a good reminder to write in our hearts

This was taken from a Scripture reference book for counseling by John G. Kruis that my step sister let me read. It was very beneficial to me so I will share the Salvation excerpt with you :).

Salvation (Leading a Person to Christ)

Apart from Christ, we are helpless and sinful.
We are all sinners.
1. We are all born in sin.
Ps. 51:5. Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
2. We all, like sheep, have gone astray.
Isa. 53:6. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
3. All have sinned through Adam.
Rom. 5:12. Just as sin has entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.
Rom. 5:19. Just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
4. Jews and Gentiles alike are sinners.
Rom. 3:9-12. What shall we conclude then? are we any better? Not at all! we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "there is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Rom. 3:22-24. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
5. We are like lost sheep whom Jesus goes out to seek.
Luke 15:3-7.
6. We are like the prodigal son.
Luke 15:11-24.
7. Even our righteous acts are as filthy rags.
Isa. 64:6. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
8. If you claim to be without sin you deceive yourself and even make God out to be a liar.
1 John 1:8-10. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. if we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
9. Apart from God's grace, our hearts are deceitful, beyond cure.
Jer. 17:9. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. who can understand it?
10. In the like of God's Holiness we see that we are very sinful. The is what happened to Isaiah.
Isa. 6:1-5. In the year that King Uzziah Died, I saw the LORD seated on a throne, High and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. and they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." at the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty".
..... more to come :)...

Though None go with me

what a movie...

I'm just speechless at the way this movie stays true to reality and how hard life really is. it's riveting, convicting, personal, and honest about how God provides comfort even in the worst circumstances. I don't want to just take this movie as a typical love story.. I believe there are many things a person can learn from it.

Father I pray that our generation will come to treasure your presence and seek you wholeheartedly, by the power of the Holy Spirit. that we and many others will say, "Your will Lord, not mine" and that they may experience true joy that is eternal.

that we may not take lightly the Call of the Lord to trust and obey.

thank You Lord for each gift that you richly provide us. let us not presume to think we have the luxury of wasting our lives for man-centeredness, only to miss the whole point of life.

"a guilty, weak, and helpless worm, on thy kind arms I fall. Be thou my strength and righteousness, My Jesus, my all."

Amy

The Cross of Christ Is...

Eternal
Breathtaking in its beauty
Humbling
Breaking in its revelation of reality
Perfect
The clay shaped anew by its Maker
Perfection bearing the corruption of another
The slaves redeemed by their Master
A mystery beyond comprehension
The object of eternal praise
Captivating
The Son slaughtered by His Father
The day the universe was ripped in two
The crucifix, the epitome of history
The victory of mercy
Righteous judgment poured out on the only Righteous
The source of all genuine life
Magnificent in its purpose
The Bridegroom purchasing His Bride
Transcendent over nations and tongues and cultures
The ultimate exaltation of the only True and Worthy
Heaven's clearest picture of love
The shattering of sin's chains
Satan's final defeat
The ransom of the unworthy
God saying "I love you"
...So much more than stammering lips can pronounce

Why There Aren't Any American Jobs

John Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock

(MADE IN JAPAN ) for 6 am.

While his coffeepot

(MADE IN CHINA )

Was perking, he shaved with his Electric razor

(MADE IN HONG KONG )

He put on a Dress shirt

(MADE IN SRI LANKA ),

Designer jeans

(MADE IN SINGAPORE )

And Tennis shoes

(MADE IN KOREA)

After cooking his breakfast in his new Electric skillet

(MADE IN INDIA )

He sat down with his Calculator

(MADE IN MEXICO )

To see how much he could spend today.

After setting his Watch

(MADE IN TAIWAN )

To the radio

(MADE IN INDIA )

He got in his car

(MADE IN GERMANY )

Filled it with GAS

(from Saudi Arabia )

And continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.

At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day

Checking his Computer

(made in MALAYSIA ),

John decided to relax for a while.

He put on his sandals

(MADE IN BRAZIL ),

Poured himself a glass of Wine

(MADE IN FRANCE )

And turned on his TV

(MADE IN INDONESIA ),

And then wondered why he can’t find a good paying job in AMERICA

A God-Glorifying and Edifying Crush

Ok ladies...time to fess up.


how many times have we had our eye snagged on a cute guy and spent hours dreaming about him? You've talked to him maybe about ten minutes and you're talked about him for about 82903748748934 hours(might be a slight exaggeration on that last number but if you're best friend you wont think so :) So majority of us guilty right? right.







I was chatting with amy about that and knowing she would, by the grace of God, point me back to the Gospel I asked her about what she thought. here's the actual conversation (amy's is bolded and mine arent)we're jumping into the part where I am asking how i could make having a crush an excercise in Godliness..might be a little jumpy at first but i think you get the message overall:




haha..i just dont know how to make that godly

or is it?


thats a hard one to figure out

can we be godly in that or should we focus solely on that?
solely on Jesus*

because the most Godly thing to keep in mind is to treat him like a brother

idk...im wondering if we should be focusing only on Jesus right now and not think about others..especially if we know there probebly isnt a future
but its hard to tell yourself "stop" .. not always that simple
where does the Gospel come in?

the Gospel is clear, we deserve God's wrath
everyday is God's grace
that is enough
Christ is enough
yes I deal with it a lot recently too

He is enough..so is focusing on another sinful?

