Your Purpose

In my reading of the Bible I have read many instances where the people who were mentioned in the Bible were always the exact person they needed to be. What I mean is that the people in the Bible looked the way they were, did what they were suppose to, and had the traits they were suppose to have in order to do what they were suppose to do. Another thing I noticed was that whenever they were doing the best job with the talents and traits they had was when they were using them for God and were close to Him. So I began reading into this idea and found it to be correct. All the Scripture backed it up and more so. And I also looked for one of the people in the Bible who could express this idea very well. I came up with Esther.

First off some back round. At this point of time the Israelites are under the control of King Xerxes. When King Xerxes was around the highlight of his rule he held a banquet for 7 days. He called for his wife to come in order to be shown off but she refused to come. Then he made a plan to deal with her. Esther 2:2-4

Then the king's personal attendants proposed, "Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king. Let the king appoint commissioners in every province of his realm to bring all these beautiful girls into the harem at the citadel of Susa. Let them be placed under the care of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women; and let beauty treatments be given to them. Then let the girl who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." This advice appealed to the king, and he followed it.

So set the stage for Esther to come in. Esther 2:7-8

Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This girl, who was also known as Esther, was lovely in form and features, and Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
When the king's order and edict had been proclaimed, many girls were brought to the citadel of Susa and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king's palace and entrusted to Hegai, who was in charge of the harem.

Esther was born with noticeable beauty that would soon be recognized by the king. Esther 2:15-17 says,

When the turn came for Esther (the girl Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail) to go to the king, she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king's eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor of everyone who saw her. She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
Now the king was attracted to Esther more then to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

God blessed Esther with great beauty that made her the queen of one of the most powerful kings in history. But she was brought to this position for a reason. A plot was made by a man named Haman. Esther 3:8-11 says,

Then Haman said to King Xerxes, "There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different those of all the other people and who do not obey the king's laws; it is not in the king's best interest to tolerate them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will put ten thousand talents of silver into the royal treasury for the men who carry out this business."
So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. "Keep the money," the king said to Haman, "and do with the people as you please.

Now the king did not know Esther was of Jewish decent when he allowed the decree. No one did, because Esther never mentioned it at the warning of Mordecai. So the order went out. Now by this time Esther had found great favor with King Xerxes, and Mordecai knew this. So he went to Esther to plead for her help. Esther 4:6-14 says,

So Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate. Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to urge her to go into the king's presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
Hathach went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, "All the king's officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that he be put to death. The only exception to this is for the king to extend the gold scepter to him and spare his life. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king."
When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will parish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

That was the case. Esther was brought to this position of influence for this very purpose. She at this word risked her life and went before the King. Esther found his favor and he reversed the edict. And allowed her to replace it with a new edict to grant the Jews more freedom and the right to protect themselves.

Esther was given her great beauty and her strong sense of loyalty to Mordecai to bring her to that position and to save her people when she was called to. Now most of us may not be called to be in a position of high authority, but all of us are made in a certain way to do a certain job in a certain way. And we are all called to do this.
The Bible tells us that God made us the way we are because He has a plan for us that can only be done if we are the way he made us. Psalm 139:13-16 says,

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

We were planned and made by God the way we are. We are not meant to look any other way or be able to do something that we cannot already do. We are the way we are for a reason. That reason is not always fully known to us. But it is what God wants us to do, and all things that God wants us to do can be summed up in one commandment. The Greatest Commandment. Mark 12:29-31 says,

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

We all have one universal command, to Love God and to Love others. But if we all have one same command, shouldn't we all be the same? No. We can all obey this command in our own designed way. Romans 12:1-8 says,

