We've Moved!

We've moved The Time Has Come to Facebook! The Time Has Come is now a Facebook Group, which means you can talk to your friends, update your status, find lost sheep on Farmville, find your Bible reading schedule, and post blogs--all on one website! Genius. Yeah, we know.

So log on and join us!
http://www.facebook.com/share.php?appid=2530096808&src=box&tid=152673908076&u=www.thebiblechallenge.blogspot.com#/group.php?gid=152673908076&ref=mf

A reminder

“ 1For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.
2For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty,
3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, “ Hebrews 2:1-3

Sometimes, I feel as if we don’t take obedience as serious as we should. As Zeph mentioned today, we make compromises all the time. This has really convicted me of how far we take measures to make Christianity “easy”. The greater the privilege, the greater the punishment for disobedience (Luke 12:47). Take me for example, I have compromised many times the length of my devotionals for sleep, excusing myself by saying that I’ll do it tomorrow after school.

Moreover, we are to be set apart of this world for we have a heavenly calling- one not of this world. We are supposed to be salt and light to the world. We are to be able to discern truth and wrong and to act upon our knowledge-not to be silent and passive.

“I know that in our day rebel means sinner, but everyone is sinning so it is no longer rebellious to sin… If you really want to be a rebel read your bible, because no one is doing that.... that's rebellion that's the only rebellion left.”- Rebel intro by Lecrae

Furthermore Hebrews 3 expands upon the dangers of unbelief. The failure of the Israelites was due to unbelief. A lack of faith in God. They harden their hearts and complained. They were not thankful. Like them, I really have not noticed all the blessings I have, such as the luxuries of having paper, typing, walking, living, water, etc.

“Therefore, let us fear if , while a promise remains of entering His rest, any of you may seem to have come short of it”- Hebrews 4:1.
“For we who have believed enter that rest”-Hebrews 4:3a
Dean has preached a sermon on having spiritual checkups a long time ago that has stuck in my mind. We aught to examine ourselves to see if we have the faith in him, if we truly love our God for who he is. NOT for what he can do for us. “We do want, and want very much, to make men treat Christianity as a means; preferably , of course, as a means to their own advancement, but , failing that, as a means to anything.”-The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

However, God has given us grace and forgiveness if we turn to him and honesty give ourselves to him-to die to ourselves and to be humble, letting God rule and control us. For “The whole self consciousness of the Christian is to be imbued and characterized by the spirit that animated the death of Christ. He has ever to present himself to God as one who has died in Christ, and in Christ is alive from the dead, bearing about in his body the dying of the Lord Jesus. His life ever bears the two-fold mark: its roots striking in true humility deep into the grave of Jesus, the death to sin and self; its head lifted up in resurrection power to the heaven where Jesus is.”- Humility by Andrew Murray

Moreover, we have a faithful High Priest who understands us and knows our weakness; he has humbled himself and can sympathize with our weakness;” he has been tempted in all things as we ar, yet without sin”- Hebrews 4:15
He is compassionate and knows us. He atones for our sins and is totally involved as a man with needs of others. (Hebrews 5) Jesus has made possible our communication with God, and he sustains and blesses those who serve the kingdom of righteousness and peace. Thanks be to him.

Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! - 2 Thessalonians 3:16

All Things Made New

This weekend, I recieved an e-mail that Pastor Ponnatee's wife Suwaree, passed away September 19, 2009 at 7:43 a.m. I did not know Suwaree personally, but I know that she was very close to God and loved Him with all her heart. I think we should now pray for Pastor Ponnatee since, even though he knows that she is with the Lord he must miss her a lot. It was Ponnatee who inspired us to start this blog, and so I think we should do something to show our appreciation, like an e-card or something like that. There are also plans for a memorial service, so we could show up with a real card and give it to him in person.

Any suggestions?

2 corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 4:16
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

I've Been Dreaming of a True Love's Kiss...Same Goes For Guys ;-)

My crazy princess obsession compelled me to watch the movie Enchanted again--a hopeless romance movie about Princess Giselle who falls through a wishing well from animated Andalasia to real-life New York City. Despite its lack of explosions, aliens, or characters with super-powers, I'd have to admit Enchanted to be one of my all-time favorite movies.

