time well $pent

Ephesians 5:15-16 (Contemporary English Version)Act like people with good sense and not like fools. These are evil times, so make every minute count.


I used to sit around for hours watching T.V. I literally would come home from school, then later in life, from work and sit in front of the television for a good five hours. I was doing a whole lot of nothing! It only was a few years ago that I finally realized how much time I was wasting. No wonder I felt like life was passing me by and things were always happening for other people but not for me, like I was on the outside looking in! I didn’t realize that during all the time that I spent sitting around my life and time were just wasting away. You can be a Christian, you can be in school, but still not really have purpose that drives you.
When I decided to change my lifestyle I decided to get more involved in ministry. I joined the choir. I got involved with the youth group. Have you found yourself wasting time or just sitting around for hours? How do you get out of this? The first thing is to pray! Ask God what it is that you should get involved in. Or find an activity that you enjoy doing that you can work at. Set goals on what you want to accomplish then think of ways that you can make that happen. Once you do that, work towards it everyday.
Take an hour or two everyday. Read the Bible, work on your project.
You will probably have to give up some of what you enjoying doing to find balance. I found that not watching so much T.V. didn’t hurt as much as I was afraid of!
Now I can’t go through my day without doing something constructive. I can’t go through my day without listening to sermon or some praise and worship, without taking time to build my spiritual woman in some way. It’s a wonderful feeling when you go to bed and know that you have accomplished what you set out to do.
The verse above in another translation says to “redeem” the time. Make your time have value!

God Bless,
Arlene

love never fails

1 Corinthians 13:8 (Amplified Version) "Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth]." Love is one of the greatest gift from God. We witness everyday His love and compassion for us His children. "Love never fails" is revelation from the Word of God. Basically Love will always be there for you especially through hard times. God's love is everlasting and never fades away. When God says that He is always there, He is always there especially with His Love for us. "Love never fails" is awesome revelation because it states how enduring love is...well true love. True love never fades away. God's love never fades away. Sometimes in our daily walk we forgot that God's love never comes to an end. Even when we mess up and get off His path, God is still there loving us. God is love. Therefore, He will never fade away or pass away. He will always here for us. How great is that! To know that our Father God has everlasting love and He will never leave or forsake us. Just open your heart to Him and draw near to Him and He will draw near you.
In Jeremiah 31:3 God says "I've never quit loving you and never will. Expect love, love, and more love!" We all face stuff times in our lives. In our lowest times and we feel like giving up, God is still there with His love. His love has healing power that gives us peace and joy. His love never fades away meaning that it will always be there. He will always be there for us even when others are not there. When my best friend moved away, I was so sad because she was so dear to me. In my mind, I thought that I would never experience that kind of friendship. I thought that I would never find a best friend again! But I was wrong! God was there even when I was hanging out with my friend. He was there especially when I felt alone! His love gave me comfort and new joy. I felt more energized and began falling more in-love with God. I grew closer to Him and He grew closer to Him! (Eventually I found another great friend.) God wants your enduring love! We need to love Him and others even those who are not your friends! We need to love with a love that never fades away. So just love everyone with the love you want. Love your peers like brothers and sisters in the Lord. Love your parents and those in-charge over you with respect and honor. Love God like He is your best friend who will always be there and never fade away.
Love,
Brittany

a love that lasts

“Of all fires love is the only inexhaustible one” –Pablo Neruda

1 Corinthians 13
4 Love endures long … 8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]… Love is lasting, is does not fade away.

Only true love is willing to stay and not walk away or give up during the hard times.Value is added to relationships that endure over time.Ever After means that they stayed together till the end of time. Every relationship will give you a chance to walk away.Never ending. Love never fails.During the hard times is where strength, character and eternal bonds are created.Understanding, patience and forgiveness will be required to go the distance.Remember the prize… love can carry you for the rest of your life.Even when you’ve been hurt it’s possible to still love that person.Search out every possible way to love someone when it’s easier to walk away. Life is short, remember to treasure those closest to you before they are gone.Open your heart to God, He is Love and He can show you the way.Never look back, only look forward.God is Love. He will never stop loving you in spite of all your faults. He will never give up on you. He will never stop wanting to have an eternal relationship with you, beginning today.


