I realized last night that I have been very distant from my faith lately. I know this happens to all of us on a regular basis, but I want to feel lead to the spirit always! I wanted to explore how to do this; how to always feel connected to God, so I "Dove into scriprture" to take a further look!
One thing that stands in our way is the desires of the earth. Every single person has something on Earth that keeps them from God! The problem is, as long as we are in our earthly bodies, we will never truly be rid of them. So how then can we find escape from these things that are hindering our faith? Paul knows!
Galatians 5:16-17 (ESV) says:
"But I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit, and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh, for those are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."
God designed it so that his desires and our earthly desires would oppose each other. That means the more we strive for one, the more we lose interest in the other. I think the sole reason we ever become far from our faith with God is that we become too concerned with our earthly desires. Instead, we should strive for a life in the spirit! I know it's really hard to jump with excitement back into a faith you've been neglecting, but if you can grind through the beginning, it becomes so natural and easy, and then you are fulfilled and the earthly things no longer have the same appeal to you!
Another thing I noticed was how unhappy I am when I am not in a habit of spending time alone with God. I do all the same things, but I do not do them with faith.
James 2:14-17
"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed or lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them "Go in peace, be warmed and filled" without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."
We have to have actions along with our faith or our faith is pointless and does nothing for God. I believe that, in the same way, actions without faith are also dead. That's what I was doing. I had all the actions, but my heart wasn't in it. We must always be giving back to God. Not just in one day pieces, but in our entire life.
Paul says in Romans 12:1-2 "...Present your bodies as living Sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be comformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
So if we give our lives to God, with actions, and with faith, a living sacrifice, he will give us discernment, and then we can escape our earthly desires and walk comfortably, and confidently in the spirit!
Finally, one of the most important things about staying in your faith is not to be discouraged. It's very easy to feel bad when you see other people worshipping and living closely with God when you are not. It's also very easy to think "Well, I'm just going to slip away again so why even bother." Our faith is always a rollercoaster, where we have good seasons and bad seasons, highs and lows, But our God is a merciful and forgiving God, who loves us in spite of our shortcomings! He never loses faith in us! So keep pushing when you've drifted away, and you will find the fire for God again! Good luck walking int the spirit!
2 Timothy 2:11-13:
"If we have died with him, we will also live with him.
If we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we deny him, he also will deny us.
If we are faithless, he remains faithful-
For he cannot deny himself."
-Evan
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
We Delight
We delight in the law of your word, we delight in the son who was perfect from birth, we delight in the day he's returning to earth, hallelujah!
We may have blasted empire state of mind all week, but this is the song that was in my head by Caedmon's Call. Choir Tour was truly amazing. I've never felt such a sense of freedom in the spirit of the Lord. When we stood up to shout his name and of his worth, nothing else mattered, nothing else even existed. being a vessel of the Lord means that he puts his spirit in us and we literally move for him as a physical act of his love! How amazing that God would allow us to share in the development of His Kingdom!
I've also never felt so close to the people I know than this trip. The people I never talked to, I talked to, and they talked to me, and we grew close. the people I talk to alot, talked to me more, and we grew closer. when I was sick in my flesh, people cared for me, and helped me to press on, and when I was weak in spirit I received encouragement and prayer. How can you fail in your work when God has blessed you with such things? he obviously wanted us to reach people for his name this past week, and I truly believe that in Ocean City, The Bronx, Harlem, Utica (UTICA!), and Pennsylvania, people were blessed and reached by the Lord through our music! Praise God!
We may have blasted empire state of mind all week, but this is the song that was in my head by Caedmon's Call. Choir Tour was truly amazing. I've never felt such a sense of freedom in the spirit of the Lord. When we stood up to shout his name and of his worth, nothing else mattered, nothing else even existed. being a vessel of the Lord means that he puts his spirit in us and we literally move for him as a physical act of his love! How amazing that God would allow us to share in the development of His Kingdom!
I've also never felt so close to the people I know than this trip. The people I never talked to, I talked to, and they talked to me, and we grew close. the people I talk to alot, talked to me more, and we grew closer. when I was sick in my flesh, people cared for me, and helped me to press on, and when I was weak in spirit I received encouragement and prayer. How can you fail in your work when God has blessed you with such things? he obviously wanted us to reach people for his name this past week, and I truly believe that in Ocean City, The Bronx, Harlem, Utica (UTICA!), and Pennsylvania, people were blessed and reached by the Lord through our music! Praise God!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
yeah!
hey bloggers!
So uh. All I'm really doing right now is watching tennis. I'm like a tennis watching robot. Same thing. everyday. Also alot of dancing. Choir dancing. Wii Dancing. Super Mario dancing. Doing dishes in the kitchen dancing. And singing. but duh, thats a given. Whose Line Is It Anyway? is my new favorite show to watch. Hooked. I'm also hooked on Classical music now. Look up Mozart's Fantasy. So Amazing. I'm hoarding wild berry pop tarts. So glad theyre back. I have a new accountability partner! We're reading romans! Paul is smart!
The End!
-Evan
So uh. All I'm really doing right now is watching tennis. I'm like a tennis watching robot. Same thing. everyday. Also alot of dancing. Choir dancing. Wii Dancing. Super Mario dancing. Doing dishes in the kitchen dancing. And singing. but duh, thats a given. Whose Line Is It Anyway? is my new favorite show to watch. Hooked. I'm also hooked on Classical music now. Look up Mozart's Fantasy. So Amazing. I'm hoarding wild berry pop tarts. So glad theyre back. I have a new accountability partner! We're reading romans! Paul is smart!
The End!
-Evan
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tolerated
Sometimes I feel like I'm left out of alot of stuff. Alot of fun and laughter and events. Not invited, not informed, never though of. Often times I even feel disliked. Not like no one likes me, because I have friends and people seem to enjoy being around me, but I often feel very tolerated. Like that person that no one has the heart to tell they're annoying and over-bearing. Maybe I'm over thinking it. Maybe I'm just inconsistent in my behavior because sometimes people want to be around me and other times they don't. I've matured alot in the last year so I think I understand better now how to handle myself with other people than I used to, but even though I feel really comfortable around people and being in the mix, I'm not always as comfortable/accepted as I convince myself I am. Once a homeschooler, always a homeschooler. ehh, I'll figure it out. No Biggie.
-Evan
-Evan
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Ecclesiastes Chapter 1
Ecclesiastes! I'm so excited to continue the reading and blogging we did in Proverbs. I think continuing into this book was smart because in a way it is a continuation of Proverbs, and in a way, it's also a counter to it.
In Proverbs, Solomon talks over and over about how important wisdom is, and how to get it. In the first chapter of Ecclesiastes he almost bad mouths it. He tells how much stress and sorrow it brings. So confused. Should we have wisdom or not?
1-11
Solomon explains here how everything has become meaningless around him. Verse 2 is basically him just saying "Meaningless, Meaningless, Meaningless!" He points out here that everything has been done and will be done again. He's right in the sense that history in a way keeps repeating itself. the same kind of thing happens all the time, and life is not really lived in news ways, the same streams keep flowing and the ocean never fills, we keep hearing but our ears are never full. We will never truly be satisfied with these things of Earth because they are meaningless, a "chasing after the wind" Solomon calls it. "What does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" I think there is a lot to gain even from the most useless and ending things on Earth. Lessons to be learned or maybe they lead to something bigger and more important.
12-18
Solomon had great wisdom, but he had so much sorrow. I think he understood and knew all things so well that he could truly see the vanity and foolishness of earthly toil and it saddened him. He says that all things done under the sun are vain and a chasing after the wind. but I think that if you are doing anything to help other people come to know Jesus, or just to help other people at all, you are doing good under the sun. I'm confused by exactly what he means when he says that everything is meaningless on Earth. If everything was meaningless, God wouldn't have bothered to make the Earth at all. Maybe he means all things that are of Earth are meaningless. I dunno.
It seems that Solomon learned that endless wisdom and knowledge isn't always so great. It brought him sorrow, and it brought him vexation. In a way I'm glad that I cannot have the same wisdom Solomon had. I can have a true wisdom of things and not have to have such a sorrow from it, for I can never be that smart.
It's interesting to me to see the book of Proverbs in comparison to this. All Solomon does in Proverbs is talk about wisdom and how saving and lasting it is. But here he says that it also is meaningless in the end.
Good stuff.
-Evan
In Proverbs, Solomon talks over and over about how important wisdom is, and how to get it. In the first chapter of Ecclesiastes he almost bad mouths it. He tells how much stress and sorrow it brings. So confused. Should we have wisdom or not?
1-11
Solomon explains here how everything has become meaningless around him. Verse 2 is basically him just saying "Meaningless, Meaningless, Meaningless!" He points out here that everything has been done and will be done again. He's right in the sense that history in a way keeps repeating itself. the same kind of thing happens all the time, and life is not really lived in news ways, the same streams keep flowing and the ocean never fills, we keep hearing but our ears are never full. We will never truly be satisfied with these things of Earth because they are meaningless, a "chasing after the wind" Solomon calls it. "What does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" I think there is a lot to gain even from the most useless and ending things on Earth. Lessons to be learned or maybe they lead to something bigger and more important.
12-18
Solomon had great wisdom, but he had so much sorrow. I think he understood and knew all things so well that he could truly see the vanity and foolishness of earthly toil and it saddened him. He says that all things done under the sun are vain and a chasing after the wind. but I think that if you are doing anything to help other people come to know Jesus, or just to help other people at all, you are doing good under the sun. I'm confused by exactly what he means when he says that everything is meaningless on Earth. If everything was meaningless, God wouldn't have bothered to make the Earth at all. Maybe he means all things that are of Earth are meaningless. I dunno.
It seems that Solomon learned that endless wisdom and knowledge isn't always so great. It brought him sorrow, and it brought him vexation. In a way I'm glad that I cannot have the same wisdom Solomon had. I can have a true wisdom of things and not have to have such a sorrow from it, for I can never be that smart.
It's interesting to me to see the book of Proverbs in comparison to this. All Solomon does in Proverbs is talk about wisdom and how saving and lasting it is. But here he says that it also is meaningless in the end.
Good stuff.
-Evan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)