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

We are all made differently, but we are all parts of one body that has one command: to Love. And only by all of us using our gifts can we fulfill this command. Now if you were paying attention at the beginning it spoke of offering our bodies as living sacrifices to God in service to Him. That was written at the beginning of this passage for a reason. The reason is that if we do not offer ourselves first, we cannot use the gifts we have properly or at all. We need to be using the gifts God gave us for the purpose He designed them for or else they are useless. I recently discovered my gift for wood carving. Just picked it up right away and the reason was that I was doing it to keep from using technology that I was always wasting my time with. And while I did it I prayed to God and I ended up making crosses for my friends who gave their testimonies at my church. I'm sure there are other stories out there like that as well. I wouldn't mind hearing them if you have them.
But moving on, we all have our own gifts and if we don't use them for the purpose they were given to us for we are ignoring the Greatest Commandment. Imagine if we all didn't use our gifts like we were suppose to. We wouldn't have musicians and singers using their musical talents for worship music. And more importantly we wouldn't have preachers using their gifts of speech and writing. Churches would actually cease to exist if that were the case. And if no one was sharing their faith, after a couple generation's time Christianity would probably die out. See how important it is to use your gifts for the right reason?
This is why we must use our gifts NOW. Not later, but now. Time is short and we are a mist. James 4:14-17 says,

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then , who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

And not only must we use them now but we must use them with serving the Lord our God as our intent, and nothing else. Otherwise we are wasting the gift of time that we have been given on this earth. Time is not ours to do with what we want. It is like everything else in this world. It is something else that we can offer to God. If we do not use it for God then we sin and the other things we use our gifts for will not work or will not be what they should be. Psalm 1 says,

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither. Whatever he does prospers.
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will parish.

The one who dwells on God's Word and His commands will prosper in what he/she does. If you look to God and obey His commands and do what He says you will be successful with what you do with your talents. But the person who does not is wicked. And Proverbs 10:16 says,

The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.

When we follow God's commands and give everything we have, even time and our gifts, we receive life. That life is not for here on earth, but in heaven. But those who do not will receive punishment for their actions, or lack of. Which would you prefer?

So you see? We are all made in a special way to fulfill a purpose for God that He designed. Please do not confuse this with God controlling everything we do. God designed us in a way that if we praise Him and offer ourselves to Him we would end up doing what He wanted us to do when He made us. So realize this, you were made the way you are because you are suppose to be that way. Because the God who Loves you more than you could ever understand, made you that way. And He Loves you that way. So don't desire change because of what the world thinks of you, or because you don't like the way you are. But instead, don't worry about the way you are and remember that the God who made everything that exists Loves you.

You can't always have the body you want,
But you can always be happy with the body you have.
-JJJ

Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen

Love and Hope+Faith

I have been studying Love for the past week way more in depth and with way more time since I have decided to devote all my free time to God. Which is a lot of time. And I have learned of a few things that the Bible says of it that go together to make a big web that has a huge meaning and command behind it. This in my opinion will have some opposition from certain people, but in my defense, I am a 17 year old who is just writing what I learn from my studying the Bible. So with that said I will begin.

Before we can go into how Love is suppose to be done or understood we must look at what it is. For this we look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. It says,

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, it is not puffed up; do not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Love is all these things. It is nothing evil and is everything good while also being self-sacrificial. Love is also unstoppable. It never fails and it never dies. Love is a constant force. Love is eternal. If you don't believe that then keep reading.

Okay. That's what Love is. And we are all capable of this Love. We have it. But we must be weary of what we Love. 1 Timothy 6:10 says,

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

The Love of money leads to many other sins and can lead people away from Jesus. It becomes the Love of possessions. A Love of things and money is the love we must not have. That is clear. There is no other way around it.

Next we look at God's Love for us. We already know what Love is. "What does it look like?", and "What does it cause?" are the questions I'm going to answer with this. Most of us already know what it looks like, in fact, we should all know what it looks like. John 3:16 says,

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

God's Love is shown as the gift of Grace that He has given us by sending His Son to die on the cross to pay for our sins. The ultimate sacrifice. That is what God's love looks like. But what we often do not realize is that it gives us a lot more than Grace. It gets us through this life. Romans 5:1-5 says,

