Matthew 10: 21-42

 ²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.²³ When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

   ²⁴ “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

   ²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.^[b] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

   ³² “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

   ³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn

   “‘a man against his father,
   a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
   ³⁶ a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[c]

   ³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

   ⁴⁰ “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

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     WARNING: IF YOU DO THIS PEOPLE WILL HATE YOU, AND YOU MAY DIE FROM AS A RESULT OF THESE ACTIONS! 

     Human beings love thrills, we bungie jump and sky dive, we do crazy things like run with the bulls and swim with sharks. We love to live life on the wild side, full or risk and sometime even pushing the boundaries or death. Why then are we so afraid to like a genuine Christian faith? Matthew tells us that our faith in Christ should be so strong that families turn against each other, sons against fathers and mothers against daughters. Jesus basically says that He is not coming to bring peace but to shake things up! To truly love Christ your own family must be of less significance and that anyone who loves their own parents more then Christ then they are not worth of Christ. 

      At face value this sounds pretty harsh, how can the God of love tell us that we are not worthy of Him if we love our parents? Before I go on I want you to write a list of the five most important things in your life and number them the 1 being the most important 5 being the lesser. Make this list truthfully, nobody will ever see it...ready...set...go. (1. Family 2. My Faith (God)  3. Friends 4. Work 5. Caffeine). Now look at your list, does it look anything like mine? Chances are that God is not the fnumber one on your, and of He is then awesome!! But when God is not in the center of our being, our number one on our list this is where we run into problems. In Matthew, Jesus gives us a blunt and strict command not holding anything back: love God above all things, or else your are not worthy of God himself. 

      God is not telling us not to love our parents and family in this passage, on the contrary all throughout the Bible we are told to show them extensive amounts of love, but rather not to make family our "god". In todays society we have many false idols that we places in a higher esteem then God. From money to jobs they happen everyday but we never think that our family could be one. God wants all of our love to go toward Him, he is the the ONE and ONLY God. To make your family of greater importance then God is a sin and takes us further away from God. 

      As well as making your family a false god we see the severity, the responsibility and the obligation of becoming a follower of Christ. To follow Christ..TRULY FOLLOW..Christ you must be prepared to live a completely different life then that of those who live amongst us today. A call to Christ is not just sitting a pew for an hour every Sunday then going on our ways. When decide to pick up our cross and live like Christ did you die to this world and die to it very sinful nature. A life in Christ is a life of adventure and risk, going where Christ calls you not being afraid to follow. A life in Christ is the ultimate adventure with the ultimate treasure at the end of its path: and eternal life in Christ and through Christ. Christ commands us to go out to nations and spread the gospel, and to go out and help those who are in need, to reach out bring His glory to this earth...but instead we cut a check and call it a day. But this is not a post about a life in Christ, this is about the results of living a life through Him. 

     A call to follow Christ is so revolutionary, so extraordinary, so ODD that people will not truly understand. Your life style will be so different then that of societies that you will become an outcast. The life style of Christ is so...RADICAL (I stole that from

every book I read so no credit here.)...that people will try to turn you away from it. Which is where we begin to see what Christ is talking about, brothers

will turn against fathers and daughter against mothers. A life in Christ is not normal and it will scare people. Often times when people do not understand something that go on the defensive and that misunderstanding is now an enemy. To live truly and completely in Christ is to live completely for Christ.  As we are called to live a life in Christ we should not be afraid to go where we are called, the Lord tells us that He watches out for even the smallest of sparrows so will he take care of us. God will always protect us everywhere we go and if we hold strong through all our hardship with Lord reward us greatly. 

