I've been reading in Genesis for the past days. You know what stuck out to me the most in the first few stories? Trust.
Trust is something huge. I personally don't like to trust many people with stuff. I have a handful of people that I do and can trust though. They know my secrets, they know my struggles, they know my mistakes, they know anyone and everyone I am crushing on, and pretty much everything. Trust is a huge thing for me. I love it when I can trust people with my stuff and when others can trust me with their stuff. It feels kind of awesome.
So, what about trust in Genesis stuck out to me? Well, trust in God. What each person in the Bible thought about and did when it came to trusting God.
Adam and Eve were the first two humans on earth. They trusted God to provide for them and take care of them, but they didn't trust God to obey what He said. They ate the fruit and were pretty much doomed for it.
Noah trusted God to take care of him and his family during the flood. Noah built the ark even when others were mocking him and just being rude. They were on the ark for a pretty long time, but Noah knew God would protect them. And God did. He provided for them after they came off the ark and blessed them. He even made a covenant with Noah to not ever flood the earth and used the rainbow as a sign of the promise.
Abram trusted God to have the land that he was promised. He went away from what he knew and went to different lands and God provided for the needs of his people. Abram didn't trust God to help him when he came to Egypt and lied to the pharaoh about Sarai being his wife. He didn't trust God to provide a child through Sarai when God said he would. Abraham (called that after God told him about him having a child through Sarai) trusted God later on with the child coming from his aging wife Sarah (called that after being promised to give birth to a son). Abraham trusted God to do His will when he went up the mountain to sacrifice his own son, Isaac, and he lived. God did everything He said He would for Him.
Lot did not trust God for land and he was taken prisoner. Lot did not trust God to bring him what he needed in his land and his own town was destroyed by God's angels. Lot trusted God when they ran away from Sodom and he was spared his life (because of his uncle Abraham), but his wife was turned into a pillar of salt because she didn't listen to God when He said "Do not look back."
So, why do I give you these examples? Because these people trusted God with pretty much their lives! And we can't even trust Him to provide for our little needs! We need to be able to place things in the hands of God and not worry. God promises that He will provide, we just need to trust Him. We need to go to the cross and lay everything at the feet of Jesus and say "Here, take this. It's too much for me to worry about, but I know that all I need to do is give it to you. So, do what you will and I trust you enough for me not to worry." And we need to just walk away and let God deal with it all. We can't do anything on our own, so why try? Trust God to be what you need and give what you need.
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Where Can I Flee From Your Presence?
Do you believe that God is everywhere? That He is in heaven, on earth, inside of you, etc.? I mean, if you believe what The Book says, then of course you do! God is omnipresent. He is everywhere.
Ok. Well, then do you believe that God is in heaven AND hell? Harder question, right? Most people I know would answer "No!" in a heartbeat. Why would you say no? Because only sin belongs there? Only the ones that don't believe in God are there? Well, where's your proof of that? Yeah, the Bible talks about how unbelievers go to hell. It's the home of the devil when he gets thrown into hell in the end. Where does it say that it is only meant for that?
If you agree with the fact that God is everywhere, then you should believe that God is also in hell. Not His good, righteous, merciful, and loving side. No. His wrathful, vengeful, just, and angry side. He pours all His wrath into hell and on the people there. The Bible talks about how God gets angry and about His wrath. Where else, but hell, would he release all of it?
Now let's look at a passage that can help show you that God is everywhere...
Psalm 139:7-12
-Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
for the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
David wrote this passage in the Psalms. He says that God is everywhere and that he cannot hide from Him no matter where he goes. He can't go to heaven for God is there. He can't go to hell because He is there. The darkness is not dark to God. There is no where that a person can go that they are away from God.
Just a thought.
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
Ok. Well, then do you believe that God is in heaven AND hell? Harder question, right? Most people I know would answer "No!" in a heartbeat. Why would you say no? Because only sin belongs there? Only the ones that don't believe in God are there? Well, where's your proof of that? Yeah, the Bible talks about how unbelievers go to hell. It's the home of the devil when he gets thrown into hell in the end. Where does it say that it is only meant for that?
