2 | 17 | 2012 : Psalm 103:8-10

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,  slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.  He will not constantly accuse us,  nor remain angry forever.  He does not punish us for all our sins;   He does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him   is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

I am constantly in awe of God's unfailing mercy. The fact that God could love us through all of our unholiness and sin leaves me speechless. We are such pathetic, disgusting people, and so unworthy of even getting the opportunity to know Him, but God still loves us. I cannot fathom how hard it must be to love and show mercy to any one of us.

Each and every one of us stumble each day. If I had friends who failed me every single day, I would give up on them within a week, without a doubt. But God has not given up after all this time, nor will He ever.

We all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but does that mean that we just continue to live in sin, knowing God will still forgive us?

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? (Romans 6:1-3)

Well, obviously, we aren't supposed to sit there and take advantage of God's mercy. That is not what true Christians do. Yes, we do all slip up, but we repent with sincerity. That verse refers to people who have the "I can do whatever I want, God will forgive me anyway" mindset. We humbly approach the throne of God so that we can repent and receive mercy for our sins (Hebrews 4:16).

Lord, I cannot begin to thank You enough for having mercy on me. I have once strayed so far from You, but the fact that You still love me and forgive me calls for the highest praise. I am sorry for ever not glorifying You in the way I live. Thank You so much for Your abounding love, patience, and mercy.

2 | 15 | 2012 : Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men

I, being a teenager, am often pretty lazy. Sometimes I don't enjoy doing unnecessary things, so I complain to myself when I don't feel like doing it. On some days, i just want to sit around and only do things for myself, which is really selfish of me.

This verse, though it is directed toward slaves and how they should behave, is a verse I have begun to remind myself to think about daily. I write it down on my hand so I can remember not to complain when I have to do something for someone else. We are called to bring glory to God in everything we do, so it's really a boost for me when I start to groan about doing school work, listening to my mom, etc. God must be glorified in everything, so it's a good idea to work as if I'm working for God Himself, rather than for my teachers, mom, etc.

Colossians 3:17 says that our actions should represent the Lord at all the times. Jesus never complained about doing a service for someone else. He cheerfully and lovingly served everyone in need. I want to be joyful during every act of service, no matter who that service is for.

Lord, thank You for humbly taking the form of a human so You could show us how to live. I pray that You reshape my heart to be more like Yours. Make me slow to anger, and rid all selfish desire from my life. I want to serve everyone cheerfully and without any complaints, happy that I can represent You and let Your light shine through me.

2 | 14 | 2012 : Romans 8:31-39

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

Well, Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Well, technically since it's 1AM, it's no longer February 14th. But just pretend it still is. ;)
Today's verse is pretty generic and Sunday Schoolish, and it is also pretty similar to yesterday's devotional. But since today is a day dedicated to St. Valentine, who was persecuted and ultimately killed for his faith in Christ, I felt it would be suitable.

There are currently people in different parts of the world who are being beaten, discriminated against, and, for some, being killed because of their faith in God. Some countries even make it illegal for someone to even own a Bible. Christians have to meet in buildings in the middle of the night where Christianity is outlawed so that they can worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. I, and probably all of the people reading this, will most likely never face that kind of persecution for our faith. Can you imagine having that constant fear that someone will turn you in to authorities because you shared the Gospel with them, or that at any moment, the cops could burst through the doors of your church and take you away in handcuffs?

It's so convicting to think how strong those people must be to have so much faith in the Lord that they would risk being jailed, beaten, or killed, and to examine myself and see if my faith is even half as strong. Those people could renounce their Christianity, and their constant anxiety would vanish. But they don't because they have real faith and they know that God will provide forevermore. They believe wholeheartedly that absolutely nothing can stand in the way of God's love.

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

   “For your sake we face death all day long; 

     we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  

(Romans 8:33-39)

I pray for all the Christians who are being persecuted for their faith in countries where it's outlawed, that God will give them the strength to carry on and rely on Him no matter what. I thank God for those brave people who will never give up, even when facing potential death for their beliefs. And I pray that the Lord will give me the courage, strength, and boldness so that I can have a sturdy, unwavering Christianity like them.

Visit persecution.com where you can see the nations in which Christianity is outlawed, give money, and receive updates on each restricted nation.

2 | 13 | 2012 : 1 Peter 4:1-5

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 

As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

There are so many Christians in this world who have not suffered or been persecuted for Christ. What's worse is that most of them aren't willing to suffer - including myself sometimes. I always fear of stepping on people's toes, so I have a hard time sharing my faith with others. I fear that I won't be prepared for an argument with an unbeliever, if it ever comes up. I can't list all the times that the opportunity has arose to share the Gospel and I have ignored it - deliberately or unknowingly.

But God does not call us to stay comfortable in our faith. We have to constantly get out of our comfort zone if we want to be sold out to Him. We need to be reckless in our Christianity, we can't just sit back comfortably without witnessing to others. There are people out there who need Christ, and God commands us to show Christ to them.

Also, I have friends who participate in the sinful things listed in the passage. I have never been a bad kid, but I do have friends who are. I have hung around them recently and I have not mentioned God in any way. Individually, I have spoken to one or two of those friends about God, but it basically went in one ear and out the other. I want them to see Christ in me now, and I want them to want to know more about Him.

I pray for courage to share the Gospel to people, to seize every opportunity that comes up to show You to others. Give me the boldness to witness to my peers - friends and strangers alike - so that I may further Your Kingdom.

2 | 8 | 2012 : Revelation 3:15-16

"I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!" 

That is one scary thought: to be spat out of Jesus' mouth because we are not completely sold out to Him! He does not want lukewarm followers. He wants people whose eyes are focused on the Kingdom, and not on earthly desires. You are either for Him or against Him, there is no medium.

I see all the people at my school who claim to be Christians, yet they do absolutely nothing to show it besides going to church on Sundays and Wednesdays (and just because you go to church, that doesn't mean you're an actual Christian). I know that people make mistakes and that even the best slip up from time to time, but I am referring to those who constantly and comfortably living in sin while they still wear the God team's jersey. They think that since God's grace is abundant, they can go on sinning because they claim they know Christ (Just read the book of Jude and see their fate). I wish they would stop degrading the name of God by calling themselves Christians and leading a sinful life. That is not the way Jesus intended us to be. I am both saddened and angry at these people, for I know what their fate will be like, and I know how angry God is at them. Wouldn't you be mad if someone went around saying "(your name) said this about you," and it was mean, and you didn't even say it in the first place? Well, can't you imagine how God feels when His people do that?

"Christian" literally means "Little Christ." Let's live like it.

God, I know that no human, besides Jesus, is perfect, and that we all slip up from time to time.I pray that You open up our eyes and give us a wake up call so that we can truly start living for You like we should have been doing from day one.

2 | 3 | 2012 : Isaiah 58:10

Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

Ever since I got back into church and began deepening my faith once again, I knew I wanted to do mission work. God has increased my love for the poor and oppressed day by day as I grow in Him;  He has given me a heart for helping people out and telling them about Jesus.
I now look at other careers with hardly any interest anymore. All I want to do is pack up my things and head across the country helping others out.

I have this big dream of buying and renovating an old bus, painting it, and fixing it so it can feed and give shelter to the hungry and homeless. I want to do a big tour around the country, helping out as many people as I can, whether it be with food, a place to stay, or just to let them know that they are loved and that they don't have to go through this alone - they have the Lord.

I want God's light to reflect off of me, like the moon reflects light from the sun. I want people to see that it isn't me who is doing these works, it's God doing it through me. I am the body through which the Lord does His work. I have given my life over to Him.

2 | 1 | 2012 : Isaiah 40 28-31.

"Have you never heard? 
Have you never understood? 
The Lord is the everlasting God, 
the Creator of all the earth. 
He never grows weak or weary. 
No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 
He gives power to the weak 
and strength to the powerless. 
Even youths will become weak and tired, 
and young men will fall in exhaustion. 
But those who trust in the Lord find new strength. 
They will soar high on wings like eagles. 
They will run and not grow weary. 
They will walk and not faint."


Sheesh, this chunk of Scripture really screams to me tonight. The Lord is like “Hello?! I’m the freaking Maker of everything. I am super gnarly. I am better than you, so go right ahead and just depend solely on Me. I got your back like a sweater.” That sounded super cheesy, but whatever.

God, renew my strength. Do not let me lean on my own understanding, but only trust in You and Your sovereign knowledge.