ReFlEcTiOn :-)

Hey everyone!

As I had said before, Izzy made a suggestion about making this an all purpose blog where i reflect when i can and talk about a variety of topics and since i'm on break this week (whoo hoo!), i thought perfect timing. i've been dealing with the usual load. some times are easier than others, but  i got this verse today from a friend that said:

"The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;"

I thought to myself, wow! God must know i have a lot on my mind (well, obviously), but more than that, it means that He cares enough to send an encouraging word while i'm at a low. so, if you're dealing with a bunch of obstacles right now, remember that God will deliver you and you will make it through the storm. just make sure you anchor yourself so that you're strong enough to weather it :-)

March 28, 2012

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

How many of us do dishonorable things with our bodies? Do you mistreat it, neglect it maybe? What about ways in which you cherish your body? Do you treat it like the temple of God that it is?

In today’s society, it’s easy to think that our bodies are our own especially since independence is highly valued in our culture. But as Christians, we are no longer our own. God paid a price, He paid cash for us! So, we don’t belong to ourselves anymore, we belong to Him. Therefore, we must honor Him in everything we do! In what ways have you honored Him with your body today? Can’t count any?? Well, let’s get started :-)

March 27, 2012

Romans 8:29-30

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

Many people don’t truly get the meaning of this verse, and thus, it is the subject of much controversy in the church. Some people use this to say God has favoritism or that He picks and chooses people that He wants so you can never know whether you have a chance at salvation or not. If you’re not picked, you’re just not picked…But take a look at what the scripture is really saying. It’s not saying that God picks and chooses people. In fact, the Bible says that God desires for everyone to be saved. However, He gives us free will and is well aware that not everyone will make that choice. But for those He knew would (in His omniscience), He has a plan! A plan for you to prosper in this life as He uses you to accomplish His will. Not only will you be justified in this life, but you will be glorified in the next. And if God glorifies and justifies you, no one can take that away ;-)   

March 26, 2012

Philippians 3:14

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Don’t give up!!! You can’t get a prize if you do. Sometimes, we let the little things affect us so much that we lose sight of the big picture. We are all striving to achieve a goal, not a physical one, material one, academic one, career one, NO. We are striving for a spiritual goal because we want to get the prize that God has for us. If we want to get that prize, we must press on as Paul did and not let the little things get in the way. If we lose focus, we may lose sight of the goal which is to our detriment because the biggest prize we could ever receive, we can only get from Jesus Christ. Align your priorities today and make it your goal to win the prize. It’s waiting for you, don’t just let it sit there! :-)

March 25, 2012

Philippians 4:13

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

When something is hard for you to do or seems impossible, it’s easy to say, I GIVE UP! None of us like to think of ourselves as failures, so it makes it hard to persevere and try, try, try again if we think we won’t be successful at something. But how about leaving it in God’s hands?

Many times we fail at doing certain things, not because we’re just dumb people who will never get it, but because we can’t do it alone and we don’t realize we can’t do it alone. If we would just put it in God’s hands and trust Him to handle it, many of our problems could be avoided. Don’t be the one who struggles all the way to the end just to realize that you should’ve asked for help. You can ask Him for His help today. He’ll be faithful to help you and show you that in your weakness, He is made strong :-)

March 24, 2012

Psalm 34:1

“I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth”

How often do you bless the Lord with what comes out of your mouth? Are you continually blessing the Lord with everything you say? If so, congrats!! Keep doing that! Are you occasionally blessing the Lord but then slipping up at times? Not to worry, keep working on it. God loves to see us doing our best to please Him. Hopefully none of us fall into the category of those who are continually uttering, enabling, or encouraging vulgar, distasteful words that are unpleasing to God…If so, that’s a big no-no!

It’s easy to pollute ourselves with all the sin that’s in the world. Words mean nothing nowadays. People just say what they want and think it’s okay because it’s their mouth, their life, and they can do and say what they want. However, this is not true for the Christian. You are no longer your own. Your mouth represents Christ now. As Christians, we may slip up, but it’s imperative that we watch what we say to ensure that it is edifying to others and pleasing to the Lord. In doing so, not only will we be glorifying the name of our God, but we’ll be attracting others to Him as well :-)

March 23, 2012

Luke 17:11-19

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.””

