Rainbows

I think it is amazing how to this day, God reminds us of his promises. It thundered, lightninged and hailed really hard on Saturday. I sat outside on my patio for the last hour or so of the storm and when it stopped there was a huge rainbow. It made me think about the Noah and the flood.  I was always taught that God made a rainbow as a promise that he would never send a flood upon the earth again.

Genesis 9:13-16
¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

Just think about that day and how it must have felt to witness the power and wrath of the Almighty. They must have been so relieved when it was finally over and given hope because they knew that no matter what happened, God would take care of them. I think that moment when they looked up and saw his magnificence hanging in the clouds, they fell to their knees…I know I would have. It must have been the most beautiful rainbow that there has ever been or will be. The best apology in the world..

It paints a picture of a refreshing peace and complete renewing.  All of the old is washed away so that the new can spring forth. Absolutely amazing.

ADD Much?

I don’t have ADD but today sitting in class I noticed that I would randomly go on these mental tangents that had nothing to do with anything that was going on.  My professor said something about how these different species of fish called ‘Pundamilia’ are really cool and are easy to take care of if you have an aquarium.  So in my mind I’m thinkin…

“I want an aquarium..I wonder which species I would get..probably the blue and silver ones…what would I name it?…would it have to be a big tank with an aerator thing?…”
Back to reality and he is talking about something like two pages ahead of where I am. 

I did the same thing when I looked over at this girl who had her soda in a koozie..Like “where is that koozie I had a couple of days ago? I think I threw it away..how can I get it back without going through the trash..I guess I’ll just get a new one..”

I’m sure that I am not the only one that has this issue sometimes, but it really is annoying when I am really trying to pay attention and I realize that I am off in Narnia…

Just Do It.

So I was doing some journaling tonight and I came across a passage that really hit me hard and convicted me.

Philippians 2: 14-16 (NIV)

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe ¹⁶as you hold out^[c] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.”

God was telling me that instead of wasting all my time complaining about things that I need to get done, they will get done faster and I will have a greater sense of accomplishment when they are finished.  Here lately I have been arguing with my parents about getting a tutor to help me with some classes.  I am not doing well in the class but I feel like I can do it on my own.  Wrong! The grade I recieved on my first exam, told me that that plan was not working out for me.

I feel like God is telling me to grow up and do it already.  Instead of complaining about it like a child, grow up and get the help you need and stop arguing with everyone.

Kinda harsh, but it is way past due.

So the second part of the verse that says :

“you shine like stars in the universe

as you hold out^[c] the word of life—in order that

I may boast on the day of Christ that

I did not run or labor for nothing.”

I feel like this is saying that if I put in the work now, it will pay off later.  When the day comes when I graduate and have a degree in my hand, I will shine like stars in the universe and I will say that I did not run or labor for nothing.  That all my work has payed off and here I am with my reward.

If I continue to do what I am doing now, I will might not every reach my goals.  Yes, I might eventually graduate, but I will not feel like I have done anything.  My work and my money will have been all for nothing.  I know that if this is what God wants me to be doing that everything will work out for me.

He has a plan for me, and I need to follow him and do His will and not my own.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Predestination?

The question is this:

Does God know every decision we will make? If so, do we really have a choice or free will?

God is using His people (me and you) to accomplish His purpose.

God had a purpose for the world when he created it. He created humans in order to achieve that purpose.

We have the choice to either follow him and work toward that purpose or reject him and live in sin therefore hindering the work of Christians. Though God does not force his will upon us, he knows the choice we will make. Working toward achieving his purpose is to spread the living word throughout the world, so that everyone has the ability to chose for themselves.

GOD KNOWS

Think about it this way:

“If a bunch of people get on a ship going to London, the people on the ship have the ability to do whatever they want while on the ship. But whether they like it or not, the ship WILL end up in London.”

The same is true with God….

He uses us to accomplish his purpose for mankind. So in essence we are the ship.

Even if we chose not to accept or follow him, his purpose WILL be carried out.

There is no getting around the will of God.  God has predetermined his will among mankind. We can chose to be apart of it, or we can sit back and watch it happen anyways.

Either way, it is going to happen..period.

I think that God knows those who chose to be apart of his purpose, so he blesses them with the tools and resources necessary.

i.e. Certain talents, friends, spiritual gifts, etc.

Be Strong and Courageous!

School can be very overwhelming at times, especially towards the end of the semester.  When everything starts to come down to that final test/project, and final grade.  It is easy to let the devil grab hold of you and try to make you fail, or at least believe that you will fail.

A really great friend sat me down and said exactly what I needed to hear, it was like God knew that I was going to be going through this, and he used her to speak to me.  She said that the devil will try to discourage you and let you believe that the problem isn’t there, when in all reality the problem will not go away until you do something about it.

It was easy for me to become discouraged, believing that anything I tried to do I would fail.  I was afraid to fail, which made me more afraid to even try.  FEAR is a powerful thing.  It is a tool used by the devil to make you a coward; the only way to overcome that fear is to step out in FAITH and TRUST in God.

Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

“Ignorance is Stupidity not Bliss”  You can stick your head in the sand and try to wish your problems or responsibilities away, but at the end of the day when all your time is wasted you will wish you hadn’t.  It is one of the worst feelings…going to bed at night feeling like you wasted a whole day, and didn’t get anything done.  I am sick of feeling like that.  If I don’t do my homework or study for my tests, I can’t expect to walk into class on test day and make an A.  That is just ridiculous…

If you don’t do anything about your problems, they will just get bigger and harder to handle.  Do something about it! I am the queen of procrastination, and you know what? It sucks! Always having to be stressed out to get things done ontime…that is not a healthy lifestyle.  I have become lazy in my studies, and it has come back to bite me…It has caused me to get lazy in other areas of my life i.e-my quiet time has suffered because I would wake up in the morning and not want to get up, and tell myself that I can just spend time with God later.  That is the devil talking right there!  GAH! On those days, even though I take my bible with me to class, it stays closed….

I will not let Satan conrol my life or my thoughts.  I will not let my laziness keep me from continuing down the path of righteousness.  I know that my faith is strong, and that I can overcome my fears in life and be diligent.  I trust that God will catch me when I fall, and he will raise me up and help me be successful.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 “The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”

AWESOMENESS

So this morning, as I was praying God gave me
Proverbs 3:5
“Trust in the Lord your God and lean not on your own understanding.”
It was just really encouraging to me because I have been fasting for 2 days now and for the last day I really needed some encouragement not just from my friends, but also from my Daddy.
I was texting a friend this morning, about this verse and giving her some encouragement and she sent back something like “live your life, not necessarily out of fear but out of Godly reverence.” I was like whoa…”I try to live according to His word because he says ‘Do not be afraid for I am with you!’..
Later after my first class, I checked my email and I opened the only new email in my inbox and this verse exactly was sent to me this morning!!
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous; Do not be afraid, or dismayed: for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
This was just really awesome and I love it when God speaks to me like this.