being a servant

Ya know, serving is one of the major parts of relationship that most people tend to forget.  Having a servant for a husband or having a servant for a wife is one of the best possible scenarios that a marriage can become.  Jesus called us to be servants to each other because He came to serve us.  If we want to be like Jesus in our relationships and marriage then we need to serve each other.  Though I may not be in a relationship right now, I can tell you that I am.  Jesus and I are doing great! :) I long to serve Him in everything I do.  I know that I will fail and falter but my faith will never be shaken.  Serving God is one of the best things that I can do in this world.  Wait, THE best thing I can do in this world!!  When others see me I want them to see Jesus.  I am learning to serve those around me the best that I know how and with God's help I will improve.  Jesus also serves me with His best.  It is a great relationship! 

But, for those who are in a relationship or not in one but trying to figure out how to make it work when you are single, SERVE!  That is my answer.  In order to be a Christian that is not just a face value, hold your hand up in the air, HONK-IF-YOU-LOVE-JESUS Christan, you need to act like Jesus, read AND study His word, pray.  These are the basics and necessities for being a servant of God.  When you have these, you will be a GREAT servant to your spouse.  You do not want to be in a relationship where one person is selfish and the other serves all the time, do you?  That is not what Jesus called us to do.  That is just selfish.  He called us to SERVE!!! Trust me, I am learning this like no other.  It is hard to serve those who are ungrateful, but you know what.... Jesus did it all the time without complaining, and did it with more love than you and I could EVER know.  He loves you.  He loves those around you.  So why not be Jesus to those people and serve them.  Then once you get into a relationship, Jesus will be the center and serving will be that much greater of a reward!  I'm ready to serve Jesus to the best of my ability and more... how about you?

how to keep yourself in line with God.... part 6

Obeying God's commandments is also something that you can do to keep yourself close to God.  His commandments may have been written long ago, but trust me they still apply today.  There are so many people out there that think the Bible was written for those people long ago and some things that were written do not apply now.  This is so sad.  Obeying God's commandments are the ultimate way of keeping close to Him.  You not only are to profess that you are a Christian, but you must live it out as well.  Lots of people forget this.  I forget this.  However, if you keep this always on your mind then you will be able to continuously grow close to God.  Read these too.  It is hard to follow these commandments all the time and you will fail at doing so but trying your best and always praying that God gives you that strength to do it aids in your ability to walk with Him as close as you can everyday.

how to keep yourself in line with God.... part 5

Meditating upon Jesus' life and words are one of the greatest strategies to stay close to God.  In other words, BE STILL!!!  Now that I have been on vacation, it is hard for me to get back to the everyday life and learn to be still within those hours.  I fill up my time with nonsense and that's why , right now, I have to force myself to blog.  But, once I get back into the swing of it, it won't be a chore but a blessing to share with all of you.  Reading and listening to what Jesus says in the Bible and focusing on those, will serve you well in this life.  One that I have meditated on for weeks now is that Jesus did come to die for me, but most of all, He came to serve us.  JESUS, OUR SAVIOR, CAME TO SERVE US!!! How amazing is that?! 

Because this section is about meditating on Jesus' life and words, I have to share the last statement with you.  Mark 10:35-45 explains it all.  Read it.  Anyway, Jesus came to this world to serve us.  Ever since I was little I thought I was to serve Him because He was King and because I am supposed to.  I am supposed to serve God because I love Him and want to share who He is with the world.  But, all in all, Jesus came to help us and serve us.  As a result, because we are asked to be like Jesus, we need to serve those around us as well.  That is my challenge for you this week is to start learning to serve those around you even if you don't feel like it.  It will become second nature to you and you will learn to enjoy it.

how to keep yourself in line with God.... part 4

You always hear that "Yeah, I go to church".  But why do you go to church?  Do you go because it's the right thing to do or because you grew up in the church or do you go because you fellowship with other believers?  I tend to go because it's the right thing to do (after all I grew up in a Christian home), but recently I have begun to know why it is important for Christians to attend church.  Fellowshipping is one of the best ways to be accountable to yourself and to others.  You learn so much from other people and if you don't interact with anyone, then you're missing out on one of God's best gifts to us. 

