The life you live is the example you leave

First of all, I sat and wrote this while in the car. I do not doubt the power of God at all! But I do doubt my sense of judgment, and with my imagination..I don’t want to risk giving a false testimony. So the things written in this post – I really feel like God spoke these words to me. Just don’t quote it as a word from God!

I have been having a hard time sitting and just doing devotions and things lately. Ok so plainly, I’ve just been down right lazy. I was wondering why, if someone continues in setting a good example of Christ for others to see, it is soo important to soak themselves in God’s Word..? How does it affect my life?

Well, I realize now that by not taking out time for God regularly, I have been affected by being so blind that I would ask such a question.

Here it is, as if God were speaking it to me - or you:














Look at the candles, do you realize anything? Two of them are out of wax. Yet the flame is still there.

Think hard on these questions.

• What is the purpose of a candle?
• What is your purpose?
• What happens when the candle is all out of wax, and the flame continues to shine?
• What happens when you are not soaking yourself daily in my Word, but remain faithful to shining your light, sharing my joy with others.

Read closely

• The candle is used to give off light, and very often it’s used for the smell.
• You were made to shine! To spread my love, my joy! I want you to bring glory and honor to My name by carrying out the Will that I have through you.
• The light from the candle will still be used. But the candle’s purpose isn’t carried out fully, if only the container would be filled with wax again, so that the flame is surrounded by wax – it would be able to do more than just give off light! It could give a whole room a scent.
• I will still use your willingness to shine and to share My Joy. However, My purpose for you wouldn’t be carried out fully. If only you would be soaked up in My Word! Filled with My Holy Spirit – you would be able to do much more than just share My Joy!! You could carry my very purpose of this world, into this world!

Even though you may be useful to me when you aren’t totally devoted..in devotions, our relationship..you can do so much more if you would only take the time!

Look how beautiful this is…!

So, are you only going to shine? Will you stop at only lighting up the pathway that I made for you to find.. Or will you allow me to fully carry out my plans in you and through you?
Remember this: For my plans to be carried out and fully fulfilled, you also have to be willing. Give up everything, and I mean everything that you have! Yet you will NOT be at loss, I will bless you soo much!

I love you. I want to use you, but you have to want that too. Remember this: The life you live is the example you leave, this includes the life that nobody else see’s but you, or so you may think. Are you going to live in rebellion and stay lazy? Are you going to rise up a lazy people? Or will you rise the worshippers.

I heard your request, along with all of the prayers of My people for a revolution, I LOVE IT!!! But you need to be willing to do more than pray about it. Soak yourself all around - inside and out, with my Word. I will put into you what you must do. This must start with you. (All of those who are willing, not literally YOU)

So then, stop this laziness! Let’s start fresh. I’m ready whenever you are!

……LORD, forgive me for being so blind!!

Overcome

I was just thinking about all of the troubles we go through and about when we fall in our walk with God. I was trying to think of a different way to look at it all.

I started thinking about things that I'm going through, and wonder how I'm ever going to overcome it. I thought that I will with God, but that was a given. Randomly I remembered times in the past when I had really screwed up. Then I saw it, nomatter how hard I fell, nomatter how far I backslid or even how long, God was always there to catch me, to comfort me.

I thought about when I moved, that has got to be the hardest thing I've gone through in life. I was mad at my parents, my brothers, I was mad at God.

So now I think in these terms:

If God's gotten me through all of the mess that I got myself into before, allowing me to grow that much closer to Him and that much further in my walk with Him, showing me grace and forgiveness, then not only will I get through the current issues and 'mess' I'm dealing with now, but God will surely bring me closer to Him and further along in my walk with Him, teaching me the Love and forgiveness of which He has influenced me with, bringing me that much closer to holiness.

And if God has delivered me through the times in the past when I struggled with dedication and devotion, strengthening my faith and trust in Him, teaching me sacrifice, then SURELY He can deliver me now, making my faith even stronger, showing me to trust in Him unconditionally, teaching me sacrifice, bringing me that much closer to holiness.

There is a lesson in everything that we do.
Keep your eyes open on a daily basis for God's teaching.

The presence of God

I love traveling! Our family (except Jeremy..he had to work) went to P.A. today to help my grandma finish up on moving. And I gotta say, the best part wasn't when we got to see family or even when we got home..It was the trip! I had my headphones on the whole time..yes..but having the great opportunity just to watch out the window with music on loud so I can't hear anything going on in the car, I just spent time talking with God, praising Him silently. How cool!

I wished I had a camera when I realized how beautiful the sunset was! I saw deer too!

I look around tonight, and see all the accecories and gadgets and conveniences I have in my room alone, let alone my whole house. I'm very blessed and very thankful for it all! Escpessially seeing how there are others around the world who have literally nothing compared to what I have. However, knowing I have all of this stuff doesn't compare to when I see the sunset, knowing that my family has food on the table doesn't give me happiness like seeing God's creation does. I'm thankful that those who cannot enjoy modern conveniences, let alone food three times a day or even a pair of shoes, can experience the Glorious presence of God also. That is the greatest gift or blessing anyone can recieve, to simply experience God.

I pray for whoever reads this. I pray that God will bless you beyond your imagination as He has blessed me tonight.

"Once Saved, Always Saved" Part 3

Read Psalms 91:14-16 & Psalms 118:14

By reading these I'm confused as to what Salvation actually IS.
In the first verse given above, God says that "With long life" He will show us His salvation. Meaning that along with heaven, He will show us His salvation? Or will he provide long life on earth? Whichever it is, it is then when God will show us His salvation.

In the second verse given above it says that God "Has become" my salvation; The author has aquired salvation on earth.

Salvation then goes alot deeper than I would have ever imagined:

1. "Jesus is my Salvation." "He has become my Salvation" Means: Jesus is my Savior. He has, by saving me from all sin through the crucifixion, become my Savior.
2. "God will show us His Salvation." MeansL God will share with us His Salvation when we enter heaven.

If God becomes the Savior in our life, being that He is what we absalutely need daily instead of the internet or TV (etc), if we sacrifice or dedicate our time into the hands of God (rather than into worldy things), then we will recieve His Gift of both everlasting life and the gift of God's Salvation.

If our life concludes more toward the things of this world, (if we revolve around media and technology daily to a point where it aquires more time in our life than God does) than we will have planted our lives in it. And we would (instead of living by God and recieving God's Salvation eternally) have gained that of which is given to those who are dedicated to the world. (But that would be eternal suffering in Hell)

Salvation, then, is what we live for. Personally, God has become my Salvation. God is what I live for.

Salvation is like a folder!

It's like we recieve a folder-journal combo when we get to earth. Whatever we decide to fill our life with (Whatever we put in our folder given to us) and whatever we decide to devote to (what we will write about in our journal) Is how we would live our life. Though we were given a topic to write about, and we were given things to put in this folder we still have free will to do so or not. If we use these things that the folder was made for, then we will recieve our reward. If we don't, we will not recieve reward but will be punished for our foolishness and/or misuse of the gift given to us.

• If we fill our life with God's Word and if we live for God, we will recieve what God has set aside to give us.
• If we fill our lives with the things from this world, it would have been pointless in the first place to do so and we would not gain a thing by it exept punishment for our foolishness and our misuse of the gift given to us. AND would miss out on God's gift for us.

We can base our salvation in God, and then turn and base it in the world (We can fill our life, or folder, with God and God's good works. And then completely rip him out of our lives filling our life with things of this world) if one does this then Hebrews 6:4-6 would apply to them. Proving that "Once save, Always Saved" isn't correct.

We aquire, or can aquire our Salvation on earth, which is accepting God and making him the center of our lives. After we die, we get to heaven and God shares with us His salvation. Psalms 91:16

But just think!!! Once we get to heaven, our point to existing which is God promises to share His point to existing (His Salvation)! WOW I can only imagine.

If I'm falsley speaking, TELL ME! The last thing I want to do is #1 believe something false and even worse #2 teach something false. Let me know your thoughts!

"Once Saved, Always Saved." Part 2

Hebrews 6:4-6 proves my thoughts on wether or not you can lose salvation true...does it not? (I didn't mean that rudely or as if bragging..It was a literal question for those who may see something in it that doesn't agree with my previous post)

2 Timothy 2:12b Says that if we disown God, he will also disown us. Is it possible for me to walk up to somebody I have never met and disown them? No, because I don't know the person. Even with a friend I could not. It would not work unless the person is a family member, or one who is like one; someone really close to you. So to disown God we would have had to have a close relationship with him first.

"Once Saved, Always Saved" is false!

"Once Saved, Always Saved"

"Once saved, always saved" - I have been thinking about this saying, trying to figure out the truth behind it. And wether or not it itself is true or not. I have heard this being taught and the way it was taught was that if you have known God, loved God and truly obeyed His commands, sharing in the Holy Spirit and then fall away, you are still saved.

Well here are my thoughts on it.

I learned on the Camp Neosa Forums that while on earth, we don't experienced salvation but repentance. And if this is true, this saying would make a whole lot of sense! If being "Saved" consisted of entering the gates of heaven, then once saved always saved is correct, I mean once we are in heaven we aren't leaving!

With the way it was being taught, however, they could have said "once repented, always repented"...that's wrong! If a man truly seeks God, loving and obeying His ways and then turns away from God and dies in the condition of one who's turned down God, he will not live in heaven because of his short sacrifice earlier on! For example; Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus. He had seen the light. He literally walked with God himself! Followed Jesus and then he betrayed Him! He turned his back on God. Now he isn't in heaven because he had once walked with God, but he suffers the consequences of the condition his soul was in on the day that he passed away.

Romans 8:38-39 is oftentimes stated on behalf of "Once saved (repented), always saved (repented)" But I think it's meaning does not back this subject at all. It says that nothing can seperate us from God's love, which is true (It IS in the Bible, lol). But "once saved always saved" isn't about God's love for us, it's about our love for God. What I mean is in Romans 8 it says nothing can bring us from God's love, but unfortunately our love for God can often times be distracted, and sometimes it get's too far into worldly things to come back, like Judas. God's love is unending, but a relationship goes two ways, and without our love to God we cannot have a relationship with God, without our end being about God, we can't enter heaven.

Study, you won't regret it.

I've hit the point where I can get my permit, BUT now I am deeply troubled with the fact that I have to pass a test, in turn I have to study this BORING book!! I told myself to just suck it up and I'd be behind the wheel in no time; that was two day's ago and I'm on page 5.

For me to recieve my permit, I need to pass a test. For me to pass a test, I need to apply SOME effort and study. If I don't give effort into what I aim for, I don't pass the test and don't recieve the blessing of a permit.

If we do not study God's instruction manual for our life (the Bible), how will we know what we as Christians are supposed to do or say when our "test" or opporntunity comes? And if we blow the opportunity that God's provided, then how will we recieve the blessing that follows it? We won't.

I think that is where I am RIGHT NOW. Hmm, should have studied.

Now that my heart has been opened to this, I'm going to go and study my Bible. I mean, I have to start somewhere. If it's been a while since you've picked up your Bible too, what better time to pick it up than now?