The Armor of God.

Hey Everyone!
Sorry its been a while since my last post on here. Hope everyone is doing well and are having a great summer so far.  Today, I want to talk about the armor of God and how we can use it to fight Satan when he is wanting to tempt us with the things of this world.  How many times have you struggled with giving into temptation?

One way or another, we strive to do what is right but the cares of this world and life get a hold of us and we tend to not always make the best decisions in our life. Even though there are wars going on here on earth, there's also another war going on. It's a spiritual warfare between God and Satan. 

Let's see what God says in His word on how we can use His armor to overcome temptation.

Our text comes from Ephesians 6:10-18.   Let's examine this together with one verse at a time.

1. "Finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." -Ephesians 6:10. 

•    We have nothing to fear if we remain strong in our relationship with God and walk in His light.

2. "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."
-Ephesians 6:11

• So we must put on the full armor of  God when we are tempted, we can overcome temptation when Satan is always lurking around wanting us to give in. 

3. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  -Ephesians 6:12

• Even when we are dealing with wars on earth, our main priority that we're faced with everyday is the battle for our souls. Who do you want to be in your heart?  God or Satan? 

 4. "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." -Ephesians 6:13

• When we are tempted, we need to be ready to say "no" even though it's hard.  In the long run, we will be glad that we were able to stand firm and not give into temptation.  

5."Stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." -Ephesians 6:14-15

• Here we see the first three pieces of armor that we need to have on everyday.  

1.Belt of Truth: We should always be truthful no matter what situation we are in. Sometimes we don't tell the truth.  When we don't tell the truth there are consequences we face. 


2. Breastplate of Righteousness-  We always should strive to live like Jesus lived.  If we remain in Christ, we need to have the mindset that HE  had.  

3. Feet fitted with readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace- We should always be ready to share the good news with others.  


6. "In addition to all of  this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."-Ephesians 6:16

• In order to remain strong in Christ, we need to always keep our faith in Him strong.  When we get caught up with the things of this world, we get distracted and don't grow in our faith. That's when Satan sees us as vulnerable and we tend to give in.

7. "Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of  the Spirit which is the Word of God." -Ephesians 6:17

• Helmet of Salvation- When we put Christ on in baptism, we became saved and we need to always keep our salvation in check. How do we do that?  We study God's word. We don't merely just look at a page of words. The way we should examine God's word is to intensely study it and put it into practice. 

• Sword of the Spirit- Our sword we fight against the devil is the Word of God.  When we use our sword, we are able to fight Satan.  We keep our sword sharp by continuing to intensely study God's word and put it into practice.  When we don't use our sword, it becomes "dull" over time. Do you use the Sword of the Spirit?  If you have let it become "dull" try sharpening it again by using it.  

8.  "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."  Ephesians 6:18.

• We need to constantly pray everyday without ceasing. When we communicate with our Heavenly Father we become stronger in our walk with Him. There are times when we get concerned with our physical needs here on earth. What about our Spiritual needs?  Let's not forget our spiritual needs which are much more important than our physical needs.  God wants to have an  intimate relationship with us. It's not a relationship where we just say "Ok, thanks for saving me. I think I can take things from here."   NO.  We are nothing without God.  Our minds cannot comprehend how much God can do in our lives.  It's a relationship where He wants to spend time with us and wants to be in every aspect of our lives. He knows what we need and when we need it.  We tend to forget that God does everything on HIS time and NOT ours.  If we stay patient and give our lives over to God regardless and let HIS WILL be done, we will see how much God works in our lives.  

I hope you have been encouraged and strengthened by reading this post.  Living the Christian life is NOT easy.  Please pray for me as we pray for each other to become more like Him everyday.

Take care and may God bless you all everyday.

Until I write again,
Lauren

Discovering the Realness of God through His creation.

