Not A Waste

   Often it is preached of how detrimental modern day technology has the possibility of being. Yes, it is true that much can be done with modern day technology, and it does not have to advance the Kingdom like it should.
   So, yes, as it has been preached to you before, that does bring major responsibility. However, today's technological advancements that we must face everyday also bring other responsibility. They tend to allow instant gratification, an entirely different subject, which leads to more discretionary time.
   The more of something that someone has, the more possibilities that they can do with it. The more possibilities that someone has, the more responsibility that they have.
   Therefore, we have to make sure that we are good stewards over our time. It is not guaranteed and is a blessing from the Lord. We are to use it to advance the Kingdom of the Lord! It is not something to be wasted by sin.
   I urge you, monitor your time, and make sure that it is not wasted with things that go against the Word of the Lord! It is not guaranteed!

The Battle

   Have you ever seen a professional bodybuilder or a professional athlete train for an event or there sport? More specifically, have you ever seen them sit down to attempt the bench press? They sit on the bench press and lift the weight. However have you even seen one train without any weight? They just sat on the bench and expected to get stronger?
   Absolutely not! The key is the resistance. Without it, the muscles get no stronger at all. The force of the weight along with gravity is what makes the muscles have to work, therefore bringing it gain in the long run.
   Spiritually, we are in daily warfare. I have never seen a war without an enemy of some type! So it fascinates me when some say that they are Christians and have never faced opposition. Those that are truly in Christ and a threat to an enemy will face opposition, for we are in battle.
   I challenge you to seek discipleship and wisdom and most importantly the Lord through all of the opposition, knowing that the battle has already been won through the Lord Jesus Christ!

Open Door

   Have you ever accidentally left your house with the door open? Or, heaven forbid, come home with the door open yet you thought you had closed it? Or have you ever heard of someone leaving their door open as they left home?
   In some areas where safety can be taken for granted, I have heard of people leaving their doors open as they leave their house. However, when the door is open, THAT is when people may enter at will, without breaking something.
   When the door to my room is open, that is the time when I can freely walk in and sit down. When the door to my room is closed, things get a little more complicated. Our hearts can be like open doors. Or spirits as well.
   When we leave our spirits open, that is when other things may enter. For example, the music that we listen to. The lyrics and the intentions behind them have the freedom to walk right in. When we listen to music that Glorifies the Father, that is what we want to walk in. However, as Christians, we do not invite other concepts in.
   I challenge you, as a follower of Jesus Christ, to examine what is allowed to walk in your doorway!

The Sting of a Viper

Proverbs 18.21- "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit"
   Have you ever told someone something that they will never forget? An "I love you" pom a wedding day or anniversary? An "Im proud of you" after a baseball game? Or maybe had someone say those things to you and you still remember it to this day?
   Now let us look at the other side of the coin. have you ever told someone, "That was a terrible job, you need to do better.", or "I thought that you could play baseball much better than that, I dont know if I want to come to any more of your games."? Or have you perhaps ever had those things said to you? 
   This verse says it perfectly. Your words can easily build up or tear down swiftly. That is why as imitators of Christ, we should examine our tongue and use it only for encouragement and the advancing of His Kingdom! I challenge you, monitor thy tongue, and let it show the Glory of the Father!
   
   

Stronger

   Let us take a little adventure. Let us say that we are on a playground, watching children at play. Two boys to be exact. At one moment everything between the two seems to be going perfectly, and the next, chaos breaks forth. The boys start arguing, and then pulling opposite ends of a toy, and then start pushing eachother until a full blown fight has broken out.
   However, it is not really a fair fight. One of the children were what most would call a bully. Twice the age and the size as the younger child and started the confrontation. However, if you were to sit there and observer, it would only take a minute for a parent to come to the rescue of their child. So lets look at it from the smaller child's perspective.
   This bully approaches. Tougher, bigger, stronger, and seemingly unbeatable by you. You engage and feel as you are getting destroyed. Yet, all of a sudden, your parent shows up. Some stronger! Oh so stronger!
   Sin may feel like a bully to us. Like one that cannot be defeated. However, our Parent, GOD is stronger! SO much Stronger! To where the bully of sin seems like a speck of sand compared to God! The good news, God really does rescue us from this sin bully! All we have to do is accept Him, and fight in Him, against sin!