If you agree with the fact that God is everywhere, then you should believe that God is also in hell. Not His good, righteous, merciful, and loving side. No. His wrathful, vengeful, just, and angry side. He pours all His wrath into hell and on the people there. The Bible talks about how God gets angry and about His wrath. Where else, but hell, would he release all of it?
Now let's look at a passage that can help show you that God is everywhere...
Psalm 139:7-12
-Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
for the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
David wrote this passage in the Psalms. He says that God is everywhere and that he cannot hide from Him no matter where he goes. He can't go to heaven for God is there. He can't go to hell because He is there. The darkness is not dark to God. There is no where that a person can go that they are away from God.
Just a thought.
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
Monday, November 4, 2013
Eternal Life for Babies
Do infants go to heaven or not? Yes or no? And why would you say that?
That question was asked in my Sunday morning class yesterday. I thought I would biblically answer it now because the class didn't wanna get into an "argument" over this issue even though there is biblical proof pointing one way.
An infant's mind is not developed enough to understand right from wrong or understand the concept of heaven or hell or even saved or not saved. So, why would a just God send a helpless child to hell?
He doesn't. Now here is the biblical proof and examples...
Deuteronomy 1:39
-And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad -- they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it.
God knows that children do not understand what good or bad is and He lets them come to Him when they die at that age.
In 2 Samuel 12 it talks about King David's son being dead. David moaned for the death of his son, but then he had to stop because he finally realized that he would see him again. He said in verse 23 "...I will go to him, but he will not return to me." He knew that he would be going to heaven and that he would see his son again there.
Psalm 132:11 says "The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: one of the sons of your body I will set on your throne." One of the sons was going to be on David's own thrown in heaven.
God is a just and righteous God. He says that people have no excuse not to believe in Him when the evidence is all around us in nature. So, if we choose not to believe even when we see that beauty of His creation, then we will go to hell even if we haven't heard the gospel. The people that refuse to believe after seeing the creation are the one's that can comprehend it and their minds are developed enough. God is fair. He wont send a child to hell since he is too young to understand anything. It's not that the child wont listen and believe, it's that he can't comprehend it. So why would he be sent to hell for that?
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
That question was asked in my Sunday morning class yesterday. I thought I would biblically answer it now because the class didn't wanna get into an "argument" over this issue even though there is biblical proof pointing one way.
An infant's mind is not developed enough to understand right from wrong or understand the concept of heaven or hell or even saved or not saved. So, why would a just God send a helpless child to hell?
He doesn't. Now here is the biblical proof and examples...
Deuteronomy 1:39
-And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad -- they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it.
God knows that children do not understand what good or bad is and He lets them come to Him when they die at that age.
In 2 Samuel 12 it talks about King David's son being dead. David moaned for the death of his son, but then he had to stop because he finally realized that he would see him again. He said in verse 23 "...I will go to him, but he will not return to me." He knew that he would be going to heaven and that he would see his son again there.
Psalm 132:11 says "The Lord swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: one of the sons of your body I will set on your throne." One of the sons was going to be on David's own thrown in heaven.
God is a just and righteous God. He says that people have no excuse not to believe in Him when the evidence is all around us in nature. So, if we choose not to believe even when we see that beauty of His creation, then we will go to hell even if we haven't heard the gospel. The people that refuse to believe after seeing the creation are the one's that can comprehend it and their minds are developed enough. God is fair. He wont send a child to hell since he is too young to understand anything. It's not that the child wont listen and believe, it's that he can't comprehend it. So why would he be sent to hell for that?
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
Thursday, October 31, 2013
When Can a Person Morally "Lose" Their Virginity?
I used to think that the Bible never said anything about being a virgin until marriage. I only heard of staying pure, but it never really explained what "pure" really meant. I knew not to have sexual relations with the same sex, not lusting, keeping my language what God would want, and all that. I knew those just because other verses in the Bible had talked specifically about them. I just never could find a verse that talked about saving your body for marriage. And then I did.
It's one of the verses in the beginning. In Genesis. It isn't as obvious, but it is implied in the verse.
Genesis 2:24
-That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
So, the man leaving "his father and mother to be united with his wife" is the marriage part. The part where a man publicly shows that he loves the woman and wants to spend the rest of his life with her and have a family. He leaves his parents so that they can both have a life together alone. And then the "they become one flesh" is the sexual intercourse. I mean, it's not the greatest verse to show you specifically what God's plan was. But you don't see people in the Bible not getting married before sex unless they are a harlot or prostitute. Throughout the Bible, the man and woman see each other and fall in love and then get married. And then they have kids. This is the most clear verse of what God wanted though. He would have said it differently if He didn't care if you had sex with anyone you wanted before sex, but He said it the way it is.
Short post tonight, but just something simple I thought I would bring up.
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
It's one of the verses in the beginning. In Genesis. It isn't as obvious, but it is implied in the verse.
Genesis 2:24
-That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
So, the man leaving "his father and mother to be united with his wife" is the marriage part. The part where a man publicly shows that he loves the woman and wants to spend the rest of his life with her and have a family. He leaves his parents so that they can both have a life together alone. And then the "they become one flesh" is the sexual intercourse. I mean, it's not the greatest verse to show you specifically what God's plan was. But you don't see people in the Bible not getting married before sex unless they are a harlot or prostitute. Throughout the Bible, the man and woman see each other and fall in love and then get married. And then they have kids. This is the most clear verse of what God wanted though. He would have said it differently if He didn't care if you had sex with anyone you wanted before sex, but He said it the way it is.
Short post tonight, but just something simple I thought I would bring up.
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
The Body Attached at the Cord
Pro-choice or pro-life? And why?
Well, if you chose pro-choice, you might have some good reasons. I mean, it's your body, shouldn't you do what you want with it? It's only tissue inside of me, what's the big deal if I get rid of it? It's not like I was going to keep a baby, so why bring one into this world if I don't want the kid?
Honestly, I love being able to choose what I do with my own body. If I wanna get piercings, I will get piercings (if I have money). If I wanna get a tattoo or two, I will get the tattoo (if I have money). If I choose to bruise myself, don't stop me. If I choose to cut myself, don't get in the way. And the list goes on and on.
So, of course you can do whatever you want with your body! Some aren't bad (piercings and tattoos) if not used for bad reasons and some are harmful (bruising and cutting) and aren't the best things for you to do. But it is your body and you can do whatever you want.
I am pro-life and I will use the three examples of why some people are pro-choice to explain why.
First of all, abortion has nothing to do with you physically. Abortion has to do with the baby inside of you. I mean, you aint killing yourself, are you? No. You are killing the person inside of you.
Second, if you want to say that the organism inside you is a tissue, then a heartbeat means nothing to you. At three weeks, the heart is beating for the baby inside the womb. This is the stage that the baby starts developing different parts of the body. How does a tissue start having a heartbeat and human parts? It's only tissue, right? It is so much more than tissue.
Third, there are more options after birth. You can keep the baby if you want, but there is the option of putting the child up for adoption. Or even foster care. So, don't make the excuse of not wanting to keep the baby. You don't have to after you give birth to the precious child.
Now, I know that a girl can get pregnant in different circumstances. Sometimes it is not just consensual sex. Sometimes a girl could have been raped or some other form of disgusting perverted sexual intercourse. And it is sad when it happens and the girl has to suffer for it. I do understand that there are situations where it was not the girl's fault that she got pregnant.
Even so, why end a life just because yours was messed with? Yeah, it was not your fault that you got pregnant, but you are pregnant. You have a baby inside of you. What good and logical reason do you have for killing a human being? Because God could have stopped the pregnancy if He wanted, but He didn't for a reason. Don't mess with God's precious child that he forms inside of you just because you were violated. Be the bigger person and have the child and put them up for adoption if you don't want them.
One of my favorite passages of the Bible is Psalm 139. It is one of the most deep and encouraging passages I have ever read in the Bible. It talks about how God knows us. He loves us. He is there whenever we need Him. It talks about all His great qualities pretty much. I want to share a few of the verses from this passage for you guys.
Psalm 139:13-16
-For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
you works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
I don't know about you, but that is pretty powerful right there. I mean, God created each and every one of us and "knit" us together in the womb. We were not hidden from God for one second, even though our parents were not able to see us. He saw us before we were completely formed! Oh my gosh! That's so amazing to think about! He saw us for what and who we were: a HUMAN BEING. Now, this next part is what really gets me and gets a knot stuck in my throat. "All the days ordained for mr were written in your book before one of them came to be." Guys! God planned out the lives of each and every one of us while we were still a fetus, embryo, etc. and we are down here on earth not thinking about what our baby could be! God cares so much about that baby that He planned the life of the child before we even gave one thought about them. That shows how much God cares for that "tissue" with a beating heart and functioning organs and body parts.
