Sunday, December 5, 2010

Sally's Words

Once upon a time there was a girl name Sally. Sally was a junior in high school and she was a Christian. She struggled every day to stay strong and show people she was a Christ follower. She had an amazing group of friend but had very few classes with the ones who actually went to her school. One day in English, her teacher Ms. Nosey, asked the class to write a one paragraph essay on the most important thing in their lives. Sally wrote on how important God was to her. After giving the class ten minutes to write she told everyone to share what they wrote. Sally began to get really nervous, she began to wonder how she was ever going to get up in front of her class and share what she wrote. Time came for her to go up and she started..."The most important thing in my life is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my God"...class went silent. When she came to the end..."He has the power to save everyone's life and help you with any problem you might have" As she went to sit down everyone began to clap louder then they clapped for anyone else. Wow! Amazing, Sally made it through it all and her class didn't think she was weird.

After class she had one of her classmates come up to her. She asked Sally "Can God really help you with any problems?" Sally said yes and went to lunch with her classmate, Debra. Debra told Sally how she had made some bad choices and didnt know what to do. Sally talked to her for the whole lunch period and after school too. By the end of the day, atheist Debra had agreed to go to church with Sally the next day. Sally thought to herself "Wow miracles do happen."

Wow what a testimony! Just think what just a few words can do to change someone's soul.

Based on a true story. Names changed to keep identities safe.

With love,
Elise

Friday, December 3, 2010

Kingdoms

Being the music lover I am, I listen to my iPod quite often. I was reading one night before I went to bed, and my iPod was playing in the background. A song came on. It was one that I've heard many times before, but I never really listened to the message before. The song was "In the Blink of an Eye, by MercyMe. There were two parts of the song in which I found a really great message. The first went like this:
And though I’m living a good life
Can my life be something great?
What is the a "good" life? We often think of it as one filled with pleasure and luxury. Fast cars, money, a big mansion. In this song, he tells us that there's a difference between a "good life" and a life that is "something great". I think he's saying that a good life is exactly what we think it is: money, pampering, and material possessions. So what does it mean to have a life that is "something great?" The difference is in what you do. If you're living a life that's something great, you are living for God. So I thought "How can I do that?" I'm a very busy person. Between homework, work, sports, and other obligations, I barely even have time to breathe! Isn't everyone like that, at least sometimes? We get so busy trying to do things to "enhance" our lives (a.k.a. making them more comfortable) that we isolate ourselves from God. That leads me to the second passage from the song:
How can I further Your kingdom
When I'm so wrapped up in mine?
When we get so caught up in out kingdom of material possessions such like things, God often, but not always, nor for all people, comes second to that. You may now be asking something like: "How do we further God's kingdom, like the song says?" (and even if you weren't thinking that, I'll tell you anyway :) ). We further His kingdom by spreading His Word, and by following Jesus Christ. Doing things for others is a way of doing that. Volunteering, donating, doing random acts of kindness, they're all ways for God to work through you. But we can also simply make our everyday actions reflect God's kingdom. Just do what's right. That's the easiest way to stay out of a material kingdom, and further the Kingdom of God. Amen.

Peace,
Kyle

( Credits: Lyrics from the song "In the Blink of an Eye" by MercyMe
Lyrics found on www.christianlyricsonline.com )