Slow Acceptance

   I am sure that most have heard the story of how you can put a frog in water and he will sit there until his death? Well, just in case you have not, here is the story.
   If you put a frog into water that is already boiling, the frog will jump right out immediately! however, if you put the frog in water that is room temperature, and then you very slowly increase the heat, the frog will sit there, not realizing what temperature the water has eventually become, and will boil right in the water.
   Deceitful sin can be the exact same way. A little dabble here or there, thinking nothing long term can or will come out of it. However, you do not notice that you are getting slowly deeper and deeper, until that day when you try to come out but you cannot.
   I encourage all of you to take inventory, ever praying that Jesus will let your spiritual eyes be opened so that you may see your sin in the eyes of Jesus, and not be slowly swallowed in the deceptive world of sin!

Proper Management

   Jesus never made a promise that He could not, did not, or will not fulfill! Most say, "Well, that"s because He is Jesus, the perfect son of God!" This is true. However, if you step back from the big picture and look at some small aspects, you may see the things Jesus did in making this true.
   One of the biggest things of this ability to fulfill all He said was management. For example, I cannot tell my friend that I will meet them at the library at five o'clock in the afternoon, and then go tell my other friend that I am going to meet them to get something to eat across town at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. We are called to have management over our time, which gives us management over our promises. 
   I also cannot spend $5,000 to buy a new Rolex, and then have no money for tithes. I cannot go blow all of my money on golf clubs, and not have enough for the mandated ten percent of my tithing. If I have five dollars, I cannot give a friend ten, for I wont have it. Money is also a huge thing that we are called to manage. 
   However, God may be dealing with you on a personal level to show you what He has given you and wants you to manage better, for it is all His. Therefore, pray that God shows you things that He wants you to see so that you may become more like Him. 

How Much More?

   Let us say that we have all been veterans in a war. Whatever the war, e will not specify, we fought for a very long time very bravely and with plenty of endurance, even through the toughest of times. However, that is not quite how the story ends.
   In the war, you got injured severely and had to be discharged for your medical reasons. This is not what you had in mind when you joined the fight, but it is what happened. So you return home.
   You are unable to work, therefore the government arranged for you to receive disability. Considering that the country has a 1.5 trillion dollar annual deficit, you thought that funds coming from the government would surely not be a good idea, at least in the aspect of the country's debt. Nevertheless, you have no problem doubting every month that you will receive your funds from the government. Why? Because the greatest country in the world made a promise to you.
   how much more than, should a promise from the One and Only Living God be worth? The promises not to leave or forsake you, but to give you a hope and a future? The promise that those who believe in Him and call on His Name shall be saved? It s so easy to rely on the promises of a faulty government or even faulty people, therefore we should cherish and undoubtedly believe, trust, and rely on the promises of God!

The Factory

   When I was in the tenth grade, I was always amazed at one device, the iPod Touch. Yes, it had already been available on the market for a few years, However, this was the first time that I had owned one.
   I got it from a friend of mine. He was done with it because it had broken. Therefore, he graciously let me keep it and I gladly used the broken iPod for some time. However, after a while, I realized that it was time for the iPod to be fixed.
   I called places around town that claimed that they could fix it. That sounded great, however I was not really content with that. So I called Apple. The iPod was still in warranty, so it was no competition! I sent the iPod to Apple to be fixed by them. Why? Who knows something better than the one who made it?
   We were created by God and made in His Image. In this life, we go through tests and trials continually for the sanctification of the saints. However, when we hit the moments where we need something to be fixed so that we may proceed, which is the point of the test, who better to fix what is broken than the One who made us in the first place, the Lord Almighty. He is the Creator of All, and He can fix all!

