Okay, so if y'all can remember, on Valentines Day I did an article on love. Well, the next Monday I was going to do one on what love is, and then I forgot and then I got busy and now I am FINALLY writing my article on what love is. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Didn't you JUST do an article on what love is just a couple months ago?" Well, yes, but this one is a little bit different.
Okay, so we have all heard 1 Corinthians 13 over and over and over again, talking about how we should love each other and all that good stuff. Well, since I'm sure you are already familiar with that passage, I won't really go into that except to list all the things that go in with love which are patience, kindness, not being envious, not boasting, not arrogant or rude, doesn't insist on its own way, doesn't rejoice in wrong doing, rejoices in truth, bears all, hopes all, and believes all things, and never goes away. Okay, so now that we've got that out of the way, let's move on.
Everyone has enemies. Everyone. Maybe it's someone who hurt you, or maybe who you hurt and they won't forgive you. Maybe that person has no reason for disliking you, but they do anyway. Maybe you've got one of each! Now, I'm sure you've heard Matthew 5:44 which says, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Which, basically we take to mean to just not be mean to those who don't like us, or just to not hate them. Well, when it says to love your enemies, that is the same word that is defined in 1 Corinthians. That means that we need to be patient with our enemies, and we need to be kind to our enemies, we don't need to envy them, or brag to them. We shouldn't be arrogant or rude towards them. We shouldn't insist on our own way, or be glad when something bad happens to them or when they do something bad. And the same thing when it says you need to love your neighbor, and any other time you find the word "love" in the Bible.
So next time you're reading your Bible and come across the word "love", I would like to encourage you to think about what that means. Also, when you come across that person who really makes you want to punch them in the face every time they speak to you, think about what love really is, and think that that is the same love that you have to apply to that person. Even though it's hard, if you have a good attitude towards that person, then when you walk away you'll walk away feeling much better than that person who was rude to you. :)
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Friday, February 14, 2014
Love
Instead of doing my article on Thursday, I decided to wait until Friday to do my article because I thought, "What better day to write an article on love than on Valentines Day?" (also, I forgot.) Most people think that love means a guy and a girl hold hands and tell each other mushy, lovey-dovey things to each other all the time and do nothing but obsess over each-other. Yeah, that's one kind of love, but just because you don't have a boyfriend, that does not mean that you cannot love someone.
What?? Huh? I can love someone who is NOT my boyfriend?!?! I know. It sounds CRAZY. Just hear me out. There are MANY different kinds of love. There's boyfriend & girlfriend love, friendship love, brotherly love, etc. We are told to love everyone in Mark 12:31. That is what I will be talking about today.
There are about 7 billion people in the world, and we only get the opportunity to meet a few of them. Why don't we try loving that small percentage of people that we see? I mean, what better way then letting our Christian lights shine than showing everyone the love of the Lord? It can be easy to dislike someone, especially if they don't like you. But today, I would like to encourage y'all to be nice even to those people! Who knows, they could be going through a hard time right now, and you could be the person to make their day brighter. Isn't that a wonderful thought?
The ones we love don't have to be people who love us back, or someone who we're dating. We can love everyone! Today, I would like to encourage you guys to share that love with everyone you see. :)
What?? Huh? I can love someone who is NOT my boyfriend?!?! I know. It sounds CRAZY. Just hear me out. There are MANY different kinds of love. There's boyfriend & girlfriend love, friendship love, brotherly love, etc. We are told to love everyone in Mark 12:31. That is what I will be talking about today.
There are about 7 billion people in the world, and we only get the opportunity to meet a few of them. Why don't we try loving that small percentage of people that we see? I mean, what better way then letting our Christian lights shine than showing everyone the love of the Lord? It can be easy to dislike someone, especially if they don't like you. But today, I would like to encourage y'all to be nice even to those people! Who knows, they could be going through a hard time right now, and you could be the person to make their day brighter. Isn't that a wonderful thought?
The ones we love don't have to be people who love us back, or someone who we're dating. We can love everyone! Today, I would like to encourage you guys to share that love with everyone you see. :)
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Why We Follow the Bible
A lot of people think that when we follow the Bible, that automatically means that our lives will become instantly better. Now that is true, but it's also not true. Let me explain what I mean.
Say you're really bad at bowling, and you need those gutter protector things that keep your bowling ball from going into the gutters. Are you 100% going to get a strike every time even with those? Probably not. But are you going to hit a gutter ball? Nope! That's what the Bible does. As long as we follow the Bible, then we won't have a lot of the problems that we would have if we didn't follow the Bible. The laws we were given are there not only to please God, but also to protect us from the things of this world.
I would like to challenge you to pick a commandment, any commandment, and find a way that it doesn't help Christians in their daily lives in some way. We have modesty so that men don't have to worry about lust so much. We have being kind to others no matter what so that we don't create enemies with others, etc. If we follow the Bible to the letter, than a lot of the problems that the world has won't even sort of be problems we have. Now, this doesn't mean that our life will be problem free, but we will have far fewer problems than we would have if we didn't follow the Bible.
This week I would like to encourage you all to remember that the Bible isn't there to keep us from having fun, but it's there to help us to keep out of trouble, and avoid a lot of problems that we would have if we didn't follow the Bible.