Hello everyone!  It's been about a month since my last post.  As I was walking my dog with my Mom on Saturday, I began to look around and I see flowers blooming.  The sun is shining, and I see a cute rabbit eating a leaf.  Even though spring has not technically began yet, it's amazing to see the seasons change.  :)


What I would like to talk about today is finding the evidence that God is real in our surroundings. When you wake up every morning, we look outside and the sun is rising.  We see the sun set at late evening, and when we go to bed at night, we see the moon shinning and the stars twinkling in the sky.  


I've been to a few places in my life where all you can do is sit and stand in awe of what God has created.  No matter where you are at, everything is beautiful. 


In Genesis 1:1 we read, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." 
(New International Version)


Here's an excerpt from Halley's Bible Handbook: "If the Bible is GOD's Word as we believe it to be, and if God knew from the beginning that He was going to use the Bible as a main instrument in the Redemption of Man, why should it be difficult to believe that God himself, co-eval with His creation of man, gave to man the germ and nucleus of that Word?"
-   -(Halley, Henry. Halley's Bible Handbook. Classic Edition The "Creation Hymn, "1:1-2:3, pg.59).


I really like the author's thoughts within this book.  What do you think the author is trying to say? 


In Psalms 19:1 we read these words, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."  

I took this picture two years ago.  I was standing outside and I saw this beautiful sunset!  This is a yellow,orange, purple and pink sunset.  Such an amazing sight!  This is definitely one of my favorite pictures.  This is what I'm talking about.   I think that this picture among many others I have taken is a representation of the verse I mentioned above.   :) 


I hope that you find encouragement today.  This is another one of my shorter posts but I will write another one again.  My challenge for you today is to look at a picture of nature or just go outside and watch the sunset or look up at the stars before you go to sleep.  Think about how awesome God the Creator of the Universe is!   


Hope you all have a great day and week.  May God bless everyone of you.  


Until I write again, 
Lauren  :)

The Great Commission

Hello Everyone, 
Hope you all are having a great Friday.  I don't know if its cold where you are right now but it's pretty cold here in Texas. Today I want to talk about the Great Commission.   I want to talk about it in sections..
First though, here is the whole text:

"Then the eleven disciples went  to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -Matthew 28:16-20 
(New International Version).

So lets start with the beginning.... 


1. Remember there are only 11 disciples due to Judas killing himself after Jesus was arrested and going to be tried by Pilate.  


2.  The disciples went to the mountain Jesus told them to go.  Some disciples worshiped Him, others had doubt.  What would you do if you had been there?

3. What kind of authority in heaven had been given to Jesus?  All of it.  Can you imagine having all authority on heaven and on earth?

4. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations: To me, this means go and spread the good news to everyone in the world. You can even go spread the gospel to others in your hometown.  Jesus wants everyone to hear the gospel and come to Him.

5. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  What does this apply to, you ask?  Well in order to be saved, we have to first hear the word, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, Repent of our sins, Confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then be immersed in the watery grave of baptism for the remission of our sins.  You may ask, Lauren, what does baptism have to do with salvation?

Well friend, I'm here to explain the reason that baptism is a part of salvation.  Remember in the beginning of Matthew Ch.3 when Jesus came to be baptized by John the Baptist?  Well, in verse 15 of Chapter 3, we read this: Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this in all righteousness." 

So what did Jesus mean by that?  Well when we read further into the text that after Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove.  Do you remember  God's response to Jesus' baptism? 
In verse 17 we read these words: And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."   So this was God's way of showing that in order to be saved and receive the Holy Spirit, we must be baptized.  I know this is a controversial subject among some of my friends  but I'm telling you this is what God says in the Bible, not my words. I do believe that this is the only way we can get to heaven and become Christians.  I believe in NO other way than the perfect plan God created through Jesus. 

(But baptism is for another blog post, but just wanted to put my "two cents in").

6. and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. This means that even after we put Christ on in baptism and receive the Holy Spirit, we need to study the Bible to grow in our relationship with God. Our studying continues after becoming a Christian.  When we study, our faith becomes stronger and we are strengthened to overcome any temptation that Satan throws at us.  Let me explain something to you before I continue: I am NOT saying that the Christian life is EASY. It's very difficult to live, but we live with the hope that if we are faithful to God and live the Christian life He wants us to live, we will be in Heaven with Him one day for all eternity.

7. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age:  What does this mean?  Well this last part means that Jesus will be with us as long as we abide in Him.  Jesus is alive and with us every day.  He is going to always be there for us and even when He comes back to receive those who have remained faithful Christians.

Here's an excerpt from a great book my Grandparents gave to me for my college graduation present. I really enjoy this book!  :)

In the book Halley's Bible Handbook, the author describes what he thought about this last phrase of the text: "We cannot understand how One Person can be with millions of billions of persons at the same time. But it is Deity. And Jesus said it in the plainest possible language, "I AM WITH YOU ALL THE TIME". Jesus said that. And Jesus did not use idle words. He did not talk just to hear himself talk. He meant something when he said that, and we believe that, in some real sense, beyond our comprehension, mystic, but real, HE is with each of us all the time.  No mater how weak, or humble, or unimportant, HE is our friend, our companion. Invisible, but there. Now, right now. Tonight, while we are asleep. Tomorrow, while we are at work. Next Week. Next year. Shadowing us through life. Walking by our side. Watching with kindly interest every detail of life's pitful struggle, trying so patiently to lead us up to a place of immortal happiness in His Father's home/ This all seems like just a beautiful dream. But it is a FACT, the one fundamental fact of our existence."
      -(Halley, Henry. Halley's Bible Handbook. Classic Edition. pgs.444-445).

I couldn't agree more with the author.  What do you think?

I hope this has painted a clearer picture for you.  When I write all of my blog posts, I am also talking to myself.  I'm not perfect. No one is or will ever be except Jesus.  May we all strive to live as Jesus lived. Let's pray for one another so that we all may enter into Heaven for all eternity one day.

Have a great weekend!

Until I write again,
Lauren

Happy New Year of 2012!!

Happy New Year Everyone!   Hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years!  

Since it's only been day 3 of 2012, I'm going to write about looking forward into the future ahead.  

 Do you ever wonder what the future holds for your life?  Everyone does.

 

What does the beginning of a new year mean to you?  For me, it's a never ending adventure.  I look forward to what God has in store.  Sometimes, we go through the years and get caught up in our busy lives and tend to  be concerned or worried about our future.  


Let's take a look at what God says in His word: 
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.  -Jeremiah 29:11

We never have to be afraid of what we face in life.  With putting our faith and trust in God, we know that He's going to give us a bright future.  

Just wanted to write a short devotional thought for tonight.  Hope you are strengthened and encouraged by it.  Let's continue to pray for one another and strive to look to God as we go into the new year.  May God bless you and your families.   


Until I write again, 
Lauren

The "Storage Wars" of our hearts....

Well, I can't believe how fast this year has flown by... It seems like we just entered into 2011.  But I have enjoyed this year.  I am looking forward to seeing what God has planned out for me the rest of the year. I know it'll be great! 

I thought to myself a while back, "I need to write a new blog post before this year is over."  Recently, I've been watching the show called "Storage Wars" on A&E.  It's a great show.   A couple days later, I came up with an idea of what to talk about.

What kind of treasures are we storing up in our hearts as Christians? 

Seems like day in and day out, the things of this world are "bidding" for our hearts.  I mean, there's a lot of things we put sentimental value on  in this life. It may be a very old antique. For others it could be that baseball you caught at a Major League Baseball game that one of your favorite players signed... But we know that the things of this world do not last.  Who do you want to have the highest bid on your heart? God or Satan? 

Our heart's are like storage units  in a sense.  The things we put into our hearts is where our treasure is. 
If we let God have the highest bid on our hearts and remain faithful to Him, we will have spiritual treasures that will last. BUT if we let Satan and this world have the highest bid on our hearts, our earthly things we think will last WON'T.  Everything on this earth doesn't stay in top condition for long! 

Let's go to God's word and see what He says...

