Martyred

Martyred:

This last Sunday,
our pastor, “Kevin Swanson” announced to the congregation that there was a
martyr who died for his faith this last week.
To be honest, I didn’t think that
“Martyrdom” happened very often. I thought that…sure people would be put in
prison, or beaten, but…killed...for their faith? Wow! I pray that God will have
mercy on those that have wronged.
It’s sad, isn’t it? We have so much
in this world, and yet so little. We have hot water for showers, food to eat, a
roof over our heads, a bed to sleep in, blankets to keep us warm, a car to get
us from here to there, (most of the time) and so many other things. We have
money to go places, and see things. There are so many people in this world who
don’t have that kind of stuff. They are lucky if they just get to sleep in a
bed, and they are blessed if they get 2 meals a day. Can you imagine?
Some people that are poor, know that
they are blessed to be alive. Do we know?
I know that there’s no such thing
as, “What if?” but let’s play the game for just a minute. Imagine yourself as a
Missionary, or even someone who just wants people to know the Gospel. Would you be willing to teach the Bible, even
if you knew that it could kill you? If someone asked you to recant your faith
or be killed, which would you choose? If someone tortured you brutally until
you recanted your faith, would you give in?
What does it mean to be a “Martyr?”
Do you remember Steven in the Bible?
...he was stoned to death for his faith.

Let’s pray for:
those who are serving in other countries and states to bring the gospel to
those that need it. Let’s pray that God will have mercy on those people who
have done wrong. Let’s lift our cries up to the God who is in control of
everything, and has a purpose and a plan for everything.

Captivated by...T.V...?

Last night my brothers and I got together with some of our friends for a movie night/pizza night and watched, "Captivated"...it's a movie about how technology has taken over our generation.
I was actually quite surprised by how much people use electronics every day.
There were so many stories, but one of them was really amazing!
There was this couple who had a camp, (I don't remember where) and it was for troubled teens. The teens would go there for one whole year, and wouldn't have anything that had to do with technology! (amazing huh? I honestly don't think I could do it for that long) no cell phones, ipods, music, ipads, computer, or electricity. These kids would have to think for themselves! They would care for the farm animals, build cabins, and such. By the end of the one year period, most of the kids went home, and literally got rid of all their computers, ipods, c.d.'s, and all other kinds of things.
It is so amazing how much time we spend on the Internet. (whether it's on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, email, etc...)
I would encourage you to borrow or own the movie, "Captivated"!!!
It will change your perspective, of the ways that you use technology, and how it's taken over our modern day culture!
I've posted the official Trailer below, please share with everyone!

Did you Know...?

This week for family worship, my dad was reading from a magazine that we got in the mail from answers in Genesis. However, this specific article that I read about Blue Whales was amazing...check it out:

Did you Know?
*Blue Whales have a special design for sucking nearly 15,000 gallons of water into their mouths. The skin has accordion-like folds that can expand like balloon. Then they force the water out through their "teeth"(actually, plates), leaving behind a snack of shrimp-like krill.

*Baby Blue Whales are the largest babies on earth. They can reach 25 feet at birth and gain 200 pounds each day.

*Blue whales can communicate with other blue whales hundreds of miles away. In fact, there is a special layer of water where they can send and receive messages 2,000 miles away. (At this water layer sounds can travel extremely far without dissipating. The sound is "Channeled" by the low-density water layer above and the high-density water below. It is technically called the Sound Fixing and Ranging Channel, or SOFAR)

*The Blue Whale's heart is the size of a Mini Cooper car.

*There are nine groups of blue whales in the oceans. The largest group is the California group and may have approximately 2,000 individuals. There may be close to 10,000 big blues worldwide. Scientists think that there were hundred of thousands before the whaling industry almost wiped them out in the early 1900's.

*The Stomach of a big blue can hold one ton of krill, and they can eat over 4 tons each day.

When God Raises you up

What does it mean in life when "God Raises you up"?
It could be a great many things...what did God do to raise you up?
In fact, what does it mean to be raised up?
In the 1828 Webster Dictionary the definition for Raise is:

To lift; to take up; to heave; to bring from a lower to a higher place
To bring from a state of death to life.