Say you're really bad at bowling, and you need those gutter protector things that keep your bowling ball from going into the gutters. Are you 100% going to get a strike every time even with those? Probably not. But are you going to hit a gutter ball? Nope! That's what the Bible does. As long as we follow the Bible, then we won't have a lot of the problems that we would have if we didn't follow the Bible. The laws we were given are there not only to please God, but also to protect us from the things of this world.
I would like to challenge you to pick a commandment, any commandment, and find a way that it doesn't help Christians in their daily lives in some way. We have modesty so that men don't have to worry about lust so much. We have being kind to others no matter what so that we don't create enemies with others, etc. If we follow the Bible to the letter, than a lot of the problems that the world has won't even sort of be problems we have. Now, this doesn't mean that our life will be problem free, but we will have far fewer problems than we would have if we didn't follow the Bible.
This week I would like to encourage you all to remember that the Bible isn't there to keep us from having fun, but it's there to help us to keep out of trouble, and avoid a lot of problems that we would have if we didn't follow the Bible.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
How Much do we Study?
Alright, so I know a lot of you guys are in school, studying for tests and quizzes and what not (I actually need to be studying for one right now) but how often do we actually pick up a Bible and study it like we're about to take a test on it? It can be easy to fall into the habit of neglecting studying your Bible, or even just plain reading it (there's a big difference, but they're both very important) But which is more important, tomorrow's grade, or eternity in heaven? I'm not saying that you shouldn't study for tests. We should always try our best. But we should also remember that the Bible is something we need to study as well.
We should always be studying, or thinking about the Bible. Now, I'm not saying that our days should be 100% study, 0% anything else. We should eat and do school and even have fun! But We are made up of the things that we spend our time with. The more we study the Bible, the more we will live it (well, most of the time.) So today, I would like to encourage you with this short article to read your Bible more, and study more. It's really hard sometimes, but trust me, it's always worth it. :)
We should always be studying, or thinking about the Bible. Now, I'm not saying that our days should be 100% study, 0% anything else. We should eat and do school and even have fun! But We are made up of the things that we spend our time with. The more we study the Bible, the more we will live it (well, most of the time.) So today, I would like to encourage you with this short article to read your Bible more, and study more. It's really hard sometimes, but trust me, it's always worth it. :)
Monday, February 3, 2014
Reaching Out
Okay, so we are told loud and clear in Romans 12:2 to not be a part of this world. This is true. But what about after we've made sure we're not sinning? I mean, the Bible gives us quite a bit of room to do a lot of things. We don't have to stay in doors 24/7 and refuse to have friends or go onto the internet or anything. How are we supposed to evangelize if we can't connect with the ones around us if we do that?
A lot of people take Romans 12:2 to mean that we have to live our own life style that in no way resembles anyone else's in the world's. Now, don't get me wrong. There should be a clear distinction between Christians and non Christians. When I say that it's okay to have things in common with the world, I don't mean things that the Bible speaks about. Please remember that during this article. 1 Corinthians 9:20-22 says, "(20)To the Jews, I became a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. (21) To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God, but under the law of Christ) so that I might win those outside the law. (22) To the weak, I became weak, that I might with the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." What Paul is saying here is that, if you're going to go to a group of people to try and convert them, then you're going to have to adopt some of their culture.
We live in a day with Facebook and texting and Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest, and tv and tumblr, and Vine and YouTube,... must I go on? If you're going into, say, a public school and you want to convert your friends, do you think they'd feel more comfortable if you completely alienated yourself from them, or if you acted just like them in many ways? I think the second one, don't you? So I would like to encourage you not to be hypocritical, or force yourself into situations you don't want to be in, but to realize that it's okay to be part of social media, and popular things of this day and age. You don't have to get a facebook, or a twitter, or any of that. But it's important that, if you're going to win people over, then accepting modern ways can be the first step to showing them that being a Christian isn't what most people assume it is. :)
A lot of people take Romans 12:2 to mean that we have to live our own life style that in no way resembles anyone else's in the world's. Now, don't get me wrong. There should be a clear distinction between Christians and non Christians. When I say that it's okay to have things in common with the world, I don't mean things that the Bible speaks about. Please remember that during this article. 1 Corinthians 9:20-22 says, "(20)To the Jews, I became a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law, I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. (21) To those outside the law, I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God, but under the law of Christ) so that I might win those outside the law. (22) To the weak, I became weak, that I might with the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." What Paul is saying here is that, if you're going to go to a group of people to try and convert them, then you're going to have to adopt some of their culture.
We live in a day with Facebook and texting and Twitter and Instagram and Pinterest, and tv and tumblr, and Vine and YouTube,... must I go on? If you're going into, say, a public school and you want to convert your friends, do you think they'd feel more comfortable if you completely alienated yourself from them, or if you acted just like them in many ways? I think the second one, don't you? So I would like to encourage you not to be hypocritical, or force yourself into situations you don't want to be in, but to realize that it's okay to be part of social media, and popular things of this day and age. You don't have to get a facebook, or a twitter, or any of that. But it's important that, if you're going to win people over, then accepting modern ways can be the first step to showing them that being a Christian isn't what most people assume it is. :)
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