Finding Your Way Back to God

 

Finding Your Way Back to God

We all go through dry seasons. Seasons when we are exhausted, burnt out, and it seems like God has all but left us. Recently, I went through one of these seasons and it is a lonely and lost place to be. So what can we do when we go through one of these seasons?

First, do not abandon all of your christian activities. Don’t stop going to church, small group, bible studies, service projects, and the like just because you are feeling distant from God. If anything, you should go and participate in these things with more fervor because these are the places where people will understand what you are going through. They can pour into you and give you love. These are the places that christians meet and have fellowship and the holy spirit is there when people gather in his name. It one of the best places to encounter the Lord, whether it be in someone’s testimony, a sermon, or a worship song.

On the note of worship songs, listen to christian music. This is an easy way to integrate more of the Lord into your daily life. Listening to secular music is fine (blog post on is secular music bad), but sometimes it can feed into the lies that you are hearing. In the dry seasons, even if you never pray or go to church, if you are hearing the truth in your music it can make a huge difference.

Pray. Even when you really don’t feel like it. I know it can be hard and it feels like you are talking to yourself, but give God a short prayer. Cry out to him and ask to feel his presence. He will most certainly hear you, even if it feels like he isn’t responding.

Find a bible study. A short one, nothing too in depth. Find one that reminds you that God loves you and he has a plan for you. The one that really helped me recently was “Finding your way back to God’ from Youversion.

Trust God. Don’t listen to the voice in your head that says he left you and does not love you, because that is a lie. God has a plan and he loves you more than anyone ever will. Do not doubt that love just because he is silent.

When we feel ourselves drifting, we need to remind ourselves of the truth. God loves you, he will never leave you, and he has a plan for you. There are times when he is silent, but he is not gone. If you are struggling through a dry season, I am praying for you and I desperately hope that this post has helped you!

Why listen to Christian Music?

  

Why do I listen to Christian Music?

Lately, my tastes in music have been changing. I have been listening to more and more secular music, which isn’t really bad, but it has been causing me problems. I have found myself drifting from God and listening to secular music is not helping. It is not the cause, but it is certainly not making the situation better. I recognized this and for the past week or so, I have began listening to christian music again and I have felt closer to God. It has not cured the drifting feeling, but it has been a step in the right direction.

First, we need to address if secular music is bad. Jefferson Bethke has a great video on this, but these are my thoughts on it. God created music. He created all music. There are some great secular songs, songs that are about uplifting things, but not necessarily about God. Some bands like this are Owl City, NeedtoBreathe, and Mat Kearney, they don’t talk about God, but the songs are good. Then there is music that promotes drugs, sex, idolizing money, and ungodly living. Personally, when I listen to that type of music, it makes me feel bad. I almost feel violated. So, all in all, I would not label secular music as evil, but I would say that we need to guard our hearts against music that endorses things that we are not in favor of.

So why should we listen to christian music? I don’t know about you, but I have music playing 24/7. It helps me to focus and makes work more exciting. When the music I listen to is christian, it helps me to keep my focus on God. I often don’t have time to do a long devotional and meditation session, so listening to christian music helps me to keep God in mind as I go throughout my day.  

When you know God, you desire more and more of him, and that shows in your taste in music. If our one desire is God, then we want him in every aspect of our lives. For me, this means listening to christian music. I love God and I want a constant reminder of that. So, no, you don’t have listen to christian music to be a “good christian”, but for me it is a positive step in the right direction.

What are some of your favorite lesser known christian bands? Mine are About a Mile, I Am They, and Consumed by Fire!

Bible Verses about Stress

Bible Verses about Stress

I don’t know about y’all, but May is the most stressful time of year. There are finals, projects, essays, graduations, visiting family, summer reading lists, course verification, banquets, summer camp planning, garage sales, meetings, travel, and so much more! The other day I sat down and wrote a list of all the events that were coming up this week that were causing me stress. There were 22 items on this list! 22! I was thinking about all the things I could do to relieve this stress and here is what I came up with!

There are physical things we can do, like yoga or running. I find that a combination of eating well and getting enough exercise takes a lot of weight off of my shoulders. Whenever I eat poorly or miss a workout, I start feeling grubby and then that causes me stress! Plus, having a positive physical outlet for pent up emotions is so important.

Another important thing to do is getting enough sleep. It can be so hard to sleep when stressed, but take time to write down all of your thoughts. Get things off of your mind!

On that note, pray! Give God your stress. He takes care of the flowers of the field and the birds of the sky (Matthew 6:25-34), he will surely take care of you. I find that when I give God my heart, I can sleep easier and thus relieve so much stress.

Listen to music that helps you to de-stress. Sometimes that is worship music. Sometimes it is alternative-pop, rock, jazz, heavy metal, or folk. For me, it is country music. When I get really stressed, I like to listen to some good, mindless country music! Having music in the background can make it easier to find peace. Double points if it is christian!

Find some stress relief bible verses. Some of my favorite verses about worry, stress, and fear are listed below! When I read these verses, I feel a rush of comfort wash over me knowing that God is looking out for me!

Exodus 14:14

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Psalm 53:22

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

Isaiah 41:10

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Matthew 6:34

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Romans 5:1

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.”
2 Corinthians 4:16

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”

Philippians 4:6-7

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

1 Peter 5:7

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 John 4:18

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Which of these verses is your favorite? Comment below. I would love to hear from you!

Why serve others?

Why do we serve others?

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

All the time we hear that we should be serving others- at church, at home, at school. There are groups that are solely devoted to community service, people who live to do acts of service. We all know serving others is important, but why? And how do we do it?

There are so many reasons as to why we serve. The first being that Jesus served us first. He came down from heaven to serve humanity, not to be served, as stated in Mark 10:45. We do not serve others because we have to, we serve them because we want to in response to what Jesus did for us. Our service shows Christ to the world. Once we have been saved, that should be our main goal.

We also serve God when we serve others. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus says that what we do to the least of these, we do to him. If we feed the hungry, we fed Jesus. If we clothe the poor, we clothed Jesus. But, if we ignore the hungry and poor, we ignored Jesus. When we do service for other people, we are directly serving the Lord.

A major reason I serve is that I want to share Jesus with the world. When we serve, we are the hands and feet of Jesus. We have the opportunity to pour love and hope into someone’s life. In serving others, we can show them the personality of Jesus.

One thing to keep in mind is to meet physical needs before spiritual needs. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the bottom level, the largest level and the one that supports the entire pyramid, is physical needs. All other needs, emotional, social, environmental, and spiritual come after that. For example, you cannot preach with words to a starving person. That is not what they need. The most effective way to show Jesus is to meet people where they are and minister to them there. They can see Jesus in a sandwich or new pair of shoes. You do not necessarily have to give your testimony.

As to who we serve, that depends on your personal calling. I, personally, do not do as well with seniors as I do with elementary students. Yet, I have friends who love seniors and do not do well with children. There are so many groups you can serve: children, senior citizens, military/police, the homeless, widowers, animals, the disabled, students, teachers, even the environment. Some people may prefer animals to people or teens to children. That is okay! God put a special calling on your heart for a specific group. So, while my friends go to the nursing home, I will help in a preschool classroom. But, one thing to remember is to not deny your love just because you are uncomfortable. I went to a special needs prom and was incredibly awkward, but since I was there, I made the most of that. God put me out of my comfort zone so that I could learn and love. I got so much out of that night, and I know the people who came loved it! Don’t deny opportunities because you will be uncomfortable. God loves pulling out of our personal bubbles!

There are many ways in which we can serve people. Who you are serving will decide how you do it. For the military, I cannot be with them, but I can send them care packages. For the homeless, I cannot buy them a home, but I can make them food or give them toiletries. We cannot take all the dogs at the shelter home (as adorable as they are), but we can play with them and help the shelter owners with feeding them. Some sample projects you can do with your church group or community  include homemade dog toys, teacher agape, mailable hugs, and military care packages.

I hope after reading this you will feel encouraged, motivated, and equipped to go and serve others. We serve because Jesus served us. Service is the response to salvation. Go and do as Jesus would, spilling love and hope into people’s lives.

Are there any service projects you would like to see featured on my blog? Please comment them below! I would love to hear from you!

Jesus is the Center of Faith

Jesus is the Center of Faith

There are days when life just gets hard. It gets even harder when we don’t have a place to go to and rest, something we can put our faith in. There are so many things we try to base our faith on. It can be feelings, experiences, the day of the week, yelp reviews, opinions of our friends, and so much more. It can be so complicated to find what the truth is and where we should put our faith.
Jesus tells the story of the wise builder and the foolish builder in Matthew 7:24. The wise builder builds his house on the rock, but the foolish builder builds his house in the sand. Then, a storm comes and the house in the sand is demolished. Meanwhile, the wise builder’s house survives. The foolish builder didn’t find the right place to build, so his home did not survive. He did not know what was right and true. Yet, the wise builder found a firm foundation on which to build. Jesus is the rock in our life. If we build our faith and our life around him, we will withstand the storms.

Jesus must be the basis of our faith. If we build our faith on feelings, we will have some really high days and some really low days. We would question if God was really there simply because we had a bad day. If we base our faith on the faith of our friends and family, it will soon fail. We cannot ride on the coattails of those who came before us. Our faith must be our own. If we only practice faith on certain days, our faith will fail because we are not constantly trusting on God. Having faith is a daily relationship, not a special dinner platter.

The only place we can put our faith is in Jesus. He is constant, he never changes and he never leaves you. If you build your faith on Jesus, you will be sure to survive every storm in life.

Easter Songs

Easter Songs

I know we all have our favorite christmas songs, but I have quite a few favorite easter songs, too! These songs remind me of what Jesus did to save me from my sin and celebrate the new life that we have found in him! If you have never heard any of these songs, I have created a playlist so that you can listen and enjoy them as much as I do!

1. “True Love” by Phil Wickham is a beautiful song about when Jesus died. It is rather slow and sad, but powerful in reminding us what Jesus took on so we could live. My favorite lines are “When blood and water hit the ground, walls we couldn’t move came crashing down, we were free and made alive, the day that true love died.” This song is so beautiful in saying that we are made alive when Jesus died, that the day he dies marks the day I lived.
2. “Glorious Day” by Passion is very upbeat and exciting. It says, “You called my name and I ran out of that grave, out of the darkness into your glorious day.” This song reminds me to be joyful for the new life I have been given. While “True Love” is beautiful and powerful, this is a song for celebration!
3. Christ is Risen by Matt Maher is a call to come and be with Jesus now that he has risen. The words are, “Christ is risen from the dead, we are one with him again, come awake, come and rise up from the grave.” He shouts that our God is not dead, he is risen and we need to be with him! This song is so catchy and has such a wonderful message!
4. Hosanna by Hillsong United is a classic Easter song to me. The chorus is, “Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest.” This song focuses on the glory of God, using the words that were shouted before Jesus as he entered into the city.
5. Length of the Cross by Chris Quilala is another upbeat song. It says, “How long will You wait for me, and how vast is Your love for me, and how far would You run for me, the length of the cross.” In this song, we see the lengths that Jesus went to, so that we could be free. I love this song, as it is so encouraging and joyful!

Check out the playlist here.

Do you have any favorite Easter songs? Please comment them below! I would love to hear from you!

Constant Communication

Constant Communication

To be in constant communication with God, talk to him all the time. Always be speaking to him, telling him your joys and your sorrows.  When something good happens, thank him. When something bad happens, ask him for guidance and support.

There are so many times in which we can talk to him. You can thank him when you get home safely. When you are walking to the bus stop, think about all of the good things God has done in your life. When you are running, thank God that you have legs and lungs that work. Thank him for the flowers and the bees and the blue sky. Doing little things like this keeps the Lord at the forefront of your brain.

Whenever you get bad news, quickly ask that his will to be done in the situation. It can be so easy to get caught up in whatever is happening, but give it to God. It makes it so much easier to endure when you know that God is taking care of you.

As you go through your day, find peace in the fact that God is always there. He cares about you and wants for you to willingly give your days to him. Constantly communicate with him and know that he will surely listen when you come to him.