Doing Good

     "(8) Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. (9) Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because of this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. (10) For,

"Whoever would love life

and see good days

must keep his tongue from evil 

and his lips from deceitful speech.

(11) He must turn from evil and do good; 

he must seek peace and pursue it.

(12) For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."

    "(13) Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? (14) But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. 'Do no fear what they fear; do not be frightened.' (15) But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this in gentleness and respect, (16) keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed for their slander. (17) It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (18)For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, (19) through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison (20) who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, (21) and this water symbolized baptism that now saved you also - not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (22) who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand - with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him."

- 1 Peter 3: 8-22 NIV

    This world is far from perfect which is why good seems sometimes to be obsolete. Look at the television we watch. More is said about the serial killer than the victims. We start to glorify the bad - just look at the games that have been coming out or even our favorite television series or movies. A trend is starting. 

   The day the of the Super Bowl this year Beyonce brought out her group that is anti- police. How messed up is this?  Not only that but our games and movies involve thieving and running from the cops. Don't get me wrong there are sometimes a few bad apples in the force but doesn't mean everyone is just like them. 

    The more everything that once was bad turns into 'good' is harming humanity. Children today are so confused. Society isn't setting up a good example.

   OK, I'm done venting that get into what this passage is saying. It seems to me we are called to do what is right in God's eyes not the world's. Not in the harsh smack people in the back of the head with the Bible but with compassion and gentleness will we be able to change this world.

    Even if we suffering in some way like being made fun of nonstop at your job or being fired because you display your faith. (And yes a have a few friends where this has happened to them in some way.) There are far worst suffering for some but I hope you get the point I'm trying to explain. Jesus never once said following him was going to be easy which shows us why only so few ever make it to heaven.

    Survival kicks in and we don't want to risk it so we do what the world wants. But never once did Jesus said we were to compromise our faith. A good reference for this is the movie "God's Not Dead." Sure sometimes the world doesn't seem so bad but in reality it's rotting. 

    If we do the good God calls us to do it will make a difference, Not all difference are towards other people sometimes its for ourselves.

   Kinda hard to turn from the world and do good when it is using a foghorn in our ear telling us what it thinks is right or wrong or the belief that there is no such thing. This is why the Bible tells us repeatedly to pray. Even the ones in the book are mentioned to pray to God and talk to him. 

    It is hard to not copy the world when you are surrounded by it but it must be done if we want to do any good to this world. The Bible always tells us to separate ourselves from the world. I takes this as not copying the world but also trying to spread the word of God through actions. I found this to be the most effective way for leading someone to Christ. If your actions don't match your words speaking mercy and compassion then this will turn them away. To show God is a loving God then we need to act like it. Stop all this judging everyone and demanding them to change instantly. We need to have patience as God's love work through them.

Link to God's Not Dead :

http://godsnotdeadthemovie.com/

I highly recommend this movie :)

A Brief Article Of The Different Believers

    "[1] Finally, brothers we instructed you to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you  in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.[2] For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus."
                      -1 Thessalonians 4: 1-2

   This verse first came to me when I read and studied "Not A Fan" by Kyle Idleman. Human beings can be so lazy. Working in retail I have seen many healthy people walking up to the store then they sit in one of the drive able carts. Why is this happening? Why is it that we always try to find the easiest way that doesn't require effort?
   Kyle Idleman was right when he said, "Jesus doesn't want a stadium full of fans. He wants followers." Like he said in both his book, devotional, and DVD so many in the Christian church have become stadiums full of fans. He only want the good from God but nothing hard or will require sacrifice.
   I used to go to one of the biggest churches in my city but came to realized that only a handful of those people would actually be consider followers. So many would go to church every Sunday and drop a little money in the offering plate but not enough to hurt the bank account. There are the ones who liked to through money at the poor but would never give them the shirt off their backs. So many claim to be Christian. Are they? Are we?
   The definition of Christian is 'Christ like', which in my opinion means doing more than throwing a little money in the offering plate. It means getting out there and acting Christ. Getting in the trenches of battle instead of standing on the side lines.
   Jesus called us to step up and give people the shirt off our backs. We need to, in my personal opinion, need to pay it forward or go out and volunteer. Some of us might not like getting our hands dirty but trust me God speaks to you in those moments. What I mean by this is going on a missions trip, help out at food banks, day camps, building a church or even fixing someones house or yard for free. Now understand don't do all of this because you feel obligated. Only do what you feel God is leading you to do. For example, God is always speaking to my sister to go on missions trips not me. He calls me do day camps or helping at a local food bank and even at times give generous tips or paying it forward at a restaurant or coffee shop.
   We all have specific talents and skills meant for the kingdom of God. The next biggest part to keep in mind is this, do not bash your Bible over someones head. I mean this literally and figuratively for this simple purpose, until God opens their hearts to your message they will never hear it. I spoke to many non believers and this is the one thing that keeps them away from God.
   When it comes to sharing the gosple it is always good to keep in mind the fruits of the spirit. The one I'm mentioning right now is patience. It takes time for people to hear God. It takes time for them to want to know him. It take time for them to change.
   I've seen many who expect and instant change in life style from new believers. This is, to be honest, not realistic. Once something is a habit it is very hard to break. Doing something twenty times creates a habit, it can take this if not longer to break a habit.
   In closing I want to remind everyone that everyone is different that is why grace is so important. We are not cookies from the same cookie cutter we are all designed differently.

If you are interested in Not A Fan here is the link :

http://www.notafan.com/

 


 

Philippians 4:6-7The Message (MSG)

6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

  When battling with anxiety we often find ourselves stuck. The worry that comes to mind makes getting out of bed difficult. In the picture above the squirrel is just sitting in a little house watching the world outside. My family came across this squirrel while taking one of our many drives in the woods. For some time we sat in our truck watching the little furry creature sit in the little wood house as we watched each other. 

  The squirrel reminds me of when my anxiety was so bad that I rarely ever left the house. I would sit in the safety of my home as the world went by outside. At the time I had thought my home was a safe place. I didn't know at the time it was a prison.

  Though I had thought my home was a safe place it was actually wounding me. Being all alone, seeing other people live great lives I felt so hurt. I'll confess, I was so miserable I wanted to die. For five years I would act like I was fine to everyone, including my own family, but I actually was not. Those years I fed the fear inside of me, letting it have control of my life. 

  You see, the devil loves it when we are fearful because it will slowly kill us. This is how I felt when he controlled my life with fear. I would pray and beg God to take me home. I could not take my own life because I knew it was something God didn't want, but I also didn't want to live. Now I can image the pain he must have felt; the sadness he must have felt as I asked him to take my life.

  God never gave me what I requested, and I thank him for it. You see, he wanted to take the fear and anxiety from me. Being in a a closer relationship with him now I see he was waiting for me to hand it over to him. He wasn't going to just take it, I had to willingly give him the pain and fear.

  Philippians sticks out to me now, because I prayed for the wrong thing all those years. I should have been telling him all my feelings and giving my worries and fears to him. The fear I lived in made me worry about the future. I wished I could live in a cave and have an endless supply of books. Clearly, this is not very realistic. Tunnel vision made seeing any other life for the future impossible. Thoughts like this would bring me to tears everyday. 

  As I'm sure its obvious I struggled with a lot of depression. At the time I had thought I was a great follower of Christ, but I didn't understand that it is never God's will for me to feel this way. He wants us to be happy and for us to want to live the life he has for us. He was patiently waiting for me to realize that my thoughts weren't where they needed to be. 

  I was consumed with self-pity. I thought I had him at the center when I really did not. My life and the thoughts I battled with showed I was not where I needed to be. Much like the verse above I didn't tell God everything I was feeling and giving it all to him. Yes, he knows everything but he will wait until we freely give it all up to him for him to work in us miraculous ways. 

  Once I came to the realization that Christ was not at the center I knew I needed to change. Now that I share everything with him and try to live a life he has wanted me to all along. I asked Christ into my life again and I have to say even when life is hard I never want to die again. I still battle with worry and anxiety but I'm not locked up in my own home because of it. I have Christ to help me with the battle and my life is so much fuller. The lesson I want everyone to know is this, Christ needs to be at the center and you need to share and give everything to him to live the full life he has always intended. :)