Lately, I have had deep discussions with my friends that I attend college with.  First, it's been enlightening and second, sometimes they have a different viewpoint then you do and it's nice to hear what others think.  Now, I do still stand firm for what I believe in but it's nice to get a feel for what those around you think as well.  Sometimes it's disheartening what comes out of their mouths but other times you learn so much.  How else could you learn that way when you never talk to ANYONE about your beliefs or theirs?  How would you be able to challenge yourself spiritually?  God calls those in our lives for a time and a purpose and if we choose not to learn what God is teaching us during that time, then we are sorely missing out.  Keep yourself in line with God by attending and consistently fellowshipping with those Christians around you.

how to keep yourself in line with God.... part 3

Praising Him for His power and love can be a difficult strategy especially when you are going through a hard time in your life.  In fact, I just read this book called The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom.  Read this one too.  This is a true story written about an experience in the Holocaust.  I know it sounds depressing but there are so many praiseworthy experiences that took place during Corrie's time in concentration camps.  You will never have thought to praise God for the most vile things, but in reality He gives us certain things in our lives that we think of as vile but He thinks of as a blessing.  If we think of those hard times and vile things as blessings, you will begin to thank God for those hard times because He is going to make something good out of them, though we have to wait for the ending.  And you have an amazing experience that comes out of it.

When God shows you His power through anytime in your life, whether it be good or bad, you will be so greatly amazed that you will have no words to describe it.  This is a great reason as to why you want to keep yourself in line with God, His love and power will guide and protect you all the days of your life.

how to keep yourself in line with God.... part 2

Another strategy in keeping yourself aligned with God's will is praying for help and listening for answers.  This can be one of the hardest things to do EVER.  I have had so many friends come to me for advice on how to "work" their lives, but I always answer that they need to pray about it.  This seems like a cop out but in reality, it is the best answer anyone can give someone.  One thing that I have noticed that is hard about this strategy is the fact that it is hard to wait for the answer.  Believe if or not, sometimes the answer is no.  It is hard to receive that answer but trust me (I'm speaking to myself too), He knows what is best for us.  We just need to believe that and let Him handle the situations after we have given them up to Him.

I also have known people who "do not know how to pray".  You know what prayer is?  It's a conversation with God.  How I pray is I write to Him.  Seriously!  That is how I pray to Him.  I may say little things here and there throughout the day of asking for strength or whatnot, but when I sit down to have a conversation with Him.  I write it out.  If you think this is crazy, watch Letters to God.  The little boy in that movie really knew how to talk to God, and he wrote to Him.  I am 24 years old and I write to God too.  Just try it and see what happens.  You may writes pages, or just one sentence, either way, you're talking with God.  The other half of this is as soon as you want to pray, before and after, one thing I like to do is "get in the mood" for it.  lol.. this sounds funny written out.  But, seriously, I sit and I just listen first.  This is the "being still" part of it.  Once I get into that mind-set, I begin to just talk to Him.  Then, once I'm done talking, I sit and listen again.  Most people forget and listen once they are done praying.  Praying, believe it or not, is a two-way conversation.  Let God answer you.  The only way you can really do this is to listen.  Believe me, you'll know when He's answered you.  It is the best peace I have ever felt in my whole life, even when everything around me is crashing down, I still feel peaceful about it.  It has gotten me this far, now you go and see how much closer you can get to God.

how to keep yourself in line with God..... part 1

I, in the recent past, finished a book called Your Knight in Shining Armor by P.B. Wilson.  First of all, even if you are a guy, you NEED to read this book.  It gives so many insights to so many different subjects.  One subject that I found interesting was the subject on how to keep yourself accountable to God.  P.B. mentions the various strategies you can apply to your life to make sure that you are following God's path. 

First of all, you must read your Bible everyday.  I know it's hard to fit anything extra into the day that you already have, but why do you want to make up the excuse to "fit" God into your day?  He should ALWAYS be in your day.  I have a hard time with this too.  Most of the reason (excuse) I have is that I am just too darn lazy to read when I don't feel like it.  But, when are we supposed to do things for God?  Either ALL THE TIME or when you don't feel like it.  The second option is the hardest but in the end is always rewarding.  The first option is the best one but sometimes we falter and the only way to get back up is to just do it.  I mean He created you and died for you in order for you to be with Him eternally.  And you (I) cannot give Him our day?  I'm sorry but what kind of people are we when we ask for everything but give nothing in return?  That is a horrible way to live.  One of my New Years' Resolutions was to read the Bible from beginning to end.  I need to because I want to know more about God and what He has in store for me.  So how do you keep yourself in line with God?  Uh, read His word.  There is no better place to start!