Not Just Another Year...

I wake up and I realize I'm 20. I wake up and I realize it's another day. I wake up and I realize that in my 20 years of existence I haven't done anything. I'm a healthy girl that goes to college, doesn't work and has everything she can ask for, I have a wonderful life. But what about my spiritual life? I sing, I play, I write. What have I done with that? Wrote and shared some songs, but that's it. Waking up and realizing you haven't done nearly as much as you're suppose to in 20 years depresses me. Every year I say things will change, but every year it stays the same. Knowing I could do more if I tried harder, knowing that I can offer more, but I'm stuck in a comfort zone.


As I open my eyes flashbacks of my past "accomplishments" hit me, my baptism in water, my quince, my high school graduation, my national fine arts competition, they all now seem like nothing. I was once so proud of those things, but now they are nothing but dead grass. I close my eyes again and visions wander around and I'm delighted with things that would actually make me proud now, but then I stop myself and think. "When I wake up tomorrow being 30 I'll say the same thing, it's not enough". 


As I was daydreaming I came to a conclusion that for God it's never enough because we can always do more. Our relationship with God will gave an endless growth if we allow it. Today I'm 20 and tomorrow I'm going to be 30, yesterday i was 10 but God never faded throughout the years. I go back when I was 15 when life seemed perfect, when my family was together, when everything was nice and pink, oohh yes God was with me. I go back to when I was 18 when we lost our home, when my siblings left out of state, oohh God was with me. God abides in our prosperity seasons and our poverty seasons, He was my provider in my days of need. He was my shelter in my days of loneliness.


I open my eyes with a new perspective, with new eyes that let me see why I'm here. I thank God for giving me 20 years. Happy years. Sad years. But all His years. Life is not perfect but even in my weakest moments I want to serve Him. And maybe now I feel like I haven't done anything He knows my heart, and it will give me the impulse of moving forward. I know I won't ever be satisfied, because there's always more and more ways to serve the Lord. I'm ready for a change in me, a change that can only be done by Him. I don't want to open my eyes tomorrow and discover that I'm in the same spiritual position. 20 years I've lived. I've made good decisions and so many bad ones, but they all brought me to this day, they have brought me closer to my Creator. Many scars are left on my heart, most by my own choice, but they have taught me how to grow. Crucial events have passed but I'm still standing firmly in Him.


I lift my voice to a prayer from my heart and prepare myself for more upcoming years that I want to exclusively dedicate to my God.

Hospitality: Our Faith In Action...

"Use hospitality one to another without grudging."
                                           1Peter 4:9
Our home is literally a gateway to Christ. You might doubt this, but every person that steps into your home should instantly feel the love and the peace that God can only provide. Our home should be a place where we encounter the Lord day by day, night by night, whether it's during the day or late at night. God's perfume should be penetrated in your home that the scent can be transferred to every individual that walk in. People should be able to feel the difference in the atmosphere but also in our attitude.


I'm referring to the way we greet people when they come in very inconvenient times. Let's face it, I think most of us have experienced the unexpected visitor when we are sick, busy or simply when our home is a mess. Our first reaction, "oh why didn't they tell me they were coming?!" How does this affect our hospitality to our guests that haven't accepted Christ? Does that first impression in our attitude lead them towards Christ or discourages them to even think about it?


How does Jesus greet us when we cry out for Him late at night? When no one else is willing to hear us? In a way people out there are in desperate need and I believe our hospitality is essential in the future of the lost. 


In moments when unexpected visitors arrive, lets learn to put ourselves aside and our agenda aside, and His heart will grow in us more and more...

Worship: Time in His Presence...

Worship doesn't always refer to musical notes blown from heaven. People constantly believe that worship is about singing or playing an instrument, but worship is more than music more than beautiful voices. Worship is reverent honor to God, which means simply praising His name. Worship is often defined as music, but music is only ONE way of worship. Proclaiming God's victories and power is a way of worship. Yes, it's nice when we lift our hands during Sunday worship, but do we do the same when trials come? We need to praise Him in the storm as well, we need to have intimate time during the day to simply acknowledge His name. 

As I write this I am also speaking to myself. We constantly forget to glorify Him, and we tend to cry out for help, comfort, but what about recognizing He is our provider, our rock? He is a God of mercy, a powerful God, and everlasting God. Why don't we remind Him of his virtues? Just like we feel special/important when people compliment us, He needs our voices to tell him the same. Worship is what He least deserves. He deserves devoted lives that live to worship Him day and night...

