Easter - Not All About Peeps!

I believe in God, the Father almighty,creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Let's not forget what Easter is all about. It's not all about the candy and the amazing food [although we do love all those things], it's really about the resurrection of Jesus. He was crucified, He died for our sins. We all need to remember that, not just on Easter, but we need to remember,and be thankful for that every single day. I, myself am guilty of forgetting this, especially recently. I've been going through a lot of emotional battles lately, and found myself questioning everything once again. Something triggered within me a few days ago, I realized Easter was approaching, and I remembered just what Easter was all about [No, I'm sorry - it's not Peeps!], and I said to myself "what am I doing? How could I be so miserable when someone so wonderful gave His life for me?" I needed that realization, and He knew that. So now, I'm asking anyone reading this to realize today and everyday here after, that He gave his life for us. I know I will be forever thankful.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Boast In The Lord

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 - Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are,so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Everything we do in this world should glorify God. If we boast at our accomplishments, we need to remember to give our Father the glory He deserves. You and I cannot take the credit for the things we do here. We must always thank God for things that happen in our lives, as His plan for us unravels day after day. If you're reading this, you may be saying to yourself, "okay, okay I get it. This sounds kind of redundant." Honestly though, how many of us often have the thought to thank God, every time something good comes about in our life? We should know deep down, that whatever happens in our lives happens because God wants it to-it's all part of a bigger picture.

With that said, we need to make sure that we thank God for everything we have in this life, no matter how big or how small it may be, it's all happening for a reason, and we need to be thankful. We need to lift the name of Jesus high! [ I know I took that from a song] always glorify, and boast in the Lord, it is He who deserves the praise, and no one else.

Love As He Loved

1 John 4:19 - We love because He first loved us.

One of the most simple, but most profound sayings in the Scripture. He loved us first, He knows that we are all sinners, but he loves us anyway. Can we say the same thing for the rest of us? If someone does something we don't like, says something we don't like, or even does something as trivial as not wearing the proper clothes. Can we love them anyway? As much as I would like to say yes, that's not true.

The way it works for most people - we love people we are close to, we love family, we love people we have gotten to know. We never love someone just to love them, but He does. So if we really want to live our life for God, shouldn't we love everyone, even if they don't accept or want our love - that's what Our Father did so long before us.

So here is my challenge, to myself, and anyone else that might read this:

Let's love as He loved - love everyone. Love is NOT something to be selective with. Remember, we love because He loves. 1 John 4:8 - Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

He Gets Us Through It All

Ecclesiastes 7:14 - When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other.

Sometimes, when times are bad, we as people think "there's no way I can get through this." We have to realize something though, even if we think we can't get through it, He can get us through it - there is nothing He can't handle. We need to remember that God has a plan for our lives, and everything that happens is leading up to that plan. As it says in the above verse, He has made one as well as the other. So even if something bad is happening in our life, it will always lead to something good happening, always. We just need to have faith in our Father. He gets us through everything.

We can never forget that, and we need to always be thankful. No matter what we have done, or what we may do, we can always ask Him for forgiveness, He never fails to be there for us.

So right now, I will type / write my thanks to the Lord..Thank you for getting me through times of trouble, thank you for forgiving me, thank you for everything. I can never give enough thanks, which is why I will never stop thanking you.

Love - Forgiveness - Compassion

Ephesians 4:29-32 - 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.

I usually don't blog more than once a week, but today as I was reading the Bible, I came across the passage above. It's such a beautiful passage that I feel is completely relevant to today's world. Why do I feel this way? That's easy to answer. Turn on you television, flip through the channels, you may come across shows like...Jersey Shore or any other drama-filled reality show. On the show, you'll see all kinds of bitterness and anger, among many other things. I know all this from talk shows and things of that nature, I've never actually watched the show myself. With all that said, I wonder why people would bother watching such a show, so I asked some people. The replies ranged from things like "it's funny" to things like, "I learn from the show."

Here I am, still clueless, wondering why people in today's society think anger and disrespect are funny. Maybe I'm just weird, who knows. Either way, my opinion stands, I see no point in it. Of course, I am no angel in the anger department, but I truly am working on it, and I know I will be forgiven. I have hope that maybe someday there will be a beneficial show on TV, something about being compassionate, and how much of a better life we can live if we start treating everyone with respect instead of anger, rudeness, and bitterness. Let's show people we can forgive them for their actions, just as He forgives us.

Mission: Love - Forgiveness - Compassion.

Who's with me?

He Is First, We Are Second

Psalms 51:1-2 - Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

I can sum this passage up in two simple words, unconditional love. How amazing is it to know that no matter what you do, or what you have done in the past, God can and will forgive you. He will wipe your sins away, just like notes on a chalkboard - once erased they are gone forever.

Isn't it great to know that even though you may have done terrible things in the past, there is a way to redeem yourself - through Christ. I am so grateful for that. I was into drugs, I was into drinking, I had no shame when I used inappropriate language. I was into a lot of things that weren't good for me, or good for anyone for that matter. Then, I met some new friends, and I found myself seeking God, something was missing in my life. That something was faith. If you aren't sure about having faith, I encourage you to try it. I can make the guarantee that if you can know that He is first, and you are second, it will change your life.

www.iamsecond.com

He Will Give You Rest

Matthew 11:28-30 - “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

It was as easy as that. Just go to Jesus. If you needed rest, He'll be there to make the burden lighter for you. I believe that this is completely true, no matter what is going on in your life, if you go to Him, he will give you what you need. I believe that He never presents us with any situation that we couldn't handle.

If you're going through a crazy time, just sit back and think about all the other things you have in your life. Has God presented you with any new friends lately, or perhaps a better outlook on life? It was to help make the burden lighter for you, to give you rest. Our Father is always there when we need Him most. Never forget that.