Matthew 6:19-21- "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

So where is our focus?  Is it on the things of this world, or on God?  Only YOU can answer that question. I know that the things of this world can look really good at times. But when I think about it, all of these earthly things do not last. But spiritual treasures DO LAST.

Here's what God says:

Luke 12:15-Then he said to them, " Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consists in the abundance of possessions."  


So we clearly see that our lives are not about having the most possessions or being rich.  There are things that we "wish" we could have, but that doesn't compare one bit to having eternal life in Christ.  If we keep our focus on spiritual things, we will have treasures that will last!


My encouragement for you tonight is to look inside your heart and see what's in there. Is it treasures that will last or treasures that are only temporary?  


None of us are going to be perfect but we can pray for each other so that together we can grow and walk together in Christ.  


Until I write again, 
Lauren

Tis the season to brighten someone's life.

Ahh... It's that time of year again.. Christmas and New Years.  The only time of the year where everyone seems to be a little bit nicer than usual.  You see more smiles, people laughing, and just a numerous amount of peace in the air.   I have been in California for the holiday season for almost 2 weeks now and it has been a blast!  We have gotten lots of rain in the past few days.. Today is a great day because there is no rain.   At least for now... 

During my stay in Southern California, I have seen many houses with Christmas lights.  Some houses have a decent amount while others have a vast array of decorative lights.   Seeing this sight reminded me of how we as Christians have to let our lights shine to those around us.   We don't just wait till the end of the year to put out our lights for just "decoration"  either. 

 Here are some verses that I find fascinating about letting our lights shine. 

-2 Corinthians 4:6- "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 

-Ephesians 5:8- "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light..."

-Philippians 2:14-15- "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among those whom you shine as lights in the world. "

Final Thoughts:

 Although, we don't gloat about how many people do see our light,  but we hope to show the world around us that we have something incredible to tell them about.  How Jesus came and lived among us and how He suffered on that cruel cross on Calvary, and rose again on the 3rd day so we would have a way to inherit eternal life through putting Christ on in baptism. Through receiving the Holy Spirit when we put Christ on in baptism we come out of the water to live as a  faithful Christian through the rest of our lives, even through the hardships and trials we face.  Living the Christian life is NOT  EASY, but with God' s help and guidance we will finish our race and enter into Heaven where we will spend eternity with God and all of the saints.  

May we shine our lights ALL year and not just during the Christmas season. 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Yr! 

See you all in 2011. 

Lauren :) 

   

Sometimes we find ourselves inside the Tornado of life, we are being tossed and thrown around at every direction.

Hello everyone!   
I hope everyone is having a great day, or if you aren't having a great day, I hope that this will encourage you and strengthen you today. 


Today I want to talk about Anxiety.  We all struggle with this.   It is something  thats been in our world since the Fall of Man in Genesis 3.   


 Here are some examples of anxiety I would like to share with you. 


1. meeting deadlines 
2. studying for tests
3. figuring out what to cook for dinner
4. jobs
5.financial situation
6. family issues 
7. Having completed everything on our daily task list. 
8. finding mr. or mrs. Right
9. worried about  getting to our destinations on time
10. failure 
11.doing the right thing regardless of peer pressure or temptation from Satan. 




*These are just the few examples we have anxiety over in our daily lives. 

The first question we have to ask ourselves: 


1. WHAT IS ANXIETY?




http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anxiety  Gives us the definition of anxiety 

 Anxiety- distress or uneasiness of mind caused by fear of danger or misfortune: He felt anxiety about the possible loss of his job.


So we have this constant pressure knocking at our door.  The next question that comes to mind... 


2.What can we do to decrease our anxiety? 


There are two ways to handle anxiety. 


The WORLD'S WAY.   or  GOD'S WAY. 


Let's look at how both handle Anxiety. 

The WORLD'S WAY: (Positive/negative sides)

Positive Perspective:
1. Listen to relaxing music
2. Take a 30 minute nap 
3. Take a bubble bath
4. Exercise
5. read a book


Negative Perspective: 
1.take drugs
2.have pre-marital sex
3. getting drunk 
4. put yourself in a harmful situation
5. fight
6. party all night 
7. be lazy all day. 




