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The world

John 1:29 "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Christ is the only one who can take away our sins. I have had this verse stuck in my head. Yesterday I spoke about the world will try to knock us down and bring up our past even though we are serving the Lord. The world does not want us to change because that means that God is real. They do not believe or understand that the love of God is overwhelming and makes you so much happier. Only God can take always your sins not the world and every time this comes up and they bring up the person you once were show them the things Go d has done for you instead because that is far greater than your past. We have all fallen short and make mistakes but they were forgiven the moment we asked. So why does the world choose to make it out of us? Because being a Christian in today's society isn't cool. Because being a Christian means you are no longer fun and cannot do things. Satin has placed it in our minds that once we become a Christian and start serving God we cannot do fun things anymore. There is more to life that drugs, alcohol, and sex. I know this because that used to be me and when I lived that lifestyle I wasn't happy the joy I feel now was not there. The high I got from weed was there to feel the emptiness inside and make me feel numb but once it was over the sadness overflowed once more and the same goes for drinking and sex. I did all this to not feel lonely anymore but once I started talking to a friend more and more she helped me find the light again and everyday I read the Bible before work and my joy has been restored and that emptiness as well because God comes first above all else and I will trust in him with all that I do because without him I'd be lost wondering this world alone and probably fired from my job but no God has saved me once more and he always gets the glory. But we have to stop wanting tot be like this world because the more we do the farther we get from the light and the way because he will lead you on the right path and that path is for your good and for you to lead others to the cross as well because God loved us so much he gave his only sin to die for us. So stop trying to be like the world and be more like God because that is the best role model anyone can have ☺️☺️

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Seed

1 Corinthians 3:7-9 "7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building." We are called to be Gods chosen people as well as we are called to spread the word of God and the good news. How are we supposed to plant the seed in another's life if we are silent. Do you not feel joy when you pray? Do you not feel closer to God when you read the word. I know I do. After I pray in the morning before work I am in a better mood. But lately I have been facing a lot. I have gone back to my old ways of being silent about what I believe in because of fear of being laughed at or people seeing me as the person I once was. And these past few days my past has been coming up a lot and I try to say I am not that person anymore but I get mocked for what I believe in. And it is hard to be a Christian today because the world will continue to remind you of the person you once were and then they sometimes get to you and you start to believe that. But we are not who we once were and we are called to plant the seeds in other people's lives. So the next time someone tells you that you are still that person remind them of what God has done for you because that is what truly matters because God is the one true judge and he has forgiven our sins. So let's stop being silent in our corners and spread the joy that God has given us because you never know who may see how happy you are and want a taste of that happiness. Happiness is contagious so go and spread it about but never forget who have it to you.

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Tell Your Mountain That Your God Is Bigger

I want You to take a second and think about a problem in life? It can be anything.... Do You know Who Lazurus is? Do You know the Sister's? John 11:1-44 talks a little about them. Think of the problem and I'll come back to it. Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Then Thomas (also known as Didymus ) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there. When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” John 11:1‭-‬44 NIV There is a part were a Sister goes to the Lord to let Him know that One He loves is sick. She goes to the Lord with the problem and He says that this won't end in death. We should go to the Lord with Ours. He won't let Us face it alone. He won't leave Us. He can help Us carry Our problem if We let Him. Jesus went to comfort the hurting. He can help You and comfort in Your time of need too. He finally calls Lazurus out of the grave. Lazurus comes out. He will call You out of Your problem just like He called Lazurus out from the grave. You can always go to the Lord with Your problem. You can cry to Him. Jesus cried. The Sister's didn't face it alone. They went to the Lord. Reach out.... Don't face Your Mountain alone. I want You to remember that Your Mountain is not to big. The Lord can help You with any problem.... Big or small. You can go to the Lord just like the Sister's did. Never feel like You can't go to the Lord or another Brother or Sister in Christ. You can to the Lord like the Sister did. One more thing...... There is a scripture that starts with "Fear Not". Don't be afraid in Your time of trouble. You are not alone. There is someone You can reach out to. If nobody is there than You can go to the Lord. You are never alone. Fear not.