God Bless You,
Arlene

what's love got to do with it?

Whether you believe it or not there is one thing that every person in this world is looking for. There is something that all your friends, family, role models, and even your mentors live to have in their lives. Some people go about it different ways in order to have it. Others go about getting it the wrong way because they do not know any better. A lot of people get hurt and disappointed over it because they really do not know what it means and how to go about getting it. If I told you to write me a paper about the planets two weeks from now and you spent hours and hours of study, but you were studying the stars in the galaxy, did you do a good thing? Well, you did a good thing but you did it all wrong. And not only did you do it all wrong but once you find out that you did not make me happy and you did not get a good grade on your paper you get angry and frustrated because of all that work you ended up doing. You went about it the wrong way and you end up hurting yourself. What is this thing that every one wants but do not know how to go about getting? Do you know what it is? I was hoping you would ask. The thing that everyone in this world is looking for but end up going about it the wrong way because they really don't know what it is...LOVE. Love is the biggest reason for people doing what they do. They join gangs to be loved, they join clicks to not feel left out, and they do things that they do not feel comfortable doing just so that they can be loved and accepted by someone else. Do you want to know how to love? Jesus said 'Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul, strength and mind' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. If you can love God, I mean fall in love with him, you will love yourself enough to learn how to love others and not have to go out of your way to get them to love you. This is what we are going to talk about this cycle. We are going to teach you what love really means. If you want to learn what love really means, stay tuned because this cylce is going to blow you away. Love you guys and talk to you soon.
Mickey Santiago

a best friend

Everything in your environment teaches you. Music artists, television, radio, magazines, movies, and books are constantly teaching and finding ways to reach out to you so that you can learn from them. And they put things into your minds day in and day out. They play the same songs over and over again until they go out of style, you hear the same thing on the news over and over again, and the same kind of movies that have violence and sex get the highest ratings over and over again. There is a method to their madness. They know if they can play it over and over again you will remember it. And what you remember is what you will think about and what you think about is what you will do. These types of media spend millions of dollars so that they can reach this generation one way or another. Can I be real with you? The one who is behind all of this, the devil, is not stupid. He knows that if he can get the way his kingdom runs into your mind you will live by the rules of his kingdom. Satan has copied God's system of running things but he uses hate instead of love, evil instead of good, and revenge instead of forgiveness. The devil can not create, so he uses God's way of doing things, but he uses a perverted version. And he is using the media that I spoke about above to get into your minds. God created the idea of seed, time, and harvest. This just means that it takes time for you to learn, to grow, and mature. And during this process there must be seed planted in your mind over and over again. Seed can come in the form of words, songs, and pictures. The devil has copied this idea of God and he is using it pretty good. He has done a good job of getting into the minds of this generation and making us think that sin is cool. It is because of this that we are teaching on the kingdom of God over and over. So that you can get it in your mind and live by it.> Well another way that you are taught that I failed to mention is through your friends. Have you ever wondered why you want to be soo accepted by your friends and your peers? Why do you fear being left out? Is it because you don't want people to make fun of you? Is it because if you let people know the real you they won't hang out with you anymore? These are real questions that need to be answered. Because if you ever broke out of that fear you would be unstoppable in life. Why do we have to be accepted? Because even in the beginning God said 'It is not good for man to be alone'. We were created to have companionship. This means that we want to be loved by someone. Its okay, its natural. We were made like that by the Creator Himself. He is the one to blame for this mess. I am just kidding!! But what we fail to miss, especially in the society we live in now, is that when God said that to Adam they already had a relationship with one another. The bible says that "God walked with Adam in the cool of the day". This means that there was a specific time that they met everyday. They walked together. Can you imagine walking with God everyday? Can you imagine the creator of the universe being your best friend? Thats what Adam had. His best friend was the one who made him. OH MY GOSH! Listen, the one who made the heavens and the earth wants to be your best friend, He wants to walk with you, and teach you at the same time. If you can make Him your best friend then it does not matter who accepts you and wants to be your friend. Thats why you want to be accepted because you were created to have relationships. And if you are not hanging out with people who accept you then you are going to feel empty. Stop seeking your friends to satisfy this emptiness. Go to God first, let Him fill you up, and then go out and find the friends that best fit your life with God. Don't try to fit with them, let them fit with you. If they don't match your lifestyle that you have with God then don't make it fit. You can still hang out with them but make sure that it is not costing your friendship with God first. > I will end with this. In these days God has provided a best friend for us. When Jesus walked on this earth He told His fiends "It is better for you that I leave so that I can send the Comforter". The comforter is God's Spirit. He is called the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is supposed to be inside of you. If He is not, ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Think about this for a minute. God is saying that He wants to live inside of the very thing that He made......WOW!! He wants to live inside of you. Let Him and He will teach you the right way to live and you will never be the same again. The Holy Spirit will lead you, teach you, and comfor you. There is soo much He can do if you let Him help. In the next three weeks we will talk about how He leads, comforts, and teaches you about the kingdom of God. He wants to be your best friend. Why not let Him. Love you guys and talk to you again soon.> > Mickey Santiago