NOW PLEASE DON'T GET ME WRONG.   There are many individuals who would choose to do the positive relaxation techniques that the world says to do.  BUT temptation can creep in and sometimes we give in to what we shouldn't do.  God has given every individual a choice. Either Follow HIM or NOT.   I know you and I make choices everyday.  We try to do the right thing but yet we fall short of God's grace at times but we must choose to NOT give up.  


What I am saying though, is that God's way doesn't INCLUDE A NEGATIVE PERSPECTIVE!!!! 


Lets look at what God says about Anxiety and how to deal with it from His perspective! 


God's Way:

1. Psalm 94:17-19- "Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O Lord, supported me. When ANXIETY was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul." (Emphasis mine). 

*Wow.  Isn't that wonderful to know that if we let God look into our hearts and let Him know that we are struggling with Anxiety, He will comfort us and it should bring a smile on our face and JOY in our hearts that HE  loves us and is willing to listen to us if we let Him in and talk to Him through prayer.   Isn't that comforting to know??  I believe so!! *

   2.Ecclesiastes 2: 22-25-"What does it a man get for all the toil and ANXIOUS striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless. A man can do nothing better than to eat and drinking and find satisfaction in his work.  This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?" (Emphasis mine). 

* This sounds like many of the "workaholics" and many people who are constantly on a tight schedule. Meeting deadlines, making conference calls, attending work meetings, working long hours and getting home late to their families and all they want to do is "plop" on the couch and fall asleep until it is time to go to bed and wake up to another busy work day with new expectations.  OR it could be  that college student who is trying  to make great grades, has to meet certain deadlines for projects, and trying to balance every aspect of his or her life.        Most of us can identify with these types of people.  All human kind wants to be successful and thinks they are "superman" or "wonderwoman."  We worry constantly that IF we don't get EVERYTHING DONE in ONE DAY, WE HAVE FAILED.   We're afraid of failure.  /   What this verse is saying is that if we constantly worry and have anxiety  about life we don't let our minds rest and we loose sleep and we wake up the next morning and we aren't ever happy.  IF we let God take care of our anxiety and to take one step at a time and strive for confidence in Him, we can become content  and find enjoyment in our lives.  Just because we don't get EVERYTHING done on our task list, doesn't mean we are failures! We just continue by doing those tasks  the next day we are given by God.  

3. Philippians 4:4-9-" Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be ANXIOUS about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Emphasis mine). 

This is certainly encouraging to me.  If we just rely on God, He will take care of us and comfort us!  He is the only one that will be there for you at every aspect in your life!  He wants to show you that HIS LOVE is the REAL THING.  He wants to have an intamite RELATIONSHIP with you and be your guide in your life.   We just have to only LET HIM!    

This is going to be a daily devotional blog.. Of course I will keep you all up do date whats going on in my life, but I want to focus on  our Relationship with God and how we can strive to strengthen it and help eachother with problems that we face in our everyday life.  I want all who read my daily blogs, to give me your thoughts on each subject that  I will be discussing and sharing my opinions with you.  

As we grow In Christ together, let us be strengthened and guide each other toward a home in Heaven!  

Please, if you haven't go ahead and read my previous blog posts and feel free to share your opinions. 

Hope you are encouraged as I have been!  

Until I write again, 

Lauren 

t.

Looking past the "grey area." [Being Idle in Christianity]

When was the last time you thought about being in the "grey area?"

I spent 35 minuets trying to figure out what I should write today.

Today I want to talk about being Idle.

No NOT [idol] BUT Idle.


SO. What is Idle?
I looked Idle up in my Bible dictionary we have at the house.

Idle-[useless, inactive, lazy]

This is something that as Christians we face everyday.

Lets see what God has to say through His Word.

1 Thessalonians 5:14- "And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak."

So what does this verse say?

There are three things that we as Christians should do.
-warn those who are idle
-encourage the timid
-help the weak.