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

We are not only saved but we are given a Joy and Hope during our hard times in life. When we are going through a hard time we gain perseverance to push through the hard time, this makes our God inspired character. The person we are destined to become as a follower of Jesus Christ. The person we become makes us look to Heaven for our own reason to want to go, and to Hope for it. So God's Love also affects what kind of person we become and gives us Hope in times of hardship. However, this only works if we have Faith. We'll get to that soon.
God's Love also does something else. It takes away our fears. 1 John 4:18 says,

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

God's Love is perfect in every way. So His Love that is perfect casts out our fears. This makes sense when you think about the fact that we have an eternity in Heaven waiting for us. What is there to fear when we have the God who made everything on our side? Nothing. But it only does so if we have Faith in God to help us. You'll see why I keep saying this soon.

Next we look at who we are suppose to Love. Because it will help make everything make more sense I'll talk about Loving other people first. First, God commands us to Love each other the way He loves us. John 15:12 and 1 Peter 4:8 say,

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."

God's Love covers a multitude of sins, among other things, but this is very important. We humans struggle the most with forgiving other people for the sins they commit. So saying that, God asks us to Love one another as He has Loved us, that means to also forgive them. You can not Love and hate people at the same time just like pure water and salt water can not come from the same spring.
So how can we show our Love for others? Through our actions. 1 John 3:16-18 says,

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

In order to show this Love for others, we must show it in our deeds. What is the Loving deed that you know you should be doing but are neglecting to do? Well you should get ready to go and do it. Because the next part of this post is going to make you want to do it.

I am now going to talk about Loving God. I saved this part for last because in order to understand how to Love God I had to tell you everything else I've mentioned already. Now for it all to make sense I must mention one verse. It is 1 John 4:8. It says,

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Now the part where I mentioned that Love is all powerful and eternal makes sense doesn't it? Now I don't think I have to explain this because it's too straight forward to explain. So how do we Love God? And why was I stressing the fact that you need Faith to receive the rewards of God's Love? 1 John 5:1-5 says,

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

I'm going to say right now that Hope and Faith cannot exist without Love. Which means we cannot have Faith that Jesus Christ is our Savior if we do not have the Love of others that I have already described. If you look at it this way, the verse I mentioned before this said that God is Love, and that if someone does not Love then they do not know God. If Jesus is God, then if we do not Love then we do not know Jesus. So if you don't Love, then you cannot understand or have true Faith in the fact that Jesus is the Savior. So in essence, if you do not Love others the way I have described, then you do not receive God's Grace. This is proven even more when it says that those who believe in Jesus as their Savior are born of God. If God is Love, and they who believe in Jesus as their Savior are born of Him, then they are born of Love and come from Love. And they automatically Love others. If you do not Love then you do not have the Faith in Jesus or the Hope of an eternity in Heaven.
However! There is a huge piece of Hope for you written in the Scripture. To Love God is to obey His commandments, the greatest of which that follow all others are to Love God with all your heart all your soul and all you strength and then Love all others as yourself Matt. 22:37-39, all of which are an EASY burden to carry out. And it is easy to Love. We just make it seem harder than it is. So if we Love, which God tells us is easy to do, we become who God wants us to be, we have Hope, we have Faith, and we gain Salvation. And with them it tells us that we can conquer the world. That's why it is called the greatest gift of all. This is why 1 Corinthians 13:13 says,

And now abide in Faith, Hope, Love, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.

It says that because Faith and Hope cannot be received until Love is done.

Now God has these words for the one who Loves Him. Psalm 91:14-16 says,

"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation."

Like I said some people might not agree with this post. But I don't really see any other way around those verses. But whether it is the right interpretation or not, it does not change the fact that He does tell us to Love Him and to Love one another. If you do have trouble doing this, I suggest something I learned to do recently. Pray to God to help you Love Him. Because if you Love God then you do everything He says to do in the Bible. And I urge you not to Love Him just because of a ticket to Heaven. Love God for who He is in your life, what He means to you, and because of what He has done in your life. Love God, and everything good He describes will follow.

Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen

Please (#5) - Something Like Silas

Tears

I've been working on another post recently, but I got the idea for this post today and I just had to put it up tonight. Now the Bible does not have much to say about tears, but what it does have to say is important and worth paying attention to. First we need to ask a couple questions and take a look at ourselves.

Why do you think God gave us the ability to cry? The answer is the question, "Why do we cry?" We cry when we are feeling one of two things. The first is when we feel great pain, physical or emotional. The second is when we feel overwhelming joy. In other words, God gave us the ability to cry when we have one of two conditions, which are complete opposites. But what few realize is that even though they are completely different, in Christianity, they are both experienced at the same time throughout one's journey with Jesus Christ. We now look at James 4:9-10 and Psalm 126:5. They say,

Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

Two verses with a whole lot of meaning behind them. We are told to grieve, mourn, and wail and cry out to God because we have sinned and have brought death upon ourselves. We must mourn for our souls that we have murdered. We have all caused ourselves a great pain through our sin. If you are a Christian, then you have felt the pain of your sins. And even before we come to Jesus and have Him show us our sins, we feel them as we commit them. And when we do go to Jesus for forgiveness and we look at all of the sins of our lives, it brings a pain like no other. I know of no person to not cry when they come to Christ for forgiveness for the first time. That pain grows as we think of all the sins adding up until when we finish the list it's overwhelmingly painful to think of them. And at the very moment it reaches the peak, Jesus takes it all away. He removes the burden, and we breathe, for the first time, without a heavy burden we can't explain weighing on us. After all our mourning and crying out for our souls that we have sentenced to death with our sins, Jesus takes away the sin and the pain it caused. When that happens, the tears of pain we had before stop, and tears of Joy begin pouring out. They come out in such a manner that they feel like they completely wash away any trace of the tears of pain. Because all traces of pain leave.
This is why God gave us the ability to cry when we are in the most pain, and when we are experiencing overwhelming Joy. Because, these are what we feel when we experience Jesus for the first time.

I got the idea for this post because I felt angry all day until this afternoon. While I was alone in my home, I was listening to music and a song came on that I started singing with. As I sang the words, I suddenly felt tears streaming down my face. And as I thought more and more about Jesus, the tears kept coming out more and more. They felt freeing, peaceful, loving, joyous. It made me look at my entire life and relationship with Jesus, and why I chose to follow Him. It reminded me of how close God is to me, and who He is. Right now I wish I could shed tears like that everyday. However, even if I can't, it does not mean I can not remember this feeling and this lesson. I will for a long time. That Jesus paid for me, and that He is always with me.

I'm putting up the song I was listening to when I began crying. Listen to the words. And remember what you are forgiven for. What it was like that first time you really experienced Jesus' forgiveness. Remember what it was like to shed tears of Joy because of what Jesus did for you. Now I leave with a question. When was the last time you felt so moved by Jesus Christ that you cried?

Tears

God can inspire so much emotion.
My soul can't help but be put into motion.
Knowing that He gets rid of my fears,
I shed a great number of tears.
I shed these tears because of great a Joy,
That my God chooses to Love and not to destroy.
I cry because while in pain, He gives me Hope.
As if I were in a hole and He threw down a rope.
I do not cry because of pains and fears.
God's Love and Joy are the reasons for my tears.

Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen

Christmas

Christmas. When you read that word just now, what was the first thing that came to mind? If it wasn't anything to do with God, then something needs to change. Christmas is not presents, trees, lights, food, or a shopping spree. It's the day we choose to celebrate birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. The story of the birth of Jesus Christ is found in Luke 2:1-20,

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

That is the story of Christmas. But why is it so important? It's because of what He would soon do. He would die to save us all from out sins. John 3:16-17 says,

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

That is why we celebrate the day of Jesus Christ's birth. Because He came down, lived on earth, and then He died on a cross to save us all from our sins. Stop! Take a long moment to think about all the sins you have committed in the past year. You died every time you sinned. And every time He forgave you for it, and saved you from an eternal death. And by doing so, He gave you a one way trip to Heaven. Heaven, an eternity in the greatest world ever made with the God who made you and loves you beyond any comprehension. Those presents and lights look meaningless now don't they? They should. Because we have been given a gift that will last for all eternity.

