why choose God?

I can’t speak for many others because I don’t know their story, but I was fortunate enough to have been raised in a Christian household. It was easy then for me to accept Christ into my life because I knew Him. Then as I grew older, old enough to understand things for myself, the challenge of choosing to continue to live for Him confronted me.



It was a short time before I had my own car and my parents separated, leaving the church. I couldn’t make it a lot of times because I had no ride. I promised God and myself that I would start going back to church as soon as I got a car and I did just that. But, why?



Back then, at that age I was deeply rooted in my youth ministry, where Jesus was made more and more real to me. The feeling that came with living right and having Jesus in my heart gave me peace, and became something I never wanted to leave from me. It’s the reason I continue the struggle to live right and later led to me being born again after a long while of backsliding. I use to blame my church because our youth group stopped meeting, and I lost interest. But I had no one to blame but myself. The Word wasn’t spoon-fed to me, so I didn’t want it. It felt so weird trying to do my own thing afterwards. I really couldn’t see how people lived without God. God will never leave you, or abandon you (Heb 13:5). And that part of the scripture holds true today. Throughout my whole rebellion stage, he was right there when I was making bad decisions, allowing me to see my sin. After feeling there was no running from him, I gave in realizing, “If God refuses to leave me, why leave him?” And I’ve continued to remain faithful with that in mind.



God is something special. He’s everything special actually! If you feel like you’re going through life with no purpose, seek God. Seriously! He’s not going to make himself real to you unless you’re serious about finding him. Close your eyes and open your heart and ask him to make himself real to you. Then really believe and expect him to.



It’s nice to get to a point with God where you have somewhere to turn, someone to lean on, and someone to put your trust in. The best part of living for God is the feeling you have when you know you’re doing the right thing, and the will to do what is right when you’re not. God gives my life purpose, and He is the reason I live. To those who haven’t found Him yet, ask yourself what your reason for living is. And if you can’t seem to find an answer… ask God!



And to those who think that God can’t see through all your sin, try Him! Christians are far from perfect. I can tell you that first hand! But it’s our yearning for perfection that sets us apart.



Bless and Stay Blessed!

- C.J.

baby born to die

Matthew 1

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins."
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him "Immanuel" which means, "God with us"

Luke 2
10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

These are some of the most common words and ideas about Christmas: Presents, Tree, Decorations, Wreath, Family, toys, Snow, Christmas lights…. We could go on and on. I think Christmas is the most beautiful holiday that we have. I love all the lights, the trees, the snow (well, not here but it’s snowing somewhere!). But the biggest thing is that Jesus came to us! He came to live among us in order to die for our sins. It was the most beautiful sacrifice in history! Better than any other love story that has ever existed.
We were lost and God came to be with us and show us the way.
During the next couple of days look around and thank God for all the wonderful things he has blessed you with: people that love you, gifts that you’ve wanted, a little relaxing time off from school, whatever he’s blessed you with, thank God.
But pause, read some of the scriptures concerning Jesus’ birth and thank God that He love you enough to come down and meet you where you are at.
Have a wonderful New Year in 2009!

Arlene

Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas

Tis’ the season to give thanks, again! A time for celebration, and a time to bless and be blessed. Sounds like the past couple months all summed up, huh. What this isn’t though… this is not a time to leave cookies for Santa, or sit on his lap at the mall, or stress over this being the worst Christmas ever. Yes I said it! As long as you realize Jesus Christ who died for your sins was born this season, you can have the best Christmas you’ve been able to live through.



I’ll be honest for a bit (not that I haven’t ever been… in my devotionals that is...), but I just looked up Christmas in the dictionary to see if the “mas” meant anything, like “birth” or something and I didn’t find that. What I did find was that one definition defined it as a Christian celebration turned American holiday. Now, that made me a little mad (if you couldn’t tell already)! But then I thought to myself, “at least it referred to Christianity.” Just the whole separation from church and state thing with going from Christian to American thing got me a bit heated. Some government we have!



Getting back to Christ though, the story of His birth is as familiar as any of the other great tales, and is equally memorable and equally significant as his death. Oh big whoop, a baby was born! No! Back in the book of Genesis, the world was given no chances. You sinned, you died, or drowned in a freakin flood! No questions asked! But over 2000 years ago, around this time God gave us a chance and with that chance another, and another, and another. And what do we give? Don’t know about you, but I gave my life, my heart, my soul, and am now working up my talents for the advancement of his kingdom, and still wouldn’t be able to match his grace if there were two of me!



It was suggested that I speak from the heart when writing for you guys, and I welcome any feedback from those who take the time out to read what I have to… write, and so from my heart, I just wanted to express this message. I’m slowly beginning to realize we go through hard times to buff us toward the greatness God has planned for us - much like pressure on coal creates diamonds. It’s something I live by and wear on my favorite hat. But I thank God for having me go through hard times this Christmas. It’s a learning and growing process I’m very thankful for.



So in closing, please remember the real reason for this season, give thanks, bless and blessed if you can, but furthermore, while it is my main man Jesus’ birthday, remember your father blessed you with the ultimate opportunity on that faithful day. If you don’t get what you want, know that God truly knows the desires of your heart and there may be a reason for it! If you don’t get anything, know you’ve received everything (that endless opportunity) from your heavenly father! And if you get everything you wanted… you lucky little… Christian! And to the next person who says “Happy Holidays!” to you, don’t hesitate to politely correct them by replying with “Mary(I know how it’s spelled!) Christmas and a blessed New Year to you too!” …Happy New Year works too, though!



Merry Christmas guys!

C.j.

what's the real reason?

I want to touch on the real reason for this season. We need to be reminded of it because it is very easy to forget. The black fridays, getting gifts for family and friends, all the advertisements and commercials of the next best gift to buy for someone. It can get distracting and for some people it gets overwhelming. I am not saying that all this is wrong. It's fun to get gifts and to give them (Remember...Jesus said, "it is better to give than to receive"). But we can get so caught up in all this stuff that we lose the real meaning of why we celebrate Christmas.

Do you want to know the real reason for the celebration of Christmas? Good. The reason we celebrate Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A little over 2000 years ago Jesus was born of a virgin named Mary. That's right she was a virgin. How could she give birth to a child if she was a virgin? I am glad you asked. God supernaturally planted His seed inside of Mary so that she could give birth to the Savior of the world. It's what we call 'the immaculate conception'. It wasn't natural but supernatural. Jesus is a supernatural person who came to become like us so that he could understand what we go through and then take our place on the cross to die for our sins so that we could be forgiven. His birth forever changed the course of this world. And that's why we celebrate Christmas.

In all the hustle of getting and receiving gifts and all the commercialness (don't know if that's a real word but I hope you get what I am saying) of the season please don't forget that our Savior Jesus Christ was born so that you could have the life you were meant to have. Don't forget the "Christ" in Chirstmas and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Have a Merry Christmas!!! And if you have not given your life to this Jesus that we talk about please don't hesitate to contact us and we can help.

Mick

Thank you Jesus!

Psalm 69:30 (The Message) Let me shout God's name with a praising song,
Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.
Have you ever stopped and really listened to all the negativity that is around you? How about the negativity in your own mind? I have a friend that is pretty certain that she has always and will always get the “raw deal” in life. She is convinced that everything bad happens to her, and that she can’t do anything to stop it.


The enemy of our souls (the Devil) would have to us to look at everything that is wrong in our lives. In relationships he would have us to look and each other’s faults. I think of all the divorces there are in the world, of the all the people who used to be friends, of the families that used to be close. You know somewhere inside them they still love each other…but what went wrong? I believe one of the biggest things is that they stopped appreciating the good things about one another and only began focusing on the bad.
It is so easy in this day and age to get caught up in all the bad there is in the world and in everything that’s wrong. One of the biggest ways to combat this is by thanksgiving! I have found that a powerful tool in my live to combat the forces of darkness is to look for the good things in my life and thank God for them! Every single day of my life I can not go a day without thanking God for something. And usually it’s multiple things. I can thank him for all the people that love me. I can thank him for my job in the midst of this crashing economy. I can thank him for a beautiful day with blue skies and green grass!
The Bible says that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights….” (James 1:17).
Thank God for the good things in your life. It doesn’t matter how small! It will re-focus your mind. Instead of only negativity all around you, you will realize that there are many good things in your life that if it were not for God would not be there! It will make you happier! It will give you joy when everyone is worried, anxious or sad. And you will be able to tell them why you can smile!

Be blessed,
Arlene

thanks

In this devotional I want you to think about two simple words. They are simple but they are two of the most powerful words in our language that we take for granted. Do you know what they are? You guessed it, THANK YOU! It is the holiday of Thanksgiving and I want to focus your attention on the words "thank you".

