Resolution

   It is December 31st, the last day of the year 2012. I want to encourage you by asking you a question. I am assuming that most of the readers of this blog are drivers or have driven something to some extent before. When you drive, do you put a blindfold over your eyes as you enter the car?
   You may be thinking, what a ludicrous question. But seriously, there is no way that anyone would want to put a blindfold over their eyes before they drive, because they want to map out where they are going so that they can get there.
   It is a good thing to map out your path to reach the destination. So as we plan for this new year, let us contemplate new ways to serve and show the Love of Jesus to all that we contact during this new year. Let us plan to give our time to Him and dwell in His Love! Let us map the path letting our destination be Him! Happy New Year! 

Going, Telling

   Tell me, what happens when one has a baby, or gets married, or gets their first car, or buys their first house? What is one of the first things that they do? They TELL someone. In all of their excitement, it becomes more than they can contain and they cant help but spread the word.
   This proves the theory that good news calls for sharing. But tell me, from a Christian standpoint, what news is better than ALL of our sins being forgiven because someone died on a Cross for them, Jesus to be exact, and rose three days later? No news is better.
   If this is truly the BEST news, it is our responsibility to share this news! Good news calls for sharing, and the Great news of the Gospel calls for Proclaiming to all of the nations! Go Proclaim!

Getting Back Up

   It is fascinating to me when I think about the difference between and boy and a man, a girl and a woman, a child and an adult. One of many of those differences is the response to hardship, failure, or falling if you will. When a child fails something, to them it can mean the absolute end of the world.
   What I mean by that is the last thing that they want to do is get back up again, making a change. The only thing that they want to do is make an excuses. But the man gets back up. Realizes his mistake but does not waste time on blame.
   In Christ, we sin. None are perfect but the Father in Heaven. But the fact here is, because we have already been forgiven of those sins by Christ dying for us on the Cross, we have the option of getting back up, our eyes back on Christ, and that is what we are called to do. This is not an excuse to sin, for the wages of sin is death, however, be encouraged, for your sins have been forgiven. Therefore, get back up again!

Without

   First of all, ALL of us at HOPE Ministries of the Upstate hope that everyone had an incredibly Merry Christmas and will have an amazing New Year! This is a Season of Joy and Love centered around Christ Jesus!
   Secondly I wanted to ask a question. Do you know, without looking it up, how long the human body can survive without food and water? Any guess? Ill relieve the anticipation and tell you, the human body can only survive 8 days without water and 7 weeks without food before fatality. Why? Because we were DESIGNED to need water and food.
   Just as we were designed for that, we were also designed to need the Word of God! We cannot truly go a day without some form of His presence! So I urge you all, be diligent in your devotion to Him, for without Him, we will too eventually perish! Seek Him with all that you are and with everything within you!

About HIM

   This Christmas Season, let us bring our focus to the original intention for this special time. Think of this, when you buy a shoe, do you immediately turn and put in on your head? Do you glue it to the back of your cell phone so it can charge the phone?
    You may think that these are ridiculous answers to a straightforward question. You might think, NO, you buy shoes to put them on your feet obviously. So tell me, what is the purpose of Christmas, the ONE main purpose. Is it to go to the store and buy gifts, or receive them, or to cook as much food as you can? The main purpose is the CELEBRATE. Celebrate what? The Birth of the One who eventually died on the Cross so that we may be forgiven and be with God for eternity. That birth is the birth of Jesus!
   So this Christmas, as your spending the irreplaceable gift of time with those you love, remember that the reason for the season IS Jesus, and His birth! Merry Christmas and be blessed!

Character

   This day and age, there are a lot of people who find their justification, and maybe even what they think is there salvation, by the church that they attend, the number of times that they go, or the amount of service done throughout the week. That think that solely by doing these things, people will both know they are Christians and see what a Christian should look like.
   This is true, Christians do attend church and sometimes other actions throughout the week as service to the One who Saved them. However, this is neither the cause of our Salvation, for that is solely Christ, nor is it the only thing that people look at. Our Character shouts louder than anything else when it comes to what others look at about us.
   Our character, especially in a world as dark as it is today, should set us apart and make us holy, that is, different. If we are not showing a Christ- like character, we are simply not showing Christ. So, what character are we showing?

