Lukewarm

If you're a Christian, you're bound to have experienced someone (or multiple people) who are what you would call lukewarm for God. They make it clear on their posts on social media that they believe in God and love him. They have been baptized and believe that Jesus died for their sins. They post bible verses, and will talk about God casually in conversation. They will ask for prayers requests through times of struggle, and talk to people who they are close to within the church. Granted, all things are wonderful to do. It is not wrong to do these things, but there is something very large missing from the equation.

I wrote in another article called "Growing Spiritually and Becoming Stronger" that becoming a Christian changed my entire life, and I honestly believe that that is how it should be when we are baptized. So, I can tell you from experience that there is nothing more disappointing when you go onto things like Twitter, Instagram or Facebook and you see cuss word after cuss word on someone's page or you see a photo of them getting drunk at a party. After all this time, you thought that their spiritual life was okay, and now it's not. When you see that they haven't been coming to church as often and that they don't go to church functions anymore... nothing is quite as heartbreaking as someone who is lukewarm. Not only is it hard for faithful Christians to deal with, but it not acceptable in Gods eyes.

Revelations 3:15-16 “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

So many times I have seen people my age try to be of the world and still try to be a Christian. I've seen church camp friends of mine say cuss words outside of church or post them online. It's like the saying to God you want to have your cake and eat it too! I think it's so important for us all to understand that this is not possible.

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Sin clearly separates us from God, and if we are not willing to change, our relationship with God is right where it was before.

So then, what should we do when we see this happen to the people that we love? I've sadly had to ask myself this several times and it has honestly been a struggle. I've always been the type of person who wants to change people. I want to open their eyes let God work through me, but I've come to realize that we can't make people change. I can't make people stop partying or drinking or cussing no matter how I hard I try. You could spend months studying with someone, and no real change will happen unless their hearts are convicted and they make the decision to change for themselves.

At Queen Way Church of Christ, we recently had a ladies seminar and our topic was on influence. We talked about how our influence on others is strong, and sometimes we don't even realize who we are having an affect on. I loved this topic for this year because it reminded me that even if I can't make someone change their life, I can still be an influence. I may unfollow someone on Instagram or hide a persons profile because I don't want to see or read cuss words, but what we can all do is still keep our lines of communication open. I'm still friends with people on Facebook and I try to make it known that I love them and am always here when they need to talk. People who are lukewarm or who have fallen away should know that we as Christians are always here for a bible study or available to talk to. When I was struggling with this, a friend of mine told me that I need to keep my communication open with others no matter how upset I can get with them. We shouldn't completely shut out others who may need us, and might some day come to realize that they are living in sin. 

I may not have found the exact answer to help with this issue and I am clearly not perfect, but what I do know is that we need to all try our best everyday to always glorify God and please Him. 

Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed 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."

Wearing the Cross

One of my favorite apps right now has to be Vine. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's an app where people post 7 second videos, most of them being very funny. Although I have watched some really hilarious videos on there, the other day I watched a video that was under  the "On The Rise" category that really disturbed me.

This girl was standing in a mirror, wearing a shirt that had a giant leopard print cross on it. She went on to say "People ask me when I wear this shirt: Oh! Are you religious?! 

And I say: Hell no! I'm just into fashion!" 

In Matthew 27:46, we read the last words Jesus says before he was crucified on the cross to wash away our sins. He went through excruciating pain and agony up on that cross for us.

It's sad to think that in today's society, we look at a cross and instantly think "fashion". Jesus didn't die for us to be more fashionable, he died because he loves us.

When we do wear clothing that has crosses on it, we need to be asking ourselves if we are respecting what Jesus did for us. Are wearing a cross tank top because we want to stand out and be "trendy"? Or are we wearing this cross because we want to remind others of what Jesus has done for us and to share our faith?

It's sad to think that clothing companies such as Forever21 sell 355 items (yes, I went online and looked) that have some sort of cross on it. Some of them even have upside down crosses, which some people don't even realize is a symbol for being anti-christ. 

How often do you think that the people who buy these items even have a relationship with God? Or have even sat down recently and prayed to Him? It's hard for me to think about, but I believe the odds of the people who actually go to that store buy those cross pants or necklaces because they want to represent what Jesus did for us.

We need to respect, love, praise, and give our hearts to God always. Jesus died on the cross for us, and we need to respect the powerful meaning that a cross has.

For All Have Sinned

As I learn and study the bible more, I've been realizing specifically about what is right in God's eyes and what is sinful. While I'm learning, lately I've found it hard to not think of people in my life who have sinned. It's so extremely difficult to look at my friends and family from the past and present when I read what God disapproves of. It's so easy for me to point the finger at them and scrutinize them for what they did or are doing wrong. 

I feel like we all at times are like this. We can have a hard time looking at ourselves and our mistakes, and we would rather talk about how others are sinners. 

