Are you having a good day?

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. There are so many factors that go into having a "good" day.

It might be the weather, how much sleep you got, or maybe it's how many things you have to do for that particular day. These are all very common factors on how people determine how good of a day they are going to have.

These are all very uncertain factors though wouldn't you say?

I have been in an unusually good mood lately and that is because of a few reasons. I choose to look at the good things in my life that stay constant. For instance, I have a God who know matter what happens, will love me and always be there for me. I have a family who is there for me and will always love me. I also have friends who are always looking out for the best for me. These things tend to stay constant in my life.

The one thing that always stays constant no matter what is my relationship with the LORD. I know that no matter what happens on this earth, His undying love for me will be there to pick me up in the "bad" times, and during the "good" times he will also be there for me.

I think far too often we only look to God when something bad is happening. We ask him why this is happening and we pray that these problems will go away. Maybe these problems are there for a reason. A lot of times, things that seem to be problems, are really disguised as opportunities for good. I  tend to look at things negatively  and although I am training myself otherwise I still slip up sometimes.

Look to Him for all your strength because He will never let you down. Train yourself to see problems in your life positively and look for ways to turn those negative situations into positive situations.

Read this scripture very carefully and think about it.. "The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory." Psalm 118:14 

Isn't that verse awesome!? It makes me feel so good to know that I don't have to do it all on my own. He is there to help me through all situations. He is my strength!

Psalm 118:29 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! He faithful love endures forever."

My prayer is that we all choose to look at the positives in our lives that stay constant and that this will create joy in our lives that spills over for others to see.

I am so thankful for every one of you. I believe that you are reading this for a reason and I want you to know that Jesus loves you and He wants you to enter into a life of devotion to Him. Thank you so much for even taking time to read this. God bless every single one of you!

God is so good

GOD puts people in your life for specific reasons. I absolutely believe this to be true. There are so many great people in my life that have shaped me to be the man of GOD that I am today.

For example, I am struggling with a certain area of my life. The Devil is telling me that is okay to do this and what's crazy is that I actually believed him! This lie has been told to me multiple times in the past week. Well I just got on facebook and a man that I have never met before (but talk to often on fb chat) started a chat with me. We talked for a few minutes and out of the blue he told me to not believe this exact lie that the Devil was telling me!

Are you kidding me?! What are the odds that he says something about the one thing that I have been struggling with?

God is so good.

I really hope no one gets annoyed of the multiple text messages and blog posts and statuses I make regarding God. I am so passionate about this and I believe that anyone who enters into a life of living for the Lord and fulfilling his purpose for your life will be overflowed with everlasting joy.

Joy is something that is so special to you, that you have to share it with others because you want them to experience the same thing as you. Joy is content with circumstances around you. Being happy only comes from earthly things. Happiness is temporary.

Joy is not letting outside circumstances effect your mood but looking inward to the one who promises everlasting life. The most important decision you make every day is your attitude.

Let us all enter into a life of joy together and cease from looking towards earthly things to bring us happiness. The Lord has promised that He will give us everything we need if we just look to Him!

valentines day

Valentines day is a great day. It gives guys all across the world a chance to show how much we care for that special someone. We buy gifts, write letters and sometimes if we're brave, we cook for our ladies. We take this chance to show them how much they mean to us.

But this is definitely not the only day we do this. If this was the only day that we spent time with our girlfriends and the only day that we showed them how much they meant to us, would we really love them?

Valentines day is a day that we should show how much they mean to us but it does not at all end there. You have to constantly be building the relationship with them throughout the year, not only on this day.

It's the same with our relationship with the LORD, right? You cannot just go to church once a week and expect the relationship to build itself. What if we took this approach with our significant others? If we just saw them once a week and had no contact with them other than that one hour time-frame. There's no way that it would work and it's the same with our daily walks with the LORD!

Where are your priorities? Where is building a relationship with the LORD on your list of priorities? We as Christians need to take a long and hard look at how we are living our lives.

I hope that everyone seeks after GOD above all else and sees the great opportunities that HE puts in front of you.

