It is SO hard to find good music to listen to. Particularly good contemporary Christian music. I feel like most christian music sounds the same. There are precious few music artists who write good lyrics and still have good music. But there are a few who do. Reilly being one of them. Right now Reilly is my favorite band. They are a very interesting mix. They are in the rock/pop genre, but they play violins too. It’s so cool. They also have really thoughtful lyrics (particularly in their second CD entitled Let June Decide). I also find it interesting that they attend a Sovereign Grace Church. That’s really cool too!
Here’s their music video for their song Sunlight:
A couple more Christian artists I really appriciate are; Jars of Clay, Mute Math (we just got their new CD Armistince which is really good!), Waterdeep, Telecast (I love their CD The Beauty of Simplicity), TobyMac, and Red Umbrella.
You are an incredible example to me. With your love for the lord, your church, and your family. With your desire to serve others even when it’s hard or makes you “get out of your comfort zone.” Your humility. Your willingness to put aside your fear and pride and step out in faith. With the way you talk and bring loving counsel to others. You have wisdom beyond your years. All this is God’s grace in your life! Praise be to Him!
Thanks so much for being there for me. You are a blessing!
In my pride I expected to be able to read chapter 5 in Worldliness entitled “God, my Heart, and Clothes” with little to no conviction. I mean come on I dress modestly. Even if I wanted to dress immodestly my dad would never let me out of the house.
But as I was reading I realized how immodesty has less to do with what I wear and more about where my heart is. This is such a humbling realization! I became acutely aware of how often I try to impress others with what I wear. As I buy clothes (or even get dressed in the morning) I tend to have a man-centered view more than a God-centered one. Instead of asking myself if I am bringing God glory through the way I’m dressing I usually wonder what “so-and-so” will think. I can dress modestly but still have an immodest attitude. Seeking attention through what I wear is wrong whether or not I dress immodestly.
I thank God that He has revealed this to me and I pray He will continue to turn my heart more towards Him and less to man. Thank God for His neverending grace!
We’ve decided to do a little “series” on crushes. And as I was praying about, this I felt led to share from a Christian standpoint what crushes are and why we need to fight against them. Here we go!
First of all, having a crush is totally normal. You are not weird if you are attracted to a guy. Actually, to a certain extent crushes are a good thing. The attraction between a man and a woman is God-given, and therefore good (James 1:17). But crushes become wrong when we start to think about a certain person a lot and when we start fantasizing about that person. This is wrong because it’s having a lack of self-control. Proverbs 25:28 says, “A man without self-control is like a city broken down and left without walls.” This is a serious matter. When we lack self-control we leave ourselves open for all sorts of trouble. For example: if I keep thinking about a specific guy, if I dream about him and all that, and then I find out he is interested in someone else, I will be left heart-broken. Another thing my mom always reminds me is this (and it’s so helpful): the guy I’m attracted to is probably someone else’s future husband. That puts things in a whole new light! While he might not be married now he probably will be someday—and it most likely won’t be to me. This really stresses my need for self-control.
One thing I really want to encourage you ladies to do is talk to your parents if you find yourself falling for a guy. As teens our parents are our principle source of help and encouragement. There have been many instances when I feel overwhelmed with weariness of fighting for self-control and I go to my parents and I am reminded afresh of the power of the gospel and that I do not have to go through this alone. God is here with me and He will give me all the help I need. Now I understand that it might feel embarrassing to talk to your mom about this. But it doesn’t have to be. Your parents love you and want to be there for you. They know how you feel and they want to help. Please take advantage of the God-given gift of Christian parents. And if you don’t have Christian parents, I suggest going to another mature Christian woman for help.
Psalm 73:25-26 says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Even if I fail, God never does. I have no strength in and of myself. But with God all things are possible . . . even getting over a crush. And Jesus is way more satisfying than any crush could ever be.
I’m going to cut into Becca’s series for a second and post a link to the Desiring God blog. Jon Bloom wrote a great post about the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Click HERE
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” Ephesians 4:29
This is something I’m constantly struggling with. Already today I have lost my temper with my siblings. My tendency is to speak harshly and rudely to them. This is wrong, I know, but this is really hard for me. Here are some verses I found while “researching” for this post. I hope you find some encouragement in them too.
2 Timothy 1:7 says, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” How encouraging! God has given us self-control!
Also, (again), Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” So, when I feel condemnation for my lack of self-control I can remember, God will give me all the grace I need. He is infinitely powerful and sovereign and He is working in me. Praise God!
Being content is really hard. I, personally, have been struggling with this a lot lately. It can be so hard to be satisfied with what I have, who I am, and where I am.
But God is a helper and encourager. This morning in my devotions I was reading in Philippians. I read the following verses.
Philippians 4:11b: “…For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”
This is the apostle Paul talking. He went through so much for the gospel. He went through more pain than I have ever experienced and he said this? How can this be? The answer is in verse 13:
“I can do all things though Christ who strengthens me.”
So, no matter what we’re struggling with, be it contentment, anger, self-control, or whatever, we can do ALL THINGS through Christ. We can even have victory over the hardest sins to overcome. Praise God for His everlasting grace!
I read this in my devotions a couple of days ago. I was in a pretty bad mood but these verses really encouraged me. There’s nothing like getting a good dose of the gospel when you’re in a bad mood. (These verses are taken from Ephesians chapters 2 and 3).
“But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have bee
n saved… For by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may boast… So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone… To me, though I am the very least of the saints, this grace was given… Now to him who is able to give far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
This should fill our hearts with thanks more than anything else this Thanksgiving season.
Serving can be hard sometimes. We all have our moments when we just don’t feel like serving others. We are selfish and want to do what we want to do. When it’s hard for us to serve there are a couple things we need to remember.
First, God sees. Whenever we serve someone else God sees it. The people around us might not notice what we do but God does and that’s all the recognition we really need. Hebrews 6:10 says, “For God is not so unjust as to overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do.” Isn’t that an encouraging thought? When we feel like all our serving is pointless it really isn’t. God sees all and when we serve we are bringing honor and glory to His name. This should be my primary goal in everything I do. Ephesians 6:6 “…Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart…”
It’s also good to remember that God is a rewarder. God rewards those who do what pleases Him. Serving pleases the Lord. Proverbs 22:4 “The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life.” Even if we don’t receive an earthly reward God will reward us in Heaven.Colossians 3:24 …”knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” But we have to remember the reward should not be our main incentive for serving. Like I said above our main goal should be to please God and bring Him glory. The reward is the icing on the cake.
We also need to remember to rely on God. We cannot do the right thing and serve by our own power. The ability to serve comes from God’s grace working in and through us. 1 Peter 4:10 “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
So saints, “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” Romans 12:11 By God’s grace we can do this! Praise God!