That is very important. But here's another question that comes to mind, "What about those Christians that have fallen away and won't return to Christ?"

2 Peter 2:20-21 "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have kown it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them."

- Let us not get ourselves consumed with the world and lets be consumed with God!!! We should not take our salvation and what Jesus did for us for granted!!! He didn't HAVE TO DIE FOR US, but HE DID BECAUSE HE LOVED US SO MUCH!!!

Another question comes to mind...
"Should I continue to associate myself with the Christians that have fallen away and won't return to Christ?"

Let's see what God says in His word.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-"In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle, and does not live according to the teaching you received from us."

Wow. That is very hard to do. I know I have done that. We all struggle with that. In our minds we desperately want them to come back to Christ so we can have fellowship with [him or her] but if they choose to not come back then we should discontinue that friendship with that person. Last summer I talked to a friend who once was a Christian but then after his senior year in High School he decided to go back to his old way of life instead of living a faithful Christian. I asked him if he would ever choose to come back to Christ and he said, "No." That left me a sadness within me but I decided to not talk to him again because he and I were two completely different people. He wasn't the same person I knew 6 years ago. So we can't make them come back to Christ, and we can encourage them to choose to, but if they still won't change then we ought to just not associate with him or her.

So What if we continue to be Idle?

Thats one scary thought. I know we struggle with this from time to time, but what happens if we persistantly become this way?

Revelation 3:15-16- "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot, I wish you were either one or the other!" "So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

WOW. That is one of the scariest things to think about. If we are persistantly being unproductive in our Christian lives and not bringing others to Christ, we won't be able to stand with confidence on Judgement Day and we won't be able to enter into Heaven!

So lets evaluate ourselves and really ask the question, "Are we REALLY living the Christian life that God calls us to live?" Or are we just "playing church" when we come to worship Him on Sunday morning, night, and on Wednesday night? "Are we becoming lazy within our relationship with God?" I pray that you and I make the choice to repent of those sins we willfully commit, regain renewness of our faith and mind and allow God to use us and make us better servants for Him. We need to examine ourselves daily and to ask God to help us do the right things when we are tempted to do the wrong thing. Let's make it an effort to quit "jumping the fence."

I hope you are strengthened and encourged by this. We all have struggles, and we can overcome those struggles if we choose to allow God to be in our lives 24/7!! None of us are perfect, BUT we can follow the way Christ lived because HE IS PERFECT!!!

Take one day at a time and live this life faithfully in Christ!

Not only in speech, but also in action!

That is my prayer for everyone who reads this!!

I am also talking to myself as well. So this blog is for you and I!!!

God loves you!

Until I write again, Lauren :]

Goodnight.

You know the phrase "goodnight and sweet dreams" right?

I just came across to some verses that talk about feeling peaceful when going to sleep at night. :]

God is AWESOME!!!!

Psalm 3:5- "I lie down in sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me."

Psalm 4:8-"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in saftey."

How calming is this?

God is alive and evermore!!!

He loves you!

Lauren

In my weakness. He will help me. :)

Genesis 4:7- "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."



This is something that really made me think!!!


We gotta pray that God will help us to overcome sin that keeps knocking on the doors in our mind!!

It encourages me to know if we keep studying God's word then it will help us to overcome our weakenesses and things that hinder us from doing what is right.

Psalm 119:133" Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me."

Romans 6:12"Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires"

Please pray for me as I strive to make good decisions and to do the right thing cause like anyone else I will mess up from time to time.

God loves you!

Until I write again, Lauren

Finding Love.

Have you had one of these days; Where you feel like you're left out of the dating game?

Don't worry. We ALL DO.

Ever get to thinking if you will find Mr. Right/Mrs. Right?

Have no fear. God is alive and evermore!

Are you hungry?

Lets look at the Bible and see what spiritual food God has in store for us today!

Whats the topic for today?

1) I am talking about finding that guy for me. I don't know who he is or where he is at this moment....Only God knows and I am waiting for him. So I'm not saying I am soo sad cause I am not with anyone right now so please don't get me wrong.. thats NOT what I am saying. I am happy with being single. Although at times; yes i do have my moments of thinking about what it feels like to be with someone you love and they love you for who you are.