So, why would we choose to be pro-choice after knowing all that information? Why would we call that organism inside of us a tissue after reading the facts about them? Why would we want to get rid of something that is worthless to us when it is so precious to God?
Think about that next time you say you are pro-choice. And defend the defenseless next time you are up against someone that announces that they are pro-choice. Speak up for the babies that can't defend themselves.
I am pro-life!
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
Here are two links for you guys. The first is a video of the development of the baby and the second gives detail of what happens each month and how the baby develops. Please click on the links and look at them :)
Baby Process from 0 months to 9 months
Fetal Developments:Stages of Growth
Well, if you chose pro-choice, you might have some good reasons. I mean, it's your body, shouldn't you do what you want with it? It's only tissue inside of me, what's the big deal if I get rid of it? It's not like I was going to keep a baby, so why bring one into this world if I don't want the kid?
Honestly, I love being able to choose what I do with my own body. If I wanna get piercings, I will get piercings (if I have money). If I wanna get a tattoo or two, I will get the tattoo (if I have money). If I choose to bruise myself, don't stop me. If I choose to cut myself, don't get in the way. And the list goes on and on.
So, of course you can do whatever you want with your body! Some aren't bad (piercings and tattoos) if not used for bad reasons and some are harmful (bruising and cutting) and aren't the best things for you to do. But it is your body and you can do whatever you want.
I am pro-life and I will use the three examples of why some people are pro-choice to explain why.
First of all, abortion has nothing to do with you physically. Abortion has to do with the baby inside of you. I mean, you aint killing yourself, are you? No. You are killing the person inside of you.
Second, if you want to say that the organism inside you is a tissue, then a heartbeat means nothing to you. At three weeks, the heart is beating for the baby inside the womb. This is the stage that the baby starts developing different parts of the body. How does a tissue start having a heartbeat and human parts? It's only tissue, right? It is so much more than tissue.
Third, there are more options after birth. You can keep the baby if you want, but there is the option of putting the child up for adoption. Or even foster care. So, don't make the excuse of not wanting to keep the baby. You don't have to after you give birth to the precious child.
Now, I know that a girl can get pregnant in different circumstances. Sometimes it is not just consensual sex. Sometimes a girl could have been raped or some other form of disgusting perverted sexual intercourse. And it is sad when it happens and the girl has to suffer for it. I do understand that there are situations where it was not the girl's fault that she got pregnant.
Even so, why end a life just because yours was messed with? Yeah, it was not your fault that you got pregnant, but you are pregnant. You have a baby inside of you. What good and logical reason do you have for killing a human being? Because God could have stopped the pregnancy if He wanted, but He didn't for a reason. Don't mess with God's precious child that he forms inside of you just because you were violated. Be the bigger person and have the child and put them up for adoption if you don't want them.
One of my favorite passages of the Bible is Psalm 139. It is one of the most deep and encouraging passages I have ever read in the Bible. It talks about how God knows us. He loves us. He is there whenever we need Him. It talks about all His great qualities pretty much. I want to share a few of the verses from this passage for you guys.
Psalm 139:13-16
-For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
you works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
I don't know about you, but that is pretty powerful right there. I mean, God created each and every one of us and "knit" us together in the womb. We were not hidden from God for one second, even though our parents were not able to see us. He saw us before we were completely formed! Oh my gosh! That's so amazing to think about! He saw us for what and who we were: a HUMAN BEING. Now, this next part is what really gets me and gets a knot stuck in my throat. "All the days ordained for mr were written in your book before one of them came to be." Guys! God planned out the lives of each and every one of us while we were still a fetus, embryo, etc. and we are down here on earth not thinking about what our baby could be! God cares so much about that baby that He planned the life of the child before we even gave one thought about them. That shows how much God cares for that "tissue" with a beating heart and functioning organs and body parts.
So, why would we choose to be pro-choice after knowing all that information? Why would we call that organism inside of us a tissue after reading the facts about them? Why would we want to get rid of something that is worthless to us when it is so precious to God?