Suffering: Do you know Him enough to trust Him?...

"And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
                                        Romans 8:28


"Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."                       
                                        James 1:12

When suffering is coming our way, we tend to run away but eventually pain will struck us. And we think suffering is an excuse to break down and fall into pieces, but when suffering arrives our strength should be stronger than ever. It sounds crazy but reality is that when you suffer you see the glory of the Lord within you. It's normal to be scared of suffering, it's a natural instinct but we need to see the bright side, suffering has a purpose. Maybe you may not know the purpose now but God works for the good for those who love him.


When we face pain in our lives we at times even blame the Lord for it. But what happened to all that faith we proclaimed we had? What happened to believing God with our eyes closed? Even through the toughest situations we need to trust the Lord and believe that everything has a purpose, a reason for suffering to intersect us. Sometimes suffering is the wake up call God uses to have faith in Him, because even in the darkest storms the Lord will abide in us. He will never leave us unprotected. Suffering simply leads us to a stronger-firmer relationship with our Creator.


Our griefs cannot mar the melody of our praise; they are simply the bass notes of our life song<3

Proclamation: Do Not Be Silenced...

"Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ."                         Acts 5:42


Born in a christian home, going to church 3-4 times a week and evangelizing every Saturday morning was common for me. It wasn't till I was around 12 years old when I started to question myself why we were doing this when people would sometimes slam the door on us, curse us and kick us out? I started to whine about going every Saturday because people would simply be rude to us. 


Growing up made me realize that there are many way of evangelizing, that our daily life can be a form of evangelizing. That our attitude and actions was a form of evangelizing as well. That's when i realized i was evangelizing without even knowing. That's when it hit me and I felt ashamed because I could of done more.


More in terms of sharing the love of Christ. Yes, many people probably noticed I was different, but they never knew WHY I was different, and that't what I left for them in the limbo. As I was growing up I always said to myself I didn't want to become a "talker", I didn't want to blabber about Jesus and be telling the whole world about Him if i wasn't actually acting like a christian. I always wanted to demonstrate it with my actions. But what i DIDN'T do was talk after my actions being questioned. I stayed quiet.


What happened to all those visions I had in my heart about evangelizing with my actions? Many  of you are like me that want to spread the gospel but are to scared of talking or of talking too much. That was my problem. Because before we share the gospel we need to KNOW the gospel ourselves. What are we going to teach if we don't even know the scripture. We need to prepare ourselves first. 


Now that I'm older I've learned that evangelizing is essential and that can be done anywhere, anytime. We simply need to be willing and have an open heart to do so. We need to spread the good news to people and let them know that He is the only way. But what if people reject us? That will frequently happen, people can be stubborn sometimes but we need to learn to love the lost. And evangelizing is not about proving others we know more, that we are wise about the bible and such. We need to learn to be humble. Let's have an encounter with the Lord. Speak up. Proclaim the love of God.   

Who's Taking Over YOUR Blessing?...

"Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way; thus Esau despised his birthright."
                                                                           Genesis 25:34


Suppose your grandfather was a very wealthy man who owned land all over the country, that had millions of dollars saved and had left your name on his inheritance. He passes away and his desire was for you to enjoy his hard working sacrifice that was now extremely valuable. But you decide to not go to the lawyer to acquire your inheritance because you're lazy, tired and simply not interested. WOW! I would totally slap myself if I did this, but in a way I am doing this and maybe you are too.


You might say, "but I don't have a wealthy grandfather". Neither do I, but I have a wealthy Father who created me in my mother's womb, who formed me and has a vision in me as He made my mouth, eyes and heart. He knows me better than anyone in this world, more than my own mother, more than my boyfriend. He gave me talents and abilities to do things, but sometimes I'm lazy, tired or simply not interested in them. But then times of trouble come and I don't know how to confront them, and like usual blame God. What am I doing? Letting all the blessing pass right by me. Letting all God's will trans pass to someone else. It's not about being selfish but of doing what God called you for. You have that same Father as I do.


I once heard a sermon about this and it impacted my life. Since I heard it several people have mentioned, "hey ruthy don't let the blessing go, because the blessing is yours. Do it." And my first reaction is "ohh you simply don't understand me...blaah blaahh blahhh". Excuses. Fear.


