Expecting the Most

Nehemiah 5b-6: "As he opened [the scripture], all the people stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people held up their hands and said, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 

How many are present? A thousand? Five thousand? More? All of the Israelites stood here silent, waiting. What are these people waiting for? The scriptures are about to be read.

It was rare for the teachings of Moses to be read in public. There weren't many copies of the teachings around, so when they did make a public appearance, the public made an appearance.

The people are silently sitting, hearts are pounding, people are wanting. Hunger for the Lord is here. People want to know what God has to say. They want the scriptures to be revealed to them, they want a meeting with the Lord. No, they don't want it... they need it. Ezra, the scripture reader stands on a platform so that all can see and hear. A man from behind Ezra brings the old scroll out to Ezra and removes it from a wrapping. The people see the word of the Lord. There it is! The beautiful parchment that will feed them spiritually. First one man stands in respect, and then another, and another. Soon, the whole crowd of Isrealites are standing in respect to the Lord. Ezra gives the scroll to the man at his right, and he begins to praise the Lord. The people of Isreal raise their hands and begin to yell "Amen! Amen!" They begin to jump around a praise God. They fall to the ground and begin to shout to the Lord, bowing face down and weeping. They are expecting a visit from the God almighty, and their hearts are now ready to hear the words of the Lord.

You might think: What is the big deal about scripture reading? They are freaking out, and the bible hadn't even been opened yet.

Well, these people came into God's presence with the right attitude. An attitude of expectation. Of hunger, of thirst for God's words. Maybe you've heard your pastor or youth pastor say that we should come to church expecting to meet with God. Well, I'd take that even a step further and say that we need to come into our scripture reading time with a expectation to meet with God. Just like these Isrealites.

What happens if we never expect anything from God? Let me put it this way. If your friends never expected anything from you. Always spent time with you with a spirit of "Well, let's get this over with", how would you feel? How would you act? Do you think those people will ever be satisfied with having a conversation with you? Do you think that they really care to come and talk to you? They probably have better things to be doing. You would feel horrible. Maybe you wouldn't want to talk to them back! But yet, this is what we do with God frequently. The alarm goes off a little early before work or school to spend time with the Lord, and we hit the snooze button 5 times until we realize that we really don't have much time or time at all with Christ.

Christians have lost their excitement for the word of God. You want a revelation? You want to learn more about God? You want a better relationship with Christ? Then come expecting. Come with hunger. Come with an attitude of praise, of wanting, of humility. The Lord will not turn you away. He will meet you if you agree to meet with him.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

No Condemnation

Romans 8:1- There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

The word Condemn means to: "pronounce to be guilty, sentence to punishment."

Now most of us know that Jesus came to this earth so that we would no longer be endangered of being condemned to eternity in Hell, condemned to a life of servant hood to Satan, and condemned to the grave. If we walk in the Spirit of God daily, always living our lives like we are Christs workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), And living for God's Glory (Hebrews 2:10), then we know that we can live without fear of being bound by the flesh and living apart from God.

Now here is the thing. Once many people get away from the danger of living an eternity without Christ, then they decide to forget this verse and worry about things, and live like they are taking care of themselves, and no one cares about them. I know I do this every once in a while, and it shouldn't be. We should be living as children of the light, not sinners of the dark. Once again, read Romans 8:1. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Are you in Christ Jesus? Then why do we live like we are in the flesh?

Whatever you might be going through, stress, a bad situation, a decision that is important to make, an abusive situation, something that you feel like you can't get out of... Whatever it is, you can rest assured that God hasn't forgotten you. I promise that. He always takes care of his kids. No matter what they are going through. Don't give up! Don't began to walk in the flesh. You cannot do this on your own. This situation that you feel YOU need to handle, probably can be put at God's feet.

Go before your maker and tell him about your problem. He will hear you. Not always will His answer be, "Right away!" Things may take time to develop in your life, but it will be for the best. Always remember that you are walking hand in hand with God. Repeat Romans 8:1 to yourself daily and remember that you are not condemned but walking with and in the Spirit of God.

God bless you, and continue to walk as a child of the light. You are not condemned any longer by this world. You have been made free by Christ Jesus. Go ahead, say it, "I am no longer condemned, and sin has no hold on me."

~Whatsoever things are true
Philippians 4:8

Post-Thanksgiving Stress Disorder

1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 

Thanksgiving is over. The Turkey is gone, the family has left. Now you're left with a mess of a house to clean. And work is just on the horizon. Or you have to go back to school tomorrow, and you're not ready for the break to end. People are being grumpy cause they didn't get enough sleep because they were watching the football game last night. Church is over and done with, so you know that tomorrow you have to wake up early and start back up with your regular routine. You are stressed just thinking about it. You complain about it to your family in friends. It really isn't fair though. Why can't you just have a break longer than 4 days? 

The Thanksgiving feeling that you possessed on Thursday has picked itself up in the middle of the night and is gone. What happened to the long prayer of thankfulness at Thanksgiving dinner? What happened to the feelings of being blessed? Maybe you are still being thankful, even after the holiday has ended, but what happens when the next bad thing hits? Will you still have that Thanksgiving hangover? Maybe.