After watching it recently, I realized how much emphasis is put on "true love's first kiss." The film opens with dreaming Giselle singing, "I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss/And a prince I'm hoping comes with this/That's what brings ever-after-ing so happy/That's the reason we need lips so much/For lips are the only things that touch/So to spend a life of endless bliss, just find who you love through true love's kiss." (Yeah, I typed that from memory XD) Throughout the movie, she constantly mentions "true love's kiss," until the end when "true love's kiss," of course, wakes her.

Too many princess fairy tales of the past emphasize "true love's kiss," particularly the "first kiss," from Snow White to Sleeping Beauty, it's the first kiss that "conquers all." It is only the first kiss that can wake the princess.

Things have changed as society has changed it's view on "true love's kiss." In today's romantic comedy, the characters exchange several kisses before even mentioning that they love each other. Sometimes characters exchange kisses--even more than just kisses--and later realize they're not right for each other.

Just one small kiss is precious and special--especially for a girl, "true love's kiss" is a once in a lifetime event. So after seven or eight kisses, what makes it so special anymore? "True love's kiss" can never again be attained.

Same goes for guys. Guys have got to admit they fall in love too, and maybe they tend to get more tempted physically than girls do.

And we're all old enough to know it goes further than just "kissing."

I memorized this verse in Life Management: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)" Let's say it simply: God calls for us to be pure, and at our age, it's only more important for us to be thinking about that. And, sure, it's your classic "true love waits" lesson. But temptation is real. It takes a lot to control yourself and not let your emotions (girls...) or physical desires (guys...) get the worst of you.

And I don't know, but I've got a feeling that it will be a lot sweeter--waiting--and doing it God's way. ;-)

So let's discuss this: What are some ways that we can prevent physical temptation with the opposite sex?

The school year and devotions

Devos from a book God Calling: August 24 - Sublime Heights Our Lord, we know that Thou art great and able to deliver us. I am your deliverer. Trust in Me absolutely. Know that I will do the very best for you. Be ready and willing for My Will to be done. Know that with Me all things are possible. Cling joyfully to that truth. Say many times, "All things are possible with My Master, My Lord, My Friend." This truth, accepted and firmly believed in, is the ladder up which a soul can climb from the lowest of pits to the sublimest of heights. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. Daniel 3:17 August 25 - Exhaustion We seek Thee as Thou hast told us. And seeking you shall find. None ever sought My Presence in vain. None ever sought My Help in vain. A breath of desire and My Spirit is there -- to replenish and renew. Sometimes weariness and exhaustion are not signs of lack of spirit but of the guiding of the Spirit. Many wonderful things would not have happened but for the physical weariness, the mind-weariness of My servants, which made the resting apart, the giving up of work, a necessity... Though My Way may seem a narrow way it yet leads to Life, abundant Life. Follow it. It is not so narrow but that I can tread it beside you. Never too lonely with such companionship. A comrade infinitely tender, infinitely strong, will tread the way with you. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Matthew 7:14 I was reading Psalms 55 which is about a betrayal. Psalm 56:22 stood out to me:

"Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."

Despite all the betrayal and anguish and pain David is going through, he is able to pray and trust God wholly. He trusted in God to "uphold the believer in the struggles of life"(MacArthur Study bible). 2 Cor 4 furthermore expands on this. By putting our burden on God, he strengthens us. we can withstand Life's hurts and pains. God can carry us though the hard times of life , like in the Poem Footsteps. [God] whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you." Furthermore," knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;"- Romans 6:6 we are free from sin. Just as Pastor Bob illustrated, the Holy Spirt can empower us to overcome the gravity of sin if we allow it to and humble ourselves. We can do our devotions daily and overcome the sin of being prayerless/not doing devotions. I say sin because it is something we need to repent of and turn away from . It harms our relationship with God. It kinda implies we don't trust; we aren't needy; we don't need to listen and obey Jesus. However, like the savage in Brave New World illustrated, we cannot do this by ourselves. "What if the Church, for heaven's sake Finally stepped up to the plate Took a stand upon God's promise And stormed hell's rusty gates What if His people prayed And those who bear His name Would humbly seek His face yeah And turn from their own way He said that He would hear His promise has been made He'll answer loud and clear, yeah If only we would pray"- What if his people prayed by Casting Crowns. Prayer Devotions Accountabilty P.S. You might be wondering why I titled this the school year and devotions. I titled it becuase I felt that as a community and group of fellow Christians/Catholics, we can build each other up , just like Iron sharpens Iron. We can sharpen each other and change our lives, our schools, our world. We are the future of the Church. feel free to add/comment/correct me

Working with God.