I say this to everyone, rich or poor right now. Whether you have presents for Christmas, or nothing. Whether you have a great big family, or a small broken family. Be content with what you have.
Jesus the Son of God came down not in a great castle, or the best temple. No, Jesus came down in a stable, and slept in a manger with no one admiring him but poor shepherds. The Son of GOD, came down with nothing as a baby. So, the Son of the God who made the entire universe and beyond came into the world with nothing, lived among sinners, and then died on the cross to save us, who are constantly ungrateful. Even on the day celebrating His birth when we ask for more and more and more stuff that, guess what, is going to rot and rust and whither away. If you haven't already realized it, then I will say it. All material things do not matter! Hebrews 13:5 says,

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

The thing we have that the verse is talking about is not the material items we own. It's the gift God gave us. Salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. Nothing else matters if you have that. Because that tree, those lights, and all those gifts won't mean anything when you're dead. But the gift God gave us goes on for an eternity after our death, in fact, it's the greatest part of it. He GAVE you Life! What else do you need? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!

This is what Christmas is truly about. The birth of the Savior who gave us the greatest gift anyone could ever receive. So, tonight, I ask that you pray to God for forgiveness for your sins, and Thank Him for all you have, most of all, what He did for you. On Christmas Day, before you get up, take a long moment, and think about what it means that you are forgiven for your sins. And thank God for every time He has ever forgiven you. Because without that forgiveness, you would be dead, but because you have it, you are now saved. And one day, you will begin an eternity with Him in Heaven. So thank Him. Thank Jesus Christ for giving you the greatest gift that could ever be given.

Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
Merry Christmas

Tunnel By: Third Day

This is the best song for anyone who is currently going through something right now. I urge you to listen to it, as it will give you hope. It has for me.

Losing Loved Ones

I know that this is something that so many people have to deal with in life. Myself included. In fact, I got the idea for this post when I was thinking about my grandfather who died 3 years ago. I started thinking about a lot of different things. I looked to the Bible, received quite a few answers, and had to ask myself a number of questions. As a result of this, this post is half Scripture and half experience. This post will talk about what the Bible says to do when you lose someone, about when you lose someone you love who didn't know Christ, about what to do concerning the person you love who does not know Christ, and how to move on.

The Old Testament tells of a time of mourning that God gave to the people. Deuteronomy 34:8 says,

The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

God gave His people a period of time to cry over the death of a loved one. Now do not think this means we are only to cry for the 30 days after the death. That is not the case. The 30 days are for crying over the loss of the person, not because we miss them. Remembering a person we love and crying for them because we miss them is in no way wrong. However, if you dwell on the death of the person, you are not doing as God wishes. Dwelling on the death of a loved one brings nothing good. We owe it to God and to the person we lost to get over their death, and move on with our lives. It is good to remember the person. I still remember things about my grandfather every so often, and sometimes I still cry. But, I would not change anything. Not even to gain more time with him. It was his time to go and I accepted that. It was hard to do. My grandfather and I had a special bond. We were very alike, and as I grow, I find myself growing into the same person he was. So it was definitely hard to accept that he was gone. But I did nonetheless. And so can you.

Now, for you Christians who lost a loved one who did not know Christ; I have something to tell you. Do not blame yourself. It is not your fault. Even if you did not go up to them and tell them about Christ. If they knew you were a Christian, they could have come up to you and asked you about Him. However, that is not an excuse to not go up to them and tell them who Jesus is. But if they refuse to listen, end your pursuit there. James 2:1-4 and Matthew 10:14 say,

My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

"If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town."