People forget that this day of Thanks is suppose to last all year long. It says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In EVERYTHING give thanks". We have so much to be thankful for, yet we forget this as soon as the first co-worker starts slacking off, or your teacher overloads you with work. Or your family is bugging you about dumb things that could be handled properly if you just weren't so tired. Whatever the circumstances, people will come up with many excuses to excuse the fact that they are no longer thankful.

Being thankful is no easy task. It is when things are going well and we see that the glass truly is half full, but then the spark leaves so quickly when we realize that it's harder to be thankful in the tougher times than we first thought. It is hard to see the light when you're in the middle of a cave.

So what must we do to be thankful?

There was a story of a woman that I heard about just this year, and she had a very hard time being thankful for anything. So what she did was she took a journal, and every day would write five things in her life that she was thankful for. She did this for about a month and she became increasingly thankful for all that God had given her. I tried to do this very thing, and it works so well. You begin to HAVE to find things to be thankful for, even when you're not thankful for anything. You could try this with your own twist and make it your own, but just give it a try for a couple of days. Maybe you'll like it. Ask God to bless it and help you to always find things to be thankful for. He will listen and help. He loves it when his kids ask for help.

I pray that your post-thanksgiving stress is not too overwhealming and that you all learn how to be strengthened in Christ for your future walk with him. God Bless.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

How to Date Jesus

Ephesians 5:10- Find out what pleases the Lord.

Ladies: You put lipstick on, but not too much. Your perfume smells like vanilla, and your hair is down and neatly done. The dress that adorns your body is one that you rarely wear, but this is a special occasion. You're going to go out on a special date with just you and you true love. He'll be here any minute, so you quickly add a necklace to your adornments, grab your purse, and walk to the door to wait for the guy that makes your heart pump every time you see his face.

Gentlemen: You're nervous. She's beautiful. You want to just wrap her up in your arms and take her anywhere she wants to go. Her personality has a hold on you. You shave, put on her favorite cologne and slip on your deep red dress shirt. You put on your shoes and grab your car keys. She'll be waiting and that makes you even more anxious to see her.

Love is strong and something that is strongly desired. It is the cornerstone for almost all movies, music, and books in this day and age. The message that the media sells is, true love concurs all.

Sometimes, love shapes the way we live our lives. We do things like stay up late, and give up time with friends to devote it to the one we love. Love shapes our lifestyle.

What if you don't have someone to love? Well just imagine that you did, what would you act like? Grumpy? Upset? Easily angered? Probably not. You'll put your best forward for this person, because you want them to be happy. You want them to smile to laugh, to love you. So you selflessly do things for this person to make them happy.

How much more should we be doing this for Christ. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and loves us more completely than anyone can possibly ever love us, and we don't even act like He's in the room with us. We're suppose to be putting our best forward for the one we love to see, but we don't. We confess to others that our love for Jesus is the strongest thing in the world, but we don't even act like He's there. When you love someone, you will put your best forward when in their presence. Well, we're in his presence all the time.

You can't escape Him, and you don't want to. We should be learning how to court our Lord every day. What would you do for your date?

You would study them. We should be doing the same for Christ. Study his word. Find out more of his Character. What are his likes? What are his dislikes? Write them down so that you can put the likes into practice and stay away from the dislikes.

You would talk to them A LOT. We should be doing this with Jesus. How can we get to know someone if we don't ever talk to them? We can't! Communication is the key to a relationship. Some people think that by just reading the bible is enough to have a active relationship with Christ. Think of it this way, if I were to just sit there and stare at the one I loved all day every day and never say anything to that person, would they ever know that I love them? Would they ever know anything about me? Would they ever know what I'm feeling? What I like? What I dislike? What my name is even? Well yes, Jesus does know all of those things, but don't you think he likes to be told. Just because I read your facebook and know every single fact about you, doesn't mean that I actually KNOW you.

You would love on them. Jesus loves praise too. In fact, that is what we were put on this earth to do! Glorify the Lord in all we do. If you were in a relationship and never told your partner what you liked about them, then your partner would probably have some major insecurities. Well, tell Jesus how awesome he is! Thank him for his gifts to you every day. Every breath that you breath is a gift from God. Let him know how much he means to you.

And Finally, You would live like you are in a Relationship. If you had a person that you loved, would you go off and flirt with other people? Absolutely not! Yet we do this to Jesus all the time. We flirt with the world. We go and set our eyes on other things that we have set higher than him. If you had a girlfriend/boyfriend, this would not fly. You can't live like nothing has changed in your life. Because that would hurt your partners feelings. We must live like we're in a relationship with Jesus. We talk about him, we can't get enough of him! People WILL KNOW that we are in love with him.

Live like you are madly in love with him. Because he is madly in love with you.


~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

Your Mark

2 Corinthians 1:22 – He put His mark on us to show that we are His, and he put His Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all He has promised.

When someone leaves a mark on something, that means others will be able to look at it and see that that object belongs to you. Like a brand, or logo. People will be able to see the object but they cannot take, harm or do anything to that object without your permission. That object’s ownership is yours. And you can use it the way you want to use it.