peace from the Holy Spirit

John 14:26-27 (The Message)(Jesus speaking) "I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught.
When Jesus was getting ready to depart from this earth he told his disciples what was about to happen. He also told them that the Holy Spirit would come in his place to be with his people because he would no longer physically be with them.
One of the most wonderful promises of the Holy Spirit is peace!
What is peace? One of the definitions found in the dictionary is “freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions”.
During our lifetimes, in our every day lives, we will struggle with a range of emotions: worry, fear, anxiety, stress, etc. There are so many things that we may be worried or fearful of… money, friends, fitting in, what others think about us, grades, parents, etc. We could go over a million of these.
But we have a wonderful promise that Jesus left us. Peace. He left us the promise that we can be free from worry, free from anxiety, free from stress, free from fear, free from doubt, free from insecurity!
How do we find this peace? Even among Christians many people are saved but many still live with constant worry and stress and fears. They have the Holy Spirit, but yet haven’t found the truth about what we have been given. The first part of Psalm 119:165 says “Great peace have those who love your law…”
When you’re feeling unsettled or worried or anxious or when you feel “down” and all these negative thoughts and emotions are weighing you down, open up the Word. Begin reading God’s Word to you. After a while you will begin to feel the refreshing of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Arlene

how the Holy Spirit leads us

Before we can consent to have the Holy Spirit lead us, we must know who the Holy Spirit is and understand its purpose in our lives. In Matthew 28:18-20, the Holy Spirit is referred to as the third God Head in whose name we are baptized. John 14:16-18, refers to the Holy Spirit as our Counselor, the spirit of truth who is with us forever. However, this spirit of truth only dwells with those who obey God as is noted in Acts 5:32. The Holy Spirit represents the medium through which God communicates with us, Acts 1:2. It is God's representation on the earth that enables us to do the will of God, by giving us power, Acts 1:8 and boldness Acts 4:31. The Holy Spirit is a representation of God among us. It's role includes: 1. Bearing witness of Christ by convicting our hearts about the truth of Christ, through making the truth known to us, John 15:26 and John 16:14.2. Acts as our teacher (I Corinthians 2:9-14), through helping us to be receptive to the things of God as well as teaching and helping us to remember spiritual things (John 14:26)3. Develop godly character in the lives of believers through the fruits of the spirit as found in Galatians 5:22 -23. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Qualities which are difficult to develop and maintain on our own.4. The Holy Spirit also serves to convicts us of our sins (John 16: 8 - 11) Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us includes yielding to its convictions, being receptive to the things of God along with developing Godly character in our lives through the fruits of the spirit. The Holy Spirit will remain with us as long as we continue to be obedient to God. Hence, being led by the Holy Spirit involves staying in the word and continually learning about what pleases God so we can continue to grow in obedience. Yielding to the Holy Spirit makes our walk with Christ easier and allows God to do more in our lives. Its a choice we all make individually to willing grow in Christ through yielding to the Holy Spirit or being stiff necked and do our own thing. Only we can make that choice, God will never force it on us.

http://everystudent.com/forum/hspirit.html?gclid=CM7bw4OA7IsCFQOxgAodHQl-Qw

Let's take the time to examine our lives to see to what extent the Holy Spirit is leading us. Have a Great week!!

-GG