Isn't this exactly what God does to us in life? He brings us down to the lowest point, that we can't even take it any longer, and then at that point when we finally surrender, he raises us up.

Isaiah 5:15
People shall be brought down,Each man shall be humbled,And the eyes of
the lofty shall be humbled.

I have encountered it many times in life, when God raises me up.
The next time that you are brought low, just remember that God is and will always be there. He is the one that is carrying you.

Poems

God’s Hands

Sometimes we must be
hurt in order to grow,
we must fail in order to know,
we must lose in order to gain,
Some lessons are learned best only through pain.
Sometimes our vision
clears only after our eyes are washed with tears.
Sometimes we have to be broken so we can be tender; sick, so we
can rest and think better on things more important than work or fun.
Trip near death, so we can assess how we’ve ran.
Sometimes we have to suffer lack so we can know God’s provisions,
feel another’s pain,
so we can have a sense of mission.
So take heart my
friend,
If you don’t understand today,
instead of grumbling,
ask God what he means to say.
In order to learn, you must endure
and learn to see the bigger picture.
In Order to grow, you must stand.
Look beyond the hurt, to God’s loving hands that takes what is good
and gives what is best.
And on this blessed
thought rest, as your anxious heart with questions wait.
God’s hand only gives what his loving heart dictates.

Your Cross

Whatever your cross,
whatever your pain,
there will always be sunshine after the rain.
Perhaps you may
stumble, perhaps even fall,
but God’s always ready to answer your call.
He knows every heartache, sees every tear,
a word from his lips can calm every fear.
Your sorrows may
linger throughout the night,
but suddenly vanish at dawn’s early light.
The Savior is waiting somewhere above,
to give you his grace and send you his love.
Whatever your cross,
whatever your pain,
God always sends rainbows after the rain.

The Crucifixion

Tonight for our family worship, we read John 19.
It was the chapter on Jesus Crucifixion.
While we were reading it, I started crying. No, I am not usually an emotional person, but I couldn't help it. Jesus let people whip him, spit at him, put a crown of thorns on this head, when all he had to do was call out to God, and God would have rescued Him. But Jesus knew what he had to do in order for us to be with Him. Isn't that incredible?

A few nights ago, I watched Fireproof. In the part of the movie when Caleb Holt gives himself to God, Caleb's dad said, "son, you just asked me how you can love someone when they constantly reject you. The answer is...you can't, because you don't have God's love." He said, "Jesus loves us even though we reject him, and spit in his face."
Isn't that so true? We are constantly disobeying his laws, or ignoring his commandments, and yet he still loves us with unconditional love!
Now, does that mean that we can get away with sin? No! Absolutely not! God will judge us in the end.

Now, getting back to the crucifixion, Jesus is so amazing!!! Last year when I watched the "Passion of the Christ" for the second time, and I cried like crazy. I couldn't understand why people wanted to crucify him. I was mad, and upset.
I am so thankful that Jesus died on that cross willingly! And now, I can spend an eternity with him, forever and ever.

Here's a video called, "Why?" My dad showed it to me last year, and I've always kept the video. Please listen to the words; It makes me truly appreciate the sacrifice that God made for me.

Patience

Last week my dad sold his car, and so, we are now looking for another car to replace his old one.
We have learned a lot of patience through car searching!!! Their have been some dealers who are dis-honest with their cars, we have met some dealers who tell only some of the truth, and we've seen some dealers that can't even start their car up after telling us that it runs great. (I guess that would fit into the category of dis-honest)

So...we are still looking.

Aren't we like that with God sometimes? We have all these expectations that we want to have met each day.
Likewise, God has all these plans for us...that's how we learn patience.
There have been many time that my dad's driving in the car, and he's upset because someone really slow drives in front of us, so I will remind him that "Patience is a Virtue".

There was a book I read not too long ago, when it said that sometimes we have to remind ourselves that the old lady in front of us at the grocery store is so slow, because she's taking each moment as a gift from God because she received news that she has cancer, and that it's her last year to live.

I'm reminded of the fruit of the spirit:
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.
~Galatians 5:22-23~