The Lord puts his mark or brand on his children. So what that means is, people will be able to look at you and know who you belong to. If people can’t see that you belong to Christ, then you are not wearing or showing off God’s mark on you.

How do we show people that God’s mark is on us? What if you’re shy? Nobody seems to care about you? You’re not outspoken, how do you learn to show off your mark? Well in that same Bible verse at the beginning it says that God will give you His Spirit as a guarantee of His mark on you. The Spirit will give you the power to showcase your mark from God. You can’t do it without him. It would be completely ludicrous to say that we need Jesus, and we need Christ, but we don’t need the Spirit. We NEED all three.

Show your mark. 

~Whatsoever Things Are True~

Philippians 4:8

Love Doesn't Hurt.

Romans 13:10- Love never hurts a neighbor, so loving is obeying all the law. 

Who is my neighbor? The person who lives on my street right? Wrong. Your neighbor is everyone who lives and breath. The homeless man that sits at that store, that random woman walking her dog, the president of the United States of America, the person that annoys you like crazy, ect. Everyone is your neighbor.

But I don't HAVE to love Everyone right? Wrong again. Leviticus 19:18 says, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." So... Yes.... Love everyone.

Back to Romans 13:10. If you love everyone (Like you've been commanded to do), then you should be incapable of hurting others. We know that love does not hurt people, because Christ's love has never hurt anyone. It has only ever benefited and drawn us closer. So we should be very careful to have the love like Christ has. We should be wary of hurting anyone.

How is it possible to not hurt someone? Well, I'm not sure that it is possible to NOT hurt someone. You will hurt someone somehow, sometime, and you honestly cannot help that. It could be that you're wearing a shirt that someone saved up for and never got to get because you bought the last one. It could be something small like that, but you have hurt that person. Not intentionally (hopefully), but you have just hurt them. It is inevitable. But, when you love someone, and show that person love with your actions and words, it should not hurt them. We should be able to help not hurting others with our words and actions in most situations.

Romans 12:18 - "Do your best to live in peace with everyone." Also in Matthew 7:12 it says, "In everything therefore, treat everyone the same way you want to be treated." Everyone wants to be treated with love and compassion. You want to be treated like that, so treat others with the same measure you expect to receive. Love like 1 Corinthians 13:3 says to: "Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others. Love does not count up wrongs that have been done."

Pray for the strength to love those you cannot on your own. The Lord will help you. He will empower the willing. And the willing are those who choose to pick up their cross daily and RUN after Christ. This is not a Christian walk, it is a Christian sprint for God's love and to be like him more. So do what you can to help others, not hurt them. Love is hard, but it is necessary to stay in God's love.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

One Way

Acts 4:12, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. 

There is only one way to heaven. Through Salvation through Christ Jesus with obedience to His word.
You are probably thinking, "Yeah, I know, I've been told this many times in church before." Well, maybe you have, and maybe you know that this is true, but why is it that we live like we want to all week, and throw in Bible reading and prayer every once in a while? When you do that, you are living like there is more than one way to heaven.

Think about that statement for a minute.

Do you live like there is more than one way to heaven? Do you do your own thing, and say your a christian and still think that you are following the one way to heaven rule? We have just established that the only way to heaven is through Christ Jesus, so why do we think that it's worth it to watch rated R movies, or violent movies? Can you get to heaven through those movies? No. Why do we think it's worth it to listen to secular music with sex and swearing in it? Is the kingdom of heaven worth your Katy Perry, or Eminem playlist?

"Now now! Are you bashing my favorite artist?"

I am telling you that in the word, it says to keep a pure mind, and heart. How is it possible to keep a pure mind, if you are filling your mind and heart with junk that will circulate through you and pollute you to the extreme? 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." How are you going to captivate every thought to Christ when you are filling yourself with swearing, violence and sexual lyrics?

Again, you are living like there is more than one way to heaven if you are in complete disobedience to God's word. So throw away all ungodliness!! Throw it far away, and never take it back up again. Your salvation is worth far more than Pornography. Your salvation is worth FAR more than a bad movie. Your salvation is worth far more than a girl/boy that you want to sleep with. Your salvation is worth far more than a rap song with swearing in it. Let God convict you in these areas of your life, and re-examine who is number one in your life. Video games? Music? Movies? Or God?

I'm praying for you.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

Getting Comfortable

Matthew 21:43, So I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to people who do the things God wants in His kingdom. 


"To do.... Read a bible verse.... Check. Go to church on Sunday....... Check, Prayed once today...... Check! Okay! I'm fine with God then. My check list is complete."

Sorry to break it to you guys, but Christianity is not that easy. Matthew 21:43 says that if you are not doing the things of His will, His commandments as issued in the bible, then he will not hesitate to take the Kingdom of God away from you.

This verse truly is frightening. Sometimes Christians think we have heaven made by just reading our bible, praying, not rolling our eyes at our bosses, saying yes Ma'am to our moms when they lecture us. But in all reality, this is not the case. You may think that once you have committed your name to Jesus that you are good for the rest of your lives, well you'd be wrong. Look at Revelation chapter three verse five where it says, "All who are victorious will be clothed in white, I will never erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and His Angels that they are mine."

Don't ever get "comfortable" with Christ. We are always to respectfully fear the God who created the Universe, and follow His commands with reverence and obedience. My mom always says, "I have to be your mother first, then I can be your friend." The same goes for God. "He always must take Father status first in disciplining and correcting and leading us as a body of Christ, then we can only be friends with him through obedience, and ONLY through obedience.

Simply do the things of His kingdom always. Look for things to do for His kingdom. Something can ALWAYS be done. From as small as cleaning your room, (Yes, even God likes a clean room), to as big as feeding a army of homeless people. Always remember to never get lazy in your walk. God is our Lord and Savior. And a lot of people forget that he is our Lord, and they only want to claim him as Savior. Well, you cannot do that. He is our Savior, but he must be Lord of our lives first.

Continue to follow God in your walks with Christ. I'm always praying for my readers.

~Whatsoever Things are True
Philippians 4:13

Relentless Giving

Luke 6:38b, The way you give to others is the way God will give to you. 

Who doesn't like to receive things? Honestly name one person who doesn't. And if they say they don't, they are most likely not taking into account all the things they receive on a daily basis. Such as the oxygen that they are breathing right now, the day that you are living, the family you have right now, the clothes that you are wearing, the body that you have... Shall I go on? We've received every one of these things and way more. God has blessed every single person alive. If you are living, then you have received a gift that many no longer possess. Think about everything that you have received from God that I have not already mentioned here. Can we possibly pay Him back? I don't think so. Ever. And add the fact that He gave his son to die for your sins on top of that, and you will NEVER be able to pay him back.

But even with all of these gifts that he has given to you, he makes a promise in Luke that the way we give to others is the way He will give to us. Just knowing that God does not owe you anything because he is your maker, and we are here to serve Him, and him still blessing us with so much, that alone should put a fire in us to give more to people than we want for ourselves.

We should not look at this verse with a greedy eye. When we give with the wrong kind of heart, the Lord cannot bless us and give back. It becomes fake and useless to the kingdom of god, and he will not accept that kind of giving. The bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7, You must each decide in your heart how much to give. So don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure, for God loves a person who gives cheerfully. 


"But I have a hard time giving to others. How do I overcome that?"

If that is you, then you have to overcome your selfishness. It's just that blunt. You have just been reminded of how the creator of the heavens and the earth, who created you and gives you life laid down his life to save yours, and you still have to find a way to give to others? Some people do have a hard time, but it's when you start to realize that it is selfish pride to keep from others what the Lord has blessed you with, that is when you start being able to overcome. Ask the Lord for help in this area. The Lord loves it when his kids come to him for help. We can't do this on our own. We have to have a heart from God to be able to actually be a Relentless giver. We need God's love in our lives. So ask for it daily. With authority claim the love that you need for people. Go out of your way to try to give once, then do it again. And again. Go the extra mile. I promise you that you will not regret giving up yourself selflessly. You may not see the benefits here right now, but look to the promise that God has given, and look forward to your reward in heaven.

I'm praying for each one of my readers. May God work in your hearts even more than he already has.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

Understanding Freedom

Psalms 118:5, In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and He answered by setting me free. 

Definition of Freedom: The power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

Freedom is talked about a lot these days. People think that they can do whatever they want because they have the freedom to do so. America is a free country because our forefathers have fought to make it so. So why am I discussing this? We know what freedom is. The definition tells us! Maybe we missed the whole idea of Freedom when we decided that freedom means we can do whatever we want.

When we begin to act as if Freedom is what we want to do whenever we want to do, (freedom from parents, freedom from authority, freedom from rules, regulations, ect.) then Satan is taking away whatever freedom we might have possessed before. When we fall away from the path of doing the right thing and following God, we are really being put into bondage.

I've heard people say before, "How can you follow a God who wont allow you to do what you want to do? Your like a slave to him."

Well my bible says in Romans chapter 6 verse 16: Don't you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

To me that is pretty clear that whatever you may call freedom, probably isn't. When we submit to God, we are free from sin and regret and bondage. You cannot ask for a better kind of freedom.

So the question you should ask yourself is: Are you really "free?" And if not, then what do  you need to become free from? Swearing? Sexual sins? Hanging out with the wrong crowd? Drunkenness? Watching the wrong things? Facebook?

The Lord will help free you from these things. You only need to ask him! He can help you. But you have to make a conscious decision to follow after God, and be willing to leave behind the things that are holding you in chains. Hand your life over to true freedom. It's the best thing you will ever decide to do.

~Whatsoever Things are True
Philippians 4:8

Strive

1 Corinthians 9:24, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Racing is a very popular thing all over the world. There are marathons, and 4k's, and many different events in which people run. If I were to tell you that you were going to be running in a huge race that lasts a lifetime that you are required to run, what would you do? Watch TV until the time of the race? Would you eat unhealthily and not worry about the race at all until the day of? I sure hope not. You should want to prepare for this race, mentally, and physically. You would be working out, you would be eating right, you would be pushing fluids into your body and buying the right equipment for the run. 

Right now, you and I are getting ready for the big race in life. The race to Glorify God and win the prize of his kingdom in heaven. If you aren't prepared for that race, then you are going to be in sorry shape for it, and you will probably give out in the first stretch of the race. But we have time now to become ready for our race. 