     I do not write this post to discourage you on your walk with Christ. I am not writing it to make you feel guilty and I am definitely not writing it to say I am on this path and know it all. I can honestly say I struggle with this greatly. If any of my cousins or family were to say they needed me I would be there in a heartbeat but if the Lord was calling me to do something I would debate it to death. I am writing this post though to let you know that this is real. A call to live a life in Christ is not a simple one, we must be ready to die to this world and be born again to salvation in Christ leaving behind the sinful nature we once lived in. I challenge you to seriously look at your life, is it one that is completely for Christ? Are you willing to do everything for Christ and through Christ? Christ call is a serious one but of you are prepared to live the way of the cross our rewards will be great and we will live with eternal life in Christ.

I pray for you and your walk in Christ. 

James 1 1:2-10

 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
 9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
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   We all face trials and challenge everyday in life. Depending on the intensity of the problem often times we turn to God in our times of desperation, pleading out to him: "Why God? Why me? Haven't you put me through enough?". In James 1 1:2-12 we are told to not be so troubled with the trials God is putting us through, but rather we should be happy he is putting us through them. Although this concept may seem odd it is through these hardships our faith is tested and completed. 

    Any of us can say that they love and trust God with all their hearts but it is in these times of desperation that we either turn to God or run. James says that through these trials our faith is tested and through perseverance our faith will grow and mature. If we continue to stay true to the Lord and trust in him fully we will that God has a plan for us and that he is contently watching out for us. 

     We are told that is we are in distress that we should ask God for the wisdom and the guidance to overcome the hurdles in life. But we need to be prepared to trust whatever direction God sends us. Often times when I pray for "big, meaningful" things; such as the internship with the Invisible Children, instead of praying to get the position I prayed that my heart would be opened to where ever God was leading me. Although I got the position I turned it down because God was telling me that I had work to do where I was. We need to trust in Gods path for us, when we ask for God's help but are not willing to except it we are double-minded and not sure what we truly want and are showing the Lord that we don't trust in him. 

      I challenge you for the rest of the week to just put your trust in the Lord. Where he leads you, follow him! When you pray for guidance, listen to him! I challenge you to truly trust in the Lord and do not question. God leads you where he wants you to be and will never give you trials he does not think you can face. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says: "Te temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more then you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.". God loves you and will protect you through everything, just trust in him completely. 

I pray for you and your walk with Christ   

Romans 12:9-21

 ⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

 ¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^[c] Do not be conceited.

 ¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[d] says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:

   “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
   if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”^[e]

 ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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      In Romans 12:9-21 we see another call to love Gods people just as He loves us. As you read through the New Testament you see a central reacquiring theme: to love each other.  We are to love each other whole-heartedly. We are supposed to actually LOVE and CARE for each other. To hate evil. A strong word: hate. It shows us that God is not ok with evil, we are to hate evil and cling to what is good. Keep hold of what is good and not let it go. When we show love to each other we are to never let that passionate love fade. As we help one another we are to remain patient as we help them through their problems never getting upset or discouraged. When we are to pray we are to really pray. Prayer is one of the most powerful tools God has given to us. 

    When people hate us we are not to reciprocate with hate, but rather show twice as much love then given. We are to build community with each other: cry with those who are crying and laugh with those who are laughing. Life is to short to go through it with evil in your heart. Everybody that we encounter in our lives has a story to share and a lesson to teach us. Do not take revenge on those who bring us down, God tells us that he will take care of those who hate us when he is ready. Our job is to love, not matter the circumstance. 

     As we all search around for what true love is, we often forget to look right in front of us. God has given us the greatest example of what love truly is. God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to come to earth and live amongst us, to be ridiculed and abused then to die....let me say that again....TO BE PUT TO DEATH....to save us from our own sins. And if that was not good enough example He continues to show us love by forgiving us every time we turn away from him. Sin tares us away from God and He's love for us, but He is always waiting patiently, never growing impatient, never letting His passion for us fade. I do not say this to make you feel guilty but rather to show us, that Gods love is greatlargeabsolutepowerfulexpertmagnificentethusiastic (If you couldn't tell I looked up great in the thesaurus and threw all the words together, yet the word still cant describe Gods great love for us.), I think the best word I could use to describes Gods great love would be: Jesus Christ. 

     I will admit that love is easier said then done. I can say that I love somebody without skipping a beat which is why love is more then a word. Love is an action, an action I myself need to work on. I can say that I do show a lot of love, to a lot of people. God though has put maybe the biggest hurtle into my life and that would be my brother. My relationship with my brother Jacob is that of a passer on a street. We have not had the best relationship, and I do not hold the highest respect for him. After he has hurt your family in the ways that happened it is hard to go back from that. Not to long ago I did reconcile with him, and begin to  explain to him about Christ and how through Christ life is a much greater place. And I know that this is the part of the story where I say he accepted my apology and turned to Christ, well what happened was the complete opposite.  After telling me where me and "my god" could burn he signed off and has not talked to me since. Since I did my part to "apologize" should the love cease? I don't believe so, I have not done my part to continue with zeal, be patient with affliction, and have not proceed to pray for him. In these ways, I have failed to love. 

    How are you showing love to those around you? Is there a relationship in your life that you need to mend? Life is to short to have not said I am sorry and showed love. Are you doing everything you can to show the world God's love? As you find somebody to talk to about your walk with Christ and they begin to confide in you don't forget to show them an even greater love.  I will finish this post off with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Billy Graham: "It’s God’s job to judge, the Holy Spirit’s job to convict and our job to love." We are called to show love to all of God's people, lets throw society off...and just do it! 

I love you, and pray for you in your walk with Christ    

Galatians 6:1-10

  ^"1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. ² Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. ³ If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. ⁴ Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, ⁵ for each one should carry their own load. ⁶ Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.

 ⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

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  In Galatians 6: 1-10 we see a call to help out our fellow brothers and sister who are suffering from sin. But the call is not to be judgmental and condemning, we must remember that there is not a person amongst us who does not sin on a daily basis. We are to help each other with love and compassion, walking them through their struggles and mentoring each person to their specific needs. We  must watch ourselves as we help each other, not  falling into temptation ourselves. Sin happens when we are most vulnerable, and as we begin to open up to each other and share our sins vulnerability may occur. We should pray for the Lords strength in helping others and remember to always be a shinning example of His amazing love.

    We see that we need to alway be on alert of our own acts and how others perceive us and how we perceive ourselves. Galatians; as well as society, tell us that just because we think we are better then we are does not make it so, and that in fact we are lying just to ourselves but also to God. We must also ensure that we have the right intentions when we proceed with our actions. Are we doing things to please God or to please ourselves and make us look good. When helping someone we should not be thinking that they are the lesser of ourselves constantly judging others and their actions.  To fully help somebody we should be their equal, welcoming them with a warm embrace , loving them just as Christ loves us. When we begin to break away from the "me" that todays society instills in us we start to see a change in not only our lives but also the lives of those around us. People want to get help from somebody they trust and know will not condemn them for their actions. 

     As we begin to help others, acts must be completely selfless. When we do them to please ourselves they attention is taken away from those receiving and put back on us. Just as we should do everything to please the Lord and bring His glory. Again, if we do things to please ourselves we take the attention away from God. We see a pattern appear that when we do things for us, we are doing them for all the wrong reasons. A thousand good deeds are pointless when we aren't being done to help God's people and bring him glory. 

    When we are doing everything to please God we must not grow weary when don't see the results we may be hoping for. Not everybody is going to be thankful outright, and we must remember that God works mysterious ways. We must continue with our good deeds. God will continues to bless us everyday and although things might not be turning out the way we want them God makes everything happen for a reason and as Galatians says: we will reap harvest at our proper time. 

    I will be the first to admit that I want to see things happen NOW. My patiences for Gods works is slim. When God gives me a great idea I get going on it and get frustrated when a week later I see no results. Galatians tells us to no grow impatient, God have us a direction and when it is supposed to show results it will. I also must confess that some of my actions, even Godly ones, have hopes of making my family and friends proud. The only person I should be worried about making proud is God himself. I have began to notice that patiences and pace is a struggle with me and pray that God slowly walks with me through my paths. 

