His Bride ♥

Beautiful Bride 

One body in Christ One flesh abiding; 

strong and unifying -Flyleaf

God  refers to the  Church (His people) as His bride. That is one of the most intimate and special relationships any human being can have. I'm in awe as I really think about what this means. My God wants that intense and unbreakable relationship with me! Just as husband and wife become one in the flesh, Jesus Christ unites us with our God in spirit to make us whole with Him. He is in us, as we are in Him. He never leaves our hearts, never abandons us. When He is as even more involved in our lives as our husbands, our relationship with God is strong and unifying. Through sickness, tragedy, heartache, and joy He is always with us.

Obsessed

People who are obsessed with God are raw with Him. They do not attempt to mask the ugliness of their sins or their failures; obsessed people don't put it on for God. He is their safe place where they can be at peace.
                    -Francise Chan

Get Inspired

Listen.Get inspired.
        

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=hx0IGMEUF5Y

A Promise Kept

"When we make our first reaction to what happens in our lives a reaffirming praise to God for who He is, we invite His presence to inhabit the situation and His power to come and change things." - Stormie Omartion

What does this quote mean? It means that it's easy to praise and thank God for all the good things in life, but asking the Holy Spirit to come into your heart and helping you deal with bad situations with courage and grace is only achievable through God. Stormie Omartian had a rough life. Her mother physically and mentally abused her until she was finally able to escape and leave home. She was broke (financially) and broken (emotionally). She used drugs, alcohol, prostituted herself and explored things that harmed her even more. If anyone in this world has a reason to be mad about the way life started for her, it was Stormie. After giving her life over to Jesus she learned that through all of her troubles and hardships in life, she needed to seek the Holy Spirit for comfort, love and courage. Many years after her transformation she became ill (I know, as if this poor woman hasn't gone through enough!) and instead of focusing her prayers on being healed, she prayed for courage and strength from the Holy Spirit. She prayed that no matter the outcome, good or bad, healthy or sick, she asked God to be with her through it all.

How many of us pray that God makes sure nothing bad happens to us? How many of us lash out at God when things don't go our way? How many of us only thank Him when everything is going well? Life is full of evil, tragedies and hardships. God is not going to let you get through life without a scratch. Why do you think Jesus suffered so much? Paul, Job and many more went through hardships and we can learn from their experiences. We are to thank Him for being with us when times are good, and for not abandoning us when things are bad.

Stormie was healed, and through that difficult time she grew in her relationship with Jesus. Her love for Him intensified, and she is better prepared for life's surprises. Someone once said, "the most intimate moments with God come out of the darkest times in life."  God promised His presence through life's challenges. He promised to send His counselor, Who is named the Holy Spirit to be with us through everything. Because we live in an imperfect and sin ridden world, life will bring you tough times. With God, He will hold your hand through those challenges and walk you down the aisle of peace.

Truly, Live With No Regrets

Picture this for me: It is judgement day, and you are literally looking at Jesus Christ. You know you wasted your life on ordinary. When you lived on earth you were skeptical and never accepted Jesus, and now you are looking at the Prince of Peace, crying because you wish you would have loved Him before. Jesus is looking at you, your face filled with regret because you had the choice to let Him live in you, and fulfill your life on earth. You chose wrong. Now there is nothing you can do but accept that you will live forever without Him...

I know that was really dramatic, but I frequently see these little "live life as if you will die tomorrow" quotes. It makes me wonder if people know that the thing about dieing is...whether you believe in Jesus Christ or not, you are deffinately going to see Him. One day, Christian or not, you will sit before Jesus Christ and will have to look into God's eyes. You will have to explain how you lived here on earth. I think He will probably show you what you could have done with your life. I think He will show you all the resources and gifts He gave you, all the oppurtunities you could have had, and the life you could have lived if you had lived it for Him. I imagine Him showing everyone what it could have been like if they had not rejected Him.  This is just my own interpretation and imagination of what judgement day will be like. I do know for a fact though, that there will be a day where you and Jesus are going to talk one on one, and your eternity will all come down to this:

The big question: Did you know Him?

Then, how did you live your life?

So, when you read a cute quote, or put a bumper sticker on your car that says "live with no regrets", what are you going to do? Are you going to go party hard because you never know if you'll get to do it again? Are you going to live the rest of your days doing whatever the heck you want without a care for anyone or aything else? Maybe you won't do anything extreme, and just go on with your day. Gossip about a girl you don't like, hold a painful and bitter grudge, go to work, come home and watch TV...

What are you going to do with each day? Are you taking advantage of the gifts, resources and talents that God has given you? When was the last time you helped someone out? When you die, are you going to regret what you did with each day He gave you? Are you going to regret not getting to know Jesus Christ? On judegement day is Jesus going to be proud of what you did with your life? You have the chance now to know Him! You have the chance now to Live With No Regrets, Live for His Glory.

                

It's A Start

Are you soul searching? Don't know what to believe? Ask questions!


Are you already a Christian and want to help someone struggling get to know Jesus? Answer their questions! (Yes I know that sounded like an infomercial)


I had a friend that wanted to believe in God, but had some serious reservations. I wanted her to love Jesus more than anything. I didn't know where to start, and neither did she. So one night we were talking about her worries, her past and life all together. She started asking me questions. All sorts of questions, like "why don't you worry about the future?" I told her because I know God really does have a plan for me, and it will unveil in time. That answer lead to more questions, that were more fundamental. She asked about stories in the Bible that she had heard that sounded mean and harsh. So we looked them up in the Bible together and I explained to her what happened and how I felt about it. She asked me how I know God is real. I told her about my "Ahah!" moment with Him, and how I feel Him in everything I do. I assured her that if she asks God to come into her heart, she can feel that overwhelming sense of joy and peace in her life too. She asked about God's rules, and why He made them. I answered every question she asked to the best of my ability. I prayed that God would speak through me, and sit right beside me to make sure I didn't mess anything up. True story, I really did imagine Jesus sitting right beside me...and I think He was.

Asking questions is a good place to start searching. That curiosity inside of people is, I think, from the Holy Spirit. We have a drive to know the One who created us. If you are a Christian, take advantage of that curiosity and always be open to answer any question someone has.

These question-and-answer sessions turned into long talks into the night. We had debates and went back and forth between philosophical topics frequently. She let me pray with her, too. I sometimes got frustrated though. "When is she going to accept Him already?" I thought. Then there would be these moments where she seemed to really appreciate the discussions we had, and learned a lot about Jesus. Despite my impatience, I never gave up hope, that God was working in her life. Whether I would see her become a follower of Christ tomorrow or twenty years down the road, I knew this chick was meant to be in the family (the body of Christ = family).

This woman gave her life to Christ two years later. She has held me accountable and put me in my place numerous times! Who thought the 'teacher' would be getting schooled by this new believer! I didn't...

One of the most amazing things about this story is not just about her wonderful transformation, but mine too. Through answering questions with biblical text to back up my answers, talking about Jesus's love and my own relationship with Him, I grew tremendously in my faith. I became so close to Him, because I needed Him. I couldn't have answered all those tough questions without His wisdom. I really felt like He was my best friend helping me through all of this. It was a great experience for she and I both.

*So, ASK ASK ASK! It's a start! But remember to read the Bible for yourself as well. Find the answers to your own questions, you will be pleasantly surprised! :)

A Shirt For Me, A Meal For You

Last year someone asked me "If God is so good, why are there so many suffering children with nothing to eat?" I was thinking, thats a tough question to answer. Again, they asked "How can God sit there and let that happen?" I replied, "without suffering there can be no compassion". It may sound like a cheesy quote from A Walk to Remember, but it's true. Somehow though, even my own answer didn't sit too well with me. I started thinking about the millions of starving children in Africa. It's a brutal cycle, that continues on for generations. There is a lot of suffering but not nearly enough compassion! For instance, my closet is magnificent! My senior year of high school, I attempted to not repeat a single outfit for the entire year. (I know, that was awful!) I have enough clothes to feed a whole village for the next ten years. Sure, when I outgrow a pair of jeans I donate them to a charity. But do I really have compassion? Honestly, until this past month I have never actually taken the time to drop off my clothes to a charity. I usually put them in a bag and someone else does it for me. That's not compassion at all, that's convenience.

Why does God LET children starve? Then it hit me, He doesn't...I DO. I am the reason children starve. We are, all of mankind are the reason children starve. God says "blessed are those who are generous because they feed the poor" (Proverbs 22:9) There are too many bible verses to count that call His children to help each other! The rich are to give to the poor. Those who are able are instructed to help those in need. God does not want to see millions of His children in pain. Christians are called to do our part. If every person who was financially able to give ten percent to the poor or donate ten percent of their time to helping others I bet this world would look a lot different. God does not LET His children starve, He LETS His children let each other starve. He has given us free will to do what we please with our soul, our actions, and our money. 

God says a virtuous woman opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy ( Proverbs 31:20). Ladies, I am not saying sell everything you have and give it to the needy (although, Jesus has and does ask of that sometimes). I am not saying it's wrong to have an impressive closet. Have a special event coming up? Go buy a pair of shoes! Want to go grab lunch, but know you have food at home? Save that money, and give it to someone who really needs it. It's not a sin to have nice things. I truly believe that, but we have to ask ourselves are we doing our part to help others? Could you spare five dollars here? Maybe instead of buying three cute shirts settle for two and take the money you would have spent on that extra shirt and give it to someone who has only one single shirt.

Giving has never been easier. There are charities and organizations dedicated to giving to those who need help all over the globe. Here are a few of my favorite charities, and you can donate online. 

http://www.fmsc.org/  Feed My Starving Children foundation

http://demiandashton.org/  The Ashton and Demi foundation committed to raising awareness and ending child sex slavery.

http://www.bread.org/help/ Bread for the World