Do we notice a recurring theme? O_o You all may not remember, but in a previous devotion, Jesus told a parable in which once again, the good guy was a Samaritan. Any idea why? Well, here’s a possibility based on a few things Jesus said Himself: You ever notice that people from the outside always appreciate and are more grateful than people on the inside? You might think that’s beside the point of this scripture, but hmmm, I’d think again. The main takeaway of this is that we shouldn’t be ungrateful to God for His works and that also faith is a key component to our salvation. Notice: your faith has made you well. Why would Jesus say this? If taken from a logical standpoint, here’s a possibility: Jesus heals 10 lepers. Only 1 returns to say thanks. This indicates that he was probably the only one that believed in Jesus’ ability to do it, so much so that he had to come back and say thanks once he was healed! This is a good example of how a Christian reaction should be. The others on the other hand, probably just believed in their own might or saw Jesus as a person to be used, meaning that Jesus meant nothing to them…Are you that type of person? Are you the one that remembers to thank God for His many blessings? Or are you the user that comes when you want something and when you get it, tend to believe it’s all you? Each man should answer for himself, but just make sure you’re on the right side :-)

March 22, 2012

Philippians 4:19

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

In today’s world, most people find themselves, well…. broke :/ Luckily for us, we have a heavenly father that is watching over us all day and all night. Not only is He providing a watchful eye and protection, but He also knows that as humans we have needs; and He promises to fulfill those needs for us At times, we may think that God is oblivious to our situations…that He is not listening, He doesn’t care, or that He is not doing what He promised He would. But if you have food to eat, clothes to wear, and most of all salvation, what else do you need? We may have wants that are extraneous to these things, but what is essential remains: God always takes good care of His children in whichever way He sees fit. So, trust Him and rest in the fact that, all that you need, you already have it ;-)

March 21, 2012

Luke 10:29b-37

“"And just how would you define 'neighbor'?"

 Jesus answered by telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I'll pay you on my way back.'

What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?"

"The one who treated him kindly," the religion scholar responded.

Jesus said, "Go and do the same.""

How many of us love our neighbors as ourselves? Can we truly say that we would help someone in need or would we be one of the “Christians” who just walked by? In this story, a man attacked by robbers needed help, two major religious figures of his same nationality passed by and left him there for dead. Only one person stopped for him, and what’s funny is that Jews typically hated Samaritans and thought of them as unclean, impure and what not. Yet, at this time, the Samaritan is the one that took care of him and provided him with the help he needed. Are you a good Samaritan? Or are you one of the people who pretend to be all into the Lord, but don’t even care about the person beside you? If so, pray to make that change because Jesus wants us to go and do the same. With His help, you too can be a good Samaritan :-)

March 20, 2012

Matthew 20:1-16

“God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, 'Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?' They said, 'Because no one hired us.' He told them to go to work in his vineyard.

When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, 'Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.' Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, 'These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.'He replied to the one speaking for the rest, 'Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?'

Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."

And this is why Jesus is my right hand man:D lol. Here He tells a parable of basically and employer who pays the same wages to those who start working early in the morning to those who started later on at night. So, of course these men get upset because they think it’s unfair, but is it really? If you agreed to receive a certain wage at the end of the day and someone decides to extend that same wage to someone else, who are you to get angry? It’s not your money and, in the words of my father, it’s none of your business! Lol.

God extends His grace to whom He wills, when He wills. Don’t get upset at God for His generosity. Also, don’t get upset at those who are more generous than you. If there’s one thing I notice time and time again, it’s that people get upset at other people for extending a courtesy that they themselves could not bring themselves to do. You are your own person and so are they. Same goes for Jesus in this case. So, don’t get upset at Jesus for accepting the laborers at any time of the day. It’s probably through this courtesy that you or your family got extended the grace to enter the kingdom of God. Now, aren’t you glad He pays the same rate? :-)