    Last post i encouraged you to find a person who you could trust and confide in about the struggles and sins in your life. This post is about being the recipient and helping those confiding in you as well as you in them. We must take the time to examine our conscience, intentions and actions. Are we doing everything to please God and bring His glory to His people. I pray that if somebody comes to you, you welcome them with open arms and loving embrace. We all struggle and sometimes we just need that one person to tells us it's going to be ok and that God still loves them. 

I pray for you and your walk with Christ           

Ephesians 4:32-5:21

 ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷Therefore do not be partners with them. ⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

   “Wake up, sleeper, 

   rise from the dead, 

   and Christ will shine on you.”

 ¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  ²¹ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

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   In Ephesians 4:32-5:21 we see Gods call for all of us to live a life identical to His own. We are called to live a life of compassion and understanding. We are supposed to forgive all the wrongs done to us and go the extra step further to love the person who has wrong us. Living a life as Christ did comes with massive responsibility and high expectations. We are called to live a life free from sinful actions of greed, lust, sexual impurities and obscenities.  All throughout the bible God gives us strict directions to steer clear of all of these evils and sinful acts of indulgences. If we are to live as Christ lived we must be a shinning light to His image. How can we expect to enter into an eternal union in heaven with the Lord with such sins in our lives? 

   Just as we are called to live such a life style we are also told to stay away from those who may lead us astray. There is an uplifting side to it all though! It is that the Son of God has came to earth to die for all of our sins! He came to show us the light and lead us out of the darkness. But we must work hard to stay of His path of righteousness. 

     Into todays day in age it is hard to go anywhere without being forced to view images of sex and debauchery. From television to movies children are viewing these images at younger and younger ages an developing a false sense of love, relationship and sexual identity. There is an attitude of defeat sweeping across the nations that children are going to have sexual relations anyway so let us prepare them for it, with sexual education being taught to kids as young as 7 years old. SEVEN YEARS OLD! If we do not have faith in children in the upcoming generations why would they have faith in themselves? We all need to lead by example and understanding that things such as the viewing of pornographic and sexual actions outside of marriage are sins against God and leading us further into the darkness and away from the light.  

    We must work hard to monitor our thoughts and speech. Christ tells us to refrain from inappropriate jokes and vulgar language. We are called to live as Christ did and as examples of Christ and His love and using such language is the opposite of our call. Instead we should greet one another with praise and thanks giving just as Christ did. We should show love to everybody we encounter! 

    To follow truly follow Christ we must be ready to live life on the wild side! It is a called to be the ultimate non-conformist. In today society sex, dirty jokes, swearing are all part of the norms of society and you are the outcast for not partaking in such actions. I to struggle with all of the things I have written about in this post. I stumble and fall all the time, the devils in today society make it easier to go back into the darkness. I swear, part take in inappropriate jokes, have struggled with pornography and have not always been the best example to my peers. I share this because I feel like to write a proper blog regarding scripture and faith that I should not hide my sins from those who may read this. We are told to confess our sinful nature to your brothers and sisters and to God and ask for forgiveness for falling. (Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:6). 

    The beautifully amazing thing about it all is the Christ is there to pick us up when we fall.  His hand is the first one reaching down to lift us and and with open embrace bring us back into His arms. We have a God of love......listen to that A GOD OF LOVE! A God that became human, walked amongst us! A God that that DIED TO SAVE US FROM SIN! Amazing! 

     I will end this this post challenging you to look at your lives. Do you struggles with any of these things? We all stumble and fall, but turn to Jesus and ask for forgiveness.  Try to find a partner, somebody you trust and that can hold you accountable. Meet weekly or as often you need and talk about your struggles for that week and pray with them for the guidance and strength to stay on the path and to be the light of Christ. 

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.