Keep Your Heads Up

On Monday night, I went to a revival meeting at Park Hill Baptist. It was about praying for a revival for different things. It was really emotional in a good way. :) I had a good cry.

Here is something that we can all do. They did it at the meeting, and it really helped.

• First, before you pray for ANYTHING, confess the sins that you committed that day to God and ask for forgiveness. Then forgive anyone you need to forgive. 
• Close your eyes and draw a mental circle around you. Pray for a spiritual revival in your personal life. 
• Draw a mental circle around your church, and pray for a spiritual revival. 
• Do the same for the city and state that you were born in. 
• Last, but certainly not least, do one for our nation. 

Our nation is suffering. But when I think about that, this same verse always comes into my mind and gives me hope. 

Jeremiah 29:11-14

"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. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and i will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD,"and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD,"and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." 

The LORD promises us hope, a future, and deliverance. As bad as our world is, God's plans for it is a MILLION times better. Even though it seems like the world will NEVER get better, God promised to listen to our prayers, and be found by us, and deliver His people. 

Always remember this quote: (This is my version of it) 

“Everything will usually get worse before it gets better, but when it does get better...remember  who God is, and praise Him for it. The devil will bring you down, but God will help you up. Things will get hard, dangerous, scary, though, and bad. But life is good because God is good." 

Love Through Surrendering

Lose Your Status To God
John 15:20
"...A servant is not greater than his master."

We should not try to be equal or greater than God. He is our Master; we must submit to Him. A servant does what his/her master has commanded him/her to do.

• Use what God gave you (your gifts) to show other God through you to bring Him glory 
• Focus on God's mission that He has given you for His glory
• Make sure that pride does not get in the way of things that God has in-store for you

Do everything like God is standing there beside you. 

Romans 12:6-8

"We have different gifts. according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then in prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, the give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully." 

These are all things that we can do out of love (for God and others) to use for God's glory. 

Conquerors Through Love

Romans 8:37-39
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Just take a minute and think that passage through. God's love for us is so strong and powerful, that NOTHING IN ALL CREATION can separate us from Him. NOT A THING!! We should have love like God does. We should be so loving that people think that the only we can do is love. That's how people will see Christ through us. By our love. Like in that song,"And they will know we are Christians by our love." 





Romans 12:9
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good."

Turn away from what is evil. Love conquers all things, so we have the ability, through God's love, to turn away from evil and to turn to what is good, pure, and holy. 

L.O.V.E

Love Fulfills the Law
Romans 13:8-10
"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments,"You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

If we love one another, we have fulfilled God's law to us. 
Every command God gave us, we obey it out of love. 
How can we apply this to our daily lives? 

We can....
Take time away from our own desires to satisfy the needs of others.
Spend time helping one another.
Lifting others up in prayer.
Doing small things out of love for others.
Saying,"Let me do that for you."
etc.


There are a lot of loving things we can do for one another, we just have to be self-less and take time out of our desires to do those things. 

1 Timothy 1:5
"The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."

We should do loving things not hoping to get something in return, but to do it because God loved us first. 

All You Need Is Love

I will be doing a post on  LOVE everyday until Valentines Day.

Post 1 on LOVE. 

1 John 3:16-18; 23
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth....And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded us."

Jesus showed us His love by dying for us, even when we didn't love Him.
Let us show our love for Him by loving one another just as He commanded us in
John 13:34-35
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, 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 perseveres. Love. Never. Fails."

Is our love for one another that strong? If not, why? Since God loved us so much and sent His only Son to die for us, since Jesus willing laid down His own life for us, why is it hard for us to love one another? God is love. We can love, because He loved us first. 

God First, Others Second, Ourselves Last

Selfishness is the root of all sin. Almost everything we do is out of selfishness. The world says,"Do what makes YOU happy." "Your happiness comes first!"
But Paul(Through Christ) says,

"Do not look to your own interest, but to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4)
John(Through Christ) says,

"If anyone has materiel passions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?" (1 John 3:17)

Philippians 2:6-11
In your relationship with one another, have the same mind-set as Christ. 
"Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 

Even though Jesus was given equality with God, He did not use it to His own advantage, rather, He made Himself nothing for God's glory, and for our salvation. He was given the name above all names, but He still took the form of a servant and suffered a death on the cross for God's glory, and for our salvation.

Jesus is a great example of God first, other second, ourselves last. 

2 questions to ask yourself:
1. Am I good at putting others ahead of myself?
2. What's in my heart? Selfishness, or love for others ahead of myself?
(more like 3)

(My notes from Sunday School) 
Sometimes we even put ourselves ahead of God because of our selfishness. Step out of the center stage and put God in the spot light. (Then other, and ourselves last.)


Selfishness also has to do with disobeying our authorities, including God.
We want to get our way, and do things for ourselves. Me, me, me first. Not: What would God and my authorities want me to do? Who do I need to put first? How could my selfish actions affect those around me? Could it put someone in danger? Could it make people lose trust in me? Am I displeasing the LORD when I do this? These are the things we HAVE to think about when we want to do something out of selfishness. HOW WILL IT AFFECT OTHERS?

Philippians 2:3
"Do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves."