Be a Hero!

 

 

With Easter right around the corner, finals are over, and the kids coming up on Spring break, it has felt like the last 3 months since Christmas past have gone by in a flurry of meetings, homework, illnesses, boo boo's, parties, friends, and now we get a sudden break. Where did the time go? How did I survive?

"He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]."

Isaiah 40: 29

I am so thankful for my Lord, who comforts and provides when I can't go on. He is my refuge and shelter. He gives me the extra 'umph', the extra 30 minutes of patience, the ability to breathe in Him and draw on His presence and power. HE also provided me with an AWESOME family, whom I am grateful for!! My darling children do their chores, play together, pray together, care about their friends and even rub my back! My husband. . . Well he's just the best. No other man will give baths, do dishes, bake a cake, while playing video games and listening to his wife whine about the day. Truly he is heaven sent.

In the picture is my family at a previous years' youth rally, "Be a Hero-be like Jesus!". How awesome it was to see everyone so pumped up on helping one another, striving for Christ like hearts, and bringing their friends to Sunday School so that they too could be saved. When I think about the devastation that is plaguing our planet lately, many probably wonder, what can I do? Well Jesus not only performed miracles, but He also taught and pray. Get involved with your local church. Lend a hand to someone who needs help. Pray for the families and workers who are serving in China and Haiti. Send a troop member a card. He's probably scared and missing his mother.

We can all do something. Maybe we feel tired or out of juice; but with God's mighty hand upon us, we too can BE a hero!

I'll Fight!

This is a video we made a few years back. . . How I miss the teens and youth of Montana. I pray they continue to stand up for what is right, fight oppression, and be the leaders of tomorrow we need.
The "I'll Fight" song is by Lincoln Hawk. Enjoy!

How do we go about ‘standing firm’ in our faith?

Titus 1:9, “He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. “

Maybe some of you have seen this bumper sticker recently. It looks sort of neat, has a nice feeling about it, but what is the underlying thought behind it? Some think that it is implying that all roads lead to heaven. Yes, we are called to love our neighbors and live in peace, forgiving one another. Coexisting in this world with others who don’t think, look, or act like we do is a reality and something that should take place without the hatred, bigotry, or stigmatism that is popularized by statements and actions of a few on different sides of the religious poles.

In the gospel of John, chapter4, Jesus and the Samaritan woman show us that people of different backgrounds and beliefs are able to interact and have a life-changing conversation, without condemnation. Despite knowing everything in the past of the woman at the well, Jesus did not get angry or upset or throw any harsh feelings or words at her. If we are to live as Christians, we need to be aware that our walk and talk should reflect that of Christ’s. We should exemplify the fruit of the Spirit when interacting and sharing our faith: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

Relativism is on the upward trend and it would be nice to not have any wrong opinions ever. But we need to tread cautiously; we do believe there is only one way to the Father, through the Son. Yet how we say it and spread it can dramatically impact the reaction we get when we are talking to someone such as the Samaritan Woman. According to Barna research, only 9% of American adults have a biblical worldview. Our message is not always a welcome one. Sometimes it may not even be so much as an audible one—we can share our faith and love for Christ by how we live. Gal 5:25-26, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

I'm Trading My Sorows

In one of our classes at school recently we were posed with a question: Why did God chose this world to perserve freedom and defeat evil?

This got me thinking a little bit about my hometown. There has been around a dozen people in the past two years whom I either grew up with, knew their children, or by way of my parents-- who has recently left this earth unexpectedly. Many people in this small tight-knit community are saddened by this fact and it leaves us wondering the age old question, why does God let bad things happen to good people? Why does God let anything bad happen? How can a God who is all about love, allow a world to have evil or sorrow in it?

Which gets me back to the original question which our class was challenged to answer. Because God does love us, He has given us a free will. We can either choose Him and be a part of His family, or we can choose to live a part from Him. We know that being 'in sin' is living apart from God. If we want to live in the mainstream pop culture and "fit in" with what the world says is cool, then are we really living according to God's will for our lives?

God calls us to be a holy people. This is only done out of our love for Him, living in constant fellowship with Him, and allowing His power, given to us by His Holy Spirit, to choose what is right and true. I used to live to do what pleased Misty. I chose to make bad choices and turn away from the Lord's light and path for me. But I think everyone comes to a crossroads at some point in their life where they have to decide: Will I choose life or do I choose "self-pleasing", the world, and ultimately death? It may not be that clear to everyone, but it really is our own individual decision. I praise the Lord for my 'opportunity' at a young age (25) to come to the crossroads and see clearly the path of destruction versus the path to His Kingdom.

Jesus said in John 15:9, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, as I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (NIV) So living a Christian life may be hard. We will suffer here. There will exist for a time, pain, sorrows, grieving, and hurt. All this has its place as God gives us freedom to make choices and ultimately, should we choose His way, we will no longer have pain and sorrow in heaven with Him.

So why here why now is our freedom preserved and evil allowed? This may not be the best possible situation, but it is the best way to the best world. If God is to both preserve freedom and defeat evil, then he has to ensure that each person is given the chance to make his own free choice to determine his destiny. Evil is overcome in that, once those who reject God are separated from the others, the decisions of all are made permanent. Sin will cease to exist. The ultimate goal for God's perfect world after judgment with free humans will have been achieved, but He can only do it by casting out those who abuse their freedom.

"I have told you these things, so that in me, you can have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." --Jesus, (John 16:33 NIV)