many Christians expected Christ to return shortly after He ascended to Heaven, but when His return was delayed, many scoffed in unbelief, "walking after their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his coming?" (2 Peter 3:3-4). In Peter's second letter to the church, he reminded Christians that Christ has promised to return "as a thief in the night" (2 Peter 3:10), and admonished Christians to live every day as if Christ would come at any moment. Peter's encouragement to the church to change its thinking and way of living also applies to us today.
Peter explained that in order to be ready for the return of Christ, we must live holy and godly lives. Our daily behavior and actions must be motivated by the possibility of Christ returning at any moment. If we truly believe that He could come today, then we will behave in a way that pleases Him. And if we are striving to live a life characterized by holiness through His power, we will desire to worship Him with an attitude of reverence and respect. Our fearful shivers of the events to the end times will turn into praise to our Almighty God, Whose power will be revealed at His coming!
We will be ready for Christ's return not only by living holy and godly lives, but also by looking for His return. Just as God promises us of Christ's return, He also promises us that He will place His wrath upon those who have not repented and put their trust in Him (2 Peter 3:10-12). We know through His Word that God is "longsuffering not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). But we also know that not everyone will repent and put his or her trust in Jesus alone for salvation. It is sobering to think that some of my friends, family, or neighbors will experience God's wrath. And it is convincing that I often think that I'm too busy or too afraid to warn them of their coming judgment.
When I begin to ponder how beautiful, magnificent, and glorious it will be when Christ returns to take me home, my thoughts of fear and anxiety about the coming events begin to melt away. But until my life begins to reflect Him instead of desiring to accomplish my "checklist" here on earth, I will not be ready and looking for His return.
In order to be ready and to look for Christ's return, we must be willing to change. Having the desire to graduate high school, to go college, start a career and a marriage is not sinful in and of itself. But when those desires alone are what we seek after and live for and are not motivated by the desire to glorify God--the reason for our existence--they are only selfishness rooted in a prideful spirit.
So take a step back and look up with the eyes of a child. Does your life reflect holiness and godliness? Do you desire things of Heaven or things or earth? Can you truly say today, "I want to be the first one to see Jesus return"?
By Holly Leeper



I know that this is something that I need to work on in my life. I should be so filled with excitement that about Jesus' return that I shouldn't be able to contain myself! This is my God and my Savior who is coming back to take me to my eternal home. There should be nothing that I should look forward to more.

God Bless,
Taylor

Breaking the Chains

Tonight I am again pulling my material from Josh McDowell's Youth Devotions 2. The biggest thing that I personally got from this devotional is the key verse, but I am relaying the whole devotional to you because I know that someone out there needs more than just the key verse.

Break Free From Those Flimsy Chains
Ephesians 1:3-8 - Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.

You don't have to wonder why many kids grow up with a warped sense of their worth to God and to others--and a twisted sense of their true identity. Parents, teachers, the media, advertisers, and marketers can pummel into you the idea that your identity depends on how good you look, how well you perform, and how well you succeed. You can know better than that and still have a hard time shaking the thoughts that put you down or control how you act.
We're like the circus elephant whose leg is held to a stake with a bicycle chain. How can a flimsy chain control such a brawny animal? The elephant is locked up by a memory. As a baby, the elephant tried to break loose but wasn't strong enough. It hasn't forgotten that lesson. Even though the elephant could break the chain with a small yank, he rarely tries. He's conditioned to captivity. But notice this: If he does break away, he is almost impossible to control again.
How you think of yourself works the same way. Most of us are trained to think that how we look, perform, and achieve is all-important--so even when we know better, we're chained by that dumb idea. But God wants to set you free from the flimsy chains that keep you from realizing your full potential as God's unique, valued creation. God's truth is stronger than those chains. You can break free to be--and be glad to be--who God mae you.
An important part of understanding who you are involves getting into your head what God says about who you are.
First God tells you that you are his child. John 1:12 says, "To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." Try putting yourself in this verse: "I have believed God and accepted him. He has given me the right to be his child." Write these words on a card and place it where you can see it when you feel put down.
Then God says that you are chose. Ephesians 1:4 tells us, "He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Personalize that verse too: "I was chosen by God, before he even created the world, to be holy and blameless."
When you let these Scripture truths dig their way deep into your heart, you see yourself afresh. You're bigger than the chains that bind you.

Who shouts louder--the people around you who hand you a warped view of who you are, or God with his true view of you? Why?
Say thanks to God for what he has shown you about yourself.


I think that this is an important lesson for everyone to learn. Like I said, my favorite part of it is the key verse: Ephesians 1:4. It really makes you think. YOU were chosen BEFORE God even created the EARTH to be HOLY and BLAMELESS in His sight. Wow. If that doesn't make you feel loved and wanted, I don't know what will.
I give this ongoing challenge: Try to see yourself as God sees you. You are His child. A person that He loved SO much that He sent His only begotten son to shed His blood on a cross for YOUR sins. Nothing gets any more powerful.

God Bless,
Taylor

Child of the King

So... I'm super sorry that I haven't posted a blog in the past four days. I could give you excuses about how time got away from me, or that I had a lot of homework, but neither of those excuses is good enough for God, so they're not good enough for you either. So I will just say that I am sorry, BUT I have an awesome blog for tonight.

This blog comes from one of my devotionals: Josh McDowell's Youth Devotions 2. I think I'll just jump in and talk about it more afterward.