When we get ready we:

Work out.

Proverbs 13:4, The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is supplied richly. 

Drink Water

John 1:14, But whoever drinks the water that I give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. 

Be Prepared

1 Peter 3:15a, But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope you have. 

So get prepared if you aren't already. The race is long and the road is tough. Don't be unprepared or you will fall out of the race. 

~Whatsoever things are true

Philippians 4:8

How to Stay Awake

Mark 13:36, Always be ready. Otherwise he might come back and find you sleeping. 

This verse strikes fear into my heart for many people when I read this. I know people who have fallen asleep in their faith, and I don't want Jesus to come back while they are spiritually sleeping. Also, I don't want to be one that's sleeping when the time comes for Jesus to come back. The consequences of sleeping when he returns is Eternity in Hell. Not somewhere ANYONE want's to be.

So how do we keep from falling asleep?

Keep Company
We can surround ourselves with friends who also wish to stay awake. They will do their best to make sure that you don't fall asleep, and you can also do your part to make sure they don't nod off. They will help keep you accountable, and help council you when you feel weary. Hebrews 10: 24-25 says, "Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near."  Get Bible studies going. Call your friends and talk about Christ. Do things to stir each other up. The day is drawing near.

Drink Energy Drinks.
Drinking Energy Drinks? Yeah, that's right. Reading the Bible, spending time in the prayer with the Spirit, listening to your pastor and other pastors, reading books with testimonies, these things will help give you that extra boost when you are down. Isaiah 30:41 says, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not grow faint." To wait upon the Lord means to have total dependence on Him, and complete obedience in our walk. When a waiter waits upon you, what does he do? He serves you. We should do the same to our father. This will give us the best energy of all.

Keep Busy
It is very difficult to lay back and sleep when you are constantly doing things. Witnessing, praising the Lord, being active in what the Lord wants done is a great way to stay awake. Stay hyped up for Christ. Stay awake in the Lord. If you find yourself drifting into slumber, be quick to slap yourself awake. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." Be a worker that has no need of shame. That does not limit you to just outside your house. By all means, prepare yourself for your future on earth and in heaven by disciplining yourself now. Work in the Lord, stay awake.

Ask the Lord
You can always go to your Father who created you to ask for help. He can see when you are drifting, and he may even let you know about it. Go ask him to jolt you awake. Ask him for help, don't be afraid to. The Bible says in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." The Lord want's you to ask for his help. He will give you rest, not in the sense of making you fall asleep and therefore be in danger of Hell, but in the sense of the purest rest: Peace. He will give you peace in the midst of a storm, which is the greatest of rests.

So stay awake in him. Use scripture to help you, and just come before the Lord and let him know what's going on in your life. But mostly, never stop trying to serve the Lord.

~Whatsoever Things are True
Philippians 4:8

Chosen

Ephesians 1:11, Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. 

As children of God, we have an awesome place in Christ's kingdom. We can give ourselves a sweet name like, "The Chosen Ones," or something cool like that. And it's not just a cool name, it's just plain cool that we have been individually chosen by God to complete a task in life. Only YOU can do your task. He has created you for a purpose, and he chose you while you were in your mothers womb to run after it like a mighty soldier. Pretty cool huh? Absolutely. God gives us the promise that we have received an inheritance from Him. An inheritance in the Kingdom of God that we will share with our fellow soldiers in heaven.

You might thinking, "Chosen for what? I can't do anything cool like sing or play the piano, or play a sport. I can barely do a sit up. How can God use someone like me to do something like a mighty soldier? Why did he choose me?"

The Lord says in his word that we are all created for one purpose, to Glorify him. I'm pretty sure you don't have to be an amazing singer or pianist or sports player to give glory to the Lord. You are CHOSEN to give him glory. Every single person on this earth has the same calling, not to the same locations, or with the same talents, but we are all still chosen to Glorify him.

We can Glorify God every time we speak: (Not cussing, using our words to witness, singing to God, building someone up with encouragement, being an example in our maturity in language, and much more.) How about every second of the day with our actions: (Not dressing immodestly, not being ashamed to wear things that praise and glorify Christ, Not being afraid to witness, handing out tracks, just being a friend to someone that's gone unnoticed.) Glorifying by obedience: (Listening to what the Lord has to say to you and doing it, changing your heart when convicted, obeying his commands, reading his word daily, and honoring what your parents ask you to do.) Glorifying in lifestyle: (Not listening to bad music, not going to see movies that you wouldn't bring Jesus to, not wasting your days online starring at that hott chick or dude on Facebook, ;) Driving speed limit and not getting road rage.)

We are Chosen to do these things. Come up with a list on your own of what you were chosen to do in Christ. You were chosen to do more than these things, but it's your job to ask the Lord for guidance and then obey him when the time comes. Follow your calling, and be the chosen child of God. You don't want to be lazy and procrastinate and then your calling be given to someone else. That would definitely not be pleasing to your Creator.


~Whatsoever Things are True
Philippians 4:8

Mind Firefighters

Mark 7:20-23, And Jesus said, "The things that come out of people are the things that make them unclean. All these evil things begin inside people, in the mind: evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, evil actions, lying doing sinful things, jealousy, speaking evil of others, pride, and foolish living. All these evil things come from inside and make people unclean."

