Role Models

I am often looking for someone to look up to. And I've found I've been looking in all the wrong places.

I find a famous role model, I look up to them for a while, watching everything they do. Then they do it. They make a mistake. I get sad for a while. How could they betray me like that? They where supposed to be perfect. They're famous Christian's for Pete's sake. I then find a new one after a little bit. And it happens again.

I've gotten so confused. Aren't we supposed to find role models? Why do mine always disappoint?

Then it hit me. Where am I looking? Who am I watching? I was making these people gods. Idols. I didn't do it on purpose. But it still happened. I was taking sinful people and hoping they would be perfect just for me. I should have been looking at the only perfect role model, Jesus. The only one who has lived this life and made it through perfectly. The only one who can show me everything I need to do and how to do it, and with what attitude. I missed the perfect role model.

Now that doesn't mean I can't look up to other Christians. I can't expect them to be perfect though. I can't follow their every move. I can't expect them not to make mistakes, because they are just as much human as I am.

In fact, God tells us to find someone to look up to. Someone who tries to follow Him with all their heart. Someone who can show us how to live our lives in a way pleasing to God.

Have you found you've been looking up to the wrong role models? Do you have anything to add to what I said?

Brookie

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. 

Gravatar - Flickr - Pinterest - Google+
 

On Justin Bieber

So first off, I AM NOT A JUSTIN BIEBER FAN! Kapeesh?

Now I'm going to show you some things, remember your reaction.




What was your reaction to those? I bet you laughed didn't you.

Now think about this. Go back and read those, and instead of Justin Bieber's face and name, put in your own. After you laugh at yourself, think about if everyone was posting these things about you, and worse things too. All The Time.

Fit in your own name, "This is why I hate ______ ..." "_______ is so stupid. He/she looks and sings like the opposite gender."

Now I'm not going to go and point fingers in anybody's face. And I'll admit, I've laughed at and made my own jokes about Justin Bieber. But my conscience has been bugging me a lot lately, and I've been thinking. Doesn't the Bible say to love even your enemies. Justin Bieber isn't even an enemy, just an annoying and lost singer, shouldn't I love and be praying for him too?

So he's a celebrity, he's a human being too, he has feelings and emotions, and the things we say affect him just as much as they would affect you. We can't brush aside the fact that when we joke about Justin Bieber or any other celebrity that we are bullying. I bet you never thought of yourself as a bully, I never thought of myself as one either till now.

Guys, when you see that Justin Bieber has done something wrong, making fun of him isn't going to help, it's only going to make the matter worse. Why do you think he's choosing to do the wrong thing? Because everyone loves him? No, because he's trying to get away from all the bad talk, and "harmless" jokes, and critics, but just ends up digging himself deeper. Instead of helping him find his way to sure doom, we need to pray that he straightens his life out, that he finds God as his rock, and we need to try to encourage him to go the right way.

I'm not saying we all need to listen to 'Baby' all the time. Or become 'Beliebers'. But just let everyone know that you are not going to join in the bullying anymore. :)

Do you have any thoughts to share on this?

How does He know?

In the Disney movie "Enchanted" there is a song called, "How Does She Know?" about how does the guys girlfriend know he loves her? Does he send her flowers or write her love notes?

But how does God know we love Him? Of course He can see everyone's hearts, but do we actually outwardly show we love Him?

God asks for our all. All of our love, our time, our lives. So if we're really doing that, shouldn't it show?
God loves us, but the Bible says, "Faith without works is dead." Let our actions show everyone that we are Christians.

It is a privilege to be called a Christian, so don't act as if it is a burden or something you should be ashamed of, wear it, speak it, and live it. :) God didn't save us so we could continue on the way we where. He did it for His own glory and because He loves us.

Is homosexuality okay?

Homosexuality. Is it okay?

We passed a law making it legal for homosexuals to marry in America. And if you listen or keep up with the media right now you'll hear about quite a few Christians who believe that homosexuality is okay. Just to name a few, Carrie Underwood, Demi Lavato, Katy Perry, and Josh Hutcherson.
The most common thing I've heard for defense from people like them is, "God loves and forgives everyone." And they "Don't believe in labels."
But doesn't the Bible tell us in many places that homosexuality isn't okay?