We, myself obviously included, need to stop and take a look in the mirror. We are ALL sinners.

Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Jesus died on the cross for not just my college classmates who party, drink, have sex before marriage, etc, but for me as well. 

A few months ago, I saw on Facebook and heard from a lot of my friends who go to UNR that there was a group of "Christians" who had a booth outside on campus. I heard horrible stories of this group yelling at people saying to other students on campus that they were going to hell because they were sinners.

I think it's interesting how they call themselves Christians, but yet they don't even understand the concept that they are sinners too. When we are baptized, are sins are washed away and we are forgiven.

Acts 2:38 "And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Just because this is true, it doesn't mean that we don't sin and that we are perfect because we are Christians. Everyone of us has given into temptation and gone away from what God wants. If we think that yelling at others is the way to get people to know God and His plan for us, they don't even understand the concept of God.

We are told to be like Christ and because He is a forgiving, merciful God, we need to be too.

I know that for some people, this can be an easy task. For me, it can be a struggle sometimes. It's not easy to look at ourselves and face our imperfections, but it's necessary and important if we want to be loving, humble, kindhearted people. 

Growing Spiritully & Becoming Stronger

This past month, I have been thinking a lot about growing. I'm sure that most of us have photos as kids in elementary and middle school, and when you look at them, you can't help but realize how much you have changed and grown over the past years. It's hard for me to even imagine that I used to be a small little baby that my mom would rock to sleep. Although I have obviously grown since birth, it's so interesting for me to think about my spiritual growth.

About 7 months ago my life totally changed. Getting baptized was the best thing I ever did, and I've probably grown more mature in these past few months than I have in four years combined. One of my good friends Sucelly, who was just baptized a few weeks ago, told me the other day that even she had grown to be a different person in just a few weeks of being with the church and putting God first in her life. There is no doubt in my mind that when we commit our lives to God, we will become stronger.

Exodus 15:2 "The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him."

Psalm 29:11 "The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace."

One of my professors this past semester made a really good point that I won't ever forget. She said to the class "If you are never feeling uncomfortable, you aren't growing." I think this quote stuck with me so much because I have always hated being uncomfortable. I mean, who likes feeling out of their comfort zone? I think that's one of the reasons why it took me so long to get baptized. The idea made me squirm! I had been to church all my life and heard about how extremely important it was.. I just always felt this huge pressure. My life would change. My relationships with people would change. My priorities in life would change. I was scared of all these things, and I was honestly scared to grow. Turns out though, that change was the best decision in my life that I have made. 

Now, I'm not saying that you should always go out and do something that makes you feel extremely uncomfortable, but I think it's important for us to sit back and look at the current situation and ask ourselves if it's an opportunity to grow and be stronger Christian people.

"You're Missing Out."

The other day, I met up with a friend who I went to high school with that I hadn't seen in a really long time. Although I only graduated a year ago, it was surprising to me how much we had both grown apart. For the longest time I thought we were on the same page on about everything: no partying, no drinking, no drugs, the list goes on and on.
As we got to talking though, I noticed that things had completely changed. They started talking about how much they loved drinking with their college friends and how one night stands were frequently common and accepted in their life. After their little speech about how awesome and amazing the "college life" was, I explained about my faith. I said that I had really changed in the past year, and that I didn't really care about my college experience, what I cared about was God and my relationship with Him. A few seconds after, my friend said something that really stuck with me. They said the words: "Well, you're really missing out."
At the time, I honestly felt like I was. I see videos and pictures all the time on Facebook, Vine, Instagram, etc. of people looking like they are having an awesome time doing stupid stuff with their friends. So what was I supposed to say to that comment? What could I say that was going to make worshiping God sound better than partying all the time?
I quickly changed the topic to something different, and we agreed to disagree in the end, but after our talk I couldn't help but think, I am missing out. I'm missing out what people would call the college experience, but they are missing out on a Godly experience, which is the most important one?
Parties and kickbacks can be fun, but do they last forever? No.
Does God's love last forever? Yes.
Does drinking and smoking and cussing bring me to heaven and closer to God? No.
Does going to church and worshiping Him make my life better, and my relationship with Him stronger? Of course!
I really wish that I could go back to that conversation with my friend. They made me feel like such a little kid, and so inexperienced in life that it even made me feel bad about myself.
I think sometimes that we can all at one point feel this way when we talk to others who are not Christians. We are embarrassed at times to be open, and honest about God's word. I truly believe though that over time, we don't have to feel insecure when these things happen. We need to be more proactive in expressing what the Lord wants us to do, including myself.
So I say ask yourself, which one is more important to you: partying or heaven? The choice is yours, but for me, I know I'm not missing out on the greatest thing in the world: God.

