Confidence.............

This week at church we split into our groups and took these quizzes, to find out what our top flaws were. All of our answers varied but for my top flaw I got insecurity. As our teacher looked around the room she realized that a lot of top flaws were insecurity. She suggested that we look up Christian ways to build confidence. So here's what I came up with:

Brandi mentioned that at a confidence boosting seminar her friend went to the instructor made her look in the mirror and say ten times "I like you!" Now for those outgoing, bubbly people out there this doesn't sound hard at all. On the other hand the shy, insecure people out there you're thinking uhhh.........nope! But even if it does make you feel silly and embarrassed especially in front of other people, it does make you face your fears. Insecurity and shyness go hand in hand.

Another way is to meet someone new. Now this might be, for the shy insecure people, a downright nightmare. I understand what this means. It scares me too. Sometimes we have too get out of our comfort zones.

Spend time in the bible. God's word will give us confidence. Constantly it will help us raise our self-esteem.

Find an accountability partner who can pray with you and lift you up when you are feeling low.

Now this wouldn't be quite whole if I didn't back it up with scripture :)
James 5:16 Confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed, the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

So many times insecurity and shyness springs from fear. But in Jesus Christ there is no fear.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us not a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love, and self control.

John 20: 21 Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you, for as the Father sent me, I am sending you."

God has given us peace, we do not need to fear if only we will take it. We don't need to hold onto our insecurity. In order to tell other people about our faith we must have confidence. In our faith and in ourselves. God doesn't want us to muddle through life shying away from everything. We have to leave behind our fear and hold onto our peace.

(Peace out!) JesusFreakTeen

Changing The World, One Kindness At A Time

I was listening to this song while I did the dishes and it made me think. Why does changing the world have to start out by doing the big things? Jesus came to us as a baby. He wasn't crucified first. You have to start somewhere. So instead of changing the world try changing someone's world. The song was by Matthew West. It's called "Do Something,". In this song Matthew West says:
"We're never gonna change the world by standing still."
We can't sit here wishing we could do something. Wishing you could do something won't get you anything without action. If you stand still you'll never run a marathon. So start with small kindnesses. Open the door for somebody. Smile at someone who looks sad. Do a chore before you're asked. Anything. I've heard of so many times when kids or adults say if someone had showed them a simple kindness then they wouldn't have done this or that. They wouldn't have gone down that road. Mother Teresa said:
Let no one ever come to you without leaving better or happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile. 
We are to follow Christ to strive to be like Him. What better way than to show everyone one kindness. Christ showed kindness and love to the lowest of the low, the lepers. I know that even if that man had not been healed and Christ had only reached out to him that the man would still be touched. But He went further He showed this man even more love and compassion. From the lepers to the Pharisees we have to show them all kindness. In doing so we are showing our world our Christ, our Savior. In showing kindness ourselves we are doing what we would wish for others to do for us.
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 
It's the small kindnesses that people remember. Show people who Christ is. You may be the only Christ someone ever sees. I'm going to paraphrase but the gist of Matthew 25: 40 is Jesus will reply, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

~JesusCrazyTeenager

Faith vs Good Works

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved--- through faith, this is not of yourselves but a gift from God. This verse clearly states we cannot save ourselves, through good works, but what about James 2:14?

For what use is it, for a man to say he has faith, if he does nothing? Will such a faith give him salvation?

 I think he is saying that through our strong we ought to have the want to do things for the Lord. That good works are the product of strong faith. If a christian is truly saved then they should have this desire to tell the world about God. A desire to do the right thing. A desire to go out of their way to do good things for people. James is saying that if a person is truly saved then they should have fruit that comes from our faith. We are not saved through good works. We are saved through grace, through faith. Through Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and us. In James 2:16 he talks about words with no action. (upon seeing a person in need of clothing and food) If one of you says, "Go in peace, be warm and well fed." But does nothing about their physical needs what good is it. In the next verse James goes on to say faith without action is dead. And here you realize that James is saying saying you believe and showing you have faith are two different things. Everyone thought Job had faith but they didn't truly see it until they saw him trust God to the utmost even after losing everything. Now it might seem funny that James said "Will faith save him?" Especially since the book Ephesians just said you are saved by faith. But what James really meant was will that kind of faith save him? If you say you have faith but do not show it then will that save you? James does not mean to discredit what the book Ephesians said. He means only to clarify. We are not saved through good works but what is our faith without fruit? Nothing.

~JESUSFREAKTEEN

I dare you to move..........

You've probably heard of Switchfoot right? Ok if not they're a christian band (an amazing one by the way) and they sing the song, and many others, I dare you to move. But I wanna go deeper. They are my inspiration for this blog post. Lets start with the line:
I dare you to move 
Like today never happened.
Now when those lines play through my head it reminds me of this verse:
John 15:20
Remember........if they have persecuted Me they will persecute you also.
John 15:20  and those verses seem to go together. It seems like maybe the "person" Switchfoot is talking about has been persecuted for their faith. Maybe they don't feel like getting up and walking out the door only to have it happen again. Or maybe this song is talking about someone who messed up. Somebody who doesn't want to face what they did. But they can't seem to forget it. But earlier in the song it says:
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you
What happens next?
What happens next?
It feels like once you're a christian then everyone has their eyes on you just waiting for you to step out of line. And lets be honest some people are. People can be brutal. Sometimes its more of when people are disappointed that makes you upset than when God is disappointed. Should we be that way? No. Are we? Yes. It's human nature unfortunately. But if we don't get right back up and try again then people will see us as being weak. We must have faith in the Lord. Even if we get knocked down, we have to get back up. If we make a mistake then we ask God's forgiveness. We have to remember that God doesn't hold onto our sins. He's thrown our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). He has forgotten our wickedness and our sins. (Hebrews 8:12) If He, meaning God, has forgotten your sins why should you remember them. Neither Persecution nor Mistakes shall keep you from getting back up and doing what God wants. Every one of us is useful to God. Do not think otherwise. Mistakes will not keep you from him either.
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation distress, sin, persecution, or famine or peril, or sword?
Romans 8:37-39
No in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (38) For I am sure that neither Death nor Life, nor Rulers or Angels, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, (39) nor height nor depth, nor anything else in creation shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Peter 2:9

"But you are a chosen race,a royal priesthood, a holy nation,a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light."
- 1 Peter 2:9

Peter starts out with "You are a chosen race,". This doesn't mean that you were picked randomly or that you were picked for no reason. This means that God has chosen you from millions of people. God has a purpose for your life. He picked you before you were born. ("For I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you." Jeremiah 29:11) God has a plan for your life. You could never be the labels that the world give teenagers. You will never be worthless to God. Peter goes on to say "a royal priesthood". When Peter mentions this I believe he is repeating that we need to minister and spread the word of God as a priesthood would do. I think a priesthood is meant to unite us so that we might work together to share The Gospel. Now when a Peter says "a holy nation", he isn't talking about just Israel. Together, all of the Christians, form a holy nation. A nation solely for God. Created for God. When he mentions, "a people for His own possession," I think Peter is trying to convey that we are for God. We are for His possession. We need to make our faith public to make people realize that they can and should be His too. "That you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light." This too seems to say tell people not only of The Gospel but of God's great glory and all that He's done. To summarize I think God wants us to know we are chosen specifically by Him and that since we are His, we need to tell others about it.

- Jesus Freak Teen

1 Samuel 16:7

1 Samuel 16:7 The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.

I know that outward appearances can often give you your first impression. But how many of us actually take the time to look deeper? To care about them? To remember that they are Gods creation also? That He loves them too? Because he does. Maybe that person that drives you crazy is actually the one that needs you the most. 

To care or not to care? If we decide not to care it could affect that person life. Not only their day. What if we all chose to care. To just smile at people we see on the street? To say hi to someone at school that normally doesn't get talked to? What if we tried to do something different? To change something? With God we can change the world.

Romans 8:31 What, then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us who can be against us?

We have to get past the voice in our head that says "What can you do? You're just a stupid kid." We have to turn our ears toward Heaven. We have to try and portray God. We are His disciples. People are looking at us to see how we react and we need to try to react like Christ would. We must give God our attention. Ask Him what He would have you do and together we can change the world.

~JesusFreakTeen

BOLD FAITH

1st Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Precisley. We don't know when Jesus is coming back. It is not time to step back and try not to offend people. I'm not saying not to respect them because God says that we are to love the sinner. Only we can't step down anymore. We don't know when the Lord is coming. He may come tonight, he may not come for centuries. The fact is we simply don't know.

Matthew 24:36 But about the day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the father.

If we knew the He was coming this week what would you change? Who would you tell about God? How would you act. Personally speaking I would tell strangers on the street. I would try to act in a way tha God would be proud of me. I would be bold in my faith. There would be no time for shyness. No room for offense. As many people as would listen, I would tell. He could come back tomorrow. We just don't know. We have to act like every day is our last. Like if we don't tell these people about God then they'd never here it. And you know what? You could be the only person to tell them. What if you don't? Everyone needs to know. Don't hide the light under a bushel. Let it shine in the darkness.

Jude 23 Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

We have to love them. We have to care. We can't go through life not caring about the people and souls around us. Look around you at the people and think about what I've said.

Christ loved us while we were still sinners. Can't we do the same for others? He said to love thy neighbor as thyself. Faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love. We have to have all of these. We need faith to talk to these people. We have to love these people as ourselves. We have to hope that they'll listen. We also need persistence. Even if they don't listen the first time you have to try again. You may be the only thing standing between them and Hell. Or maybe you just need to care. What if they have nobody that seems to care. You never know whats going on in their lives. We just need to love them.

~JesusFreakTeen

Music

The things that we put into our minds is very important. The bible suggests that Lucifer was the minister of music. Music is very easy to find these days. On your cell phone, your computer, mp3, ipod, and in your car. We have to be careful what we listen to and watch on TV. Recently my youth pastor told me that when she was a teenager and listened to questionable music she would say that she just liked the beat. She said that this is one of Satan's common lies. When she looked one of these songs up on youtube however it had satanic signs on the video. Its very easy to be deceived. Remember that nursery rhyme:
Oh be careful little ears what you hear.
Oh be careful little ears what you hear.
Theres a Father up above.
And He's looking down in love.
So be careful little ears what you hear.

Even this nursery rhyme from years ago has stuck in my head. Old "favorite songs" are still mostly stuck in my head. These songs, any of them, can get stuck in your head. They can start to influence you.  This is why we need to listen to encouraging music. Not all secular music is bad but some of it is.



"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you -- and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
— Mark 4:24-25 (NIV)

~JESUSFREAKTEEN

Tim Tebow

So many people inspire me. But they sometimes seem not to be human. As in it seems that they don't mess up. The person that inspires me the most is the one that messes up but admits it. All of those stars in Hollywood mess up and don't care. They don't admit it and certainly don't try to fix it. I am so glad that Tim Tebow admits this. He doesn't create an impossible image to follow.

I have so many things to work on and so many ways that I fail.

But that's what grace is all about.

And I wake up every morning,

trying to get better,

trying to improve,

and trying to get closer to God.

~TIM TEBOW

We need to follow his example. He admits he messes up but he tries to fix it. So many times we mess up and we don't try to fix it. God loves us and He wants us to be closer to Him. To walk on water to Him. To step out in faith. The time to change is now. Step out in faith. Grasp God's hands. Hold on to him. 

Faith is taking the first step

even when you can't see the whole staircase.

~ MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Everyone is afraid of the dark at one point in their life. Its because the darkness is unknown. But we must take that step and trust God. He loves you so much and wants to be closer to you.

~JESUSFREAKTEEN

Homefront Missionaries

"The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us." 
— Billy Graham
"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." 
— C.S. Lewis
 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
~James 1:27 ESV

In everyones mind, generally thinking, a missionary goes somewhere else. But nobody thinks about the missionaries all around us. Everyone walking next to you at school. Working beside you, liking your status on Facebook. Well how are these people missionaries? Being a missionary does not mean going to a foreign country to preach. That age old saying "Our actions speak louder than words"  is so true. If you want to really preach then you need to try to live. I'm not saying you have to be perfect. No. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying, "Forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." Try and love as many people as possible. Be a missionary. Be a missionary to anyone and everyone. God calls us to it. If you see someone hurting, reach out to them. Sometimes the people that need our love the most are the hardest to love. Try and love them anyway. "People pass and even if they don't know my name, is there evidence that I've been changed? When they see me do they see you?" (Sidewalk Prophets). This is what we need to strive for. Not always if you don't speak to someone will they know that you are changed but make it known. Even to people that you don't know. If you are already striving to be a missionary please don't get discouraged. I know how easy it is to fall back down when someone decides that they don't wanna listen anymore. But as Billy Graham said "The will of God will not take us where the grace of God cannot sustain us." Cling to God when you are discouraged. Ask for the words. And know that I am praying for all of the missionaries here at home. And above all remember you can change things and God loves you. All the time.

~JesusFreakTeen

Stumbling is a part of life.

I know that stumbling can be very discouraging sometimes but all you have to do is reach out and balance yourself. Jesus is waiting to hold you up. So many things can make you stumble but Jesus is the only real thing that can balance you. Whenever you mess up if you reach out to the wrong thing then you are going to fall. We. Need. Jesus. No if, ands, or buts about it. We need Him. Things will make you stumble. That is inevitable. God is the answer to all of our problems. And I mean all. When you stumble you need to run to God. When you stumble run to God. Give it to Him. And then don't think of it anymore. Make it part of the dance. When you give your problems over to God he helps you. Just trust it to Him.

                               -JesusFreakTeen 

Somethings Gotta Change

This song by Josh Wilson is so true.:
I'm hungry, God I'm hungry consuming what controls me. Somehow it never fills me up.
This talks about how we are consuming things of the world. Such as bad words, alcohol, drugs, etc. It can't ever fill you up. God is the only one who can fill you up. These things can very well control you. Thats why you shouldn't take part in these.
Everybody says we're all so different. But everybody knows we're all the same. We're all tryin to find a pill to numb the pain. Somethings gotta change.
Its so true. We really are all the same. We are controlled by sin. And we are all trying to find something to numb our pain. Alcohol, boyfriends/girlfriends, mind numbing tv. But it can never ever be enough. Something has to change. All these teens everywhere need God. They need Jesus.
Do you remember when you had so much hope within you.
We need to find that hope again in Jesus.
The more of us we swallow the more we become hollow. Until we don't know how to feel.
If we keep focusing on me,me,me then we are just going to become hollow. Most of us don't know how to really feel anymore. We say something without thinking about the consequences.
I can't believe I'm hearing people say that all is well. I think its time we admit we have no good within ourselves. 
Nothing is well. Teenagers are dying without Christ because of the things that they are doing. Purging, binge drinking, committing suicide. This has to stop. We need to spread the Gospel far and wide. We. Cannot. Hold. Back. Anymore. There is a time to speak and the time is now. (Warren Barfield, The time is now). We have no good within ourselves. We are a sinful creature. We need Christ. With Christ we can try to become more like Him. But we must focus on Him and spreading the Gospel.

Romans

Paul wrote Romans. Romans is full of encouraging things and it tells you to stay in the world but not of it.
It says to give our bodies as sacrifices. But how do we do these things without getting sucked back into the world. Prayer. (Romans 12) To give our bodies as sacrifices we must be holy and perfect. We can't be holy or perfect. Only God sees us as Jesus when we ask Him into our heart. Only afterwards we must strive to be like Jesus. Which means loving other people even when they do not love you back. I know this is a tough one since human nature is me first you last. You know that you might get hurt. You must pray in order to love people who don't love you back. Sometimes we forget to pray or use it as  a last resort. Why not use as the first thing you go to when you have a problem? Things would go a lot smoother if we only did this. Thats all.

-JesusFreakTeen

Phil Robertson.

Phil Robertson:

Phil Robertson. The patriarch of the Duck Dynasty family. And he got suspended from the show? Because his words were misinterpreted? Phil Robertson was not saying to hate gays/lesbians. He was saying that although God loves them, sin is sin. We are supposed to love them too. The bible has said this for over 2000 years. The Robertson family is the best thing thats happened to this country in a while. We are supposed to love EVERYBODY only at the same time we have to recognize that sin is sin. We shouldn't let Phil Robertson go down without a fight. Hopefully they go to another network or A&E apologizes.

Being Gomer

For starters, GOMER is a girls name. Definitely a girl. This girl wasn't the best example. No this time we have Hosea. Now Hosea had to marry an adulterous wife (GOMER) because the Lord told him to. How would you feel if you had to do something that you knew would come back to haunt you? Anyway we are Gomer and Jesus is Hosea. Jesus is holy. We have sinned. We need Jesus. Or else we just keep doing bad things. Sinning. Jesus rescues us. But then we go back. We can't be like Gomer. In Hosea it is a prophecy of our relationship with Jesus. Everyone says we're all so different. But we are really very alike. All of us are sinners. And at one point or another we have gone astray from the straight and narrow path. I want you to know that although sinning is bad, God loves you and will forgive you. Just ask. Everyone has messed up once or twice. Although as Christians we try to do less of it, we do mess up. Just ask God to forgive you. (if you've already accepted him as Lord and Savior)
PS. Look up Hosea and read it this weekend.