Well the tittle says it all. You must work with God while you are working.
On August 15, 2009 I had a meeting at 8 AM which i was none to please about. This meeting was rather tedious and was not very productive. Which is why when I left it I was not in the best of moods. I came back to work around 11:15 which when I was schedule to work. So me being in a bad mood all ready really didn't want to work at all.
As many people know when you don't want to do something, something always forces you do have to do that that which you did not want to do, and this case was like that. To my surprise I was greeted by The president and owner of the company. They decided to see how I had become the number one sales person in the Tarrant County. They wanted to see if they could gain any tips to help the people that were not doing to well. This was a horrible day all ready, and this was added to it.
I went to talk to my manger to see if he had any advice for me. What he told me was just to go out there and to work like nothing was different. Then we prayed about the day, and we both asked God to help us through out the day to watch over us as we worked.(Get it working with God?)So I went out on the sales floor and was prepared for the day.
My first customer comes in the store, wanting the basic phone, no extras, no features. He just wanted the basics. Well with me I can tell what customers you are not going to convince to get another phone wants they have their minds set on something specific, and he was one of those people, or so I thought.
When the sale was done, he had purchased our most expensive phone, with all the extras and features. When he walked out the door, I had no clue on how and what had happened. This guy also activated the service know as U-Verse with me that day. As I said before, I did nothing more, I did not mention any of this to this gentlemen, He asked about all of these things on his own. This sale alone gave me 16+ units (units=gross profit/44.44). That sale alone hit my daily goal and it was only 12:00PM.
After the day was over I had close to 60 units which is one of the highest store goals for the Tarrant market. Through out these sales I had no control over what was being sold. I thank God for that alone. Without him that wouldn't have been possible. However, this was just the start.
Before we closed, The president and owner (Darreon and Asa) came and pulled me to the side and they congratulated me. They were astonished at my performance. I told them I did nothing, and that my Lord and Saver had done this. I, myself , could not ever dream of being able to do this. Because of this performance.
Through this I learned that, I could never dream of accomplishing anything of this magnitude without God. He is the driver of my life. He has control of what happens to me. I am just here for a short while. He will direct me to the places I need to be. He will provide. He will open oppurtunities.

Here's another verse for us to discuss:

Romans 11:32-
"For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all."

Innocence and Instinct

What we have currently been reading in Romans might come across as difficult to understand for some of us. I know I often times had to re-read portions and stop to sort them out in my head before even moving on. I don't want anyone to be running in the dark with any of these verses, so please share if you are having any difficulty with a particular verse and we will discuss it. I think it would be great for us to hear everyone's personal opinions on certain verses.

I personally think what we're reading right now (in Romans 7) parallels with the main idea of Red's album Innocence and Instinct. As the opening track sings, "What I fear and what I try/ Words I say and what I hide/All the pain, I want it to end/But I want it again." This song seems to describe what Paul says in Romans 7:15-20, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 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."

One can re-state these verses in poetry, but basically, Paul is talking about his "fight inside" between his sinful self and his spiritual self. We all, as Christians, have two constantly warring sides as well.

At youth camp, the preacher discussed these sides of "Innocence" and "Instinct." He stated that one side of us wants to worship and obey God, but we feel miserable because of sin. And yet, another side wants to indulge in the pleasures of sin, but we feel miserable because of the Holy Spirit convicting us of our wrong. Thus, Romans 7:21-23: "So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members."

Hence verse 24: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?"

Well said, Paul! Well said! So what are we to do? We are so wrapped up in our sinful instinct. Is there any way to return to innocence?

Verse 25: "Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

So we don't have to live in misery after all. The war between our sinful and spiritual selves might be hard, but we don't give up. Each day, we are being molded into better people; and we will never see perfection until we get to Heaven.

"Oh, I'm wasting away,
It's part of my instinct,
I'll run away from everything I hate.
Take this away,
Help me escape,
Take this away,
I confess...
...Innocence."
- "Confession (What's Inside My Head)", Red

What is your opinion on the war between "innocence" and "instinct"? Have you ever experienced it in your life? How can we better fight and win? Please share your comments and any verses you'd like to discuss!

Flip!

