Everyday is a Battle

   When you join the Christian Faith, I will just be honest, it is not going to be easy. Although, remember, it is not impossible either. Remember Phil. 4.13 and say to yourself "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It is important, however, to know that everyday is a battle for your soul in spiritual warfare. God already has the Victory of course, but it does not seem like that every day of your life. There will be times where you may feel God is not near you, or even worse, not for you. There will be times where you feel as there is no way that you can grow in Christ because He doesnt seem to be there. There may be times when you call on the name of Jesus and He not immediately come down on clouds with fire and comfort you. Just know, He IS there!! There is a continual war waging for your soul daily. The good part is, YOU choose who wins in your life. Seeking Christ and TRUSTING in Him no matter what gives Christ reign and victory in your life. Stay persistent.  Yes, it is a daily battle, but through Christ, the victory is won all the time, every time. -AJ

Everyday Rememberance

   Have you ever seen the people who just accepted Christ and are on a fire that lasts about a week? After that, they go on to their old ways, not reminding themselves of what they have just done, or maybe they accepted for the wrong reason. Well, once we establish why we accepted Christ and make sure that the right reasoning is in play, loving Christ because we were made to worship and obey Him and He first loved us, then we must DAILY remind ourselves of God and the Gospel to stay on track. EVERY DAY, we must remember of the Greatest Event of ALL TIME, Christ dying on a cross for the sins of us! Out of that dedication comes a true and pure relationship with Christ. One not based on religion or rules, but one based on the TRUE love of Christ. This gives us the peace of mine of the assurance of Salvation. God saved us and we should remind ourselves of this great fact daily. Us Christians in America seem to lack true dedication. They want to be saved but dont really want to build a relationship. Lets daily remind ourselves of how great Jesus is and what He has done for us. Keeping our minds on things above. -AJ

Which Way to Go?

   The bible doesn't say "Matthew, you should go to Orlando University and study for an MBA", or "Mary, you should buy a 2011 Toyota Avalon from a car dealership in Arizona", or "Mark, you should mary a blonde girl from Canada who's name is Hannah." But, the Lord does guide us. When it comes to right and wrong and general knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, the Proverbs are a great way to grow. In here you will find God giving us tools for guidance through life by wisdom. In the proverbs, this wisdom is absolutely beautiful. And if we want to show others Christ through our actions, quite honestly the Proverbs are necessary. So, God's Word is one way that guidance is provided to us on earth. Another thing that some overlook is that God speaks. Not always through gigantic clouds on mountains with thunder and lightening, but through people, or our spirit, or through a preacher, parent, or by many other means. The thing is, we have to be open to hearing the guidance of God, which takes time. We should be paying attention to what God may be trying to tell us in our lives. Praying, for example, is a good way to do this. If you have a question or need guidance about something, prayer is definitely a good way to go. Just ask God to show, help, and God you and for Wisdom on what to do. He never fails. God guides. -AJ

What are We Truly After

   Everyone has heard of the preacher preaching about hell and basically scaring his congregation into an attempted following of Christ for the fear of what hell is. So then the congregation goes home petrified of hell so they temporarily stop every sin that they know they are doing. They stop cursing, drinking, smoking, etc... And they have no problem whatsoever telling others about their sins and warning them about this horrible place called hell. Hell is real!!! It is a terrible place for those who do not believe and accept Christ. But, that is not what should be the only cause of following Christ. We were made to worship and to obey. Out of the love for Christ because His love for us. Worship and Obey out of love. Most people follow because of the wonderful news of heaven. They go for an alter call at church and say a prayer simply because they hear of the ferocity of hell and the joy of heaven. We dont really care who God is, or what Jesus has done. We take lightly the fact that we are sin and God is love and He sent His son Jesus to die on a cross for all of our sins so that we may meet God and be right with Him in the end of times. We dont care that our job on this earth was to worship and obey Him and that we were made for His glory. We seem to just care about heaven and hell. Well heaven and hell IS real, but the love of Christ should be the factor that moves you to love and follow Him. Because of Him dying and being raised from the dead just for us. Let that be what moves us to be a disciple of His. -AJ