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 " For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ² Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, ³ because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴ For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.⁶ Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. ⁷ For we live by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."

God's Little Whisper (Sarah's Seed Article)

When I started to become more independent and was given more responsibility for myself, my mom used to remind me before I left the house or went somewhere to always listen to my “little whisper,” as she calls it. At first, I couldn't really comprehend what she was saying. Did someone literally whisper in my ear? If I did hear the whisper, was it always right? Did I always have to listen to it? The more I became exposed as some might say to the real world, the more I started to understand. Nobody came up and whispered to you what you were doing was right or wrong, you just knew. The little voice inside your head that is so small, but so important. My mom always says to listen to it. No matter what you feel, listen to the voice.

I feel like every time I hear someone say they don't know what to do with a situation in their life, I don't believe them, simply because I know we all have a little voice, we just choose not to listen to it. For the longest time, I'd deny my little voice. I'd tell myself it was only a thought, and I'd then proceed to come up with some excuse to my thoughts. The voice didn't last long, so that just meant it didn't matter, right?

As you can see, I have a way of talking myself into and out of things, and this is just one way that I decided to ignore my whisper. Even though it was so small, and only came around on certain occasions, not listening would change my life in many ways and put myself through things that I didn't know if I'd be able to overcome.

The part that frustrates me the most is that sometimes, I still don't listen to it. I know what's right and what is wrong, yet I still try to find a way out or come up with more excuses, or fill my brain with hope that something will turn around and change. I still struggle with listening, but recently I've discovered that not only is this voice something that I should listen to, but that somehow it's God.

It blows my mind to think about how our brains can even absorb the information we do and how it controls the body etc. But what really has me amazed is that God has put a feeling, or the little voice as my mom says, inside us to listen to. It's amazing to me, to think that God has given us all the ability to know what we should or what we shouldn't do.

Now some people I know may say that they don't have little voice. A lot of people didn't grow up in the church, or even believe in what Christianity is. But I don't necessarily think that you have to grow up in the church to hear Gods whisper, some just choose to ignore it or dilute it with harmful substances like drugs or alcohol. I remember my mom telling me a story about a woman who had a sudden, strange feeling about a man who was near her, and the next thing you know he's got a gun in his hand. You can find so many news stories about people who “had a feeling” or believed that something “just wasn't right.” The thing that I have noticed the most? It's never wrong.

God is prefect in every way, and I feel like somehow I have a connection with Him when I hear my whisper. Like somehow, God's telling me what I know I need to hear. Sometimes that's hard to listen to, I'm currently having a hard time with dealing with the consequences of listening to the voice, but in the end I know it's the right thing that I'm doing no matter how much I lose. No matter what. God's love will never fail you, and if you listen to it, you'll be glad you did.

Learning to Trust (Sarah's Seed Article)

Learning to Trust

Sometimes I think it is in our blood to worry. Whether it be raising our children correctly, upcoming tests for school or just our silly selves worrying over things that won't ever happen, naturally I think the feeling of worry gets to all of us at some point. Lately, I have found myself doing the exact thing, worrying. I worry about school, my job, my Christian family, my friends, you name it, and I've probably freaked out about it at one point.

Recently though, I've found myself just worrying about life in general. Will I ever fall in love? Will I ever live my dream and someday be a mother? Will I be glorifying God the way I should be in the next few years? Will I be the best person I can be? I understand that I am still young and Lord willing will have many years to come, but I can't help but think upon these major parts in life and wonder if they will ever happen.

A few weeks ago, I just so happened to stumble upon which is now one of my favorite verses. In Psalms 37:4 is says “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him, and he will act.” What an amazing verse for me to find, right when I was stumbling upon my worries. For women, or for me at least, I don't think much about how God knows my every thought. He knows me better than I know myself, and although it is scary to think that God knows how many times I have stumbled, it is incredibly comforting to know that God knows all my desires and goals. I know that I may not get everything in life, and I'm sure my life will turn out nothing like I exactly pictured it, but in the end God will lead me on the path I need to be on.

One of my favorite songs, which now listen to every time I start to worry about something, is by Brandon Heath. He sings “If we’re gonna pray about it / There’s no use in worrying / If we’re gonna worry about it / Why are we praying / Just leave it in the hands of the Father” This song plucked my heartstrings, reminding me that I need to trust God and pray about it, we all do.

Although I still struggle with worrying, I now know that going to God and praying about it is what I need to do. We may not always understand why things happen in our life, but I know now that it is crucial to trust in God. In Psalms 56:3-4 it says “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust, I shall not be afraid.”

I hope that next time you find yourself worrying, or maybe you see someone who is stressed or having a hard time with a situation, you can come back to these verses and be comforted by God's amazing love. Life will never be easy, and we don't know what always lies ahead, but if we trust in Him and pray God will hear our prayers.