My youth group recently came home from Student Life Camp 2009 in Branson, Missouri. The theme, as evident in our t-shirts, was Flip! The camp focused on change and doing opposite of what the world does--love your enemies, lose your life to gain it, etc. etc. As a group, we learned a boatload of things from doing quiet time to sponsoring children from Third World countries. Even me personally, I would say I'd learned a different variety of lessons from camp, but looking at my notes from Worship Time, I see that they all connect. Flip! is a transition. Here are the steps:

Day 1: Focus on God's holiness. Once we had the foundation that God was holy, we realized that God deserves our fear, awe, and obedience. We were ready to let Him work.

Day 2: After realizing that God is holy, choose to change. Make it a personal choice to give up everything for God. Don't do it if you're not ready, because if you're not ready to give up everything for God, you are not worthy to follow Him.

Day 3: After making the personal decision to change yourself, choose not to sin. Speaker Francis Chan made an illustration with lemonade and chocolate milk. Both sound really good. We can drink lemonade, or God, and say that it's good; but turn around and drink chocolate milk, or sin, and say that it's also good. However, when you begin mixing the two, it starts tasting sour. God and sin don't taste good together; that's why you're only allowed to choose one.

Day 4: Now that you've decided to dedicate your entire life to God, do what He wants you to do. Go out into the world and live a different life. Sometimes you wish you could do great things, but sometimes God just wants you to do what's small. Rather than dreaming about what you can do tomorrow, ask God what He wants you to do today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's everything in a nutshell. Basically, everything revolves around making choices. We can all take it easy and go through the motions, or emotions. We can focus on what everyone else is doing. But we can't change the world without changing ourselves first.

RIGHT NOW...pray and make the decision to make your faith personal. Don't follow God because your parents and friends want you to. Follow God because you want to.

Allow Me to Raise a Question...

...about Normal Kids vs. Weird Kids. The Normal Kids think that Weird Kids are weird, and the Weird Kids think that Normal Kids have nothing unique about them.

So here are three questions:

Which category do you think you fall under?

Which category do you think God would want us to fall under?

How would God want us to treat the "others"?

Jeremiah 38 1-4

Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people, 2Thus says the Lord, Those who stay in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live; they shall have their lives as a prize of war, and live. 3Thus says the Lord, This city shall surely be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon and be taken. 4Then the officials said to the king, ‘This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.’

If you read the rest of the chapter you'll find that Jeremiah was quickly thrown into a well with nothing in it but mud and left to die. However the king has compassion for Jeremiah and pulls him out.

I'm not concentrating on how the story goes however. I'm thinking about what Jeremiah said. When thinking about it as history it's obvious that the reason was because the city was exeedingly wicked and the king did not listen to God. You'll see that if you read chapter 37 However if you look at it from the people's perspective at that time it's also easy to see why they would think that Jeremiah was crazy.

The question I have is could this be going on today? What I mean is, could a pastor or person preach about something unpopular or unacepted yet it is the truth about a subject? In my mind the answer is yes and I'm pretty sure it is in yours as well but I want to know what you guys think.

Questions or comments? I hope what I said wasn't confusing. =S

The more time put into a creation, the better it is and if it's in God's time it's a masterpiece :D

Wait on God. Trust in Him. Sometimes we get ahead of ourselves, and we think God is just being too slow. I'm just reminding you that God has a plan for you and with that, a perfect timing for it.

Life

Today, we visited a pastor friend of ours whose wife had been battling cancer for several years and whose time was beginning to dwindle. I was somewhat reluctant to go; I'm not fond of "visiting," especially if they are people that I myself am not particularly close to. Strangely, however, this visit gave me a new perspective.

We drove up to their house when the old couple opened their door to greet us. Though weak, they seemed cheerful. My mom barely had time to sign their card. The wife seemed enthusiastic to have company; she set up chairs for us, cleaned up the house, and offered us drinks. For a little while, we talked with her husband, but she began to get restless and grabbed my hand to show me around. Surprised, I tried to be as polite and cheery as I could. She showed me a special room with a bed that she told me was the bed in which she "would die." I was a little disturbed by that, but politely I told her that it was a nice room. She agreed.

Then she took me outside to her most special place--her garden in which she grew various flowers and herbs. She plucked gardenias and jasmine leaves for me to smell, and told me how she loved to plant but had little strength to, now. We went around the garden about one and a half times, then we went back inside. Without asking first, she handed me a soda. Her husband joked that she was the type of person that was always doing something. He pointed to us a picture on the wall and made us guess how old she was in that picture. We all guessed somewhere between 20 and 30, when in fact, she was 46. We soon prayed for them and left.

Despite the fact that she was, literally dying, they both had an infectious look of joy on their faces. "We live by God's grace," the husband said.

I also developed a new perspective of older people. Often times we lose our respect for the elderly and picture them as simple, little old people slouching on their wheelchairs and staring helplessly at the wall. We never saw them when they were young, beautiful, energetic, adventurous, artistic, and just plain cool, if not during their time.

We are young people. We often feel like we're on top of the world. We're not. In fact, we haven't seen anything yet.

Life is fleeting. Make the most of it, and look up to those who have already seen it.

Prayer

well I'm reading a series of books on prayer by E. M. Bounds at the moment:
enlightenment.narechk.net/DeBelloGallico/ if u want the free web version

It is quite prayer-changing (idk if that's the right word to use).

also another good book to read about prayer imo was fresh wind, fresh fire. It really revived my faith and trust and such in God.

Just wondering, has anyone read Unchristian. It is quite an eye-opener book. It talks about how Unchrisitans view Christians now and like all the faults and stereotypes they have when we say I am a Christian.

I Think...

...somebody should put up a new blog really soon and not me because I just did one! =D =D =D

*I just checked; I did two actually. :P

Converse, Vans, and TOMS

I remember talking to one of my friends one night. She wanted her mom to hurry up and finish talking to other people so her mom can give her $80 to buy new shoes. I asked her what kind of shoes she wanted to buy, and she already knew what she wanted--Vans. I then listened through her ramble about the different brands of shoes that she had.

I went home and began to think about my own shoes. I've never owned a pair of Vans or Converse or any other "brand name" for that matter. Most of my shoes are from Payless, Wal-Mart, or Target. Usually, I could care less for brands, but for some reason, it got to me this time. After all, her mom worked at a dry cleaners; my parents both work in medicine. Now, I'm not belittling jobs, but considering that my parents are being paid much more, you would think that I would have a nicer pair of shoes than she would.

Something weird came over me the next few weeks as I contemplated my lack of nicer things when suddenly, I remembered the TOMS shoes commercial. For every pair of shoes they sell, TOMS gives a pair away to a needy child. I then thought, Why am I so concerned about never having a certain brand of shoes, when there are children around the world who've never even owned a pair of shoes in their life?

Living in America, we are blessed to be able to get anything we want whenever we want it. We never had to look farther than our refrigerator to find food. We never have to go to a dirty river to get water. And, hey, I don't remember ever going without shoes.

So many teenagers today argue with their parents for a nice car, a nice phone, or a nice MP3 player. Halfway around the world, someone of the same age doesn't even know what an MP3 player is. Don't you think it's about time we wake up and see that all the stuff we accumulate will only be destroyed by moth and rust? Let's stop wanting.

Give.

The Day After Mother's Day

Mother's Day is the day that we finally realize that we need to appreciate our moms. After all, everyone has to write a card for her. Afterwards, as with every holiday, life returns to normal.

Our moms do a lot for us, sometimes too much. They're literally the commanding officers of the house; they take time out to homeschool; they buy our clothes and cook our meals; they keep our worlds in order.

I'd like to challenge everyone.

1. After you read this blog: Hug your mom and tell her that you love her.

2. The day after you read this blog: Do something for your mom that she usually does for you. For instance, volunteer to vacuum the floor, do the laundry, babysit, etc. etc. *Don't you dare ask for money.

Mother's Day is a great way to express our love to our moms, but often times it's the unexpected that is more meaningful.

Future Spouse

I went to the Homeschool Book fair today and heard a woman speak on purity. Now, I could go sooo many directions with this...but I won't. She just gave some really good advice that I wanted to share.

Whenever you are talking to a member of the opposite sex, pretend like your future spouse is standing right behind you, watching everything you say and do.


=D

just a question...

What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?

I found a Fellow Jesus Freak!!!

Hey Freaks!! I just wanted to let you know that my awesome brother, Christopher, made an excellent blog. I thought that some of his posts might inspire us. He was thinking about joining us, but I think he prefers to fly solo. Please read the latest post and put your comments there or here, here or there :P

http://www.ledbythesun.blogspot.com/

JEREMIAH!!!