Take some time today and read the bible, or pray, or listen to some Christian music, or all three! Do something and see what the LORD has to share with you today. I promise that you will never regret the life of righteousness.

i can't sleep

I am unable to sleep in my sub 60 degree bedroom so I'm going to write (not sure how this is going to warm me up but let's take a stab at it).

You are reading this for a reason. You might believe in coincidences but I don't. Everything happens for a reason so read this and think seriously about how your relationship with the LORD is.

 I think there is a generation of Christians who are Christians simply for the reason of going to Heaven. I'm sorry but this is not the only thing there is to Christianity. You are short changing yourselves if you fall into this category because there is so much more joy to be found through a life of devotion to Christ!

I've been there so I know exactly what it's like. I thought that as long as I'm not as bad as the next person and I go to church every once in a while, I felt like my ticket to Heaven was mine. Looking back, this was a really bad mindset and my faith was simply stagnant!

God wants everything in your life. He doesn't just want your Sunday mornings, (and Wednesday nights if you come to my bible study haha) but He wants ALL of you! In Romans 12, Paul talks about giving every single aspect of our lives to HIM.

And what's crazy here is he doesn't give another option. I think a lot of people would rather it say something like this, "Give everything you have to GOD ... except for those who don't think they should, and they can just split it 50/50." Obviously it doesn't say that and it may sound silly but I'm trying to make a point. It's not enough to just believe in GOD.

Did you know that even the Devil and all of his Workers believe in GOD? They tremble when they hear his name but even they believe in HIM.

If you open your Bible, you may not like what you read because the model that some "Christians" portray is not what is on the pages of the holy book.

I'm not at all trying to call people out. I just know that I used to be a "Half-christian" and I know that the life i am living now is so much more fulfilling because I am not seeking after things of this world anymore. Those things only left my stomach hungry for more and my soul continuing to search for something else.

Listen, GOD wants us to do more than just list that we're Christian on facebook. He wants everything we have to offer.

What parts of your life have you not given to GOD?

GOD can see in your heart, what sin are you holding tight and not letting go of? This is keeping you from getting closer to HIM.

How is your relationship with the LORD, and what are you going to do to get it where it needs to be?!

                              

The devil is a liar

I am so grateful for the people that GOD has put in my life. People who challenge me to be a better Christian and also people who encourage me to continue to grow. I have been so encouraged by how people in my bible study have grown. We have grown together. Lives are being transformed and I thank GOD everyday for the work that He is doing in our lives. 

We have to stick together through everything because being a Christian is really hard. I'm really sorry if I've made it sound easy. The devil will take every opportunity to try and get you off track. Believe me, he's tried it all on me! He's going to tell you that this life of devotion is not worth your time and that people are gonna think you're crazy (which they might think you're crazy anyways). He will put the craziest lies in your head! He will tell you that you are not worth anything and that you need to turn to things of this world in order to be happy. I am here to tell you that GOD has given you all you need! In 1 Corinthians 1:7 it says that all of GOD's gifts are right in front of us. All we have to do is accept those gifts! 

In Romans 6, Paul talks about us being free from sin. Sin can no longer tell us how to live when we call on the LORD! I don't know about you, but reading this just excites me! Read this again, the devil can not have any say on what we do. He can make us think that he does but it says in the WORD that he is a liar and he has no control over our lives. Man, this just fills me with joy! 

What is the devil telling you today?

Is he saying that this Christian thing will be too hard and that you can't do it?

Or that the sexual impurity in your life is just "normal" for men and that it's not that big of a deal?

Maybe you're like me and he tells you that you should just give up on basketball cause sometimes the coach is too hard on you.

1 Corinthian 10:13(MSG) No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

James 1:2-4(MSG) Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. 

Whatever it is that the devil is telling you, I am telling you right now that it is a lie. Pray that GOD will take these thoughts out of your head and that you will realize a lie from the TRUTH. My prayer is that you will talk to other believers about these lies. They might be having the same lies being told to them!