Changing the World guest post by Moriah Faith

First off, I want to say that I really appreciate Brooke for giving me this opportunity to share some things I've had on my heart. 

Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to change the world. 

I remember when I was 4 or 5, after hearing about Christians in other countries who were killed for believing that Jesus was the Son of God, I scribbled a note in the back of my tiny bible that said "Jesus is the Son of God. Moriah wrote this." I wanted to be willing to die for my faith. I wanted to use my entire life to change the course of this world. 

I know that may seem a little far fetched but I wouldn't be surprised if some of you have had dreams that big too. So today I'm going to give you just a Reader's Digest version of how to change the world in three easy steps.

To start, you need a launchpad. For most of us who have grown up in Christian homes, that launchpad would be our family and church. For others it may be something else. But we all need to get that encouragement from somewhere, even if it's just the word of God. It only takes a spark to get a fire going, but kindling is pretty important too. 

I'm personally in awe of the fact that God gave me strong Christian parents who have homeschooled me since day one and provided so many opportunities for me to grow. I can't speak highly enough of their devotion to raising my siblings and I to love and honor God. 

Another thing is the amazing blessing of living in a country where we're allowed to worship our God and teach others about Him. Yet too often we take for granted our freedom of religion and freedom of speech by shutting up about our faith for the sake of "political correctness" (more on that later).

The second step is to develop our God given talents in order to serve as a functioning member of the body of Christ. To do this we must first find our gifts. 

You may have lots of gifts but find one thing that you enjoy doing, you're good at and that can help others in some way. It's a plus if this gift includes directly interacting with people you may not know. 

Once you've got that down you have to make a plan on how to use it. For instance, I love writing. It's obvious. I write all the time about all kinds of things. I can use that gift to write blog posts, write letters to people and encourage them with my words. There are countless ways to use a simple gift like that. 

When you have put your plan down on paper of what your gift is and how you want to use it, give that to God. The bible says that when we devote our plans to God, He will give us the desires of our hearts. That would be awesome! But we have to totally submit it to Him if we want it to go anywhere. You see? If I have my own little agenda behind it and just want God to bless it, that's not enough. My life has to be His project. That's total submission.

The last step is to actually go out there and change the world.

Once you've found your niche, got your plan, given it to God and you have His blessing, it's time for the rubber to hit the road. So here are a few quick tips...

Don't be afraid. Things will come against you. You may have someone in your life who is discouraging. Don't listen to lies from satan saying that you're not good enough or strong enough for God to use. Just a quick read through the bible and you see tons of stories where God used people like the humble shepherd David, a teenage girl named Mary, a horrible guy named Saul who later became the apostle Paul and helped change the course of the 1st century for Christ. It's people like you and me who end up making history.

Be confident and bold. This means taking risks. You may have to risk your reputation by skipping part of your sport season to go on a mission trip. You may risk being a little short on cash to help out someone in need. You may have to risk seeming politically incorrect sometimes. I don't know what it might be for you but following Christ and doing His will often calls for desperate measures and because our relationship with Him is worth it, we won't think twice.

Most importantly of all, stay humble. I can't tell you how many Christian people have set out to do great things for the Lord only to get caught up in pride and the selfish desires of the flesh. The bible says that God humbles the proud but exalts the humble. With each step you take forward, give God the glory and devote your future to His mission. 

I hope this has encouraged you today! If so, don't forget to like, comment and subscribe. 

God bless and have a fantastic week!

Blessings,

Moriah

 

Thank you, Moriah! :) If you would like to know more about her you can find her links below.

Brooke

Moriah Faith is a 16 year old Christian homeschooler who blogs at The Damsel's Retreat {thedamselsretreat.wordpress.com} where she encourages young women in their relationships with Christ and others. On top of that she enjoys running, photography and graphic design. 

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The Easy Way or the Hard Way a guest post by Trent Blake

Let me say thank you so much, Trent, for doing this. :)

Also I'm hoping to do this once a month so if any of you would like to do a guest post shoot me an email at brookiefaulkner809@gmail.com

A man was tending his sheep in the wilderness. When they came to a savanna, he gave them time to rest on the soft grass, eat the growing wheat, and drink from the quiet stream. It was the picture of perfectness.

One of the sheep, named “Joe” looks up and sees a large cliff, overlooking a deep valley. Two other sheep, “Dave” and “Bob” see it too. As the three sheep hobble over to investigate, the shepherd sees them going toward danger. He runs over and stands in front of the three sheep. They all stare at him and think. Then, Joe turns around, as Dave and Bob continue around the shepherd, towards the cliff.

The shepherd, then, moves in front of the sheep again. Dave and Bob just look at each other, and go around the shepherd again. Finally, as they’re at the edge of the cliff, the shepherd takes his staff and whacks both of them in the head, so they go back. After considering it, Dave decides he needs to lose a few more pounds before he can fly. So, the two sheep hobble back to the savanna.

We are the sheep and God is our shepherd.

Sometimes, when I comment on this one site, I will get a strange feeling to re-evaluate my words, and ask myself “what would Jesus do in my place?” Sometimes, I ignored it, and posted the comment anyway.  This is like the sheep going around the shepherd and continuing toward the cliff. At first, there was no real change. Then, it happened again when I was in an online debate. Like before, God told me to reevaluate my words, but I ignored the feeling and had the comment posted. This time, however, the consequences were not so easy to resolve. The shepherd hit me with his staff before I could learn to not be prideful and rash to speak.

In that comment, I had severely misrepresented Christ and I hurt the reputation of not only myself, but of everyone else involved as well. Thankfully, that was enough to send me back to the savanna. But it was definitely not the easy way! It stunk!

So, I’m asking each of you right now, when God tries to teach you something the easy way, please listen and don’t make the same mistake I did, and force him to teach you the hard way. Have an awesome day, y’all!

You can find Trent's blog at foreversoldiersofgod.blogspot.com

Brooke