Hey, I know it's been a while since anyone's done a blog, so I wanted to "break the ice" (for lack of better words) and find out what everyone thinks about Jeremiah right now.

What basic lesson has Jeremiah been teaching you?

Are there any particular verses that have stood out for you?

(Check out the comments for my personal answer!)

Yay! My turn! The next book we will be reading is Jeremiah. I've only read bits and peices of it and am really looking forward to it. Check out the schedule on the right hand side of the screen. ===>>If there are any mistakes or anything on the schedule please let me know or feel free to customize it yourself (which you have to be a member of the blog to do.) Thanks fellow Jesus Freaks!

Entering the Twilight Zone

Just a question. What do you think about Twilight, Harry Potter, Wicked? Just your every day witch/vampire/sorcery type media. Right?

I was in my super-reading class (a class I never thought that I would learn something important from) and the subject came up. My teacher told us that we need to learn as much as we can about the opposing sides if we are going to debate them. But, most Christians don't. We don't have or even allow the ability to learn up on the other's side. I know that my parents don't want me reading books like Twilight, just because they want to protect me from the evil thoughts that come with reading the book. I entirely, %100 agree with my parents not letting me read it. From previous experiences I have learned that satan can enter into my mind just as easily as the very air I breathe enters in my body. Its not because my parents want to make my life miserable and make me miss out on everything, it's because they love me.

I ask the question again, "What do you think?", "Have you read Twilight?" "What did you think about it?"

I don't judge people for what they believe. It's kind of hard to judge when I have a church in my home with people who came from all sorts of religions and ways of living. I hope that you will all express your opinions freely. Thanks for reading ;)

Here's Another Verse to Think About:

Ecclesiastes 4:4- "And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

• There's a lot of truth in this. What do you think this verse means?

Everything is Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."

3 What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.

6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever

returning on its course.

7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come

from, there they return again.

8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.

9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

11 There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.

This passage opens up the book of Ecclesiastes. Like the rest of the Bible, this passage is very true. To me, it is mournful, poetic, and in a sense, epic.

• What does this passage mean to you?
• What does he mean in verse 9, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun"?

Fasting with a purpose

I have made up my mind to fast from one of my worst addictions...Facebook. This will be a 40 day fast starting tomorrow and on going until Easter. I am very excited about fasting. I did it last year too only I fasted from television with my whole family. I like to spend those 40 days spending more time with God and reading my bible more. Usually I don't have as much time with God because I'm chatting with a friend on Facebook or taking one of their useless quizes. I'm not doing this as a petition against Facebook, but as an oppurtunity to spend time away from it. I'm also hoping that I will build a better relationship with my family...since it is not going as well as I wish for it to be. Please comment and tell me what your thoughts on fasting are. I will probably have a lot more time on writing on this blog, so look for new posts. ;) God bless you guys. --Grace

Bungee Jumping or Witnessing (which is easier?)

"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." -Acts 20:22-24

Probably the biggest thing that I'm learning from the book of Acts is witnessing. Personally, I don't think I'll have any problems when witnessing. I know what to say, how to answer any questions--my only probelm is actually doing it.

I think witnessing is one of the biggest issues for Christian youth today. Growing up in Christian homes, we think we have it together. We don't drink or do drugs, we obey our parents, we go to church and youth group--we're "good little Christian kids." There's just one thing missing: sharing our faith. Most of us here aren't afraid to perform in front of people, fly a plane, or go bungee jumping...but when it comes to sharing our faith, we're at a dead halt.

I want to be like Paul, who preached courageously even if he was put in jail or flogged. In fact, he considered his life worth nothing, and the only thing that mattered to him was spreading the gospel all over the world.

We sometimes don't think so, but we, in a way, "witness" all the time. We tell our friends about a new movie, new TV show, or a new band no one's ever heard of. If Jesus is such a huge part of our lives, why should telling others about Jesus be any harder?

I understand most of us are homeschooled and don't get the same opportunities as kids who go to school and are around the unsaved everyday, but let us pray for God to give us opportunities to share our faith. If you have trouble figuring out what to say, follow GOSPEL:

God created us to be with Him.

Our sin separated us from God.

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.

Life that's eternal means we will be with Jesus forever.

*A great website is dare2share.org, where I got the acrostic above, and you can get more witnessing ideas as well as how to witness to different types of people.