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Love

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 Love is the foundation of ever relationship. Not a romantic relationship but with every relationship you have with friends and family as well. Us as christians do not get a clean slate because other christians will put people down for what they believe. They will put them down for sinning. But we all sin. Who is perfect in this world? No one. We need to go into our lives and love. Love with all we have. Because you never know who needs that smile or needs to feel loved. When I was younger I always showed kindness because I never knew what that person was going through. I had a lot going on in my life and I wouldn't have wanted someone to put me down. I love to smile and make sure people feel better about themselves because then they can see God in you they can see that God is love. By showing love to others can lead them to God because he is the only one who can heal they're brokenness. He is the only one who can set us free.

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Sacrifice

Isaiah 53:5 "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. He does upon that cross and rose three days later. What have we done for him? What have we sacrificed for Jesus who gave his life for ours? It's hard giving up the things of this world when you first become a Christian. Trust me I know first hand. Once I turned 21 I stopped going to church and serving God because I wanted to experience that world of drinking and partying all the time and eventually it got old real soon. Once I started to serve God more and more I began to let my earthly desires go one by one. And right now what I am struggling with the most is the music I listen too. Because music has an impact on our minds and the way we act. If I listen to something angry I'll begin to become angry but I have a routine now. Every morning I get up read my word and while I get ready for work or anything I listen to my Christian music. I listen to it on the way to work but when I'm alone in bed at night I listen to things of this world and begin to picture things that upset me or hurt me. We need to make sacrifices for Jesus as well this is not a one sided relationship we have with him. We have to give up the things of this world and the more we do the more God can use us for his glory. We all go through something in life we all have our struggles but guess what? There is someone who can deliver us from these things and his name is Jesus Christ. So stop running way from him and run to the cross where we can be delivered. So I challenge you all today to fast give up the one thing you know that is preventing you from moving on in this walk. The one thing that keeps knocking you down mine will be my music. I will be listening to nothing but Christian music because I believe that God has something big coming my way and I need to prepare myself for this. So I pray that anyone who reads this will look to God and realize that he is the only one who can deliver us.

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Trust

“Don’t be afraid. I am here.”

John 6:20 

Faith and trust go together like Mac n Cheese. Without faith we cannot trust without trust we cannot have faith. This scripture comes from when Jesus’ disciples first saw him walking on water they were afraid, but Jesus spoke these six words and they became eager to let him on the boat. You see the bible is not only for old times it still lasts today. i have a dear friend who i struggling right now with relationships and heartbreaks i keep telling him to trust in the lord and to have faith that he knows what he is doing. You see i have always struggled with trusting God because i always wanted things done now and on my timing you see i believe i went though a bad breakup because i needed to learn from it. What i learned is that things will never work out if i take control of my life. i have been recently been freaking out about loosing my job because my numbers were too low but i remember one night i was praying and God spoke to me that i was not going to loose my job and that i was sent to that place for a reason. i know what the reason is and slowly he has started working in me. You see i have completely placed my faith in God and i have stopped taking  control of my life and like usual once God becomes the main priority of my life that is cue for the enemy to try to knock me down, well he tried and failed at it. it is not easy to not take control at times. like recently i lost my sisters to foster care and that normally is a big deal because they are a large portion of my life and the whole time i was trying to figure out what i needed to do, when a friend of mine stopped me in my tracks and said that my problem was me trying to fix things instead of placing my trust in God. and once i did that we were able to get my girls home and safe. You see i have a thousand things going on in my head right now. do i finish college? is this what i want how  do i do this.. The problem with these questions is they all have the work i in them, we need to stop asking our-self what we are going to do and start asking God what he wants from us. we need to begin to pray and seek him out and look for what the wants in our lives because once we do then things will begin to go into place. we do not know the plans that God has for us but one thing that is always sure is that he knows what he is doing. and thank God because half of the time i have no clue what i am doing but i know that it must be right because i trust in God and i trust that if i was incorrect that he will right me and correct what  i believe ad everything has been pointing me in this direction and i cannot wait to see what he has in store for my future. I am pray. and i pray that each of you are as well, because life is so much better with God trust me it gets hard but Joy always comes in the morning. Jesus is the light it is time to get out of the darkness.