Nutrients for Christian Cultivation

   If you have accepted Christ, you will learn or have learned that it is impossible to stay securely in Him and grow if you do nothing at all to advance your faith. If you dont know already, what you will learn is that it takes fellowship with other Believers, on top of daily staying with the Scriptures and developing your personal relationship, to continue to grow in Christ. That is the purpose for the church. We congregate to grow together in the Lord, knowing that there is no possible way to do this alone. It is true, we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us. But God made this Race so that we grow from others (fellowship of believers) to grow closer to Him. We use others experiences and revelations from Christ to get a clearer picture of who Jesus is in our lives and the lives of others. Sometimes, what others go through is the strongest tool for strengthening us. Knowing that, it is also important to realize that our experiences can help others grow if we share them. Our growing in Christ can affect others growth, if we would only share it! So basically, what am I saying? Discipleship is important. No one can say that the disciples of Jesus did not grow from His teachings. The life of Jesus directly affected those whom He discipled. There should be two aspects in everyones life who truly want a continual growth in Christ. One: Getting discipled. We should find someone father along than us to help us grow in Christ. Two: Disciple someone. Maybe a new believer or someone. Use your life to help them grow. This will also motivate you to have your life able of being copied to help someone else grow. So, TOGETHER, lets grow in Christ!

The Ultimate Exercise Video

   Have you ever seen the crazed exercise enthusiast? How about the olympic athletes training for the Olympics? Or how about the football player who has a chance for winning the national championship? Or the body builder who wants to win the weight lifting competition in a few weeks? What do they all have in common? One word: commitment. This commitment is the mental stamina that is such a great tool for the motivation of doing the impossible. Sometimes all it takes is the action of doing something hard once, or at least striving to do so, that gives us the inspiration to achieve what we never have before. All that it takes to get us to the next level. Thats how our Christian walk should be. All it takes at times is the will and desire and attempt to follow and believe that gets us to the next level in Christ. Sometimes, all it takes is actually trying to say no to those things that generally slow us down. This, by no means gives us the excuse to say our sin is ok just because we feel as we tried a little. Our sin is still sin, and is cannot stand in the presence of the Lord Almighty. But it is that persistence, that commitment that the Lord is looking for. Training to seek the Lord DAILY until it becomes our second nature, that is the training that we need to pursue. Burying ourselves in His Word, spending time with Him in prayer, continually reminding ourselves to let the Spirit take control, these are the things that strengthen us. Stay strong and be committed to the Lord. -AJ

All Knees Will Bow

   Going to church does not mean that you are exempt from the wrath of God in the end of days by the form of hell. We have the tendency, adults and youth alike, to think that if we do good, never kill, and go to church, we are fine. But its about time we realize that is just not how it works. The Gospel of Jesus is the ONLY thing that saves you from an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Realizing that Jesus died, was buried, and raised from the dead, and accepting Jesus into your heart and confessing it with your mouth is the ONLY way salvation is accomplished. An example of something that does NOT work: you go to church. Never accepted Jesus into your heart. You do not stand up for him in your life at all. Jesus says if you deny Him on Earth, He will deny you in front of His Father, and you know this, but you attend church EVERY Sunday and Wednesday. What is the verdict? NOT SAVED. Lets take another case. You are a morally acceptable person. You go to church EVERY Sunday and Wednesday, but you never accepted Jesus. NOT SAVED. My point, lets stop taking the Saving power of Jesus Himself for granted by just going to church and doing good, thinking that will get us into Heaven. It wont. You MUST be saved. John 1.12 states "but for all who received Him, for those who believed in His name, he gave them the right to become children of God". Talk with a Christian or Pastor at a church about accepting Christ. Let Him into your heart because of how much He loves you! Accept Him because you want to love Him like he loves you! That is the only way to true salvation. -AJ