QUESTION: But let's think of some ideas of our own--how can we begin to share our faith with others? And let's try not to think of clichés or cheesy poems taken off t-shirts; let's think of real things. What are some ways we can insert God in our conversations? What are some other witnessing techniques that you've learned? Can't wait to hear your ideas!

Benefits of Being a Christian on Valentine's Day

So I felt like the spoiled girl who everybody hates because she gets everything she wants on Valentine's Day. A very sweet guy surprised me on Valentine's Day with a teddy bear and chocolates.

...my dad. :)

I was talking with some of my friends about how Valentine's Day went; most of them said something like they got a text message like "Happy Valentimes Day," "The Pizza is Dying," and "Happy Worst Day of the Year"--basically Valentine's Day was just any other day. Nobody had a big Valentine's banquet or went on a romantic date.

Probably most of us had a Valentine's Day just like that--probably most everyone in the world. There are a lot of people out in the world that don't have love--not just a boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse, but some people don't have families period. Some people don't have friends, or at least true friends. Maybe one of us felt unloved on Valentine's Day.

But I wouldn't think so, if each of us are Christians.

Despite what our situation may be--we may not have the love of our family, our friends, our "special someone"--but we have something better: the perfect love of God that will never fail us. Even if not one person on earth loved us, we are loved by God, and that love should be enough for us. And because God loves us, it is our job to show His love to those that do not have love.

So this leaves us with some big questions: True love is more than just giving gifts or just saying "I love you." What is true love? How do we truly love other people?

The Power of Prayer

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Isn't it awesome that we can always talk to God no matter where or when?And that He actually listens to every one? It still blows my mind. I used to hate it when my mom asked me to pray at mealtimes. And even when I began to understand the power of prayer I still was embarrassed when me and my family would pray over a meal at restaurants. Even now I still forget to pray. But I am so thankful to God that He listens.

One day my brother Nathaniel accidentally ate something with peanuts in it. He is very allergic to them and it caused him to go into shock. He couldn't breath. He could have easily died within the next thirty minutes. We rushed him to the hospital. I was about eleven at the time, and all I remember doing was praying the whole way there. My mom was praying too.

As we took Nathaniel into the waiting room we noticed he wasn't wheezing anymore. By the time a nurse had a look at him he was perfectly fine. God had completely healed him. This is one of the many miracles Jesus has done in my life.

Alright, I know some of you have already shared, but what are some other things Jesus has done in your life because of prayer?

TURN IT UP!!!

Scroll down to see our new music player! We've got some great songs from our favorite Christian artists like Skillet, Red (their new stuff, too!), Jeremy Camp, Superchic[k], Anberlin, and much more...a LOT more! Thanks to Justin for putting it up!

Somebody to take our troubles, our worries and our problems all away

God is so amazing. I'll start with that.

I wanted to share a discussion me and my dad had on our long road trip yesterday. We were looking at some lyrics from a really cool song by a secular band. I just wanted to share a portion of the lyrics with you:
Well, everybody's gonna need somebody To take our troubles and our worries And our problems all away...

This part really touched me and my dad. But when my dad asked me who that person is and how they are going to do that...I was a little stumped. I said "Jesus, of course." Then I thought about it. Does Jesus just take all of our problems away? No. If he did, why are we the way we are? Why are loved ones dying? Why are people getting into debt? Why are there Anorexic and Bulimic girls out there? Why? Because Jesus doesn't take our troubles and our worries and our problems all away. When we get to heaven, of course. But why doesn't he take them away now? I'm still answering this question myself. I used to listen to "Adventures in Odyssey" by Focus on the Family. One of my favorite characters "Jenny Roberts" became blind through some sort of incident. One day she was at "Whit's End" (the soda shop) giving advice to a girl who was recently feeling disconnected to God. Since Jenny became blind, she had grown closer to God herself. Jenny told her that whenever she went through hard times, those hard times had brought her closer to God. Why? Because she would spend more time sharing her problems with God!


So, I have a question: Does God let us go through hard times, let us worry, have troubles and problems so that we will grow closer to him? Please give me comments, I would love to hear your opinion.

What If We All...?

