Not Of This World

1. Jeremiah 29:11 & 13 — I love these verses paired together because they work so beautifully to show the nature of God. Everything God does is to strengthen and teach us, to make us better individuals and to draw us closer to Him. If we really believe this, then no challenge we encounter will be in vain. 

2. Micah 7:8 — Micah is one of my all-time favorite books of the Bible EVER! And this verse is perfect advice to those who feel they have fallen short of God. 

3. The last sentence of Luke 6:45 — You will ultimately know a tree by it’s fruit, and what is in our hearts will be revealed in what we say and how we live. Luke 12:34 is also a good indicator of this.

4. Luke 21:15-19 — This is a good reminder of the trials that we will face because of our faith. Not only those who don’t believe, but often those who appear to be good and close to us will betray us deeply. We must rely on no one person, but on God ALONE.

5. Again, just the whole book of Micah. It seems like every section ends with a deeply positive and insightful piece, and it is just beautifully revealing of God’s nature and his amazing uniqueness and power. 

when I think of how much God loves me. 

I keep thinking about the patriarchal blessing and how I can’t wait till I am ready to receive my own because I want to hear what God has to say to me.

But then I realized that God talks to me everyday. He gave us the scriptures so we could talk to Him and know of His great love WHENEVER WE WANT. His love letters are at our fingertips for us to read again and again. How amazing is that! 

So, yeah, I’m still excited for the day to come when I can be ready to receive my patriarchal blessing. But I’ve got God ALWAYS, no matter what. 

:D

     I have encountered several people, over time, that have approached me rather aggressively about the subject of salvation through works. Most of these individuals have argued with me that salvation is not through works, but through a belief and a love of God. And I agree completely. It is by God’s GRACE that we are saved: there is no possible way we could earn or deserve our salvation.
      However, too many people take advantage of the idea that faith alone saves us, because they don’t understand the meaning of faith here. They think that faith means simply believing in Jesus Christ and repenting when you are able to accept that you’re in the wrong, and you’re good. You go to heaven. This is FALSE. And I genuinely feel for these individuals who think that belief alone will save them, because they’ve been fed this and only this for so long, that all other spiritual sustenance is rejected by their spiritual body. 

     Here’s the thing.
     Faith is not just believing. It is loving Him with EVERY FIBER of your being. It is being obedient, and trying to be LIKE CHRIST. That’s what being a CHRISTIAN means! 
     No, salvation is not works based. But, James 2:17 says this:”[…] faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.” 
     So, yes! You must believe in Jesus Christ and the Heavenly Father with all your heart! Yes, you must love Him! But in believing in Him and TRULY loving Him, you won’t need to worry about doing works, because they will just happen naturally! If you are giving 100% to God and are in love with Him SINCERELY, IN YOUR HEART, then every singly one of your actions will reflect His glory and you will not have to constantly worry about whether or not you are serving Him.
     I do not mean to say that you will not mess up or lose faith from time to time. I do not mean to say that you will not suffer and that you will not someday take everything that Jesus has done for you and spit it back in His face. Maybe you already have. But if you truly love God now, in this very moment, and you live life obediently according to the Gospel, then there shouldn’t even be a question in your mind about works of faith vs. salvation. 

     Look at your life. Look at the love you give to others. Think about who those people are. Are they your family members? Your friends? Your significant other, or someone you like? Are they people in your class who seem nice? Are they people you see on the street who are kind or in need? 

     If your answer is yes to all of these, you are on the right path. But Jesus wants us to do something more radical:

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. […] If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.” —Luke 6:27-28, 32

     Love your ENEMIES. Wow. How powerful. Love those who seek to destroy you. Love those who put slander on your name, and those who gossip about you. Love those who give you disdainful glances. Love the ones who look down on you, who would love nothing more than to see you suffer, who HATE you. LOVE them. 
     And I don’t mean “love” them and then talk about them when they’re not listening. I don’t mean “love” them, but seek revenge because thats fair. You must give 100% love to these people that are not your friends, are not your family, and may even be a flat-out adversary to your spirituality! LOVE THEM. Because through your love, they will see God’s glory and His power and ultimately HIS love. Because through your love, you will strengthen your own spirituality and ability to reflect God. Because this is what Jesus wants from us as Christians. Because faith is not just about believing, but about obedience. And because, all in all, HE LOVED US FIRST.

     I’ve been called by God to learn about the Mormon church, to what purpose I cannot yet know (although I have a strong feeling it is to be baptized in the Church).
     If you are Mormon and have a strong grasp on Mormon fundamentals and beliefs, possibly as a missionary, I would love to talk to you and learn all I can about the LDS church!
     Please send me an ask, or respond to this post if you would like to talk. I appreciate it greatly! Thank you! :)

I’ve probably said this before, but we need to have glory for God in EVERYTHING we do. 
And part of the reason for this is so that we can reflect His glory at all times so people will look past us and see Him always. 

Think about it this way: Do your friends know for a fact that you’re a Christian—ALL your friends, not just the ones from youth group? Do the people you have class with know that you know God, even if they don’t go to your church? People should know God through you and your deeds. 

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on it’s stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.”  — Matthew 5:14-16

     Usually, when I get on tumblr or when I set out to do something to strengthen my connection with God, I’m pretty motivated about it; I’m just really passionate and ready to have at it. Other times I just feel so negative and unhappy that I make excuses and feel unfulfilled until I do a Godly post or read some scripture, or even listen to Godly music. 
      But then there’s times like today, when I feel absolutely neutral about the issue. I don’t necessarily feel like I want to do anything about it, but I don’t feel like NOT doing anything about it. 
      So, I went and grabbed my laptop, intent on making a post or reblogging a good amount of inspirational or thoughtful posts. I opened tumblr… and I felt nothing. Nothing came to mind when I started to write a post, and no images really caught my eye to where I felt like I needed to hit “reblog”. 
     However, I felt I needed to take some time today and put some effort into this. I had to physically remove myself from the room I was in (where the LOTR marathon I was enjoying was going on), even though I was perfectly content, and put myself in a situation where I could concentrate on the task at hand.
     My point (after that LONG and seemingly meaningless introduction) is that even if you are not driven to do anything specific for God, or you are not moved to put effort into what you are doing to further yourself spiritually, FORCE yourself. After I moved rooms and just started typing, I gained some steam. So, even if you don’t feel motivated or moved, just give it a chance. If no scripture is speaking to you, keep reading. You’ll find something, even if it’s the littlest feeling of positivity in your heart. If you are trying to pray, but don’t feel particularly thankful or in need of God, pray with everything in your heart anyway. You’ll find something that you really needed to give up to God, or something you are really really thankful for. Just give it a shot. What do you have to lose, other than negativity?

      Last week I was on fire for God. I created this tumblr, and was listening to “traditional” Christian music all day. And things were great! I felt good about life and about where I was spiritually. 
      But as the week went on, my passion started to fade. If God was with me and I loved him, why was I so sad? If I was filled with Christ, why did I feel so terrible? Why didn’t I feel God’s ever-present Spirit? I got in a really dark place, really fast.

     Often, people turn to God when things get bad. When they have nowhere else to go. When only God can fix them. However, more often, they forget about God when the good times roll.
     I don’t know about you guys, but when I am especially connected with God and I just feel awesome for Him, I tend to neglect my Christian responsibilities. I don’t read my Bible, and I justify listening to music that might be borderline inappropriate. I don’t pray with the passion or the fervency that I do when I am desperate. I say to myself, I am positive! I am full of God! What could possibly bring me down?
      But, honestly, when we are on fire for God, the devil takes opportunity. When we reach out to God, he tries to pull back our outstretched arms. Not with force, of course, but with persuasion. A gentle tug here and a subtle pull there will do the trick. 
     Personally, I do a lot of self-talking. And when I am happy or content, I can easily bring myself up by talking to and convincing my mind of positive things. When I am even the smallest bit negative, however, I can convince myself that I don’t even deserve to be alive! I have a pretty good idea where these “voices in my head” are coming from. Picture the comical image of the devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other: a simple illustration for a much more sinister truth.
     Anyway, my point is, don’t abandon the Christian habits and the Godly feelings that you have when in despair. When everything is going great, don’t put down your Bible. Don’t stop praying. Read about the blessings of God and His ultimate glory. Tell him about all the beautiful things you see in a day that you are grateful for. Be routine and be constant. Be VIGILANT. For the adversary never sleeps. 

People often say that the Bible doesn’t speak against certain acts specifically, such as doing drugs or underage drinking or driving over the speed limit, etc. etc. 
However, an important point that the Bible makes is that we should obey the laws of the government and obey our masters as we obey God (unless the law is in conflict with God’s commands). So, smoking pot isn’t necessarily addressed directly in the Bible as a sin (as far as I know), but because it is against the law, it is regarded as a sin to break the law. This is not because the government is ordained by God to be all-powerful. But because there is government to provide order for the people.
Just sayin’.