Think about that next time you say you are pro-choice. And defend the defenseless next time you are up against someone that announces that they are pro-choice. Speak up for the babies that can't defend themselves.
I am pro-life!
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
Here are two links for you guys. The first is a video of the development of the baby and the second gives detail of what happens each month and how the baby develops. Please click on the links and look at them :)
Baby Process from 0 months to 9 months
Fetal Developments:Stages of Growth
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Rest and Renew
Hey y'all! So, I did not post yesterday. I apologize for that. I was sick and resting so that I could feel better. And I did feel better and I got to go to the fair! It was an enjoyable time.
So, today I thought I would talk about resting. Everyone likes to rest and relax. It's a good thing to do. You need to do it so that you don't get too stressed or too tired. Yes, we are to work as hard as we can so that we can please God, but there wouldn't be rest in this world if God didn't want us to rest. Sometimes God will go as far as exhausting you because you wont rest and then you will just pass out. Then you will get some rest. Not the greatest way, but God has his ways of getting you to rest.
So, how do I know that rest is a good thing? Well, look through the whole Bible. You will find many different verses and times when rest was needed and God provided it.
First of all, guys, God Himself rested! In Genesis 2 he rested on the seventh day after He finished with His creation. Now that must tell you something right there. God is the most powerful Being and HE rested! Woah! So, of course we need rest if God actually rested. We are weak and helpless compared to Him.
Here are a few verses that you can look up for yourself on rest:
Exodus 33:14
Psalm 62:1
Hebrews 4:10-11
Mark 6:31
Proverbs 19:23
There are so many more, but I will leave it at that and you guys can look up more if you want.
Some of the verses I gave had to do with physical rest. You lay back and put your feet up with a cup of hot tea and a good book.
The other verses talk about Spiritual rest. Even your spirit needs rest from this cruel world. That's where you just go to God and lay it at His feet. You just talk and lay back while God talks to you. He holds back any Spiritual work that needs to be done or any Spiritual battle that needs to be fought.
Sometimes, though, we think we need rest and don't get it. That's because we truly don't need that rest and we need to keep going and grow stronger with what we are doing. God knows when we need rest. He will give us rest when we NEED the rest versus when we WANT the rest. So, just because you aren't getting the rest you want, it doesn't mean that God is keeping you from what is good for you. He is just making you stronger and helping you to become a better person in the work and fight. So, keep going!
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
So, today I thought I would talk about resting. Everyone likes to rest and relax. It's a good thing to do. You need to do it so that you don't get too stressed or too tired. Yes, we are to work as hard as we can so that we can please God, but there wouldn't be rest in this world if God didn't want us to rest. Sometimes God will go as far as exhausting you because you wont rest and then you will just pass out. Then you will get some rest. Not the greatest way, but God has his ways of getting you to rest.
So, how do I know that rest is a good thing? Well, look through the whole Bible. You will find many different verses and times when rest was needed and God provided it.
First of all, guys, God Himself rested! In Genesis 2 he rested on the seventh day after He finished with His creation. Now that must tell you something right there. God is the most powerful Being and HE rested! Woah! So, of course we need rest if God actually rested. We are weak and helpless compared to Him.
Here are a few verses that you can look up for yourself on rest:
Exodus 33:14
Psalm 62:1
Hebrews 4:10-11
Mark 6:31
Proverbs 19:23
There are so many more, but I will leave it at that and you guys can look up more if you want.
Some of the verses I gave had to do with physical rest. You lay back and put your feet up with a cup of hot tea and a good book.
The other verses talk about Spiritual rest. Even your spirit needs rest from this cruel world. That's where you just go to God and lay it at His feet. You just talk and lay back while God talks to you. He holds back any Spiritual work that needs to be done or any Spiritual battle that needs to be fought.
Sometimes, though, we think we need rest and don't get it. That's because we truly don't need that rest and we need to keep going and grow stronger with what we are doing. God knows when we need rest. He will give us rest when we NEED the rest versus when we WANT the rest. So, just because you aren't getting the rest you want, it doesn't mean that God is keeping you from what is good for you. He is just making you stronger and helping you to become a better person in the work and fight. So, keep going!
God bless!!
Philippians 4:13
Thursday, October 24, 2013
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