Make Me Salty Again!

Matthew 5:13
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

The note in my bible says: "if a seasoning has no flavor, it has no value. If Christians make no effort to affect the world around them, they are of little value to God. If we are too much like the world, we are worthless. Christians should not blend in with everyone else. Instead, we should affect others positively, just as seasoning brings out the best flavor in food."

This verse struck me in two ways.. For one, I realized how I've lost my saltiness over the past couple months.. and secondly, I realized that i've been blending in with the world.. pretty much getting lost in it. But I want to come back!

I read this verse, and it asks the question I was thinking.. how can I be made salty again? But it doesn't give me a direct answer. It only tells me the negative consequence. But then I sat here, and closed my eyes and asked God my first question in a long long time, HOW?? and these words came to mind... Prayer, Obedience/Persistence and Devotion.

Lately, I've been blending into the world way more than I have since I started college.. And I kept using the excuse that If I blend in to the world, I'll be more relatable to my non-christian friends.. so that I can help them later! Plus it is all just harmless fun! But all that's happened is that I've slowly drifted from God because I've stopped praying, and devoting time to him.

Not that having fun with your friends is not good! but it was the part where, at the same time, I gave up my time with God.. But I know what he wants me to do. He wants me to meet with him obediently and daily. He wants me to show my faith and devotion by coming to him every day. And I know that if I show my faith and gain his trust, he will start to reveal things to me. It's just so hard to be disciplined.. So this would be my prayer request! Help me!

Pokemon and Non-Christians: Gotta catch 'em all?

Helloooooooooooooo!

First of all, congrats on getting 1st at the SG Sports Day! Good thing my ankle hurts because the only place we could have gone is down. And yes, I've been MIA the past couple of weeks. I won't name excuses so I'll just say I'll be back soon!

Earlier today, I had lunch with our SG leader, Ken, and we had a good talk about a bunch of things. One thing that came up in our conversation is the topic of introducing Christianity to non-believers. My closest friends at school, including my roommate, aren't Christian. I don't know. It just happened that way. For example, my roommate is a Japanese kid who grew up with parents who are atheist. I know that your parents play a big role in what religion you are. Like many of you, I have Christian parents so it was natural that I would be Christian too.

But what about those people who aren't born and raised in Christian families? How easy or hard is it to become a Christian if you're not surrounded by it at home? I think that it's extremely hard. Case and point: How many Christians do you know? Dozens/a lot. Now, how many Christians can you name that didn't grow up in a Christian environment? For me, I can name...none.

This came up because I want to preach the gospel to my friends, like my roommate, and bring them to church. Who doesn't want to?? But how are we supposed to accomplish this? It seems like a daunting task. I'm still working on figuring this one out. But when I do, expect to meet my roommate sometime in the near future!

Have any of you tried bringing a friend to church? How did it go? Any suggestions?

P.S. Sorry if you read this post hoping there would be something about pokemon. But if you want, here's the first thing that came up when I searched for pokemon on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDX1m0Y2Vkg

whaddup

Dang its real encouraging reading everyone's blog posts. there soo fun and really reflect who you are as a person i like that. other than that i have nothing really much to talk about but idk this week and the past week have been so happy. The weather probably has something to do with it as Superman is healed by the rays of the sun i think we are healed as well. the days are so bright and productive and you wake up hearing the birds and winds haha gay. but its the truth everything is going well cuz the sun shines.

also election is this sunday. i hope everyone does well and really tries there best and votes for the candidates who are the most well rounded to run the positions that they run for. ill keep the elections in my prayers. but other than that,

peace and love

Be proud of your accomplishments

Genesis 1:25

“God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.”

I was reading verse and on the side it noted, “People sometimes feel guilty for having a good time or for feeling good about an accomplishment. This need not be so. Just as God felt good about his work, we can be pleased with ours. However, we should not feel good about our work if God would not be pleased with it. What are you doing that pleases both you and God?”

This made me realize that sometimes I don’t acknowledge or celebrate enough on the small or big accomplishments I have made through hard work and perseverance. Often times, I would tell myself not to boast or brag because otherwise, it wouldn’t be a humbling thing to do. However, this made me realize that any accomplishments or actions that do not go against the works of God are meant to be celebrated and recognized with joy. Lastly, the last question in the application “What are you doing that pleases both you and God?” made me assess the activities I do throughout my day. And honestly, I didn’t have much that I could find that would “please God” nor did I find much to anger Him either. But that makes me so…NOTHING haha.

 So, if you guys were to look at your daily lives, how much of it could you say would be pleasing to God?   

Jeremiah

People have favorite bible characters.  Sounds kinda weird like choosing favorite sports athletes and cartoon characters and stuff.

I've never had one because I honestly have a poor handle on the Word.  My knowledge of the bible is laughable.  But I always had one favorite verse, Jeremiah 29:11 (For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.).  I randomly came across this verse when I was struggling with life like 4 years ago.

During Passion Week, I randomly decided to read the book of Jeremiah - and now I know that this is the right book of the bible for me to read right now.  Jeremiah struggles with being incompetent (like all bible leaders), passion for God, and spreading the word of God.  I feel the same struggles infiltrate my life.

I've honestly only read 2 chapters, but I'll let you all know how it goes.  So far, so good.  He's the biblical Kobe to me. (JK that's blasphemous)

1,2,3 God.

I came up with this thing while reading the book of James. I think it’s a good way of measuring where you are with God and if you are doing it correctly.

Step 1) James 1:5-8- “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”

Step 2) James 1:22 - “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

Step 3) James 1:12 - “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

We can’t be half-minded when we ask the holy-spirit to reign in us. If we want to grow in God and learn more about Him, we need to convincingly invite him in without any hesitation. Because even with the smallest of doubts in our minds, this will make us “double-minded” and we’ll get nothing out of it. Once we’ve received His wisdom, we mustn’t be dormant in what we know. Instead, we must implement it in our daily lives and take action. I think this part is the hardest for many of us; knowing is easy but taking initiative of God’s plan is much harder to do. However, if we are able to persevere through the trials and temptations during this process, God will bless us in the areas in which we asked and prayed for. 

So, which and what are you?

VP

so after long consideration and advice and criticism from multiple people i decided that if nominated i was going to run for VP. I go into this race with expectations not too high but the least i can do is try.

alot of people if they were to hear that i was running would take it as a joke for many reasons and yeah i dont blame them. i havent exactly been the best kid around but we all make flaws, we all struggle we are all humans agree? so despite everything i hope it turns out and future prayers of congratulations to the next pres and pc.

also i like our sg we have a good group of people. but with so many big personalities all bunched up in one room, things may happen. About 4 times a sg session there are those moments of silence. we all know exactly what im talking about. why is it that this unexplained phenomenon occurs? well there are many theories of why this might happen but lets not talk about those. instead we should acknowledge it when it occurs and do something funny everytime it happens.

until next time
Peace and Love