-JesusFreakTeen

John 3:16

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.


Now you know how little kids believe in Santa Claus but the older ones seem to let logic cloud their judgement and they decide he isn't real. This is true only sometime it seems to cloud our judgement when teenagers try to belief in Jesus & God. We start to reason that it's like Santa Claus. Its for little kids but not for us. Maybe later we can go back to it. Only for just now we have grown out of it. It's not cool anymore. And what will my friends think? We start telling ourselves that we don't need Him. When the reality is HE doesn't need us. We keep causing him hurt and disappointment. Only He loves us. Who else would die on the cross for us. If we don't need Him then why did he do that. God knows all. Jesus is for everyone. Don't say well I'm this or I'm that. Because in all reality we are all one thing. SINNERS. Only God loves us. Jesus loves us. Jesus is most definitely NOT Santa Claus. Jesus will always be there for us. He is NOT made up. He isn't only there for us one night a year. Quite the contrary. Jesus is real. And he is here for us always. Don't you dare say Jesus isn't what you need. Cause HE is! God is and always will be. 

Waiting. Possibly the hardest thing ever.

Are you waiting to do something amazing for God? I was. Look at me now. I started this blog because although I may have to wait for my bigger dream of becoming a missionary, this was something I could do now. I could make myself heard. I am and I will continue to. What about you? Are you waiting? Don't. God needs you to start now. You are not the church of tomorrow. You are the church of TODAY!  You can do it. I got discouraged thinking that I couldn't do anything until I graduated. I was wrong. OH so wrong. Don't wait. Ask God what you can do. Just do it.

Pastor Saeed

A lot of you, I'm guessing, have heard of Pastor Saeed. Some of you may think that forgetting him is the best option. I and luckily many others agree that we have to do something. Your something might be different than the bible's something.
Matthew 10:23
When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes back.
So, don't rise to cause hurt when you are persecuted. Pray for that person. As for Pastor Saeed, we can't really do anything but pray. Correction: Everything we can do is praying. Praying is one of the most amazing things. It can be the difference between life and death. We are petitioning Obama and the White House, but why them? Let's go above their heads. God knows whats best. We don't need to ask Obama or the Government. Ask GOD. He is the only one who can change this.  SO go over their heads. Take on the ultimate boss. Ask Him. Ask God.

Thanksgiving

Are you ready for Thanksgiving. Even though the name has the word thanks in it, it seems people forget to be thankful for stuff. Everyone has something to be thankful for.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18, NIV Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6, NIV Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.

#2 Bible Verses about Being Thankful for Life

Bible verses regarding being thankful for life and the blessing of God’s presence.

Psalm 16:11, NIV You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

#3 Bible Verses about Being Thankful for Someone – Thankful for Joy

1 Thessalonians 3:9, NIV How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?

#4 Bible Verses about Being Thankful for Jesus – God’s Indescribable Gift!

John 3:16, ESV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Favorite short bible verses about being thankful

2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

#5 Bible Verses about Being Thankful for Family, Your Family – Love!

Romans 12:10, AMP Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another.
God gave all of us something to be thankful for. Personally I am thankful for my wonderful church and pastors and of course my huge family. Extended and immediate. Of course including those that I consider to be family. Plus of course God and the greatest gift of all; Jesus. What are you thankful for?

Alex Harris and DO HARD THINGS

“Unfortunately we often get praise for things that weren't particularly difficult to achieve. If we focus on the props and encouragement of those who have low expectations for us, we become mediocre. It can be challenging to set our sights on excellence, particularly when we're hearing that we're already there. One of life's greatest lessons, which we all must learn, could be expressed in the phrase "That was nothing. Watch this." Challenge yourself and others to call the normal things normal and save that word excellent for things that really are.”

― Alex Harris
SO true! As teenagers people often have low expectations of us. And sometime to high of expectations. I do not know which is worse cause too high means you can never make it. And too low of expectations means you don't do what you should be doing.
God calls us to be examples in : Speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.



So don't try and dodge being good. But don't try and follow to high of expectations. It only leads to heartache usually.

-JesusFreakTeen.