So right now... My main focus is falling in Love with God FIRST and doing my best to live for Him and to not worry about such things. He is the Only one who REALLY LOVES ME and YOU.

Matthew 6:25-33
Philippians 4:8-9
Philippians 4:19
2 Thessalonians 3:5
1 Timothy 1:5
2 Peter 1:3-10
1 John 4:7-18

So what is love? Where can I find love?

The world is constantly asking this question.

The song "Where is the Love" by the Black Eyed Peas comes to mind.

Let's see what God's answer is. :)

2John verse 6- "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."

1John 4:16-"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

I wish the world could understand that all you need is God because He IS LOVE.

Thats WHERE LOVE IS!!! :)

How long does this LOVE last?

Psalms 106:1- "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."

This is not love thats temporary AT ALL. God will ALWAYS LOVE YOU :)

Another song came to mind: "Faithfully" by Journey
There's a line in that song at the end of the chorus where it says,

"I'm FOREVER YOURS.... FAITHFULLY."

If we can sing that at weddings.... we can certainly sing that to God!!!

Not the whole song, but if we just give our love to God and let Him be our #1 and let Him know that we choose to give our lives to Him after we become Christians, and that we are in this relationship forever FAITHFULLY; I think God would enjoy hearing us sing that one line to Him. He gaves us Jesus who took the ultimate punishment for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD!!

So we should act in a way that is pleasing to Him and yes it is hard at times, but we should strive to NEVER GIVE UP; because He did not GIVE UP on us!!!!

Romans 5:5-"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Romans 5:8-"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."


Another thought comes to mind...
2) I will NOT pursue dating just anyone either.

I want God to lead me to that great Christian guy that would like to get to know me and hang out and most importantly help me grow more and more spiritually cause most days I feel like I don't give enough effort to God and anyone else and that scares me the most. I will not make myself literally fall in love with anyone.

So I am just waiting and asking God for the strength and patience to help me fall in love with Him first and then when God sees it fit for me.. He will lead me to that guy that I can love NOT with worldly love... But love that comes from God. I believe that is the most beautiful kind of love EVER KNOWN :)

Song of Soloman 2:7-"Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field:Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires."
1 Corinthians 7:34; 7:32;

1 Corinthians 7:17-"Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him."

Psalm 130:7-"O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption."

These verses encourage me not to dwell on this matter, but just be patient and wait on God's time and NOT on my time. :)I hope this encourages you as well!

Let us enjoy life and I pray that you and I will both find encouragement and strength from God.

I don't know about you but I feeel completely renewed spiritualy!! :]

It feels like a 360 degree turnaround from what I kept worrying about and was not putting my whole trust in God like I should be doing.

Pray that you and I rely on God's love and NOT rely on what the world's definition of love is.

Until I write again, Lauren

Trust

Do you have trust in God to help you with anything?

I really mean it.


Do we trust our friends more than our family?

Or do we not fully put our trust in God like we should?

Sometimes I do feel like this.

I am by NO MEANS PERFECT. Only Jesus IS PERFECT!!! :)

Proverbs 3:5-7- "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." "Do not be wise in your own eyes;fear the Lord and shun evil."

So what does this verse mean to me?

I think it most certainly explains itself. We need to have confidence but first and foremost we must trust in God that He will help us and guide us in the way He wants us to go. Yes i agree, we should have confidence in ourselves because we are Christians, but let us not forget the one who gave HIS LIFE for us. That my friend is Jesus. He loved us so much, we should always put OUR TRUST in HIM!!! Also if we think we are making the right choices, let us think again. If you aren't used to asking God to help you the best choices in life, right now is the best time to start! He will make sure you are protected and you live a happy and successful life! When we are going through hardships, let us ask God for guidence in our situations and He will help us smooth everything out along the way. :)

I'm praying for you.

God loves you!

Until I write again, Lauren