Being Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, I took the day off from school, and both my parents were home, so we had "family walking time" at the mall, early in the morning when no one was there. No time to make sure my hair was okay. As soon as we all woke up, I grabbed my iPod, put on my tennis shoes, and rushed straight to the mall. Around 10am, we decided to watch Paul Blart: Mall Cop at the movie theater in the mall. While waiting in line for tickets, I saw a fine young man, wearing a sky blue Hurley t-shirt and tight black jeans, his auburn hair styled somewhat in a Mohawk with bangs swept to the side just barely touching his eyes. Seeing that, I looked sadly at myself, no lip gloss, in my old sweats, and my sweaty hair matted to my face...I was a disaster. And I was at the mall! I muttered an "oh well" in my head and tried to quit looking at people, holding an "if don't see them, they don't see me" attitude.

After the movie, we went to the post office to mail my grandma's birthday present. The people there were mostly older people probably wearing whatever they woke up in. Then I thought to myself, "What if we all didn't care about what we looked like? What if we all could just go out wearing our comfy sweats and no one cared about it? Then people would be more focused on the personality rather than what they look like."

Teens can be so caught up in outward appearance sometimes. My dad said that he once was the same way. He said that teenagers always think that people are always looking at them, but in reality, no one really cares.

Like what Grace said in an old blog, beauty is in the heart. Like mannequins...they're stylish, but they don't have any heads.

A Shack Made in Heaven

For school, I had to read a short story by Henry Van Dyke called "The Mansion."

It told of a wealthy businessman named John Weightman, who was best known as a philanthropist and almost "righteous" man, always following the Bible and doing good to others. Though he was wealthy, he lived in a regular house and gave most of his wealth to organizations and churches. He was revered and admired by all. However, he had a discontented son named Harold, whom he had plans for; however, Harold, though he respected his father completely, wanted to travel and take a different path from what his father wanted. On the night of Christmas Eve, he asked his father for three or four thousand dollars to help a sick friend from college who had a wife and baby to take care of, but his father refused, saying that he would never get anything from helping his friend, probably only a mere letter of thanks. Unhappy with his father's answer, he left and went to bed, deciding to make his own choices for his life.

John Weightman felt troubled as he had never felt before. He opened his Bible at a random place and found the verse, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust do corrupt and where thieves break through and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." Suddenly, John felt his body become weak and slipped away.

When he awoke, he found himself in a beautiful place and meeting people who have died years ago. Filled with excitement, he instantly knew where he was. Among the people he had met were the poor, the widowed, the blue-collar workers, and the formerly crippled or sick. Soon, a Guide came told them that their mansions were ready. Almost every person in the eager group had been taken to their mansion, leaving John the last one. Finally, it was time for the Keeper of the Gate to take John to his mansion. They traveled far out of the city, many miles away from the others. After seeing them, John was confident that his reward would be much greater. Yet to his surprise, the Keeper of the Gate took him to nothing but a rusty shack made of scrap material, sitting in an open field. Confusioned, John enumerated all that he had done on earth. He had kept God's commandments, served at his church, and most of all, given to the poor. Because the Keeper of the Gate told him that he had already been rewarded on earth, he did not need another reward in Heaven. With bitter disappointment, John asked what he could have done better on earth, what really counted in Heaven? With that, the Keeper of the Gate replied:

"Only that which is truly given. Only that good which is done for the love of doing it. Only those plans in which the welfare of others is the master thought. Only those labors in which the sacrifice is greater than the reward. Only those gifts in which the giver forgets himself."

Gradually, John began to feel colder. Then he awoke, to find himself back in his home. He rushed up to his son's room and wrote a check for his friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't want to do so much to find that it meant nothing. Righteousness is filthy rags. Giving for receiving is a shack. Check your heart as I check mine.

Living like You and Me

Ever since Christmas, I've been thinking non-stop about what Jesus was like. At the time he was here on earth he was a human. He was born as a baby, he had to learn how to walk, talk, he even had to potty train I'm sure! It is such an encouragement to think that Jesus went through life, he was here on this earth. So when we start complaining to him with our problems and how earth is such a terrible place...He can relate! Of course we could never compare ourselves to Jesus. We are a lot different than him, He has never sinned for starters. Jesus had to grow up just like us! I'm sure he got in fights with his siblings, went to school and had chores. By the time he was maybe 12, he probably started working with his father. If you haven't seen the Nativity Story, I highly suggest it. Joseph asks the question "Will he just know he was born with greatness? Will he gradually grow into this leader? Will there be something in his eyes?" This will be one of my millions of questions to ask God when I get to heaven. He even had to die like a human. He knows what challenges we face, he had most of them too.