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Failure

Romans 7:15-20 "15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 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." Have you ever just felt like a disappointment? I have been praying and reading my word everyday and I can feel God presence in me but I continue to sin? Here I am trying to be the best me but continue to disappoint God, the one I know can take away my sins. I felt him remove them but as soon as I could I began to sin once more. I am more afraid of being punished by God than anything. I know the truth and I know what he has told me but yet I doubt him? How am I supposed to lead people to Christ if I continue to go further from him. My biggest weakness is leaving his will when I cannot feel him. I am feeling like I am going backwards in my walk with God I feel like I am not strong enough to continue to move forward. I went to church Sunday but missed bible study for two weeks. What kind of person am I? Why do I choose sin over God? I have prayed and prayed of it all I feel like that is all my focus, but when I pray am I really giving it to God? I think about this question so many times... When I pray am I really willing to give up what I get pleasure out of? I failed God today once more by choosing an addiction over church. How can I say I love him when I choose what makes me feel good for a few seconds? Because he loves me, because no matter what I do not matter how far away I go, God is always there to guide me. He never fails to love me even when I have broken his heart time and time again.

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The real glo up is when you stop waiting to turn into some perfect hypothetical version of yourself and consciously enjoy being who you are in the present moment.

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Book of Joshua

Chapter One

·         After the death of Moses God call upon Joshua to take over the land that God promised to Abraham.

·         Moses, like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, could see the promise land but never enter the land

·         God promised that the land would belong to Abrahams decedents

·         When Moses died, it was time to take the land for their own, so God called upon Joshua to take the promise land

The Lord told him to be strong and courageous, this goes for all our lives, so many times we are so afraid to take that leap of faith with God. I know I have, this past six months I have been working nonstop and focusing more on my job and money that I have taken away the most important thing in my life away. We focus more about having our phones than we do having a relationship with God. I have been observing my life a lot lately and the thing I have been doing and no I am not proud of the thing I have done. I have a good coworker who knows I am a Christian and she is someone I know I can talk to about my faith and I have her but most days I am afraid, I am afraid of people knowing I am a Christian. It is hard because I am scared of being judged. I love God and I need to work on that part of my life and I pray for forgiveness and healing and mainly guidance. These past few months I have been so lost I sought help but I knew what I needed to do but I was afraid or id try. I never felt like I was good enough to speak to him. I know the bible wants us to come as we are but I fall so many times that I get ashamed of myself. The part in this chapter that stuck out the most is to be strong and courageous because God is sending people onto this city ready to fight and if they are not prepared to trust the Lord then they will lose and that is what we need to do in our everyday life is to wake up each morning preparing for a battle and trusting that God will get us through the day of whatever life throws at us. Right now, I must lean on him because if I don’t I know I will fall apart and make all the wrong decisions. I trust that God will bring me out of this and I trust that through this he has a plan not only for me but for the situation. God never gives us anything that we cannot handle. So be strong and courageous. Wake up and pray if you must, ask God to be there with you because he never leaves your side.

  Chapter 2

·         Joshua sent spies into Jericho to scope out the land that God had promised, the spies took refuge with a prostitute’s names Rahab.

·         The king of the land got news that there were spies in the land, when the kings men approached Rahab she sent them away

·         Rahab informed the spies that the people of Jericho herd news about God and his mighty power and the people were too afraid to fight

God protects those who serve him. The spies were hidden in the field for three days while the king’s men were looking for them, the spies were also hidden on the rooftop of Rahabs home when the king’s men approached her home. God is real and he loves us and protects us. When God makes a promise, he will fulfil it. He will do anything to make sure that you are protected and loved. In both these chapter we see that things God has done and what he has taught us. The first chapter is about having Faith that God is strong enough to get us through and the second is about how God will protect us from the enemy we just need to be strong and courageous and have the faith it takes to move those mountains he has in front of us

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Speak Life!! Not Death!!