The Fundamental

   When learning how to shoot a rifle in the Army, there are four basic fundamentals that one must master. They are as followed: position, aim, breathing, and squeezing of the trigger. Before one can pass basic training and especially before one takes the battle field, they must have mastered those four elements.
   Now, I can only assume that as one progresses in the world of marksmanship and they get to do higher tasks in the army, that they may have shots that only a few in this world can accurately make. For example, one may have to make a shot a mile away, through a window, in a suburb, while their target is next to a sleeping cat. However, no matter the situation, some things stay the same: the fundamentals.
   I have heard some say that once one has been a follower of Christ for a while, they graduate the basics and go on to more deep things about God and the world, leaving the basics behind. While God will show you more about Him and deeper Truths about His Word, He commands you to remember the basics, as they are your justification to Him. Christ still died for your sins! On a bloody Cross and was Risen three days later and is now with the Father until the Day of His Return! There is no such thing as graduating from that! It is the Fundmental Truth and Justification for our Salvation!

Outlook

   let us go on another hypothetical adventure. Let us say that there are two sisters that are twins. Both of them have had the same classes all of their lives and they both come home with a major English assignment due the next day. 
   They get home, eat dinner , and talk with their family about the day. Both are not the happiest at the fact that they have a lot of work to do to finish their respective assignments. However, the difference is that one sister does not complain about the assignment, but is eager to start so that she may finish it proficiently and efficiently. The other sister, on the other hand, only complained about having to do it, stating that it was pointless and was very hesitant to even start the project.
   The difference did not lie in the appearance of these two twin sister, or in the assignment that they were given, it lied in the outlook. One sister realized that it had to be completed, so there was no need to waste time complaining.
   As Christians, we know that Christ is King ans Lord and His Will is the Supreme Will of the Land, so when we have our assignments, whether the Universal assignment of making disciples of all nations, or the individual assignments He gives us, we realize that He is Lord and He knows All! Its about Outlook. How you see Jesus and His commands. That is what seperates!

Really Temporary?

   Let us take a hypothetical situation that we can assume happens a lot of the time. Let us start in a middle school. A class has just ended and three girls, who claim to be best friends, are walking down the hall together. As they are talking, one says that she is going to get braces the next day, and that she is nervous about how she will look.
   So she comes to school two days later with her new braces on. The first place that she went was to her friends to ask what they thought, for she was quite worried about how she would look with braces. One of them immediately said that she looked great as the other just smiled and kept silent.
   She got home that day and finished her homework then proceeded to watch television. All of a sudden her phone vibrated. She picked it up and read a text from the friend who just smiled and kept silent before talking about how hideous she thought her braces were. She had received the text by accident!
   Now, to write that text only took a few seconds. Not a long time at all to write and send. But, do you think that the effects were temporary? No. One never knows the emotional toll that could have on a person.
   I challenge you, as baring the Image of Christ, examine your thoughts, desires, words, and actions so that the eternal impact of these areas on others points them to Christ and Him alone!
 

Be Anxious For Nothing

   Lets say that you turn your television on to watch the news. It would only take a few minutes before you heard of someone either getting shot, killed, their property broken into, or them being badly injured. Today's media, and today's world for that matter, are full of these happenings unfortunately.
   When this is the case, there is no surprise that the temptations for fear, worry, and distrust for God are present.  But I would like to tell you a story. A story about me first learning how to ride a bicycle.
   If I remember all of the details correctly, I was very young and had ridden a tricycle for some time. I saw all of the bigger children around me riding bicycles and I thought that it was about my turn to ride. So, my mother took the two supporting wheels off of the back of the tricycle and let me try to get my balance by first holding on to the bike and then progressively letting go. I though I was all alone, riding down the road by myself. However, my mother was always right there, following close behind.
   Philippians 4.6 says to be anxious for nothing. Anxiety is not of the Lord! It may seem at times that we are in life or in situations alone, but GOD IS ALWAYS RIGHT THERE! Worry not, for the Lord is ALWAYS with you!

