Storing up treasures in Heaven

I will be going to University in the fall and I have been getting worried about the cost. There are so many things involved in going to University which will cost me money. On top of it all, I am supporting a little girl in Indonesia through Compassion International. I started getting stressed out about it. That little girl depends on me and I can't let her down, but I have to support myself as well. Then I was reading Luke chapter 12. God gives us exactly what we need from His word! Luke 12:33-34 says, "Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." So, when I help my little girl and give to those who need help, God will store up treasures for me in heaven! He so richly blesses us when we do what He wants us to do! Store up your treasures in heaven! Don't worry about money, God has it all in His hand!

God's Laws and Our "Rules"

I have been planning a fundraiser dinner and it seems that all my time has been spent on making sure everything is going to work out just perfectly for the dinner. It's a lot of hard work. I have a lot of people helping me with the planning, but sometimes they don't follow the guidelines I have given them to follow. I started getting really frustrated with a few people who were supposed to be helping me but who were instead making it harder for me. I was angry with them for going against the guidelines I had given them to follow.

But then I realized how silly I was acting. Here I was angry and frustrated because a few people weren't following the guidelines I had given to them, and there God is, continually watching those He loves disobey Him. I gave my team guidelines to follow, God gave us laws. My guidelines are nothing to His laws. Even my being angry and frustrated with people was sinning against God and breaking the rules He gave me about loving others unconditionally. God is so loving that He not only forgives us for breaking His laws, He erases them from His memory. Hebrews 8:12 says, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." He wants us to follow Him, but when we fall away from Him, He doesn't get angry with us, rather He tries to bring us back to Him so that we can be forgiven.

Next time you are angry or frustrated with someone for breaking your "rules" remember that you are breaking Gods rules with your anger. And remember that their breaking your "rules" is nothing compared with us breaking God's rules.

Trust in the Lord!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding; 

 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6  

In my life I have to keep reminding myself that I need to trust in the Lord. I tend to forget that God is in control and try to do things in my own strength. My problem is, my strength isn't good enough and I end up getting stressed out. This verse is a promise to us. When we trust in the Lord with all our heart, stop leaning on our own understanding, and acknowledge Him in everything, He will guide us in the right path! I shouldn't be so stressed out with my life because I can trust in God to guide me! He won't allow my foot to slip because He is right there beside me, holding me up. It has never worked out for anyone who decided to lean on their own understanding and their own strength. We can't do anything on our own, we need to turn to God. Trust in the Lord and He wont forsake you. Psalm 9:10 says, "And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You." If we seek God, He will never forsake us. When we trust in the Lord to work out everything, He will work out everything. When you are feeling stressed out, remember to trust in the Lord and lean not on your own understanding!

Take time to remember

Take time to be with God, He wants you with Him.
Today take time to remember Him and what He did on the cross for us.
He died that we might have life. He conquered death and was victorious over sin. Let us praise God and reiterate the words of 1 Corinthians 15:55, "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" Jesus Christ was victorious over Satan on that cross! He rose again and now He reigns forever! He gave us eternal life and set us free! We are now free in Christ Jesus! What does Easter mean to you?

Easter

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." What amazing love He showed us! Not only did He come to earth to live among us, He humbled Himself (Philippians 2:10) and died on the cross for our sins! This Easter remember the great event this holiday represents! Remember that 2000 years ago Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world so that we may have eternal life. What an amazing truth! The thought of this should fill us with joy! Praise God for His indescribable gift! Thank you Jesus for what you did for us on the cross!

Turn to God

Sometimes the problems of life get to big for us. They seem insurmountable and we can't find a way out of them. I have been feeling this way lately. I don't know where to turn for help and the stress of everything that is going on in my life has overtaken me. I haven't been sleeping very well because I am continually thinking about what I need to get done. There isn't enough time in the day for me to finish everything I need to finish. I have gotten to the point of making myself sick from the stress that is weighing me down. I have been feeling far from God during all this because I had forgotten that He is in control of my life and that He is the one I need to turn to for help. I forgot my favorite verse: 1 Peter 5:7, "Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you." What an incredible promise! He is there for me! He cares for me! I am not alone in what I am doing! He desires for us to come to Him and lay all our cares at His feet! Giving it all to Him, all our trouble, all our sadness, all our stress, all our problems. Psalm 46:1 says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." He is ever present, helping us in our trouble. We need to remember this! I need to remember this! God is always right beside you and me! The reason He seems far away is because we have been trying to go out in our own strength! We can never do anything in our own strength! God is our source of strength! We need to be connected with Him to receive His strength! God is in control of everything and nothing will ever change that! I have been looking at verses that show us that God is in control! What a comfort God's word is! God loves us and we need to trust Him to take care of us! We need to trust that He is in control of our life and that He will always be with us! When you feel lost in your problems, read through the scriptures! Find peace in God's word! Remember that God is in control! I love the song called "God is in control", the chorus goes: God is in control / We believe that His children will not be forsaken / God is in control / We will choose to remember and never be shaken / There is no power above or beside Him, we know / God is in control, oh God is in control. Whenever you are stressed out, or worried, or scared, or are facing problems in your life, remember to turn to God because He cares for you, He is your strength and refuge, He is your help, and He is in control of everything! What a comfort to know that He is watching over us!