Not About Surroundings

Have you ever seen the person in a crowd that stands there silent, as everyone around them is screaming or shouting or full of energy of some type? Everywhere this person looked, there was movement.
   Here is the deal, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Peace. And when He was on the cross, and everyone around Him was yelling at Him and the guards were piercing His side. Yet, Christ stayed silent, until His last words before He died and was raised to life.
   What other people were doing around Him did not change the state in which Christ was in, for that was up to Him. What others around you do should not change your peace, for that is up to you. Peace does not depend on your surroundings, but rather depends on you!

Back to Him

   Let us face the obvious elephant in the room. a few days ago, in Connecticut, there was a horrible tragedy in which a man entered an establishment meant for education and opened fire on the principal, other staff members, and students as well.
   So now leaves the aftermath, the feelings, the effects, the opinions of all of those who have survived, both that were there and those that were not. There comes the obvious questions that tend to be thrown on Christians, "Can you explain why this happened? How could a good God allow for this to happen?"
   Here is a response. Did God guide the hand of the man as he shot those children and faculty at the school? NO. However, can God use tragedies like this to bring us as a community and a nation to bring us closer to Him? ABSOLUTELY. God can use this for us to realize that our hope cannot lie within ourselves, but God alone and only Him, is where our hope and trust should truly lie.
   So I urge you to make sure your Hope and Trust are where they should lie! For in God is the only place the suffices!

Living out Proof

   There are many great minds in the world today that do not believe in, and/ or believe in the Power of Christ. Yes, we have the Ultimate Truth, but do not let that fool you, some of those who do not believe have good, even seemingly compelling arguments.
   However, the best argument is a changed life, for who can argue against that? No one. That life speaks volumes and is more that enough to prove the Power of Christ. However, if one is not ACTUALLY living a changed life through Christ, whether they profess His Name or not, where is the power?
  It is not only about proclaiming His name, no matter the passion. It is also about actually living the life that God has changed to show His Glory! Live the proof!

The Best Gift

   Have you ever wondered why Christmas Time and even Thanksgiving is always spent together? Is it the gifts that make it special? Sure, they can be a blessing and a treat, but are they really the main source of the happiness?
   The gifts are great, but the actual source of most of that happiness, whether one realizes it or not, is the TIME spent together. That is also the only thing that one cannot get back. This Holiday Season, even though gifts are great, I challenge all of you to not take the time spent together for granted.
   I also challenge you to spend time with someone that you usually do not, as it is truly an amazing gift that money could never buy! TIME, one of the best gifts available!

Mediator

   Anyone who has heard the True story of Christ will know what I am about to say, that is, Christ was and is the Mediator between us and God. That is to say, since we were bounded by the penalty of sin, which is spiritual death, then He came to die on a Cross hence taking our place, mediating.
   However, I want to take a different look at that word tonight. I want to look at it in the perspective that we should not have one, that is, between us and Jesus. That is simply saying that nothing should come in between us and Jesus, because it is not necessary, nor does He desire anything to.
   Not our preacher, for we are all a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation in fact. Jesus wants a personal relationship, a Pure one! He is our mediator, so let us seek Him without distraction!

No to Worry

   As a college student in December, I am learning what it means to worry. There are the constants of being a college student, the food, the roommate, the residence halls, the money, etc.. and then there is the December worry, finals. Everyone at my college is claiming their space fast as people prepare for these feared times.
   People are studying wherever there is a desk and an outlet for their computer, and obviously space is limited so at some point things can get a little crazy. When one thinks about it, exams are putting the entire semesters learning into one test.
   However, as Christians, we take this from a different perspective. We take it from the perspective that God tells us that we will never have more than we can bear, therefore we know that there is no need to worry. Yes, these exams both directly and indirectly impact the rest of our lives, but with God, there is NEVER any need to fear!