To Obey

      There are many that come to various churches and gatherings and feel very comfortable praising and worshiping the Lord. Especially because worship is preached and encouraged all of the time. And this is a  very necessary aspect of the Christian life as well!
   However, it cannot be alone. Let us take my parents for example. What if, every where that they went, or every time that we spoke, I commended them on their parenthood? As they are cooking breakfast, as we ride in the car, no matter the setting, I always compliment something.
   Yet, when a command was given, it was simply always ignored if it seemed to be inconvenient to me in any way. If I did not see how it would directly benefit me, or did not feel comfortable completely doing it, I would not. Is that how it should be?
   Yes, worshiping is of dire importance! But, OBEYING is of just as much. Matthew 28 tells us in the making of disciples, we teach others to OBEY all that Jesus has commanded! Both are necessary, but one can not and should not exist without the other!

Always Watching

   When I was first starting to learn how to drive for myself, the first thing that I was instructed to do, even before I received my permit, was watch my mother as she drove. That meant everything. I watched her buckle her seat belt, I watched as she started the car and the position of her hands on the steering wheel.
   I also listened to everything that she said. She told me to never go over six over the speed limit, always buckle up, and always pay attention to the road. However, the most important part was surely the watching. She could have said absolutely anything that she wanted to. She could have possibly said to never go one mile per hour over the speed limit, but how powerful would that have been if she did that everyday?
   Telling people about the excellence, love, power, and forgiveness of Christ is an absolute calling as Christians and followers of Jesus Christ! However, Jesus was surely not just talk. And listening to Him is surely not all that the disciples did.  The watched His every move! They watched His responses, and listened to His words.
   People watch your actions! Our job is not only to tell about Jesus, but to BE like Him! In our actions and our words! People are watching, so show them Jesus!

Not Wasted

   Attending high school, there all classes are on a uniform block schedule with all classes lasting ninety (90) minutes. There are four general classes daily, except for cases when seniors have enough credits to where they do not have to take four classes daily.
   Therefore, as one can imagine, there are classes that students take just so that they fill the educational requirements to graduate high school. Not to criticize the state of education of South Carolina, but there was a class that I was required to take during my sophomore year entitled Composition and Research. Every day I would witness some students falling asleep for most of the class period and pass the class. Partially because most of the time, we would finish the elementary work fairly quickly. Now it is up to you to decide how well this class consumed our time.
   However, if you are one that believes that 90 minutes of the day were wasted in that class, how much more then would you agree that we waste our time and energy daily by not following the Will of the Lord? How much time or heart daily do we put in discipleship, in seeking the Father, in Spreading His Word, in Obeying His Commands? I urge you, our time is not guaranteed in this life! Don't waste the life that you are given!

Yes, you heard correctly!

   This Sunday, if you turned on the television or went to any Easter sales at stores, you probably saw many children running around with smiles on their faces in nice clothing because they were told that they could go on the Easter egg hunt because the Ester bunny showed up last night.
   Some of them will hear the truth in their lifetime, but some of them may go on forever thinking that Easter is just a time for people to be happy about something and for children to go hunt for Easter eggs.
   However, we as followers know that on good Friday, Christ was nailed to a cross gruesomely. Beat, spit on and ridiculed, being forced to carry his cross that he would be crucified on. With a crown of thorns they put vinegar on a sponge and told him to drink it! They pierced him in his side and put nails through his hand so that he would stay. All for our sins.
   HOWEVER, Easter is truly about what happened three days later! The tomb was rolled back, and as Mary was looking for the body of Jesus, an Angel of the Lord says that it wasn't there! You see, Jesus had risen, He had been Resurrected! Death could not conquer Him and the grave could not hold Him!
   We know this, great! So tell me, how many have we proclaimed this to? This was done to the Glory of the Father! He raised Jesus from the dead! So i urge you, Spread the Truth about Easter and this wonderful news!
 

Risen

   I still remember the day when my grandfather passed away. A few days earlier, we went to see him in the hospital. His state was not the best in the world of course, as he was on bed rest.
   Then, sadly, a few days later, we found out that he had passed away. This was my biological grandfather on my mother's side of my family. My mother grew up calling him father, and she knew him well, however I did not. Therefore it was bitter sweet for my mom knowing that he would receive rest and sort of bitter for me because I did not really know him.
   Now later on in my life, one thing has not changed. No matter how much I wish or believe, I will probably not wake up tomorrow and he be sitting right beside my bed talking to me. Why? Because as of right now, our bodies has not been glorified as said in 1 Corinthians. As some would say, as of yet, we are not raised from the dead.
   However, 2012 years ago, there was One who, after being born of a virgin, living a perfect sinless life, being crucified on a cross for our sins, and buried in a tomb, allowing three days to pass, was RAISED FROM THE DEAD and shall live FOREVER, all for the Glory of the Father! This is the story of Jesus Christ? Do you know Him?

Learning How To Walk

   When I was a very little child, it was fascinating to see every adult and child older than me freely and effortlessly walking around. I am sure that there was not a lot that I wanted more than to be walking around with everyone else.
   However, when I was still crawling and it was about that time to learn how to walk, I would stand up, go a few steps, and then fall right back down again.
   What would my mother do? Would she pick me up and carry me everywhere I went because I fell? Absolutely not! Because she knew that in the long run, that fall was for the better, for my good, that I would eventually learn how to walk and not fall.
   When things happen that may not seem ideal for our lives, like if a loved one passes, or a friendship takes a turn for the worse, know that it may seem detrimental, but for those that love the Lord and are called according to His Purpose, His Word says that all things work together for our good! I encourage you to not become distraught in things that do not look ideal, but to trust in the Lord and His Word that this too shall pass and work together for your good!

True Freedom

   What does one think of when they hear the word anarchy? "a state of society without government or law" is the definition according to dictionary.com. However if you ask the common man walking down the street, they may say that anarchy is the state or no law, basically. 

   Now what do people think of when they hear the term "freedom?" Most think of a state of not being told what to do by anyone, and totally dictating their actions by their will. Then, inevitably, they equate freedom with anarchy, thinking that without law, they can obey their own will completely and only then are they truly free.

   This runs into their spiritual beliefs, and they may think that true freedom saying that they believe in Christ, but follow their own will without even seeking out the Will of God because we are free in Christ. 

   However this is simply not correct. Quite the opposite. True freedom comes from accepting Christ and trusting and obeying His Will, knowing that what He desires is for you to be free, in Him! We simply do not know what is best, but God knows the past, present, and future, and is His Will there is wisdom, and in His Wisdom, there is true freedom!

What Would You Think?

   Lets go on a hypothetical journey. Say that I met you in person one day at a banquet, and we carried on a lengthy and serious business minded conversation. After that, I told you to meet me for lunch the next day to confirm the business transaction that we had just discussed.
   So the next day, I wake up that morning with my day already planned out (stewardship over time) and I intentionally do not put you on my schedule. Consequently when it comes time for lunch, I do not show up at the restaurant, but call you that night instead and ask you to go forward with the business plan, providing no explanation for why I missed lunch.
   Would you, being stood up at that restaurant, be willing to go forward with the business plan? Or would you instead look at me as a person and as the son of the Living God, and judge me as one who did not follow his word? Then, would you consequently judge all who say as I do that they follow Christ, as hypocrites because of my action?
   We are supposed to be those of our word, as God is. God never made or makes a promise that He will not fulfill completely, and as examples of Him, we are not to either. If we cannot do something, we should say that we cannot, and if we say we can, we should do it. Everything that we do reflects what we believe, and if you claim to believe that Jesus is the Lord of your life, then what should you reflect?