The mind is a very well studied subject. People take classes on this subject, and they study it, trying to unlock the secrets that it hold. Though there are many speculations about the mind, and many mysteries that have been undiscovered, there is one fact that is certain: the mind is to be guarded with all care.

The mind can be like gun powder sitting in your darkest corners. One spark of a evil thought can get your whole mind set aflame by it.

As Christians, we should be making a study of the mind in the same way that scientist study the mind. We should be learning and reading and listening to other peoples stories about how to contain and destroy an evil thought.

Once a fire starts to burn, what does that fire need to keep it going? First of all it needs oxygen. Once you cut the oxygen off from a fire, then the fire will die out quickly and be no more. We need to do the same thing to our inflamed thoughts. We should be doing our best to make sure that our whole body does not become inflamed with our thoughts, and the only way to do that is to destroy the fire. To cut the oxygen off, we must separate ourselves from whatever is inflaming the thoughts. Stay away from the things that are making you dwell on the evil things. Dunk your head in the water of the word of God, Constantly. Just sprinkling a little water on a fire does nothing, you need to immerse yourself in the water until you are sure the water has destroyed your fire. And continue to immerse yourself daily. The fire cannot restart if you continue to sit in the water of God's love and teachings and will.

Your relationship with the Lord will benefit you enormously. He will help build a fire-resistant mind, and he will help you become a firefighter in your own life. Give your thoughts to the Lord. Don't let them burn any longer.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

My True Love

1John 4:8, Whoever does not love God, does not know God, because God is love.

First of all, Happy Valentines Day. The one day of year that people spend with their loved one, or spend it alone. You many be lonely this year because you don't have anyone to hold in your arms, or be held by. Maybe your sad that you don't have anyone to whisper sweet words in their ears. Maybe you are sad that everyone else seems to have a date for this day but you. But I'm here to tell you otherwise.

Jesus has been the ultimate Valentine for centuries before the holiday was even created. His love for you does not limit him to one day of the year.

You may be thinking, "well spending time with Jesus today won't make me feel any less lonely. I'm still single." Let me ask you a question. What is Love? Love is something you give right? Yes you get love too, but it's a two way thing right? Yes it is! So I want to challenge you guys today to make Jesus your Valentine, and give him all your love. Jesus receives more complaints every year about singleness than he does love. And he is waiting right there next to you to be your Valentine. But we ignore him looking only to physical love from a person.

Make this years day a self-giving day to Jesus. Let your Valentine's day be FILLED to the brim with Love for Jesus.

How do we do that?

#1, Spend time with him. More than you usually do. Tell him how much he means to you. Write a list. Make something for him. A poem. A dance. Write a song. Make a card. Do something that you don't normally do for him. Give him more attention today than you want for yourself.

#2, The bible says in Matthew 25:40, "Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me." Show your love of Christ by giving it to other people. Be a servant to your family today. Love on your parents. Take someone that doesn't have a lot of hope in life out for lunch. Do something to show the Love of Christ.

#3, Praise him. We were made to glorify him. Go all out. Sing loudly, make your actions praising to Christ. Let it be known that you are not single this year because Jesus is your true love.

Give today. It will be the best Valentines day you ever had.

~Whatsoever things are true
Philippians 4:8

Faith in the Storm

Matthew 8:25b-26A, "Lord save us! We will drown!" Jesus answered "why are you afraid? You don't have enough faith."

So what is your wave? What is it that you have not given up to God? What are you afraid of drowning in? Stress? Worry? Troubles? Death? Fear of the unknown? Maybe you are getting hit with the wave of persecution, or maybe you are drowning in something else and you are stretching out to see if you can look above the wave coming at you to see if there is light on the horizon. Sometimes we yell to God, "Lord! Save us! We will drown!"

The Lord answers, "Why are you afraid? You don't have enough faith."

Faith. A thing that we should all poses. Faith keeps us from giving up. Faith makes us say, I know that these troubles would not come to me if God didn't have a plan through them. Faith makes us think, The Lord knows what I can handle, and I am going to ride my boat through this storm with Jesus at the Helm.


Your Helmsmen 
You will always survive a storm and never drown if Jesus is at the head of your vessel. That doesn't mean that you can't do any work. On the contrary, a vessel needs a crew as well as a helmsmen. If you let Jesus do the steering, then all you have to do is put effort into following his commands as he shouts to you in the midst of the wind and waves.

Getting Wet
When you are going through tough areas and the storm is raging, you have to expect to get a little wet. Just because Jesus is the head of your vessel, doesn't mean you will come out of this totally untouched by the waters. Hard times are going to come, and he means for you to get a little wet so when you come out the other side you will have experience and knowledge. He may be testing your skills to see if you are ready to handle bigger parts of your craft.

Your Boat
Your boat will only hold together for so long right? So what if your in the middle of a storm if it suddenly breaks apart. Well the glue that holds your boat together is called Faith. If you don't have faith, then your boat will fall apart. So keep your faith strong, and your vessel will hold up in the toughest of storms. Satan will throw big waves at you and try to shake your boat to pieces, but it will always hold if you have faith.