There's a biblical story that I relate to half way.
Esau and Jacob were two brothers that technically fought to be the firstborn since they were in their mother's womb. Esau beat his brother and was the son that would receive his father's blessing, but Esau was lazy and asked his brother Jacob for a plate of food. Jacob was smart and agreed only if Esau gave him the honors of the firstborn, tired Esau gave in. And that's how Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob, for a plate of food.


I am like Esau. God set a blessing for me but I'm too lazy to get it, I'm letting the blessing go. Meaning I can end up like Esau selling it, giving it away. I'm stuck in the middle of the story because I still have time to get up and obtain my blessing. Many of you are like me, like Esau who are simply lazy to do God's vision. He has a purpose and a grant that will leave your mouth open. Let's not let go of our blessing, let's keep our eyes set on God. Let's not be like Esau who let go of his blessing that turned out to be millions, He later regretted this, but it was too late. I don't want to be too late either, so I'm going to get up from my comfort zone and take my blessing by doing my calling. Because I'm not willing to let go of my inheritance, my blessing. Are you?

Mobility: A Willing Heart...

Most of us live in comfortable home, with our own room, with pretty plants in our backyard, and we even have a cat or dog. We all have some sort of transportation, we have a microwave to make our ramen soup whenever we are lazy. Would we be able to give all that up to become a missionary? And I'm not talking about traveling to Europe and take awesome photographs with the Eiffel Tower, I'm talking about going to the deserts of Africa where beds don't exist, where hot water is not accessible. Would you be willing to leave your friends, your family, your church (with AC included) to go ministry at a hut with floors of dirt, where sound systems aren't even recognized.


The Lord hasn't called ALL of us for mission work, but He called ALL of us to have a willing heart, that is willing to be mobile. Let's not get too comfortable because you never know when the Lord will move us elsewhere. 

Servanthood: Leading Through Humility...

"I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him"
John 13:15-16


Would it be correct if an employer served an employee? Or if a king served a civilian? Our first guess would probably be no, but the King of kings servers us every single day, by protecting us and guiding us.


Sometimes we believe that since we have Christ in our hearts we are superior than the world, than a custodian at a nearby cafe. We need to see life the way Jesus did when He washed the disciples feet.


"Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power; and that he had come from God and was returning to God;  so he got up from his meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples feet."
John 13:3-5


The humility of Jesus is simply amazing. It was not humiliating for Jesus to do so because He knew who He was, the Son of God. In order to be able to serve, we need to realize we are sons/daughters of the almighty King. That doesn't mean we are superior than the world, but that we are ambassadors in this world. If Jesus was willing to serve his disciples even after Judas turned Him in, why aren't WE willing to serve others, even those who curse us. We need to obtain knowledge to comprehend that serving others wont make us inferior either, but that we have a willing heart to serve our neighbor, to serve the Lord. How can we say we serve the Lord if we don't serve our neighbor?


Let's begin to serve others and not expect other to serve us because we are musicians, because we are evangelists. Because he who has a humble and serving heart will see God's kingdom and will eventually be rewarded for his silent duty.

A Learning Heart: A Call To Be More...

Sometimes we as believers think we do all the necessary things to be Christians. Yes, we pray for our food, before we sleep. Yes, we attend church regularly, sing during worship and clap our hands to the rhythm of the song. And we might even say we don't curse or drink alcohol, we may even think we are well- disciplined, but we always need to do more than our routine, more than just being good. We are called to be more.


Let's expand our relationship with the Lord by being more than just another Sunday school teacher, but make an impact in the children from our classrooms;rescue youth at schools, or go deeply into the word of God. Let's begin to do more than "being good", it's time to seek other souls for the Lord and not just care about our own salvation. We need to get out of our comfort zone and make an ever ending change. A revival. We need to be more than just a bench warmer at our church, let's get up from that laziness that is keeping us from being more than just a "christian", let's become a true follower of Christ and become MORE in Him.

Affirmation: Putting Others First

“Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.”

—1 Thessalonians 5:11

What does it mean to put others first? Yes, it relates to being nice and friendly, but also to recognize other's achievements. It's easy to affirm an individual we admire like our favorite singer or our pastor. It's quite easy to praise them because we love them, but what about those people we don't really get along with? What happens when they are successful, when they accomplish things? We need to learn to humble ourselves and affirm those positive qualities as well. 


We as believers constantly compete with each other and try  to become the best teacher, singer or so on, and when someone reaches a higher level than us we tend to feel jealous. Why would we compete with a person in our side of the team? Aren't we all in team JESUS and all complete the body of Christ? We are all members of the body, and each member is born to do a certain thing. In the human body a toe is important, as much as the heart, the liver or the eye, because all these members complete the body and are essential. We all need each other to acquire God's vision in us. We are all called in different ministries and they are all equally relevant to God. We need to acknowledge people in our surrounding and be humble enough to affirm them; because jealousy wont get us no where, but simply to a place of conformity and bitterness. 


Let's not work against other people God has called for His purpose, because one way to die to ourselves  is to lift others up...  

Spiritual Warfare: Battle In The Unseen Realm

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore out on the full armor of God, so that when the day of the evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand."
                  Ephesians 6:10-13
There is another world that we don't see, but that is right in front of us. And no I'm not talking about extraterrestrial beings in Jupiter. Sometimes we are so scared to even think about this matter, and because we don't see it, we  try to avoid it. There is an unseen spiritual realm whose activity influences everyday life. Reality is that demons do exist, and they linger among us. We need to start a battle against the devil and fight for the people that are captive by demons that take over their lives. We need to start to pray more often, to search the Lord and ask for guidance. 


Let the Lord confront the demons and fight, that's why we need to wear the proper armor that He provides us with, the Armor of God. Mentally put on the armor of God and apply it to your day. Let's wake up every morning  and dress ourselves with truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation and more importantly the word of God. 

The Armor of God

1. The belt of truth...

2. The breastplate of righteousness...
3. Feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel...
4. The shield of faith...

5. The helmet of salvation...

6. The sword of the Spirit (the Bible)...

 Ephesians 10:14-18

Sacrifice: Climb Onto the Alter

  
"Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood."                                         Genesis 22:8-9

Sacrifice. That's a though word to pronounce at times, because sacrifice doesn't always relate to blood and shouts, but to what we are willing to give up. Are we willing to surrender all our passion to the Lord? Our first answer will be yes so let's begin: what are the things we love the most? Our car, our phone, computer, all that. By now you probably are doubting it but we need to keep in mind that sacrificing our time is also valuable. We spend so much time on these things that we completely forget to spend extravagant time with the Lord. We need to learn to trust the Lord because throughout our sacrifice He'll provide.

We should honor the Lord with our time, goods and life. Because they all belong to Him, but He was so merciful to give them to us, why not show a bit of gratitude? Lets now show love with not just words but with actions as well, actions that will cause pain. (1 John 3:18) Because the more pain your sacrifice causes the more pleased the Lord will be...

&if you spend approx 2 hours on facebook, then you should have your daily devotional for at least 4 hours. Lets make God our priority, not just remember about Him when we are facing troubles.

Expectations...

⁷ “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”  Luke 17:7-10

Sometimes we expect our lives to be perfect once we begin a relationship with the Lord. We think life will be easy and that we will always we understood by people around us. But reality is that living dead will cause pain, will cause tears, we simply need to look beyond that and believe in God. We will face many trials in life, some that will turn out good and others that will tear us apart. We need to understand that we now live for God and that He has a purpose for every one of us, we just need to live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).


Let the Lord overcome your fears. Don't expect cheers and recognitions for your duties, but simply please God with all of our heart and soul. He hasn't overlooked us, He just has the perfect time to grant those who serve Him.

*To live dead is to live life wholly for Jesus. To die to self, knowing God will do greater work through you. To announce the life of God among those who are unreached.

One Life to Give

It's common to define death as the end, but it's actually just the beginning. We live to die and rise to live an eternal life with the Creator. Thing is, we are so comfortable here on this earth and we think that there's nothing better, but there is. A place called heaven, where there will be no more sorrow, no more pain.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things have passed away." Revelation 21:4

This passage soothes my soul, it gives me the strength to believe that what we live now will pass and that the best is yet to come.

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21

When we serve the Creator we realize that there's nothing better than His presence, and heaven is a place where His presence will overflow. Let's end this cycle by living and serving the Lord, a way to the beginning of eternity....