 Genesis 19:5-11, 13.  "And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them. Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, ⁷ and said, “I beg you, my brothers, do not act so wickedly. ⁸ Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you, and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof. But they said, “Stand back!” And they said, “This fellow came to sojourn, and he has become the judge! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. ¹⁰ But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. ¹¹ And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door." - "For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

Leviticus 20:13 "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death."

Jude 1:5-7 "Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day— ⁷ just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire."
Is that one not obvious? And it's stated both in the Old and New Testaments.

Then answering their "God loves and forgives everyone."
  
No. He doesn't. He only loves and forgives His followers. And if we really are His followers then we will obey His commandments, 

John 14:15 "If you love me you will keep my commandments."

Just because someone says they're a Christian does not mean they are. 
  
Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"  

And the "I don't believe in labels."

 In Genesis 1:27 states "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he him; male and female he created them."
Don't you think God makes us a certain sex for a reason? And God Himself obviously just made two labels right there. Labels are not to restrict, but to guide. As a writer I personally know that if I didn't have labels it would be very hard to create characters who just, 'are what they are'. And who then would be defined as the 'evil person' or 'antagonist'?

 

But this doesn't mean we are to shun the homosexuals. We are to be careful around them because, "Bad company corrupts good morals." But we are also called to be a light in dark places. But how can we shine when we can't even discern the good from the bad? We read the Bible and go on a great adventure of discovering new things, and what God has to say about His world. :)

Do you agree? Why or why not? I do not mean to stir up emotions, and I apologize if anyone is offended by my beliefs, but I'm entitled to mine the same way you are. :)

Brookie

The Importance of Living Selflessly

  I am entering a contest at Tessa Emily Hall's blog and one of the entries said 'write a blog post on the importance of selfless living', so I figured that would be a great post to get back here with. :)

  Now you might think of living selflessly as becoming a superhero or something. But it doesn't have to be painful or even be your career. 

1. Where you can be selfless
  Anywhere! It is so simple and so rewarding to be selfless if you can just get past that first doubt that nibbles at your mind. You can be selfless at home with your parents and siblings. At the grocery store you can help that little old person who trying to get the coin they dropped by themselves. At school that kid who always sits at that table by themselves. And even when people aren't around, say at an empty park and you see a McDonalds cup roll by, pick it up and throw it away!

2. Why should you be selfless
  It really makes a difference. You know that day when everything is going wrong and you can't do anything right and some stranger helps you in some way. It feels like you've just been handed $100 free. Then when your in their shoes and you see that little girl smile at you 'cause you liked her pink shoes, your heart just melts at how you made some stranger happy with just a couple words. 

3. What exactly is selflessness
  Selflessness is when you stop thinking about how yourself and give just a bit of your time to help someone else. It's not thinking, 'Oh God's really going to be pleased with this one. Wonder how He'll reward me.' or 'Wow I am such a nice person, no wonder everyone loves me.' It should be because you want to make that person happy.

4. Who are some great role models 
  Jesus: He died on the cross so that we might live eternally in Heaven. 

  Florence Nightingale: She stayed up a lot without sleep for days so she could care for men who were sick and dying. She would take their last words and send them home to their families with the news that their son, father, and husband was dead. 

  Amy Carmichael and David Livingstone and other missionaries who served in foreign countries giving their lives to helping spread the word of Jesus Christ.

  George Washington: He didn't want to be president you know. He wanted to go home and live a quiet life after the war. And he definitely didn't want to be king. But he became the 1st president of the USA because we wanted him. Because we knew that he would do his job faithfully and to the best of his abilities.   

  There and lots and lots of people out there who serve just like these people did, but they are often drowned out by the selfish people of this world. The people who only care about themselves. But by being selfless we will spread seeds and the light will grow. 

  Have you ever heard of Passing It On? Well most of the time if you do something nice for someone that someone will want to do someone nice for someone else and it just keeps going. 

I hope you are inspired to do something out of your way today. :) If you have any thoughts leave them in the comments!

Brookie