Can I ask you a question? Have you ever done something for someone and they never said thank you? You went out of your way, above and beyond what you normally would do and you didn't even get a look. How did that make you feel? I try not to get offended or upset because I do things for people because I have the love of God but sometimes it has gotten to me. But what about those people who are thankful for what you do for them? They always say "thank you" and not only that but they give you back more in return than what you gave them. I know most of you have not experienced that. I understand. But you would be more willing to do something for the person who thanked you and gave you back more in return than the one who did not even acknowledge you.

The bible says "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you". If you want to know what you are supposed to be doing in life, don't worry, I just gave you the master key. "Give thanks". That's what you do. "Give thanks". Thank God for your parents (I know that can be hard sometimes but it will change you), thank God for your friends, thank God that you have the opportunity to get an education, thank God that you have clothes, thank God that you have food to eat, thank God that you can walk, thank God you can see, thank God that you can breathe, and thank God that He sent His son to die for us on the cross so that we could go back to our highest way of living.

And not only are we to give thanks but "in everything give thanks". That means in every circumstance and situation. Even if things don't look good give thanks, even if you are broke or your heart is broke, even if you have problems in your home or school, or with anything, you still give thanks. Not only will it make you feel better, but who knows what God will do for you if you are thankful. Remember the example about the one who gave thanks and the one who didn't. Who do you want to be? Give thanks!!!

Mick

Money is Power

While the world will tell you money makes the world go ‘round, we as Christians know the truth as to what’s really important. When you leave, all you’ve worked for here on Earth won’t amount to anything in heaven. UNLESS… you do what’s right with what you work for.

I’m sure we’ve all been pasted in front of the TV, drooling over other’s wealth and riches from the nicest houses to the sweetest rides, and other crazy luxuries, and to be honest, it’d be nice to have all of that. Time and time again, I have to ask myself is it wrong to have all that and still be a Christian. And while I’m still searching for an answer I know in my heart that it’s not God’s will for Christians to be poor.

While I don’t believe that money makes the world go ‘round, I do truly believe that “money is power”. Money is a means to get things accomplished at a faster rate and I can assure you that if all Christians were rich, this would be a better world. (Ya’ll know me, If I spent the time to get into the possibilities, this would be another devotional in need of a part two.) I believe that when you put money in the right persons hand they can do amazing things, and although one person can’t change the world, one step towards change is progress.

I believe money is beautiful as power because it’s a heavenly lasso, so to say. I believe that with doing the right thing, blessings will come. But when take something you work hard for or “earn” and lift it to God, even more blessings will come. And I’ll take a blessing over working hard for money any day! But this is why it’s very important to participate in tithes and offering.

In my… “earlier” youth, I use to think giving tithes and offering were the same thing. They are two completely different things and at my Church, presented at two different times to further drive the principle. We receive the tithes first, because that’s 10% of what you’ve earn offered to God as a sign of your faithfulness to him, as well as an indicator that you trust him in your finances. You’d have to be really dumb not to want God’s hand in your pocket. All he’s pulling out is 10% and in return your hand gets to be in his. I like the thought of God’s pockets! Shoot!

Offering on the other hand is like a gift that shows God how much more you love him and believe in his blessings. My pastor refers to offering time as preparing your harvest or seeding your blessings. I love how we save the offering for the end of the service as well because nothing compares to sewing a seed in a positive atmosphere where you just know a harvest will grow. It’s like planting a seed in the most fertile and healthiest of soils and watering it with… Fiji water! (That’s “God’s Water” if you didn’t know. If you’ve tasted it, you know what I’m talking about) But getting back to the principal, offering is so much more than “spending money at church”. You tithe because it’s what God’s entitled to. You offer because that’s truly your chance thank God, be it for something he’s already done, or something he’s about to do.

So next time, you’re sitting in your pew or on your row of chairs and you see that bucket coming your way. Don’t be selfish and think about what you need the money for or what you have to buy, or how much more of your money the church is taking from you. We all have felt this way one time or another. But have the power within yourself to bind those thoughts from your mind. Look at your tithes and offering as “God’s money”, not yours, and be thankful your Church has given you an opportunity to send your blessing to God. And if that’s not good enough for you, think about the air conditioned room you sit in, or the lights you sit under, and any other luxuries you have or may even need in your church and make an investment towards them or help keep them going.

That’s all for this month! Just keep these things in mind. Remember the difference between tithes and offering and you WILL be blessed. Let’s get rich together Christians! We can easily do this by putting God’ first!



- C.j.