Let me explain these verses. The person with fine clothes is the person you want to go to heaven very badly because you love them. Like a parent, a sibling, a close friend, etc. The poor man is the stranger who you do not know, but who God is most likely wanting you to talk to instead. We cannot show favoritism among non-believers who we are suppose to talk about God with. If someone does not listen and flat out rejects what you have to say, shake the dust from your feet and move on. However, keep loving and praying for the person, that they may come to Jesus Christ one day.
Now, for those of you who have lost a person who did not know Christ as their Savior, again it is not your fault. Whether you talked to them about Jesus or not. I can't answer the question of why they did not come to know Jesus Christ before they died. I can't. I currently do not know whether or not my grandfather had accepted Jesus into his heart before he died or not. I like to think he did, but if he did not. Honestly I do not like to think about that. But, if he did not, then I have to remember that it was his choice, and I can't change that. Not me, or anyone else. It's another thing, that must be accepted along with the death of the person.

We cannot understand why the people we love have to die, knowing or not knowing what Jesus did for them. His plans and His love are beyond our knowledge. Romans 11:34 and Ephesians 3:19 say,

"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"

To know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

God's love and mind surpass our knowledge. Therefore, we cannot understand why things happen the way they happen. This is why we find ourselves angry at God and yelling at Him. Because He took the person we loved away from us, and gave us no reason for it.
I warn you that what I'm about to say might anger you, but it is true. When we yell at God for taking away someone we love, it is the same as when we are a 2 or 3 year old and our parents take away our blanket or bottle and we cry and yell at them because we do not know why they are taking away the things we are used to. They do it so that we might grow and mature. If a child is kept on the bottle too long, then they could end up with bad teeth when they are older. It is done to help the child grow up properly. It is done to help them later on in life. Jeremiah 29:11 says,

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

If you lost someone recently, you're probably angry at me and think I am an idiot right now. If you lost someone a while ago like me, you most likely understand what I mean. When we lose someone, it affects us and our relationship with God.
When my grandfather died, I was not on the right path. But his death helped begin pushing me into a greater period of my life. It helped me grow in my faith in the long run. It led to starting this blog, and put me on the path I'm on now to entering into Theology. Even if you do not know the reason now, one day you will.

If you have lost someone and you still miss that person right now, do not think it is wrong to be yelling at God, or crying with God. God is our Father who loves us greatly, and who wants a relationship with us. He loves you and will always be with you. Luke 17:21 says,

"Nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."

God's kingdom is in you, and he resides in you. God is always with you. God can bring you Joy in facing the death of a loved one, and He can help you persevere through it if you ask Him to. James 1:2-3, and Mark 11:24 and James 1:6 say,

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

Ask God, with no doubt within you mind and heart, to give you Joy, in knowing that when all is said and done you will not have anymore pain, and to give you perseverance in this hard time; and He will gladly give it to you. And not only that, but He will make you stronger in the face of future trials in life. I tell you now that nothing is impossible with God. Matthew 19:26 says,

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Getting through the pain of losing a loved one is far from impossible with God. That is a fact I have experienced myself. You will get through it.

Everyone has had the experience of losing a loved one at one point in their life. But the day where we will not have to experience the pain of loss is at hand. Revelation 21:4 says,

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the older order of things has passed away."

So look forward to that day. But until that day, remember that God is always with you, and loves you. That everything happens for a reason, to help you grow along your journey to be with Him in Heaven. Remember not to dwell on the loss, but do remember the person and everything that you loved them for. Pray for those whom you want to experience Jesus Christ, and love them as much as you possibly can. Know that you are not the only one who loses loved ones, and their are people who know what you are going through, and that will help you through this. Have Joy in God's love and know that one day, one day! you will not have to experience pain any more for the rest of eternity! Because God will take away all the pain! Because He Loves You! Never forget that!

Footprints

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he
was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For
each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in
the sand; one belonged to him, and the other to
the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before
him, he looked back at the footprints in the
sand. He noticed that many times along the
path of his life there was only one set of foot-
prints. He also noticed that it happened at the
very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the
Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I
decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all
the way. But I have noticed that during the
most troublesome times in my life, there is only
one set of footprints. I don't understand why
when I needed you the most you would leave me."

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious
child, I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering, when
you see only one set of footprints, it was then
that I carried you."

Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen