It Takes Courage to Trust

 Trust takes Courage 

When you feel discouraged, how do you get out of the dumps?

God doesn't leave us to figure out life on our own.  He calls us his children!  He calls himself the loving shepherd.  

John 10:15; 27-28 tells us that Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd, I know my own and my own know me...my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Our Hope is in the Lord.

Lately, when I turn on the news, there are political upheaval and very upsetting events being shown around the world.  This is upsetting.  But when we remember that Jesus is Lord, it can bring our upset into perspective.  We can be our best version of ourselves when we know that everything, we do will bring glory to our God, if we are walking in his way.  

In John 20:28, Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" regarding Jesus.  Paul said that the gospel was simply this:  "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9.

Trusting is Best

The bible tells us that Jesus has the authority to reconcile all things to himself.  When Jesus died, he "disarmed the rulers and authorities, and put them to open shame, triumphing over them through his death and resurrection." Colossians 1:15. This helps me to trust God more!  Jesus has already defeated the powers of our enemies!  

Change for Good

  Do you want to change your world for good?  Change yourself for God!

But how, you ask? I know that in the morning, I start out wanting to be good, obedient, strong, and faithful. But as the day goes on, I get lazy, tired, and distracted.

My friends at Convention in 2016

How to stay to my goal of obedience? How to change and walk the straight and narrow for good?

I just read a story about a girl who decided to do some tough things, and it changed her whole life.  The story of Ruth in the Bible helped me realize that I can be a part of something much bigger and better than myself, like Ruth.

She was a humble servant of God, and she chose to obey and serve, rather than take the easy way out.

She said to her mother-in-law in Ruth 3:5, “All that you say to me, I will do.”  Naomi was telling her to do some pretty strange things, like lay at a stranger's feet at night and put his coat over her. Ruth was strong, and she courageously did as she was asked.

My best friends pose as I snap a photo for Competion
Ruth, Boaz, and Baby Obed

And Ruth was used by God to be the grandmother of the King of Israel!

Like Ruth, we can change the world by being selfless workers for the Lord.  

Jesus told us in John 12 verse 26, “If anyone serves Me, let him follow me, where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, My Father will honor him.” 

In our activities this year, my youth group set a goal to serve others while we had fun together.  We did things like make a garden for the Alzheimer's Unit in our local nursing home, serve children at Christmastime in Toys for Tots, and have a special dinner for the elders at our church. 

The girls at L2L Meeting practicing speech

Through serving, we learned how God can use us for His good, and actually changed a few people’s worlds for the better?

What can you do to change your world for Jesus?

Strong and Courageous: Remembering the Ones Who Gave All

Today we remember the strong and courageous men who fought for our country and died 

 I always go to the cemetery to honor my grandfather on Memorial Day.  He was in the Air Force. He did not die in a war, but in a hospital two years ago, of Sepsis.  He was strong and courageous, and I love him. 

Sometimes my whole family goes to honor him, but this year I went alone to place a flag on his grave.  

I stayed for a while, thinking about the good times I was blessed to have with him.  

One of our family traditions, when Pop Pop was with us, was to attend our town's Memorial Day Parade together. We went ever since I can remember, waving our flags and having a great time catching the candy the parade participants threw.

 My dad and I would wake up early that Monday morning and drive the truck to our usual spot across from the Post Office, which would offer the perfect amount of shade when the parade occurred later that day.  

We would set up folding chairs, a blanket for the ground, and an ice cooler full of bottled water for the family who would join us in a few hours.  

According to the United States Library of Congress website, 

"In 1864, Southern women decorated the graves of soldiers even before the Civil War’s end."   

This holiday is now called "Memorial Day."  

Longfellow wrote a famous poem about the day.   Here are the words...

Decoration Day

Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest
On this Field of the Grounded Arms,
Where foes no more molest,
Nor sentry’s shot alarms!

Ye have slept on the ground before,
And started to your feet
At the cannon’s sudden roar,
Or the drum’s redoubling beat.

But in this camp of Death
No sound your slumber breaks;
Here is no fevered breath,
No wound that bleeds and aches.

All is repose and peace,
Untrampled lies the sod;
The shouts of battle cease,
It is the Truce of God!

Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!
The thoughts of men shall be
As sentinels to keep
Your rest from danger-free.

Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Too Noble for a Priesthood?

 Have you ever thought about what it would be like

 to sit down in Heaven on the side of God?  

What kind of seat would that be?  Would it be plush, comfortable, and overcoated with gold?  How big would it be?  Would there be large rests for the weary arms?  What color would that seat be?   Hebrews 10:13 says that Jesus Christ is sitting there in a chair right now, waiting until the time when our enemies are made his footstool.  

Would we feel comfortable standing before this chair?  Would we even stand, or would we kneel?   I love reading the book of Hebrews.  Studying the text makes me wonder, why is it important that we know that Jesus sits there in that most Holy of places?  

The answer lies in the L2L theme for 2021, "Better Than."  

Source:  The Children's Bible Illustrate

The Hebrew scriptures encourage me to keep on trying, no matter how badly I fail.  It also, and more importantly,  proves to me that Jesus was too noble for the priesthood of Israel. He was BETTER THAN any of the most noble, honest, good, and/or sincere priests that ever walked this earth.

Source:  Ryrie Illustrated Bible

 I love being a leader in the youth group of our church.  But there are so many guys that are better equipped, better in motive, better in leadership, etc., etc., etc. than I am.  And I am so flawed...    

One thing I do know, though, is that there was not, is not, and never will be anyone BETTER THAN the Lord and Savior, Jesus.  He was the perfect lamb.  He was the only Way.  The Bible says in Hebrews that the Israelite priests stood day by day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, and yet these same sacrifices could never take away the sins of man. NEVER!!! 

Source:  Illustrated Theological Writings, Zondervan

I heard a speaker tell the audience that there were NO CHAIRS in the Holiest of Holy area in the Tabernacle.  Think of that; no chairs. 

The High Priests had to go in there, do their work, but they could not sit down.  Why?  Keith English (my youth director) said it was because "their work was never done."  

I think God was kind of sending us an encrypted message when he put that in the Bible.  The preparation for the annual sacrifice was unbelievably time consuming.  And once they entered the sacred place of the Tabernacle, there was no resting.  No breaks.  It must have been tough!  And when it was over, they had to start getting ready for the next time.

In contrast, Jesus now sits beside his Father, God - the creator of this Universe.  That is such a great contrast!  Christ FINISHED his work on the Cross.  That is why he is the perfect answer to our problem... Sin.  He completed the destruction of sin by suffering on the cross, dying, and then rising up on the third day.  And now the Son of God sits... SITS in the holy area of heaven with his Father, the Almighty God.  

The bible teaches that God wanted everyone of us to be in his presence. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" -- II Peter 3:9.  

My Grandma reads the Word to my cousin

 Almighty God is so pure that he cannot be in the presence of imperfection.  Habakkuk 1;13 indicates that he is of "purer eyes than to see evil, and cannot look at wrong." 

 

But we cannot be perfect.  I wish we could.  In order for us to be in God's presence, an intercessor had to be available on the people's behalf not only to take our place, but to stand up for us against the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10 - 13).  

In summary, the solution for transgression in the Old Testament times was a temporary, imperfect sacrifice of a lamb, prepared and given by the Hebrew priests.  It did not last, though.  It only was good for a certain amount of time, and then the grace expired.  But after the crucifixion of Christ and his resurrection, we no longer have to offer sacrifices over and over and over (Hebrews 9:12).  Jesus made the perfect sacrifice, once and for all.  

Isn't that BETTER?  I sure think so.  

744 words 

Why Freedom Matters

Source:  Abeka History for High School

Lately, many of my peers are talking about socialism, and seems to be the "Cool" thing to be a 'Progressive.'  There are many who rebel against the founding fathers of our country, and what they had in mind for our nation.  January 6th was a scary display of horror to many.  There are lies and truth floating all around, but it is difficult to discern which is which.  Today, our country celebrates the life of a great citizen in the history of our great nation.  

This man supported civil rights when it was not so popular to do so.  Martin Luther King, Jr. believed in equal rights for the civilians of the USA.  He died because of his public proclamation of his noble beliefs.  I am home educated, and this week we are studying the life of this martyr.  

Source:  Conterfactual in the USA, by A. Meclellan

     

Civil Rights is a buzz word from this time in the 1960's.  It was an unbelievable time when blacks were treated unfairly and like they were inferior as human beings.  It is hard for me to even grasp the way they were treated. 

Source:  The Kennedy Family by Kurt Amig

Discrimination used to be big in this country because we had slavery, and the poor black people got ripped from their homes in Africa to come here and work in this country.  People said blacks were 3/5ths human.  That angers me.  I have many black friends.  I hope that if I were living back in that time, I would help them escape from slavery. 

Source:  TimeMagazine.com

  Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her bus seat to a white man in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama.  Martin Luther King, Jr. led peaceful protests, and gave a speech that helped to make him famous.  President John F. Kennedy made discrimination against black people illegal in 1963.    But we still have discrimination in our country.  I see discrimination all the time in my life.  In Soccer, the Captains pick the best players first.  The worst players are left to be picked last.  Usually, the worst soccer players get put in a place where they barely play at all.  Lots of places discriminate against people because they are different, even though it is illegal.  Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 5:48).  If we did this all the time, we wouldn't need laws for Civil Rights!

      Another place I see discrimination is in business.  Just because a person is a little bit different, he doesn’t get raises or move up in the business.  I am talking about someone’s accent, or their looks, or their clothes.  These things should not be used to judge if they get a raise. 

Source:  A Year without a Home

     At my Summer Camp this past summer, there was a kid who was very different from the others.  He had Autism.  The other kids said, “I don’t want to hang with him, he’s gross and he is always in trouble.”  But I tried to be nice to him.  I tried my hardest to be a good friend to him.  It was pretty hard, because he was really eccentric.  Some of my friends put pressure on me to NOT spend time with the him.  I had a lot of talks with the Counselors, and with my parents about all this.  In the end, he got sent away from the Camp because of his behavior, and had to go to a special school in another town.  I felt really bad about that because I did not get to say goodbye to him. Plus, I am not really sure he understood what he did wrong.

Source: Kids fromPanama Medical Missions, a Mission
Trip my Mom took in 2018

 In conclusion, Civil Rights are rights that prevent discrimination, but not they are not always practiced, even though it is the law.  People are not treated equally all the time. I will admit, sadly, that I am not even great at treating people equally.   Sometimes certain people "get to me," and I don’t want to be around them.   I don’t want to give them a second chance.  I get mad at them more easily than certain other people.  John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. both were assassinated for trying to end discrimination.  And our own President Trump was given a hard time for standing up for unborn babies, Christians, and other people.  So you can see that we still need improve on treating people equally in this country. 

Submitted to the co-op for History Class, Week 2 of Semester 2, 10th grade 
      


 

Being a Servant: Keep on singing those hymns

How Great THOU Art...  

Have you ever had a song get stuck in your head? 

 

This one got stuck in my brain today:

"Oh Lord my God, 

I in awesome wonder consider all the Worlds THY hands have made"

"I see the stars... I hear the rolling thunder ... 

THY power throughout the universe displayed..."

       Then sings my soul, my Savior God to THEE, How Great THOU Art, How Great THOU Art... "

I talked to a small group of Christians  on Wednesday during the Devo service at our church building, and when I stood up in front of the group, this hymn kept playing in my mind.  I think it was because I have been thinking about how important it is that we can be together as a group of believers, and so many of my other friends cannot. 

We had a thunder storm last night, and while it was storming, I kept thinking of the words... "I hear the rolling thunder..."   

God's power is displayed all through the world in so many ways.  He is GREAT.  In our School (Home School Co-op), we sing a hymn every time we gather.  I try to keep time with my hand, practicing so that I will be comfortable leading songs in worship.  We sing many hymns, &  I like the old Hymns.  But this one is one of my very favorites.  

Especially the last verse... "that God, His Son not sparing."  

God did not spare his son of the pain, but what about the Father?  Think about that.  God hurt, too, when His Son died on the cross.  My Dad says the separation hurt the most, more than seeing Jesus get hit or whipped or die, the fact that God and Jesus were NEVER really apart before hurt God the most.  I never thought of that before! Have you?  Drop a comment in the box below and let me know your thoughts.  And keep on singing those hymns!

Ruffle People's Feathers... for Jesus

Why is talking about our Faith

so hard to do sometimes?

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We may easily talk about the latest TV show, video game, or console, but when the topic of God surfaces with my friends, they tend to clam up.  So do I.

I don’t want to appear pushy!  

 

 

 

You know, some of my friends have ridiculed me for my beliefs, calling me "extreme. "

I know people worry about sounding "Politically Incorrect  ...” or narrow-minded. 

It is natural to not want to ruffle people’s feathers!

 

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But I heard a guy recently who explained it this way:

Suppose that after much research, you found a cure for cancer.  You were certain that this cure would save many lives.  Wouldn’t you tell everyone you knew about it?  Talking about the cure would possibly become your mission and Passion in life!

There is a man who has recently become my friend.  His name is Joseph Benjamin Gootham, and our church supports his work in India.  He is the minister at the Church of Christ in Andrah Pradesh, India.  Look him up, write to him!  I DID!  He will write you back

 

 

He is on Facebook.  And he is a soul winner!! 

 

 

That's what I want to be, too. 

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Joy, Peace, Hope, Meaningful Life...

  This is what sharing the Gospel is like…

because a life APART from God is a DIRE way to live. 

We KNOW the key to eternal Life with God!!! 

We must spread the word around!!! 

Some will accept it.  Some won’t.  We CANNOT keep it to ourselves! 

I have another friend, a guy just a bit older than I am... his name is  Abe Howell.  ABE  and Ms. Gove worked  with orphans in Kenya. 

 

 

They LOVE serving God in this way.

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The word “GOSPEL” signifies the  good, merry, glad, and joyful tidings that make a soul  sing, celebrate, and leap for joy!  Jesus told his disciples in Mark 16:15 to “Go into the entire world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

 

Do you know my friend…  Wissam? 

He is IN the world Preaching Jesus!  I met him the first Sunday that we came to PA, 6 years ago.  He was on fire for Christ then, and he still is.  He has visited in our home, eaten at our Dinner Table, played Nerf gun Battles with me, and prayed with my family. 

Wissam and I
Shooting Nerf Darts at a Bull's Eye we drew on the Window
(I was seven years old in this photo)

Wissam is my Mentor. I write to him regularly.  I pray for him every day.  Mark 16:15 is his LIFE, converting many Muslims to Christ.  It is kind of a dangerous work, please pray for him.

 

Jesus’s command to Go and Preach is for US, too! 

 Those who accept the gospel will thank you on that final,  last day when we are taken to be with God forever!

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Have you accepted the Gospel?  Have you been baptized for the remission of your sins?  Do you have any need that the church is able to meet?

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We are here for you, ready to help, ready to teach, and waiting!   Please respond to this post in the comments below, and I will help you.  You will never regret that choice!