Sight Folds

 Have you ever been blind folded?

Maybe to hit a pinata, pin the tail on the donkey, or some kind of game. I don't really trust myself when I'm blindfolded. I don't wanna run into a wall or trip. When your blindfolded, you really want someone to be there for you and tell you whats infront of you. You want a little direction on which way to turn. You almost feel vulnerable.
 Isn't that what we feel like here on Earth?

   I flipped through my Bible today and came to Colossians 1:15-23

Christ Is Supreme

 ¹⁵ Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
      He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,^[a]
 16 for through him God created everything
      in the heavenly realms and on earth.
   He made the things we can see
      and the things we can’t see—
   such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
      Everything was created through him and for him.
 ¹⁷ He existed before anything else,
      and he holds all creation together.
 ¹⁸ Christ is also the head of the church,
      which is his body.
   He is the beginning,
      supreme over all who rise from the dead.^[b]
      So he is first in everything.
 ¹⁹ For God in all his fullness
      was pleased to live in Christ,
 ²⁰ and through him God reconciled
      everything to himself.
   He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
      by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
 ²¹ This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. ²² Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
 ²³ But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.

  So what I wanted to tell you today was wear your blindfold. You see, God is the supreme power over everything. He is so powerful, if you were betray Him, he could destroy you with a lift of a finger, but He won't. You know whats awesome about our God? He loves us. And He wants us to be with us. Whoa, isn't that awesome? So there is this God who created everything the way He wanted. So why didn't He make us perfect? Why did He make us able to sin against Him? Because He loves us, and if He made us all perfect, He wouldn't have sent His son to die for us. But since He loves us so so so much, He did. He did everything for a reason.
   On this Earth, we depend too much on what we see. Think about it, we look at people and judge them. For example, we see someone and describe them as friendly, or we see someone and describe them as scary, and that changes how we would treat someone. For example, you wouldn't talk to your little sibling the same way you would talk to your boss at work. What you see is what sets your mind on how you'll treat someone. We do the same thing with enviroments, whether it be a city, a store, or your church.
   But God isn't like that. He sees everyone He has created and everything He has created. He sees each person as unique, but treats them as one of His children. He gives Him His word, and teaches them to be like Him through many ways.

                        God wants us to be more like Him.
   He made us in his image. So why can't we treat people like Jesus does?
                        Because we don't have our blindfolds on.
   And when I say we don't have our blindfolds on, it means we let things of this Earth blind us. We see the earthy things instead of the things of Heaven. And this blindfold enables us to see what Jesus sees. It enables us to walk with Christ, and to spread the gospel to whomever comes along, scary or friendly. Jesus wouldn't pass up a person because they're ugly. All people are beautiful in His eyes. Jesus wouldn't pass up a person because they're mean. They just need to soften their hearts. And when we take the risk to walk with God with our blindfolds on, we give Him complete control and trust. He leads us on to victory.
   I'd rather have the blindfold on and follow Jesus than to take it off to see things of this Earth. Because when you have that blindfold off, its easy to stray away, but when you have it on, you have to trust God everywhere you go and in everything you do.
  When you deciede to give into temptation knowing its wrong, its easy to sin more, but when you blind yourself with God's word, it becomes easier to follow Him.

   Eventually you'll see. Because this blindfold that you've recieved enables you to see the Kingdom of God at work. It enables you to be apart of God's Kingdom. And isn't that the greatest gift of all? To be with the one who was there and created everything? Who has the power to do everything? Its pretty great once you've lived with that blindfold on.

   Sure, walking by true faith blinds you of everything earthy by wearing a blindfold, but when you look back down at everything of Heaven one day you'll think man, why'd they call that a blindfold?

It taught me how to see.

And isnt that the greatest gift of all?



"For we walk by faith, not by sight" 2 Corinthians 5:7



Living The Truth

 So I know I just posted a blog, but this is pretty much something I just had to write.


  There once was a boy who just learned how to ride a bike with two wheels. All of his friends didn't have to wear helmets, but his mom told him if he wanted to ride a bike, he had to wear the helmet. The boy always complained to his mother saying, "I don't want to wear my helmet! No one else does, I look stupid, and my helmet is too confining!"
   He begged his mom everyday to let him ride without one until she finally gave in. Then, one day, the boy was racing all of his friends down a hill, and he felt free as a bird! Then, his bike crashed into a garbage can in the road. The boy got a concussion because he had no helmet. So the boy had to watch all the other kids ride bikes when he couldn't anymore.

   John 8:31-32
   "Jesus said to the people who believed in him, 'You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'"

  We must remain faithful to Jesus' teachings if we want the truth to set us free. Its as simple as that. But even when we know who God is, and we follow Him, its easy to give into temptations because sometimes we feel confined like the boy when he had to wear his helmet. We feel like we can go off, sin, then come back into living for God. Almost like taking a detour. Lucky us, God forgives us of our sins. But we can't be doing that.
   When God tells us to follow his words, we must listen, because in the long run, only the truth can set us free. Its not; only the truth can set us free, with a little sin and false in mixed in there. No, we must obey the truth in everything we do to be free. It may feel confining at some points in our lives and we just want to go do something else, but realize its tempation. Pain and waiting are two major things God uses to make us stronger, to see if we're worthy to spend eternity with Him. But its not to make you give up your life with God, its to help your life with God.
   Just like wearing a helmet helps you if you were to fall off your bike, knowing the truth and the way helps you if temptation were to knock on your door. Isn't that helmet worth wearing? Others may think you look stupid when you are doing whats right for God, but they don't realize that you will be the one set free by the truth, and they will not.

Wear your helmet and don't argue or complain, you'll be set free.

Its a lifestyle worth living.

Living As Children of Light

liv·ing

   /ˈlɪvɪŋ/ Show Spelled

[liv-ing] Show IPA

–adjective

1.

having life; being alive; not dead: living persons.

 

chil·dren

   /ˈtʃɪldrən/ Show Spelled[chil-druhn] Show IPA

–noun

plural of child.

        -child

            /tʃaɪld/ Show Spelled

        [chahyld] Show IPA

        –noun, plural chil·dren.

        1.

        a person between birth and full growth; a boy or girl: books for children.

        

light

¹    /laɪt/ Show Spelled noun, adjective, -er, -est, verb, light·ed or lit, light·ing.

[lahyt] Show IPA

–noun

1.

something that makes things visible or affords illumination: All colors depend on light.

 

 

   Take a look at these definitions. What I want to talk about today is Ephesians 4:17-32. You know, I personally love Ephesians. With how short it is, it just says so much. But thats just me.

 

Go ahead and read it. Here it is, courtesy of Bible Gateway. (:

 

Living as Children of Light

 ¹⁷ With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. ¹⁸ Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. ¹⁹ They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

 ²⁰ But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. ²¹ Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, ²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

 ²⁵ So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. ²⁶ And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”^[a] Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

 ²⁸ If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. ²⁹ Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

 ³⁰ And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,^[b] guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

 ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Its me again!

So how are you? What have you been up to lately? I like you, so I'm gonna get to know you a bit better. Can I take a quick interview? Sweet. I am.

1.) Would you like to come jump out of a plane with me? But, we're not gonna bring a parachute.

2.) I say we go ride that new crazy upside-down rollercoaster at Kennywood. But, they're not strapping us in anymore. Sorry. But can we do it anyways?

3.) Can you eat this rotten egg with a dead frog in it for fun for me? Pretty Please?

Yeah. I bet you all your answers were a straight up "NOO!!!" But I get that. I mean, who would do that? You could die or get really hurt!

Sadly, I've seen peope take risks like that.

People are taking risks here on Earth that may cause them to spend eternity in Hell. Spiritual death is at stake when you turn away from God. So jumping out of a plane without a parachute is the same as sin. 

Sin is dangerous, and you will face consiquences.

God doesn't want you wrapped up in death situations. He wants YOU to be with HIM. So what he's done for us ever so generously is not only die for our sins, but we are provided with His word so we don't have to end up in death situations like these.

These verses say that God wants us to completely change ourselves to be like Him. He tells us straight up "Stop telling lies." and "..throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.  Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy."

God wants us to be like Him.

"Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you."

"just as God"

Just as God. He tells us to be "just as God." With loving and open hearts. To be kind and forgiving. And forget all evil and sinful nature. Reading these sounds hard to live like Jesus did. But We aren't here to make it by easily. Jesus was taken to the cross, and we went willing. No one is called to make it through life easy. Thats was Living As Children of Light is all about. Living to glorify God only! There is no other purpose on Earth for Heaven. And people of this Earth are living in the darkness of this world, so they are guarenteed to reject all living for His Name. But by putting on their new nature of living for God as a child of the light, you are able to fight off the darkness with the most powerful thing in the world, God's Love

By following what Ephesians says, you can live as a child of light.

Let me put together those definitions for you.

Living, Children/Child, Light

Light makes things visible. He is the light that makes all things in Heaven visible to those who believe.

Living is the act of life, not being dead. Your spirit is not living without accepting God into your life. If you refuse, your heart is hard, and you will experiance spiritual death.

Children/Child-  A person between birth and full growth. We are not fully grown on Earth until we are with God in Heaven. We are all children learning and growing in different ways. He claims us to be his Children, which may I point out is plural! Therefore, you are never ever alone.

Living as Children of Light means to live the life God has provided to you by filling your heart with the true life and love of Christ.

So when living as a child of the light, you must avoid all things that could bring you close to sin, because it is very very dangerous! He has given us His word to learn, so pay attention and listen to it.

When it all comes down to it, remind yourself each day,

"I am a Child of the Light. I will live for Christ Jesus because He has told me to be like Him. I will walk and act everyday as if Jesus, himself, were in the flesh walking behind me."

Credit goes to

Josh McDowell's

Youth Devotion

For giving me the

rollercoaster example(: