"for such a time as this..."

I found a verse today that I wanted to share. 

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" -1 Peter 2:9

We, as Christians, are a chosen people, to show forth God's praises! I was thinking about a verse in Esther. Here is a blurb: "and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

God put you in your generation for a reason. Sometimes we hear people say, "I should have been born in such and such a time." No, you were meant to be born in this time. You were placed here for a purpose. Yield yourself to God and let Him work that purpose in you, as in Romans 12:1-2. Look it up.

The Perfect Valentine

 Today I was thinking about who I love. His name is Jesus.
 Here is a bit of my testimony. When I was in my teen years, I greatly feared God. I was afraid that I wasn't giving Him enough of my time. I was constantly feeling guilty if I did anything other than read my Bible in my spare time. It was sort of a disease of my mind. I had the wrong idea about who God is. 
 Romans 8:15 says, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."
 That is such a dear verse to me. God loves me- He is my Father. 
 In these years of singleness that the Lord has blessed me with and even after I marry- He is my Valentine. It is my desire that He have my heart. I would say He has my heart, but honestly, some days that just isn't true. It's a daily struggle. Overall, I am quite the happy individual though.
 That is the end of this blog post. Has He delivered you from your bondage? The popular Christmas song says that Santa knows we're all God's children. Not so. (John 8:44) The only way to the Father is by Jesus Christ (John 14:6). I just thought I'd end with that. It seems that many people have the wrong idea of who God is the way I used to. Here's a tip: Read your Bible to find out who God is. Really study it, don't just take the preacher's word for it. Don't take the evangelist's word for it. Don't take my word for it. Study your Bible.

A Man's Ego & an Angel's Humility

  Here are a couple of things from my Bible study this week that I think are worth sharing.
 Firstly, there is Abimelech's death in Judges 9. Abimelech and his armies pursued a group of people and sort of treed them in a tower(seriously, I'm thinking Rapunzel here). They are trying to kill the people in the tower, so they attempt to burn the door down. Then, a woman dropped a piece of millstone out of the tower and busted Abimelech's head open! Read his response in verse 54-
 "Then he called hastily unto the young man his armourbearer, and said unto him, Draw thy sword, and slay me, that they men say not of me, A woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through, and he died."
 I was struggling to read Judges because it is kind of bloody, but I laughed so hard when Abimelech didn't want people to think that a woman killed him. That kind of attitude is still going on!
 And second, on a more serious note, I loved the story in Judges 13. The Angel of the Lord came to announce the coming of Samson and give instruction for his rearing.
 This is what I liked: Although the Angel was amazing, he didn't want any glory. It just struck a thought that people care so much about Angels sometimes, that they are magnified above God. I do not believe that is the right thing to do. Angels are fascinating, but God created them. He deserves the praise and glory. (Read Colossians 1:16-17)

 Comment below and tell me what you learned in Bible study this week!

 *Note: I reserve the right to remove cruel or irrelevant comments. ;)

Be Thankful

"The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them." Proverbs 20:12

I heard a couple of people talking a while back. Man A was angry at the Lord.
Man B said, "Why are you angry with the Lord? Hasn't He done so many good things for you?"
Man A said, "No, He has never done anything for me."
Man B said, "You have eyes to see and ears to hear; The Lord did that for you."
Good point.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17

I guess someone else would say, "So, if God gives us our eyes and ears, then why are some people born blind or deaf?" That reminds me of a story in the book of John.

 "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." (9:1-3)

 Jesus goes on to heal the blind man, thus showing the works of God. There are many instances though, when Jesus does not heal someone from blindness. I believe He can still manifest the works of God in someone through an illness. In fact, the Bible says so in 2 Cor. 12:9. Go read it. 2 Cor. 1:4 is another good one.

Be thankful for your eyes and ears, if you have them. Let God use it to His glory if you don't have them.

Intro: Why this Blog?

 I'm finally getting past the time in my life when people asked, "What college are you going to?" After a few years of people asking, I got really tired of answering, "Oh, I'm not in college." They would proceed to ask me about my job, which was another, "Oh, I don't have a job." I felt like a lazy bum in their eyes. Especially when they would ask me, "Well, what do you do?" 

 Pause for awkward laughter. 

 Because, maybe I'm not like other people my age. But I'm finally ok with that...kind of. 

 I have had an illness for six years now that has caused me a great deal of inconvenience. I did not get to go to college, I had to quit my job, and I never joined the dating scene when my friends did. I moped about for a while. Why me? Why me? But then, when I realized that my illness wasn't going anywhere, I decided that I had to do something or I would go crazy!

 That's why I read. My brain is probably the healthiest part of my body right now. I'm using that to my advantage. My purpose for learning isn't just to be smarter. I like biology for two reasons. One, it's helpful to know how things work; Two, it helps me worship God. Every time I learn something amazing about the human body or an animal or something, I look up at God and say, "Wow, You did that! It's awe-some!" As for English, well, I like communications. I LOVE words and I want to know how to better communicate what I am trying to say. Reading the Bible really goes without saying. Not reading my Bible is like not eating breakfast. I can't go for very long before I fall over dead. :)

 For this blog, I just want to share some stuff I'm learning with my friends and family and whoever else cares to read it. I hope that you can learn some stuff that you didn't know and maybe leave my blog saying, "Wow, God is AMAZING!" It wouldn't be because of my writing of course, because I'm nothing special, but I hope I can point to God and He can take it from there.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Prov. 1:7

(Oh look, my first lesson! :)