Remember to always call on the Lord in the middle of the storm. He will always come through for you and lead you clear of the things that will harm you. Just have faith.

~Whatsoever Things Are True
Philippians 4:8

The Cornerstone of Life

Matthew 21:42b, The stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone.

Jesus is referred to as a stone or rock many times in the word.

2 Samuel 22:47, The Lord lives! Praise be to my rock.

Deuteronomy 32:31, But the rock of our enemies is not like our Rock.

Psalm 18:2, The Lord is my Rock and my fortress.

Psalm 71:3, Be my Rock of refuge, to which I can always go.

Isaiah 51:1, Look to the Rock which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn.

1 Samuel 2:2, There is no rock like our God.

Why is he likened unto a Rock? And who are the builders?

Jesus is likened unto a Rock because of what a rock is. A rock is: 1. Strong. We can use them to stand upon and trust that they will not crumble. 2. A place of shelter. Animals and people both use rock as shelter. People sleep in caves of rock so that they will have shelter from the wild beasts that roam around looking for whom they may devour. 3. A place of rest. We can rest on a rock and have peace of mind that nothing can climb up and destroy.

Jesus is all of these things. He is strong, and we should stand upon his words DAILY! He is a place of shelter. We can go to his house and pray and seek him and be among fellow believers that build us up in him. He is a place of rest. We can rest soundly at night knowing that he holds all things in his hands so we should not have to worry. Jesus is the Rock of my salvation that cannot be moved.

Now, knowing all of those things, who wouldn't want to have Jesus to build their lives upon? Lot's of people actually. The scripture says that the rock was rejected by the builders. The builders are any person who lives on this earth. You are a builder. I am a builder. We all build our lives every day that we live.

Jesus was rejected by the people who crusified him yes, but people today reject him. Christians reject him by refusing to share their faith. People reject him by saying that evolution makes more sense. The stone is still being rejected.

But there is good news! Jesus is the cornerstone of MANY organizations, businesses, and lives today. People are building their lives with him as their base. This is the smartest decision to make. People who make their lives on Cornerstones of lust, greed, or selfishness will be sorry that they did so because those things will crumble sooner or later. They are week substitutes for the true Cornerstone Jesus.

Evaluate your life. Who is your Cornerstone? Jesus or Satan? Jesus will lead to a strong building if you use him in your life, but you will crumble and fall with Satan holding you up. Satan has no good plans for you or your life, he only wants to use you. Jesus is the only smart way to go. If you realize that he has been pushed out of your life and replaced with another stone, then stop and repent. Rebuild your life, but this time put in the right Cornerstone: Jesus.

~Whatsoever things are true
Philippians 4:8

Pornography Is Destroying

Romans 12:2- Your body is a temple of the holy spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God. You are not your own, you were bought as a price, therefore honor God with your body.

Pornography, one of the biggest businesses in America. The place to sell your body online. To flaunt yourself in front of adults, teenages, and even children on occasion. This is a rampant sin in America, and all over the world. It is a sin to Non-Christians, and Christians alike. People struggle with this sin daily, at work, and at home, and when they think they are not being watched.

I have heard many Christians who talk about porn like it is not a great sin. Like, this is not dangerous in any way to their relationship with Christ, and they treat it like a joke. I knew a Christian who told me flat out that if she didn't live in a Christian family, she would be the best porn star ever. Sad? Yes. Very.

Why is pornography such a dangerous thing? What is wrong with it?

Referring back up to the scripture verse, it says that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. So when you watch porn, you are watching people ruin their temples and committing adultery. So how does this effect you? It's them that is ruining it, not you. Well, lets think about this. When you become a Christian, Jesus makes his home in your heart, and when you watch porn, what are you filling your heart with? Junk. Lust. Impure thoughts. Sin. This is not something to joke around about. Pornography is very real in everyone's life. Whether you watch it or not, you will be exposed to some type of Porn at one point or another in your life. On magazines, on posters, in movies, on the internet. It's all around. We will all be exposed to temptation in pornography.

If you are fighting the addiction of pornography right now, then there is hope! There is always hope in Christ Jesus. If you are a Christian watching pornography, and you still don't feel any conviction about watching it, then you should be very worried. The Holy Spirit's job is to convict you, so if you aren't feeling convicted, it means that you have done this so much that you have worn away any guilt.

Pornography can be like a drug. People go back for more all the time.The first step to stopping is to realize that it is killing you spiritually, and that you need to step away from it and leave it behind forever. Step two would be to ask God for forgiveness, and turn your life over to him. Repent of your ways, and turn away from your sin! Easier said than done? Yes it is. But that is what being a Christian is: living a life of sacrifice for the one who made you. The third thing to do, would be to start anew by throwing away any movies, magazines, pictures or anything that makes you stumble. If you struggle with your computer, put it out where everyone can see what your doing all the time. Find a accountability partner and tell them what is going on in your life. This person should help keep you accountable by checking on you and talking with you. The next thing to do, would be to bury yourself in the word and God. The reason I say this is because of this. Once you remove something big from your life, you will have to fill it in with something else. If you do not, then you will be tempted to fill it in with your old ways again. Have you ever heard someone say "An idle mind is the devil's workshop"? Well it is absolutely true. You HAVE to fill your mind and heart with Holy things if you don't want to return to your old ways.

