My One Question For You

Alright, people. 

So yesterday, I was drying my hair and thinking about this conversation that my friend Erica and I have been having recently. And while doing so, a thought bubble exploded in my head. So here is the one question I have for you.

If you knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, how would you live differently today?

I know, right? As soon as I thought it, I was like….ouch….that one stung. 

I’ve just never thought about it that way before. But it makes a whole lot of sense. 

Most of us would probably answer yes to this question. If we knew that Jesus was coming back tomorrow, we would probably be running around telling people how much we love them, fulfilling things on our bucket lists, and then sharing Jesus Christ with every person we see. 

But here’s the thing…

We don’t know when Jesus is coming back!!

He could come back in one year. 

He could come back in 5,000 years.

HE COULD COME BACK TOMORROW. YES, TOMORROW. 

And because we don’t know, shouldn’t we be living every day like it is our last?? Shouldn’t we be sharing Christ as if eternity started tomorrow?? Because it could.

I don’t remember who it was, but someone once said in a sermon, “Every single person you lay your eyes on spends eternity somewhere.” 

Every. Single. Person. 

And when we go through our everyday lives, we don’t really think about that. At least I don’t. 

If you knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, how would you live differently today?

Would you forgive the person you have been holding a grudge against?

Would you say “I love you” or “I appreciate you” more?

Would you work harder than you normally do?

Would you quit an addiction?

Would you go out of your way to help someone?

Would you be more respectful and understanding?

Would you smile more?

Would you evangelize more?

Would you stop stressing over the things that have no eternal significance?

Would you stop worshipping other gods?

Like I said earlier, we should be doing these things every day!! Because WE DON’T KNOW when Jesus Christ is coming back! WE DON’T KNOW when our lives or others lives are going to end!!

We need to be striving to live every day like Jesus Christ, and we also need to be striving to live every day as if Jesus Christ is coming back tomorrow! 

Yes, I’m going to mess up at this. Yes, you’re going to mess up at this. But that’s what “striving” is - putting towards great effort to achieve or obtain something, in spite of our faults. 

I know it’s a difficult, trivial thing to think about. But I really think it’s worth the thought. 

If you knew Jesus Christ was coming back tomorrow, how would you live differently today?

Am I Attractive?

Society has all these standards on outward attractiveness, perfect personalities, and “relationship goals.”

Without noticing, we often become consumed by these things…always concerned about what we look like, if the way we are acting is different than everyone else, wondering why we don’t have those “relationship goals” or whatever other “goals" there are out there.

So I’m here to tell you that these things aren’t true. 

Shocker, right?

We all have an idea of our “perfect self” and other people’s “perfect self.” 

We all have an idea of what we think makes us attractive, and what we think makes others attractive (romantically and non-romantically). 

But you see, we all have different views. We all have different ideas and different standards. 

As a 16 year old girl who is daily trying to live her life for Christ, I know when I am most unattractive in the non-physical sense. 

I also can pinpoint what I find attractive and unattractive in other people..we all can in some way or another. 

Women who respect themselves, recognize inner beauty and have humble confidence….that is the kind of woman I find attractive. That is the kind of woman I want to be. 

Men who are humble, kind, and spiritually strong are the kind of men that most godly women would find attractive. 

But remaining gender neutral, what is most attractive is someone who 

*Respects themselves and others

*Is humble and submissive

*Is sincere

*Is even tempered

*Is hard working

*Is honest

*Is pursuing purity

*Encourages others

*Speaks kind words

*Always has their arms reached out to help others

*Has a firm foundation in Christ

*Is compassionate

*Whose prayers and worship are sincere

And most importantly, someone who 

*Looks like, is in love with, and is completely consumed by Jesus

Of course, no one can be all of these things 100% of the time. But society’s sense of attractiveness and “goals” are completely messed up. 

It is not all about looks. It is not all about reputation. It is not about being perfect. It is not about having the perfect relationships. 

But what is it about?

It’s about actively pursuing Christ every day. It’s about striving to live like Him with every breath you take. It’s about loving others like Christ has called us to. 

In the end, that is what is important. The things that are important to the world have absolutely no value in the eyes of the God. 

So why are we wasting our time trying to be attractive to the world? Being attractive in the way the Lord has called us to be should be our target-each and every day. 

And by the way, 

this is what real relationship goals looks like. 

#TBT

Alright so I’m sure you have all heard of the app Timehop, and I’m also sure some of you use it like I do. 