I always here things from Adults like “I wish my kid never did this” or “I wish my kid would do better”. Look… You raised your kid. I bet you did a great job. When they are 18 they basically can make a choice to do what they want. If they do different then what you taught them about you can not control it. You already did your part. You can encourage them and pray for them. Let them know you love them. Don’t talk bad to them and stuff like that because that may push them away or make them want to do bad even more. In the bible there is a story of The vally of dry bones( Ezekiel 37 ). A few weeks ago Pastors wife spoke on this… The Lord asked the Dude if he thought these dry bones would live. He told the Lord that only he(LLord) knew if these bones would live. The Lord tells him to prophesy. He(The Dude) tells the bones that they will live. Them bones began to be put together and lived. If you have a loved one who mabye does not know the Lord You speak life. Don’t say they can’t change and stuff like that. If You are sick and don’t see healing yet. Don’t say you are not ever going to be healed or things like that. Speak life. I’m going to be healed. Speak life over everything. Don’t speak death. Things will be better. -Charisma

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Motivation

Have you ever juggled school full time while you were an adult with no job and your parents and family show zero support of you? Even though you sit in front of your laptop all day studying and doing your lessons all day while maintaining a clean house.... that is my life. Lately I have been getting so discouraged and unmotivated because I need to find a job and move out of my parents house, so I needed someone to blame because I was tired of blaming myself an di began to get angry with God and question his authority. After everything he has brought me out of I question the one person who has never stopped rooting for me. So after months of looking for a job and struggling with school God gave me an opportunity and granted e with a great job. All the glory goes to him and he constantly proves to me that he is always there and will provide for me when it is the right time. this lesson just proves to me that we don't own our lives we don't control what happens next that we just need to stop trying to control it and start allowing God to take the wheel. Yes I have had my doubts during these months but I always knew that God will provide for me when it was time. So take this lesson today and just have faith that our God will provide. one of the things I struggle with the most is patience. I want everything now but there is always a reason why God has us wait... I am also glad that I didn't work the first few months of my freshman year back to college because a full time job plus a full time school schedule would've been bad, but freshman year is almost over  and I believe there is a reason why God put me in these situations, there is always a lesson to be learned and through every lesson our faith always grows because the most important thing when we have a relationship with God is to always have faith in him even when the situation seems horrible, have faith that God will bring you through.

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Patience

"Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." -Proverbs 3:6 We are impatient people, we get impatient for little things like the line at Starbucks is too long or your food is taking too long to get delivered. We also get impatient with God. When he promises us with something we expect to be getting that the next day, but that is never the case. He gives us these promises to teach us patience. He wants us to seek him out first. He wants us to talk to him and allow him to guide us. This verse says it so clearly seek him in all we do and he will guide us to the correct path and once we are on that path then we will begin to fufill what he has called us to be and we'll begin to see all his promises and blessing begin to pour out. God never disappoints us and many of us believe he does because we are so consumed in ourselves that we never stop and ask God what does he want me to do for him today. We always get upset with God because he promised us something and he hasn't given it to us yet. I need you to understand that is is NEVER on our timing because we may think we are ready but God knows that we are not. He know what is best for us and he will give it to you on his timing. It's never been about us. It has always been about serving God. It has always been about fufill get his will. So stop worrying about everything and pray to God and allow him to take co troll of your life and begin to use you for his will because once you begin to do that he will begin to reveal what he has planned for you. So look to God and begin to ask him for help with being impatient and ask him to teach you patient because once you become patient with God then everything will fall into place. Look at Abraham he waited 100 years for Gods blessing of a child but he did become impatient but once he realized Gods plan for him and began to focus on God that was when he finally blessed him with his son. So it may take many years for Gods promise to be but you just have to wait and seek God out and he will always fufil his promises to you.

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JOY

Jesus First Others Second Yourself Last

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Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:11‭-‬12 NIV