Music

Dear Readers,

I know a ton of you out there love some good music. There are so many types of musical genres everyone can listen to from country, rap, hip hop, r & b, rock and roll, you name it.  There are so many topics that a lot of artist talk about in their music. 

I find that most artist in today’s world tend to sing about all kinds of subjects. Topics that range from broken hearts (break up songs), love songs, loss or a song about something that happened in that person’s life. Most are good topics but one should really be careful about the message that the artist is trying to tell the listener. Also keep in mind whether or not the music you’re  currently listening to makes you have horrible thoughts that are violent or worse. 

 See, when it comes to music the Lord is concerned with your heart and if the music you’re listening to has a positive or a negative effect on your relationship with Jesus. Proverbs 4:23 says this “Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.” I know that verse definitely helps me because music is such a grey area for me with my walk.  For some of you reading this, it could definitely apply to you. Keep this verse in mind when it comes to music.  It can really help you out in the long run. God Bless. Bye.

Suffering

Dear Readers,

Just like failure we all go through suffering. It comes in many shapes or forms.  As believers something like this is a very difficult thing to go through. The definition of suffering in the dictionary says this “the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.”  It’s something that we don’t like to deal with but it happens to be the reality that we all go through at one point or another.  There are many examples about suffering in the Bible and this following individual’s story about suffering really comes to mind. 

The person would be Job because he suffered so much when he was alive. His servants died, his children died and his livestock too. The list of the things he lost goes on, but how he dealt with the suffering that he went through was pretty neat if you ask me. At one point during this difficult time his own wife said that he should "curse God and die", however he didn’t do that at all! Job held on to his integrity which is really an admirable thing. He came out of it as a better person and received greater things than what he had before.

 Another example of suffering would be Christ Himself because He suffered for all of us and it wasn’t a pretty sight to see. But in the end it was all part of God’s wonderful plan and He conquered death too. So keep that in mind when you're suffering or going through a hardship and know that you will come out stronger and better for it. 

Romans 5:3 says this “ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;”.  What that tells us is we will come out of suffering stronger than ever. God bless you all. Bye. 

Praying

Dear Readers,

Doesn’t it feel so wonderful knowing that we can pray to our Father in heaven and know that He hears us always. However, when it comes to prayer, God will either tell you “yes,” “no” or “just wait.” For a lot of us we just want that “yes” from Him all the time. But when He says “no” or “just wait” then we tend to not like that response from Him. The thing is, the Lord says to us “no” or “just wait” instead of “yes” is because He sees what we don’t see. He is simply protecting us from harm.  

In fact the very definition of prayer in the dictionary is this “A solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God or an object of worship.” However, when we do pray and we don’t get the response that we were hoping for our reaction shouldn’t be a negative one but a more positive one. God wants us trust Him when He responds to our prayers and to know that we can count on Him. Besides when it comes down to it God is not your prayer machine. He won’t always say “yes” to what you are asking of Him. 

That’s not how God works in our lives. He won’t give everyone everything they have ever wanted in life because if He did then we would be miserable. We would not learn anything from having everything. We as believers need to remember that when it comes to praying yes He will give you what you need but not always what you want. 

 We must let go of the selfish mentality that we can have when we pray to God. James 4:3 says this “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” So keep that in mind when you pray to the Lord, that you keep your motives in check. So that when we all pray that to God that our motives are in a good place. Hope this was encouraging to you all. 

 God bless. Bye.

Being changed

Dear Readers,

It’s crazy to believe that some of the most unlikely people could ever be changed. However, there are so many people in the Bible that were changed and ended up spreading the good news of Jesus everywhere they went. There is one particular individual that did  just that, being changed by God and became one of the best known apostles to this very day. I am talking about Paul (also called Saul) because before Jesus came into his life he would literally go and put people into prison for going to church and loving Him.

It’s wild that someone went from wanting to destroy the church to now preaching the gospel everywhere he went in his lifetime. We first see Paul in he book of Acts persecuting Christians.   However, a couple chapters later in the Bible, in Acts 9, we see this radical change happen for him.

It all started when he was on the road to Damascus so he could take more people into prison. As he was going, he ended up being blinded by a huge light. This was no ordinary light because it came from heaven. As a result of this Saul fell to the ground and a voice was heard saying “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” I must say it’s not everyday that you hear a voice calling your name like that.  Saul’s response to this was “Who are you Lord?”  to which the Lord replied “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” The conversation I am quoting is Acts 9:5.  After this had occurred Saul became blind for about three whole days.

What does this have to do with being changed?  Paul began to preach the gospel in the synagogues, proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God and continued to do so until he passed on. He would go to many places and become one of the well known disciples that we all can look up to. It all goes to show you that when God enters the picture and changes your heart that you can go on and serve God, just like Paul did all those years ago. Hope this was encouraging to you all. God Bless.

Love

Dear Readers,

When it comes to something such as love, which has many forms, the most common type of love is between two people who want to be together forever. However, with movies, tv, and music constantly showing the opposite of what real love can look like, it can be very hard to see what real genuine love can be when Christ isn’t at the center of it all. In fact the definition of love is this , “An intense feeling of deep affection”. 

We all must admit when we were all little, we wanted that fairy tale type of love we see in the movies, right? One point in time most of us dreamed about our “Prince Charming” coming for us  or the beautiful Princess waiting for us. 

When it comes to love, make sure that you have Christ at the center of it all and your love will continue to grow stronger everyday. In fact, love is mentioned a lot in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 it says this “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.” 

Now, that is the best kind of love we can all have and to me it’s something we should all look for in a future spouse. (Someone who fits all of those qualities that the Bible listed, and above all loves the Lord.) Hope this was encouraging to you all. Bye. 

The future

Dear Readers,

All of us wonder what we will do in the future, or what the future will bring. I have asked this myself because I truly didn’t know what my own future would hold. I still don’t know what the next five years could bring me. However, I know this; the Lord has a plan and a very wonderful one. I look forward to seeing it unfold. It may be hard to see it in the present, but just wait and listen to the Lord. 

James 1:5-8 says the following “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man unstable in all he does.” 

 Jeremiah 29:11 says this “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

Also know that all of us think we have a good idea of what we want to do. For example, David was someone who thought that his future would be filled with shepherding sheep for the rest of his life. However, when God entered the picture, He turned David’s future upside down, for God’s glory. I pray and hope that this blog post was encouraging for you all out there reading this. God bless you. Bye. 

Peer pressure

Dear readers,

Most of us have or had faced a little thing called peer pressure. Everyone has dealt with it and it’s quite a rough thing for anyone. We all want to fit in and be the “cool crowd” at the party, right, or at school even, too. But as believers of the Lord, we all should stick to our convictions.

 I know it may be hard for a lot of you and you might get those looks from people thinking that you’re crazy or insane for not taking that beer or cigarette. But the things is you’re doing the right thing by not giving into temptation. 

Proverbs 1:10 and Proverbs 1:15 talk about just that. Proverbs 1:10 “My son if sinners entice you,do not give into them.” Then later in the same chapter verse 15 says “My son do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths.” So basically they say that one shouldn’t give in to the evil temptations of the world. Don’t ever be afraid to be a leader and to stand up for what’s right. Who knows, maybe you’ll encourage someone else to not give in too. God bless you all. Bye.