"Sacrifices"

So tonight was a youth service at the Refuge (great church by the way). And we started a new series called "Check you Bags". Tonight's was about baggage we carry. Three types that were talked about were emotional, physical, and past baggage. In all these, carrying it was keeping us from God.
           The youth pastor, Eric Lotz, was talking about how he went flying a lot and the less luggage you bring flying the easier it is to get around. Well when he said this a "God thought", as I like to call it, popped in my head. To me "god thoughts" are just when you  hear something and God points it out to you and relates it to something in your spiritual life. Anyways, about the plane and luggage. The way God pointed it out to me was this....
          The less stuff we hang on to and the less boundries we set for ourselves and the spirit, the higher we'll fly in him. If we want to see God do something we've never seen before, we've got to do something we've never done before. Including giving up things that aren't holy. Music, popularity, sports, anything that has more of our heart than God. It is said that God will not dwell in a place with other idols.
            Following God includes a sacrifice, and no matter what, it will always be worth it.

Distractions

So, today was hectic. I missed my morning devo time with my father (God) and that just throws off the day. And the reason for this was a paper I needed to finish. Then throughout the day things kept getting in the way of me focusing on God. Drama going on with friends, tests, marching band prac, not having the money for dinner, Thomas, how I looked, and so on.
                  Towards the end of the day, after I got a minute to breathe, I realized what this all really was. Not just a normal thing, day, or schedule. No, it was the devil trying to get me to focus on the wrong things so that I couldn't shine God in my school and to decimate my relationship with him.
                  All the things I mentioned are pretty normal things to highschool students, right? We're all programmed to go left and right and jump through hoops, for what? A college. Great you have plans. Anyways, thing is, these distractions are so easy to fall for. They seem innocent enough. Just trying to do things we love and what's required of us. Most things don't even seem like they are distractions, and those are the easiest to fall for.
                   In the bible, it mentions focusing on God several times. This is the only way to live life to it's fullest, yet it's one of the hardest things to do this day and age. So pray for protection of your mind. Soon, it'll be easier to find what are distractions and make sure every day of your life is for God. That's our purpose anyways. I know it's something I pray for. Good luck.

Identities, where'd they all go?

Well, today I was just playing some songs on the guitar and one of them was "Identity" by Sarah Elizabeth. And the lyrics are something like this....

I've been looking in this mirror for too long
To see what I can change to somehow belong.
I hide the imperfections, cover up the weak.
Until I like the person looking back at me.

If I am in Christ
Then that is where my identity lies.
A new creation is what I want to be
So I will overcome these insecurities.

I'll take off the make-up, let the whole world see
Exactly who I am and all the flaws in me.
But with his grace sufficient, all I'll ever need.
His power is made perfect when I am weak.

If I am in Christ
Then that is where my identity lies.
A new creation is what I want to be
So I will overcome these insecurities.

I will boast when I am weak.
Let the power of Christ live in me.
I will boast when I am weak.
Let the power of Christ live in me.

It is just such and amazing song! A lot of the problems in today's world are caused by people not knowing who they are, or who they are supposed to be. Today we are hammered by all the wrong morals and told that things that don't glorify God are what we should focus on. For example, looks. Media slams us, both girls and guys, with unrealistic ideals of how thin we should be or what the "perfect" person looks like. Truth is God made you and he made you perfect in his sight!
                      The reason so many people fall for this lie is, they don't know who they are in God. Many people don't even really know him. Like this song, the writer says "If I am in Christ, then that is where my identity lies". That is so true. Christ gives us all a purpose and shows us who we were and who we can be. The rest is up to us. And the only way to find who we are is a relationship with him. Not just one where we come back every once in a while. One that is always growing. A relationship that leads your life.
                       Finding your identity in Christ is this. Have you ever heard anyone talk about looking like Christ, or bearing the image of Christ? The closer to God you are and the more you live your life by him, the more you look like him. Eventually he becomes your identity, or part of it. A line from another song says "I will seek you, until you and I become one."

People's identities and truth have been thrown into the background because of the lies we are fed today. Only in Christ can we find ourselves.