You have to remember that only the Lord can heal you from this if you struggle. Reading this will not. It may help, and I hope it does, but only the one who is the inspirer of this post can heal you. You have to be totally dedicated to kicking this or you wont. Keep trying and NEVER give up!


~Philippians 4:8
Whatsoever things are true.

The Facebook god

Exodus 34:13, Do not worship any other god, for the Lord who's name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

About 6,000 years ago when the world was created by God, and he viewed the future of the whole earth and knew what was going to happen. But then came 2004, and Facebook was created! And Jesus had NO Idea that was going to happen. It took him off his guard, and he didn't know what to say to people about the site. NO! NO! NO! AND NO! Jesus was never caught off guard by anything that has happened and is happening right now. Jesus knew Facebook would come around eventually, and he knew that Facebook would take the place were he previously sat in many "Christians" hearts. He knew that his children would try to read their Bibles, but instead would would log onto Facebook to update their statuses or check on something first. He knew that His followers would sit staring at the Facebook screen for hours instead of spending time with him. Does it hurt any less because he knew from the beginning? I'm sure not.

So what does the bible verse at the beginning have to do with Facebook? Isn't it obvious? Facebook has become a god among our nation. Among the Christians. Among everyone. We have taken something that was meant to be used for entertainment and turned it into a way of life. A site to post foul language lyrics, to tell everyone what your doing 24/7, to show God that he's really second in their lives.

Why would we do that to our Lord and savior? If you had a friend that was on Facebook all the time, and always wanted to check their Facebook on their phones before you talked to them, and sometimes they would be on for hours before they cared enough to talk to you, and then they would only talk for a couple of minutes, and only ever asked you for things, and never gave you any time to say what you wanted to say, you wouldn't be friends with that person anymore. They wouldn't be a true friend. Because they would always be on Facebook with their other friends, and wouldn't care enough to spend time with you other than asking you for favors. What a horrible relationship that would be. How many Christians do that to Jesus ALL the time!? A couple? More than 10? Hundreds? Thousands? Most likely.

I know that Facebook is addicting and can gather all your time, but it's time to stop worrying about what is going on in other people's life, and start figuring out whats going on in Jesus'.

If you are reading this and you don't have a Facebook, then this message applies to all sorts of God's. Any online place really, or even grades. A boyfriend/girlfriend could be your god. Maybe watching sports gives you comfort over going and reading your Bible, and talking with the guy who wants to be your best friend.

Do not have any other god's before me, is the second commandment of the 10. To even make it into the ten commandments means it's important, to be the second commandment.... you better be paying attention.

If you are guilty of this, close your laptop, phone ect. and go and ask God for forgiveness. See what is going on in his life. Let your god go, and follow the real God of this world.


~Whatsoever things are true
Philippians 4:8

Imitators of Christ

Ephesians 5:1, Watch what God does, then do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. (The Message Bible).

When we see babies, what are they usually doing? Yes, sticking things in their mouths, yes sleeping and eating. Sometimes smiling and laughing, but what I'm talking about is as they grow older, what is the thing they do most? They learn. They imitate the people they see around them. After staring at their parent for a long time, they attempt to use a fork. Or, they are constantly making noises and trying to say words like the people around them. Sometimes kids, when they get a little older, they get a little annoying sometimes cause they follow you around and listen to every word you say, and watch everything you do. Why? Because they want to learn to be just like there dad. Or big sister. Or big brother. They want to imitate you because they look up to you! They want to be you.

We are told in this verse to be imitators of our father in heaven just like the children are. We can study and look to the children for how we should act in our life.

Matthew 18:3, And he said, I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Now this doesn't mean that we need to resort to sucking our thumbs and talking like a baby, but we should be studying some of the things that they do and doing them ourselves. What are some traits we should imitate?

Persistence
You see a child fail time and time again. They get up to walk and they fall countless times. But they keep trying. They never give up, and finally they begin to walk.
We sometimes will try to follow the Lord, but then soon give up because it is too hard! Or maybe because you are tired of falling. If you never fall, then you will never learn from your mistakes. We must be like children and continue to try to walk in his ways no matter how many times we fall. Some people will fall less than others. Don't let that get you down! You will learn eventually, keep trying. Push on. Give effort.

Trust.
When I tell a child that I am going to take him out for Ice Cream, do you think that that child will be excited? Yes! Absolutely! Do you think that the child will be thinking, "Well, I doubt that that will happen, so I'm not getting my hopes up." NO! A child has full trust that I will come through and buy them ice cream. That I will keep my word to them.
How many times do we lose hope in God? If your anything like me, it's been many times in the past. Sometimes I would lose hope that he would give me the things I need. But in his word, he promises us that he will come through for us with what we need if we seek him. Nevertheless, I have doubted and lost trust in him. Look to the child, and wait for him to come through for us.

This is only a couple of things that you could be likening yourself to. Make a study of children. Write down their traits, and apply them to your life. But always remember to look to your father, and be imitators of him.

~Whatsoever things are true
Philippians 4:8