I personally love anything that is old, anything that brings back memories…old family movies, baby pictures, and all that other fun stuff. 

Well, recently I have been noticing that so much has changed since one/two/three years ago when I was posting these things. 

Different friends, different experiences, different circumstances, different looks, etc. 

A couple days ago, a picture came up from one year ago, and I realized that I’m not friends with this person anymore. 

We don’t really realize it, but every single day, something is changing in the slightest way. 

Every single day, God is doing something in our lives, and often times we don’t notice it until a significant amount of time has gone by. 

When looking at my time hop the other day, I realized that I was being shown something. God was showing me and reminding me through timehop that 

“This is where you were. And this is where I’ve brought you. **Ta-da**.”

And it was kind of a “woah” moment. Like, look at how much God has done and changed in my life in just the past 365 days! That’s not something we notice on an everyday basis. 

Some of those changes were hard. Some of them I didn’t even notice. Some of them were happy.

But looking back now, I can see that all of them were for the better. Every single one. 

God does so much in our lives and we hardly ever give him credit for it. 

These past two Wednesdays at youth group, Marla has been talking about how Jesus is our “And”. 

The first week was about before the birth of Christ, and the next week talked about after. 

But how true is that?!

Jesus IS our And!

He connects…

Our past AND our future.

The promised AND the fulfilled. 

The before AND the after. 

What an amazing God we have, people!! 

Let us praise Him for all he has done, is doing, and will do in our lives, because it is more than we could ever imagine.

And now, for your entertainment, here are a couple #tbt

It's Really Pretty Simple

I recently posted something on Facebook that said something like,

“Our problem isn’t only that our world has a presence of darkness, but also that our loves contain an absence of light.”

One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone tells me to do something, but then they don’t give me instructions on how to do it…they just expect me to know. This mostly goes for teachers or school. 

But you see, we hear our pastors say all the time to go out and be lights and spread the word, and for many people, we have heard that message time and time again, so it just seems to go in one ear and out the other. We know that we need to be spreading the gospel, but we aren’t exactly sure where to start. 

The good news is, that the Bible is like a giant manual that tells you have to handle pretty much every event you will ever go through in your life. It instructs you HOW to be the light, HOW to live a godly life, HOW to….

It is our choice whether or not we will do what the Bible says, but when it comes to sharing the case for Christ, we can never use the excuse that we don’t know how. 

This week, I have been reading James, and it gives some pretty simple, clear instructions and insights.

1. Be happy when trials come, because they test your faith and produce perseverance. 
1. I know it’s pretty hard to be joyful, grateful, or even happy when you are facing trials, because you want to do the exact opposite. But try to think about it from the “big picture” perspective and see how this trial is going to positively effect you in the long run. 
2. You can only blame temptation on the devil, or yourself. 
1. Temptations drag people away by their own evil desires and entices them, which then gives birth to sin, which ultimately gives birth to death. When you stand by God, He will help you to resist temptation. 
3. Listen more, and be less angry.
1. Anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 
4. It is not enough to just listen to the word. You must do what it says. 
5. Those who follow Christ but do not control their mouth are deceiving themselves, and their religion is worthless. 
1. If your words are speaking things that the Lord would not approve of, you are doing no good for the Kingdom of God. 
6. If you break one part of the law, you have broken all of it. 
1. You’re either a sinner, or you’re not. (PS..we all are….sorry to burst your bubble)
7. Faith without deeds is useless.
1. Faith and actions work together. Sure, having a strong faith is great, but if you aren’t acting on it, then what good is it doing?
8. The tongue has great power and corrupts the whole body. 
1. We praise and curse with the same tongue. Brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? No. 
9. Those who bring peace will obtain righteousness. 
10. Wisdom leads to peace, love, a considerate heart, submissiveness, mercy, and good fruit. 
11. You cannot be friends with the world and a follower of God. 
1. James 4:4 merely states, “You adulterous people, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world is an enemy of God."
12. Submit yourselves to God and resist the devil. 
1. Wash your hands and purify your hearts. Humble yourselves. 
13. Stop being judgmental. 
1. James 4:12 There is only one law maker, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you? Who are you to judge your neighbor? 
14. Only rely on God’s plan. 
1. James 4:14 You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
15. Be patient, like Job, and God will bring you greater things. 
16. Confess your sins to others so that you may be healed. 
17. Prayer is powerful and effective.
1. If one of you should wander from the truth, someone should bring that person back. This will save them from death and cover a multitude of sins.