It is entitled "Check Your I.D."

Psalm 8:1-9 - O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who has set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the mon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast corwned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast pu all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the seas. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

What makes you who you are? They way you look? Your performance at school? Your hobbies, sports, and after-school busyness? Your spiritual gifts?
You're way more than any of that. Who you are is also more than your race, family pedigree, or skill at computer games. Those are important pieces of your identity. But they're just the outer layers.
People say, "Clothes make the person," but you no doubt know better than that. Clothes might enhance you or disguise you or promote you, but they don't make you. There's more to your identity than how you decorate your body or shockingly accessorize your ears, nose, or belly button.
And then there are all those diet and fitness infomercials promising to make you into a total man or woman: you'll shed pounds, tone up flab, and watch your life change. But does a transformed body affect your true identity? Of course not. You might like your new looks. But your true identity has slim-to-none to do with whether you're buff-or bulge in a few places.
So if these outer layers are just layers over your true identity, who are you underneath it all? That's something that you want to figure out, because your core identity-especially how you see yourself-plays a huge role in how you carry yourself in daily life, how happy you are, how you treat other people, and how you respond to God. It's vital that you know who you are apart from what you look like and what you do.
Maybe you've never pondered the question, "Who am I?" Maybe you've worked so hard on your outer layers that you've missed the big truth that you're a person of great value and worth, made in the image of the Creator and crowned with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5). One girl said this about her friend: "She's one of the prettiest girls in the world, but she thinks she's incredibly ugly. She feels grotesque. That's why she can't trust anyone who says they love her. It's as if she's saying to God, 'God, if you love me, you must be a real jerk.'" This girl's thinking is flawed because she fails to realize that a loving God holds the key to her identity. Only He knows her real worth.
Truth is, when you're a Christian your innermost identity is this: You're a child of the King. And when you get close to the King, you begin to see yourself as the princess or prince you are.

God wants you not only to understand who you are but also to enjoy being that person. What gets in the way of seeing yourself first as God's child?

Ask God to teach you a biblical view of yourself.


This devotional really spoke to me tonight. I got down to the bottom, and read the words "You're a child of the King" and I instantly knew what I would be writing about. God places things in front of us for a reason. Right before I sat down to read this devotional, I was taking a shower, and some song lyrics began to form in my head. Each time I began to think about words to start a verse with, the phrase, "I'm a child of the King" would come first. I actually came back and wrote down the lyrics that had been running through my head before I read the devotional. Not only did those two things happen one after the other, but also at BCM tonight, the speaker touched on the fact that we are God's children, His sons and daughters, and that we were created in His image. We are to live a life that is pleasing and honors Him.

At then end of the day, no matter how badly we may screw up, we are still God's children. AND He will always love us and be there to pick us up and dust us off. ALL that we have to do is ask. And once we are His, He will never let us go.

So when you're feeling down and out or like you're not good enough, for whatever reason, take comfort in the fact that you are God's child. He will never leave or forsake you, and He is your constant friend and protector. For those of us who are saved, God LIVES in our hearts. He resides within us, and nothing can take Him out of us.

"I am His, and He is mine"

God Bless,
Taylor

The RIGHT Right

Proverbs 16:25 - There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

As teenagers (or when you were a teenager), we have a tendency to disregard what other, usually older, people tell us is the right way to do things. Most of us wanted to do things our own way. We may have even used the excuse, "What is right for you may be wrong for me."
When it comes to God and His instructions, there is no room for this kind of attitude. God lays down our "Rights" and "Wrongs" very clearly in His word. He doesn't leave room for discussion.
C.S. Lewis wrote in his book Mere Christianity: "Whenever you find a man who says he does not believe real Right or Wrong, you will find the same man going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him he will be complaining 'It's not fair' before you can say Jack Robinson."
Paul also tells us that even those who have never heard of the Ten Commandments "demonstrate that God's law is written within them, for their own consciences accuse them or tell them they are doing what is right" (Romans 2:15).

The great thing is, we don't have to wonder about what is right or wrong in God's eyes. He tells us everything in His word. And if we ever need clarification or further explanations, He tells us to come to Him.
James 1:5 - If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all me liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Psalm 145:18-19 - The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

I think we could all benefit by being in His word and His way in an even bigger way than we are now. We need to remember to keep God in first place in our lives and to turn to Him when we have questions about what is right and what is wrong.

God Bless,
Taylor

Bitterness

Luke 15:25-32 - Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was abgry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do i serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

I think most of us know the story of the prodigal son and his return to his father after years of absence. The point that I'm making tonight with this story, is that the older brother was extremely bitter about his younger brother's return. The older brother felt hatred towards his brother because he (ob) felt that he had been more faithful to his father. The older brother couldn't understand why his father would be so happy that his younger brother had returned when it was his younger brother's choice to leave in the first place. The older brother wanted praise from his father for staying at home and doing what he was supposed to.
Jesus used this parable to show the Pharisees how God cares for human beings and rejoices when his children come to home to Him. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to see that it was better to love people than to love law, order, and the appearance of righteousness.
We too should love each other. We should delight in each other's triumphs! Human nature teaches us to only be happy for ourselves, but Christ teaches us that we should rejoice with one another and that we should never withhold a joyful attitude from our friends when they succeed, even if they sometimes overlook our victories.

God Bless,
Taylor