I think it can be

if we let it distract us from God

how can we keep it from distracting us?

but everytime we think about it , it should drive us to prayer

i have been praying about it

prayer for an undivided mind

hmm..good advice

these realizations that you are fallen and prone to think too often about a guy only point more to your human-ness
and depravity
that is why it drives us upward towards God
it should anyway

so its a tool of the Holy Spirit to drive us back to the Gospel and remind us of the cross

and ask him for a way out.. maybe it could be to filling your mind with the things of the Lord
yes I think that would be most helpful for me

AMAZING! amy im writing a blog about this

:):) you and I both need to be pointed to Christ in every situation of our lives

yes and especially in this since it is in an area we often delve into




so if you have a mind that is at my level or above (and trust me you are..i have a brain tinged with blonde) you reached the conclusion I did. Having a crush glories God..it reminds us of the Gospel..it renews us in our love for Calvary..it strengthen your prayer life. bet you never thought having a crush gave so much. But if you didn't get it; here's the rundown for you:

having a crush should drive us to our knees in asking God to clear our mind and help us focus on Him. the fact that we have to do that should remind us of our always sinful, fallen depravity which always wants to focus on/exalt man rather than God. that should point you to the cross where Jesus paid for that and paid for the power of the new life you now live in Christ, giving you the power to focus on God and treating that certain young man(or woman) as a brother in Christ(or sister).


and so I leave you one o'clock in the morning with this thought: the next time you're pining away after some guy be reminded of the Gospel and God's good grace. pray and never ever let that certain person distract you from the Lord but instead, drive you closer to Him and another step closer to Calvary.

More Than Just a Job

I have a new job now..at Majesty Bible and Gifts(Herndon and Ceder) .. (come visit me =)



first three days I came home and cried. I was simply overwhelmed by all of the new information I had to memorize, I felt incompetent, and not needed. To top it all off I felt like I wanted to pour my heart out to someone but I didn't want to be complaining(though I did) and I couldn't find anyone who would direct me back to the bigger picture of serving Christ and humility.

But today went really well. We were busy and I felt like I was accomplishing something. I also was able to work without someone breathing down my neck (my bosses are absolutely wonderful though, very very blessed to have them..i just dont like to be watched). I was reminded that my work should not be viewed as simply a job..four hours to kill earning money. Today for the first time I was able to see my work as a service for Christ.

I encourage those who have a new job or those who have had a job for a long time to rethink your service. Do you see those whom you serve as people who need to be smiled at and treated like porcelain glass and escorted with a relieved glance out the door? Or do you see your customers as real people with souls, with wounds and scars from their life? People to be reached for Christ? People to be encouraged and prayed over? I'm not going to tell you how I first categorized ... =)

To sum it all up I just want to say that I have a great job. God brought these people into my life for a purpose, every face I see is there for a reason and there is a sea of opportunities every time I walk through that front door. I want to be reminded of the Gospel in my work everyday, and I want to touch those people with the wondrous Gospel with every breath I take. Which will only happen through prayer. So pray for me that my job can be more than just a job.

What to Do When You Find Yourself Surrounded by Conversations Which Aren't Christ-Centered

How many times do you find yourself surrounded by people whose conversations are centered about anything but Christ? About everything that has absolutely no value? If you're me...a lot! How do you react to these situations? Look around with a dark glance and then loudly declare the godlessness of this crowd? Judge harshly and then give up? If you're me...most of the time

But how should we react? Should we retreat into our personal bubble of self-pity and religious hypocrisy? I sure hope that's not our only option...and thank the Lord it isn't! here's the solution God opened up to me after a frustrating night of talking about everything but God...

Paul tells us "let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt..."(col. 4:6) and again "let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth but only that such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear" (eph. 4:29) note the absolutes... ALWAYS and NO .. doesn't leave much room for negotiation does it? also please note in both passages it explicitly says "your" not those around you. Scripture makes it perfectly clear we are responsible for ourselves..and we are going to give an answer for what WE did in the body..me for myself and you for yourself..Rom 14:12

So what conclusion did I reach that night? Well..that I am responsible for myself. Gone are the judgments and complaints. I am responsible for what I talk about, and may I always be speaking with grace that it may build others up. if you know me..you know that's far from the truth...ever meet those people who always bring up God no matter the topic? well that can be you too..here are a couple of suggestions.


what experience has taught me is that the more you read Bible the more you can talk about it with more ease. read ps 119 to get an idea of how much time david spent in God's Word...psalm one: "and on His Word he meditates day and night" .. more time than the average Christian spends right?... when i spent three-four hours daily in devotions I found Christ ALWAYS in my mind, always in my speech. i was heavenly-minded. i dont spend as much time now and it takes some work to bring the conversation back to my Jesus...it's in direct parallel to how much time I spend with God!! "skem povideshsya tovo i nobireshsya" .. english translation: "who you're spending time with that's who you're going to be like" .. i cannot enough emphasize: SPEND MORE TIME WITH GOD!! and you'll find yourself thinking about those things which are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise (phil. 4:8) and what a person spends time thinking about he will also spend time talking about.


so there's my solution to situation where no one is talking about Christ..or about anything without value: you talk about Him...and as long as you're doing the right thing that's all that matters. you'll be amazed at how the crowd around you changes. people who hoestly do not care about God will find others to talk with and those who wish to speak of greater, more lasting truths will be drawan to you. but dont just wish..start taking action. talk about Him; always and around all. hard? yes!!! possible? "i can do all thing through Christ who strengthen me" (phil 4:13)


p.s. now im speaking about everyday situations when you're out in the world..if you find yourself constantly surrounded by unChrist-centered even in the church you have a problem. you need to find good friends who are Christ-centered, Gospel-saturated, and cross-exalting..perhaps a seperate article on that later ;)